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

Time is like sand slipping through your fingers, always passing by unnoticed.

Ron had expected the journey to Elrubaf to be tedious and boring, with only ships and waves on the vast ocean, repeating the same scenery day after day. But the result was quite the opposite.

The Rocks Pirates are all very eloquent and talented.

Moreover, he noticed that Annika had changed since he returned from San Sebastián.

She still loves to laugh, but that laugh is no longer to please anyone or to hide anything; it comes from genuine joy.

Moreover, Ron found her to be quite adorable; she liked to jump around when she was happy, and aside from cooking and sleeping for Ron, she almost always followed him around.

Sometimes she would follow him for a long time without saying a word, just walking quietly like a shadow. Occasionally, Ron would turn around, and she would give him a smile before continuing to follow.

However, there was one thing that bothered Ron: although Annika stopped giving him the "good guy card," she started giving him the "bad guy card," making Whitebeard wonder if Ron was secretly tormenting Annika late at night.

Ron felt that if things continued like this, everyone in the Rocks Pirates would think he was a freak.

"Good morning, Ron. Want to play some games?" Kaido greeted Ron as he walked from his room into the ship's lobby, sitting on the sofa.

Ron glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Kaido's face was swollen like a pig's head, and his eyes were almost squeezed into slits. The so-called "game" that Kaido mentioned was rock-paper-scissors. Whoever lost would be slapped by the other. Damn it, this was not a game. It was clearly an excuse to settle personal scores.

Ron shook his head and declined with a smile: "Well, I don't really like this kind of game. You should play by yourself."

He paused, then added a kind word of advice: "You should probably play less. If you win, you'll make another enemy; if you lose, you'll want to settle things with them in the middle of the night."

Kaido glanced around, and finding no one else, immediately stood up and moved closer to Ron, lowering his voice to say, "Hey, Ron, aren't we brothers? If we are, come help me! Look at my face!"

Kaido pointed to his swollen cheek and continued, "That bastard Shiki did it! I'm going to kill him today! If you had come too, the chances of killing him would have been much higher!"

"Of course, Silver Axe is dead meat too! When he was whipping me, he told me that if I laughed like Shiki 'Heh-ha-ha,' he'd whip me less. Guess what that bastard did?"

Ron followed up by asking, "What did you do?"

"He's smoking even harder now! He says the person he hates most in his life is that bastard Shiki! Fuck him, he's using me to get his kicks!"

Ron pursed his lips, trying not to laugh.

He knew it! How could staying in the Rocks Pirates be boring? Everyone here is talented and speaks so well.

"Ron," Kaido stared at him in a deep voice, "it's very impolite of you to laugh when your brother is telling you something that hurts."

Ron shook his head slightly to indicate that he wasn't laughing.

Kaido, however, looked at him with disdain. "You're trying so hard not to laugh, you might as well just laugh out loud," he thought. He suppressed his feigned grievance, adopting a serious expression, and said firmly, "One word, Ron, are you coming to join forces?"

"No way." Ron waved his hand. Playing this kind of game is fun, but it's a bit of a waste of friends.

"Ron," Kaido's voice suddenly rose, "Is the bond between us gone?! Have you forgotten that I stood by you without hesitation when you were in trouble?! Don't you remember...?"

Before Kaido could finish speaking, Ron frowned slightly and interrupted him speechlessly: "Alright, stop wailing and howling."

Kaido's eyes lit up: "You agree to fight?"

"Agreed."

"Hehe," Kaido grabbed Ron's shoulder, "I knew it! The bond between us is unbreakable!"

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A moment later, people gathered.

Originally, no one intended to play this game with Kaido. After all, only Kaido got hurt last night, and it was obvious that he was here for revenge.

However, Kaido has played his final card: Ron will also participate.

When the Golden Lion heard that Ron was also coming, his eyes lit up. San Sebastian, who had suffered a setback, seemed to finally be able to get his revenge openly and legitimately today.

As soon as Shiki joined, his nemesis Silver Axe also signed up without hesitation. Yesterday, this kid beat Kaido and then quit, so today he was determined to make his face swell up like a pig's head to vent his anger.

There were only four players this time, after all, not everyone is an idiot and would play this kind of game where they get beaten up.

As for how to play, it's simple and straightforward: four people first draw their opponents, then play ten rounds of rock-paper-scissors, and the winner gets to slap the opponent.

The winner advances to the next round, while the loser receives 500 million pesos.

The referee was Rox.

The lottery results came out quickly.

The Golden Lion got his wish and faced off against Ron.

Silver Axe was speechless; it was Kaido again.

"Alright, the opponent has been determined." Lockes stood in the middle, hands behind his back, looking completely impartial. "Remember, friendship first, competition second."

The Golden Lion's lips curled into an exaggerated smile, and he forced out a voice through clenched teeth: "Of course, friendship first, competition second. Right, Ron?"

"That bastard Shiki has such a murderous aura," John teased from the side.

"Hehehe," Malone slowly replied, "This guy clearly wants to kill the other person."

The white-bearded man leaned against the wall, somewhat speechless. What was Ron thinking today? Why was he hanging out with these idiots?

Annika listened to their conversation with a worried expression, her hands unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes as she prayed that Ron wouldn't lose.

Gloria leaned against the wall on the other side, holding a loaf of bread in her hand. She didn't care. The journey was long, but there was free entertainment to enjoy. Why not?

"Kill them, Kaido and Ron!" Linlin shouted from the side.

"Hey, Lingling," Locke turned around and glared at her, annoyed. "You jerk, I told you friendship comes first, competition second, don't you dare stir things up!"

"Well, well, well," Lingling shrugged, looking completely innocent. "You know, Rocks, I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to liven things up."

Everyone was speechless. Was this even considered malicious?

"Well then, Ron and Shiki, you two start," Rocks announced.

The two stood facing each other.

"Rock, paper, scissors,"

Golden Lion: Cloth.

Ron: Scissors.

"Ron wins the first round," Rocks announced.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, he was under a lot of pressure.

The golden lion, his lips still curled into an exaggerated upturn, calmly said, "Don't be so smug, the road ahead is still long."

Ron's lips curled up exaggeratedly, and then he instantly entered Nine-Tails Mode.

A golden chakra cloak covered his entire body, his hair stood up like flames, and an invisible sense of oppression permeated the ship's hall.

Seeing that Ron was serious, the Golden Lion's expression stiffened for a moment, then relaxed, and he reminded him, "Think carefully, you will lose eventually. I will treat you the way you treat me, Ron."

Ron didn't respond. He immediately performed a 360-degree Thomas Flair, golden chakra trailing an arc as he spun, before slapping the Golden Lion across the face.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound rang out in the ship's hall. The golden lion's body spun around on the spot, like a spinning top that had been whipped into the air, before landing headfirst on the wooden floor with a loud thud.

There was a moment of silence in the ship's hall.

Holy crap? They're going all in?

The next second, Golden Lion sprang up with another sit-up. He sniffed the blood flowing from his nose, wiped it away, and still wore that exaggerated smile, even wider than before: "Good, Ron, you've got guts! I like it!"

Ron raised his hand and said to Rocks, "I'm not playing anymore."

Immediately, the Nine-Tails Mode dissipated. Trading 500 million Berries for a slap wasn't a bad deal.

The golden lion stood frozen in place, his smile still frozen: "???"