Chapter 61: The Curtain Falls

In this world, a person's strength depends on their conviction. Physical power alone cannot decide everything. A strong conviction is the foundation for overcoming any challenge. Kong had found his conviction. That's why he would grow stronger. But from the very beginning, Kong's conviction had a fatal flaw. He wanted to bring order to the seas. Yet what is order, if not rules? And the World Government itself is both the greatest creator and the greatest violator of rules. The Celestial Dragons who rule the Government have never even acknowledged the rules of mortals. About to become an taishō (admiral), Magnus didn't believe Kong was ignorant of what the Celestial Dragons truly were. So his idea of order was nothing but a joke. If Kong could truly live by his conviction, then yes—he would grow incredibly strong. But before that... "An empty-talking brat like you isn't even worth mentioning!" With one final slash, all the strange phenomena caused by their earlier clash of power vanished. Kong's body was hurled away, crashing heavily into the distance and not rising again. Magnus stood in place, unmoving. "Was it too much after all...?" He didn't know if Kong had lost the ability to fight—but Magnus himself already had. Right now, even an ordinary chūjō (vice admiral) could finish him. Yet... one minute passed, then two... After five minutes, Magnus finally caught his breath. Kong still lay on the ground, unmoving. If Magnus hadn't seen his chest still rising and falling, he might have thought Kong was dead. But impossible. Magnus knew exactly how much force he'd used on that final strike—enough to severely injure, not kill. To kill Kong would've taken double that power. A martial artist, master of all three haki. Not a zōon (zoan) user, yet as resilient as one. And young. Their final battle had ended in a draw. Magnus could no longer move. And Kong no longer had the strength to fight. "Did we... win?" Lili stared blankly at the battlefield, where only Magnus remained standing. It felt like a dream. To be honest, when she first heard Magnus had stolen the Heavenly Tribute and appeared on Sphinx... Lili thought he'd gone mad. For decades, they'd tried everything—and never managed to overcome the mountain that was an admiral. But today... They had not only defeated an admiral—but also an admiral candidate. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Steel Bone Kong became an admiral. So in other words— "Did we just beat two admirals today?" Hearing her words, Roya rolled his eyes from where he lay. "So now we're unstoppable killers, huh?" "Hmph! Magnus is our captain. If the captain is strong, we're strong!" Lili crossed her arms proudly. "Yes, yes." Roya, unable to even move, didn't bother arguing. He knew luck had played a big part today. If they'd faced Kong and another young admiral, they might have lost. After all, Magnus alone still couldn't truly face two admirals head-on. And they... were just support. Magnus stood, trying to recover as much strength as possible. His kenbunshoku no haki (observation haki) swept over the island, confirming there were no surprises before finally relaxing. At first, he hadn't expected the original White Wolf crew to show up. He hadn't counted their strength in his plans. If it had come to it, Magnus was prepared to abandon Sphinx and retreat. With his power, once in beast form, it would've been easy to take a few people and flee. Freeze the sea, make a path. Even against twice as many taishō-level enemies, unless they could fly or walk on water and completely block his route, they couldn't stop him. But when Roya and the others arrived, everything changed. The pirates on the front lines began pushing back the Navy, and Magnus himself gained the upper hand against Kong and Sebas. In the end, after Sebas exhausted himself, Magnus struck the final blow. This outcome was far better than he had hoped. Neither side could keep fighting. Far off, Kong finally sat up, having regained some strength. "What? You still want to fight?" With his zōon and enhanced cellular vitality, Magnus's recovery far outpaced others. Just a dozen minutes of rest and he was much better. Kong wasn't a Devil Fruit user, but as a martial arts master with youth on his side and less serious wounds, he might even be in better shape than Magnus. "...No point." Kong fell silent. His kenbunshoku no haki also scanned the island. With both taishō-level fighters tied up, and the White Wolf crew now on the field, the Navy was at a disadvantage. He couldn't defeat Magnus, and continuing the fight would just cause pointless deaths. This battle—they had lost. At the harbor town— Even those great taishō-level warriors were exhausted—let alone the ordinary marines and pirates. Hornitz was stunned. When the original White Wolf crew appeared, he realized things had gone wrong. Shouldn't such powerful fighters have gone to help their captain? They had two taishō-level fighters on their side! The Navy's assault on Sphinx was built on the assumption that the White Wolf Pirates would be contained by the admirals, and the rest of the pirates on the island would be swept aside. Hornitz never thought the admirals would lose. Even if Magnus could fight one to a draw—they still had another. Kong's strength was already acknowledged by the admirals. Yet after half a day of battle— The admirals couldn't bring down Magnus. The White Wolf crew rampaged through their formations. And he— Hadn't even managed to take down this new recruit. Hornitz glared at Rocks, veins bulging in his eyes. So close. Just a little more. He was on the verge of winning, just a little more! Suddenly— From the Navy warships came a mournful horn. Kong's voice rang in every marine's ear. "All forces, retreat!" No. Just a little more. He could've won! But the order was absolute. Even as Hornitz's face twisted with unwillingness—he obeyed. And Rocks wore the same unwilling expression. "Damn it! You're running away?" Bruised and battered, Rocks shouted. "We were so close!" "I almost had it!" "One more push and I could've awakened my kenbunshoku no haki!" But he couldn't stop Hornitz from leaving. Facing an opponent stronger than him, Rocks had already pushed himself to the limit. He had no strength left to keep him here. But if the Navy retreated— That meant— "Did we... win?" (End of Chapter) [Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome] [Thank You For Your Support!]