Time was like sand slipping through the fingers, always flowing away unnoticed.
Ron had thought the journey to Elbaf would be dull and boring, nothing but ships and waves across the vast sea, the same scenery repeated day after day. But the result was completely different.
The people of the Rocks Pirates spoke so pleasantly, and every single one of them was a talent.
Also, ever since he returned from Saint Sebastian, Ron noticed that Annika had changed.
She still loved to smile, but that smile was no longer meant to please anyone or hide anything. It was happiness from the heart.
Ron also felt she was strangely cute. Whenever she was happy, she liked to hop around. Aside from cooking for Ron and sleeping, she almost always followed him.
Sometimes she would follow him for half a day without saying a word, just walking quietly like a shadow. Occasionally, when Ron looked back, she would smile at him and continue following.
However, one thing troubled Ron. Although Annika no longer gave him "good person cards," she had begun giving him "bad person cards," to the point that Whitebeard thought Ron might be secretly torturing Annika late at night.
Ron felt that if this continued, everyone in the Rocks Pirates would think he was a pervert.
"Morning, Ron. Want to play a game together?" As soon as Ron walked from his room into the ship's hall, Kaido, sitting on the sofa, greeted him.
Ron glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Half of Kaido's face was swollen like a pig's head, his eye almost squeezed into a slit. And the "game" Kaido mentioned was rock-paper-scissors, where the loser got slapped by the winner. What kind of game was that? It was clearly an excuse to settle personal grudges.
Ron shook his head and smiled in refusal. "Mm, I don't really like that kind of game. You play by yourself."
After a pause, he kindly added, "You should play less of it. If you win, you gain another enemy. If you lose, you'll want to sneak out in the middle of the night and deal with the other person."
Kaido looked around and, seeing no one else, immediately stood up and leaned close to Ron. Lowering his voice, he said, "Hey, Ron, are we brothers or not? If we are, come help me! Look at my face."
Kaido pointed at his badly swollen cheek and continued, "That bastard Shiki did this! I want to kill him today! If you join, the chance of killing him goes way up!"
"And Silver Axe is dead too! When he slapped me, he told me that as long as I copied Shiki and laughed 'Jihahahaha,' he'd hit me lighter. Guess what that bastard did?"
Ron followed his words. "What did he do?"
"He hit me even harder! He said the thing he hates most in his life is that bastard Shiki! Damn him, he was using me to get the feeling!"
Ron pressed his lips together and did not let himself laugh.
See? How could staying in the Rocks Pirates be boring? Everyone here was talented and spoke beautifully.
"Ron," Kaido stared at him seriously, "when a brother tells you his pain, laughing is very rude."
Ron gently shook his head, indicating that he had not laughed.
Kaido looked at him with disdain. That suppressed-laughter face was worse than laughing outright. He put away his grievance and changed into a serious expression. "One sentence, Ron. Are you joining forces with me or not?"
"No." Ron waved his hand. This kind of game was fun, sure, but it cost friends.
"Ron," Kaido's voice instantly rose. "Is the bond between us gone?! Have you forgotten how I stood firmly by your side when you were in trouble?! Don't you remember..."
Before Kaido could finish, Ron frowned slightly and interrupted speechlessly, "Enough. Stop howling like a ghost."
Kaido's eyes lit up. "You accept the challenge?"
"I accept."
"Hehe." Kaido grabbed Ron's shoulder. "I knew it. The bond between us is unbreakable!"
A short while later, the participants gathered.
Originally, no one intended to play this game with Kaido. After all, last night, only Kaido had come away battered. Today, anyone could guess that this guy had come for revenge.
But Kaido threw out his final bait: Ron would also participate.
When Golden Lion heard Ron was joining, his eyes immediately shone. The humiliation he suffered at Saint Sebastian finally seemed like it could be openly recovered today.
Once Golden Lion joined, his dead rival Silver Axe signed up without hesitation. Yesterday, that brat had hit Kaido and then stopped playing. Today, Silver Axe was determined to slap his face into a pig's head before he felt satisfied.
This time, there were only four players. After all, not everyone was an idiot willing to play a game where they got hit.
As for the rules, they were simple and brutal. Four people drew opponents first, then played ten rounds of rock-paper-scissors. Win a round, slap the other person.
The winner advanced to the next round. The loser paid five million berries.
Rocks served as judge.
Soon, the draw results came out.
Golden Lion got his wish and faced Ron.
Silver Axe was speechless. His opponent was Kaido again.
"All right, the opponents are decided." Rocks stood in the middle, hands behind his back, looking impartial. "Remember, friendship first, competition second."
The corner of Golden Lion's mouth rose exaggeratedly, his voice squeezed out through his teeth. "Of course. Friendship first, competition second. Right, Ron?"
"Shiki's killing intent is pretty heavy," John joked from the side.
"Hehehe," Marlon slowly added, "this guy clearly wants to kill the other party."
Whitebeard leaned against the wall speechlessly. What was wrong with Ron today? Why was he playing with these fools?
Annika listened to their conversation with worry, unconsciously gripping the corner of her clothes. She kept praying in her heart that Ron would not lose.
Gloriosa leaned against the other wall, holding a piece of bread. She did not mind at all. The journey was long, and free entertainment was always welcome.
"Beat them to death, Kaido, Ron!" Linlin raised a hand and stirred the pot.
"Hey, Linlin." Rocks turned and glared at her irritably. "Bastard, I just said friendship first, competition second. Don't fan the flames!"
"Maa maa maa." Linlin spread her hands innocently. "You know me, Rocks. I mean no harm. I just wanted to liven up the atmosphere."
Everyone was speechless. This was still no harm?
"Then Ron and Shiki will begin first," Rocks announced.
The two stood face to face.
"Rock, paper, scissors."
Golden Lion: paper.
Ron: scissors.
"First round, Ron wins," Rocks announced.
Ron gently exhaled. To be honest, the pressure was a little high.
Golden Lion's mouth still curved exaggeratedly. He said calmly, "Don't get cocky. The road is still very long."
The corner of Ron's mouth also curved exaggeratedly. Then he instantly entered Nine-Tails Mode.
A golden chakra cloak covered his body, his hair standing up like flames. An invisible pressure spread through the ship's hall.
Seeing Ron get serious, Golden Lion's expression stiffened, then relaxed again. He warned, "Think carefully. You'll lose eventually. How you treat me, I'll treat you the same way, Ron."
Ron did not answer.
He directly performed a 360-degree Thomas spin. Golden chakra trailed an arc as he rotated, then one slap landed across Golden Lion's face.
Smack!
A crisp sound exploded in the ship's hall. Golden Lion's body spun in place like a top slapped away, then landed head-first with a thud, face-down on the wooden floor.
The ship's hall went silent for a moment.
'Damn. He's playing that hard?'
The next second, Golden Lion sprang back up like doing a sit-up. He twitched at the nosebleed flowing out, wiped it with his hand, and that exaggerated smile still hung on his face, even brighter than before.
"Good, Ron. You've got guts. I like it!"
Ron raised his hand toward Rocks. "I'm not playing anymore."
Then Nine-Tails Mode dissipated.
Five million berries for one slap. Not a loss.
Golden Lion froze in place, the smile still stiff on his face.
"???"