Every era produces different levels of strength among the powerful who emerge on the seas.
Sometimes strong. Sometimes weak.
And even among top-tier fighters of the same level, there are vast differences in capability.
Ortega was simply the strongest Admiral of this particular era. His comparison was only against Kong, who had just become Marine Admiral, and Rona, who had little room for improvement after achieving her rank.
"Even Admiral Siven..."
Seeing Ortega sent flying by Silas's devastating slash, Kong's expression changed drastically. Though when sparring with Ortega, he had vaguely felt that compared to Ortega, Silas's strength was genuinely superior.
After all, Ortega could suppress either him or Rona individually, but facing both simultaneously, he would probably have no power to fight back.
But what about Silas?
The Elbaf battle remained a nightmare etched in Kong's memory.
Silas had fought three opponents for an entire hour. In the end, he had even escaped from their combined assault of three Marine top fighters.
So no matter how much he boosted others' morale, Kong still felt that compared to Ortega, Elbaf-era Silas had been stronger.
But why did he feel that compared to the Elbaf period, after just a year and a half, Silas had grown stronger yet again?
Though he had also grown stronger, his improvement was obviously less than Silas's. Who was the young one here, him or Silas?
A seventy-year-old man could still keep getting stronger at this rate.
Was this even reasonable?
"Haha, Kong, it has always been you Marines ganging up on me. Now it is time for you to taste being ganged up on!"
"Dorry, Brogy, let us finish this quickly!"
Failing to seriously injure Kong with the initial Hakoku, now that Kong had recovered his footing, even fighting two-on-one, he was not at any significant disadvantage.
He was even slightly suppressing the two giant captains.
Imaginably, if not for the initial face-tank Hakoku forcing Kong to expend massive Haki on defense, his current state would be even better. He might have already decisively suppressed Dorry and Brogy.
So hearing Silas offer assistance, neither Dorry nor Brogy refused the help.
"Gyegyegyegyegye, he is a Marine Admiral after all, and Marine Headquarters is right nearby. We do not have much time to tangle with a Marine Admiral."
"Gabababababa, then we are counting on you. Let us all attack together!"
The combined momentum of three warriors pressed down like a crushing weight, making even Kong's breathing hitch.
Admiral Siven, please come back quickly!
Kong cursed silently. He could barely suppress Dorry and Brogy in sustained combat, but adding Silas to the mix, he would not last long before being overwhelmed completely.
In the distance, Ortega lay sprawled on the ground after being sent flying by Silas's Conqueror's-infused slash.
"That old monster is truly in a league of his own!"
This slash was not enough to seriously injure him; it just sent him flying with calculated force, clearly aimed at preventing him from supporting Kong in time.
"Kong's in for serious trouble."
After all, Kong's strength was a clear notch below his own. If even he could not defeat Silas in single combat, how could Kong possibly face Silas plus two giant captains' coordinated assault?
But then Ortega's weathered face twisted into a knowing smile.
"Those old men above Mariejois should not just sit and watch this humiliation, right?"
If only Silas were alone, then he and Kong working together could at least repel Silas even if they could not capture him.
The problem was, this time Silas had brought two fairly formidable giant allies.
Suddenly, Ortega's sharp gaze turned skyward.
His top-tier Observation Haki let him sense subtle abnormalities in the air currents above.
Ortega could not help smiling with grim satisfaction.
"Those old geezers really cannot sit still any longer!"
After all, with Silas's overwhelming strength on full display, if he killed Celestial Dragons and escaped unharmed, what would happen to the World Government's carefully cultivated image of invincibility?
"Kong, do not die on me!"
Taking a deep breath, Ortega climbed back to his feet, charging again toward Grove 47, where the battle raged.
From being sent flying to returning to active combat took less than half a minute.
But just half a minute in a fight of this caliber was an eternity.
"Frost Country!"
Silas's half-werewolf form descended from the sky like a predator, freezing Kong's body in place with one precise slash, and then Dorry and Brogy raised sword and axe in perfect synchronization.
"Hakoku!!!"
Using Hakoku twice in one battle was quite a burden even for giants like Dorry and Brogy. Their massive frames trembled slightly from the exertion.
But this burden was absolutely worth it!
With his body temporarily frozen by Silas's ice technique, Kong had just broken free when the massive shockwave struck him with the force of a tsunami.
Every cell in his body wailed in agony.
When first tanking Dorry and Brogy's Hakoku, Kong had expended massive Haki reserves. In the short term, he lacked sufficient Haki for proper defense.
The best defense was offense.
With no retreat possible, Kong raised his fist, releasing a deafening roar that echoed across all of Sabaody Archipelago.
"Steel Bone Strike!!!"
Concentrating all his remaining Haki in one desperate punch, Kong forcibly tore open a gap in the devastating storm through sheer individual will and power.
Massive shockwaves swept across all of Sabaody Archipelago like ripples in a pond.
But this shockwave was forcibly split in two at the center by Kong's incredible determination.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
Before the crushing, nation-destroying impact waves, Kong stood like the most stubborn stone against an ocean tide.
Even facing towering waves of destruction, his body did not retreat a single inch.
In the distance, both Garp and Sengoku watched with wide-eyed amazement.
The battle's pace had exceeded their wildest expectations. Initially Kong and Ortega had attacked together as planned, but for long periods afterward, either only Ortega or only Kong was present on the battlefield.
To their inexperienced eyes, it was clearly White Wolf Silas using despicable tactics, forcing Kong and Ortega into unwilling one-versus-three situations.
Now only Admiral Kong remained standing against impossible odds!
"Damn it, I will help Admiral Kong!"
Garp roared with righteous fury, clenching his fist to charge toward the battlefield.
"Are you insane!?"
Sengoku quickly grabbed his friend's arm to stop him.
"This is not a battlefield we can reach right now!"
Forget approaching the combat zone; even the battle aftershocks could easily kill rookies like them!
"But..."
Garp looked with burning frustration at the battlefield before him, his sense of justice warring with tactical reality.
Finally, he could only shout with all his might.
"Admiral Kong, do not lose!!!"
With Garp's passionate shout, surrounding Marine cadets also raised their voices in support.
"Admiral Kong, do not lose!!!"
"You are a Marine Admiral!!!"
"Do not lose to White Wolf Silas!!!"
The Marine cadets' voices seemed to drown out even Hakoku's thunderous roar, somehow reaching Kong's ears through the chaos.
Kong was actually nearly losing consciousness from the overwhelming assault.
He was not a Zoan Devil Fruit user like Silas. Though possessing a formidable physique, his body was still flesh and blood. He needed Haki to resist such devastating attacks.
Now his Haki reserves were nearly completely exhausted.
Silas plus Dorry and Brogy working together equaled roughly two Marine Admirals attacking him, while he was just one ordinary Marine Admiral.
Cannot hold on anymore?
But at this critical moment, Kong heard Garp and Sengoku's passionate voices. He heard the Marine cadets' desperate encouragement.
Kong suddenly awakened to a deeper truth.
He could not lose; he could not fall here!
Behind him, countless Marine cadets were watching this moment!
They were the Marines' hope! The Marines' future!
He was a Marine. How could he retreat before pirates?
"I am a Marine Admiral!!!!"
Kong's final explosion of willpower forcibly tore through Dorry and Brogy's devastating Hakoku technique.
The impact from the force collision nearly knocked down both towering giants, their massive frames staggering backward.
Silas felt genuinely strained by this unexpected development.
Are you some protagonist from a shounen manga or something?
What had he just witnessed? A group of people shouting about friendship and determination, then Kong actually managed to power up significantly in this desperate situation.
So I am the villain here?
No wait, he was originally a pirate. Even if not a villain, he certainly could not be called righteous by conventional standards.
"Forget it."
Silas looked at Kong with his expression hardening into lethal focus.
"Since you want to persist in your so-called justice, I will send you on your way!"
Without any hesitation or pause, the moment Dorry and Brogy's shockwave dissipated into scattered wind, Silas appeared before Kong with terrifying speed.
One slash felt like judgment itself!
Buzz!
Still the familiar sound of Armament Haki collision rang out.
Ortega was not dead. How could he simply watch Kong get killed by Silas right before his eyes?
"Kong, well done!"
Ortega said with genuine gravity. This was his first true recognition of this Marine Admiral younger and weaker than himself.
Unlike their slow decay into cynicism, Kong still possessed the hope they had long since abandoned!
"Heh!"
Silas perfectly sensed Ortega's emotional fluctuation at this moment through his enhanced perception.
But he only felt deep disgust rising in his chest.
"Protecting those who should not be protected, saving those who should not be saved, persisting in ideals that should not be persisted in, compromising on things that should never be compromised on."
"This is your justice?"
"Do not make me laugh!!!"
Silas sheathed his blade with a metallic whisper and grabbed forward, suddenly rushing before Ortega, seizing his weathered face and throwing him like a bowling ball to crash into the exhausted, barely mobile Kong behind him.
Silas felt genuinely frustrated by this entire situation.
No matter when, people willing to persist in their ideals and desires were genuinely hard to hate.
But what if their ideals and desires were already fundamentally twisted beyond recognition?
"How utterly pathetic!"
In this tense atmosphere, a cynical voice suddenly rang out across the battlefield.
"Dignified Marine Admirals, two of them, cannot even take down one pirate."
"Truly disappointing beyond measure!"
An oppressive atmosphere rose over the shattered island as a figure in classic knight attire with an ornate longsword at his waist appeared before everyone like a specter of authority.
"White Wolf Silas."
"I am Holy Knights Vice-Commander, Saint Figarland Garling."
The blonde man drew his sword with ceremonial precision, the blade gleaming with otherworldly menace.
"In God's name."
"You killed a Celestial Dragon, committing an unforgivable crime."
"Now I bring divine judgment upon you!"
Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 43.
Tsuru listened to the distant impact sounds with worry flashing in her eyes like lightning.
Though their time together had not been long, she already considered Garp and Sengoku genuine friends, and their position was far too close to the active battlefield.
The battle between Marine Admirals and White Wolf Silas was not something rookies like them could participate in without certain death.
And now, she faced her own crisis.
A large Marine force had surrounded dozens of slaves including her. If she wanted to reach the White Wolf Pirates' location, she had to break through this Marine encirclement.
In other words, she had to fight these Marines who should have been her future colleagues!
Why?
Should Marines not protect innocent civilians?
Tsuru had learned that most slaves around her were ordinary people captured by human traffickers, many originally Sabaody Archipelago residents trying to live peaceful lives.
"Why? Why are Marines helping those traffickers catch us?"
"I just want to go home to my family!"
"Please spare us!"
Many slaves even knelt before the Marines, begging desperately, and some Marine soldiers showed visible reluctance in their expressions.
Only the Marine Rear Admiral in charge remained completely unmoved by their pleas.
"Many of these slaves are nobles' and merchants' legal property. If you want to protect them, who will compensate the nobles and merchants for their substantial losses?"
Nobles aside, traveling merchants were major taxpayers. Many regularly paid substantial protection fees to the Marines.
Otherwise, with so many merchant ships and limited Marine resources, how could they protect every vessel's safety? Of course they prioritized those who paid more generously!
After these slaves were freed, those merchants had immediately called to complain to higher authorities.
The higher-ups were now completely overwhelmed with angry calls.
"Do not let any escape. Arrest them all!"
The Marine Rear Admiral said with expressionless efficiency. They could not interfere in the Admirals' battle. Their mission was recapturing all escaped slaves without exception!
But just as he finished speaking, a stone suddenly magnified mid-air.
Hurtling toward him at extreme speed!
"We worked so hard to free them. How could we let you recapture them so easily?"
With ground-shaking tremors, giant-form Ripley appeared before everyone like a guardian deity.
"Our White Wolf Pirates ship is over there. We will rescue you all. Once in a safe place, whether staying or returning, wherever you want to go is your decision."
With a 100 million Belly bounty, the moment Ripley appeared, the surrounding Marine soldiers' expressions changed to pure terror.
"It is a White Wolf Pirates member!"
"It is Queen Flower Ripley!"
"Rear Admiral, Rear Admiral Bell, what is wrong? Are you alright?"
So-called Marine Rear Admirals mostly had strength equivalent to 10-30 million bounty pirates. Facing a 100 million bounty pirate, they were no different from small fry before a sea king.
So Ripley easily eliminated the Marine Rear Admiral with one decisive strike.
"Everyone board the ship quickly!"
For the upcoming battle, Linlin had also returned to her original size, walking over with an innocent smile.
"We will protect everyone!"
Nearly nine-year-old Linlin had slimmed considerably compared to age six. Though still chubby, when smiling, she already gave the feeling of a cute neighborhood girl rather than a monster.
Seeing Linlin's genuine expression, the slaves finally lowered their guard somewhat.
"Let us listen to them!"
"White Wolf Pirates people saved us. They definitely will not harm us!"
"Right, the White Wolf Pirates are good pirates!"
With Ripley and Linlin clearing the path, the slaves' route to the Millennium Falcon was completely unobstructed.
Until a new voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Slaves wanting to betray their masters and escape?"
"Haha, that simply will not do!"
An old man in black knight clothing appeared before Ripley and Linlin like a nightmare given form.
"Shadow Cut!"
The old man's shadow suddenly extended with unnatural movement, instantly enveloping everyone's shadows like a creeping plague.
Then, in one swift motion, everyone's shadows were severed by the old man's technique.
At high noon, brilliant sunlight streamed down from above.
Among dozens of slaves, half instantly turned to ash under the direct sunlight, their screams cut short as they dissolved.
"Oh, you actually dodged?"
The old man looked at Ripley and Linlin with an interested smile that did not reach his cold eyes.
"Seems your shadows can become worthy additions to my collection!"