White Wolf Magnus vs. Scarlet Snake Rona: Linlin Goes Berserk!

Behind every famous Great Pirate was a Marine who tirelessly pursued them.

Magnus was no exception.

When "Scarlet Snake" Rona first began chasing him, she had only been an ordinary Marine petty officer. Magnus had practically watched her rise step by step, from petty officer to company officer, then from company officer to field officer.

Finally, three years ago, she had become one of the current three Marine Admirals.

Five years ago, Rona had already possessed strength infinitely close to the Admiral level. After that brief exchange just now, Magnus was certain that she had crossed that threshold.

In this world, the so-called Admiral level and Emperor level did not refer to a specific realm. They were more of a dividing line in strength.

On this point, the World Government, with its eight-hundred-year history, held greater authority. The tests were almost always conducted by the older generation of three Admirals.

If one was not strong enough, then no matter how great one's achievements were, one was not qualified to become an Admiral.

Thus, there was a saying among pirates.

Only those who could confront a Marine Admiral head-on and even defeat one were overlords of the sea. If they could not, they were merely Great Pirates.

Magnus had sailed the seas for so many years and had encountered four or five Marine Admirals, including both the current three Admirals and the previous generation.

He could not defeat a single one of them.

So there was another saying among pirates: if you could defeat White Wolf Magnus, you were the new overlord of these seas.

He was basically the gatekeeper between Admirals and Emperors.

Magnus had been unconvinced at first, but after losing to Admirals several times in a row, he could only accept his fate. He could only accept his own weakness.

His Devil Fruit had awakened.

His Haki had been trained to its peak.

Yet he still could not win. He was always just a little short, just one final step away.

He had even lost to Rona five years ago, which had utterly crushed his spirit. That was why he had thought of disbanding his crew and finding somewhere to retire.

The potential for Conqueror's Haki was innate.

But the strength of Conqueror's Haki depended entirely on the user's spirit.

He had sailed the seas for so long.

Could his spirit really be no greater than that of a pirate who had just set sail?

How could that be possible?

There was only one explanation: even Magnus himself did not believe he was qualified to become a conqueror. Only he himself could deny himself, which was why his Conqueror's Haki had been so weak.

These past six months of rest had not merely been for waiting on a new ship, nor merely for improving Rocks and Ripley's strength.

More importantly, it had been to find himself again!

To find the spirited self who had first stepped into the sea!

So what if she was an Admiral?

So what if he had failed countless times?

The system had made up for Magnus's lack of Conqueror's Haki. The repeated boosts to his cell vitality had not merely restored his youth—they had also allowed him to break through the limits of his original physique.

He had planned to struggle on as an ordinary man, only to receive failure and ridicule in return.

Fine. He was done pretending.

Deep Blue, add points!

"Frost Bite!"

Within the misty forest, a massive white wolf emerged from the shadows with a long blade clenched in his jaws. His enormous body leaped into the air, and the blade in his mouth came crashing down.

Yet "Scarlet Snake" Rona seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. Though she stood within an ice fog so thick that one could not see one's own hand, she still blocked Magnus's near-sneak attack.

"Hmph. All you know are these petty tricks."

The ice fog currently surrounding Rona had been created by Magnus with his own ability, spreading across an area of nearly several kilometers.

It not only obstructed vision, but also carried extreme cold.

An ordinary person would suffer frostbite from a single touch.

But Rona was not an ordinary person. Even as a swordswoman, if she wanted to reach the pinnacle, she needed an exceptionally strong physique.

This level of ice fog would not harm her even if she remained inside it for an entire day and night.

"Hahaha! This is part of my ability. How is that underhanded? If we're talking about underhanded, isn't it underhanded for a young person like you to bully an old man like me?"

After failing to land his strike, Magnus swiftly retreated into hiding.

The reason he had taken animal form instead of his strongest Human-Beast Form was because Magnus had already prepared himself for a prolonged battle.

If Rona had not been a swordswoman, but a Devil Fruit user, or another Admiral who specialized purely in Armament Haki or Conqueror's Haki, Magnus would not have adopted this fighting style.

Because Magnus's speed held no advantage against monsters who had developed their physiques to the very limit.

But swordsmen—no one understood swordsmen better than he did.

In terms of pure destructive power, Rona, who had already reached the Admiral level, was undoubtedly stronger than him.

After just one exchange,

Rona's sword hand had not wavered in the slightest, while Magnus's mouth, which clenched the long blade, had been torn open by Rona's Haki.

But only slightly.

Rona was very strong. She possessed true Admiral-level combat power. Even Magnus at his peak would not have been a match for the current Rona.

But that was only on the open sea.

Rona's physique could withstand the ice fog he created for one day.

What about two days? Three days?

This was Elbaf in winter. He was the White Wolf who created winter.

There was no better battlefield than this.

Magnus did not want to run anymore.

Why could he only be the gatekeeper between Admirals and Emperors? Why could he not be an Emperor of the sea? Why could he not become the overlord of this era?

"Hahahaha! 'Scarlet Snake' Rona, let's have a truly satisfying fight! This time, I won't run again!"

The white giant wolf's attacks did not stop for a single moment. He struck and immediately withdrew, only to reappear before Rona the very next second.

He intended to pin Rona here.

And Rona had never intended to flee. As the stronger one, even in an unfavorable environment, she still possessed the confidence to fight and win.

She was simply a little silent.

It was as though she had witnessed a legend of an old era decline with time.

Magnus was only a Great Pirate.

But none of the Marine Admirals had ever underestimated him.

Because Magnus was the only pirate of this era who, after encountering them time and again, had still managed to escape their pursuit.

But she did not believe Magnus could defeat her.

Because

she was a Marine Admiral!

"Crimson Color!"

As Rona swung her sword, a crimson blade light flew forth. As though it possessed a life of its own, it circled around Rona before precisely colliding with Magnus, who charged in from the other side.

Magnus refused to clash with Rona head-on because he knew that in a frontal collision, the destructive power of a great swordsman would put him at a complete disadvantage in an instant.

But as long as he relied on the ice fog to interfere with Observation Haki, he could constantly adjust his angle and attack the weakest point in Rona's defenses from the best possible position every time.

However—

"Just as expected, it wasn't that simple!"

The crimson blade light left several bloody wounds across Magnus's body. Magnus did not use Armament Haki to defend himself at all, instead choosing to endure the blow with his flesh.

The greatest strength of Zoan Devil Fruit users was their physical constitution.

If he used Armament Haki alongside his physical strength, perhaps he could withstand that attack without injury. But it would also consume his Haki.

If he had to use Armament Haki to defend against even attacks of this level, then before Rona's stamina ran out, his Haki would be depleted first.

At this point, neither Magnus nor Rona would back down.

Fight!

The Giant village.

At the same time Magnus and Rona began their fierce battle, Rocks woke up.

Magnus's ice fog covered an area of nearly several thousand meters, and the place where the two fought had not been far from the Giant village to begin with.

Therefore, even Rocks inside the village could feel the bone-piercing cold.

His instincts told him

never to head toward the forest.

"What happened?"

The half-year stay had not lowered Rocks's vigilance much. After all, Magnus launched sudden attacks every now and then. If Rocks accidentally slept too deeply, he would inevitably get beaten up badly.

Magnus called it training his Observation Haki.

Rocks was not without complaints, but after learning from the other Giants that Observation Haki really was trained this way,

he could only swallow the complaints that had reached his lips.

Train!

Why would he not train?

He, Rocks, was a man who would become the overlord of the sea. If he could not endure even this much hardship, what right did he have to grow stronger?

Filled with vigilance,

Rocks looked out the window and saw a thick fog covering the edge of the village. Violent clashes rang out from within the fog from time to time.

"It's Captain Magnus!"

A Giant's voice rang out from outside the house.

"Captain Magnus is fighting someone, but the fog is too thick! We can't get close at all!"

The freezing ice fog was so cold it seemed capable of freezing even flames. The Giants had only just rushed into the fog holding torches when their torches went out.

Moreover, because of their enormous size, the Giants were affected even more by the ice fog. Coupled with the fact that they had not eaten for an entire week, they simply did not have the stamina to endure such cold for long.

"No, quickly notify Lord Yoruru and Lord Yaruru! Contact King Harald! This is not a battle we can interfere in!"

The Giants shouted.

There were indeed many outstanding warriors among the Giant race, but they were scattered among different villages rather than gathered in one place.

In the entire western village, only three or four Giants were qualified to approach the center of the clash. Yet none of them dared act rashly.

Who knew how many enemies were hiding in the dark?

The Giants understood very well that the Winter Solstice Festival was when they were at their weakest. Since the enemy had chosen to come to Elbaf during the Winter Solstice Festival, they must have come with malicious intent.

"Is that old man fighting?"

Watching the red and white glows bloom in the sky from time to time, Rocks took a deep breath. He had thought that after half a year of training, he should have narrowed the gap between himself and Magnus.

Who would have thought that in the face of Magnus's battle, he could not even get close?

Rocks's nails dug into his palms.

He was still not strong enough!

"Hey, hey, what's with this little brat?"

"She's so tough! We can't knock her out at all!"

"Forget it, leave her alone. While the Giants are all distracted by Admiral Scarlet Snake, let's quickly take the other two brats away."

"..."

The faint voices reached Rocks's ears, making his expression change.

Although he had not yet mastered Observation Haki through his recent training, every aspect of his physique had improved significantly. He could already use the Six Powers skillfully.

He was certain those were not Giant voices.

And—

Admiral Scarlet Snake?

Was it the Marine Admiral he was thinking of?

Rocks did not have time to think further, because the children from the Orphanage of Lambs were right next door. He did not care about the other children, but that brat named Charlotte Linlin had been personally entrusted to him by Magnus. Nothing could happen to her.

However, before he could do anything, he heard a voice.

"I'm~ so~ hungry~!"

A loud crash rang out, making Rocks think the entire building was about to collapse.

Then he saw

a figure in a white suit fly out of the house like a discarded rag, slamming heavily into the ground. He rolled more than ten meters away, carving a long trench into the earth.

Who was I?

Where was I?

What was I supposed to do?

Outside the Orphanage of Lambs, Rock lay sprawled on the ground, staring at the massive tree branches and leaves covering the night sky with a dazed expression.

Just now, he had seemed to be trying to knock out a little Giant girl.

But for some reason,

that little Giant girl had shouted and suddenly punched him.

Having been alert to the outside all along,

Rock had never imagined that a little Giant girl could pose any threat to him.

But after that fist struck him,

he realized he had been wrong—and disastrously so.

Even though he had promptly used Haki to defend himself,

that punch had broken at least three of his ribs!

"Boss!"

"Boss, are you okay?"

When his two subordinates hurriedly ran out, Rock spat out a mouthful of blood and gritted his teeth. "Forget that brat. Take the others and withdraw first!"

That blow would definitely draw the Giants over.

Although the giants had been weakened by the Winter Solstice Festival, the three of them still couldn't possibly defeat an entire village of giants.

"Did you leave the letter?"

"I did."

"As long as we avoid the giants' pursuit, the initiative will be in our hands."

Rock's plan was simple: take the two Giant race brats out to sea.

Once they left Elbaf, no matter how valiant the giants were, they wouldn't be able to catch up with them.

At that point, Carmel would have no choice but to compromise over what they had done.

Fortunately.

Aside from White Wolf Magnus, there were no other members of the White Wolf Pirates here.

In the attic.

Watching the three CP0 agents leave with the two Giant race children, Rocks did not go after them.

First, he sensed a dangerous aura from those three. If he showed himself now, it probably wouldn't take them long to deal with him.

Besides, the other giants had already noticed the commotion here. He didn't need to worry about chasing those CP agents.

Second, he had noticed something strange about Charlotte Linlin.

The little girl in the floral dress came out of the house.

The aura she gave off was enough to make even Rocks feel alarmed.

"No wonder that old man took a liking to her."

But when he saw Charlotte Linlin heading toward the forest, Rocks sensed the danger within it and leaped down from the attic.

He appeared in front of Charlotte Linlin.

"That's far enough."

Rocks faced Charlotte Linlin and spoke coldly.

"Children should stay where children belong. Don't go running around—"

Everywhere.

Rocks did not finish his sentence.

Because halfway through speaking, he saw Charlotte Linlin's millstone-sized fist.

Smash toward him.

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