Ron's tone shifted, becoming serious.
"Since you are now a blade of the Eternal Divine Kingdom, naturally, you must follow the rules of the Divine Kingdom."
Marco stepped forward at just the right moment.
In the interplay of light and shadow, his figure looked especially resolute.
"We will formulate a careful plan to ensure nothing goes wrong. After all, you are now one of the Divine Kingdom's people… which means King is half one of us as well."
Kaido froze for a moment.
His gaze swept over Ron, Whitebeard, and Marco one by one, as though he were considering the deeper meaning behind their words.
Then he burst into earth-shaking laughter.
"Wororororo! Good! Very good!"
There was relief in his laughter, along with a long-lost surge of passion.
It was as if he could already see the road ahead, filled with challenges and opportunities.
He could see himself fighting shoulder to shoulder with his companions for the glory of the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
"Then let those old bastards of the World Government witness the wrath of the Eternal Divine Kingdom!"
…
The sea wind howled through the air, carrying a salty scent as it rushed toward them.
Ron stood quietly, his eyes fixed on the golden points of light gradually fading before him.
For a brief instant, his mind went blank.
The sea breeze gently brushed the loose strands of hair on his forehead.
Those few strands swayed slightly in the wind, yet the breeze could not disperse the shock surging through his heart like a stormy sea.
His brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes revealed an indescribably complicated emotion.
There was surprise at the current situation, but also a faint trace of joy.
"This is truly… unexpected."
Ron silently murmured those words in his heart, so quietly that only he could hear them.
His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the lingering warmth of the contract at his brow.
That faint heat passed through his skin, making his heartbeat quicken slightly.
Originally, under his careful planning, a grand operation aimed at Onigashima and the complete annihilation of the Beasts Pirates had already been set in motion.
He had thought everything was under his control.
Washing Onigashima in blood and making the Beasts Pirates vanish into ashes was only a matter of time.
However, the path of fate had unexpectedly deviated because of Saturn's accidental interference, developing into this astonishing situation.
The corner of Ron's mouth unconsciously rose, forming a meaningful smile.
A deep and wise light flickered in his eyes, as though countless stars were hidden in their dark depths.
Fate was sometimes truly strange and impossible to predict.
The plan he had painstakingly devised was like a carefully cultivated flower, only to meet an unexpected storm just as it was about to bloom, failing to blossom as he had hoped.
Yet the World Government's interference was like a spring breeze that had unintentionally opened another door leading into the unknown.
Kaido, the once-feared governor-general of the Beasts who had dominated the seas, had actually signed that crucial contract willingly amid all this chaos.
"Plant flowers intentionally and they refuse to bloom; casually plant a willow and it grows into shade…"
Ron murmured softly, his voice carrying a trace of emotion and relief.
He closed his eyes slightly, feeling the subtle connection of the contract's power slowly flowing through his blood.
That force was like an invisible bond, tightly tying him and Kaido together.
From this moment on, the once-arrogant governor-general of the Beasts was closely linked to the fate of the Eternal Divine Kingdom, unable to be separated from it again.
Ron's gaze slowly swept over Kaido's towering back, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
He knew very well that Kaido was like an incomparably sharp blade.
Although he did not yet have full control over him, the potential power he possessed could not be underestimated.
Since fate had arranged for this "fierce beast" to come under his command, Ron naturally had countless ways to make sure he could never again break away from the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
Whether it was the need to rely on the Divine Kingdom's power to rescue King, or the influence and control that would be gradually applied through various methods in the future, Ron already had a preliminary plan in mind.
"After all…"
Ron looked around with a hint of melancholy.
The sea wind rolled up smoke and dust, spreading it before him.
A trace of regret and determination appeared in his eyes.
"If such a rare top-tier fighter were allowed to die for nothing, wouldn't that be a terrible waste?"
In the distance, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire sea golden.
The waves shimmered with golden light beneath the sunset.
Ron's robes danced freely in the wind, rustling sharply.
As he gazed at the slowly sinking sun, calculations had already begun rapidly forming in his mind.
With Kaido as a blade, it was time to redraw the territory of the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
An even grander blueprint was gradually becoming clear in his thoughts.
Just then, an exaggerated wail suddenly pierced the suffocating silence.
The voice was high and grating, as though it wanted to pierce everyone's eardrums.
Queen's huge, mountain-like body was violently writhing on the ground like an injured giant python.
Every inch of fat on him trembled with the movement.
The sunglasses he usually wore to look cool were now crooked, hanging askew from one ear, making him look especially ridiculous.
He looked exactly like a fat cat whose tail had been stepped on—only this "fat cat" was far too huge and astonishing.
"Ow, ow, ow—this hurts like hell!"
Queen shouted in his broken-gong-like voice, deliberately exaggerating the pain so much that anyone could tell he was overacting.
As he yelled, he dramatically rubbed the back of his head.
His plump hand flailed around over his scalp as if the back of his head had truly suffered a serious blow.
But his small eyes kept darting around like two sly beads rolling nimbly in their sockets.
He was pretending he had only just woken up from unconsciousness, but his acting was unbelievably poor.
When Queen's dazed gaze finally made out Whitebeard, Big Mom, and the others standing around him, his eyes instantly widened, and his mouth opened so far that a fist could have fit inside.
Immediately afterward, he sucked in a dramatic breath, the sound like someone pulling on an old, broken bellows.
"Good grief! Why is everyone here?!"
Queen's voice carried a trace of panic and disbelief.
After saying that, Queen suddenly tried to spring up like a mad clown doing a carp flip.
Unfortunately, his excessively fat body completely failed to live up to the intention of the move.
In the end, he only managed something closer to a ridiculous "carp flop."
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