Grand Line.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The red-haired female Fleet Admiral kicked open the Fleet Admiral's office door, slammed a hand onto the desk, and demanded furiously, "Old Man Mountain, why won't you let me deploy? I just fought that bastard Magnus. No one knows his methods better than I do!"
"Cough, cough. Rona, calm down first."
Elephant Mountain, the current Fleet Admiral, coughed lightly and motioned for the female Fleet Admiral to calm down.
"I've already sent Seabas and Kong over. Besides, those are orders from above. You just fought White Wolf Magnus, and your injuries haven't healed yet—"
"That little injury healed ages ago!"
"Yes, yes."
Elephant Mountain had an immense headache as he watched the furious Rona, who looked ready to draw her sword at any moment. He couldn't exactly tell her that those above believed she had been at a disadvantage in her battle against White Wolf Magnus, so they doubted her abilities and had decided to send more senior Fleet Admirals instead, could he?
Elephant Mountain said gently, "Rona, you know that those above are extremely angry about the Navy losing the Celestial Gold this time. They have ordered the Navy to recover it within one month."
After all, the Celestial Gold was tribute paid to the Celestial Dragons and escorted exclusively by the Navy. For nearly a century, no pirate had dared to tug at their whiskers.
Yet a pirate had actually dared to seize the Celestial Gold. It was undoubtedly a provocation.
Therefore, the Five Elders, the World Government's highest authority, were deeply displeased. They demanded that the Navy recover the Celestial Gold and capture the provocateur within a month.
Otherwise, they would use next year's Navy budget to compensate the Celestial Dragons for their losses.
As Fleet Admiral, Elephant Mountain was utterly helpless over this.
Because it was simply impossible!
Who knew where White Wolf Magnus would run after stealing the goods?
If White Wolf Magnus had taken the transport ship as well, they might have been able to track it down and find his whereabouts.
But now...
White Wolf Magnus had not taken the transport ship. He had only taken the cargo inside.
Trying to find White Wolf Magnus and the White Wolf Pirates in this vast sea was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Besides.
The Navy could not possibly send every Fleet Admiral to search for the White Wolf Pirates. Although no overlord-level pirate had emerged on these seas, there were countless Great Pirates ruling their own territories.
"Rona, the Giant Shark Pirates have been active near Dressrosa recently. If you can deal with them quickly, I'll let you take part in this operation against the White Wolf Pirates. How about it?"
"Promise?"
"Promise!"
Watching Rona toss her red hair and leave the office without looking back, Elephant Mountain scratched at the few remaining strands on his head and sighed.
"You're already over seventy, yet you still have to come cause trouble for me. Magnus, you bastard, couldn't you just retire peacefully?"
He had silently reached their level and even stolen the Celestial Dragons' Celestial Gold. Looking at the report submitted by Vice Admiral Robbie of GL Branch 9, Elephant Mountain rubbed his brow.
"Kong's really gotten himself a tough assignment this time."
New World.
Seven dark green warships sailed across the sea. Each was over seventy meters long, and every one was packed with Navy soldiers.
If there were a few more warships, they would nearly have enough to form the World Government's Buster Call.
In truth, a Buster Call consisted of ten warships and five Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals. Yet these seven warships already carried three Navy Vice Admirals, one Fleet Admiral candidate, and one Fleet Admiral.
"Nothing ever stays quiet."
A thin, lanky old man with a lecherous face lay on a beach chair aboard the warship. As he enjoyed the enthusiastic massages of two beautiful female slaves beside him, he said irritably,
"He never won even once before. But after taking advantage of little Rona's carelessness and driving her back this time, he starts acting all arrogant."
"Can't I just retire in peace?"
The middle-aged man with hedgehog-like hair said solemnly, "Fleet Admiral Jiang Ma, White Wolf Magnus is a legend who has roamed these seas for decades. We should be more cautious."
"Hmph. He's just an old man like me."
As he spoke, the old man lecherously groped the butt of the female slave beside him.
"And he isn't even as handsome as I am! Right, Kong?"
Looking at the old man's lecherous donkey face, then recalling what Magnus had looked like when he had seen him a few years ago, Kong truly could not bring himself to agree against his conscience.
"Anyway, I'll leave command of the warships to you, Kong."
The old man laughed heartily, wrapped an arm around the two female slaves with collars around their necks, and headed into the cabin. Kong and the surrounding Navy soldiers acted as if they were already used to it and turned a blind eye.
Kong looked out at the endless sea and muttered to himself.
"Where are you now?"
"White Wolf Magnus."
Sphinx.
This was an island nation located in the middle reaches of the New World. It was not merely an island, but a country with a population of several hundred thousand.
However, its remote location and barren land made it impossible for the nation to pay sufficient Celestial Gold every year like those government Affiliated Nations.
Thus, Sphinx could only remain a non-affiliated nation and receive no protection from the Navy.
Magnus had come to this island once more than a decade ago. At the time, the country on the island had been on the verge of collapse under pirate invasions.
Using the prestige he possessed at the time, Magnus wiped out some of the pirates and turned the place into a transit point for pirates.
Gradually, it became a place where pirates fenced stolen goods.
More than a decade passed.
The island's residents still lived difficult lives, but compared to when they had been helplessly plundered by pirates, things had improved countless times over.
Magnus, however, was not satisfied.
Because he had been too weak more than a decade ago. The title of Great Pirate could intimidate ordinary pirates, but it could not deter those unruly figures who, like him, bore the title of Great Pirate.
After he had been absent from the island for a long time, the forces on the island had split into several factions, each occupied by a different Great Pirate.
Now, his flag no longer flew on this island.
But if one said Magnus had taken control of the island more than a decade ago in order to help its residents, that was not actually true.
He had come here to find someone.
A man named Edward Newgate.
However, he had failed to find him more than a decade ago.
Because according to the normal course of events, Edward Newgate might have only just been born then, still only a child.
Even now, Magnus did not hold much hope.
He only remembered that Charlotte Linlin had been abandoned by her parents in Elbaf, the Land of Giants, a few years earlier. But he did not know when Edward Newgate would set sail.
The man who would one day be known as the strongest in the world,
Whitebeard Edward Newgate!
Before you continue