Near the coast of Elbaf.
A Marine warship was docked nearby.
When Rona, wounded and bleeding, suddenly appeared on the deck, the whole ship fell into chaos.
"Shakuhibi Taishou (Admiral Crimson Serpent), you're injured!?"
"Damn it! Was it those giants of Elbaf!?"
"All hands on alert!"
"—"
The ship turned into a flurry of panic, until Vice Admiral Aira, Rona's adjutant, stepped forward.
"Everyone shut up!"
The short-haired female Marine stared directly at her superior with unyielding eyes and demanded,
"Admiral Rona, what exactly happened on Elbaf?"
The ship wasn't far from Elbaf, and the Marines had indeed noticed the commotion on the island.
But trusting Rona, they hadn't set foot onshore.
After all, they were Marines—
And Elbaf wasn't part of the World Governnt.
A single misstep could cause a major diplomatic incident.
And with Rona's strength, just slipping into Elbaf undetected should've been easy.
They never imagined she'd return this badly injured—
Her shoulder blade nearly shattered.
"Eh... it's really not a big deal..."
Facing Aira's gaze, which seed to pierce the soul, Rona dodged the question.
What was she supposed to say?
That she got into a duel with an old man and almost lost?
"Is the White Wolf Pirates up there?"
"!!"
Rona froze.
She hadn't said a thing.
Seeing her stunned expression, Aira sighed and held her forehead.
Did Rona really think Aira had been her adjutant for so little ti?
She had been with Rona since the very first warship she commanded, ever since she was promoted to Rear Admiral and gained independent operation authority.
And she knew—
Rona rarely showed much interest in anything.
Except when it ca to the White Wolf Pirates.
At first, Aira thought Rona must have so vendetta against them.
But after multiple failed operations—
Even ones where the Navy set up inescapable traps, only for the White Wolf Pirates to escape because of Rona's reckless decisions—
Aira realized:
There's sothing weird between Rona and the White Wolf Pirates.
She fought them, sure.
And she beat them, for real.
But when it ca ti to go for the kill—
She always held back.
Eventually, Aira stumbled upon a bit of Rona's childhood history.
Back when her village was attacked by pirates, the person who saved her—before becoming a pirate himself—was Magnus.
Then it all clicked.
Aira imagined an entire 300,000-word tragic love story:
Young girl idolizes the man who saved her, joins the Navy to destroy the pirates that ruined her ho,
Only to find that her idol had beco a pirate himself.
Thus begins a cycle of love-hate battles across the sea.
Most importantly:
Rona rembers Magnus.
But Magnus clearly doesn't rember her.
He just thinks she's so annoying Marine who keeps showing up.
Damn it... are they characters from so third-rate soap opera?
Aira had long felt that if Rona kept letting the White Wolf Pirates escape without explanation, she was bound to get caught eventually.
And see?
Now she had.
Aira didn't believe for a second that the White Wolf Pirates kept escaping just because they were strong.
There had to be an inside accomplice.
And that accomplice was right beside her—
Her commanding officer.
"Admiral Rona..."
"Okay, okay, don't say it. This ti it's my fault.
Next ti I'll go all out—
We'll capture that old man and throw him into Impel Down together!"
That's what Rona said.
But in truth, she was starting to feel like Magnus was getting hard to handle.
Aira believed Rona was going easy on them each ti.
But that wasn't it.
Because Magnus had once been the person Rona admired the most,
She wanted nothing more than to capture him—
To question him.
Why did he beco a pirate?
So Rona never held back.
She had always fought Magnus with everything she had.
The youthful impulse had faded over the years, but what remained was a pure obsession.
She wanted to catch Magnus.
Not to ask why—
But because she wanted to catch him.
Five years ago,
That was the first ti she beat Magnus purely through strength.
It was also the first ti she felt like her ideal wasn't so far out of reach.
But then...
Ca the disappointnt.
The once-mighty White Wolf Pirates turned out to be just so-so.
The unstoppable Magnus—
Had grown old.
No longer radiant.
No longer wild.
No longer untad.
Even though the White Wolf Pirates had escaped this ti too,
Rona's desire to capture them had started to fade.
Even this visit to Elbaf had just been a way to give closure to this endless chase.
And then—
She got defeated.
Rona didn't know what Magnus had been doing these past five years,
But the man she saw—
It was as if he'd been reborn.
Once again, he was the one from her childhood—
That sailor who pulled her from the rubble.
So full of energy.
So brash.
So free.
When he injured her, Rona didn't feel even a trace of regret.
Instead, she felt a profound joy.
This—
This was the one she had chased for so long.
This was the White Wolf Magnus!
While the Marines watched in stunned silence,
Their female Admiral suddenly let out a hearty laugh—
One that made their skin crawl.
"Haha! Magnus, this ti you won."
"But next ti—"
"I won't hold back!"
"Achoo!"
High above Elbaf,
Seated on the back of the giant eagle Bastian, chasing the fleeing CP0—
Magnus suddenly sneezed.
"Am I getting old? Why do I suddenly feel cold?"
He had this weird feeling, like sothing was watching him.
"Probably from blood loss,"
Rocks muttered, seeing how Magnus's wounds hadn't fully healed.
"If you're hurt, just go back and rest.
Leave the rest to us."
"To Ripley, not to you."
Magnus shot down Rocks with a smirk.
"You're still no match for the ones down there."
Truth be told, even Ripley couldn't take on three CP0 agents at once—
If they weren't already injured.
"Hmph."
Rocks turned his head away in frustration.
Magnus ignored him and turned toward Ripley.
"Ripley, are you ready?"
"Mm!"
On the eagle's back, a figure as tiny as an ant nodded firmly.
Looking at her now, no one would believe her real body was nearly twenty ters tall.
Magnus placed the miniature Ripley in his palm, then looked toward the small ship drifting below them.
"Alright then—go!"
And with a light flick—
He tossed her down.
(End of Chapter)
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