Sea Circle Calendar 1468.
Three years had passed since the war at Akropolis Port split the world in two. Everyone who had witnessed that era-defining moment could feel it: the world was a giant powder keg, ready to blow at any time.
Who can sleep soundly with a rival at their bedside?
The White Wolf Pirates' hold over Akropolis Port meant they could use that bridgehead in the New World to strike Mary Geoise whenever they wished.
Even if Mary Geoise sat atop a ten-thousand-meter mountain and was easy to defend, hard to attack—
With Ripley's Mini Fruit,
If Magnus wished, he could ferry an army to any corner of the world with ease. Even Imu couldn't stay vigilant every second.
A thief may work a thousand days; no one can guard against a thief for a thousand days.
A year slipped by quickly.
At year's end, just when everyone assumed it would be a third consecutive year of "peace,"
A piece of news swept across the world.
The White King, Magnus, had appeared in Mary Geoise—and, brazenly ignoring his bounty in the billions, had openly rented a villa on the Sabaody Archipelago, calling it a vacation!
In an instant, the world roiled again.
"That damned pirate!!!"
In the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, within Pangaea Castle's Flower Room, a woman's voice spoke through clenched teeth.
"Does he truly think I can do nothing to him?"
He had shown himself in broad daylight and publicly announced he would stay on the Sabaody Archipelago for a while—and hoped they wouldn't bother him.
What did he take Mary Geoise for?
Come when he wants, leave when he wants?
Before Imu, a young girl stood with head lowered. When Magnus appeared a day earlier, Imu had sent her to intercept him.
As Imu's avatar, she could wield most of Imu's power.
Especially in Mary Geoise—
She could exert even more strength than she had at Akropolis Port.
And yet, she hadn't been able to stop Magnus.
Even with four of the Five Elders and the father-and-son pair from the God's Knights joining in, if Magnus refused to fight, they simply couldn't catch him.
Moreover—
"He's stronger than before."
Junko thought silently. As Imu's avatar, when Imu wasn't riding her body, she retained her own thoughts.
Though her true power lagged far behind Imu's, their bond gave her eyes keener than most Admiral-class fighters.
"If Lord Imu doesn't move personally, I'm afraid I can't defeat him."
Three years ago at Akropolis Port, Magnus had been troublesome, but with Imu mounted on her, their odds had been at least fifty-fifty.
He had broken out of their encirclement in the end, but that hadn't meant he could threaten her.
After all, in that state Magnus couldn't even use his most crucial Haki.
But as long as Magnus held that trump card back, capturing him now would require double-digit Admiral-class fighters at minimum.
Did the World Government still have that many top-tier fighters?
Yes.
But the White Wolf Pirates didn't rely on Magnus alone for top combat power.
Junko watched in silence as the ever-aloof Imu drove blades into the floor, shredding a photo of Magnus into confetti. Her mood had swung more in one day than in the past several years combined.
Suddenly, Lord Imu didn't seem so terrifying.
"Junko!"
"Here."
"Have the Marines compile a roster of promising candidates and deliver it to me!"
"Yes."
Junko didn't know what Imu intended, but since becoming Imu's attendant, she understood that whatever happened, her duty was simple—obey.
She didn't see the flash of fear in Imu's eyes.
What Junko sensed, how could Imu not?
Three years ago, Magnus had been vexing, but Imu would have wagered that if he dared appear before her true body, he would never return.
Three years later, the unthinkable had happened.
Magnus had grown stronger!
How could he still be growing? On what basis could he still grow?
After Magnus withdrew intact, she couldn't even be bothered to answer the distant plea for aid from the South Blue—Saturn, Jaygarcia.
Useless!
A pack of useless fools!
Had they strangled Magnus in his cradle before he matured, how would things have come to this?
Imu dumped the blame on the Five Elders, never reflecting that back then—even she—had looked down on Magnus.
Just a pirate.
If he'd eaten the Nika Fruit, she might have held a sliver of caution.
But "White Wolf Fruit"?
Just another ordinary Mythical Zoan, wasn't it?
Mythical Zoans were rare elsewhere, but to the World Government, with its Devil Fruit Index and ongoing collection program, they weren't exactly unheard of.
Imu had never imagined that, in her lifetime, she would come to fear a second man.
"Send the Marines to reinforce Osgu Island. As for the White Wolf Magnus, he is not their concern!"
Imu issued orders again.
Osgu Island was where they had relocated Baldimore's scientists after abducting them.
Though the Rocks Pirates had already launched an assault on Osgu, with Jaygarcia Saturn's immortal body present, even Rocks wouldn't take the island quickly.
But in brute strength, Saturn was no longer Rocks's match; and the longer the fight dragged on, the more irreparable the island's damage would be.
In any case, the charging progress for Uranus could not be delayed.
Ideally,
While Magnus was still on the Sabaody Archipelago!
Imu's gaze seemed to pierce the Red Line and the dense clouds along its edge, to the Magnus who was currently vacationing on Sabaody.
If she could kill Magnus—
She wouldn't mind burying him with the entire Sabaody Archipelago.
Magnus could more or less guess what Imu was thinking.
But he relished seeing Imu itch to kill him—and fail to do it.
The first thing Magnus did upon arriving at Sabaody—
As always—
Was to smash the local human auction house.
And this time,
No one dared stop him.
Even the Marines could only turn a blind eye.
Then the residents of Sabaody noticed something astonishing—
The entire archipelago had suddenly become peaceful.
Even the nastiest pirates, after accidentally bumping into an old granny, would smile kindly and help her up.
Marines might talk rules with pirates, but Magnus had no rules to recite to them!
Even if he now had an "enterprise" to run,
To most pirates, Magnus was still the strongest and scariest pirate alive—the peak of all pirates.
If even the Marines didn't dare provoke him lightly, ordinary pirates certainly wouldn't.
And in that very special atmosphere—
A pirate ship drawn by two colossal sea serpents appeared off the Sabaody Archipelago.
(End of Chapter)
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