For every famous Great Pirate, there was a tireless Marine in pursuit.
Mongge was no exception.
When "Scarlet Snake" Rona first came after him, she was just an ordinary Marine Officer. Mongge had watched her rise step by step, from officer to lieutenant, and from lieutenant to commander.
Then, three years ago, she took up her post as one of the current Three Admirals.
Five years ago, Rona had already possessed strength that brought her infinitely close to Admiral-level. From their brief clash just now, Mongge was certain she had crossed that threshold.
In this world, the so-called Admiral-level and Emperor-level weren't specific stages. They were more like dividing lines in strength.
On that point, the World Government, with its eight-hundred-year history, held greater authority. The tests were almost always conducted by the older generation of the Three Admirals.
If you weren't strong enough, no matter how many accomplishments you had, you weren't qualified to become an Admiral.
So there was a saying among pirates.
Only those who could face a Marine Admiral head-on and even defeat one were Overlords of the Sea. If they couldn't, they were merely Great Pirates.
Mongge had sailed the seas for so many years and encountered four or five Marine Admirals, including both the current Three Admirals and the previous generation.
He couldn't beat a single one of them.
So there was another saying among pirates: if you could defeat White Wolf Moger, you'd become the new Overlord of the Sea.
He was basically the gatekeeper between Admiral-level and Emperor-level.
At first, Mongge had refused to accept it. But after losing to Admirals again and again, he'd had no choice but to resign himself to it and accept his own weakness.
He had awakened his Fruit.
He had trained his Haki to the highest level.
But he still couldn't win. He was just a little short—just one step away.
Five years ago, he'd even lost to Rona, and that had completely crushed his spirit. That was why he'd thought about disbanding his crew and finding somewhere to retire.
The talent for Conqueror's Haki was innate.
But its strength depended entirely on the user's spirit.
He'd sailed the seas for so long.
Was his spirit really only equal to that of a pirate who'd just set sail?
How could that be?
There was only one possibility: even Mongge himself no longer believed he was worthy of becoming a conqueror. Only he could deny himself, and that was why his Conqueror's Haki was so weak.
His six months of rest weren't just for waiting for a new ship, nor were they just to improve Rocks and Lipri's strength.
More importantly, he needed to find himself again!
He needed to find the spirited man he'd been when he first ventured out to sea!
So what if she was an Admiral?
So what if he'd failed countless times?
The system had made up for Mongge's lack of Conqueror's Haki. The repeated boosts to his Cellular Activity hadn't merely restored his youth; they had also pushed him beyond his former physical limits.
He'd planned to work hard as an ordinary man, but all he'd gotten in return was failure and ridicule.
Fine, then. He'd stop pretending.
Deep Blue, add points!
"Frost Bite!"
In the misty forest, a white Giant Wolf emerged from the shadows with a long blade in its jaws. Its massive body sprang into the air, and the blade in its mouth came crashing down.
"Scarlet Snake" Rona seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. Though she was surrounded by icy fog so thick she couldn't see her own hand in front of her, she still blocked Mongge's near-sneak attack.
"Hmph. You're always resorting to cheap tricks."
The icy fog surrounding Rona had been created with Mongge's ability. It covered a range of several kilometers.
It not only obstructed vision, but also carried a bone-deep chill.
An ordinary person would suffer frostbite from a single touch.
But Rona wasn't ordinary. Even a swordsman needed a powerful physique to reach the pinnacle.
She could stay in fog this cold for a whole day and night without harm.
"Haha, this is just part of my ability. How is that underhanded? If you want to talk about underhanded, what about a young person like you coming to bully an old man like me? Isn't that underhanded too?"
His attack had missed, and Mongge quickly vanished into the mist.
He'd taken animal form instead of his strongest Human-Beast Form because he was ready for a drawn-out battle.
If Rona had been a Devil Fruit user rather than a swordsman, or one of the other Admirals who specialized in Armament Haki or Conqueror's Haki, Mongge wouldn't have chosen this approach.
His speed couldn't give him an advantage against monsters who'd honed their physiques to the utmost.
But swordsmen? No one understood them better than he did.
In terms of pure destructive power, Rona, who was already Admiral-level, was bound to surpass him.
Their first clash had been enough to prove it.
Rona's sword hand hadn't wavered in the slightest, while the force of her Haki had left a few small cuts around Mongge's mouth, where he held the blade.
But they were only small cuts.
Rona was strong—truly Admiral-level. Even Mongge in his prime wouldn't have been able to beat her as she was now.
But that was only out on the open sea.
Rona's physique could endure the icy fog he'd created for a day.
What about two days? Three?
It was winter in Elbaf. He was the White Wolf who brought winter.
There couldn't be a better battlefield for him.
Mongge didn't want to run anymore.
Why did he have to be the gatekeeper between Admiral-level and Emperor-level? Why couldn't he be an Emperor of the Sea? Why couldn't he become the overlord of this age?
"Hahahaha! 'Scarlet Snake' Rona, let's have a proper, exhilarating fight! This time, I won't run!"
The white Giant Wolf attacked without pause. He struck and withdrew, only to reappear before Rona the next second.
He was going to pin Rona down here.
Rona had never planned to run. As the stronger fighter, she was confident she could win even on unfavorable ground.
She was simply a little quiet.
It was as if she could see a legend of a bygone era, fading away with time.
Mongge was only a Great Pirate.
But none of the Marine Admirals had ever underestimated him.
He was the only pirate of this era who'd managed to escape their pursuit despite encountering them again and again.
Still, she didn't believe Mongge could beat her.
Because—
She was a Marine Admiral!
"Crimson Color!"
Rona swung her sword, and a crimson blade of light moved as if it had a life of its own, circling around her before meeting Mongge as he charged in from the other side.
Mongge avoided clashing with Rona head-on because he knew that against the destructive power of a Great Swordsman, he'd be completely overwhelmed in an instant.
But by using the icy fog to interfere with Observation Haki, he could keep changing his angle of attack, striking at Rona's weakest points from the best possible position each time.
But—
"Just as I thought. It wouldn't be that easy!"
The crimson blade of light left several bloody gashes on Mongge. He hadn't used Armament Haki to defend himself at all, choosing instead to take the blows with his body.
The greatest strength of Zoan Fruit users was their physical toughness.
If he'd used Armament Haki in combination with his physical strength, he might have taken the attack without a scratch. But it would also have drained his Haki.
If he had to use Armament Haki to defend against attacks of this level, his Haki would run dry before Rona's stamina did.
At this point, neither Mongge nor Rona would back down.
Fight!
The giants' village.
As Mongge and Rona began their fierce battle, Rocks woke up.
Mongge's icy fog covered nearly several thousand meters around them, and the battle was taking place not far from the giants' village.
So even Rocks, in the village, could feel the bone-chilling cold.
His instincts told him:
He absolutely must not head toward the forest.
"What happened?"
His six months there hadn't dulled Rocks's vigilance much. After all, Mongge would spring surprise attacks on him from time to time. If he ever slept too deeply, he'd inevitably get beaten up.
All in the name of training his Observation Haki.
Rocks had his complaints, but after hearing from the other giants that this really was how Observation Haki was trained—
He could only swallow his complaints.
Train!
Why shouldn't he?
He, Rocks, was going to become an Overlord of the Sea. If he couldn't endure this much hardship, how could he ever get stronger?
Wary, Rocks looked out the window and saw thick fog covering the edge of the village. The sounds of violent clashes rang out from within it now and then.
"It's Captain Mongge!"
A giant's voice came from outside the house.
"Captain Mongge is fighting someone, but the fog is too thick. We can't get close!"
The icy fog was so cold it seemed capable of freezing even fire. The giants had only just rushed into the fog with their torches when the flames went out.
Their huge bodies were more affected by the fog. On top of that, they hadn't eaten in a week, and they didn't have the strength to endure the cold for long.
"No good. Hurry and notify Lord Yoruru and Lord Aruru. Contact King Harald. This isn't a fight we can get involved in!"
The giants shouted.
The Giant Tribe had plenty of outstanding warriors, but they were spread across different villages rather than gathered in one place.
Right now, only three or four giants in the entire Western Village were capable of reaching the heart of the battle. But none of them dared to act rashly.
Who knew how many enemies were lurking in the shadows?
The giants knew very well that they were at their weakest during the Winter Solstice Festival. Since their enemies had chosen to come to Elbaf during the festival, they had to mean trouble.
"Is that old man fighting?"
Seeing flashes of red and white bloom in the sky, Rocks drew a deep breath. He'd thought that after six months of training, he would have closed the gap between himself and Mongge.
Who would've thought that he couldn't even get close to Mongge's battle?
Rocks dug his nails into his palm.
He still wasn't strong enough!
"Hey, hey, what's with this kid?"
"She's tough. We can't knock her out!"
"Forget her. While the giants are distracted by Admiral Scarlet Snake, let's hurry and take the other two kids."
"..."
The faint voices reached Rocks's ears, and his expression changed.
During this time, he hadn't mastered Observation Haki, but his physique had improved tremendously in every other way. He could already use the Six Powers with ease.
He was certain those weren't the giants' voices.
And—
Admiral Scarlet Snake?
Was it the Marine Admiral he was thinking of?
Rocks had no time to think further. The children of Home of Lambs were next door. He didn't care about the other children, but Mongge had personally entrusted Charlotte Linlin to him. He couldn't let anything happen to her.
But before he could do anything, he heard a voice.
"I'm sooo huuungryyy!"
A loud crash rang out, making Rocks think the whole building was about to collapse.
Then he saw it.
A figure in a white suit flew out of the house like a rag, slammed into the ground, rolled more than ten meters, and carved a long furrow through the earth.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
Outside Home of Lambs, Roke lay sprawled on the ground, staring up at the Giant Tree branches covering the night sky, looking as if he were questioning his entire life.
Just now, he'd apparently tried to knock out a little girl from the Giant Tribe.
But for some reason—
The little giant girl had shouted and suddenly punched him.
He'd been on guard against what was happening outside.
Roke hadn't thought a little girl from the Giant Tribe could pose any threat to him.
But when her fist struck him—
He realized he'd been wrong, and spectacularly so.
Even though he'd defended himself with Haki in time—
That punch had broken at least three of his ribs!
"Boss!"
"Boss, are you all right?"
Seeing his two subordinates rush out, Roke spat out a mouthful of blood and gritted his teeth. "Forget the kid. Take the others and retreat first!"
That blow just now would definitely draw the giants over.
Although the giants had grown weak because of the Winter Solstice Festival, the three of them still couldn't defeat the giants of an entire village.
"Did you leave the note?"
"I did."
"As long as we avoid the giants' pursuit, we'll have the upper hand."
Roke's plan was simple: take the two Giant Tribe brats out to sea.
Once they left Elbaf, no matter how strong the giants were, they wouldn't be able to catch up.
Then, when it came to what they'd done, Garumoro would have no choice but to compromise.
Fortunately.
Aside from White Wolf Moger, there were no other members of the White Wolf Pirates here.
In the attic.
Watching the three CP0 agents leave with the two giant children, Rocks didn't go after them.
First, he sensed a dangerous aura from the three men. If he showed himself now, they might be able to deal with him in no time.
Besides, the other giants had already noticed what was happening here. He didn't need to worry about those CP agents being pursued.
Second, he'd noticed something strange about Charlotte Linlin.
The little girl in the floral dress came out of the house.
The aura radiating from her made even Rocks uneasy.
"No wonder that old man took an interest in her."
But as Charlotte Linlin headed toward the forest, Rocks sensed the danger within and leaped down from the attic.
He appeared in front of Charlotte Linlin.
"That's far enough."
Facing Charlotte Linlin, Rocks said coldly,
"Children should stay where children belong. Don't go running around..."
Rocks didn't finish speaking.
Because halfway through his sentence, he saw Charlotte Linlin's millstone-sized fist.
Swinging toward him.
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