Now, Is My Presence Enough?

"Come on. Our captain wants to see you!"

In the port town of Sphinx, Iron Hand Jod looked at Magnus and Ripley with an amused expression. At his signal, the surrounding pirates closed in with ill intent.

"Ha ha, this one's putting on a pretty convincing act."

"White Wolf Magnus is over seventy. How could he possibly be this young?"

"And the woman beside him doesn't look like anyone from the White Wolf Pirates either. Heh heh, 'White Wolf Magnus' has pretty good taste."

"."

Quite a few pirates ogled Ripley with lecherous eyes. Even though they knew it might provoke Magnus and Ripley, they made no effort to hide it.

They were pirates, after all!

If pirates were not greedy for money and women, what kind of pirates would they be?

"Looks like they've misunderstood us."

Noticing that nearly a hundred pirates had gathered around them, Magnus sighed. Those people who had impersonated them before had really caused them plenty of trouble.

"Ripley, deal with them."

"Should I hold back?"

"It doesn't matter if you kill them."

Although Magnus wore a helpless smile, his words were anything but amusing.

"They're not good people anyway."

No matter what world it was, the word "pirate" was never a compliment.

At least, not according to Magnus's experience over the past fifty years.

There might be good people among pirates, but there were definitely far more bad ones.

Would good people block their path for no reason?

With Magnus's approval, Ripley giggled and cracked her knuckles as she looked at the surrounding pirates.

"Who's going first?"

It would have been fine if Ripley had kept quiet, but the moment she spoke, the surrounding pirates exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

"Pfft, hahaha! What is this little girl talking about? She wants to fight us?"

"This is the New World, not some place for children to play house!"

"Hey, old man, do you only know how to hide behind a woman?"

"."

The instant the last pirate spoke, there was a flash before his eyes, and a long, straight leg appeared in front of him.

Bang!

An irresistible force struck him. His face twisted rapidly, blood spilled from his nose and mouth, and the sound of his skull cracking rang out. The surrounding pirates only felt a fierce gust of wind as the pirate targeted by Ripley was sent flying.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

His body flew over a hundred meters, smashing through three buildings before finally stopping. Even if he survived, he would probably spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

"That's it?"

Ripley had thought that pirates bold enough to block their way would have some skill. Who knew they could not even withstand a single kick from her?

Ripley's kick had originally intimidated the surrounding pirates, but the moment her words fell, they immediately grew furious.

"Bitch!"

"You dare look down on us!"

"Don't get too cocky!"

"."

Watching the pirates rush at her in a swarm, Ripley's lips curled into a faint smile. She swung her arm toward them.

Mini Fruit Partial Restoration: Giant's Arm!

Under the pirates' stunned gazes, Ripley's arm suddenly grew countless times larger. With a single sweep, she sent every pirate around her flying.

The surviving pirates stared at Ripley's giant-like arm, fear written all over their faces.

"Damn it, she's a Devil Fruit user!"

"Lord Jod, they don't seem to be ordinary pirates!"

"Lord Jod, what do we do now?"

"."

Although Devil Fruit users were everywhere in the New World, the degree to which one developed their Devil Fruit abilities still varied.

To send over a hundred pirates flying with one slap, Ripley's strength could no longer be considered weak.

"Shut up, all of you!"

He had known those lackeys were useless. After Ripley had taken down more than a hundred pirate grunts in one blow, Iron Hand Jod looked at her far more seriously.

"A Devil Fruit that can enlarge the body? So this is what you're relying on. Since you have some ability, how about joining us? My captain is Undead Jason, a Great Pirate with a bounty of 120 million Beli. He's better than that old man beside you no matter how you look at it, right?"

To everyone's surprise, Jod did not immediately try to defeat Ripley and establish his authority. Instead, he extended an olive branch to her.

Hearing Jod's words, Ripley asked curiously.

"120 million Beli? Is that higher than White Wolf Magnus's bounty?"

"How could it be?"

Jod thought to himself, White Wolf Magnus was a Great Pirate with a bounty of 290 million Beli. How could his captain possibly compare to White Wolf Magnus?

Even among Great Pirates, there were different ranks.

A bounty of 100 million Beli was merely the threshold for becoming a Great Pirate, but 290 million Beli was already the pinnacle. Many had even said that White Wolf Magnus might become the new overlord of the seas.

However, a possibility was only a possibility.

Noticing the gazes of the surrounding pirates, Jod naturally could not show weakness in front of them. He loudly declared, "The White Wolf Pirates disbanded a year ago. No matter how strong White Wolf Magnus was, he's just an old man abandoned by the times."

"And my captain is still young. Surpassing White Wolf Magnus is only a matter of time!"

As he spoke, Jod looked viciously at Magnus behind Ripley. "Little girl, don't let that old man behind you fool you. His outfit does look a little like White Wolf Magnus's, but how could White Wolf Magnus possibly be so ordinary? He doesn't have even a trace of a Great Pirate's presence!"

Uh.

So after all that, was it because he was usually too approachable?

"Ripley, if you want to laugh, go ahead."

Magnus helplessly shook his head as he looked at Ripley, who was trying to hold back her laughter.

"Since you want to experience my presence."

Magnus took a step forward. In an instant, the wind and clouds changed, invisible pressure spread outward, and an indescribable terror surfaced in everyone's hearts.

His slightly aged figure seemed to grow infinitely taller at that moment, like a giant wolf emerging from a blizzard, opening its blood-red eyes within the storm.

Thud~

A pirate collapsed to the ground, foam spilling from his mouth.

Thud~

Thud~

Like falling dominoes, one pirate after another collapsed. Magnus had not made any visible move, yet fine cracks spread beneath his feet.

Task Reward: Conqueror's Haki Strength Increased!

Two months ago, he had ultimately won the battle against Giant King Harald.

After their all-out clash, Magnus had understood.

Harald, like him, had reached the very peak of this world.

That was why Magnus and Harald had fought for three days and three nights before determining a winner.

He had defeated Harald by a narrow margin.

If they fought again, Magnus might not necessarily defeat Harald a second time.

But after winning once.

It was not merely the system's reward, but also the transformation of his Haki after colliding with Harald's.

He was stronger than Harald now!

One step, then another.

By the time Magnus stood before Iron Hand Jod, the pirate with a bounty exceeding 50 million Beli had already clenched his fists.

He wanted to fight back, but his instincts told him.

If he moved.

He would die!

He looked at the pirates sprawled all around him, then at Magnus's face, which seemed strangely familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.

He swallowed.

The man's slightly hoarse voice rang out. "Now, is my presence enough?"