"Roger."
Rayleigh softened his voice, his tone carrying a rare seriousness. "You need to think this through. For the sake of an instinct, once you eat it, there will be no turning back. That also means you will have nothing to do with swimming for the rest of your life."
Rayleigh was not exactly opposing it. He simply wanted Roger to understand clearly that eating a Devil Fruit was not child's play. It was a road you could not turn back from once you stepped onto it, and it would affect a person's entire life.
Gaban nodded in agreement and warned him as well. "Rayleigh is right. This kind of thing should be considered carefully."
Crunch, crunch.
A sudden sound of chewing interrupted the solemn atmosphere in the ship's hall.
Rayleigh and Gaban both turned their eyes to Roger. In the brief moment they had not been paying attention, Roger had somehow already brought the Gum-Gum Fruit to his mouth and was biting into it with relish, cheeks bulging as he chewed.
"Hey, Roger, that was way too careless!"
"Exactly! Roger, at least think about it for a moment!"
Roger chewed the fruit with his trademark smile on his face and mumbled, "Fate chose me, and I will choose fate."
He swallowed the last bite, his expression twisting for an instant. His tone carried genuine disgust. "Ah, that taste. It really is hard to swallow."
Rayleigh and Gaban looked at each other, their faces filled with helplessness that said, 'Well, that is Roger.'
From that moment on, Roger of the old era had eaten the fruit the World Government had given the name of a "god" - the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika.
In Elbaf's Underworld, Silver Axe regretted it.
He regretted it immensely.
Why had he been such a busybody?
If Golden Lion wanted to stand up for Ron and build a good relationship, then let him stand up! Why had Silver Axe come running over to join the fun?
And Rocks and Whitebeard, you two were too heartless!
You were actually just standing there watching the show, not even willing to lend a hand.
Harald was even more ruthless. Every move was aimed at killing. Why are you trying to kill me? Go kill Ron! I only came here to go through the motions!
Of course, Silver Axe was not the only one thinking this.
Golden Lion was cursing in his heart too. Ron, you are simply inhuman! I said you could rest for a bit, not rest forever and watch the show! I came here to go through the motions and earn some hardship pay, not sell my life for you!
This time, Golden Lion felt Rocks had no choice but to pay him. Not only did he have to pay, he had to add mental damage fees, recuperation fees, injury fees... and so on.
Clearly, both Silver Axe and Golden Lion had suffered quite a bit in their battle with Harald.
Boom!
A loud crash exploded, and rolling smoke shot into the sky.
As the shockwave spread, a figure rapidly flew backward, drawing an arc through the air and heading precisely toward the golden Nine-Tails.
When that figure was about to arrive, he fell face-first and, with a swish, slid across the ground all the way to the golden Nine-Tails. He carved a shallow groove through shattered stone and dust.
"Hey, hey, Rocks, this guy seems dead!" Loki, standing below the golden Nine-Tails, raised his head and shouted.
Ron, Whitebeard, Rocks, and Linlin, seated on her thundercloud, all subconsciously looked down. No one spoke.
Loki looked at their expressions and suddenly had a thought. Although he was not yet a member of the Rocks Pirates, some things might not mean much if done, but not doing them could reduce his favorability.
Once that thought became clear, he no longer hesitated.
He quickly ran to the prone figure, bent down, and pried the face-down Silver Axe out of the ground. Then he grabbed him by the back of the collar, shook him twice, and lowered his head to ask, "Hey, are you still alive?"
No response. So he shook him harder several more times.
Silver Axe kept his eyes closed and allowed his body to swing back and forth. A strong urge surged inside him. He wanted to beat Loki.
Can't you go play in the mud if you have nothing to do? Why are you meddling?
"Hey, he seems to have fainted!" Loki added.
Ron, Whitebeard, Rocks, and Linlin all showed the same speechless expression that said, 'What nonsense are you saying?'
Boom!
Another loud crash rang out.
This time it was even closer. The airflow stirred by the shockwave carried shattered stones from the side.
Immediately after, another figure flew out of the smoke and heavily smashed into the rocky ground in front of the golden Nine-Tails, creating a shallow pit as gray dust scattered.
"Hey, Rocks, another one died!" Loki raised his head and shouted again, his voice carrying the busy energy of someone running errands.
Golden Lion, face down on the ground, cursed even more viciously in his heart. Silver Axe, you sinister bastard! You actually made me deal with Harald alone while you played dead?
As he was thinking, he sensed his collar being grabbed.
He opened one eye a crack, thinking he was about to be pulled into the golden Nine-Tails by Ron. But when he turned his head, he saw Loki's childish face.
Loki pried him out of the pit, shook him while holding him up, then shouted upward, "Rocks, this one isn't dead either. He only fainted!"
Golden Lion cursed wildly in his heart. Damn brat, get lost! Can't you see I'm resting?
"Put the two of them down," Ron's voice came from inside the golden Nine-Tails, calm and flat. "I have a divine medicine that specializes in treating those who faint to death."
"Oh." Loki answered, released both hands, placed Silver Axe and Golden Lion side by side on the ground, then took half a step back and raised his head to wait.
Divine medicine? Really?
The thought appeared simultaneously in Silver Axe and Golden Lion's minds as they lay on the ground.
But soon they dismissed it. It was hard to say for others, but Ron... might really have something like that.
Golden Lion thought: If he really does, I need to take several. After all, it's good stuff.
Silver Axe thought: Would giving something that good to trash like Shiki be a bit wasteful?
Sizzle.
A wave of scalding air suddenly pressed down from above, carrying a burning temperature. Heat surged toward their faces, lifting their hair and twisting the air slightly.
"Lava Release: Super Lava Ball."
Sensing danger, Silver Axe and Golden Lion suddenly opened their eyes at the same time.
Above them, a golden chakra arm was raised high, holding an incomparably huge lava fireball in its palm. Dark-red magma slowly rolled across the surface, heat steaming from it like a small sun ready to fall at any moment.
In the next second, the two sprang from the ground like compressed springs.
Golden Lion did not even have time to stand steady before his feet left the ground and his whole body rose into the air. He cursed upward, "What are you doing?! Ron, do you want to die?!"
Silver Axe also retreated several steps. "Ron, you bastard! We're allies!"
"Wahahahaha!"
"Gurararara!"
"Mama-mama!"
"Hahaha!"
Laughter rang out at the same time.
Golden Lion and Silver Axe's faces stiffened. Their mouths twitched, wanting to curse but unable to find the right words.
Loki stood nearby, his gaze moving back and forth between the laughter and the two experts in "fainting to death." His eyes brightened.
As expected of the Rocks Pirates. Even the way they woke up unconscious people was unique.
As the laughter gradually subsided, Rocks stopped smiling and slowly drew the long blade at his waist. He said in a deep voice, "All right. It's time to end all of this."
After a pause, he added, "Newgate, Ron, I need you with me."
"I want in too, Rocks!" Kaido shouted.
"Since I'm already here, I might as well stretch my body," Linlin said.
"Then let's end this farce as fast as possible." The moment Rocks finished speaking, he leaped up.