Ron's answer eased the immediate tension among the Supernovas, but it was instantly replaced by a frantic sense of urgency.
A new, chaotic race had just begun.
In the coming days, they would have to go all out, risking everything to gather an astronomical sum of money.
"Jaya Island? Fine," Basil Hawkins agreed with a nod, though he frowned slightly, his mind already calculating probabilities and paths.
"But one month… that seems a bit tight."
"Hahaha, works for me! I choose the first option too!" Eustass Kid thumped his chest, his eyes burning with a mad, ambitious fire.
"Ten billion? Hah! I'll just find ten decent pirate crews and rob them blind! Or a hundred if I have to! I'll get it done in half a month!"
The other Supernovas nodded in grim agreement.
Indeed, in this chaotic sea, wealth and danger were two sides of the same coin.
As men who had fought their way this far, they weren't afraid of either.
Robbery seemed like the most viable solution.
Only Scratchmen Apoo hesitated.
After scanning the determined faces of his rivals, he turned back to Ron.
"Vice-Captain Ron," he asked, his voice a mix of hope and anxiety, "how much does the second option, the replacement, cost?"
Ron's smile didn't waver.
"Three billion per fruit. No limits on what you can choose, as long as you provide the sample."
Hearing this, Apoo visibly relaxed, a wide, relieved grin spreading across his face.
While still a huge sum, it felt far more attainable.
"Then I'll take that one!" he declared. "See you at Jaya Island in a month!"
Without another word, he and his crew turned, boarded their ship, and hastily sailed away, already planning their next move.
As Apoo left, the others also bid their farewells to Ron one after another, each in their own way, before hurriedly departing.
"Hey! Hawkins, that island in the west is mine! Don't even think about it!" Kid roared as his ship began to move.
"Hmph, Kid. Others may fear your tantrums, but I follow the guidance of fate," Hawkins replied coolly, his own vessel turning south.
"Hahaha, you two can fight it out! Those small fries over there are my prey, Urouge!"
"Bastards! Move out!"
The group had arrived swiftly and left just as abruptly.
In what seemed like an instant, their figures vanished beyond the horizon, leaving a wake of newfound chaos in the Grand Line.
Soon after, the remaining Whitebeard commanders transformed again.
Nine dragons appeared midair, soaring across the sky with a majestic grandeur that belied the exhaustion they all felt.
Ron surveyed the now-empty ruins and said to everyone.
"Alright, it's time for us to set off too."
Whitebeard didn't comment on the dealings with the Supernovas.
Such trivial matters could be left to Ron's discretion.
Seizing the rare chance to relax, he simply lay down on the back of the largest dragon and immediately began snoring loudly.
No matter how much they called out, they couldn't wake him.
"Normally, Pops remains highly alert even in his sleep," Jozu murmured, a worried look on his face.
"But this time... it seems he's truly, completely exhausted."
"Yeah," Marco said softly, pulling a large blanket over their captain's massive shoulders.
"Let Pops rest properly. Let's head back to Sky Island first. We can make our further plans once he wakes up."
The nine dragons took flight, swiftly leaving the smoldering ruins of Marineford behind.
Before long, cheerful banter echoed through the skies, a stark contrast to the grim silence of their departure.
"Ron, that was ruthless!" Vista joked, a wide grin on his face.
"Asking for ten billion Belly right off the bat—aren't you afraid of scaring off our new customers?"
"Hahaha, what do you know!" Jozu laughed in response. "That's called strategy! Set the price high to show how valuable the product is!"
"Exactly. With the chance to become a Dual-Fruit user dangled right in front of them, no one would pass it up, no matter the cost," Marco added, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Ten billion?" Ace mused, looking at Ron with pure admiration.
"Pops could ask for twenty billion, and I believe someone out there would find a way to pay it."
The others all nodded in agreement.
****
Mary Geoise.
As the first pristine rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, gently illuminating the world's highest seat of power, the grand chamber of the Five Elders was enveloped in a subtle yet tense atmosphere.
The light brightened the vast, opulent space but also revealed the stern—even grim—expressions of the five elderly men seated around a low table.
They were the Five Elders, the pinnacle of the World Government's authority.
At this moment, the air was thick with an unprecedented heaviness, as if even breathing had become arduous.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, one of them shattered the suffocating silence.
"The situation," said Saint Marcus Mars, his voice heavy with concern.
"Is getting out of control. This incident at Marineford has exposed a severe vulnerability."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn added in a low, dangerous voice.
"Indeed. We completely underestimated the true extent of Whitebeard's strength."
"Especially during that final phase… that lightning halo he displayed in his 'Thunder God Form'. Does anyone have any thoughts on what that was?"
At this point, the golden-haired Elder, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, slowly spoke up.
"It somewhat resembles the awakenings of Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruits, but there are clear, fundamental differences. It is uncertain whether it was truly an awakening."
Saint Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Justice, nodded in agreement.
"That's true. And for many years, there have been almost no successful cases of Logia-type awakenings."
Hearing this, Saint Marcus Mars frowned even deeper with a trace of worry flashing in his eyes.
This statement left them all silent.
None of them were certain whether Whitebeard's Rumble-Rumble Fruit, a Logia, had achieved a true awakening.
If it had, just how powerful was his final form?
The question stirred massive waves in their hearts, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.
After a moment, Saturn snorted coldly, a hint of pure disdain in his expression.
His voice was like a sharp blade.
"For eight hundred years, there has never been a true Logia-type awakener recorded in our histories," he declared, his words filled with an absolute confidence.
"And it is impossible for one to appear now. It must be a unique property of his other fruits."
"That may be so," another Elder conceded. "Let us remain skeptical for now and observe closely."
The matter of Whitebeard was temporarily set aside, but Saturn then brought up the name that was becoming an even greater source of concern.
"We previously investigated this scientist called Ron," he said slowly, the name tasting like acid.
"But our intelligence was clear. He was just a minor, insignificant character the whitebeard pirates casually fish out. How could he possess scientific technology that so thoroughly surpasses even Vegapunk's?"
"This is too bizarre," Ju Peter interjected. "Could he have eaten some unknown, reality-altering Devil Fruit?"
"Judging from his recent performance," Saturn continued, his frustration evident, "it certainly seems that way. But we have no data. No history. It's as if he appeared from thin air."
He wasn't certain, but he knew one thing: a minor researcher who appear out of nowhere suddenly becoming a super-scientist who could grant multiple Devil Fruit powers and challenge the world order…
That wasn't just absurd.
It was impossible.
It completely shattered their understanding of the world they had ruled for centuries.