In the New World, on a certain island, on Ron's side.
After confirming that although Kaido was at a disadvantage, he would not be defeated in a short time with the support of Nine-Tails chakra, Ron withdrew his gaze and turned away from the battlefield.
He was heading to the mountain behind town, where Ochoku had said Annika was being held in a cave.
Behind the town.
Ron spent quite a bit of effort before finally finding the place where a large rock sealed a cave entrance, with a small sapling stuck on top of the rock as a marker.
He walked forward, raised his foot, and kicked.
Bang!
The boulder was sent flying, revealing the cave entrance.
Light slanted in, illuminating a dim tunnel.
The tunnel was not long, only about five meters. At the end was a slightly wider natural stone chamber. Damp moss grew on the stone walls, and the air carried the smell of earth mixed with rock.
At the far end of the chamber, beneath the stone wall, a figure was curled up and sitting there.
Hearing the movement from the entrance, that figure suddenly raised her head. First she froze, then quickly climbed to her feet. Her movements were neat as she picked up the ingredients she had already bought by her feet, then hurried toward the entrance with small quick steps.
"Ron-sama!"
Annika stopped in front of Ron. Her expression was very calm. Although her clothes were stained with dust, they were still fairly tidy. She did not look at all like someone who had just been rescued from a kidnapping, with no trace of panic or misery.
Ron said nothing.
He simply stood there, eyes lowered, staring motionlessly at Annika.
Annika grew nervous under his gaze and hurriedly bowed to Ron, speaking faster than usual. "I'm sorry, Ron-sama! It's all my fault for causing a small incident. But!"
She paused, raised her head, forced out a smile, and lifted the bag of food in her hand. "The ingredients are all bought! It won't take long before you can eat!"
"Are you hurt?" Ron asked softly.
Annika froze slightly. The forced smile on her face stiffened for an instant before she shook her head. Her voice became a little more natural. "No... no. Annika is fine."
As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously passed over Ron's shoulder and looked into the distance behind him.
There, black smoke rose slowly and spread toward the sky with the wind.
Explosions rang out one after another. Though far away, the faint vibrations in the ground could still be felt. From time to time, strong gusts swept over.
"Ron-sama, over there..."
"Nothing much." Ron answered, turned, and started down the mountain.
Annika stood in place for two seconds, then trotted after him.
The two walked along the mountain road, one in front and one behind.
After walking a short distance, Ron's voice sounded beside Annika's ear.
"Pretending to be someone else... is tiring, isn't it?"
Annika's steps paused slightly.
Whether on the World Government warship or after being kidnapped by Ochoku, Annika's behavior had been too abnormal.
"I don't know what you went through before, but here, right now, you don't have to pretend."
"There's a saying from my hometown that I like very much. 'The real, imperfect you still deserves to be held and cherished.'"
Ron had no other meaning. He simply felt Annika was a decent person, and that there might be something wrong inside her heart, so he wanted to guide her a little.
Annika stood frozen in place, watching Ron's gradually receding back. Her eyes trembled slightly, and something deep inside them quietly began to melt.
From childhood to adulthood, her father had always told her: You are not outstanding. You are not perfect. You will only be abandoned.
She had to display the best and most proper side of herself in front of everyone, or else she would be disliked and thrown away.
Those words were like nails hammered into her bones. Over the years, they took root and sprouted, becoming an almost instinctive habit.
But today, someone who looked like a bad person, yet was actually gentler than many others, had told her:
The imperfect you still deserves to be held and cherished.
She sniffed, her eyes slightly red.
Then she moved and jogged after Ron.
Annika spoke with a slight nasal tone, but with a smile in her voice. "Ron-sama, you're really a good person."
"..."
For some reason, he had received another "good person card."
Ron sighed lightly. "Where I come from, giving someone a 'good person card' makes the other person very sad..."
"Ah?" Annika froze. Then she reacted extremely quickly, using her free hand to grab at the air, pretending to catch something and stuff it into her mouth to chew. "I caught it back and ate it! What I said just now doesn't count!"
Ron was amused by her behavior, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. He said nothing and continued forward.
By the time Ron brought Annika back to the coast where the auxiliary ship was docked, he discovered that Rocks' Saber of Xebec was also docked nearby.
On the auxiliary ship's deck, Stussy was so busy she could barely stop.
She carried treasure chests across the gangplank toward the Saber of Xebec, going back and forth until sweat covered her forehead.
"Ron! You're back at just the right time!" Stussy leaned over the rail of the Saber of Xebec and waved down at Ron. "Come give me a hand! Moving all the Heavenly Tribute from the auxiliary ship over here is killing me!"
Before Ron could speak, Annika had already stepped forward. "I'll do it, Stussy-sama."
Ron grabbed Annika and stopped her from going.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Stussy pouted from the rail. "Ron, that's not right! It's bad enough that you won't help me, but why are you stopping little Annika's kindness too?"
"She's mine, so of course she listens to me. However, if you're willing to pay an expensive fee, I can allow it."
"Screw you, Ron! Are you robbing me?" Stussy complained, rolled her eyes, and continued moving cargo by herself.
Ron turned to look at Annika, only to find her grinning happily.
"What are you so happy about?"
"Uh!" Annika immediately restrained her smile and shook her head to indicate nothing. A moment later, as if remembering something, she said, "Right, Ron-sama! You must be starving. I'll go cook right away!"
Before Ron could respond, Annika had already carried the bag of ingredients and trotted onto the auxiliary ship, soon disappearing behind the cabin door.
Ron withdrew his gaze and leapt onto the deck of the Saber of Xebec.
He still had one thing to do.
According to what Ochoku had said, two Devil Fruits were hidden in his bedroom.
Whether that was true or false, Ron would only know after searching.
A short while later, inside Ochoku's bedroom.
Ron sat on the edge of the bed, brows slightly furrowed, sinking into thought.
He had turned the room upside down, but in the end, he had not found a damn thing.
"That scheming bastard... does this room have a hidden passage or something?" Ron muttered as his gaze swept back and forth through the room.
Then he stood up and began searching more carefully: knocking on the walls, pressing the floor, checking the edges of every wooden board.
About ten minutes later, he found an unusual echo in the floor near the foot of the bed. When he knocked, it sounded hollow, clearly different from the solid area around it.
Ron's eyes brightened. He pushed aside the bed leg and pried up that section of flooring.
Below was a shallow hidden compartment, with two fruits bearing spiral patterns inside.
"Shit! You really know how to hide things."
Ron did not waste time. He immediately placed the two fruits side by side in his palms, closed his eyes, and silently said in his mind, 'Activate Mystery Wheel.'
[Ding. The Mystery Wheel requires the consumption of a Devil Fruit. Current Devil Fruit: Jacket-Jacket Fruit. Confirm?]
[Ding. The Mystery Wheel requires the consumption of a Devil Fruit. Current Devil Fruit: Bean-Bean Fruit. Confirm?]
"Jacket? Bean? Uh... They really are pretty useless Devil Fruits. But... I'm not picky."
"Confirm."
[Ding. This activation consumes Devil Fruit x2. The Devil Fruits have been reborn somewhere in the world. Random rewards are being drawn...]
[Ding. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the Kekkei Genkai 'Ice Release.']
[Ding. Simultaneous unlock triggered: None.]
[Ding. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the Taijutsu 'Eight Gates.']
[Ding. Simultaneous unlock triggered: None.]