Kaido shrugged indifferently. The look on his face, as if these injuries were nothing, even carried a hint of pride. "Great plans always come with a little pain. That's normal."
Ron said nothing. He only quietly looked at the bruised and swollen Kaido.
Kaido grew more excited as he spoke. "Ron, I'm telling you, Rocks's furious face last night nearly killed me from laughing! The only bad thing is that Rocks is a bastard who doesn't listen to reason at all. He was clearly the one who told me to repair it."
"Heh." Ron chuckled twice. If Rocks truly did not listen to reason at all, Kaido would have been thrown into the sea to feed the fish by now. How could he still sit here making sarcastic comments?
Kaido suddenly said, "Ron, I have another great plan!"
"Enough, Kaido." Ron's tone carried some persuasion. "Calm down a little. Ever since that game started, your face hasn't been normal once."
Kaido opened his mouth as if he still wanted to fight for it, but after hesitating for a long while, he finally nodded. "Fine, Ron. I'll listen to you. Let those guys act arrogant for a few more days!"
Time passed in the blink of an eye. Several more days went by.
Elbaf, the Underworld.
The land was pure white. Everywhere the eye could see was endless snow, like an infinite white blanket spread across the sky and earth.
The cold wind howled, sweeping up countless flecks of snow that spiraled through the air.
The outlines of distant mountains appeared and disappeared behind the wind and snow.
On a high cliff, a figure sat cross-legged.
On his head, a pair of curved black horns were especially striking. Pink hair was tied into round bundles, and a strip of cloth covered his eyes, but there was no confusion on his face, only a calmness unsuitable for his age.
Even though thick snow had already covered most of his body, he did not care.
His name was Loki.
The son of Harald. The prince of Elbaf.
Ever since he learned that Rocks would arrive in Elbaf again, he had been waiting here.
Wind blew. Snow fell. The sun rose and the moon set. He had never left.
This time, he had made up his mind. He would make Rocks agree to let him board his ship.
Far out on the sea, a huge pirate ship slowly appeared. Its sail looked like a black flag against the gray-white horizon, gradually becoming clearer with the rise and fall of the waves.
A rare smile appeared on Loki's expressionless face.
He quickly stood, shook the snow from his body, picked up the kanabo beside him, and ran down the mountain. As he ran, he murmured in a low voice that scattered through the snowstorm, "Rocks, have you finally come? I've waited so long for you... This time, please accept me!"
A long while later, Saber of Xebec slowly docked at the shore.
Because there was no team mission involving shared profit, only Rocks, Whitebeard, Ron, Kaido, Silver Axe, and Stussy disembarked on Elbaf.
The others chose to remain on the ship and wait for them to return.
The moment Ron stepped onto Elbaf's land, he could not help looking around. The sight before him still shocked him.
Everything here was far too large. Standing here, their group instead looked like a cluster of tiny dwarves, creating the illusion that they had entered another world.
Rocks had been here many times and knew the route well. He walked at the front with quick steps.
Kaido carried his kanabo and walked beside Ron behind him.
Looking at Rocks's back, Kaido could not help complaining in a low voice, "Sometimes I really don't know what that guy Rocks is thinking. Every time he comes, that big guy rejects him, but he keeps stubbornly trying. What does he want? Isn't he just making himself miserable?"
Ron smiled and glanced sideways at him. "You've got a lot of resentment, Kaido."
"A lot?" Kaido swung his kanabo, bringing up a gust of wind, and continued cursing. "More than a lot! I want to swing this club at him! Every time, he puts his warm face against a cold butt. What is Rocks even after? Aren't we enough? And even if that big guy really agrees, our ship can't fit him!"
The cold wind howled so loudly it nearly drowned out the second half of Kaido's sentence.
Ron could not quite hear what he said, but still nodded cooperatively.
"Right?" Seeing Ron nod, Kaido became even more energetic. "You think so too, right?"
Ron continued nodding.
At that moment, a booming shout came from not far away.
"Rocks!"
Immediately after, ahead in the white snow, a gigantic figure carrying a kanabo was running quickly toward them.
Rocks, walking at the front, immediately frowned and cursed in a low voice, "So annoying. That brat again."
Every time he came to Elbaf, it was to invite Harald.
In the end, not only had he failed to invite the man, he had instead picked up an annoying brat he could not get rid of. No matter how many times Rocks refused, the brat would always run over to greet him and shout that he wanted to join the Rocks Pirates.
Loki's figure drew closer and closer, and his excited voice drifted over with him. "Rocks, you bastard! Why did you take so long to come to Elbaf?! I've been waiting for you for ages!"
Rocks frowned, his voice carrying an undisguised refusal. "Brat, give up already! I will not agree to let you board my ship!"
"Hey, Rocks!" Loki did not look discouraged at all. Instead, he ran even faster. "Don't reject me so quickly! Compared to before, I've become much stronger!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
The instant Rocks's words fell, his right hand had already slowly moved to the hilt at his waist. Then, with a clean draw slash, blade light flashed through the wind and snow. An extremely powerful sword wave roared out, slashing straight toward Loki.
Loki abruptly stopped, but the smile remained on his face. "Rocks, is this a test?"
As he spoke, he swung the kanabo in his hand and smashed it down at the incoming sword wave.
Boom!
A loud explosion rang through the snowstorm. The violent aftershock rapidly spread outward. The ground beneath them collapsed instantly, and sand, stone, and white snow were all thrown into the air.
In the next second, Loki was sent flying by the enormous impact. He tumbled through the air for a long time before crashing into a distant snowdrift with a bang.
Rocks stood in place, looking at the figure flying away, the corner of his mouth curving into a satisfied smile.
"No. I simply... wanted to beat up an annoying brat."