"Old hag, you have no shame!"
Silas understood better than anyone what Imu's personal intervention meant. He'd always believed Imu wouldn't personally enter, because he knew Imu's existence was the world's greatest taboo.
The World Government could unite hundreds of nations only because these nations all believed it was merely a public organization coordinating conflicts and protecting nations. The Five Elders represented the World Government's supreme power, but being five people representing five Celestial Dragon families, they could suppress national dissatisfaction.
But if someone suddenly told them the World Government actually had one master who'd been secretly manipulating the entire world all along, what would the result be? Countless ambitious individuals would emerge, countless people would charge toward that throne representing supreme authority. The World Government would face situations countless times more chaotic than now.
So Silas always believed even if the Five Elders personally entered, Imu wouldn't. Who knew Imu's fruit ability actually had this possession trick! Possessing that girl's body, the strength Imu now displayed, though not as strong as when Silas confronted Imu at Mary Geoise, still wasn't comparable to Saint Granreid's level.
"Imu!" After Imu appeared, Shimotsuki Ryuma couldn't care about Saint Lucas anymore. Even though he just needed to exert a bit more effort and Saint Lucas would die, having once met Imu, Ryuma understood better than Silas just how terrifying this woman was.
"Silas, that's your name, right?" Ryuma's voice rang in Silas's ear. "I'll handle her—don't forget what you promised me."
"Good!" Silas agreed immediately. Currently restrained by Saint Claude and Stephens with no way to leave, only Ryuma could oppose Imu. Since this was happening, since Imu's clone had descended—however dire the situation, Silas could only accept it.
When the eleven nations rebelled and chose them, the White Wolf Pirates were destined for war with the World Government. Since Imu still had this clone card, whether the White Wolf Pirates fought at Acropolis Port or Steel Nation, they couldn't avoid facing Imu. Unless they'd abandoned those eleven nations from the start, and that was naturally impossible!
"Then come!" Seeing Imu's clone instantly brought immense pressure, but a weight lifted from his heart. Even Imu herself had entered—meaning the World Government had no other cards left. In that case, only battle remained!
"Shimotsuki Ryuma?" Seeing the samurai charging toward her, Imu's gaze flickered slightly. Looking at Harald trapped in the magic circle but resisting with Haki in time, slowing the conversion, she had to turn first.
"Admiral Ortega, finish him!"
"...Yes." Though not knowing who this demon-winged girl was, Ortega almost instinctively obeyed her command. After falling into the magic circle, Harald became a sitting duck—much easier to handle than before.
"Damn, what is this?" Harald's expression was grim. He could feel powerful energy in the magic circle eroding his body. Without Haki resistance, he'd definitely become what he least wanted.
"Block it! Once this magic circle corrupts you, you'll no longer be yourself. No one approach here!" Ryuma's voice rang across the battlefield.
Fortunately, because Harald and Ortega's battle had such destructive power, both pirates and Marines avoided their position, fighting as far away as possible. Of course, Acropolis Port actually had no safe places—top-tier fighters' battles were like natural disasters to the weak.
"Shimotsuki Ryuma, tell me why you've been resurrected?" Huge bat wings appeared behind Imu, along with a long trident and a sharp demon tail. Though her appearance didn't change much from the girl before, the aura she emitted was completely different— powerful energy.
"No comment!" Ryuma called out, raising his blade. "Dragon Flash!"
Domineering Conqueror's Haki erupted without reservation. If it were Saint Granreid or even Saint Lucas, they couldn't easily block this strike. But Imu merely raised her trident.
CLANG!
Ryuma's blade collided with the airborne Imu's trident. Violent shockwaves instantly swept across the entire battlefield.
BOOM!
As the World Government's final ace in this war, the moment Imu appeared, the battlefield situation changed. Harald, who'd matched Ortega's strength or even held a slight advantage, now fell into absolute disadvantage. The strongest fighter besides Silas—Ryuma—was forced to abandon pursuit of Saint Lucas to resist Imu, preventing further deterioration.
Saint Lucas, one of the top-tier fighters, gained breathing room. Right. Saint Lucas couldn't beat Silas or Ryuma, but that didn't mean he was weak—because Silas and Ryuma were too strong. But besides them, his strength matched Harald and Ortega, surpassing ordinary Admiral-level fighters like Kong and Glyndwr by a notch—already beyond the level that could be overwhelmed by inferior forces.
Dorry and Brogy were somewhat exhausted. Jorul's and Jarul's faces showed fatigue. As time went on, the strength gap between true Admiral-level fighters and secondary fighters would show.
No more reserves. Saint Lucas's wounds rapidly recovered. Once fully healed, one Admiral-level fighter would slaughter the White Wolf Pirates without restraint. But the situation hadn't completely collapsed, because Silas still had reserves.
After Saint Granreid left, it was just Stephens and Saint Claude now—
"Then I'll eliminate one first!" Saint Lucas needed at least half a minute to recover—so within this half minute, Silas would eliminate either Stephens or Saint Claude! With Silas's current strength, if facing ordinary Admiral-level fighters, trading injury for injury, he could do it.
But whether Stephens or Saint Claude, both had immortality. Anyone with eyes could see that to break the deadlock, Silas must eliminate either Stephens or Saint Claude before Saint Lucas recovered, rebalancing the situation.
So could Silas do it? Neither Stephens nor Saint Claude dared gamble.
Stephens: "Careful, he's going all out!"
Saint Claude: "Stephens, block him!"
Stephens: "???"
Stephens had a complaint he didn't know whether to voice. If he truly had immortality, fine. But earlier, immortal Saint Granreid was cut down by Ryuma in one strike. From Silas's previous performance, he likewise had the ability to kill them!
No matter how unwilling he was, Saint Claude was still a noble Celestial Dragon. Even if ordered to die, he couldn't have any complaints. So Stephens could only brace himself at the forefront, meeting Silas's most violent attack head-on.
"Hakoku!" Silas wielded his blade in one hand, combining Hakoku with Conqueror's wrapping. One slash sent Stephens flying hundreds of meters. His defending arms, despite using Armament defense, were still slashed with deep, bone-exposing wounds.
And under Conqueror's Haki wrapping, even with immortality, this wound still needed Stephens several seconds to recover, because he first had to use his own Haki to dispel Silas's Haki left in his arm.
With Silas's current strength, only injuring Stephens rather than directly severing his arms naturally meant he'd held back power.
"Figarland Style: Divine Descent!" After Silas slashed, Saint Claude, who'd avoided the attack, launched his strike. Saint Claude's attack was like falling stars, targeting Silas's eyes directly.
But what Saint Claude didn't expect—facing his attack, Silas, without immortality, actually chose to tank it. His Observation saw no future. Observation Killing!
CLANG!
Saint Claude's Armament Haki-covered sword didn't stab Silas's eyes but his forehead. But the blade barely touched before a large hand gripped his longsword.
CRACK!
"You have immortality, but your sword doesn't, right?" Silas's hand that just slashed Hakoku dropped the blade, clenched into a fist, and punched out. Under Saint Claude's disbelieving gaze, his longsword was forcibly shattered in two.
After this, Silas twisted his waist and turned, his foot that had been planted on the ground lifting high before falling like a giant axe. Saint Claude had no way to react. They seemed to have forgotten—besides being a great swordsman, Silas was also a top-tier physical fighter. Any part of his body could be a weapon.
Before, when fighting one-versus-three, Silas could only passively defend. But now—
BOOM!
A deafening impact echoed beneath Silas's foot. Saint Claude was driven into the ground, creating the largest crack to appear in this entire war so far. All of Acropolis Island was nearly split in two by this single strike.
Massive seawater poured into the crack. In the distance, Newgate stood stunned as he watched this scene. Was he the Tremor-Tremor Fruit user or was Silas? How could Silas's casual strike have more terrifying power than his full-strength attack?
Knowing this attack couldn't kill Saint Claude, Silas wouldn't give him any breathing room, ignoring Stephens, who'd charged back toward him, and rushed straight into the huge crack he'd created.
"Father, save me!" Seeing Silas charging down like a god or demon, Saint Claude was utterly terrified. If Silas specifically targeted him, he didn't know how long he could last. Not to mention his sword had been broken by Silas.
"Seems the Holy Knights need restructuring." Just then, hearing a cold snort, a magic circle appeared beneath Saint Claude. Seeing this, Silas's rage intensified.
"Don't think you can escape!" Silas had seen Imu's teleportation circle before—he knew its weaknesses. He just needed Conqueror's interference!
HUMM!!!
Black-red Conqueror's Haki shot skyward—not just Silas's alone, but also Imu's and Ryuma's. Three peak-tier fighters' Conqueror's Haki simultaneously erupted. There was no way to control it.
The entire island was instantly cleared. Terrifying Conqueror's Haki seemed to be alive, swallowing the entire island, rushing straight to the clouds. Even one-versus-two, Imu still didn't fall behind. Ultimately, Ryuma's stamina was beginning to decline.
Silas wanted to stop Saint Claude's escape, but just then, something flashed through his mind—he suddenly realized something was wrong. This magic circle wasn't teleporting Saint Claude away! It was—
"Whether Shimotsuki Ryuma or the White Wolf Pirates, all are insignificant. If not for you prolonging their lives, they're just ants. So just eliminate you, then everything naturally returns to normal."
Imu's voice rang out. Simultaneously, Imu's figure also appeared in the teleportation circle. She had a deep, bone-exposing wound, with Conqueror's Haki wrapped within, preventing quick recovery. Clearly she'd paid a considerable price escaping Ryuma.
But the result was also gratifying. Saint Claude, Saint Lucas, Stephens, and Glyndwr, restrained by Seastone and having lost combat ability—four top-tier fighters—simultaneously appeared before Silas. And Imu!
This time, Silas couldn't use Conqueror's to send others back. Because Imu's Conqueror's was sufficient to cancel Silas's.
"You really think highly of me!" Four top-tier fighters plus Imu—this lineup would kill anyone else! Though Saint Lucas hadn't fully recovered and Glyndwr was still bound by Seastone, even with just Imu, Saint Claude, and Stephens, this was still a death trap.
"Fine." But facing so many top-tier fighters, Silas showed a smile. "Since all of you are here, that means the battlefield outside belongs to my people. Then let's try. Whether you eliminate me first, or my companions arrive faster!"
Under Imu's slightly furrowed brows, Silas pulled out a needle, viciously stabbing it into his blood vessel. Instantly, Silas's body turned red like a cooked lobster.
"Also, do you have any more cards?" Silas looked at Imu, his face showing a brilliant smile. "My reinforcements are back!"
Outside Acropolis Port, a pirate ship burst through the sea surface, appearing in both pirates' and Marines' sight!