Haki could be stored.
The signs were everywhere. The clearest proof was with those who used ranged weapons—bullets infused with Haki that carried its force even after leaving the body. But those were only temporary.
There were objects permanently steeped in Haki—like the black blades. Any material, when soaked in Haki long enough, would inherit its nature, until it turned completely black. Only those at the very peak could forge such a weapon alone.
And yet, even that wasn't what excited Magnus.
What truly thrilled him was the faint, chilling trace of Haki sealed inside Ryuma's blade, Shusui.
Without doubt, it surpassed his own. It edged close to the level he had only ever sensed from Im. Perhaps even further than that.
Maybe eight hundred years ago, someone had climbed even higher. But Magnus had no guide. He could only feel his way forward. Every strong Haki user he encountered—ally or enemy—was a teacher. Even those who wanted his life.
In the Flower Capital, Kozuki Sukiyaki could only seethe as Magnus toyed with the treasured sword in his hands. The shogun had never suffered such humiliation. But against Magnus's power, what could he do? To provoke him was to invite death.
He could only hope, futilely, that Ryuma himself might rise from the grave to cut Magnus down.
But that would never happen.
A baby's cry interrupted his thoughts. Sukiyaki's heart skipped. His son, Oden.
The servants explained they couldn't stop him—six months old, yet already strong enough to toss aside his nursemaids. Sukiyaki's pride swelled at his boy's monstrous talent. Perhaps one day he would avenge this shame. But not now. Not before Magnus.
Then Oden toddled into Magnus's chambers, and the room turned to chaos. The baby reached not for Magnus, but for Toki. His little face… leering, unsettling.
In the next instant, Oden flew out the window.
"ODEN!!!" Sukiyaki roared, veins bulging, blade in hand. But before he could charge, Magnus's Conqueror's Haki knocked him unconscious where he stood.
Magnus sighed. "It's the first floor, not the eighteenth. He'll live."
In truth, if not for the boy's face—so lecherous, so obscene for an infant—Magnus might have let it slide. Instead, he'd tossed him aside like trash.
Beside him, Toki shivered. "That child… he felt wrong. Are all babies like this, Magnus?"
He shook his head. "No. This one's an exception."
Magnus had no interest in taking Oden under his wing. He feared stupidity might be contagious. And lust that early? Unforgivable.
"Come. We're leaving."
Toki followed without hesitation, already embracing the role of his wife. Behind them, Oden wailed in the dirt, unseen, unheard.
Magnus's presence warped destinies. Some for the better. Some for the worse. For Toki, it was salvation. She revealed at last the secret she had carried:
A prophecy. Wano would face a great calamity. Only when a destined savior arrived would the land be freed, and the nation open its borders.
"I crossed centuries because of this," Toki confessed. "But with you, Magnus, I've lived things I never knew. The future is too far away. I want to choose now."
She chose him.
He only laughed when she admitted his talk of opening Wano had frightened her. "Ha! Worried I'm the one who brings calamity?"
"Of course not," she said firmly. "You'd never slaughter the innocent."
And indeed, though he had crushed Wano's warriors, he hadn't harmed the people. If he had wanted, he could have opened the nation by force. Instead, he gave his crew sparring partners and let the samurai lick their wounds.
Half a year passed. And the White Wolves grew.
Ripley's breakthrough came in the most unlikely place—her Observation Haki. In her duels, she forged an instinct, not quite future sight but near enough, especially paired with her Mini Mini no Mi. She could shrink her body mid-fight, twisting enemy attacks into misses. Even in bed, her powers caused Magnus grief—until he taught her what true mastery meant.
But her growth was overshadowed. The one who advanced the most was Whitebeard. With Rocks gone, he bore the weight of the crew. After months of relentless battles, he surpassed Ripley. For the first time, he defeated her outright. His secret weapon—his Gura Gura no Mi, fused with the internal destruction of Armament Haki. Even Magnus admitted it was nearly impossible to block.
Ripley was frustrated, but laughed it off. She had always known this day would come.
Linlin, meanwhile, wasted her days in Wano's kitchens. Half a month vanished before Magnus dragged her out, beating discipline into her. Yet her monstrous nature shone through—growing stronger even while eating and lazing.
Among the newer recruits, the first to awaken Haki was not Shiki, but Zephyr. His natural affinity for both Armament and Observation was undeniable, laying the path to the admiral he would one day become.
Shiki lagged only because he split his focus—blade, Devil Fruit, and Haki alike.
Tsuru, Stussy, even Toki progressed too, though more slowly. Still, none remained stagnant.
Magnus thought these days might stretch on forever, until they left Wano behind.
But peace never lasts.
After Magnus's assault on Mariejois, the World Government's prestige lay shattered. To restore it, they needed power.
And Wano—isolated, rich, strong—was the perfect target.
The storm was coming.
(End of Chapter)
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