Half a month had passed since Magnus stormed into Mary Geoise.
In those two weeks, Magnus successfully rendezvoused with the rest aboard the Millennium Falcon.
"Kanpai!"
They had defied the World Government and slipped away intact—of course that called for a grand banquet. The slaves who had finally won their freedom wept with joy.
"We're free at last!"
"No more being forced to toil by those Celestial Dragons!"
"Thank you, White Wolf Pirates!!"
…
Cheers rolled across the Millennium Falcon.
Only thanks to Liplie's ability-tweaked Millennium Falcon could they pack in so many—over fifty thousand freed people gathered together.
Not every slave chose the White Wolf pirates' help.
Some believed the crew could protect them.
Others figured with Marines and Government hunting the Falcon, slipping away by other routes would be easier.
They weren't few.
And honestly, they weren't wrong. Orders from above said "pursue the White Wolf pirates," sure—
But what grunts actually did was another story.
You want me—small fry on a tiny salary—to chase the pirates who beat a Admiral?
That's just a death notice.
So on paper, the Marines were "pursuing" the Millennium Falcon. In reality, aside from a few hard-headed types, most pretended not to see the ship even when it passed right under their noses.
A few thousand a month—who's dying for that?
There was another reason: many Marines knew the White Wolf pirates had crashed Sabaody and Mary Geoise to free slaves.
And the admiral they once idolized had joined in.
Feelings were mixed.
Slavery was officially banned by the Government itself; if it happened on some remote island, that was one thing—but Sabaody held the world's largest "employment exchange."
Everyone who knew, knew it wasn't legit.
So "recover those slaves"?
Anyone with a remaining shred of conscience ignored that order.
Thus—
in just half a month, the Millennium Falcon slipped the blockade and linked up with the merchant ship Magnus had boarded outside.
"Well now, you actually went through with my crazy plan. I thought the second I said 'let's free Mary Geoise's slaves,' you'd bail."
Rona's Marine cape had long since been tossed into some forgotten corner. The moment she cracked Mary Geoise open, her path split from the Marines for good.
Now, her face sat on a fresh Government wanted poster.
"'Crimson Serpent' Rona
Bounty: 460,000,000!"
HQ wanted to keep that number quiet—the optics were too bad. If serving Marines learned their idol had defected, chaos.
The Elders shot that down without a blink.
"A traitor is a traitor!"
"You still expect anything from that woman?"
"She was wrong from the start!"
…
As intelligence hounds went to work, "unknown" bits about Rona were dug up.
Like how Magnus once saved her.
Like how she had a peculiar fixation on him.
Like how someone at Acropolis Port saw a woman very much like Rona enter an inn with a man very much like Magnus.
On and on.
To the Government, it all "proved" that Rona's "special feelings" for Magnus were the real reason she turned.
No chance it was their own fault.
Clearly—
the White Wolf pirates masterminded this.
Rona? Persuaded by Magnus and now just one of the crew.
An Admiral deserts on her own?
Impossible. Absolutely not.
Either way, Magnus got handed the blame—and didn't care.
"This was a once-in-a-lifetime opening."
Magnus sat with Rona and Harald.
Rumor said the three had formed an alliance. Only they knew the truth: no formal pact.
They just shared a goal—
and maybe…
simple friendship?
"After this, we're not getting peace again," Harald said, upending a huge bowl of liquor. "But that can't be helped."
He laughed. No regrets about following Magnus into Mary Geoise—if anything, gratitude that Magnus let him come.
Debts too heavy make friendship hard.
"Then let's make it official."
Harald raised his bowl to Magnus and Rona.
"After this, the Government won't spare us. Alone, none of our sides can hold the counterattack."
Each had strengths and holes.
The White Wolf crew boasted the strongest single combatant—but the imbalance was glaring.
Harald could say it outright:
Magnus alone was ninety percent of their fighting power.
An abnormal crew.
Fortunately, the new members were young—
tons of room to grow.
By contrast, the giants were balanced.
Forget the ten-thousand warriors in Elbaf—
just the entourage here boasted Dorry and Brogy, who together could stand against an Admiral, plus several giants on par with big-name pirates. Scary deep bench.
Remove Magnus and Harald from the board—
and the White Wolf crew would lose to the giants.
As for Rona and the Marines who followed her, they couldn't match either of the other two on raw strength.
But they weren't weak.
More importantly, they had people the others lacked: senior talent trained by the Marines—experts in every practical field.
If the three worked together, they could cover each other's gaps.
"No."
Rona refused without blinking.
"We will not partner with pirates."
No matter how tempting Harald's pitch, she hadn't forgotten who they had been: Marines.
They freed slaves because of their own sense of justice.
It didn't mean they'd abandon that belief.
If she agreed to an alliance with Magnus and Harald—
by the next morning,
half her people would walk.
Once you carry others' hopes, many choices are no longer yours.
"Then how about different wording?"
Magnus lifted his cup, smiling at Rona.
"Sphinx has long suffered pirate predation. Its royal house hopes to hire capable people to stabilize the markets. Beyond pirates, most there are just ordinary folks working to live."
Everyone knew Sphinx was the White Wolf crew's turf—yet it was also a recognized Government member nation.
Even if that status now teetered.
Rona just needed a reason.
Having turned their backs on the Government and Marines, they had nowhere to go. They couldn't pillage like ordinary pirates.
A proper foothold mattered.
"I'm planning to link trade routes between Elbaf, Sphinx, and Fish-Man Island. From here on, Sphinx won't just be a fence for pirate goods—it'll be a supply hub for merchants."
"And the key point:"
"You're Marines. You have proper training methods. You can help the giants integrate better into their guard forces."
"Think about it."
"You and your people would be doing something meaningful. You'd be changing the giants' kingdom—helping them knit into the world as a part of it."
"Isn't that better than storming Elbaf ever was?"
Truth be told, that had once been the Government's plan.
They simply never earned giants' trust.
Rona and her people, though they had clashed with giants, had just fought shoulder to shoulder saving slaves. Many giants now recognized them.
Giants feel things simply.
Good is good; bad is bad.
Once they accept you, old grudges can be wiped clean.
If the great Giant King Harald didn't fuss that a human Admiral had once cut his leg—why should others care?
In the end, it was a fair fight.
Harald lost, but acknowledged Rona's strength—and that of the human Vice Admiral who'd fought beside her, now a Marine Admiral.
"Sounds like you planned this from the start."
Rona arched a brow.
"Haha, a happy accident."
Magnus hadn't expected Rona to defect—
and give the Marines such a massive headache.
Consequences would roll downhill. Many Marines would be called to account; some might even see a cell.
The ones who truly felt responsible? Rona had tricked, dragged, and coaxed them into her camp already.
As for Fleet Admiral Xiang-yama?
"That old man deserves the scolding."
That was as far as it would go. The Government wouldn't lock him up over Rona.
If he had the spine to push back—
the question would flip: would the Marines declare independence?
Slim odds, yes—but the thought was there.
"Handled!"
By the very next day, Rona had "talked" her people around—meaning she told her XO her plan and ordered her to talk everyone else around.
"Aira, I'm counting on you. Only you can do this."
Then she became a hands-off boss under her adjutant's murderous glare.
Of course, that wasn't really how it went.
She'd been an Admiral; her unreliability was legendary, but she wouldn't ditch the troops who'd just fought to free slaves.
She couldn't be as carefree as she wanted.
Defecting alone was one thing.
But she'd sparked an uprising in Mary Geoise, freed slaves, and gotten countless Celestial Dragons killed in the chaos.
This was no longer only her problem.
Aside from a few high-ranked, well-connected officers, anyone weaker or with thinner backing—especially those close to her—could be targeted by the Government.
She would carry the cost of her "freedom."
"Here."
"What's this?"
"The key to White Wolf Magnus's room."
Rona spat the water she was drinking.
"Where did you even get that?"
"You think it's hard to copy a key on a pirate ship?"
Aira eyed her boss and huffed.
"Quit acting like you're burdening us with your worries. If you were like that, you wouldn't be the Rona-taichou I know."
"And stop looking guilty."
"We chose to follow. You didn't force us. Even the few we dragged aboard had their chances—if we really didn't want to free slaves, someone would have snitched long ago."
In truth, the op had gone too smoothly. The Dragons hadn't prepared at all.
"So, Rona-taichou—go chase your own happiness!"
Rona was moved by her subordinate's support.
"Thank you, Aira. But… I won't need that—for now."
"Eh? Why?"
"Because…"
Her face flipped like a quick-change mask, turning dark as a thunderhead.
"You think he hasn't already got a few flings on this ship?"
Since reuniting with Liplie and the others,
Magnus had been sleeping in every morning.
Not for any "special" reason—he'd been testing what his power-ups had actually done.
This op hadn't only freed the enslaved—it had leveled Magnus up hard.
Observation Kill alone made the risk worth it.
Not just deeper use of Haoshoku—
but also a deeper grip on Kenbunshoku.
A fusion of both—
a technique only possible once you'd pushed both to the peak.
At that point—
even Magnus wasn't sure how to push his Haki further. The Government had slapped a bounty far beyond this era's standard on his head.
"'White King' Magnus
Bounty: 960,000,000!"
More than double Rona's.
Harald, who'd stayed ashore for over a decade, saw his own bounty return as well—and it wasn't small.
"'Giant King' Harald
Bounty: 375,000,000!"
Put together, Rona and Harald still didn't match Magnus's single figure.
That rankled them both for a while.
Once upon a time, Magnus had been only roughly their equal.
Now, even two-on-one,
he wouldn't lose.
Outside of Magnus, Rona, and Harald, only Dorry and Brogy saw their numbers jump—to 250,000,000 each. The rest barely changed.
This had been a clash between apex fighters, after all.
Magnus noticed it.
Liplie and Newgate took it in stride. Rocks, though, simmered.
And soon enough—
"Old man."
Rocks came to Magnus at last, gaze steady.
"I'm leaving the White Wolf pirates."
(End of Chapter)
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