Ron looked at Kaido's shining eyes, and a mischievous thought suddenly grew in his heart.
"Ron, say something." Seeing Ron merely smile at him, Kaido became terribly anxious. "Don't you dare go back on it! Annika and Newgate can both testify for me! You personally said just now that you'd teach me that 'ultimate taijutsu'!"
Kaido spoke very quickly, afraid that Ron would spread his hands in the next second and say, "I never said that."
"Heh." Ron chuckled lightly and spoke slowly. "Before that... what should you call me, Kaido?"
Kaido froze for a second, his brain failing to turn the corner. "What? What do you mean, what should I call you? Can you speak human language?"
Beside them, Annika quietly reminded him, "K-Kaido-sama, Ron-sama is hinting that you should call him Master."
"What the hell?" Kaido dragged out his voice, eyes widening into round circles, his face full of "are you messing with me?" Then he said irritably, "Ron, are you even human? I treat you as a brother, and you want to be my master?"
Whitebeard, seated on the ship rail, silently turned his body, shifting his view from the island to the deck.
He remained in the same posture, one hand supporting his head, with a faint smile on his face as he watched with interest.
Ron patted Kaido's shoulder with a smile, his tone earnest and sincere. "Naturally, I treat you as a brother too, Kaido. It's just that this ultimate taijutsu is passed down by my sect. The sect rules are clear: it cannot be taught to outsiders, only to disciples."
What the hell?
What sect?
What disciple?
What cannot be taught to outsiders and only to disciples?
"Gurararara."
While Kaido looked utterly baffled, Whitebeard could not help laughing from the ship rail.
Kaido looked at Ron, then at Whitebeard, and complained, "What kind of lousy rule is that? Can't we skip this lousy rule and have you teach me directly?"
"Of course not." Ron shook his head decisively.
Kaido struggled for a while, his expression changing several times. Finally, as if he had figured something out, he exhaled.
Calling him Master in exchange for an ultimate taijutsu. No matter how one calculated, the deal was not a loss.
And after he learned it... who cared about master or not?
"Master," Kaido called in a small voice.
"Good, good, good. My obedient disciple!" Ron was so delighted he could barely close his mouth.
"Can we start now?" Kaido asked impatiently.
Ron suddenly restrained his smile and looked at Kaido with a grave expression. "Unfilial disciple, you insulted the sect rules just now. I now announce that you have been expelled from the sect. You are no longer a disciple."
Kaido froze in place, his mind going blank.
What the hell? I just entered the sect, and I already got kicked out?
After recovering, he exploded with curses. "Screw your uncle, Ron, you bastard! You dare play me!"
"Insulting your master. One more crime added."
"Tch. You just said you don't recognize me anymore!"
"One thing is one thing. As the saying goes, a teacher for a day is a father for life."
"Can you have some shame, Ron?" Kaido complained speechlessly. "After becoming my master, now you want to be my dad too?"
"Unfilial son!" Ron was not affected by his complaint at all and maintained his solemn expression. "Do you want to learn or not?"
"Then teach me already!" Kaido almost roared.
"Good." Ron cleared his throat. "Ron's little classroom officially begins."
Whitebeard did not interrupt. He quietly sat there watching. He wanted to see how Ron would explain things when Kaido discovered he had been tricked again.
On the deck, Kaido and Annika sat down.
Ron paced back and forth in front of them, occasionally touching his chin and occasionally looking up at the sky.
It was his first time being a master, and he had no idea how to teach.
After thinking for a while, he decided to start according to his own feelings.
"First, close your eyes. Then slowly feel the flow of your own strength. When you sense the movement of power, tell me what you see."
Very quickly, Annika and Kaido both closed their eyes.
The deck became quiet.
Ten minutes passed, and no one spoke.
"Did you sense it?" Ron could not help asking.
Kaido slowly opened his eyes with a suspicious look. "No. It's pitch black. I didn't see anything and didn't feel anything."
"Me too." Annika also opened her eyes and shook her head.
Ron nodded lightly. He actually knew Annika would not be able to feel anything. The Eight Gates required a body strengthened through overload training before they could be used, and her physical quality was far from meeting the standard.
Letting her participate was only to give her a sense of involvement.
But Kaido could not do it either, which meant his previous idea was indeed not feasible.
"Got it." Ron suddenly thought of something and immediately mobilized the Nine-Tails chakra in his body, transmitting it to Kaido and Annika. "Try again, using the same method as before."
Sure enough, with chakra this time, Kaido successfully sensed it.
At that moment, Golden Lion, who had just finished counting the gains from this trip, walked out cheerfully.
He first swept his gaze across the deck. Ron was standing, while Kaido and Annika sat on the ground. The three were muttering about something.
Finally, his gaze landed on Whitebeard, who was leaning on the rail and watching the show.
Golden Lion walked over, leaned against the rail beside Whitebeard, and asked with a smile, "Hey, Newgate, what are those three idiots doing?"
Whitebeard glanced at him from the corner of his eye and said flatly, "Mind your own business."
"Eh? Newgate, you really are a bastard. The way you talk always makes people dislike you."
Golden Lion sneered and sat on the rail too, crossing his legs as his gaze swept over Ron's group with some disdain. "Listening to Ron's tone, he's teaching Kaido something? Tsk, tsk... Kaido is a real oddball. What does a newcomer understand? If he really wants to learn something, he might as well come to you or me, right?"
"Shiki, no one will treat you as mute if you don't speak," Whitebeard said coldly.
"Jihahaha!" Golden Lion laughed loudly and was not angry. He understood Whitebeard. The guy had that personality. He acted indifferent to everyone.
At that moment, Kaido slowly stood up.
Following what Ron had said, he began trying to unlock the first limit in his body.
His breathing slowed. His hands slowly gathered in front of him, then suddenly clenched into fists.
"Ultimate Taijutsu: Open!"
The name was something he came up with on the spot. When he shouted it, it carried a boldness full of adolescent delusion.
As the limit opened, a burst of air suddenly erupted around Kaido. Green energy covered his body like a thin film of light. His hair and clothes were blown upward, and the deck beneath his feet let out a slight sinking sound.
"Ultimate Taijutsu: Open Again!"
Boom!
An even stronger air current erupted from Kaido's body.
"Ultimate Taijutsu: Open More!"
Boom!
This time, spiderweb cracks instantly appeared on the deck.
Golden Lion's laughter stopped abruptly. He slowly turned his head and looked at Whitebeard with suspicion. "What is going on? What is Ron teaching?"
Whitebeard did not answer. The relaxed expression he had worn while watching the show was long gone.
His gaze was also fixed on Kaido, and a complicated emotion surged in his eyes.
Damn it, Ron, weren't you messing with Kaido?
You're serious?