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 Governnt'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 Governnt 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 Governnt. If the story was frad as tyranny forcing their hand, if sympathy for their plight spread, if nations saw themselves as lips and teeth sharing the sa fate—then the Navy would find it harder to act.
Even the Governnt could not wholly ignore its mbers. 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 Governnt.
"If it cos 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 soday. 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 ti 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 ti, 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 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 to die? It's not the World Summit. If I stord Mariejois now, Im would co personally—with the Five Elders at his side. Even I can't take all of them."
They bickered like old tis, the forr 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 ho. The Governnt 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 fishn will assist."
"Toki, Stussy, Kureha—logistics. Aid, you'll secure Sphinx."
"As for Linlin and Tsuru—you're with ."
It was the largest mobilization the White Wolves had ever attempted. Old guard and new, all moved.
Magnus knew the Governnt'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.
Nas Magnus knew. So he had fought before. Monsters of the New World, each worth over two hundred million. n who could contend with Admirals—for a ti.
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 ca. 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 Governnt's roots ran.
So Magnus prepared. And the Governnt prepared in kind.
Both sides sharpening their fangs.
And then—an unexpected spark.
From Magra Kingdom, word spread.
Rocks D. Xebec, the Child of On, 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 Governnt's hidden fangs.
The world gasped.
And the bounty posters ca fresh off the presses.
"The Evil Wolf's Fangs—'On' Rocks D. Xebec."
Bounty: 330,000,000 berries.
(End of Chapter)
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