In this world, a person's strength was greatly affected by their spirit.
For example, Crocodile had once fought Bullet to a draw, but after losing to Whitebeard, he sank into self-indulgence and chose to pursue external power. In the end, he lost to Luffy, who had only recently set sail.
On these seas, pirates died three times.
The first death was losing their dreams and choosing to drift with the current.
The second death was when their heartbeat stopped and their body perished.
The third death was being forgotten by these seas.
When Magnus disbanded his crew, it was equivalent to dying once as a pirate. At that time, not only was his body at its weakest, but his fighting spirit was at its frailest as well.
Subconsciously, he would choose the method of battle with the greatest chance of victory.
Call him despicable and shameless, call him willing to do anything—when facing the Blood Skull Pirates, rather than confronting an entire pirate crew head-on, he would rather use the terrain advantages of an island to defeat them one by one.
If not for the system, he probably would not have chosen to face the Blood Skull Pirates head-on in the end.
But after awakening Conqueror's Haki, Magnus understood something.
The more a person chose to stop moving forward, the weaker they became.
That was what Haki meant.
"Only by defeating your enemies fair and square can you become stronger!"
Magnus's blade came down. Though Rona blocked it in time, the overwhelmingly powerful strike still shattered her shoulder blade, leaving a savage, horrifying wound on the beautiful female Marine.
"Still Flow!"
Crimson blade light soared into the air once more, but this time, it was not an attack.
It was to force her back.
"My, you really don't know how to treat a woman gently."
Blood flowed from Rona's mouth and nose. Even with such a massive wound in her shoulder, she still wore a smile.
"This is going to leave a scar."
"Hahaha, if we're talking about that, I've got far more scars than you."
Magnus laughed loudly. Rona's injuries were terrifying, but his own were no less severe. If not for the astonishing recovery ability of his Mythical Zoan, he would have bled dry long ago.
"Don't you men always say that scars are a man's medals?"
"Of course not. I'm not some masochist."
"Hehe."
Rona sheathed her sword. Seeing Magnus freeze up, she could not help but laugh. "Old man, is that so strange? I'm just working for a living. How much Beli does the Navy pay me every month? Why would I risk my life against you for that little money?"
"You didn't look like you were holding back just now."
"Of course not." Rona smiled. "If you had been a little weaker, I would've cut you down. But aren't you still perfectly fine?"
As she spoke, Rona glanced into the distance.
"That giant king is itching to make a move. Handling you alone is already tough enough. If another one joins in, I probably won't even be able to leave Elbaf."
Rona was not a Devil Fruit user, so an injury as serious as a shattered shoulder blade had already greatly affected her strength.
Not to mention, she was a swordswoman who made her living with her hands.
So, even though she still had the strength to fight, Rona chose to give up.
Because Magnus still had the ability to continue fighting as well.
"Old man, five years apart, and you've given me quite the surprise. If word gets back, someone else will be losing sleep again."
A pirate capable of rivaling an Admiral still being active on these seas would have an immeasurable impact on the Navy's plans for the New World.
Especially when that pirate was in Elbaf, the land of giants, and seemed to have a pretty good relationship with the giants.
"Forget it. None of this has anything to do with me. I'm still on vacation. If I get hurt while on vacation, does that count as a work injury?"
Rona chuckled and turned to leave.
Everyone still had the strength to fight. If Magnus wanted to forcibly keep Rona here, it would truly become a fight to the death, the kind where only one of them could survive.
Yet even as her figure gradually disappeared from Magnus's view, he could not figure out what exactly she wanted.
To fight him?
To capture him and take him to Impel Down?
"Women are such a pain."
In the end, that was the only conclusion Magnus reached.
Putting the matter behind him, Magnus cared more about his own strength than Rona. He was certain that through this battle with her, he had finally crossed the threshold into the ranks of the strongest.
Perhaps he was still only a newcomer at this level.
But being able to force Rona back already proved that he now possessed the strength to confront an Admiral-level opponent head-on without falling behind.
He had finally taken another step forward.
Thinking of that, Magnus could no longer hold back his laughter.
"Puhahahahahaha—"
"The captain won!?"
In the world above, Rocks muttered to himself as he watched Magnus remain standing and burst into laughter.
"Obviously! The captain definitely won!"
Ripley's face lit up with joy, pride written all over it.
"He's White Wolf Magnus!"
Only those who had seen an outstanding pirate as children and come to admire him could understand Ripley's feelings. Besides, Ripley was now a member of the White Wolf Pirates, and Magnus was her captain.
"But that's a Fleet Admiral."
Rocks muttered, unable to conceal the shock in his eyes.
He had always known Magnus was strong, but he had also always believed that no matter how strong Magnus was, he was still just an old geezer.
That was why he had never given up on the idea of challenging Magnus.
But now.
After seeing the battle between Magnus and Rona, Rocks could not help but feel a trace of doubt.
Could he really defeat Magnus?
Could he become as strong as Magnus?
"Don't overthink it."
Ripley smiled and rubbed Rocks's head, but her fingers were so large that she nearly pressed him unconscious.
"Since the captain gave you the chance to challenge him, it means he sees your potential. If you don't even have the courage to surpass the captain, how can you become a member of the White Wolf Pirates?"
The battle between Magnus and Rona had also stirred Ripley deeply.
As a giant who had only just come of age, she was still far too weak. In a battle like that, she was not even qualified to interfere.
But unlike Rocks.
As a child raised in Elbaf, the world's strongest nation, Ripley had broader horizons and greater confidence than Rocks.
Because Elbaf had a king who had once fought Magnus to a draw.
Though Ripley believed Harald was definitely no match for Magnus now, it still showed that the Giant race had enough potential to stand at the pinnacle of this world.
"Hmph, I won't give up!"
After wavering for only an instant, Rocks firmed up his resolve again.
Because the stronger Magnus was, the stronger Rocks would be after defeating him, and the closer he would be to his dream.
He was going to become the overlord of the seas!
How could he possibly lose to some old geezer?
Before you continue