"Then add one more?" Ron tilted his head slightly and probed with just the right amount of caution.
Linlin's face visibly darkened. She stayed silent for two seconds and silently recalculated Ron's "shamelessness index" in her heart. Fine. He really could get even more shameless.
"Haa..."
Linlin sighed softly and looked at Ron with complicated eyes.
Without realizing it, Ron had already been thoroughly corrupted by the culture of the Rocks Pirates. He had learned to take advantage of someone in trouble, and he had learned it quite convincingly.
"What about me? What about me?"
Kaido's voice popped up from the side, carrying the urgency of someone afraid of being left out.
"What about you?" Linlin turned to him, her tone saying, 'What are you trying to do now?'
"What about me? That's hilarious. Who on this ship doesn't know Ron and I are an alliance? If you hire Ron alone and don't consider me, you won't be able to bring out the true effect," Kaido declared with perfect confidence, puffing out his chest.
The corner of Linlin's mouth twitched, and she rolled her eyes inwardly. Yes, yes, you won't bring out the true effect without him. Bring him along as the atmosphere team so he can shout "awesome" from the sidelines, right?
"You gave Ron two. I only want one," Kaido continued, seriously working through the logic. "That's reasonable, right?"
"If you've got nothing to do, go back to sleep, Kaido." Linlin threw him a cold sentence, leaving no room for negotiation.
Even if Kaido was a little immature and a little stupid, she still treated him like a younger brother in her heart. At his age, being rebellious was normal.
Usually, she might have loosened up and let him follow. But not this time. She had no spare hands to watch over an idiot who needed her attention.
"Who cares what you say, Linlin! My feet are on my own body. If I want to go, I go. I go wherever I want," Kaido said.
"Stop chirping at me here." Linlin sighed helplessly. "I'll give you one! You don't have to go!"
Kaido waved a hand, his tone full of disdain. "I don't want it. Your Devil Fruits are all trash. They don't suit me..."
Of course, that part was true. He had no interest in Linlin's Devil Fruits at all.
All he wanted was to go out and look around. Staying in the Rocks Pirates, unable to get along with everyone else, was boring, painful, and dull.
But before Kaido could finish, Ron reached out and jabbed him hard in the waist, interrupting him. "Then it's settled. No take-backs."
"Why did you poke me?!" Kaido clutched his waist and glared at him irritably.
"What do you think?"
"Don't be fooled by Linlin's sweet words!" Kaido said seriously. "All her Devil Fruits are trash!"
Linlin immediately grew anxious, afraid Kaido would really make Ron hesitate. "Shut your mouth, Kaido!"
"Exactly," Ron immediately followed, his face righteous. "Is that how you speak to my client?"
Linlin: "????"
She froze for a moment, looked at Ron's perfectly justified face, then looked at Kaido, who had been poked in the waist and still did not realize what had happened. Suddenly, she felt like she was the one being dragged into a ditch.
The matter was settled very quickly.
In the end, a world where only Kaido got hurt was achieved.
Linlin was also straightforward and gave Ron two Devil Fruits. Then she sat on her thundercloud, patted the spot behind her, and signaled for him to get on.
After that... the thundercloud rose gently under the moonlight and floated toward the depths of the night.
On the road, Ron sat behind Linlin, holding the two Devil Fruits in his palms and quietly refining them.
System prompts sounded one after another in his mind.
[Ding. The Mystery Wheel requires the consumption of a Devil Fruit. Current Devil Fruit: XXXX. Confirm?]
[Ding. The Mystery Wheel requires the consumption of a Devil Fruit. Current Devil Fruit: XXXX. Confirm?]
Just as Kaido had said, the two fruits Linlin gave him were the type of abilities that strong people did not need and weak people could not obtain.
But for Ron, good or bad did not matter. They were simply materials used to exchange for rewards.
"Confirm."
[Ding. This time, Devil Fruits x2 have been consumed. The Devil Fruits have been reborn somewhere in the world. Random reward drawing...]
[Ding. Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Eight-Tails: Gyuki.]
[Ding. Congratulations, host. Simultaneous unlock triggered: None.]
[Ding. Congratulations, host. You have obtained Sage Mode.]
[Ding. Congratulations, host. Simultaneous unlock triggered: None.]
As the prompts fell, a virtual panel that only Ron could see slowly unfolded before his eyes.
Host: Ron
Base Abilities: Observation Haki [Advanced (289/500)], Armament Haki [Advanced (120/500)], Conqueror's Haki [Advanced (80/500)], Taijutsu [? (?/?)], Swordsmanship [Intermediate (490/500)]
Constitution: Sage Body [Unlocked], Sage Eyes [Locked]
Taijutsu: Eight Gates [Unlocked]
Buff: Sage Mode [? Mount Myoboku Sage Mode.]
Special Abilities: Four-Tails [Unlocked], Nine-Tails [Unlocked], Ice Release [Unlocked], Eight-Tails [Unlocked]
Triggered Abilities: Lava Release [Source: Four-Tails], Nine-Tails Mode [Source: Nine-Tails]
Mystery Wheel >>> [Unlock condition: One Devil Fruit]
After this period of Rocks' special training and the experience accumulated in actual combat, his Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and Conqueror's Haki had all stepped into the advanced threshold.
His swordsmanship was also approaching the intermediate bottleneck.
Now, the newly obtained Eight-Tails and Sage Mode added two more forms of support to his original foundation.
"Hehehe..." Ron could not help laughing softly. The curve of his mouth refused to be suppressed.
Linlin, sitting in front of him on the thundercloud, heard that low laugh and felt a chill creep up her back.
She slowly turned her head. Her wary gaze landed on Ron's face. "You... are all right, aren't you, Ron? If you're unhappy about something, you can say it directly... don't stab me in the back."
"Huh?" Ron reined in the somewhat exaggerated smile on his face and put on an innocent expression. "What? What kind of person do you take me for?"
Linlin did not speak, but the expression on her face honestly translated the thought in her heart: mainly, you have prior offenses. The kind where you kill the enemy and the employer together.
Ron understood her expression. "What the hell? You really think I'm that kind of bastard with no integrity?"
"I didn't say that." Linlin turned around again and looked ahead.
The thundercloud continued floating forward, and bright moonlight shone across the sea ahead.
The sea breeze swept past them, carrying a hint of chill and a faint excitement.
Ron sat behind her, the curve of his lips rising again. But he did not make a sound, afraid Linlin would think he was about to stab her in the back.