Elbaf's nearby waters.
A Marine warship was anchored nearby. When Rona appeared aboard, wounded, the entire ship was thrown into an uproar.
"Admiral Scarlet Snake, you're injured!?"
"Damn it, did those giants from Elbaf do this?"
"Everyone, stay alert!"
"..."
The warship descended into chaos until Rear Admiral Aila, Rona's adjutant, stepped forward.
"Everyone, shut up!"
The short-haired Marine stared directly at her superior, meeting Rona's gaze without backing down. "Admiral Rona, what happened on Elbaf?"
The warship wasn't far from Elbaf, so the Marines had noticed at least some of the commotion there.
But they trusted Rona and hadn't gone ashore without permission.
After all, they were Marines.
And Elbaf was a Non-Government Affiliated Nation.
One wrong move could cause a conflict between the Marines and a Non-Government Affiliated Nation.
They also believed that with Rona's strength, no one could possibly detect her just for wandering around Elbaf.
Who would have guessed?
When Rona showed up again, she was seriously injured.
One of her shoulder blades had nearly been cleaved apart.
"Ah, it's really nothing..."
Under Aila's gaze, which seemed able to see straight into her heart, Rona tried to change the subject. She couldn't very well say she'd gone up there, gotten into a fight with some old man, and nearly lost, could she?
"The White Wolf Pirates are up there?"
"!!"
At Aila's words, Rona was startled. She hadn't said a thing.
Seeing Rona's shocked expression, Aila rubbed her forehead helplessly.
How long did Rona think she'd been her adjutant?
Ever since Rona had first gotten a warship of her own, become a Rear Admiral, and gained the authority to act independently, Aila had been by her side.
Rona usually didn't care much about anything, but whenever she ran into the White Wolf Pirates, she became intensely focused.
At first, Aila thought Rona had a grudge against them.
But after several engagements—
Even after the Marines had laid a vast net to capture the White Wolf Pirates, only for Rona's eagerness to claim credit to ruin the plan—
Aila understood.
There was definitely something going on between Rona and the White Wolf Pirates!
They really did fight.
They really did beat each other up.
But when it came to finishing them off, Rona wasn't willing.
Then, by chance, Aila heard that when Rona was little, pirates had attacked her hometown, and the one who drove them off had been Mongge—before he became a pirate.
Suddenly, everything made perfect sense.
Aila had even imagined a whole epic tale of Rona admiring Mongge and joining the Marines, vowing to take down the pirates who had destroyed her hometown—only to discover that the person she admired had become a pirate. And so the two began a love-hate saga.
Most importantly, Rona knew Mongge, but Mongge clearly didn't know her.
He just thought she was some annoying Marine who'd come out of nowhere.
Damn it, were they the leads in some third-rate tragic romance?
Aila had always thought that if Rona kept letting the White Wolf Pirates go without explaining why, she'd eventually get caught out.
And look, she'd finally been caught out!
Aila didn't believe the White Wolf Pirates had escaped the Marines time after time because they were strong enough.
There had to be a mole!
And that mole was right beside her—her own superior, no less.
"Admiral Rona..."
"Fine, fine, don't say anything. I was wrong this time. Next time, I'll give it everything I've got and take you all with me to send that old man to Impel Down!"
That was what Rona said, but she felt that Mongge had become rather troublesome.
Aila thought Rona held back every time she encountered the White Wolf Pirates.
But that wasn't true.
Because Mongge was someone she had once looked up to, Rona wanted to capture him all the more.
She wanted to ask him why he had become a pirate.
So Rona had never held back. She had always fought Mongge with everything she had.
It was just that the impulsiveness of youth had faded with the passing years, leaving behind nothing but a pure obsession.
She wanted to capture Mongge!
Not to ask him why, but because she wanted to capture him!
Five years ago.
It was the first time Rona had beaten Mongge in pure strength.
And the first time—
She felt that the impulsive dreams of her youth were no longer out of reach.
But with that came disappointment.
It turned out the White Wolf Pirates were nothing special after all. Even the overbearing White Wolf Moger had grown weaker with age.
That encounter made Rona realize that Mongge really was old.
He was no longer full of vigor.
No longer reckless and young.
No longer bold and freewheeling.
Although the White Wolf Pirates had escaped again that time, Rona's desire to hunt them down gradually faded.
Even this time, when she'd suddenly felt like going to the Land of Giants—
It had only been a way to bring closure to her long pursuit.
Then Mongge had driven her back head-on.
Rona didn't know what Mongge had been doing over the past five years.
But the Mongge she saw now seemed reborn.
In that moment, it was as if the navigator who had rescued her from the ruins when she was a child had appeared before her again.
Still full of vigor.
Still reckless and young.
Still bold and freewheeling.
When Mongge injured her, she hadn't felt the slightest bit of dejection. Instead, she'd been filled with boundless joy.
This was the person she had pursued all along!
This was White Wolf Moger!
As a group of Marines stared in astonishment, their female Admiral let out a hearty laugh that sent chills down their spines.
"Haha, Mongge, you won this time."
"But next time—"
"I won't hold back!"
"Achoo!"
High above Elbaf, Mongge was riding on the giant eagle that the giant Batiyan had transformed into, chasing after the fleeing CP0 agents, when he suddenly sneezed.
"Am I getting old? Why do I suddenly feel cold?"
He had the feeling something had its eye on him.
"Probably because you've lost too much blood."
Rocks glanced at Mongge, whose injuries still hadn't healed properly, and curled his lip.
"If you're hurt, then go back and lie down. Leave the rest to us."
"You mean leave it to Lipri, not you."
Mongge contradicted Rocks without mercy, his expression half amused.
"You're no match for those CP0 agents down there right now."
Never mind Rocks—even Lipri couldn't take on all three of them alone if those CP0 agents hadn't already been injured.
"Hmph."
Rocks turned away, annoyed. Pretending not to notice, Mongge looked at Lipri.
"Lipri, are you ready?"
"Yeah!"
On the giant eagle's back, a tiny figure, almost the size of an ant, nodded firmly. Judging by her size alone, no one would ever guess that her true form was a giant nearly twenty meters tall.
Mongge placed Lipri on his hand and gently tossed her toward the small boat drifting beneath the giant eagle.
"Then, down you go!"
Before you continue