On the other side of the street.
A middle-aged noble, surrounded by servants, walked up to Sabo, who was pinned down, and looked down at him struggling desperately.
"Come back with me."
"No! I want to save Luffy and Ace!"
Sabo shouted.
"Foolish. How could I have such a foolish son? To treat two commoners as friends, you're tainting the noble blood flowing in your veins."
Sabo's father, Outlook III, glared at him angrily.
"After today, those commoners and that filthy, trash-filled slum will cease to exist."
As he spoke, flames began rising on the other side of the city.
"No! No, no, no!!!"
Sabo's pupils shrank, and with tears streaming down his face, he struggled desperately but was held down firmly.
"Take him back."
Outlook III turned around, leaning on his cane, and adjusted the brim of his hat.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
A few heavy thuds, accompanied by cries of pain, rang out behind him.
Outlook III turned around in confusion.
All of the burly guards holding Sabo down were knocked to the ground, scattered around unconscious with white eyes.
A black-haired boy, wearing a white training uniform and wooden sandals, stood before Sabo, carrying a long sword on his back.
"Who... who are you? What did you do?" Outlook III involuntarily took a step back.
Tear-streaked Sabo was also staring blankly at Ron, who had suddenly appeared before him.
Ron bent down, grabbed Sabo by the collar, and lifted him up. He smiled at the stunned Outlook III.
"A noble's son, huh? You should fetch a good price."
With that, he lightly pushed off the ground and sped off into the distance, carrying Sabo, disappearing at the end of the street in an instant.
It was only then that Outlook III realized what had happened.
Wasn't this... kidnapping?!
How brazen! A kidnapper had the audacity to take his son right in front of him?!
Outlook III trembled with rage, not because Sabo was taken but because his son being kidnapped in front of him was a severe blow to his noble pride.
When Ron and Sabo arrived outside the city, Sabo, upon being let down, immediately ran to the side and vomited violently.
Kuina walked over, looking at Sabo curiously and asked, "Who is he?"
"A noble's son, I kidnapped him."
Ron chuckled.
Kuina was taken aback, "Huh?!"
After finishing vomiting, Sabo finally calmed down, still shaken.
"I almost thought I was going to die..."
He stood up, looked gratefully at Ron, and said, "I don't know who you are, but thank you for helping me escape. My name is Sabo, and I won't forget this favor."
Sabo was smart enough to realize Ron had helped him.
Kuina, upon hearing this, became even more confused.
He kidnapped you, and you're thanking him?
Is this what nobles are like?
"No need to thank me, but don't you have something else you need to do?" Ron reminded him.
Sabo suddenly remembered and, looking at the flames in the distance, became extremely anxious.
"Luffy, Ace..."
After hurriedly thanking Ron again, Sabo ran off toward the fire.
"Let's go too," Ron said to Kuina.
Kuina nodded.
Ron and Kuina walked off in the opposite direction from Sabo.
Even though Ron knew that Ace and Luffy were in great danger, he had no plans to help them.
They wouldn't die anyway.
Helping Sabo was just something he did on a whim, changing the plot slightly to see what would happen.
"Where are we heading now?" Kuina asked.
"We're going to Foosha Village," Ron replied.
After all, it was the hero's hometown.
He planned to check it out and see if he could trigger another sign-in condition.
"Have you been here before, Ron? You seem familiar with the place."
"Uh..."
Ron couldn't exactly tell her that he had a map in his head.
By the time they arrived in Foosha Village, it had started to rain.
The flames in the distance were slowly being extinguished by the rain, signaling that the events over there were coming to an end.
Kuina was unaware of what was happening, but Ron knew all too well.
The conflict between nobles and commoners, the trampling of life, and the intertwining of justice and evil all formed this seemingly beautiful, bright country that was filthy behind the scenes.
This country was a microcosm of the entire pirate world.
Even Dragon couldn't change it right now.
"So, this is Foosha Village?" Kuina asked as she saw the giant windmills ahead.
Ron nodded, just as a system notification sounded in his mind.
[Beep, detecting host's presence in Foosha Village. Sign-in condition met. Do you want to sign in?]
Ron's eyes lit up in delight.
"Sign in."
[Sign-in successful. Reward: +10 Vitality. Permanent buff: True Essence of Tempering.]
A permanent buff?
Ron was stunned.
Before he could examine it further, the rain started pouring down heavily.
He quickly led Kuina to find shelter from the rain.