The World Government has ruled for eight hundred years. In all that time, the Celestial Dragons have been the world's nobles. No one dared challenge their authority. Was it because they "created the world"?
No—it was force.
Overwhelming force, enough that no one could shake their rule.
The Marines are one pillar of that force.
The CP organization is another.
The Holy Knights are another.
And most important is the one who hid themself within history—
the victor.
History is written by the victors.
So the tale people hear is that the Celestial Dragons created the world and thus deserve to rule it with absolute power.
In truth, their methods for seizing the world were anything but honorable.
Thus the Five Elders concealed that history.
And that victor dared not reveal themself to the public.
But Magnus's invasion—
was like dancing on their minefield. Had he not begun slaughtering the Celestial Dragons who hadn't been evacuated, that victor wouldn't have acted so lightly.
After all, Pangaea Castle still held many dignitaries from member nations.
"What happened?"
"What terrifying Haoshoku—my will couldn't even rise to resist."
"Was that White Wolf Magnus?"
"The White Wolf Pirates aren't actually going to storm Mary Geoise, are they?"
"Damn it, I protest!"
…
A sudden eruption of Haoshoku within Pangaea Castle left tens of thousands foaming at the mouth and collapsing—guards of the Holy Land and CP agents included.
Barely one in ten remained standing.
A country's strength doesn't always match its king's bodyguards, but those still on their feet under such pressure were at least worthy of bounties in the tens of millions—and so they had the nerve to speak.
Where the lesser nobles kept quiet, they did not.
"What's happening outside? Why are we being kept in the dark? Is it truly the White Wolf Pirates? Can one little pirate crew really do this?"
A bodyguard from a member nation shouted, stirring others.
"Exactly—it's been hours already!"
"At least tell us what's going on!"
"We demand an explanation!"
…
The guards' job was to guard—but that shockwave of Haoshoku had just felled nine in ten kings.
A few monarchs had strength of their own.
Yet as the Five Elders' eyes swept past,
the hall fell still.
If the Haoshoku had been terrifying, their gaze alone made life and death feel outside one's control.
"Silence."
Saturn's cane slammed the floor.
"Our power far exceeds what you imagine. No one can threaten Pangaea Castle. The power you felt came from the World Government."
As one of the Government's highest authorities, Saturn's word was law; ordinary people had only to obey.
But not everyone bowed.
"Lord Saturn, I ask only one thing."
A king of a member nation spoke steadily.
"There are rumors that a Marine Admiral has betrayed the Navy."
"Is this true?"
His question left Saturn silent.
If it were anyone else, he could ignore it.
But it came from the king of Alabasta—a great nation of over ten million in the first half of the Grand Line.
Even Saturn could not dismiss his voice.
"It is true."
At last, Saturn answered.
"It is a painful betrayal. Von Braun Rona was deceived by White Wolf Magnus, betraying her justice, the Marines, and the World Government."
An uproar swept the room.
At last they understood why things were as they were.
An Admiral had defected—add in the White Wolf Pirates' assault, and no wonder even the World Government was in disarray.
Only the king of Alabasta knew it couldn't be that simple.
He knew that Admiral.
A candid soul, one who cared for the people.
He'd even courted her in his youth—rejected brutally, yes—but he believed she wouldn't be swayed by some pirate.
Yet seeing the Elders' darkening faces,
he knew he could ask no more.
"Lord Imu must not act again."
"These nobles include many too weak to withstand that Haki."
"Stephens and Lucas must answer for this."
"It should be over now."
"If Lord Imu has acted, that pirate won't escape."
…
The Five Elders spoke with their eyes.
If not for these kings, they'd have rushed out to carve that pirate into a thousand pieces.
A mere pirate and he dared invade Mary Geoise—
he'd chosen death.
Outside Pangaea Castle—
after Imu's strike fell, Stephens and Lucas followed up. Their attacks tore Magnus open in an instant.
Stephens's claw pierced Magnus's shoulder blade, pinning him to the ground; Lucas's blade stabbed into his arm.
Together at last, they bound him.
"Ha-ha-ha! Magnus, you finally fell into my hands!"
Even Stephens couldn't hold back a laugh, seeing Magnus pinned and powerless to resist.
"What use is strength? The moment you provoked the World Government, you were a dead man. I can't wait to see you thrown to the Celestial Dragons—becoming the slave you hate the most!"
"At last, it's over."
Compared to Stephens's excitement, Lucas was calm.
For him, capturing Magnus was only right and proper. If anything, needing that person's intervention to do it—was shameful.
"Bring the Seastone cuffs!"
Imu's blow had crippled Magnus, their joint pressure held him down—but Lucas didn't get careless.
"Yes—use Seastone."
Stephens grinned.
Magnus was a Devil Fruit user. No matter how strong, with Seastone shackles he'd be a lamb for the slaughter.
They could have killed him on the spot.
But Magnus had slaughtered so many Celestial Dragons—unheard of in history.
This riot—
had no precedent in all their records.
To kill him cleanly would be too merciful.
So their thought was: break his limbs, then cuff him in Seastone.
Provided Magnus truly had no fight left.
As their words fell, Magnus's body suddenly trembled beneath them.
The wound Imu had blasted through him—deep enough to bare bone—began to writhe shut before their eyes. Stephens felt the hand he was using to pin Magnus frost over; Lucas felt his blade suddenly clamped by Magnus's bone.
"Hraaaah—!"
Magnus roared; his muscles swelled to more than twice their size.
He admitted it—Imu's strike had grievously wounded him.
But from beginning to end, Stephens and Lucas—
were within his ability to handle.
Confronting Imu had not been part of Magnus's plan.
But if he'd come all the way to Mary Geoise,
then he'd already prepared to face the Five Elders—and the "uncrowned king" behind the Dragons.
Even so—
Imu's means exceeded his expectations.
Devil Fruits or Haki—
outside a few abilities, power should diminish over distance, in Magnus's experience.
Yet even from over ten kilometers away,
the blow from Pangaea Castle almost ripped him apart. It was the strongest Haoshoku he'd ever felt—one he wasn't certain he could beat head-on.
Even so, at full surge now, Magnus made both Stephens and Lucas blanch.
"How—!?"
"He took Lord Imu's strike head-on and still—"
Even Magnus couldn't break two top fighters' pincer from the front. So if he couldn't go up—
he'd go down.
"Open!"
He ignored the two atop him, gathered every shred of Busoshoku into a point—
and smashed it into the ground.
The stone beneath Magnus, Stephens, and Lucas shattered like tofu, splitting apart.
"Run, will you?"
"Not a chance!"
They weren't fools. If Magnus fled now, they might as well retire.
But Magnus wasn't running.
Seeing capture alive was slipping away, Lucas's eyes flashed; he chopped—severing Magnus's arm at once.
Only—his blade sliced through like tofu because Magnus hadn't even tried to guard.
No—
Lucas whipped around just as Magnus's remaining hand pressed its fingers together, wrapped in Haoshoku, honed for purest penetration.
Could Stephens's Busoshoku block Magnus's Haoshoku-coated thrust?
The answer was no.
He'd been pushing forward, never imagining Magnus would sacrifice an arm for a one-for-one.
Stephens's own attack only fed Magnus's momentum.
Splat!
Magnus's re-beastified arm punched through Stephens's chest. Knocked from his hybrid by Imu's strike moments ago, Magnus had already forced himself back into form in a few breaths.
Imu's Haoshoku was indeed stronger.
But from ten-plus kilometers away—one strike couldn't suppress him completely.
"Get out!"
Magnus bellowed; the Haoshoku Imu had hammered into him blasted apart. His skin split; blood fogged the air.
Yet at once—
he locked onto Stephens and hurled him at Lucas.
"Out of my way!"
Lucas and Stephens went tumbling together.
"Ha-ha-ha! Imu—you're not so terrifying after all!"
Magnus laughed wildly. The unknown inspires fear; before clashing with Imu, he'd been wary.
But now—
it seemed he wasn't without a fighting chance.
"Mag! Nus!"
From Pangaea Castle, black-red snakes of lightning clawed the sky—like a woman who pretended strength, shrieking when her weakness was seen.
More importantly—how did he know her name?
"Kill him!"
But the raging Haoshoku from the castle amounted to impotent fury.
Imu's next blow did not come.
Instead, black magic circles unfolded around Magnus.
Saturn.
Nasjuro.
Shepherd J. Peter.
Topman.
Marcus.
In a blink, the Five Elders who'd been within Pangaea Castle stood before him.
"Haha—too late!"
If Imu had ordered the Elders to coordinate with Stephens and Lucas from the start, Magnus's raid would never have gone so far.
But now, most of the slaves had escaped Mary Geoise.
His goal was achieved.
The Elders, forcibly transported to Lucas's side, didn't see it that way.
"His state is failing."
"Lucas—you've disappointed us."
"Lord Imu is angry."
"End this quickly."
"White Wolf Magnus—you won't escape."
…
As they spoke, their bodies began to swell and twist, radiating a suffocating presence.
Mythical Zoans.
All five.
This was the World Government's true depth.
The Five Elders alone could match the Marines' top might.
Magnus did not flinch.
"Haha—fun's over. Time for me to go."
He picked up his severed arm, pressed it to the stump, and before their grim stares—the limb knit back into place.
"I'll remember that cut."
He bared his teeth at Lucas, then bolted—racing toward the far side of Mary Geoise, toward the New World side of the Grand Line.
"Trying to run?"
"Leave him!"
They'd already revealed such hideous forms; how could they let him flee?
Marcus, transformed into a giant bird—
and Nasjuro, into a bone horse—lunged first.
Their speed—
edged past Magnus's.
Magnus growled, dropped to all fours, and became a great white wolf.
"Then let's see who's faster."
(End of Chapter)
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