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

The New World, on an island, near Ron's side.

After confirming that Kaido, though at a disadvantage, would not be defeated in the short term thanks to the Nine-Tails' chakra, Ron withdrew his gaze and turned to leave the battlefield.

He was going to the back mountain of the town, where, according to Wang Zhi, Annika was being held in a cave.

..........

The hill behind the town.

Ron spent a lot of effort and finally found the cave entrance blocked by a large rock with a small sapling stuck in it as a marker.

He stepped forward, raised his foot, and kicked it.

"Bang!!"

The boulder was kicked away, revealing the cave entrance.

The light shone obliquely in, illuminating a rather dark tunnel.

The tunnel is not long, about five meters long, and at the end is a slightly spacious natural stone chamber. The stone walls are covered with damp moss, and the air is filled with the smell of soil and rock.

At the far end of the stone chamber, below the stone wall, a figure was curled up.

Hearing the noise coming from the cave entrance, the figure suddenly raised its head, was stunned for a moment, then quickly got up, picked up the ingredients that had been bought at the foot of the bed, and hurriedly walked towards the cave entrance with small steps.

"Lord Ron!"

Annika stood in front of Ron with a calm expression. Although her clothes were a little dusty, they were neatly arranged, and she showed no signs of the dishevelment or panic one would expect after being kidnapped and rescued.

Ron didn't say anything.

He stood there, eyes lowered, staring unblinkingly at Annika.

Annika felt a little flustered under his gaze, then quickly bowed to Ron, speaking a few steps faster than usual: "I'm sorry, Lord Ron! It's all my fault for causing a little mishap, but!"

She paused, looked up, forced a smile, and then lifted the bag of food in her hand: "The ingredients have all been bought! We'll be able to eat soon."

"Are you hurt?" Ron asked softly.

Annika paused slightly, her forced smile freezing on her face for a moment, before shaking her head, her voice more natural than before: "No...no. Annika is fine."

As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously drifted past Ron's shoulder and toward the distance behind him.

Black smoke rose in wisps, spreading into the sky with the wind.

Explosions came one after another. Although they were far away, one could still faintly feel the subtle vibrations from the ground, and strong gusts of wind would occasionally blow over.

"Lord Ron, over there..."

"It's nothing," Ron replied, turning around and walking down the mountain.

Annika stood there for two seconds, then jogged after him.

The two walked along the mountain path, one in front of the other.

After walking a short distance, Ron's voice rang in Annika's ear.

"Pretending to be someone you're not... must be exhausting, right?"

Upon hearing this, Annika paused slightly in her steps.

Whether on the World Government's warship or after being kidnapped by Wang Zhi, Annika's behavior was too abnormal.

"I don't know what you've been through in the past, but here! Now! You don't have to pretend."

There's a saying in my hometown that I really like: "The real, imperfect you still deserves to be embraced and loved."

Ron didn't mean anything by it; he just thought Annika was a nice person and that she might have some mental issues, so he wanted to give her some guidance.

Annika stood there, stunned. Her gaze flickered slightly as she watched Ron's retreating figure, something deep within her eyes quietly melting away.

From childhood to adulthood, her father always told her: You are not good enough, you are not perfect, you will only be abandoned.

She has to present her best and most appropriate self in front of everyone, otherwise she will be disliked and abandoned.

Those words were like nails, hammered into her bones, taking root and sprouting over the years, becoming an almost instinctive habit.

But today, someone who seems like a bad person, but is actually kinder than most people, told her this!

Even though you are imperfect, you still deserve to be embraced and loved.

She sniffed, her eyes slightly reddening.

Then she started walking and jogged to catch up with Ron.

Annika said with a slight nasal tone but a smile, "Lord Ron, you are such a good person."

"........."

I inexplicably received another "friend zone" card!

Ron sighed softly, "In my hometown, giving someone a 'friend zone' card makes them very upset..."

"Huh?" Annika paused for a moment, then reacted quickly by reaching into the air with her free hand, pretending to grab something, and popping it into her mouth to chew. "I'll grab it and eat it! What you said before doesn't count!"

Ron's lips twitched slightly at her appearance, but he didn't say anything and continued walking forward.

........

When Ron brought Annika back to the shore where the second ship was docked, they found that Rocks's Sword of Gybeck was also moored nearby.

On the deck of the mate ship, Stussy was extremely busy.

She carried the treasure chest, walking back and forth along the gangplank towards the Sword of Gibbeck, sweating profusely.

"Ron! You're back just in time!" Stussy leaned on the railing of the Sword of Gibbeck and waved to Ron below. "Come give me a hand! Moving the 'Heavenly Gold' we stole from the first mate over here has been a real struggle!"

Before Ron could speak, Annika stepped forward and said, "Let me, Lord Stussy."

Ron grabbed Annika, preventing her from going over.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Stussy leaned on the railing, pouting. "Ron, you can't do this! Fine, you won't help me, but why are you stopping Annika's kindness too?"

"She's mine, so of course she has to listen to me, but! If you're willing to pay a hefty fee, I might allow it."

"Screw Ron! Are you robbing me?" Stussy complained, rolled his eyes, and then went back to moving the goods.

Ron turned his head to look at Annika, only to find her grinning and laughing happily.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Uh!" Annika immediately stopped smiling, shook her head to indicate no, and after a moment, as if she remembered something, added, "Oh, right, Lord Ron! Are you starving? I'll go cook right away!"

Before Ron could respond, Annika had already grabbed the bag of groceries and dashed onto the mate, quickly disappearing behind the cabin door.

Ron withdrew his gaze, leaped, and landed on the deck of the Sword of Gibbeck.

He had one more thing to do.

According to Wang Zhi, there are two Devil Fruits hidden in his dormitory.

As for whether it's true or false, we'll have to do a search to find out.

A moment later, in Wang Zhi's dormitory.

Ron sat on the edge of the bed, his brow furrowed slightly, lost in thought.

He turned the room upside down, but found nothing.

"That old sly fox... is there a secret passage in the room?" Ron muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the room.

Then he stood up and began to tinker more carefully, tapping the walls, pressing the floor, and checking the edges of each plank.

About ten minutes later, he noticed an unusual echo on the floor at the foot of the bed. When he tapped on it, the sound was hollow, clearly different from the solid area around it.

Ron's eyes lit up, and he reached out to push aside the bed leg and pry up that piece of floorboard.

Below is a shallow, dark compartment containing two fruits with spiral patterns.

"Damn! You're pretty good at hiding things."

Without delay, Ron placed the two fruits side by side in his palm, closed his eyes, and silently chanted, "Activate the Mysterious Wheel."

[Ding! The Mysterious Wheel requires a 'Devil Fruit'. Current Devil Fruit: Jacket-Jacket Fruit. Confirm?]

[Ding! The Mysterious Wheel requires a 'Devil Fruit'. Current Devil Fruit: Bean-Bean Fruit. Confirm?]

"Jacket? Bean? Uh...it's definitely a useless Devil Fruit, but...I'm not picky."

"confirm."

[Ding! Two Devil Fruits have been consumed. The Devil Fruits have been reborn somewhere in the world. Randomly drawing rewards...]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the bloodline limit 'Ice Release'.]

[Ding, congratulations to the host for simultaneously triggering unlock: None.]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have acquired the martial arts technique 'Eight Gates Formation'.]

[Ding, congratulations to the host for simultaneously triggering unlock: None.]