From the first day of arriving in this world, Silas knew this was a might-makes-right world! As long as you were powerful enough, you could do many things. If you weren't powerful enough, when disaster struck, besides lamenting your powerlessness, you could do nothing.
"Can we talk now?"
Single-handedly suppressing the aged samurai, Silas was far more relaxed than the samurai realized. Without equal-level fighters to restrain him, if Silas wanted, his Haki reserves were sufficient to maintain full-body Armament hardening throughout, then kill all these samurai before his Haki depleted.
Zoan fruit's resilient body plus Armament coverage hardening—even swordsmen with the strongest attack power couldn't easily penetrate Silas's defense.
"Don't give up!" A samurai shouted loudly.
"We Wano samurai will never surrender!"
"Right! Only samurai who die in battle, never samurai who surrender!"
"He's only one person!"
Silas easily found the voice's source in the crowd. "Then try again."
Whoosh!
A cold white slash like a crescent moon, carrying momentum to tear everything apart, instantly appeared before the first speaking samurai.
"Hel—"
Before the samurai could call for help, his body was frozen.
Silas's expression turned cold. "Don't misunderstand—you're still standing because I'm holding back. Isolated for centuries without top-tier fighters—do you really think the world revolves around you?"
The world's situation had changed. If Wano couldn't keep up with the pace, they'd eventually be eliminated. Just like in the original timeline, Wano's borders would eventually be forced open anyway—with the entire nation enslaved and forced to manufacture weapons for others. The entire nation lacked even farmland for crops and clean water—ordinary people either accepted slavery or starved.
In this era he'd already changed; if Wano didn't keep up with the pace, only more tragic fates awaited.
Sometimes, strength was also a crime. Wano was stronger than ordinary nations, yet not strong enough to face World Government alone.
Silas was certain the World Government would eventually target Wano Country. Rather than let the World Government rule Wano, it is better for him to incorporate it into his future plans first.
But clearly, these Wano samurai were more stubborn than he'd imagined.
"Forget it."
Silas shook his head. He didn't really want to enslave people to work for him. Though he disliked this country, he wouldn't kill so many Wano samurai at first meeting.
Was allying with him harmful? Silas thought it over—connecting Wano to sea routes between Sphinx and Elbaf would definitely benefit them more than harm. This was a win-win.
But since Wano's people were unwilling, Silas wouldn't shamelessly deliver benefits to Wano. Did they deserve it?
Under the samurai's uncertain gazes, Silas's aura suddenly dissipated.
"Since you're stubborn, let's discuss something else."
Suddenly blocking their path, displaying overwhelming crushing power, then suddenly stopping—Silas's actions left the samurai somewhat confused.
But honestly, continuing to fight, they saw no path to victory.
"What exactly do you want?"
Tentsuki Takiichi's chest heaved violently. How long had it been since he'd fought so intensely? Just battling Silas for a few short minutes felt like draining his entire life.
Comparatively, Silas seemed like he'd just finished post-meal warm-up. Forget panting—not even a drop of sweat.
"Demonstrate strength!"
Silas's answer was simple and brutal. "If I didn't show my strength, you wouldn't listen obediently, right?"
Though they'd resolved to die rather than let Silas run wild, once he stopped fighting, neither Takiichi nor the two trembling daimyo wanted to continue.
Only their mouths were harder than their swords.
"Give up! Our Wano Country will never open its borders!"
"Even if we die, we'll protect our nation!"
"Wano Country will never be enslaved!"
The samurai's impassioned expressions made Silas feel like a villain. They rejected even benefits he rushed to offer.
Silas sheathed his sword, too lazy to explain pros and cons to these people. If he mentioned Wano might be targeted by the World Government, they'd think he was fear-mongering.
"I understand your resolve."
Silas sighed, as if truly recognizing the samurai's determination. "Though I'm a pirate, I'm not unreasonable. Since you're unwilling, I won't force you."
"So let's discuss another matter."
Bringing Wano into his camp was incidental—a Wano without even one top fighter meant nothing to Silas. Why did he come to Wano Country? Recruit Wano? Wano should piss and look at themselves—did they deserve it?
Silas came only to train his crew members!
"Since you won't conduct maritime trade with us, you shouldn't refuse another matter."
"One year. If you let my crew train here for one year, I won't force you to open your borders."
People always compromised. If Silas had initially said he wanted his crew to challenge Wano's samurai and daimyo, Wano's people would never agree.
But Silas started by slapping Wano twice, saying he'd make them open their borders—then this so-called one-year training stay seemed insignificant.
"Just this?"
Including Kozuki Sukiyaki, all Wano samurai hearing Silas's words felt internally relieved. They'd thought Silas would demand excessive conditions. If they merely wanted to stay for a year, that was nothing.
"Right." Silas nodded. "I just need you to help train my crew."
The samurai still standing were basically carefully selected—surviving his Haki and freezing dual judgment meant at least mastering dual-color Haki. Such fighters were perfect opponents for newcomers like Shiki and Zephyr, who'd just mastered the Six Powers, letting them train their Haki through battle.
Going higher were samurai mastering advanced Armament Haki or Observation Haki applications. About a dozen total. Perfect as opponents for Ripley and Newgate.
Ripley and Newgate were already strong. Though seemingly far from top-tier fighters, in this world, ordinary and top-tier fighters had huge gaps.
Armament's internal destruction and Observation's future sight—comprehending either one would bring leaping progress.
Right now Ripley and Newgate were caught in an awkward level. Thanks to the solid foundations Silas had built for them, they were stronger than ordinary fighters who used both types of Haki, but they still fell short of those who'd mastered advanced techniques.
If they could comprehend either application, they could touch battles only Silas could access. Truly top-tier combat!
Compared to opening Wano's borders, merely letting White Wolf Pirates stay in Wano one year was easier to accept. Though pressured by Silas into shamefully agreeing, through their firm convictions, they'd freed Wano from opening risks—wasn't this a victory in itself?
Just as Luffy trained Haki by challenging powerful beasts on a deserted island, Silas prepared better opponents for his crew. Wano's samurai!
In Wano, Silas could arrange suitable opponents for Ripley and others. But Rocks, who was far away in the Grand Line's first half—Silas couldn't reach him.
So besides encountering enemies far surpassing him at Sabaody Archipelago, Rocks could only rely on himself to improve!
"Never expected to encounter White Wolf Pirates members here—scared me at first. I thought that Silas was nearby."
As CP0's highest action officer, Glyndwr felt he'd been unlucky these years. Two consecutive failures had humiliated him before Celestial Dragons, both failures related to Silas.
Once at Elbaf, another at the Holy Land of Mariejois.
So after receiving White Wolf Pirates-related news, Glyndwr could only bite the bullet and personally take this mission. Determined that if he truly encountered Silas, he'd immediately turn and flee.
As an ordinary CP0 agent who couldn't even match an Admiral, fighting Silas would be suicide.
Hadn't he seen his boss, beaten by Silas, still lying in the World Government's intensive care ward, unable to wake even now? Zoan fruit abilities sometimes weren't so useful.
So after arriving at Magra Kingdom, Glyndwr was cautious throughout, as if returning to his younger days.
Actions had priorities. His goal was collecting evidence of Magra Kingdom's secret contact with White Wolf Pirates, not confronting them directly.
After the Holy Land riot a year ago, World Government prestige plummeted, causing many member nations to waver. He already had dozens of messages about member nations contacting White Wolf Pirates.
Over half of these nations were in the Grand Line's second half. A minority in the first half.
Right—this was why Glyndwr was investigating the Magra Kingdom instead of closer New World nations. Wasn't it to avoid conflict with White Wolf Pirates?
He even instructed subordinates : upon encountering White Wolf Pirates members, avoid conflict—if necessary, even abandon missions.
Before Magra Kingdom, he'd visited several other nations. Two showed no signs of contacting the White Wolf Pirates, so he had intelligence agents continue monitoring them. Two others had reached out to the White Wolf Pirates but received no response.
In that case, the solution was simple.
Nations in the second half of the Grand Line wanting to ally with the White Wolf Pirates made sense—the New World's chaos meant even the World Government couldn't properly control local forces there.
But a first-half nation trying the same thing? Foolish. What good was contacting the White Wolf Pirates when they couldn't protect a kingdom thousands of miles away?
Magra Kingdom was Glyndwr's ninth investigation. After confirming the kingdom had only reached out without getting any response, Glyndwr grew bolder.
He'd hang the traitorous kings and nobles, then install puppet rulers to ensure this year's Heavenly Tribute reached Mariejois on time.
He'd handled the previous two nations the same way.
Yes—though Glyndwr ran around everywhere, his ultimate purpose was still Heavenly Tribute.
Last year's invasion caused enormous losses to the Holy Land of Mariejois—rebuilding expenses alone were astronomical. Just in the past year, the World Government consumed decades of accumulated resources, depleting savings completely.
So whether this new year's Heavenly Tribute arrived on time determined whether World Government finances could stabilize.
Nations like Magra Kingdom wanting to leave the World Government required heavy-handed strikes!
Until Glyndwr prepared to boldly storm Magra Kingdom's court, only to see Rocks gorging himself there.
Glyndwr was so scared he fled immediately.
But after recovering, he realized—if White Wolf Silas were truly on this island, given that man's lawless nature, he'd have been killed on the spot. After all, this operation had only him—Silas killing him was no harder than killing a chicken.
After re-infiltrating and investigating, Glyndwr confirmed the entire White Wolf Pirates had only sent Son of Evil Omen.
Though a supernova worth over 100 million Berry, in Glyndwr's eyes, White Wolf Pirates members besides Silas were completely vulnerable—purely Silas alone supporting the entire crew.
Discovering this truth, Glyndwr's face showed wild joy.
Rocks must be one of Silas's most valued subordinates—if he captured Rocks, the World Government could use public execution to lure White Wolf Pirates, then catch them all in one net.
Then he'd definitely receive praise from the Five Elders. Promotion and wealth weren't dreams!
But Glyndwr hadn't expected this seemingly twenty-something brat was more elusive than imagined, with local commoners helping too.
However, he'd already set up an inescapable net around the entire island. Even with wings, Rocks couldn't escape!