Nation Splitter!

Blood Skull Pirates.

"What!?"

When they saw Magnus leap from the ship, then run through the air toward the small island, the pirates aboard the Blood Skull Pirates' ship nearly popped their eyes out.

"How can that guy fly?"

"That's White Wolf Magnus, isn't it?"

"This is bad, Captain! White Wolf Magnus is running away!"

"..."

Farrell kicked the panicking pirate aside and cursed, "Get lost. I know that without you telling me."

"Full speed ahead!"

In the New World, flying was nothing unusual, but mastering the skill of "flight" was not something just anyone could do.

At the very least, Bloody Skull Farrell could not.

So he could only furiously order the helmsman to sail toward the island where Magnus was.

"Captain Farrell, what about that ship?"

Looking at the ship that had been struck by cannon fire and engulfed in flames, the young pirate who had exposed Magnus's whereabouts could not help asking.

"Who cares about that?"

Farrell looked irritated. At their current speed, it would take them nearly half an hour to reach the island. By then, Magnus would have already rested there for who knew how long.

They had kept up the bombardment in the first place to wear Magnus down.

Yet an island had suddenly appeared?

"Damn it!"

An exhausted Magnus and a fully rested Magnus were completely different matters. Even if Farrell still held the advantage of waiting for him, he had no confidence in fighting a pirate legend like this fairly.

In his foul mood, Farrell even began looking at the young man with displeasure.

With ill intent, he said, "Since you care so much about that ship, why not go take a look? Maybe you can even put out the fire onboard."

Farrell had noticed that aside from Magnus, there was another person on Magnus's ship, seemingly his helmsman. But Magnus had run off himself, which meant he did not care about that helmsman's life at all.

Farrell was not surprised.

Wasn't that how pirates were?

When disaster struck, everyone flew their own way.

Magnus's actions perfectly matched Farrell's stereotype of pirates.

"Fine!"

However, Farrell had not expected the young man to grit his teeth and actually jump off the ship, swimming toward Magnus's blazing vessel.

Farrell had only one assessment of that.

Idiot!

An unnamed island.

After using Geppo to run more than ten kilometers in one breath, Magnus could not help panting, even though his old injuries had already recovered with the system's help.

After all, he was old.

"Since I ran off, those idiots from Blood Skull probably won't keep chasing my ship, right?"

How much could an old wreck of a ship possibly be worth?

On this sea, pirates killed each other either for fame or profit. Who would do something with no benefit?

Right now, those pirates should be doing everything they could to pursue him.

Because as time passed, his stamina was recovering every second. Once he fully recovered and hid inside the island...

Then it would be hard to say who was hunting whom.

But just in case.

"Let Rocks be unlucky, then. That bastard is a pirate with a bounty of 160 million. A few decades from now, with inflation, it might even exceed a billion."

That was also why Magnus had not rashly charged aboard the Blood Skull Pirates' ship.

Come on, he was already seventy!

If he wanted to go all out, he should have done it twenty or thirty years earlier.

Who knew that at that moment, his idiot system would start causing trouble again.

But this time, the information on the system panel made an unprecedented gleam burst from Magnus's already somewhat clouded eyes.

When enemies meet on a narrow road, the brave prevail. Running away is the choice of cowards. Faced with an old pirate in his twilight years, you should fight back bravely rather than flee blindly.

Mission: Defeat Bloody Skull Farrell head-on.

Reward: Conqueror's Haki aptitude, slightly increased cellular vitality!

Conqueror's Haki aptitude!

Magnus had not expected the system to be so generous just for dealing with Bloody Skull.

In the New World, those who possessed Conqueror's Haki were as numerous as fish crossing a river.

But this was the kind of thing...

Either you had it or you did not.

Without Conqueror's Haki, one lost their ticket to the pinnacle of this world. No matter how outstanding their other two types of Haki were, it was difficult for them to defeat a top-tier Conqueror's Haki user.

Because top-tier Conqueror's Haki possessed the power to shut down Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki infusion surpassed even Armament Haki infusion.

Unfortunately, Magnus did not possess Conqueror's Haki.

Therefore, even if Magnus gave it everything he had, he could not reach the pinnacle of pirates.

How much water a barrel could hold depended on its shortest stave.

And now, this shortcoming had a chance to be remedied!

"Bloody Skull Farrell?"

The aged pirate licked his lips. Watching the pirate ship draw ever closer, a savage expression appeared on his face for the first time.

"Since the system is being so generous, then die for my sake!"

In this era, sails had not yet completely replaced oars. Under Farrell's urging, the pirates rowed desperately, forcing what should have been a half-hour voyage down to twenty minutes.

In other words, Magnus had only reached the island fifteen minutes before the Blood Skull Pirates.

"With so little time, I refuse to believe you've fully recovered!"

Farrell planted one foot on the bow and stared coldly at the island. What worried him most was Magnus running onto the island and hiding, forcing him to split his forces to search for him.

That would completely go against his original plan.

His plan was to have his crew attack Magnus together and wear him down, then have himself, the captain, finish things off.

Using this method, he had dealt with countless opponents stronger than himself.

If Magnus hid, they risked being picked off one by one.

"Will you hide, White Wolf Magnus?"

Suddenly, Farrell's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and a smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

He actually saw Magnus standing on the beach!

"Hahahaha! White Wolf Magnus, since you can't wait to die, I'll grant your wish!"

He would kill White Wolf Magnus and make this legend of the old era his stepping stone!

"Fire!"

Farrell roared, ready to strike at any moment.

But faster than his roar, Magnus slowly advanced from the beach toward the Blood Skull Pirates.

A terrifying aura rose from Magnus's body. From the day he went to sea at eighteen, he had trained day after day, improving without pause.

Magnus's mastery of technique had long reached perfection.

And the Giant race's combat technique—Nation Splitter—was the pinnacle where skill and strength overlapped.

White mane began to grow.

His withered body began to swell.

A fierce wind suddenly rose.

The air compressed.

In that instant, the space around Magnus seemed to have been vacuumed dry.

Unlike the time aboard the ship.

This time, Magnus would give everything he had to truly recreate this supreme technique.

"Nation Splitter!"

With a low roar, Magnus swept his blade out.

The shockwave formed from compressed air shot forth like a massive cannon, and even Rocks, who was desperately trying to put out the fire aboard the distant ship, saw it.

Under this strike.

The sea was split in two.

Every obstacle in its path was utterly destroyed.

The Blood Skull Pirates' ship.

Met the same fate.

Under that overwhelming slash, the brand-new sailing ship shattered into pieces. The countless pirates aboard had no chance to struggle before they were blasted into dust by the terrifying impact.

With a single strike.

Magnus destroyed the Blood Skull Pirates' ship and demolished the painstaking foundation Bloody Skull Farrell had built over countless years.

In that instant, Rocks even forgot how Magnus had set him up earlier. Beneath his messy black hair, his long face flushed bright red.

"I have to learn that move!"