Kuja Pirates

Having gotten what he wanted, Kaido no longer dwelled on whether Ron truly intended to kill him. He hefted his spiked club and strode toward the ship, though his retreating figure still carried a trace of unwillingness.

Rocks walked over to Ron, threw an arm around his shoulders, and laughed. "I didn't expect that. Your performance exceeded my expectations, Ron."

Rocks's grip hurt a little, so Ron modestly replied, "Lucky. Just lucky."

Rocks squeezed tighter, his laughter deafening. "Good kid, and you call it luck? If I hadn't stepped in just now, even if Kaido didn't die, he wouldn't have gotten off lightly."

"Uh..." Ron had no answer and could only smile bitterly as he let Rocks hold him.

"Wororororo..." Rocks laughed heartily, turned Ron around, and headed for the ship. "Come on, I'll throw you a banquet tonight!"

Kaido had just stepped onto the deck, still feeling frustrated. Before he could find a corner to sit in, Golden Lion's airy voice slipped into his ears, clearly up to no good.

"Hey, hey, hey, Kaido, you seem pretty unwilling to accept this. How about it? Want me to find a chance to kill him for you?"

Hearing this, Kaido turned his head and glanced at Golden Lion's wicked grin. Too lazy to respond, he turned and walked away.

"Jihahahaha." Golden Lion was not angry when Kaido ignored him. "You bastard, with Linlin backing you up, your wings have grown hard, huh?"

Tch. Kaido scoffed inwardly. He had been here long enough; how could he not know what the Rocks Pirates were like?

Let alone kindly helping him kill Ron, he would be thanking the heavens if Golden Lion did not screw him over whenever he passed by.

Night gradually fell, and the sea breeze carried a salty, fishy tang.

The Saber of Xebec had sailed into vast waters. No islands could be seen in any direction, only endless darkness and the sound of waves for company.

The banquet Rocks had held for Ron was already over. The table was a mess of cups and plates, while several drunken crewmen lay sprawled in the corners of the deck.

If he had to sum up the banquet in one word, Ron felt that "boring" fit it perfectly.

That was only natural. He had just arrived and could not blend into this group at all. Most of the time, he sat alone to one side, watching them boast, curse, force drinks down each other's throats, and occasionally grab weapons to fight over a poorly chosen remark, only to be laughingly pulled apart by others.

The liveliness belonged to them. Ron had nothing.

After the banquet ended, the deck became much quieter.

Ron sat alone on the ship's railing, staring blankly into the sea breeze.

Not far away, Whitebeard leaned against the railing on the other side, still holding half a jug of wine as he gazed heavily at the sea.

They each occupied a different side, with no interaction whatsoever.

At that moment, Kaido slowly walked over.

He stopped beside Whitebeard and leaned against the railing.

"Looks like you've already stepped out of the shadow of defeat, Kaido," Whitebeard said with a cheerful smile.

"I just lack a powerful Devil Fruit." Kaido's tone toward Whitebeard was completely different from how he spoke to others.

After all, within the Rocks Pirates, Whitebeard was the only person he somewhat trusted. Whitebeard never set him up and even took fairly good care of him at times.

"Gurararara." Whitebeard chuckled. "Like I said, you have to look slowly for a suitable fruit."

Kaido shrugged. "Of course I know that, but... it's too difficult."

Whitebeard laughed twice more at that and said nothing further, turning his eyes back toward the pitch-black sea.

Kaido stood there for a while, found it boring, and turned to walk in another direction.

His gaze landed on Ron, who was sitting on the railing. After hesitating for a moment, he still walked over.

"Hey, newcomer." Kaido stood beside Ron, his voice low but stubborn. "When I find the Devil Fruit that belongs to me, let's fight again. How about it?"

Ron had been lost in thought as the sea breeze blew over him. Hearing Kaido's voice, he slowly turned his head, Kaido's face reflected in his pupils.

"Don't get me wrong, I can accept defeat." Before Ron could reply, Kaido climbed onto the railing as well, his feet dangling outside the ship. "I just... want to fight you again when I'm at my strongest."

A faint smile appeared on Ron's lips. "Don't you know... only Haki can transcend everything?"

Kaido looked startled and instinctively asked, "Did you hear that from Rocks?"

Ron merely smiled without answering. He had not heard it from Rocks, but from someone called Teacher Kaido.

"Sigh." Kaido let out a breath and suddenly changed the subject. "Do you know that guy behind us?"

Ron looked back. "Edward Newgate?"

"Yeah!" Kaido nodded, a burning light flashing in his eyes. "His Devil Fruit is the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. It's an incredible fruit—I've seen it with my own eyes."

Ron could hear the undisguised admiration in his words.

"Haki is powerful," Kaido continued, "but who could refuse a fruit that grants world-destroying power the moment you eat it?"

Now Ron understood. Kaido believed that while Haki was certainly powerful, training it took too much time. It was far more worthwhile to eat a powerful Devil Fruit.

"And do you think finding a powerful Devil Fruit is easy?" Ron asked with a smile.

Kaido fell speechless for a while. After a moment, he slowly said, "In the Rocks Pirates, the chances are high. Besides... Rocks personally promised me that if he got one, he would give it to me."

Just like that, the two chatted back and forth.

The sea breeze swept past them with the sound of waves. Without realizing it, Ron came to feel that Kaido was quite straightforward.

Likewise, Kaido felt that Ron was more reliable than most people on the ship.

Most importantly, they were both apprentices.

"Hey, Ron." Kaido had changed from calling him "newcomer" to using his name directly. "Let's form an alliance. We can watch each other's backs. The Rocks Pirates are full of every kind of monster and freak."

Then Kaido counted on his fingers and gave Ron a list for his "bastard rankings."

He spoke quickly, as though he had cursed those names in his heart thousands of times already.

Because he spoke too fast, Ron only barely remembered that Golden Lion held firmly to first place. Kaido emphasized this point in particular, saying, "That man is sinister. Be on guard against him at all times."

As for the others.

Whitebeard and Rocks could generally be trusted.

Linlin was fickle and unpredictable; whether she could be trusted depended on the circumstances.

As for everyone else, none of them could be trusted, especially the names listed in the bastard rankings.

In the end, Ron nodded and agreed to the alliance.

The condition was that any powerful Devil Fruits they found would go to Kaido, while the ordinary ones would belong to Ron.

The next morning.

The mist over the sea had yet to dissipate. Ron was still deep in sleep when, in his haze, a burst of noisy commotion suddenly came from above the deck.

He frowned. Before he could fully wake up, hurried footsteps sounded by his ears.

Bang!

The cabin door was kicked open. The latch twisted out of shape, its parts clattering to the floor.

Ron abruptly sat up, rubbed his bleary eyes, glanced at the poor door, then at Kaido walking toward him. His brow could not help twitching slightly.

"Even if we're under attack, it shouldn't be up to two apprentices like us to fight, Kaido," Ron said helplessly.

"Under attack? What attack?" Kaido shook his head with a baffled expression, seemingly not noticing what he had just done. "Forget that. Get up, the Kuja Pirates are here!"

Ron froze slightly. The first person that flashed through his mind was the Pirate Empress, Hancock.

But the next moment, he came back to his senses. This was still the old era.

The Kuja Pirates of this era were led by Gloriosa and Shakky.