Don't Underestimate the Bonds of the Rocks Pirates

Golden Lion's heart gave a violent jolt, and almost at the exact same instant the black-mist spear closed in, he drew the twin blades at his waist and slashed backward fiercely. Yet his forward flight speed did not slow down in the slightest, and his entire body maintained its high-speed charging posture.

"Swish, swish!"

Two crescent-shaped slashes flew out in an X-shaped intersecting trajectory, precisely meeting the black-mist spear bearing down straight toward his back.

"Boom!"

The two forces collided fiercely in midair, and the explosive shockwave surged outward.

The black-mist spear did not dissipate, however; it burst forth from the center of the explosion, continuing to chase after Golden Lion.

Golden Lion's gaze sank abruptly, and a layer of cold sweat beaded on his forehead. While accelerating his flight, he cursed once again toward the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon ahead, "Damn it, Ron, what on earth kind of monster did you provoke?!"

The cursing had just finished when Golden Lion's mind spun rapidly. That wasn't right—this thing was chasing Ron; as long as he dodged off to the side, wouldn't it have nothing to do with him?

"Geahahaha..." A smile surfaced on Golden Lion's face once again. He quickly sidestepped to evade the incoming black-mist spear, then immediately changed direction and flew off to the other side, "Ron, Kaido, you guys play by yourselves!"

Indeed.

Imu didn't even spare him a glance. Those cold eyes remained locked on the direction of the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, continuing the pursuit.

Inside the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, Kaido had been observing the situation behind them. Seeing Golden Lion flash off to the side, he hurriedly shouted to Ron, "Hey, Ron, that fellow Shiki didn't block the one called Imu. But that guy's smug look really makes people very uncomfortable to watch."

Ron's gaze sank slightly. He didn't really care that Golden Lion had failed to stop Imu—it would have been strange if that fellow could stop him—what he truly cared about was that he hadn't seen the figures of Whitebeard and Rocks.

If he had seen them, he could have pulled them both straight into the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon and bolted for the ocean.

"Keep an eye out," Ron instructed Kaido in a low voice. "If you see Newgate or Rocks, let me know right away."

Ron knew a thing or two about Imu's abilities.

He possessed the ability of "Black Conversion Domination," and in the original work, Rocks had been subjected to that Black Conversion Domination, ultimately marching toward his ruin.

After spending this period of time together, Ron held a very favorable impression of Rocks; he didn't want to let the Rocks Pirates draw their period here.

"What?" Kaido regained a bit of spirit. "Newgate and Rocks came too?!"

"This isn't necessarily a good thing," Ron's tone carried a trace of helplessness, "Rocks is here to beat you up."

"..." Kaido's excitement instantly receded by nearly half.

In the brief interlude while the two of them were speaking, an even more massive amount of black mist suddenly erupted from Imu, who was pursuing from behind.

That black mist twisted and wriggled like a living creature, and in merely a split second, it condensed into a huge black-mist bow. The bow body curved like a moon, and dark red electric arcs leaped and flickered across the bowstring.

Imu pulled back the bowstring, and three arrows formed of black mist appeared out of thin air upon it, their tips pointing straight at the back of the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon.

"Swish!"

Imu released the string, and the three black-mist arrows shot out instantly, the howling sound of them tearing through the air exploding all around.

"They're coming, Ron, behind us!" Kaido couldn't bother with his recent disappointment and hurriedly shouted a warning.

Ron's reaction was extremely fast. The Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon leaped abruptly from the ground, and the three black-mist arrows grazed past its belly, plunging fiercely into the earth.

"Rumble!"

In an instant, a violent explosion resounded, and the fierce aftermath churned up all the surrounding vegetation and debris, leaving three huge, charred deep pits in the ground.

Ron furrowed his brows tightly. Before he knew it, he had run to the edge of the coastline. Ahead of him lay a vast expanse of ocean, and beneath his feet was soft sand.

The moment the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon landed on the ground, it made a sharp, sudden turn and sprinted wildly along the other side of the coastline.

Imu still pursued relentlessly, launching attacks one after another to disrupt Ron's forward trajectory.

And not long after Ron and the others departed, two figures had already chased to this spot at the seaside.

Rocks shouldered his long blade, his pace swift, his gaze locked firmly on the direction of the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon ahead, "That brat Ron runs so fast, we can't catch up at all."

Whitebeard ran shoulder to shoulder with him, his gaze falling instead upon that black figure, "Behind Ron... there seems to be an extraordinary fellow."

"I know," Rocks nodded. "That aura is very similar to that guy I saw in the Room of Flowers back then."

Whitebeard turned his head slightly, his peripheral vision landing on Rocks, "Who?"

Rocks did not look at him, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead, his voice carrying a rare solemnity, "The World's Summit."

"..."

Whitebeard fell silent for a moment and did not ask any further.

Golden Lion floated in midair, looking down condescendingly at the pockmarked ground below, his gaze carrying a trace of an indescribable and unclear disappointment.

He knew he had arrived too late; that legendary Devil Fruit was no longer meant for him.

However, judging by the current situation, an ending like this was still within a range he could accept.

Because that fruit had neither been snatched by Kaido nor snatched by Ron, but had been taken away by that unhuman, ghostly thing.

As long as it hadn't fallen into the hands of his own people, he wouldn't feel too distressed.

"Rocks is truly a bastard," Golden Lion cursed softly, "to tell me about it so late."

"Bang, bang, bang!!!"

Suddenly, heavy footsteps came from afar, growing closer and more intense.

Golden Lion slowly turned around, looking toward the direction from which the sound came, and then his face froze.

That Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon had looped around in a massive circle and was sprinting wildly straight toward his side.

"Hey, Shiki!" A loud voice rang out from within the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, "I've come to pick you up!"

Golden Lion's expression stiffened. With almost instinctive reflex, he turned around and accelerated his flight toward the side, cursing back over his shoulder, "Get lost, Ron! Don't drag that monster over here!"

"What kind of foolish things are you saying?" Ron's voice came out from inside the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, "I, Ron, will never abandon any companion!"

The words fell, and two golden chakra arms extended from the body of the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, shooting toward the flying Golden Lion ahead like two flexible giant pythons.

Inside the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, Kaido was moved to tears by Ron: "Ron, you fellow... clearly that bastard Shiki is neither human inside nor out, yet you can actually extend a helping hand to him at a critical moment!"

Hearing this, Ron looked at Kaido with a stunned expression, for a moment not even knowing whether this fellow was a double agent.

"Who's your companion?!" Golden Lion cursed furiously while dodging left and right in the air, going up, down, left, and right, "Get far away from me! The fellow behind you is utterly bizarre!"

After finishing his curse, Golden Lion ranted wildly in his mind: Ron, are you motherfacking even human? How come you didn't remember we were companions when you were dividing up the loot? Now that you encounter danger, you remember we're all part of the Rocks Pirates?!

"Shiki, don't underestimate the bonds of our Rocks Pirates!!" After Ron finished speaking, even more chakra hands extended from the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox Demon.

Seeing this spectacle, Golden Lion was utterly speechless. Bonds? The bonds of the Rocks Pirates? You're out of your damn mind.

"Ron, would you please drop dead? Don't force me to kill you!"

(Another chapter coming later)