Two years could feel like a lifetime or pass in the blink of an eye. A child went from conception to birth in ten months. Acropolis Port rose from rubble to become a thriving city. Yet compared to Silas's eighty years of life, two years was just one-fortieth, barely a footnote in his lengthy pirate career.
Sea Circle Calendar 1468. Three years after the Acropolis Port battle, people expected an irreconcilable conflict between the White Wolf Pirates and the World Government. But the truth was stranger. For the past three years, the World Government has never entered the New World again. They ignored their nearby enemies as if they didn't exist.
Everything became eerily peaceful. Silas didn't care. Time was on his side.
Rocks's pirate crew gradually gained fame. Newgate's Whitebeard Pirates debuted early. Though the former claimed independence, he always obtained supplies from the White Wolf Pirates, openly treated as an affiliated fleet. Naturally Rocks was displeased.
"But with the arrival of peace, Rocks's growth experience ended. Without challenging Silas or Harald, the entire sea had few opponents for him. When he first used Advanced Conqueror's Haki, it meant he'd already reached the sea's peak. To continue growing, he needed to experience life-or-death struggles repeatedly."
But then, who could be his opponent? Unfortunately, Rocks's pride wouldn't allow seeking Silas's guidance again. As for challenging Silas? He lacked even a certain victory against Harald. How could he challenge stronger Silas? After all, he only had one chance!
Conversely, Newgate's situation left Silas both amused and exasperated. He'd thought that after Newgate set sail, he'd challenge opponents everywhere like Rocks, becoming powerful. Who knew that when Silas heard the news, Newgate had walked the same path as his original timeline? He'd somehow gathered a bunch of orphans, spending more than he earned, forcing him to seek Silas's help.
Then, half a year ago, Shiki also requested to set sail. Silas naturally agreed. For these future powerhouses, forcibly restraining them with force was useless. They wanted freedom. Silas gave them freedom.
Like how Rocks, though leaving the White Wolf Pirates, still carried their label. As long as Silas didn't die, unless they broke with him, they couldn't escape his influence. Pirates might scheme and deceive, but for those aspiring to the peak, possessing conqueror qualities, their pride wouldn't allow for easy betrayal.
So as youngsters left the crew one by one, Silas suddenly found himself idle. These two years, the only potentially erupting major battle was when Silas went to Wano Country. Result: Imu decisively abandoned Wano, ceding it entirely.
Oh, saying complete abandonment wasn't quite right. Imu left all non-combatant civilians, then took all Wano samurai away. Making Silas exclaim that Imu was quite generous! If Wano samurai remained, Silas helping restore Wano Country would simply fulfill his promise to Shimotsuki Ryuma.
But with the samurai gone, what Wano did was entirely his decision! Directly opening the country was impossible. Unless Silas eliminates Wano's old guard, brainwashes the new generation, and adds some propaganda, making all of Wano fall into a revenge frenzy.
After all, the samurai class had deeply penetrated Wano's every aspect. Twenty thousand samurai, all taken by Imu —combined with her abilities, this was power even Silas found alarming. Similarly, twenty thousand samurai were related to half of Wano. Their disappearance brought tremendous upheaval.
Without Silas being capable of suppressing all Wano, it would've descended into chaos. Actually, from Imu conquering Wano until Silas arrived with the Acropolis Port victory that year, the Wano people lived as if in hell.
After conquering Wano, Imu wouldn't gradually subdue the samurai. Instead, she directly used her abilities to dominate leading fighters, transforming them into immortals like the Holy Knights and the Five Elders. But by making them immortal, she triggered their deepest desires, turning them into puppets who obeyed only Imu.
The only fortune: even Imu couldn't directly convert twenty thousand people. So during the Wano conquest's first year, internal rebellions continued, preventing participation in the Acropolis Port war. Otherwise, twenty thousand Wano samurai entering battle would completely change the situation.
Anyway, though the current Wano hadn't opened the country, it formed an offensive-defensive alliance with the White Wolf Pirates, willing to provide weapon support to White Wolf forces in exchange for protection. After all, Wano craftsmen were world-famous.
When Imu took the Wano samurai, she couldn't bring in all the craftsmen. Some escaped into the mountains, surviving the disaster. After Steel Nation's eleven publicly acknowledged the White Wolf Pirates' protection, several more New World government allied nations withdrew from the World Government, joining the White Wolf Alliance that Silas organized.
Though after withdrawing, these nations' protection fees were under half their usual Heavenly Tribute, the White Wolf Pirates didn't need to feed pig-like Celestial Dragons! Just under 20 allied nations fully supported the White Wolf Pirates' current expenses, with a massive surplus.
Imagine if the World Government took half the Heavenly Tribute spent on Celestial Dragons and gave it to the Marines, Marine power would expand to incredibly terrifying levels. But would Imu and the Five Elders do this? Especially after Rona's Marine betrayal example, though the situation was complex with Silas as a major enemy, the Five Elders merely relaxed Marine promotion systems and conducted worldwide conscription to supplement the Marines' lack of top-tier fighters.
As for completely letting the Marines expand? Impossible. Even with Silas occupying the New World, in Imu and the Five Elders' eyes, the situation hadn't deteriorated enough for panic. The Four Blues and the Grand Line's first half still remained. Five against one. How could they lose?
What preparations the World Government had made these two years, Silas didn't know. But during this time, the White Wolf Pirates entered rapid development. A trade route connecting the entire New World was completely formed.
Idle and bored Silas, under veteran crew members' disdainful gazes, took female crew members and set sail again, beginning a luxurious, joyful life. A lifetime pirate. What was wrong with enjoying himself?
"Captain, I suspect you'll die in bed someday."
"What, so little confidence in your captain?" Leaning together, Ripley felt Silas's large hand on her waist and rolled her eyes, fingers drawing circles on his chest. "Who told you to never stop for a moment?"
"Nonsense, I make time daily for physical training."
"Besides physical training." Ripley glanced at Silas. If not for Silas always making time for physical training, no matter how indulgent he got, to maintain peak combat capability, she'd suspect he was too addicted to women, led astray by them.
As a crew member who had been following Silas since his comeback, Ripley understood the situation perfectly: Silas was the World Government's major concern. Given the opportunity, the World Government absolutely wouldn't spare him. The World Government had only delayed action because of Silas's strength. If Silas lost his strength, would the World Government still fear him?
So pleasure was temporary. He absolutely couldn't lose his edge.
"Haha, worthy of my good crew member, knowing to remind your captain."
"Hehe, who told me I have the best stamina?" Ripley giggled. Though her appearance wasn't the most outstanding among Silas's companions, her physique was absolutely the best. Anyone else would be paralyzed and motionless in bed now.
"Since Ripley reminded me, I won't hide it. This voyage isn't purely for pleasure." Was daily indulging because Silas only wanted that? Of course not. Besides that, there weren't many entertainment activities.
Previously, he'd persisted in training because, as cell activity increased, Silas clearly felt his body's potential wasn't fully developed. But two years after the last system reward, after injury recovery, Silas's physique improved considerably, then stopped there.
His body reached its peak. No matter how much training I did, I couldn't improve any further. So, besides routine training, Silas gradually shifted focus elsewhere. Preparing for the final battle!
"Recently, Rocks encountered a pirate crew just entering the New World. Thought they were ordinary rookies, but unexpectedly, that crew escaped."
"Roger Pirates. Captain Gol D. Roger, bounty 110 million Berry."
Normally, at Silas's power level, ordinary great pirates weren't in his eyes, especially lately, with inflation, pirate bounties rose with the tide. Now, 110 million Berry, relative to true great pirates, was somewhat low.
But Silas cared not about bounty but that person. Gol D. Roger. Future Pirate King, someone adding rich strokes to pirate history, is also the one who ultimately defeated Rocks.
Silas hadn't expected Roger to be setting sail in this era already. Normally, it wouldn't be so early. Silas had earlier considered finding Roger in the East Blue. After all, unlike others with unknown locations, Roger was born in East Blue's Loguetown, ultimately executed there as Pirate King, simultaneously opening the Great Pirate Era.
Current Roger was at most early twenties, miles from his peak. So, hearing that Roger appeared in the New World, Silas immediately became interested. Anyway, he'd already recruited Rocks and Newgate. Adding the future Pirate King was fine, right?
If I couldn't recruit him, directly eliminating Roger was also a good choice. After all, the New World was now his territory. Not a place for Roger to cause chaos!
However, the battle with the Rocks seemingly scattered the Roger Pirates completely. Even crew members were captured by the Rocks. Speaking of Roger's bad luck, encountering near-peak Rocks yet escaping was genuinely impressive. But speaking of fortune, just entering the New World, encountering this boss-level character, ordinary great pirates would've been fed to fish by Rocks.
"So it's recent rookie pirates." Hearing Silas's words, Ripley immediately understood. Though not knowing what attracted Silas to a rookie, following him so long, she'd long grown accustomed to his occasional prophetic knowledge.
Like Rocks and Newgate. Before their growth, who would have imagined their current strength? Nothing else. Just those officially recruited as White Wolf Pirates crew, just males. Even the currently weakest Zephyr could already stand independently, now with Rona's newly created New Marines, working for her.
And females? Besides underage Linlin, who hadn't been gotten by Silas? Oh, Crane hadn't yet. But Ripley felt it was soon. On this voyage, besides women closely related to Silas, only Crane and Linlin came.
Silas originally didn't want to bring Linlin, but she insisted on going out, saying staying on Sphinx would bore her to death. Though Silas constantly educated Linlin, with age, her Conqueror's Haki almost awakened without warning. Plus, reaching puberty, besides Silas, she listened to no one.
Though Ripley and others could make Linlin restrain herself, educating her required Silas. After all, besides Silas, nobody on Sphinx could beat Linlin.
Two years. Linlin's growth finally caused a breakthrough from gradual accumulation.
Charlotte Linlin. Fourteen years old. Admiral-level!