On the shattered reef.
Magnus and Rona sat facing each other, just a few meters apart.
"Didn't expect you'd actually dare come here alone."
"Why wouldn't I?"
Compared to how she carried herself before the marines and the pirates, Rona was clearly more at ease now that it was just the two of them. She even stretched lazily, as though unafraid Magnus might suddenly strike.
"Though you're a pirate, your bottom line is higher than plenty of marines'. Besides, you're not much stronger than me — attacking me here would only infuriate us, with nothing to gain."
"Come to think of it,"
"This is the first time we've sat and talked without fighting, isn't it?"
Rona looked at Magnus, her gaze a little dazed.
She'd always imagined the day she spoke to Magnus face-to-face would be inside Impel Down, after she'd personally thrown him into prison.
She hadn't expected that he would, through sheer strength, force the entire navy to lower its head.
Hearing her words, Magnus laughed.
"Yeah. Never thought that little girl from back then would grow up — now you're almost a middle-aged lady."
Crack!
No sooner had Magnus spoken than the atmosphere shifted, a killing intent descending that made him wonder if Rona was about to tear up their truce and attack him right then and there.
"Just joking. Just joking."
Magnus quickly raised his hands in surrender. Truthfully, he didn't dislike Rona. Just like he respected Kong, he always respected marines who did their duty and never bullied ordinary people.
"You don't joke about that to a lady."
A lady…
Magnus thought about it — Rona was at least a dozen years younger than him, but they'd first met more than twenty years ago. She must be in her forties by now, maybe even close to fifty.
Wasn't that a… middle-aged maiden?
"Old man, I feel like you're thinking something rude."
As a marine admiral, Rona's Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) was sharp. She sensed his faintly malicious thoughts the moment they arose.
"This lady is still in her prime! Last time the marines did a popularity vote, I was number one! Don't push your luck, you damn old man!"
Rona admitted she was older now, but compared to twenty years ago, she was just more mature.
The marines' base salary wasn't much, but the bounty bonuses made up for it. With those, she'd never skimped on maintaining her skin.
They'd always been enemies, but now that they sat and talked, Rona found she couldn't muster much hatred toward him.
Yes, Seibas, a fellow admiral, had died at Magnus's hands.
By rights, she should be furious.
But honestly.
She wasn't as upset as she thought she'd be.
Though both marines, Seibas's past deeds, in her heart, were worse than those of Magnus, a pirate.
As for catching pirates? Wasn't that what marines were supposed to do anyway?
But Magnus was still a pirate.
And the damage he'd inflicted on the marines this time was enormous.
"Speak."
No more jokes — Rona's expression turned serious.
"What do you want?"
Frankly, if not for the thousands of marines stranded on Sphinx, even after their defeat, Magnus wouldn't have had the right to negotiate.
But with seven thousand marines captured, even she, a marine admiral, had to rush here personally.
Because the problem was too big — and with Kong still a vice admiral despite his strength, he couldn't bear this responsibility.
Only she could.
"Very simple."
Magnus smiled and held up two fingers.
"I can give you two choices."
His words made Rona frown, but she didn't interrupt.
"First choice: you pay one million Berries in ransom per marine, double for officers, quadruple for flag officers. Then fifty billion Berries more to Sphinx for reconstruction."
"Impossible!"
Before he could finish, Rona cut him off.
"Seven thousand soldiers — even if all were below officer level, that's seventy billion. Add another fifty billion?"
"Magnus. You think one hundred twenty billion Berries is realistic?"
The navy's budget was already tight, and the responsibility for the stolen Tenjōkin (Heavenly Tribute) already lay with them. If they forked over another hundred twenty billion, would there even be enough left to pay wages in the second half of the year?
So Rona was certain Magnus's so-called first choice was just setting the stage for his second.
"And now, Sphinx no longer has seven thousand marines — without enough medicine, many of the wounded could die at any moment."
"What's the second choice?"
Interrupting him again, Rona's face darkened — she revised her opinion: Magnus was nothing but a villain!
"Second choice is simple."
Seeing her expression, Magnus chuckled. "I want Sphinx to join the World Government as a member nation — and for the next one hundred years, be exempt from Tenjōkin."
That was his true goal!
Simply repelling the marines wouldn't have forced them this far. But with his old crewmates' help, Magnus held a card the marines couldn't ignore.
Two thousand lightly wounded marines, three thousand severely wounded.
Unless the marines wanted their soldiers to stop fighting for them —
They had to ransom these five thousand men.
Yes — five thousand, not seven.
Magnus wasn't kidding: with Sphinx's limited medicine, many who were already dead or critically wounded couldn't be saved.
If this weren't a world where people were unusually resilient, many of the severely wounded wouldn't have even made it through the night.
Rona's expression turned conflicted.
Clearly, she couldn't easily agree to either condition.
But she knew.
Compared to the first, Headquarters was much more likely to accept the second — they'd just haggle over the details.
After all, it was just a member nation status.
The World Government was always coercing and enticing non-member nations to join anyway.
And once Sphinx became a member —
Then the navy's invasion of Sphinx could be justified. With some clever PR, the impact of this failed operation could be minimized.
But giving that title away also meant —
The navy would have to protect the civilians living on Sphinx.
And that wouldn't be the end of it.
Because now, Sphinx was under Magnus's complete control.
If he wanted —
He could issue residence permits and merchant licenses to pirates.
Out there they'd be pirates.
On the island, they'd be merchants.
Sphinx would become a natural pirate haven.
Once inside —
The navy couldn't storm a member nation's territory just to catch pirates.
But maybe… it was still the best choice.
The navy wouldn't pay a huge ransom, the World Government gained a member, Magnus got a safe territory, and the pirates had a home.
A world where no one got hurt anymore.
But Rona was certain.
Magnus must have other schemes she didn't yet know.
In April.
Large shipments of emergency medicine arrived from the marines, saving many severely wounded marines — and even some pirates.
The navy hadn't immediately agreed to Magnus's demands.
But faster than their reply came the new bounty notice from Headquarters.
Captain of the White Wolf Pirates: Knowles Magnus.
Bounty:
560 Million!!
(End of Chapter)
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