Ron just shook his head as a small, amused smile playing on his lips.
He had to give the old man credit; even cornered and desperate, the Golden Lion couldn't resist a bit of shameless boasting.
Offering to take the Fleet Admiral's head was the kind of grand, impossible gesture a man like Shiki would make to feel like he was still in control.
Ron had no intention of calling him on the ridiculous bluff.
"There's no need to get worked up, Shiki. Let's not talk about something as messy as assassination," Ron said calmly, his voice a soothing balm on the old pirate's fiery declaration.
He could see he had him.
The hook was set, the line was taut, and the legendary fish was ready to be reeled in.
He decided to stop playing games and finally reveal his true price.
"The Mythical Zoan Phoenix Fruit you want," Ron began, his tone becoming completely nonchalant, as if he were discussing the weather
"As it happens, I have a spare one right here."
The casual confirmation hit Shiki like a physical force.
His breath caught in his throat, and his heart began to hammer against his ribs.
A spare? He had a spare?
The sheer audacity and power implied in that simple statement was staggering.
The excitement was a physical thing, a current of electricity that made his skin tingle.
He had to consciously force his muscles to relax, to maintain a shred of composure and not look like the desperate old man he felt like.
He waited, his entire being focused on Ron's next words.
"My condition is simple," Ron said, his gaze becoming sharp and direct.
He finally stated the crucial part of the deal, his tone leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
"You will exchange it for one pound of your own blood."
He wasn't being greedy.
In fact, looking at the Golden Lion's withered, almost skeletal physique, Ron felt the demand was perfectly reasonable.
The man looked like he'd been living on a diet of sea air and stubbornness for the past two decades.
Asking for much more might genuinely kill him before the Phoenix Fruit ever had a chance to work its magic.
"One... pound?"
Upon hearing the condition, Shiki froze solid.
He stared at Ron, his sharp eyes scrutinizing the young man's face, trying to find the lie, the trick, the hidden clause in his gaze.
"Are you serious?" Shiki's voice was a rough whisper, thick with disbelief and a heavy dose of suspicion.
"Just one pound of my blood? For a Mythical Zoan?"
In the cutthroat world of pirates, nothing was ever this straightforward.
A deal this good, especially a transaction between two parties with such a clear power imbalance, was never what it seemed on the surface.
It reeked of a trap.
In response to Shiki's skepticism, Ron simply gave a slow, deliberate nod.
The air in the room seemed to thicken, charged with a strange, tense atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.
Shiki felt a sudden, icy chill slither down his spine.
His mind, honed by decades of paranoia and betrayal, began racing at a furious pace.
It can't be this simple! He's testing me! This is a test of my character, my worth! He wants to see if I'll take the cheap way out.
If I accept this paltry price, he'll see me as a washed-up beggar, not a partner.
I have to show him I'm still the Golden Lion! I'm a man of immense value, and I pay my debts!
"Tsk...!" A sharp sound escaped his lips.
He had to regain control of this negotiation.
He had to prove he wasn't just some charity case.
"That... Ron," the Golden Lion began, hesitating for a fraction of a second before forging ahead with his new strategy.
"This old man has no intention of taking advantage of your generosity. Besides, Newgate and I go way back. There's history there." He puffed out his chest, trying to project an aura of magnanimity.
"How about this—I'll give you ten pounds of my blood. A worthy price for a worthy item!"
Having thrown down his audacious counteroffer, Shiki fell silent, watching Ron's reaction with hawk-like intensity.
He expected surprise, perhaps even a newfound respect.
"???"
Ron could hardly believe what he was hearing.
For a moment, he was certain he'd misheard.
Ten pounds?
Was this old fool joking? He gave Shiki's scrawny body a quick once-over.
The man looked like a dried-up prune.
Squeezing five pounds of blood out of him seemed optimistic; ten pounds was a straight-up suicide attempt.
"Shiki, there's really no need for that..." Ron began, trying to gently talk him down, but the Golden Lion raised a hand, cutting him off with a flourish.
"Say no more, Ron!" Shiki's tone was resolute, booming with the false confidence of a man trying to sell a sinking ship.
"This old man said ten pounds, so ten pounds it is! The word of the Golden Lion is not to be questioned!"
Ron let out a quiet, helpless sigh
. If the man was so determined to overpay, who was he to argue?
"Alright then. Ten pounds it is."
Just as the deal was sealed, Shiki's tone suddenly shifted, and he let out an awkward, wheezing laugh.
"Though... ah... this old man can only manage five pounds for the down payment. After I've eaten the fruit and... recovered a bit... I'll gladly pay the remaining five."
"Oh?" Ron responded flatly, his expression unreadable.
Seeing Ron's noncommittal reaction, Shiki hurried to explain himself, leaning forward conspiratorially.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Ron! It's not that I distrust you! It's just... well, this body isn't what it used to be. A bit weathered, you understand..."
Ron didn't press the issue.
Whether it was a credit transaction or a deferred payment, it made no difference to him.
Five pounds or ten, he was getting what he wanted.
He nodded his agreement.
With the terms settled, Ron walked to a corner of the room and retrieved a surprisingly large, clean metal bucket.
He tossed it to Shiki without a word.
The Golden Lion, true to his bold nature, caught the bucket with one hand.
Without a moment's hesitation, he propped his left leg, one of his legendary named swords, Oto, onto the floor.
He then raised his other sword-leg, Kogarashi, and with a swift, practiced motion, slashed a deep gash across his own calf.
Instantly, crimson blood welled up and gushed out like a spring, flowing down the gleaming steel of his sword-leg and into the bucket below.
He angled the blade perfectly, ensuring not a single precious drop was wasted.
As the seconds ticked by, the level of blood in the bucket slowly rose.
Shiki stood there, his face pale but determined.
Then, suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him.
His body swayed, and he had to brace himself against an imaginary wall to keep from collapsing.
"Jihahaha...!" he forced a weak, breathy laugh.
"My nutrition hasn't been the best lately. Pardon the weakness..."
Once the flow slowed to a trickle, Ron quickly stepped forward and took the bucket.
He gave it a heft, mentally weighing it.
Roughly five pounds.
More than enough.
With the Golden Lion's blood finally in his possession, his grand plan was halfway to completion.
So many projects, so many ambitions that had been stalled due to a lack of the right materials, could now finally begin.
After crudely binding his wound, Shiki looked up at Ron, his eyes shining with feverish anticipation.
Ron didn't make him wait.
He reached into a fold of his coat and produced the Devil Fruit.
It was a swirling orb of blue and orange, shaped like a teardrop of flame, emanating a faint, warm energy.
"Yes... Yes! That's it!" Shiki's breathing grew ragged.
He reached out with trembling hands and carefully took the fruit from Ron, cradling it as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
He eagerly opened his mouth, ready to take the foul-tasting bite that would change his life, but then he paused.
A sudden, terrible thought struck him
. He slowly looked up at Ron, a flicker of fear in his eyes.
"Say... If I eat this Devil Fruit... I won't explode, will I?"
"Don't worry, Shiki. You definitely won't explode," Ron reassured him smoothly.
"You've already seen we have ways around that little problem."
"Hmm, you're right," Shiki mused, his confidence returning. "Jihahaha! Don't mind me, Ron. This old man is just overly suspicious by nature."
He raised the fruit to his lips once more, the promise of restored youth and power just a single bite away.
"Shiki," Ron's voice cut in, casual and perfectly timed
. "I assume you know that after eating this Devil Fruit, your original ability will be replaced, right?"
"Mhm, I know, I know..." Shiki mumbled impatiently, his focus entirely on the fruit.
Then the words registered.
His head snapped up, his eyes widening in horror.
"Wait. What? My Float-Float Fruit will be... replaced?"
"Ah? You didn't know?" Ron feigned an expression of mild surprise.
"I thought you'd have read the fine print in the papers we released. It was all laid out quite clearly."
The Golden Lion was completely and utterly dumbfounded.
He stared at the miraculous fruit in his hands, an object of both intense desire and now, profound resentment.
Ron continued, his voice taking on the tone of a helpful salesman explaining pricing tiers.
"It's a system, you see. The basic package, which you've opted for, allows for ability replacement. It's quite effective. The premium package, which allows one to become a Dual-Fruit user... well, that's a bit pricier."
Shiki could only stare, speechless.
He looked at the Phoenix Fruit, then thought about his Float-Float Fruit—the power that had defined him, made him a legend, allowed him to create his own kingdom in the sky.
To lose it... it was an agonizing, impossible choice.
If he ate this, he would become a pure swordsman.
A Great Swordsman with the regenerative powers of a phoenix.
An almost unkillable swordsman...
He had to admit... that didn't sound too bad, actually.
As the internal battle raged in Shiki's mind, Ron's tempting voice chimed in again, smooth as silk.
"Of course, Shiki, if you find yourself missing your old powers, you can always come back later. For the right price, we can always... enchant the Float-Float Fruit's ability onto one of your swords, and you can have the best of both worlds."