Ripley was not surprised by the Holy Knights' appearance.
After all, before the operation, Silas had warned them this mission might involve powerful enemies from the Celestial Dragons.
Not Marines or CP0.
But the World Government's true foundation, the Celestial Dragons' ace team.
The Holy Knights.
Reportedly, each member possessed at least great pirate-level strength with extremely troublesome Devil Fruit abilities, plus rumored immortal bodies.
This operation's two-by-two formation existed precisely because in one-on-one situations, current White Wolf Pirates members would struggle to defeat a Holy Knights member.
Silas had even explicitly required that when encountering equal numbers of Holy Knights members, they should prioritize escape above all else.
But now, Ripley found herself facing an unexpected scenario.
"Just one?"
Seeing only one Holy Knights member before her, Ripley relaxed slightly, but viewing the surrounding carnage, she could not help frowning with growing concern.
At this moment, numerous slaves wailed in pure agony.
After that Holy Knights member had used some mysterious Devil Fruit ability to cut these slaves' shadows, half the slaves' bodies had instantly vanished like morning foam.
On the other side, many remaining slaves were also slowly dissolving into nothing.
Tsuru's mind went completely blank.
For a former Marine recruit, such horrific scenes were too psychologically stimulating. Even during extensive undercover training, instructors had tried expanding Tsuru's knowledge of the world's darkness.
But many things had simply not been told to her.
After all, she was just a rookie, and rookies should act like rookies.
"It hurts!"
"My hand, my hand disappeared!"
"Mama!"
Crying and screaming echoed everywhere across the battlefield. Tsuru had become a Marine to protect ordinary people. This was most people's noble reason for joining the Marines.
This ideal might gradually erode under harsh reality.
But at least now, Tsuru had not forgotten her core ideals.
Slaves were people too.
Also subjects she desperately wanted to protect!
Tsuru did not understand why Marines, who should protect others, were not protecting these innocent slaves, while White Wolf Pirates were doing this noble work instead.
She would not compromise her principles.
Even after joining the White Wolf Pirates, she would never forget her ideals.
Tsuru's sharp mind began analyzing the situation rapidly.
She was also among those whose shadows the Holy Knights member had cut, but her luck had been extraordinary. She did not instantly vanish like half the slaves, nor did parts of her body burn away like some others.
Why was she different?
"It is sunlight!"
After regaining mental clarity, Tsuru realized the truth in just seconds.
"Everyone, hide in shadows! Do not expose yourselves to sunlight!"
She ran toward the massive Yarukiman mangrove roots while shouting desperately, "After losing our shadows, we cannot be exposed to sunlight. We will disappear if sunlight hits us!"
Tsuru's urgent voice caught Saint Pedro's amused attention.
"Oh, figured it out so quickly?"
Saint Pedro was a Shadow-Shadow Fruit user. People whose shadows he severed would vanish completely if exposed to direct sunlight.
This was not particularly hard to deduce.
But from cutting the slaves' shadows until now, less than half a minute had passed before Tsuru had reacted and warned others.
This showed Tsuru was not only remarkably calm under pressure but also highly intelligent.
"Haha, seems my luck is exceptionally good this time. The collections I fancy are all beauties. Now I somewhat regret my advanced age."
In black knight attire with a graying beard, Saint Pedro laughed heartily with genuine appreciation.
But he was greeted by a massive stone projectile hurtling toward him.
"You are a Holy Knights member, right? Quickly return their shadows!"
Saint Pedro's shadow, moving as if alive, directly split the suddenly enlarged dozens-of-meters boulder cleanly in half.
"That simply will not do."
Saint Pedro shook his head with mock sadness.
"Slaves who would betray their rightful owners. I show great mercy in only claiming their shadows rather than their lives. What right does mere property have to seek freedom?"
"Then I will defeat you!"
Ripley did not lack combat wisdom. Realizing Saint Pedro could cut others' shadows, she immediately shrank her body to normal human size.
Giant shadows were far too large, making them easy targets.
Ripley was not certain if her Haki could effectively block Saint Pedro's shadow cutting technique.
But unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to test that theory.
Because Silas had warned them that though Haki countered fruit abilities, the prerequisite was sufficiently powerful Haki. Sufficiently powerful fruit abilities could also ignore Haki's defensive effects entirely.
"Linlin!"
"Yeah!"
Linlin also shrank to her normal size.
Though Holy Knights were formidable, both she and Ripley possessed great pirate-level strength. They might not lose this fight!
Ripley and Linlin flanked Saint Pedro from left and right in perfect coordination.
"Can actually change body size? Even your shadows shrunk accordingly."
Facing their coordinated assault, Saint Pedro remained completely unhurried.
"Combat is not gentlemanly behavior."
"Before you become permanent additions to my collection, let me show you my existing collections!"
"Come forth, my Shadow Legion!"
Two massive shadows instantly swept past Saint Pedro's body like living creatures, one rushing toward Ripley, one toward Linlin.
Seeing one familiar figure, Ripley's expression immediately changed to horror.
"Uncle Garon!?"
Before Ripley appeared, a giant over forty meters tall with two pointed horns, once an Elbaf giant and vice-captain of Harald's elite guard squad.
In the devastating Elbaf battle, this giant had died together with an elite Marine Vice Admiral. Many giants had witnessed him die under relentless Marine and CP organization assault.
But now, the dead had risen, appearing before her like a nightmare given form.
"Haha, thank me! Originally these filthy giant corpses could not appear in the Holy Land, but I mercifully made him my personal guard. As a Holy Knights member, I have this authority."
Saint Pedro laughed as if not seeing Ripley's increasingly ugly expression.
On Linlin's side, she faced a massive saber-tooth tiger no smaller than giant Garon.
This was Saint Pedro's terrifying ability.
He could stuff shadows he had cut into dead bodies, then control them in battle while the reanimated dead inherited their original owners' combat techniques and abilities.
Among Celestial Dragon slaves, there were plenty of formerly powerful fighters.
Saint Pedro had even arranged for Marines to transport a batch of dangerous Impel Down pirates, cutting these formerly powerful pirates' shadows.
Then stuffing them into the strongest corpses he could acquire.
So though alone, he commanded an entire army!
Ripley and Linlin wanted to approach Saint Pedro directly.
But following Garon and the saber-tooth tiger, several more massive corpses appeared, surrounding Ripley and Linlin completely.
These corpses had possessed at least great pirate-level strength in life, plus shadows from powerful fighters. Their combined combat ability rivaled that of ordinary great pirates.
Now Ripley finally understood why Silas had warned that the enemies from the Holy Knights would be extraordinarily troublesome.
This wasn't just troublesome—this was catastrophic!
"If Captain does not come save us soon, we are doomed!"
Ripley looked at the zombie legion occupying half the island, seeing powerful zombies with great pirate strength among their ranks.
She said with dawning dread.
Meanwhile, Rocks and Newgate also met their opponent in a different section of the battlefield.
"Son of Evil Omen Rocks?"
A green-haired Holy Knights member appeared before Rocks and Newgate like a specter, glancing at the trembling slaves on the Millennium Falcon with theatrical disdain. "Do you realize you're committing theft? Stealing others' rightful property. What difference is there between this and common robbery? Do you comprehend how much these slaves cost their owners? That money was earned through honest, hard-working citizens' labor!"
"But you're filthy pirates anyway, so we cannot judge you by civilized standards."
"Therefore, die!"
The moment this Holy Knights member finished speaking, both Rocks and Newgate felt an overwhelming, uncontrollable impulse.
An impulse to commit suicide!
"What!?"
Rocks and Newgate's veins bulged prominently, but they could not stop their hands from rising involuntarily, gripping knives to stab themselves.
Devil Fruit ability, definitely a Devil Fruit ability!
Rocks screamed mentally in desperate realization.
But he could not tell when he had been affected by this insidious power.
Facing Devil Fruit abilities, being affected and not being affected were completely different situations.
Before being affected, sufficient Haki defense could immunize against fruit effects. But after being affected, dispelling the ability required at least near-Admiral-level strength.
Neither he nor Newgate had reached this demanding standard.
Even struggling with all their might, Rocks and Newgate had to watch helplessly as their knives approached their necks.
"Stop!!!"
Rocks screamed internally. He had not defeated Silas yet. How could he fall in such an unclear, pathetic way?
Just then, salvation came from an unexpected source.
"Fish-Man Karate: Water Shot!"
Numerous water spheres suddenly materialized, shooting like cannonballs toward the green-haired Holy Knights member, forcing him to retreat several steps.
One water sphere struck the Holy Knights member directly, making him stiffen momentarily.
Instantly, Rocks and Newgate found their mental resistance significantly strengthened.
Clang!
Rocks and Newgate threw away their short knives with desperate relief.
Seeing blood marks on each other's necks from the close call, both showed profoundly relieved expressions.
Almost, they had almost been forced into suicide!
"Really annoying. Cannot you criminals just listen properly? I am a noble Celestial Dragon! You should obey my words without question!"
"This is my judgment as God upon you!"
"Get lost!"
As his voice fell with authority, all water spheres flying toward Saint Kurt exploded simultaneously.
He was a Command-Command Fruit user.
Anyone hearing his commands, whether people or objects, would act according to his orders.
So earlier, Rocks and Newgate had nearly committed suicide because they had heard Saint Kurt's "suicide command."
Not only had Rocks and Newgate heard the suicide command, but many slaves hiding on the Millennium Falcon had also heard Saint Kurt's authoritative voice.
Instantly, the Millennium Falcon's deck was stained with fresh bloody traces.
They had rescued over a thousand slaves in this operation.
Saint Kurt had killed over a hundred with just one sentence.
"Rocks, Newgate, be careful. This enemy's ability probably relates to sound!"
Originally coating the ship for protection, seeing Rocks and Newgate controlled by the enemy's ability nearly leading to suicide, Dean urgently intervened.
He did not know Saint Kurt's exact ability mechanism.
But he knew all Devil Fruit users feared seawater.
And beneath his feet was the vast ocean!
Dean discovered those committing suicide on the Millennium Falcon were mostly stronger slaves with typically keener hearing abilities.
Some slaves had resisted this suicidal impulse.
Others had not been so fortunate.
Dean had also heard Saint Kurt's voice, but very faintly.
So he had easily controlled the impulse.
This confirmed his theory that Saint Kurt's ability strength correlated with voice volume. The clearer the voice heard, the stronger the compulsive effect.
"Really troublesome ability!"
Unlike Dean's straightforward power, for Rocks and Newgate, not knowing how to guard against the enemy's insidious ability was most frustrating.
Since it related to sound transmission, Rocks made a quick decision.
"Newgate, plug your ears!"
"Right!"
Rocks and Newgate simultaneously tore cloth pieces to stuff firmly in their ears.
Meanwhile, Dean attacked from a safe distance again.
Buying them precious time.
"Sigh, why will you not just obediently follow my commands and die?"
Saint Kurt looked genuinely helpless at their resistance.
"Commit suicide!"
His voice rang again with commanding authority, but this time with Dean's warning, Rocks and Newgate only heard muffled sounds.
So though controlled momentarily, they quickly regained bodily control.
However, they had overlooked something crucial.
"Watch out!"
But Dean's urgent voice could not reach the two with firmly plugged ears.
As they regained control, Saint Kurt also appeared directly before them, his iron rod striking both hard, sending them flying backward.
"Think plugging ears solves everything?"
Saint Kurt looked at Rocks and Newgate with a pitying expression.
"How can mortals oppose God?"
Now Rocks and Newgate realized Saint Kurt's ability's true nastiness. Even with plugged ears, hearing any sound could control them momentarily.
And Saint Kurt obviously was not a pure fruit ability user.
His physical combat skills were also considerable.
Needing no more demonstration, just two Holy Knights members had put White Wolf Pirates members in genuine crisis.
And the real battle had erupted elsewhere!