"Looks like a throwdown between two Yonko is about to happen for real," one of the pirates muttered, a bead of sweat tracing a path down his grimy face.
The very air vibrated with a terrifying pressure, making it hard to breathe.
"Tch! Are you serious?" another spat, gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"We haven't even gone up against Whitebeard's crew, and now we're stuck brawling with the Big Mom Pirates? What a colossal waste of time and energy!"
"Yeah, man, we should be saving our juice for Whitebeard! I heard his bounty is a whopping seven billion Berries now!" a third pirate chimed in, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and greed.
"Seven billion... That's higher than the Pirate King himself, huh? Damn..."
"No wonder the big boss Kaido is so pissed off. You can bet he's taking every ounce of that frustration out on Big Mom right now."
"Well, look on the bright side," a more optimistic crewmate offered, "At least with them beating the crap out of each other, we don't have to live in constant fear of getting on their bad side anymore."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
On one side, the Big Mom Pirates stood like statues, their bizarre and colorful appearances doing nothing to hide the deadly aura they emitted.
Facing them, the top brass of the Beasts Pirates—the three All-Stars and the elite Flying Six—held their positions, not moving a muscle.
Both sides were content to be spectators for now, their gazes locked on the earth-shattering battle unfolding in the center of the island.
"Katakuri," Charlotte Daifuku, the towering genie-summoning man, spoke in a low voice, his eyes fixed on Kaido's monstrous form.
"Are we really just going to stand here and do nothing? Mama is..."
Katakuri's sharp, crimson gaze swept across the chaotic battlefield.
His expression was a mask of utter calm, radiating a supreme confidence that bordered on disdain for everyone else present.
He had already seen a sliver of what was to come, a fleeting glimpse into the future.
"There's no need," he replied, his voice cool and steady. "Just wait."
"Got it."
Though Daifuku was still confused and itching for a fight, he didn't question the order.
He trusted his brother's judgment.
Katakuri was never wrong.
....
Meanwhile, in another part of the chaotic island, a different kind of negotiation was underway, and the atmosphere was just as tense, albeit quieter.
The legendary "Golden Lion" Shiki and the "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo had both, in principle, agreed to a partnership.
The problem was, their common partner was Ron, and he had no intention of lumping them together.
Each of them brought something different to the table, and he planned to deal with them one on one.
"Jihahaha!" the Golden Lion roared, his signature laugh echoing through the clearing.
"Alright, kid! Since we're partners now, I'll get straight to the point. I want that 'Phoenix Fruit' you've got! It's high time I fixed this busted old body of mine!"
Shiki's eyes burned with a desperate fire as he stared at Ron.
You could almost see the images flashing in his mind: his severed legs growing back, the cursed ship's rudder finally being pulled from his skull.
He wanted to return to his prime, to the days when his name alone could make the World Government tremble!
Ron offered a faint, unreadable smile but didn't answer right away.
Across from them, Doflamingo leaned back in his chair with a theatrical leisureliness, bringing a cup of tea to his lips.
He was the picture of relaxation, but his eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, held a sharp glint of mockery and complete indifference.
He couldn't care less about what this old relic wanted.
"Fufufu... go right ahead," Doflamingo purred, his voice laced with his usual condescending amusement.
He knew the value of his own assets—his underworld connections, his SMILE factories, his political influence.
He had far more to offer than a washed-up legend.
"Who goes first is irrelevant. The quality of the cards you hold is what truly matters."
"The order doesn't matter to me," Ron said, cutting in smoothly. "But for the sake of keeping our little arrangements confidential, we need to move to a more... private location."
With that, Ron gave a slight nod to Jozu, who was standing behind him like a mountain of diamond.
Jozu stepped forward, his expression was unreadable.
He slowly approached Shiki and Ron, placing a massive hand on each of their shoulders.
The sudden contact made Shiki flinch.
He glared at Jozu's hand, clearly unhappy with being touched without permission.
"Ron, what's the meaning of this?" the Golden Lion growled, his voice low and wary.
He didn't like surprises.
"Relax, Shiki-san," Ron reassured him with a placid smile.
"Don't resist with your Haki. I'm just taking you somewhere we can speak freely, without any prying ears."
The moment the words left his mouth, a subtle shimmer, like heat haze on a summer day, rippled through the air.
And then they were gone.
Ron and the Golden Lion Shiki vanished on the spot.
One second they were there, and the next, there was nothing but empty space where they had been standing.
It happened so fast, so silently, that it took a moment for anyone's brain to catch up.
The first to react was Doflamingo.
Pfft!
He spat a mouthful of expensive tea all over the ground, his eyes bugging out from behind his shades.
"What the—?! Where did they go?!!"
His head snapped from side to side, his usual smug composure completely shattered.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
They had just disappeared into thin air? Without a sound, without a trace? How in the hell was that possible?!
Realizing he'd lost his cool, Doflamingo forced himself to take a breath, smoothing down his ridiculous pink feather coat.
He turned his sharp gaze on Jozu, a mixture of suspicion and alarm warring in his expression.
"Where. Are. They?"
Jozu just stared back, his face a blank, diamond-hard mask.
He had no intention of explaining anything.
"Who?" he asked flatly.
Doflamingo's jaw tightened.
Fine.
This human wall wasn't going to talk.
He stopped pressing and instead quietly flared his Observation Haki, sending it out like a net to scan the entire area.
He searched for their presence, their life force, anything.
He found nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
It was as if they had been erased from existence.
This revelation sent a fresh jolt of shock through him.
What kind of Devil Fruit power was this? Teleportation? It had to be, but he hadn't sensed any of the tell-tale signs.
Outwardly, he remained the picture of calm, but inside, his mind was racing.
The members of his Donquixote Family, standing behind him, weren't nearly as composed.
"Where the hell did they go?!" Diamante shouted, his eyes darting around wildly.
"They were right there! How did they just disappear?!"
"That's... terrifying," Bellamy stammered, his voice trembling with a new level of respect and fear.
"Is this the kind of power a Yonko's crew wields?"
"Power my ass," Pica grumbled in his surprisingly high-pitched voice.
"It's got to be a Devil Fruit ability. There's no other logical explanation for two people vanishing like that."
"Ah, right, a Devil Fruit," another crewmate said, relieved. "If it's a Devil Fruit, then it's not so weird."
Meanwhile, a short distance away, the Whitebeard Pirates were doing their best not to burst out laughing.
They knew exactly what had happened.
Ron was such a showman.
Who else would think to hold a top-secret meeting inside Jozu's "Castle Ring"?
....
Inside the Castle Ring—
The instant Shiki's feet touched the ground in the strange new space, his instincts took over.
He immediately leaped back seven or eight steps, putting distance between himself and Ron.
His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, were locked onto the younger man, a dangerous glint in them.
"What kind of trick are you trying to pull, you little brat?" he snarled, his voice echoing in the quiet room.
"And where in the four seas is this place?"
Seeing Shiki's defensive posture, Ron just chuckled.
He casually conjured a comfortable-looking armchair out of thin air and sat down, crossing his legs.
His tone was perfectly calm, radiating control.
"Shiki-san, please. You're a legendary figure, a man who once rivaled Roger himself. Surely a little spatial jump like this isn't enough to rattle you."
He gestured around the space. "This is just a special room, created by a Devil Fruit. It's the perfect place to discuss our cooperation. After all," he added with a knowing look, "walls have ears, and we wouldn't want our plans to be overheard, would we?"
Hearing Ron's explanation, Shiki's tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
He scanned his surroundings, confirming it was just a simple, if well-furnished, room.
His guard slowly lowered as he began to accept Ron's story.
"Hmph. If that's the case, then let's get down to business," Shiki said, his voice dropping to a low, serious rumble.
His gaze suddenly became incredibly intense, filled with a desperate, burning desire.
"I want the Devil Fruit. The Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Mythical Zoan - Phoenix!"
He gestured wildly, his voice rising with passion.
"Just like that first division commander of Whitebeard's, Marco! I read about his powers in the papers. I need to restore my body. I can't stand living without my own two legs anymore!"
He then reached up and angrily tapped the ship's helm embedded in his scalp, a constant, humiliating reminder of his defeat and escape from Impel Down.
"And I've wanted to get this damned thing out of my head for the last twenty years!"
A glint flashed in Ron's eyes.
He nodded slowly, his voice smooth and full of promise.
"All of that can be arranged, Shiki-san. Every last bit of it. As long as you're willing to work with us, consider your problems solved."
Then, Ron's tone shifted.
He leaned forward in his chair, his eyes locking onto the Golden Lion's, filled with a sharp, business-like expectation.
"So, Shiki-san... what are you offering me in return?"