Even more shocking was the figure clad in a grey cloak standing atop that grotesque head!
"Hey, hey... What the hell is that?!" a Marine Colonel stammered, his legs trembling.
Ron gently patted the Sea King beneath him, "Little King." This deep-sea overlord, capable of destroying warships, was now as docile as a house cat.
Under the precise control of Ron's Haki, it was completely unaffected by Shanks's Conqueror's Haki and steadily carried its master towards the center of the battlefield.
Splash!
When the Sea King fully surfaced, the colossal waves it created caused the nearby warships to rock violently.
Ron slowly straightened his body, his cloak flapping in the salty sea breeze. He reached up and removed his hood, revealing a familiar face that left all the high-ranking Marines dumbfounded.
"Is that... Ron, the Admiral... Quasi-Admiral?!" An old veteran's gun clattered onto the deck.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's pupils constricted sharply, his Den Den Mushi nearly slipping from his grasp. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, suspecting he was hallucinating: "Impossible... He wasn't expelled, was he? How could he be back..."
Staff Officer Tsuru immediately recognized the former Marine genius: "It's him indeed... But why now..."
Her thoughts raced, and suddenly a possibility occurred to her, "Could he be here to support the Marine?"
This thought slightly eased her tense expression.
"Hahahaha!" Garp suddenly let out a booming laugh, his fist slamming heavily on the railing, "I knew you old geezer wouldn't just disappear like that!"
But as he laughed, his eyes grew complex.
Garp knew better than anyone that Ron was already terminally ill when he left the Marine; doctors had diagnosed him with only seven or eight years to live... And now this reckless bastard was appearing in a place like this?
But this guy was too reckless. Was he throwing his life away for the Marine? Bastard!
Sengoku's eyes welled up, his voice trembling slightly: "This idiot... Even with his body like that..."
He recalled how, to protect Ron from being executed by the Celestial Dragons, he had endured immense pressure and merely expelled him from the Marine.
He never imagined that after so many years, this former beloved subordinate would step forward in the Marine's time of crisis!
This guy was too good!
However, what they didn't know was that the strange purple patterns on Ron's arm were glowing.
Not only had his body fully recovered, but his strength had also reached an unprecedented height!
"Greetings, everyone. Long time no see." Ron's voice was not loud, yet it clearly echoed across the entire battlefield.
He stood atop the Sea King, calmly surveying his surroundings: the shocked Marine, the wary Whitebeard Pirates, the cautious Red Hair, and Kaido's dragon circling in the air.
Most chillingly, the moment he spoke, Shanks's Conqueror's Haki was forcibly pushed back! A unique "domain" formed with Ron at its center.
Red-Haired Shanks, seeing Ron make his move, retracted his Conqueror's Haki and chose to observe silently.
Kaido's dragon eyes suddenly constricted, a hint of dread flashing in his vertical pupils. His massive dragon body twisted uneasily in the air, and the flame clouds beneath his dragon claws churned violently, revealing his inner turmoil.
"That damned guy..." A low roar escaped the giant dragon's mouth, his voice mixed with annoyance and wariness.
Kaido clearly remembered his last encounter with Ron; they had fought for three days and three nights without a clear victor.
But soon, Kaido forced himself to calm down. He squinted, carefully observing Ron standing atop the Sea King, knowing that Ron had long been expelled by the Marine and was not one of them, so there was no need for him to help the Marine.
"Hmph... Since he's not with the Marine..." Kaido mused to himself, his massive dragon head turning slightly, his gaze shifting between Whitebeard and Marineford.
Suddenly, he let out a deafening dragon roar, and his massive body began to rapidly shrink.
To everyone's surprise, the hundred-zhang giant dragon transformed into a human figure, landing heavily on the Beasts Pirates' main ship deck.
The sake gourd was now in his hand, and Kaido tilted his head back, taking a large swig of strong liquor, his gaze never leaving Ron's figure.
"Boss?" King approached, puzzled, his fiery wings on his back subtly fluttering.
"Shut up, watch." Kaido roughly cut him off, his rough fingers caressing the handle of his spiked club. He noticed that Ron's condition was vastly different from before; his aura seemed stronger, which made him unconsciously tense all his muscles.
In the Marine camp, Sengoku and the others were also startled by Kaido's unusual behavior. Staff Officer Tsuru pushed up her glasses and whispered, "Even Kaido is wary of him..."
Garp put away his usual playful demeanor, his brows tightly furrowed: "Something's not right... Ron's aura..."
Everyone's expressions tightened, and they also noticed Ron's change.
On the other side,
Whitebeard, seeing Ron's figure, was first startled, then burst into hearty laughter: "Gurararara... Isn't that Ron, that brat?"
Marco immediately tensed and stood in front of Whitebeard: "Pops, be careful! He was a Marine before..."
"Relax, Marco." Whitebeard reached out a large hand and patted his shoulder, a rare nostalgic look in his eyes, "That kid, stubborn as a mule, but he's a rare drinking buddy."
Marco turned back in surprise: "Pops, you know him?"
Whitebeard stroked his crescent-shaped mustache, his gaze cast into the distance: "That was decades ago..." His voice held a hint of emotion, "Back then, that kid was still a greenhorn Vice Admiral, chasing our ship for half of the New World."
The sea breeze swept past, rustling Whitebeard's great cloak.
He continued: "Later, on a Winter Island, we fought for three days and three nights. That kid, even with several broken ribs, still stubbornly tried to arrest me."
At this point, Whitebeard couldn't help but laugh again, "Finally, we got tired of fighting and just sat in the ruins drinking... The rum he brought was really strong."
Marco listened, wide-eyed; he had never heard Pops talk about a Marine in such a tone.
"What happened after that?" Jozu also leaned in, asking curiously.
Whitebeard's eyes suddenly deepened: "Later... he defied the World Government's orders to save a fishing village that was being hunted by the Celestial Dragons." The old Captain's voice lowered, "I heard that the Celestial Dragons died, and that guy was gravely injured, near death, but he was saved."
...
Just then, Ron seemed to sense Whitebeard's gaze and turned to look over.
The two met eyes across the distance. Ron nodded slightly, a hint of that stubborn Marine Vice Admiral from back then appearing on his lips.
Whitebeard laughed heartily and raised his Murakumogiri in salute: "Hey! Ron, kid! Want to fight again? No good booze for you this time!"
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