Witchcraft!
All of them were using witchcraft!
At least, that was what the Shimotsuki warriors believed.
Sorcery that let people grow and shrink at will.
Sorcery that shattered glaciers and cracked the earth.
Sorcery that gave a child an indestructible giant's body.
Sorcery that let people walk through the air.
After joining the White Wolf Pirates, Shiki had never bothered hiding his Float-Float Fruit. Not when Magnus could see through him anyway.
And what was the point?
Shiki no longer expected to leave the crew any time soon.
Instead, he had a new goal: to walk the same path as a certain senior—Rocks.
Everyone knew the story. Rocks had once sailed with the White Wolf Pirates. Later, he left and built his own crew. Magnus hadn't stopped him, hadn't branded him a traitor.
Because Rocks had not abandoned in rebellion, nor severed ties. He still carried the White Wolf mark. Only when he could surpass Magnus would he truly shed that shadow.
And so Shiki stopped hiding. If he had to remain, then he would rise to the top of the White Wolf Pirates. Until the day Magnus himself acknowledged him as ready to stand alone.
On the battlefield, Ripley faced Fūya.
Whitebeard and Linlin held off the Shimotsuki clan's strongest swordsmen.
The rest were divided among Shiki, Zephyr, and Tsuru.
Stussy only played support, and even Toki entered the fray, dueling a weaker opponent to sharpen her skills.
The clash burned fierce, evenly matched on the surface.
Yet Magnus saw clearly: his crew was not there yet.
They couldn't even topple a single regional clan of Wano. How could they face the World Government?
"Still far too green."
But he knew not to rush them.
Ripley and Whitebeard had sailed with him for less than five years. Linlin was still just a child.
And yet, they already fought at a level rare upon the seas. Pirates worth over a hundred million were scarce even across the world.
Even if Ripley capped out at two hundred million in strength, that alone was enough to make her a sixteen-hundred-million pirate in the future age—top tier under any Emperor.
And Whitebeard and Linlin? They were monsters of talent. With no lust for crowns, only love for family, they would anchor the White Wolf Pirates for decades to come.
Time was his ally.
So when Magnus noticed Fūya secretly raising a conch to call for aid, he did nothing to stop it.
Why would he?
The difference between fighting a clan on its border and drawing Wano's full strength out was night and day.
This was opportunity.
The chance to draw every samurai into the open and break them at once.
Instead of striking, Magnus turned to Haruko.
"Little lady of Wano. Why don't we keep chatting? I can tell you about the Giant Kingdom… about Fish-Man Island.
"The giants are dozens of times taller than us. The fish-men bear fins and tails, some with the traits of sharks, rays, even octopi.
"They are my partners in trade."
He hauled Haruko aboard the Millennium Falcon. As for Kōsaburō, Magnus tossed him to the deck like cargo.
The fool wouldn't stop glaring at him, screaming like Magnus had slaughtered his kin, accusing him of stealing Kitetsu with foul tricks.
Magnus froze his mouth shut. Peace at last.
Only Haruko remained.
She steadied herself. "Magnus-sama, what is your true aim?"
"My aim? To open Wano. To trade."
"Trade?"
She hadn't expected that.
"Robbery is short-lived. Commerce endures." Magnus shook his head. "And Wano has things I need. Seastone craft. The forge of your smiths. Weapons of the highest grade.
"If I am to war with the World Government, I need steady supply lines."
She bit her lip. "If that is all… why fight us?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Magnus smirked. "If I don't break you down first, you'll never agree to deal with me. You'd laugh me out as a fool.
"So I strike first. Then I offer my hand."
It was simple. Crush the ruling class, then comfort the commoners. Rule by stick and by sweet.
And that meant—he had to defeat the samurai.
Meanwhile, in the Flower Capital, Shimotsuki Fūya's desperate call had thrown the castle into chaos.
"Enemies at the border!"
"The Shimotsuki beg aid!"
"What kind of threat forces them to cry for help!?"
Within the castle, sixteen-year-old shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki trembled but gave his orders.
Send for the daimyō of Kibi and Udon.
Call upon Amatsuki's last elder—a swordsman famed as a Great Blade Master, though he now neared eighty.
And so Wano stirred.
Like an ancient machine groaning to life, but not yet broken by rust.
In a single day, ten thousand warriors assembled. Thousands more would follow.
The armies of the Kozuki, Amatsuki, Shimotsuki, Uzuki, and Fūgetsu marched.
A force not seen in centuries.
And when they arrived at the battlefield—
They found their vanguard fallen. Shimotsuki warriors beaten, scouts captured.
Their enemy…
One man.
For Ripley, Whitebeard, and Linlin had already finished their duels. Even Fūya had fallen to three-on-one.
And now, the White Wolf Pirates rested aboard their ship, wounds mended under Stussy's Hormone powers.
They would not need to lift a finger again.
Because Magnus stood alone in the path of Wano's army.
One man.
Against a nation.
(End of Chapter)
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