Chapter 80: What It Means to Be a Pirate!

Success. When the triangular encirclement formed, even Kong and Grindewin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At their level of strength, defeating an opponent one-on-one was virtually impossible. A single taishō-class (admiral-level) fighter who wanted to escape couldn't be caught even by a fleet. Even if they were a akuma no mi (devil fruit) user... At this stage, they'd all mastered at least geppō (moonwalk) to move freely through the air. The most outrageous were the mugon no mi (fruitless) fighters — those without fruits — who could swim across the Calm Belt itself, where giant Sea Kings lurked, while the Navy's ships could do nothing. So unless at least two equal-level fighters surrounded them, it was impossible to stop a determined opponent. And when there were three — quantity became quality. "Magnus, you've got no wings left to fly!" Grindewin, in his falcon form high above, cackled. Though his strength was indeed slightly below the other three here, his job was clear: to stop Magnus from fleeing. Once Magnus was locked down by him, even Magnus couldn't escape. But Grindewin never realized — it wasn't him who had trapped Magnus. It was Magnus who'd been chasing him. "Surrender, Magnus!" Kong clenched his fist, staring at Magnus, his fighting spirit blazing. "This time, I won't lose again!" Though their last fight had ended in a draw, failing to capture Magnus was the same as defeat to Kong. Rona, meanwhile, remained silent as she stared at Magnus. She didn't believe for a second that Magnus had come charging in here without some kind of plan, knowing full well there were three enemies of equal level waiting. Where was his trump card? Suddenly— Rona's kenbunshoku haki (observation haki) sensed something stirring on the island. Elbaf was massive — even her future-sight-level kenbunshoku couldn't cover it all. But within her range... A massive group of giants was charging out from hiding, striking at the Navy and CP0. The largest concentration was at the site where King Harald was held captive. Rona snapped her gaze back to Magnus. "You planned this!" Magnus grinned. "Hah! You guessed right — but no prize!" Seeing the giants of Elbaf finally rise up, Magnus laughed heartily, though he knew... the hardest part was still ahead. "So what's it going to be? Are you going to try and catch me — or turn back to suppress those giants?" There was no choice. "Attack!" Kong and Rona lunged from either side. Grindewin followed as well: "Rankyaku: Danpa!" (Tempest Kick: Severing Wave!)"Setsugetsu!" (Moon Cleaver!)"Tekkō Uchi!" (Steel Smash!) The three top-level fighters struck together. Even though Magnus was slightly stronger than each of them, their numbers evened the scale. "Once we deal with you, we can clean up those damned giants at our leisure!" Grindewin sneered. Even if the giants rescued Harald — so what? He was already crippled, nearly dead. Without a zōon (beast-type) fruit, he couldn't recover his strength. Better to take Magnus down first — then mop up the giants later. From three directions, their attacks left no room to evade — Magnus would have to block them all. His haōshoku (conqueror's haki) flared and wrapped around his blade. For this battle, lasting only an hour, he didn't need to conserve strength. "Ryūjin!" (Dragon Hunt!) Crackling lightning spiraled around Magnus, intercepting the attacks of all three. But... 'Are they closing in on me?' As his blade clashed against Rona's, Magnus felt the sharp edge of her busoshoku (armament haki) colliding with his haōshoku. "Go back!" The deafening shockwave forced Rona back, but as soon as he repelled her — Kong was already there. "Kotsu Kudaki!" (Bone Breaker!) A punch so dense with busoshoku that Magnus's skin already ached before it even connected. "Still not enough!" Magnus roared, twisting his battered body mid-clash, his fist wrapped in his own busoshoku. BOOM—! Kong's punch shattered the ground at Magnus's feet, spiderweb cracks radiating for thousands of meters. "No—!" Magnus's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of something on the edge of the battlefield. "Magnus — can you really afford to think about anything else while fighting us?" Rona's cold voice cut through as she swung her blade. "Seiryū!" (Silent Stream!) While Magnus was locked with Kong, her sword sliced across his chest — even with haki defending him, it drew blood. "Magnus-san!" At the battlefield's edge, Tengetsu Toki stifled a gasp, pressing her hands over her mouth. Shrunk down to the size of an ant by Ripley's mini-mini no mi (mini-mini fruit), just standing was a struggle — let alone getting closer. But she remembered: no matter what happened, no matter what she saw, she must never rush onto the battlefield. She had to believe in Magnus! "Damn... that hurt!" Rona's cut was merciless — just as Magnus's own strikes against her half a year ago had been merciless. He'd never expected her to hold back. Honestly, while he remembered her vaguely... he couldn't recall ever meeting Rona anywhere other than as a pursuing enemy after he became a pirate. "Kyokkan Jigoku!" (Frozen Hell!) Magnus opened his mouth — an icy breath like a dragon's roar blasted forth, hammering Kong and Rona and forcing them back. The chilling frost began to creep over their bodies — though he knew it wouldn't hold them long. And— There was still another threat lurking. "Hayabusa Geki!" (Falcon Strike!) Grindewin dove from the sky, his talons raking across Magnus's shoulder and drawing another grunt of pain. At the same time, Kong and Rona broke free of the frost and appeared before him again. Pain. Each clash left Magnus more battered and bloodied. But even so— There was no retreat in his eyes. Only defiance. Only rising fighting spirit. "This... is what it means to be a pirate!" A pirate was someone who risked everything to reach for what they desired! That was true of Magnus. It was true of Rocks. It was true of the giants of Elbaf. They staked their lives as chips on the table — and rose in rebellion against the wicked who sat above them. And this... was only the beginning. (End of Chapter)[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome][Thank You For Your Support!]