Magnus planned to use public opinion to restrict the Navy's hand.
Because the Navy represented justice.
Whenever they marched, they did so from the high ground of morality. Even the massacre of an entire nation, under the World Government's control of the press, could be painted as righteous cleansing.
Magnus's goal was simple: seize that moral ground first.
It would not be easy. In the end, the Government was law, and the White Wolves were pirates. To expect the common folk to side with them was a fool's dream.
But propaganda was not about truth. It was about emphasis. The question was not who these eleven nations turned to for protection, but why they left the Government. If the story was framed as tyranny forcing their hand, if sympathy for their plight spread, if nations saw themselves as lips and teeth sharing the same fate—then the Navy would find it harder to act.
Even the Government could not wholly ignore its members. Why else hold the World Summit every four years?
Still, to entrust survival to the enemy's restraint was foolish. And Magnus knew it.
"Damn it. Headache."
The truth was plain: he lacked enough top fighters. The White Wolves were not yet ready for all-out war against the World Government.
"If it comes to it, I'll even give up the duel with the Sword God."
He turned Autumn Water in his hand—the blade he had taken from Wano. He had left a letter promising to return it someday. Whether Shogun Sukiyaki believed him or not was irrelevant.
The system had given him a "duel" with Ryuma as a reward, but Magnus knew better. It was no simple spar. It was a chance to summon a legend across time itself. An ally of the highest caliber.
Without that, even counting Rona, Harald, and the giants Dorry and Brogy, they barely had three Admiral-class fighters. Equal only to the God's Knights. And unlike last time, there would be no chance to isolate and pick them off.
Ryuma's blade might prove decisive.
But the greatest disadvantage remained: the enemy hidden, the Wolves exposed. To take the eleven kingdoms was to step fully into the light.
"Roya, any ideas?"
"What do you expect me to do? I've got tricks, sure."
"Like what?"
"You could raid Mariejois. That'd pull their heavy hitters back in an instant."
Magnus glared. "Why not just ask me to die? It's not the World Summit. If I stormed Mariejois now, Im would come personally—with the Five Elders at his side. Even I can't take all of them."
They bickered like old times, the former captain and vice, before lapsing into thought.
A voice cut in. Tsuru. Unlike the others, she had actually stayed to listen.
"Don't overthink it. If we accept the eleven, then all eleven will be attacked. Not one, not two—all of them."
Her words hit home. The Government would scorch the earth.
Goldenstein would be the main target, of course. And the solution lay in Ripley. Gather the weaker nations. Concentrate, instead of scattering defense.
So Magnus issued orders:
"Roya, take Newgate, Shiki, and Zephyr to Goldenstein. Guard the kings until the giants arrive."
"Lily, manage the papers."
"Ripley, handle evacuation for the eight smallest nations. Dean and the fishmen will assist."
"Toki, Stussy, Kureha—logistics. Aid, you'll secure Sphinx."
"As for Linlin and Tsuru—you're with me."
It was the largest mobilization the White Wolves had ever attempted. Old guard and new, all moved.
Magnus knew the Government's hand as well.
The Seven Warlords were assembled.
190 million: "Gladiator" Oba.
210 million: "Oni" Willard.
205 million: "Black Scorpion" Patrick.
200 million: "Blood Axe" Felukht.
230 million: "Plague" Davenport.
220 million: "The Twins."
250 million: "Storm" Xiloz.
Names Magnus knew. Some he had fought before. Monsters of the New World, each worth over two hundred million. Men who could contend with Admirals—for a time.
His crew could not match them yet. Not Ripley, not Newgate. These were pirates chosen for their power.
Magnus almost considered another path—breaking into Impel Down. With Ripley's powers, it would be laughably simple. But he dismissed it as quickly as it came. Those held in that prison were monsters for a reason. For every innocent swept up, there were nine who deserved the chains.
The Navy had also filled its missing Admiral seat, less than two years after Rona's defection. Their reserves were endless. Proof of how deep the Government's roots ran.
So Magnus prepared. And the Government prepared in kind.
Both sides sharpening their fangs.
And then—an unexpected spark.
From Magra Kingdom, word spread.
Rocks D. Xebec, the Child of Omen, had defeated a senior CP commander. A man whispered to be Admiral-level.
News swept the seas.
Magnus had slain an Admiral. Now Rocks had felled the Government's hidden fangs.
The world gasped.
And the bounty posters came fresh off the presses.
"The Evil Wolf's Fangs—'Omen' Rocks D. Xebec."
Bounty: 330,000,000 berries.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]