One Piece: We already have the Four Gods, so my Six Paths Sage is reasonable, right?

An hour later.

After tireless efforts, Annika finally prepared a sumptuous meal.

At the long table, Ron, Kaido, and Stussy stared at the plates and pots laid out in front of them with different expressions, their eyes filled with suspicion.

"This dark, murky thing... is it really edible?" Stussy poked the charred object with his fork, his eyes filled with deep doubt as he looked up at Annika, who stood by the table with an expectant expression.

"Yes!" Annika nodded confidently, folding her hands in front of her, her tone sincere yet tinged with apology. "Lord Stussy, I'm so sorry, I didn't control the heat well, it's burnt. But I promise, it's edible!"

"Then what's in this pot?" Ron asked, stirring the thick, brownish soup with a ladle.

"This is a soup made with lamb, pork, beef, chicken... and some other meat I don't recognize," Annika explained patiently. "I tried it, and it tastes pretty good!"

Ron remained silent.

The white-bearded man fell silent.

Kaido also fell silent.

Stussy took a deep breath and slowly said, "Who taught you to cook it like this? Tell me, and I'll kill him."

"I'm sorry, Lord Ron, Lord Kaido, Lord Stussy..." Annika lowered her head, her long pink hair covering half of her face. "It's all my fault for being such a bad cook."

Ron glanced at her, then looked down at the pot of soup. To be honest, it looked terrible. He picked up a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, and...hmm? It actually smells pretty good?

However, Ron didn't think it was because Annika's cooking was delicious; it was more likely because they hadn't had normal meals for the past few days.

-------------------------------------

Much later.

On the sea, a pirate ship is slowly sailing away from the island riddled with holes.

Roger sat cross-legged next to the statue at the bow of the ship, holding a Den Den Mushi in one hand and resting the other on his knee, his expression more somber than usual.

"I'm sorry..." Roger's voice was slow, "We were too late after all, and we couldn't prevent the tragedy from happening."

There was a long silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

Roger thought the other party had already hung up.

After a long silence, the Den Den Mushi's lips twitched slightly, and a voice, choked with sobs and trembling with suppressed emotion, finally spoke: "Have... you found a body?"

"There are bodies." Roger's expression turned serious. "But due to the fighting, there are only some severed limbs at the scene... It's impossible to tell which one is Annika's body."

"We searched the site and buried all the remaining limbs we could find together and erected a simple monument."

Finally, the person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi couldn't hold back any longer, and a long-suppressed sob came through the receiver.

Roger's head was slightly lowered, his expression unreadable: "Shakky, I will help you find Ron and make him pay for what he did."

"Ron?" Shakky's voice suddenly rose on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, filled with obvious surprise. "How does this have to do with Ron?"

Roger didn't answer immediately, switching the Den Den Mushi to his other hand: "You've already reached a cooperation agreement with the Rocks Pirates, right? But that guy Ron ignored your conditions while stealing the treasure, indirectly causing Annika's death."

Xia Qi was stunned. She opened her mouth, but after several seconds, she managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You... weren't you late? How do you know all this inside information?"

Roger's eyes flickered slightly. "I heard something even more important from Wang Zhi."

"They couldn't divide the spoils equally and abandoned Wang Zhi. But before that, Wang Zhi witnessed Ron disregard the main conditions you mentioned and indirectly caused the deaths of all the imprisoned slaves in the battle with the navy."

Xia Qi fell silent.

She simply couldn't believe that Wang Zhi would be so kind as to tell Roger the truth, especially since it was a scandal about her being abandoned.

"Do you believe him?"

"I don't trust him, but I do trust his weakness. He's a guy who only cares about his own interests. If I offer him enough, he'll betray anyone without hesitation for his own gain."

In Wang Zhi's account, all the blame points to Ron.

Ron is also known as the "Demon Butcher" in this sea, where indiscriminate killing of innocents is as normal as drinking water.

Therefore, Wang Zhi's words are highly credible.

"While we can't definitively confirm that Wang Zhi's words are true, at least the logic is sound," Roger said slowly and deliberately.

After a long while, a deep sigh came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"This is ultimately Annika's fate." Shakky's voice was weary. "You've done enough for me. There's no need to go looking for Ron anymore. Thank you very much, Roger."

After all, Ron was a member of the Rocks Pirates, and Shakky didn't want Annika's death to deepen the conflict between the innocent Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates, as that would harm the Roger Pirates.

Xia Qi paused, then added, "Finally... please tell me where the body was buried."

"Okay." Roger nodded gently.

-------------------------------------

Two days later.

A new world, on an island.

The morning sea fog had just dissipated, and sunlight slanted down through the gaps in the clouds, bathing the entire town in a soft golden hue.

Ron and his group arrived on the island early, as agreed, to wait for the return of the Rocks Pirates.

After several days of drifting at sea, the moment my feet touched land felt exceptionally comfortable.

Taking advantage of Ron's good mood, Annika cautiously made a request: she wanted to walk around the island and get some exercise.

Ron agreed.

The main reason... was that he was getting a little tired of being on the ship.

The bustling market was filled with the sounds of people.

Ron unconsciously slowed his pace, savoring the atmosphere of the fireworks around him.

"Mr. Ron."

Annika suddenly turned around, took two steps back, and asked, "Why did you become a pirate...? For freedom?"

Through these days of getting to know each other, Annika gradually realized that Ron was actually a good person.

Although he always berated himself for being clumsy and was sharp-tongued, Ron would patiently teach her whenever she messed up a meal. [Mainly because he wanted someone who could cook his "hometown" dishes.]

"Alive," Ron said calmly.

Annika paused for a moment, then said seriously, "But... if it's just about 'living,' there are many ways to do it, just like them..."

"Their tomorrow is on someone else's blade, but I, whether it's tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or in the future, I will hold every tomorrow in my own hands."

"Living is not just about breathing, not just about your heart beating; living is about deciding your own destiny."

Annika didn't immediately grasp all the meaning behind Ron's words, but she felt a heavy weight in them.

Just then, a loud voice rang out behind Ron.

"Ron, good news!!!"

.......

Brothers watching, say hi!