Under Dalmatian’s command, the Marines on standby fixed their gazes intently upon the sea. Franky seized this opening, swiftly infiltrating the city. He was determined to rescue his senior apprentice, a man with whom he shared a deep, if argumentative, bond.

Alucard approached at an incredible speed aboard his small craft. A closer look revealed that the entire vessel was enveloped in a pool of blood, yet it suffered no catastrophic damage. This wasn’t because Alucard’s power had waned; rather, it was the result of Dr. Vegapunk’s extensive modifications to the boat.

"Fire!"

When Alucard was still over half a mile from shore, Dalmatian issued the order to open fire without a moment’s hesitation. Simultaneously, he ordered his subordinates to relay word of Alucard’s appearance to the other Vice Admirals and the Government.

Facing a sky full of lead, Alucard chose not to let the blood absorb the impact. Instead, he leaped into the air, his lower body dissolving into a swarm of bats as he traversed the remaining distance in a single bound.

Alucard touched down on land, his lower body reforming into legs. The highly disciplined Marines instantly surrounded him, their muzzles trained on the center.

A Major raised his hand, ready to give the order to execute, but he was stopped by Dalmatian.

"Don’t you know his title? Toys of that caliber won’t do a thing to him."

Dalmatian cast a dismissive glance at the flintlocks in the soldiers’ hands. In his hybrid form, he stepped toward Alucard. "Though Zephyr-sensei eventually fell and became a pirate, as his disciple, I still intend to seek vengeance for him."

Alucard stared at Dalmatian for a moment before a memory surfaced. Before Zephyr’s defection from the Marines, this "Dalmatian" had indeed served alongside him. He was clearly one of the man’s students.

Although Zephyr’s death had largely been a result of his own death wish, Alucard didn’t deign to explain.

"According to the intelligence gathered, the life force in his body only dissipates if his heart is destroyed. Focus your attacks there!"

Dalmatian made his decision, centering his offensive on Alucard’s heart.

As Dalmatian struck, the smile remained on Alucard’s face even as a powerful Shigan pierced through his chest, bursting his heart. None of the surrounding Marines showed any joy; instead, the members of the Franky Family watching from afar jumped in shock.

Wasn’t that a bit too easy?

Click!

Due to the height difference between the two in their current forms, Alucard’s black pistol, Jackal, was pressed directly against Dalmatian’s abdomen. Dalmatian was prepared; the moment he sensed the loathsome aura of Seastone, he leaped back, narrowly evading a Seastone bullet.

Bang! Bang!

However, the first shot was merely the beginning. Second and third rounds followed instantly. In mid-air, Dalmatian adjusted his posture, using Geppo to dodge the incoming fire.

"You’re far too slow!"

Alucard chuckled coldly and vanished from his spot. Dalmatian immediately focused his Observation Haki and the enhanced hearing of his Dog-Dog Fruit to track Alucard’s position.

But all he sensed was Alucard’s aura emanating from every direction.

Looking down, he saw that the docks were now completely submerged in a pool of blood. The same lethal, terrifying aura that Alucard possessed was rising directly from the crimson tide.

"Everyone! Get away from the blood on the ground, now!" Dalmatian roared.

The Marines with quick reflexes scrambled away, but the vast majority were too slow. Before they could retreat, shadowy hands erupted from the pool of blood, tearing them into shreds of meat.

"No!!!"

Dalmatian was a Vice Admiral who genuinely cared for his subordinates. Seeing hundreds of his soldiers perish in a single move, he couldn’t help but let out a cry of agony.

"A moment’s distraction is all it takes for everything to end."

Alucard fired a Seastone explosive round into Dalmatian’s midsection, blowing a horrific hole through his hybrid form.

"Vice Admiral Dalmatian!!"

The surviving Marines, less than twenty percent of the original force, screamed in horror. Further away, the Franky Family was stunned into silence. Had a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral really been taken down that easily?

Thud!

His hybrid body slammed into the ground, and Dalmatian gradually reverted to human form. While the wound in his gut shrank as he transformed, it remained a critical, life-threatening injury for a human.

Alucard descended from the air, looking down at Dalmatian. "You haven’t found the right way to fight me at all. Did those old fools in the Gorosei not tell the Marines?"

Cough! Cough!

Dalmatian coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, struggling to speak. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Heh."

Alucard simply offered a contemptuous smirk, offering no explanation.

In his previous battle against the Gorosei and their "National Treasure," Alucard had overextended his techniques, causing a certain number of his weaknesses to be exposed. Given the cunning of the Gorosei, Alucard didn’t believe for a second that they hadn’t discovered the flaws in his immortality.

To deal with a physique like Alucard’s, one should use overwhelming numbers to grind him down, using multi-man combat to force him into his enhanced modes. It wasn’t about whether an individual’s level was high enough to participate. Rather, everyone should be used as cannon fodder to expend as much of his power as possible.

But since Dalmatian hadn’t fought that way, it proved the Gorosei had kept the Marines in the dark regarding Alucard’s true nature and weaknesses.

"It seems the rift between the Marines and the Government is even larger than imagined."

Alucard made another remark that left the dazed Dalmatian confused. What did the relationship between the Marines and the Government have to do with this fight?

"Pheasant Peck!"

A sudden chill cut through the air. Alucard shifted two steps to the side as a bird made of ice whistled past him. Just as it was about to hit the fallen Dalmatian, Aokiji burst forth from the ice bird. He scooped Dalmatian up, partially encasing him in ice to stabilize him as he dropped him off with the surviving soldiers. "I’ve given him an ice pack. Get him to medical treatment immediately."

The soldiers caught Dalmatian’s frozen body, thinking blankly: Is this ’ice pack’ of yours a bit too extreme?!

Bang!

A bullet streaked toward him. Aokiji slammed his hand onto the ground, raising an ice wall. A loud explosion followed as the ice wall shattered, but the impact successfully diverted the bullet’s trajectory, saving the others.

"As expected of a weapon modified by Dr. Vegapunk. It’s on a completely different level than the Seastone weapons used by the Government." Aokiji retracted the remains of the ice wall and faced Alucard directly.

Alucard grinned, resting the barrel of Jackal against the brim of his hat. "Why else would I have gone through the trouble of kidnapping him?"

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