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Ron could feel that every single pattern contained terrifying power. Muscle fibers were restructuring, bone density was increasing, and his entire body was undergoing a complete change!
[Fusion Complete!]
As the system prompt sounded, Ron slowly opened his eyes.
His aura was completely different. An indescribable pressure surrounded him. When he lightly clenched his fist, the air was squeezed into a popping sound!
The sea surface suddenly became exceptionally calm, as if even the waves had frozen.
The giant Sea King, "Little King," suddenly froze its massive body. Unprecedented fear was revealed in its huge eyes.
It felt the aura coming from the tiny human above its head. It was a pressure like that from an abyss, making it unable to even perform the most basic swimming. It could only tremble and float on the surface of the sea.
"What's going on?" Lucky Roux's chicken leg fell onto the deck, splashing greasy juice onto his boots, but he didn't notice at all.
All the crew members on the Red Force stopped what they were doing and looked toward the same direction in unison.
The wine bottle in Shanks's hand shattered with a "crack," and amber-colored wine dripped through his fingers.
His eyes were fixed on the white figure standing on the Sea King's head in the distance, his brows furrowed: "This pressure... it's more than one level stronger than when we last met..."
Benn's cigarette trembled slightly between his lips, and ash fell onto his polished leather boots.
He slowly breathed out a smoke ring, his voice low: "I said it before... that guy is a real monster."
He recalled the rumors about Ron when he was at Marine Headquarters. "Remember his achievement of single-handedly stopping the riot in the New World? He was only in his early twenties back then."
Yasopp wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and forced a smile: "Ha... speaking of which, those pirate crews who were foolish enough to provoke him are still eating rocks in the deepest level of Impel Down."
He unconsciously touched his sniper rifle. "If he hadn't been expelled from the Marines, I'm afraid we would have to deal with this former Marine Admiral carefully now."
Rockstar swallowed, his voice trembling slightly: "It's too terrifying... This kind of pressure, I've never felt it before..."
Just then,
Ron in the distance seemed to have noticed their gazes.
He slowly turned around. When his gaze swept over the Red Force, everyone, including Shanks, felt a palpitation.
The pressure contained in that gaze made even these battle-hardened individuals instinctively tense their muscles.
"Little King, keep moving."
Ron lightly stomped his foot. The sound wasn't loud but clearly spread across the sea surface.
Only then did the giant Sea King feel as if it had been granted mercy. It carefully began to swim again, its movements gentler than before, afraid of disturbing the being above its head.
Shanks took a deep breath, complex light flickering in his eyes: "Benn... I suddenly feel that we might have underestimated the variables in this war."
Benn put out his cigarette, his gaze heavy: "Boss, are you saying..."
"Full speed ahead." Shanks suddenly turned around, his red cloak flapping in the sea breeze. "I have a feeling that what's about to happen at Marine Headquarters... will exceed everyone's expectations."
The Red Force accelerated at full power.
At this moment,
Ron stood on the wide head of the Sea King, feeling the surging power within his body. He lightly clenched his fist, and the air in his palm made a sharp popping sound, as if even space was about to be crushed by him.
"This stamina... it's simply endless."
He muttered softly to himself, excitement flickering in his eyes. He performed several high-difficulty physical techniques one after another, yet his breathing wasn't disturbed in the slightest, and his muscles showed no signs of tiredness.
His gaze fell on the mysterious dark purple patterns on his arm.
With a thought, the patterns slowly moved like living things, eventually completely disappearing beneath his skin.
With another thought, the patterns reappeared, shimmering with an eerie glow under the sunlight.
"What is this..." Ron frowned as he examined these patterns, finding them increasingly familiar the more he looked.
Suddenly, his pupils contracted. Weren't these the spiral patterns on the surface of a Devil Fruit?
Just more complex, and more deep!
An absurd thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and Ron couldn't help but curse: "Holy crap, System Bro, do you have to be this ridiculous!" He touched his arm. "It's not like someone bites me and gains some kind of ability, right?"
The system remained silent, giving no answer.
Ron's expression became quite something. He imagined a scene where some suicidal pirate pounced on him, bit him, and then gained an ability, immediately finding it both funny and frustrating: "Well, isn't this great, I've become a walking Devil Fruit..."
But it should be impossible.
But to verify this idea, he casually pulled off a scale from the Sea King and lightly scratched his arm with it.
The wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving no scar.
What was even more amazing was that the seeping blood droplets actually gave off a faint purple light!
"Interesting..." A playful look flashed in Ron's eyes. "Impressive, even the speed of wound healing is this fast!"
It was even more Zoan-like than a Zoan type!
Ron lowered his head, gazing at the strange dark purple patterns on his arm, his fingertip lightly tracing the slightly raised lines on his skin.
Those patterns actually faintly gave off an eerie glow, making him shiver slightly.
"What a shame..." He sat cross-legged on Little King's head, muttering to himself, his gaze falling on the Red Hair Pirates members who were having a feast on the deck behind him.
Shanks was laughing and joking with his crew, holding a wine bottle. "It would be great if there were Devil Fruit users on their ship, I could do an experiment."
Ron unconsciously clenched his fist. The patterns slightly twisted as his muscles tensed, moving beneath his skin like living things.
"Ron!" Lucky Roux waved at him with a chicken leg in his mouth. "Aren't you coming for a drink?"
Ron forced a smile and waved his hand. What he was somewhat worried about now was whether these patterns would turn him into some kind of... living Devil Fruit.
As his thoughts churned, time passed quickly.
In the distance, on the horizon, the Marine Headquarters fortress was already clearly visible.
But what was even more shocking was,
The entire sea seemed to be boiling. A massive fleet composed of dozens of pirate ships was breaking through the waves.
The Moby Dick, shaped like a white whale, led the way. On the bow deck, the towering figure wearing a white coat stood like a mountain.
"The Whitebeard Pirates!"
Ron's pupils suddenly contracted. Not just the main ship, the flags of the forty-three allied pirate crews were flapping loudly in the strong wind. Each flag represented a powerful force in the New World that struck fear into people's hearts.
The waves automatically parted before the fleet, making way for the "World's Strongest Man."
"All hands! Prepare!" Shanks's roar echoed through the Red Force.
The members of the Red Hair Pirates instantly entered combat readiness. Benn's firearms were already loaded, and Yasopp's sniper rifle scope reflected a cold light.
As he watched the approaching fleet, his throat tightened. Whitebeard was going to confront Marine Headquarters head-on!