"White Wolf Magnus!!!"
On a desolate, remote island, Farrell's roar rang through the heavens.
It had been too long.
Farrell had forgotten how long it had been since he had fought with everything he had, without any schemes or tricks.
Just pure slaughter.
His enemy was a legend among pirates, one of the strongest swordsmen in the world.
The immense pressure nearly left Farrell unable to breathe.
"Haha, that's it, brat! Don't disappoint this old man too much!"
Farrell stood a full two meters tall, but Magnus, after transforming into a wolf, stood three meters tall.
The battle between the two was like one between a giant and a dwarf.
Unlike Yamato's slender Beastman Form in the future, Magnus's Beastman Form was far more savage. Not only could he swing a blade; every part of his body could become a weapon.
Though it looked as if Magnus was overwhelmingly suppressing Farrell.
Only Magnus himself knew that if he could not land a fatal blow, he would eventually exhaust his stamina if this continued.
Suddenly.
Magnus stumbled.
Farrell seized the opportunity and thrust forward without hesitation.
This was an opportunity.
Farrell's opportunity.
It also told Magnus that he did not have much time left.
Since he had made a mistake.
Then he might as well see it through!
A vicious gleam flashed through Magnus's eyes. After roaming the seas for so many years without any cheat ability, he had survived until now not just because of luck, but because he dared to fight and risk his life!
I have a Mythical Zoan. If I get stabbed once, a good meal will heal me right back up.
What Devil Fruit do you have?
The heavy blade was about to come crashing down, and Farrell felt his heart pounding faster than it ever had before.
Advance, or retreat?
If it had been any other enemy, Farrell would have advanced without hesitation.
Because he was the wielder of the Paramecia Damage-Damage Fruit.
Anything he touched and damaged would be extremely difficult to restore.
One strike.
As long as he stabbed Magnus once.
Even Magnus, with the powers of a Zoan Fruit, would not be able to endure it.
But should he gamble?
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
He could not gamble!
Farrell ultimately backed down.
His strike might have severely injured Magnus, but afterward, he could have been trapped in Magnus's relentless storm of attacks, unable to escape.
Already at a disadvantage, could he endure it?
Sometimes, habits determined success or failure.
He had always been accustomed to letting his subordinate crew members wear down the enemy first.
When it came time for the real fight, how could he dare gamble with his own life?
And at the instant he retreated.
Magnus smiled.
The white wolf bared a savage grin.
"The victor has been decided, Farrell. Your spirit is nothing more than this!"
"Haha."
On the Black Pearl, one arm hung limply at his side. Rocks stood with all his strength, looking at the equally battered Cassius before him.
Rocks had originally thought he was the best fighter in town. Even the police in his town were no match for him, so taking down a pirate who obviously looked like a lackey should have been easy, right?
But once they started fighting, he had nearly lost.
"Still, in the end, I was the better fighter, haha!"
He had only paid the price of one arm, while Cassius's sword had already been knocked away. What could an unarmed Cassius use to fight him?
On the other side, Cassius remained expressionless.
He knew that he had lost.
He had clearly held the upper hand at first. In the White Wolf Pirates, he had never lacked powerful people to guide him. Yet he had watched Rocks wield a third-rate sword style, slowly steal his techniques bit by bit, and finally use the price of an arm to knock the saber from his hand.
Was this what a genius was?
For the first time, Cassius understood the look Magnus gave him.
It was pity.
It was regret.
In the end, he could not even defeat a helmsman his captain had casually picked up.
Thud!
A corpse fell from the sky and slammed heavily onto the deck of the Black Pearl.
At the sight of the figure falling from the sky.
Cassius's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
The captain had won!
From the moment Farrell backed down, the outcome had already been clear.
Magnus had been stronger than Farrell to begin with. He was only unable to unleash his full strength because he was old and his stamina could not keep up.
If Farrell had traded injury for injury with Magnus, then the younger Farrell might have secured the final victory.
After all, recovering from wounds with a Zoan Fruit also consumed stamina.
As time passed, as long as Farrell held on.
Magnus might have been the one to lose.
Unfortunately, Farrell had failed to hold on to that last bit of resolve.
Still, although Magnus had won, Farrell's final desperate counterattack had nearly stripped a layer of skin from him.
Magnus was now drenched in blood, and less than a tenth of his stamina remained.
Fortunately, all of his old hidden injuries had recovered beforehand.
If he had fought while still carrying those hidden injuries, the outcome truly would have been hard to tell.
And at that moment, the system panel appeared.
After a not particularly difficult battle, you easily defeated Bloody Skull Farrell. As a remnant of the old era, the moment he lost his dreams and his will to advance, he was destined to be cast aside by the times. You have obtained Conqueror's Haki aptitude. Your cell vitality has slightly increased.
Not particularly difficult?
Magnus's mouth twitched. Fine, system, whatever you said.
As for the Conqueror's Haki aptitude he had been longing for.
With a thought from Magnus, an invisible aura suddenly erupted. Rocks and Cassius on the ship turned pale, as though they had seen some prehistoric beast, and nearly fainted.
"Hm, I've only grasped the basics. It seems that aside from fighting, there is no other way to become proficient with Conqueror's Haki."
Magnus's Armament Haki and Observation Haki were both at the highest level, so with that foundation, he had easily grasped how to use Conqueror's Haki.
But this so-called use was really just a one-button battlefield clear, a tool for dealing with fodder.
He could not use its more advanced applications at all.
Because the intensity of Magnus's Conqueror's Haki was still insufficient. Right now, he could not even knock out rookies like Rocks and Cassius.
"Take it slow."
Magnus was not in a hurry. After all, this was only the beginning.
"Captain."
Cassius's voice sounded from the side. Magnus turned to look, and the young pirate's body trembled slightly as he looked at him with a trace of pleading in his eyes.
"I..."
"Cassius, Lily and the others must be very sad."
Magnus looked at Cassius and spoke calmly.
Magnus admitted that over the past five years, his ambition had greatly diminished. His attitude toward Cassius had been more one of neglect.
The ones who had truly cared for Cassius were mostly his old crew members.
However, that was not a reason for Cassius to betray him.
Because he owed Cassius nothing.
If not for them, Cassius might have died in that village long ago.
So.
"I made a wrong decision."
Under Cassius's terrified gaze, Magnus swung his blade down.
"Now I will make up for it."
"Cassius."
"You no longer owe us anything."
Magnus swung his blade, severing the last trace of his bond with the past.
He looked toward the other figure on the ship.
"Rocks, well done!"
"Hmph, of course."
Rocks proudly lifted his chin, making Magnus burst into laughter.
Now.
It was a new beginning!
Before you continue