Holy Land Mariejois.
Pangaea Castle.
Five massive figures suddenly appeared in the castle's council hall. Their animal forms hadn't been dispelled by Silas, but returning from Mariejois's edge to Pangaea Castle was more humiliating than if Silas's Conqueror's Haki had been strong enough to directly cancel their transformations.
"That damn pirate!"
"Lucas is still there!"
"Tell him to hold on—we'll be back to support him!"
"Where's my sword?"
After his severed wrist regenerated, Saint Nusjuro instinctively gripped for his blade. Nothing.
The bald Elder flew into a rage.
His sword wasn't just any Supreme Grade blade. It was a black blade he'd spent centuries tempering with Haki. There were few like it in the world.
The other Elders looked at him with pity.
They all knew Nusjuro's sword was most likely gone for good.
If Silas hadn't sent them back... even with Silas restored to peak condition, they might've been able to keep him there. Just needed Nusjuro and Marcus Mars to stall him.
But now? Only Saint Lucas remained at Mariejois's edge.
Given Silas's final displayed strength, could Saint Lucas win?
The answer was no.
Before learning Observation Kill, Silas had already held some advantage against Saint Lucas. Let alone now.
Conqueror's Haki couldn't match up.
Armament Haki couldn't compete.
Observation Haki was directly nullified.
Saint Lucas's only remaining asset was decades of swordsmanship training. Barely matching Silas.
And current Silas wielded dual swords—left hand gripping the Supreme Grade Kitetsu, right hand holding his own Great Grade Frostbite. No fancy swordsmanship technique needed.
Just overwhelming superiority.
Currently, Saint Lucas bore many wounds.
Strangely, despite possessing immortality, Saint Lucas bled ordinary blood. His wounds showed no recovery.
"As expected—once I use Conqueror's Haki to nullify Imu's ability on you, your immortality disappears!"
In human-beast form, Silas wielded dual swords.
Though he usually fought single-handed, this didn't mean he couldn't dual-wield. Just less expertise.
Right.
Silas was merely playing now.
After half a day of intense battle, only now did he have breathing room.
His fight with Saint Lucas was more about verifying his theories.
"Like using Armament Haki, though Conqueror's Haki cuts your connection with Imu, this effect isn't permanent. You can still use Haki to resist my attacks."
So Silas's earlier words to Harald were correct. Only top-level Conqueror's Haki could counter Holy Knights' immortality, because without overwhelming the enemy, Conqueror's Haki couldn't take effect.
"Let's end this for now."
Silas looked up. Figures approached from the horizon's end—this time not teleporting via Devil Fruit ability, but traveling personally.
All of Mariejois's width wouldn't exceed 100 kilometers.
Silas's earlier chase with the Five Elders seemed lengthy, but actually, at their speed, crossing all of Mariejois took under five minutes.
Could Silas kill Saint Lucas in five minutes?
Though Silas held an advantage against Saint Lucas, eliminating a top fighter wasn't achievable quickly.
"White Wolf Silas!!"
As Silas departed, Saint Lucas gritted his teeth but dared not pursue.
Because Silas had broken his immortality.
Without the Five Elders' backup support, Silas wouldn't mind a thorough battle here. To the death.
The arriving Five Elders saw Saint Lucas cease pursuit and said nothing. They knew his strength likely couldn't detain Silas.
"This operation was probably Silas's long-planned scheme."
"He was just acting."
"He had methods to break our immortality from the start!"
The Five Elders spoke one after another, as if explaining something to an unseen listener.
"Silence!!!"
The voice in their minds made them fall silent instantly.
"I only want to know why such a strong fighter appeared on these seas. I granted you immortality, not for incompetence and inaction!"
"My Lord!" One Elder of the Five Elders stepped forward reluctantly. "White Wolf Silas was originally an ordinary pirate. Though somewhat capable, he was nowhere near threatening us."
"Then why has he become so powerful?"
Terrifying Conqueror's Haki made the Five Elders and Saint Lucas pale.
"We'll definitely investigate thoroughly!"
"I want no explanations. I command again—whatever the cost, I want you to kill that white wolf!"
An enemy who knew her name and could break immortality. At other times, Imu might not care.
But the prophecy was approaching.
That person could return anytime, and at this critical moment, someone who knew her name had appeared. A top-tier fighter at that.
"White Wolf Silas!"
In Pangaea Castle's Room of Flowers, a slender, tall figure murmured.
"Just who are you?"
Holy Land Mariejois.
Red Line facing the New World.
After completely escaping the Five Elders and Holy Knights, Silas fell straight down from Mariejois's 10,000-meter height.
"Wonder how the other side's doing."
After Imu acted, Silas had notified Harald to retreat.
Due to distance, Silas didn't know Ripley's and the others' situation.
"Should be fine."
This wasn't baseless confidence.
With the World Government's main forces restrained or defeated by him, Harald and Rona's group only faced Ortega from Sabaody Archipelago plus one newly arrived Marine fighter.
Even if they couldn't win, retreat was manageable.
His White Wolf Pirates members could leave anytime anyway.
Giant Sea King guidance, understand!
As he descended, Silas's Observation Haki spotted two other active crew members on the New World side.
Lily and Stussy!
Unlike Silas's island-destroying battles at Sabaody Archipelago, both Ripley and Rocks had experienced hard fights. And suffered defeats.
This battle would teach them about people beyond people, skies beyond skies.
Stussy's side was much easier.
Problems money could solve were small problems.
Insufficient manpower? Temporary recruitment!
When battle erupted on Silas's side, Lily used the pretext of family kidnapped by slave traders to gather nearby bounty hunters.
Right.
Though White Wolf Pirates were pirates, they weren't familiar with other pirates but often dealt with bounty hunters who hunted pirates.
So many pirates called the White Wolf Pirates the scum among pirates.
Scum of pirates!
Generally, bounty hunters had higher moral standards. Plus, money could make them work.
And White Wolf Pirates never lacked money!
The 2 billion Berry treasure Silas stole from Celestial Dragons, even after investing heavily in Sphinx construction, still left considerable funds.
After all, Sphinx was a small nation with hundreds of thousands of permanent residents. Maybe tens of thousands willing to participate in construction.
Over a billion in funding could revitalize Sphinx's entire economy.
Bounty hunters generally avoided slave traders.
But payment changed things.
People who hunted pirates for a living had decent moral baselines. With Lily paying, these bounty hunters didn't mind offending slave traders.
After all, neither pirates nor slave traders were good people!
So when Mariejois erupted in chaos, G1 Branch Marines immediately dispatched ships for support.
Seizing this opportunity, Lily had bounty hunters liberate all slaves at Acropolis Port.
Further muddying the waters.
Right—after sending support to Mariejois, the Marine G1 Branch still had one powerful elite Vice Admiral stationed.
But Lily wasn't a rookie pirate like Ripley and others. Among White Wolf Pirates veterans, she was combat-capable.
After defeating one elite Vice Admiral and one ordinary Vice Admiral two-on-one, all G1 Branch Marines fell into leaderless chaos.
Acropolis Port's battle was much easier than Sabaody Archipelago.
Even knowing chaos erupted here, with Mariejois under attack, who had time for Acropolis Port?
So when Silas reached Acropolis Port, cleanup was underway.
Slave merchants could only watch helplessly as Lily freed slaves and stole their ships while they jumped around on shore.
They wanted to pursue, but the ship thief was from the White Wolf Pirates!
When Lily revealed her identity to bounty hunters, though feeling deceived, surprisingly few actually minded.
"I've wanted to do this forever!"
"Never thought after catching pirates my whole life, I'd team up with them."
"Miss Lily, do you have a boyfriend?"
Bounty hunters joked around. For sea-living people, cheerful women like Lily were like their ideal goddess.
Also attracting hunters' attention was Stussy.
After all, Lily wasn't young anymore.
Though still charming like a ripe peach, some preferred young beauties.
Like Stussy!
Willing to bandage their wounds, Stussy seemed angelic to them.
Though their angel wore a disgusted expression.
"The wound's bandaged—now scram!"
"Don't get handsy! Touch me once and I'll have Sister Lily kill you!"
"What do you want if you're not injured?"
Kicking a troublesome bounty hunter into the sea, Stussy now considered herself a White Wolf Pirates member. How could she regard third-rate bounty hunters with no strength or looks?
"Boyfriend? Of course!"
Hearing the bounty hunters' words, Lily smiled sweetly.
"Do you think a beautiful, understanding woman like me—would our captain resist eating me up?"
One sentence made bounty hunters beat their chests in despair.
"Ahhh, damn White Wolf Silas!"
"I've decided—he's my next pirate target!"
"Are you crazy? You can't even beat 10-million-bounty pirates!"
Many bounty hunters looked hopefully at Stussy.
"Several female crew members on our ship have relationships with the captain."
Stussy coughed lightly, speaking meaningfully.
"After all, the captain's quite handsome, right?"
Though Stussy didn't answer directly, to the bounty hunters it was like answering. More wailing ensued.
"Little Stussy, that's slander."
Though bounty hunters didn't know details, how could Lily not? Silas hadn't touched Stussy, let alone anything else.
But multiple crew members had indeed been with Silas.
Lily smiled at Stussy. "If the captain finds out, he might spank you!"
Lily glanced at Stussy's curves under her medical coat and short skirt. Even thick robes couldn't hide those alluring lines.
Lily didn't believe Silas could resist such temptation much longer.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.
"I think I heard you talking badly about me!"
The sudden voice startled Lily and Stussy.
Then delighted them.
"Silas!"
"Captain Silas!"
Before them appeared Silas, who'd immediately rushed to Acropolis Port after leaving Mariejois.
Due to intense battle, Silas's Den Den Mushi had long been broken.
"How's the other side? I just crossed over from Mariejois—too far to know the situation clearly."
"Not sure yet."
Seeing Silas return safely, Lily sighed in relief.
She shook her head.
But soon her eyes brightened.
She produced a Den Den Mushi that connected to the continent's other side.
"We've safely evacuated!"
The White Wolf Pirates' world-shocking operation had concluded.