Rocks was in a foul mood.
He'd raced day and night to Acropolis Harbor. What, did he come all this way just to help that old geezer Magnus?
Of course not.
What he wanted was to make his name roar across the seas in this top-tier war.
Half a year ago, Rocks beat Grindwin and the world learned his name, but that was mostly because his bounty spiked to a ceiling even ordinary big-time pirates never reach.
Once, only Magnus had broken that ceiling.
Now there was Rocks too.
So people remembered Rocks, but many still thought he was riding Magnus's coattails.
Because Grindwin wasn't famous.
The CP organization is an intelligence outfit; even its chief would instinctively hide his identity and keep a low profile.
Rumor said Grindwin was close to Admiral level.
But plenty of top pirates had something to say about rumors.
On paper they were all "close to an Admiral," yet every time they actually met an Admiral, they got beaten like dogs.
Until Magnus appeared—killed an Admiral—and shattered the Admirals' unbeaten myth.
Even so—
Admirals were still among the world's apex forces.
Beating a CP chief wasn't real proof.
Beating an Admiral was.
So Rocks had come not only to repay the old man's guidance years ago, but also to size up what an Admiral truly meant.
And the result—
He'd barely stepped onto the island when he saw Magnus burst out and pummel two old men.
Then drag them off as captives.
In a blink—
The marines didn't dare move. Even Imu and the two Divine Knights, who usually treated the navy like lackeys and never spared them a glance, didn't dare act rashly.
As things stood, the World Government actually still held the edge.
The marines had lost most of their fighting strength; Kong was long since exhausted and might not even win a straight duel against either Dorry or Brogy alone.
But Imu and her contract holders were still in good shape.
That was the terror of the undying state.
Magnus's regeneration relied on cellular self-healing. Every round of healing cost stamina; no matter how strong he was, constant healing devoured strength.
But for Imu's contracted Divine Knights, mending wounds seemed to cost nothing.
The only drain they felt was normal fatigue.
That's why, most of the time, they couldn't be bothered to defend with Haki; they poured their limited will into offense instead.
Even after so long—
Lucas and the others still had at least half their stamina left.
By contrast, Magnus's side was in rough shape.
Aside from Rocks, who had just arrived, nearly everyone was overdrawn. On a normal day, they'd barely be able to stand.
But now—lose the fight if you must, never lose momentum.
Stussy jabbed everyone with a dose of emotion hormone, like a burst of adrenaline; no matter how tired, if the wounds weren't fatal, they could keep swinging.
So if the battle truly resumed, as long as Magnus pinned Imu—
They still had a fight to give.
However, if they kept brawling, the White Wolf Pirates would suffer heavy casualties. That was why Magnus chose to seize the two old hands, Ardent and Portman Nissen.
One was Fleet Admiral of the navy; the other, Chief of Staff.
If Imu really wanted to keep fighting—
Who knew how much she could take from the White Wolf Pirates, but if Magnus ran, all that effort would be wasted—and she'd face the navy's fury after.
Remember: Ardent and Portman Nissen had both once been Admirals. Their former students and aides were now high officers and generals, their connections spread across the entire navy.
Add to that how the Divine Knights had abandoned the marines at a critical moment earlier—
The backlash wouldn't be something easily pressed down.
Once is a precedent for twice.
With Lorna's case already on the books, not even Imu could do exactly as she pleased.
"…"
Imu went silent for a long time after Magnus spoke. She was calculating—how much strength did he have left after fighting to this point?
If Magnus had burned out, pressing the attack might keep him here.
If Magnus died—
The world's order would snap back into line.
In the end, Imu shelved the idea.
Because of Rocks.
Though Rocks had arrived and done nothing, precisely because he'd done nothing, he was now the best-preserved Admiral-class fighter on the field.
Even if Magnus was out of gas—
If Magnus wanted to run, Rocks could carry him out.
Five years.
It had only been five years since Magnus first met Rocks.
Say what you will—
Rocks's talent was monstrous.
In five years he'd gone from a total nobody to this height. Even the world's "protagonist," when he first set sail, already had serious strength.
Thus Rocks became the first Admiral-class power under Magnus's banner.
Even if that Admiral-class was a bit rebellious at the moment.
"Release them. In exchange, I'll let you leave."
Imu finally made her decision.
Though the marines had taken heavy losses, as long as the White Wolf Pirates were repelled, the outward narrative could still be a World Government victory.
After all, the White Wolf's target was Acropolis Harbor.
They had repelled them.
What else do you call that but victory?
"That's your offer?"
Magnus raised a brow and shot back at once.
"Then mine is simple: from this moment on, your World Government and the navy will never step into the New World again. From now on, it's my turf."
They had seized Acropolis to block the navy's entry; getting the World Government to withdraw voluntarily was even better.
"Impossible!"
Imu rejected him outright.
Hand over the New World? How is that any different from losing?
Even if the New World was poor and its member nations were less than a fifth of the whole, the World Government's prestige was at stake—Imu would never give ground there.
In truth, with the navy defeated and both the Fleet Admiral and Chief of Staff captured, there wasn't much "prestige" left to defend.
She could force a battle to try to keep the White Wolf Pirates here—
But as long as Magnus lived—
Even if their crew was destroyed, the Government would face a lone, terrifying powerhouse with no scruples at all.
So, in reality, Imu had no choice.
The inside story of the negotiations did not spread widely.
But everyone knew one thing.
In Sea Circle Calendar year 1465, the world was split in two once more.
(End of Chapter)
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