Sailing in the New World was actually a troublesome thing.
The sudden shifts of weather, the unpredictable changes of ocean currents.
Without exceptional navigational skills, even pirates with bounties over one hundred million could end up capsized here.
The Millennium Falcon had been shrunk to a quarter of its original size.
Normally, a bigger ship meant more space, but with Ripley — a master of space utilization — on board, the size of the vessel wasn't really a problem.
When they needed more room, she enlarged it. When they didn't, she shrank it down.
Ever since her Devil Fruit awakened, Ripley had been drawing out the Mini Mini no Mi's full potential.
Even reduced, the Millennium Falcon still provided plenty of room for the newly joined Shiki, Zephyr, and Tsuru.
At that moment—
The three of them attacked a doll-like little girl with pink hair, a bit plump, looking no more than ten years old.
Yet in their eyes, she was nothing less than a—
Monster!
No matter what kind of attack they launched, they couldn't injure her. They couldn't even force the girl to move a single step.
Worse still, their strikes rebounded, throwing the force back at them, injuring themselves.
"So this is the pirate with a seventy-million bounty? Even if she's just a child…"
Shiki muttered inwardly.
After the battle at Sabaody and thanks to Magnus's raid on Mary Geoise, every White Wolf Pirate who had joined that fight saw their bounties rise.
Ripley's bounty had reached 130 million berries.
Newgate's was at 50 million.
Charlotte Linlin's was set at 70 million.
And even Stussy, who had acted alongside Lili at Acropolis Port, received her first bounty.
Bakingome Stussy, codename "Golden Siren."
Bounty: 5 million berries!
Truth be told, Stussy's bounty was more hot air than anything.
Her combat power was nothing special. She and Newgate had encountered Magnus around the same time, but now Newgate had already mastered two forms of Haki, his combat power soaring toward the level of a Great Pirate. Stussy, on the other hand, had only just reached the baseline requirements to begin training in the Six Styles.
Even the newcomers — Shiki, Zephyr, and Tsuru — were far stronger than her.
That's why, while the main training groups sparred with Linlin, Magnus personally trained Stussy and Toki.
He didn't expect them to rival the monarchs of the future, but at the very least, they couldn't remain as decorative ornaments. Even Ripley, who had shifted away from front-line combat and whose progress had slowed, never gave up her training.
Magnus sat cross-legged on the deck, instructing the two.
"The Six Styles are simply a basic way of unlocking the body's potential. The ultimate goal is mastery of them, then advancing into their higher forms and eventually Haki. But in the beginning, the order of learning differs."
Like Rocks and Newgate. When they trained, one first learned Soru, the other Tekkai. Different physical aptitudes led them to different starting points.
Now, however, both had mastered the Six Styles completely, even developing their own specialized techniques.
Rocks had already mastered the ultimate secret: Life Return.
Newgate was still working at it.
But since eating the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, much of his energy was drawn away. It would take him far longer to comprehend Life Return.
"Stussy, you should try learning Kami-e. Toki, you should focus on Moonwalk. These two will probably come easiest for you."
Magnus could afford to guide them only because his own physical abilities had nearly reached their peak.
Unless he stumbled upon some miraculous opportunity, or a battle fierce enough to grant him sudden enlightenment, his strength would remain as it was.
After all, he wasn't some youth with limitless potential and possibilities. Though his body looked younger now, he was still the same old man who had lived for more than seventy years. His swordsmanship and martial skills had been honed to their utmost through decades of strife.
And Haki — that could only be advanced through true battle.
Was there anyone left in this world who could give him a fight worth everything?
Magnus thought of Imu.
But if he stormed Mary Geoise again, what awaited him would be the newly resurrected Holy Knights, alongside the full might of the Five Elders.
Could he win?
He would die!
Back then he hadn't yet mastered the use of Conqueror's Haki to destroy the Knights' immortality. He had only managed to suppress their regeneration with Armament Haki. Suppression, however, was never permanent.
After Magnus left, the two unlucky leaders of the Holy Knights had been rescued.
The family of three — top-tier fighters all — reunited once again.
An entire family of "Admirals."
The thought alone was staggering.
As Magnus drifted into his thoughts, Stussy stretched and puffed out her chest, glancing at Toki with a provocative look.
In her mind, both Lili and Rona were nothing more than aging women.
Especially Rona.
Though she occasionally shared a bed with Magnus, Stussy believed theirs was a purely physical relationship. Friends with benefits, not quite lovers.
The only reason they looked young was because both had mastered Life Return, keeping their bodies youthful.
Normally, women their age should already be menopausal.
And what threat did menopausal women pose?
No, the one Stussy truly feared was Ripley.
Ripley was young.
Though around the same age as Lili and Rona, Ripley was a giant!
Fifty years old for a giant was the same as eighteen for a human.
Not just young — her prime would last much longer. Stussy saw her as a dire rival.
Fortunately, the White Wolf Pirates had Pure Gold.
That miraculous metal that could grant eternal youth. Enough to buy the entire world, and it was in the lantern of a lantern fish.
If word got out, the whole world would go insane over it.
But in the hands of White King Magnus?
Not seizing it meant dying. Trying to seize it meant certain death.
That was the strongest deterrent in the world.
Stussy trembled at the thought of the rumors spreading outside.
White King Magnus.
The pirate among pirates, the man among men!
Since his raid on Mary Geoise and miraculous escape, many pirates — and those in the gray underworld — had begun to whisper his name as the strongest in the world.
For such a man, three or four wives was perfectly natural. Stussy found nothing strange about it.
And Toki…
Whenever Magnus showed her the slightest affection, her heart pounded wildly.
Afraid he might devour her whole.
But when he didn't, she felt disappointed, wondering if she lacked charm.
The Millennium Falcon had been sailing for two months.
It wasn't only the change of seasons making the weather warmer — they were nearing the tropical seas along their route.
Thus, during training, both Stussy and Toki were drenched in fragrant sweat.
And Stussy seized the moment to unleash her ability.
The Lust Hormone!
As a doctor, Stussy understood her fruit's powers intimately. Developing them came naturally.
In just a few months, she had mastered several techniques Magnus recognized — the Healing Hormone that activated recovery, the Emotion Hormone that erased fatigue.
And even the Youth Hormone, capable of restoring a person's body to youth.
Medically speaking, hormone deficiency was the primary reason for functional decline.
In other words, aging came from hormone loss. By replenishing them, aging could be halted — even reversed.
Stussy's Youth Hormone had proven it.
A shame it was something she developed only after leaving Sphinx.
Otherwise, giving Roya a few injections would have restored him to youth, his combat power reaching at least the two-hundred-million level.
Even Magnus's own cellular activity surge — wasn't it another expression of heightened hormone output?
Still, hormones alone couldn't raise potential.
Magnus thought ahead.
If he could reunite with his old crewmates, the White Wolf Pirates' strength would surge once again.
Most of his men were the same.
Battle had honed their skills and Haki, but age had whittled their bodies.
Even if Stussy's Youth Hormone didn't last long…
What about Youth Hormone plus Pure Gold?
The White Wolf Pirates could gain several new fighters, strong enough to rival even the greatest pirates alive.
Magnus even thought of Carmel.
He didn't know why his mind drifted to that old nun.
But in his thoughts, he saw her as she once was.
Young, sharp-tongued, yes — but she had been his first. Magnus couldn't claim he had no feelings for her.
Otherwise, back in his thirties, why would the mere rumor of Carmel have made him abandon the career he had built, dragging comrades into piracy and rising to global fame?
Her mouth had been foul.
But her body… oh, it was sweet.
Remembering that first night of passion, Magnus felt a stirring rise within him.
No!
He snapped himself awake.
Yes, older men tended to reminisce, but why was he sliding into indecent memories?
Looking up, he saw himself unchanged outwardly.
But Toki…
She had collapsed in a soft heap, thighs rubbing together, breathing ragged, eyes shimmering like water.
"Captain Magnus~"
Toki didn't know what had come over her. But the man before her — so strong, so handsome, so dependable — looked exactly like her ideal husband.
Handsome, powerful, a man of responsibility.
Not only her savior, but the one who carried her around the world, letting her live the adventures she had once dreamed of.
Though their journey to Wano had stalled, she never regretted it.
At Elbaf, Magnus had saved countless giants from slavery.
At Sabaody, he had fought for those enslaved.
A man who bore the world on his shoulders — wasn't that the very image of her dream husband?
After these adventures, Toki realized that no matter the beauty of Wano, she would never stay there again.
Wano could only save one nation.
By Magnus's side, she could save countless lives across the world.
The choice was obvious.
Fueled by Stussy's Emotion Hormone, Toki's long-suppressed feelings erupted like a volcano.
She wanted to remain by Magnus's side.
Not just as a crewmate — but as something closer.
Something more intimate.
For that moment, she even forgot Stussy stood nearby.
Her watery, fiery gaze locked onto Magnus.
"Captain Magnus, do you like me?"
Wait—what? Wasn't this wrong?
Stussy froze. She had been pumping out Lust Hormones to spark Magnus's desire, planning to seduce him herself.
Why was Toki confessing instead?
This was supposed to arouse Magnus, not make her confess!
But it wasn't just a question — the tone, the look, it was a full-on confession!
No, something had definitely gone wrong.
Why was Toki the one affected instead of Magnus?
Actually, Magnus had been affected.
But hormones weren't truly dangerous.
Even he hadn't expected Stussy to play this hand while his guard was down.
His powerful body let him remain clear-headed, though.
And if he wished, a surge of Haki could wipe away the effect instantly.
But in such a moment—
Wouldn't that kill the mood?
Magnus was no saint. With Toki already speaking like this, if he made no move at all, could he still call himself a man?
"Stussy, inject yourself."
"Eh?"
"Don't think I don't know this is your doing!"
Magnus glared at her, a dangerous smile curling his lips.
"To lay hands on a comrade… today you'll learn the rules."
He could have taken her right then and there, but that felt too easy for Stussy.
So instead, he made her stab herself with her own Lust Hormone, then slapped a pair of Seastone cuffs on her and locked her in a room.
"C-Captain Magnus, what are you planning?"
She panicked as she watched him scoop Toki into his arms and carry her off, leaving her cuffed and helpless. She couldn't undo the drug's effects on her own.
"You'll just sit there quietly."
(End of Chapter)
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