"My head… why's everyone on the ground?"
"You ask me, who am I supposed to ask?"
"…"
The clash of will from three apex monsters knocked out ninety-nine percent of marines and pirates alike. Only a handful of officers were still standing; even quite a few commodores had collapsed.
So when low-ranked marines like Garp and Sengoku were still on their feet despite only being enlisted, they instantly drew eyes.
"Those two marine brats are still standing?"
"Boss Magnus's will is too terrifying—same for that samurai from Wano."
"Who's that woman with the bat wings?"
"…"
Plenty of pirates had no idea what had just happened. On a battlefield this chaotic, most could only focus on the enemy in front of them. Anyone with spare attention to scan elsewhere was a hundred-million-plus pirate at least.
"Oi, you notice? Those Celestial Dragon powerhouses vanished."
"Captain Magnus disappeared too!"
"Not vanished—Boss Magnus dove into that giant crack!"
"…"
Before they could trade intel, a monstrous detonation answered for them.
Thoom—!
Acropolis Island shuddered like a hammer had smashed it. The whole mass fractured; seawater poured in from all sides.
"What just happened?!"
"Damn, is the island sinking?"
"Idiot, hear yourself talk?"
"…"
Who could sink an island with mere strength?
Acropolis didn't quite go under—
But it was close.
Fewer than two thousand fighters—pirates and marines together—were still upright, scattering the battle into isolated pockets.
As for calling a truce?
No chance.
Even if the marines wanted it, the White Wolf Pirates could never stop.
This was the last chance!
"Go!"
"Cut these marines down!"
"Victory is ours!"
"…"
Whether the win was real or not, you shout the slogan first.
Ryuma moved first.
His body had grown translucent—like a wisp of smoke about to disperse. Precisely because he was close to fading, he had to wring out every last ounce of strength to swing the tide.
The Divine Knights' top fighters had all gone to surround Magnus now.
Even the two CP monsters were gone.
That left only the navy's Admirals on this field.
"Trouble."
Facing Ryuma's charge, Ortega was drenched in sweat.
Imu had bought him an opening—
But in less than thirty seconds there was no way to finish Harald, whose strength matched his own. The Giant King was covered in blood, sure, but for their tier—
Those were surface wounds.
"Hey, samurai of Wano—what happened back there?"
Thanks to Ryuma's timely intervention, Harald hadn't been swallowed by the array Imu conjured.
But the array had pinned his movements; Ortega had roughed him up badly after.
When Imu vanished, the array's power plummeted. Harald climbed out in almost no time.
Now—
Ortega was about to face two fighters not a whit weaker than himself.
"My existence is almost spent."
Ryuma didn't answer Harald. He stated the situation flatly.
"I'll help you take this one down. After that, you're on your own."
"Understood."
What Ryuma didn't say, Harald had already sensed with Observation once he slipped the array.
"I see."
A shadow crossed Harald's eyes.
"No wonder those Celestial Dragons disappeared."
Magnus had set this war in motion. If Magnus fell, the alliance he'd forged would crumble on its own.
Crisis—and opportunity.
The board had been tipping against them, but Imu's move had yanked half of the Government's apex fighters away.
Only the marines' powerhouses remained here now.
Three Admirals, one Marshal, one Staff Officer.
On any ordinary day, that lineup could level anyone.
But today—
"Blink!"
Ryuma's cut was as blistering as ever. Ortega had barely held his own against Harald alone; facing Harald and Ryuma together, he couldn't even struggle.
"Damn Celestial Dragons!"
Even as an Admiral, Ortega was cursing in his heart.
Did it take that many to dogpile one Magnus?
Would it have killed them to leave him one?
As it stood, the question felt like a race: would the Celestial Dragons kill Magnus first—or would Ryuma and Harald kill him first?
But Magnus—
Was a Zoan user!
At the bottom of the island's gaping rift—
Impacts boomed without end, a rhythm that hadn't stopped since it began.
Thoom!
Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
"Roooar—!"
A white wolf over twenty meters long, drenched in blood, howled to shake the deep. Driven by external force, it rammed through rock again and again; layers of stone hundreds of meters down crumbled like tofu before its body.
"Kreee!"
Two equally massive beasts slammed into the wolf, turning the island's underbelly into a kaiju brawl.
The white wolf was Magnus, of course.
His assailants were the fully bestial Stephens and the unbound Grindwin. Griffin and falcon tried to pin the wolf, only to scream as the wolf's jaws clamped down.
But the wolf had no time to revel.
Swords from Lucas and Claude fell in the next breath, carving two bone-deep gouges across the wolf.
"Roooar—!"
Even surrounded by four apex fighters, Magnus only fell behind; his life wasn't in immediate danger.
But they weren't alone down here.
"Magnus of the White Wolf."
Great devil wings unfurled; the girl doffed her cloak to reveal a mane of rich gold. She regarded Magnus calmly.
"You are not the first to challenge the world. The World Government has stood for eight hundred years for a reason."
She extended a hand; a grimoire appeared upon it.
A moment later, a double-barreled shotgun materialized.
It looked ordinary—until it leveled at Magnus and fired.
Bang!
Pinned by four, Magnus's body buckled. Even in his most durable form, one arm was blown apart in a single shot.
In other words—the white wolf under griffin and falcon suddenly lost strength in a limb.
"Reason?"
Even with an arm torn off, the wolf gave a wild, laughing growl—as if he'd just heard a good joke.
"There are no eternal dynasties. Not for common nations, and not for your World Government either!"
"Ha!"
"And that alone won't kill me!"
Magnus's form shifted—wolf back to man—shaking free from Stephens and Grindwin's hold.
Only for a heartbeat.
In less than a second, Stephens and Grindwin changed forms again and surged back at him.
Charging in with them came the father–son pair, Lucas and Claude.
"Keep attacking!"
Lucas's voice rang with naked hatred.
"He isn't undying—his wounds will only pile up!"
Granreed's death was a stain on the entire Feigaran line—worse, a stain suffered with Imu watching.
Had the Divine Knights crushed the White Wolf Pirates cleanly, Imu would never have needed to risk exposure.
But they had failed.
The instant Granreed fell, Imu knew she had to trigger the final insurance.
Fortunately, not too late.
Magnus's arm was shattered; chest and back both split to the bone, quivering organs visible beneath.
Even the finest martial artist would feel that kind of damage. Even with Life Return, there was no time to use it in a melee like this.
They would not give Magnus a second to recover.
And yet—
"You fools—think I jabbed those meds for nothing?"
There was no fear in Magnus's eyes.
He'd already planned for the worst before this war began.
So he had Stussy prepare injections.
One dose of healing hormone. One dose of emotion hormone.
The first would supercharge his recovery. The second would hype him up—make his body forget fatigue.
Stacked atop Magnus's own regeneration—
Imu watched sword gashes on chest and back visibly knit. The broken arm, too, reformed at a speed
Nearly matching the undying bodies she'd granted the Divine Knights.
Imu didn't hesitate—she hammered him with will.
"Go all out!"
"Haha! Useless. My recovery isn't just from a Devil Fruit."
How much regen can a mere Zoan grant?
He didn't have the Phoenix Fruit. His current state was nothing like those undying bodies that Conqueror's Will could disrupt.
"Come on—I'm right here!"
Magnus, drenched in blood, crashed forward again—white wolf slamming Stephens and Grindwin aside, barreling straight for Imu.
"Come kill me!"
Kra-koom—!
He'd never reach her.
Four apex fighters with undying bodies—
That was more than Magnus could bear.
Trade blow for blow?
They didn't fear trading at all.
As for cracking their immortality with his will—nonsense.
With Imu present—
The instant Magnus's will flared, hers smothered it.
"Good."
Imu tightened her grip on the trident.
"I'll oblige you."
She hadn't gone head-on earlier because Ryuma's last strike before the transfer had hampered her movements.
But she was stronger than Ryuma to begin with; even his full-power cut had only restrained her for a few minutes.
Now the wound was clear of Ryuma's will.
Her injury healed.
Imu launched without hesitation. The slim trident fell wreathed in black-red lightning you could see with the naked eye.
A body many times smaller—
Yet Magnus couldn't even muster resistance against the girl Imu rode.
He crashed down hard.
But despite scoring a hit, Imu didn't smile.
Her brows knit.
Because Magnus barely bothered to guard at all.
He wasn't giving up—
He didn't care.
He had abandoned defense entirely, meeting them with flesh and bone. Imu realized what he wanted.
Even in this checkmate—
Magnus refused to simply take the beating. He would counterattack.
Rumble—!
It was as if a sun ignited at the bottom of the chasm.
Rising. Swelling!
Black-crimson lightning of will detonated through the rift, the shock of Conqueror's Will turning tangible—like it would shatter the entire island.
Stephens, Grindwin, Lucas, and Claude all went blank.
For an instant their thoughts froze.
Even Imu, beneath that surging tide of will, wavered for a heartbeat—the future slipped from her grasp.
Boom!
A white meteor streaked like light itself, slamming into Imu faster than anyone could react.
Magnus's hand clamped her throat like rebar. He wrenched, dragging her headlong into the rift wall.
Rrrrrumble—!
Acropolis had long been riddled with wounds. When the fighting ended, even if Magnus claimed it, no one could live here again.
And now, Magnus's gambit pushed the island to total collapse.
For the first time in her life, Imu was treated like this. Fury flared across her face—Conqueror's Will at its peak blasted straight into Magnus.
"Let go!"
"Haha—no chance!"
Magnus was done holding back. If he was going to be swarmed anyway, then let them hit her along with him. He didn't care!
Thoom!!!
Imu raised her hand to strike—but Magnus slammed down the wrist that held her trident. He'd seen enough: even riding a young girl, Imu's power wasn't beneath his.
But possession meant weakness.
The greatest flaw was that the vessel's body wasn't strong enough.
Therefore—
No matter how monstrous Imu's will or how strange her abilities—
Her host was still just a young girl.
So he would take her head-on.
And see which one of them broke first.
(End of Chapter)
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