Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 43.
The battle had gone on for quite some time. With overwhelming forces at his command, logically Saint Pedro should have already captured Ripley and Linlin.
But the reality was that Saint Pedro had no way to deal with Ripley at all.
"Hey hey hey, giant lady, are you playing hide-and-seek with me? Just running away will not work. Unless you defeat me, those slaves' shadows will not return on their own."
Ripley did not speak; she just kept her head down and ran.
Her size constantly changed, sometimes as small as an ant, sometimes returning to her original form to send blocking zombie soldiers flying.
As for attacking Saint Pedro, Ripley had no such intention.
"Just stall him."
Forget that it was not her and Linlin who had lost their shadows. Even if it were her, she would not risk attacking Saint Pedro.
It was meaningless.
Because she remembered Silas telling them that Holy Knights members all had immortal bodies. If they were truly immortal, then with her strength, she could not possibly defeat Saint Pedro.
The entire island was occupied by zombie legions.
Linlin and the slaves who had lost their shadows had been shrunk by Ripley and hidden deep in the island. Only Ripley remained, maneuvering against Saint Pedro.
She wanted to run too.
But she understood clearly that if she fled, Saint Pedro would go trouble the others.
She was an official White Wolf Pirates crew member.
Facing powerful enemies, how could she retreat without fighting, relying on others' help?
"Haha, willing to sacrifice yourself for comrades to this extent. What a fine woman. But do you know why I have stayed here instead of dealing with your companions first?"
The old man dressed in black knight attire looked at Ripley with hearty laughter.
"Because I have a way to catch you!"
"Shadow Domain!"
After preparing so long, Saint Pedro's zombie legions had spread to every corner of Grove 43. When his words fell, all zombie soldiers' shadows suddenly shot skyward like black curtains, covering the entire island.
The shadowless zombies collapsed.
But this was not good news, because Ripley found herself unable to move.
When shrunk, her tiny size made her shadow equally miniature, so Saint Pedro could not grasp it.
But after Saint Pedro's captured shadows covered the entire island, Ripley discovered her shadow was beyond her control.
Not only uncontrollable, but seemingly controlled to influence her in reverse.
"Damn it..."
"Oh, you can still resist?"
Shadow Domain was power Saint Pedro developed after his fruit awakening. Within his shadow coverage, all shadows were under his control.
Simultaneously, controlled shadows would inversely influence their owners.
But sufficiently strong people could still resist.
Ripley's current shrunken size made her shadow sesame-sized, limiting Saint Pedro's applicable force.
Even so, Ripley felt her body becoming uncontrollable.
She was even about to release her shrinking form.
"Absolutely not!"
Ripley gritted her teeth, struggling against her shadow's influence. If a sesame-sized shadow could affect her so greatly, returning to giant form would leave her unable to move even a finger.
But Ripley faced more than just shadow influence.
There was also Saint Pedro himself.
Though zombie legion shadows were used to create this cage, Saint Pedro could still move.
Ripley watched Saint Pedro approach step by step, her expression growing graver, even somewhat panicked.
Finally, as if making some decision, she looked up with determination.
"What, surrendering?"
Saint Pedro looked at Ripley with interest. He was quite fascinated by her, even initially declaring he would make Ripley and Linlin his collections.
But Ripley only looked at him coldly.
"Who is surrendering?"
Ripley just took a deep breath, raising her head to shout loudly.
"Captain, help!!!"
Though Silas had told her that if they encountered Holy Knights members, fighting them would be excellent training.
After all, their strength was considerable now. Finding suitable opponents throughout the entire sea would be difficult.
Great pirates were not roadside cabbages you could encounter at will.
Only Marines, only the World Government, could definitely produce many powerful officers and soldiers capable of restraining Silas while pressuring Ripley and others.
"You cannot depend too much on me!"
This was what Silas often told them, because compared to normal captain-crew relationships, Silas was more like their guardian.
Both Rocks and Newgate had this awareness.
They preferred defeating enemies with their own power rather than relying on Silas.
But Ripley would not think so much.
Cannot win means cannot win. Actually, there were not that many examples of the weak overcoming the strong or turning defeat into victory. She had already racked her brains stalling for time, but Saint Pedro's strength completely exceeded what she could handle.
"Want White Wolf Silas to save you? Unfortunately, he has been held up by our Vice-Commander, plus a Marine Admiral. You think he can break free from two top fighters matching his strength to help you?"
Moreover, his shadow domain, assembled from hundreds of zombie soldiers' shadows, had strength equivalent to those hundreds of captured shadows. Even their Holy Knights Commander could not easily destroy it.
How could White Wolf Silas possibly break through?
"Haha, when beloved crew members call for help, how could I ignore them?"
After solving the enemy on Rocks's side, Silas had been monitoring this battle. If Ripley wanted to persist, he did not mind waiting longer, but since she had given her all and called for help, he would answer.
THUD!
A heavy impact sounded outside Saint Pedro's shadow domain.
Hearing this sound, Saint Pedro could no longer maintain composure.
"Impossible. How could White Wolf Silas break free so quickly?"
"That other Celestial Dragon said the same thing."
A crack suddenly appeared in the canopy covering the island.
Saint Pedro's pupils contracted.
He unhesitatingly quickened his pace, trying to capture Ripley before Silas broke his shadow domain.
His thinking was correct.
A canopy formed from hundreds of powerful shadows could withstand even Admiral-level attacks briefly.
Silas could not easily shatter it.
But what if more than one Admiral-level fighter was outside?
"Silas, you are somewhat tired."
"After all, consecutively facing three top fighters matching you and winning. Now you need to catch your breath, right?"
"Leave it to me."
Hearing the second voice, Saint Pedro's heart felt gripped by a large hand.
His steps halted.
Because it was meaningless. The moment the second voice rang out, the entire island's sky shattered like a broken black eggshell.
Violent hurricanes poured in.
Not the ultimate technique requiring Dorry and Brogy's combined effort.
Just one person.
"Hakoku!"
The black eggshell was peeled away. In that instant, Saint Pedro reinjected shadows back into his zombie legions.
"Block them!"
After speaking, Saint Pedro turned and fled without hesitation.
What a joke!
Not only was White Wolf Silas here, but Elbaf's Giant King had come too, plus a Marine Admiral had turned traitor.
What did they want?
To assault Mariejois?
No, they already had!
Saint Pedro's newly awakened zombie legions froze before even rising, becoming twisted ice sculptures.
Before him stood eight giant race members.
Including Dorry and Brogy.
"Gyegyegyegye, let us cause havoc!"
"Gabababababa, I never expected not only the guard squad but even His Majesty Harald to come. This is our first time fighting together outside Elbaf!"
"This is to save our people!"
"And for revenge!"
Each giant was a fighter comparable to great pirates. Dorry and Brogy together could even battle Admiral-level opponents.
Behind them, Silas and Harald slowly approached.
"After this incident ends, both you and I will probably become thorns in the World Government and Celestial Dragons' sides."
"Afraid?"
"If it were me two years ago, I would definitely be afraid."
Harald's severed leg was replaced by a wooden peg. Recalling his past ideals of peace, he could not help but smile self-mockingly.
He had desired peace, but someone would not grant him peace.
Reality told him that on these seas, without power, there was no way to protect what mattered.
"You did well."
Coming to Ripley's side, Silas rubbed her head affectionately.
"Leave the rest to us!"