"Alucard-sama!"
The morning sun hadn't yet risen over the Arderay Kingdom when panicked voices of crewmates rang out from outside. "Our ship has been sunk!"
"It was Garp! That 'Iron Fist' bastard! Our comrades are holding them back. Please, you have to go out there now!"
Alucard, seated on his throne, suddenly opened his eyes. The name, "Garp," were enough to elicit a reaction from him.
Launching a sudden attack on a Yonko… what was the meaning of this?
Alucard rose and headed outside. Hearing the commotion, Viola, who had just fallen asleep in the next room, opened her eyes, only to see a flash of red light vanish. She was certain it was Alucard.
As for Scarlett, who had been worn out from their long night, she was currently sleeping soundly in another coffin, as she was now a vampire as well.
Viola was about to follow, but Alucard was too fast. By the time she reached the palace entrance, he was already gone.
With a thought, Viola returned to her room, took out a Den Den Mushi, and placed one hand over her eye. A faint purple glow emanated from her ring, activating her Glare-Glare Fruit ability.
After joining the Kuja Pirates, her role was primarily intelligence gathering, so she focused on this type of support work.
Soon, Viola discovered that about three hundred nautical miles southeast of Arderay, several of the Alucard Pirates' warships were clashing with two Marine battleships. One of the battleships was relentlessly firing cannonballs, forcing the Alucard Pirates' ships to constantly dodge.
The ship with the dog's head biting on a bone was that of Marine Hero Garp!
The other ship had the name "Zephyr" emblazoned on its sail—the ship of Zephyr, the Marine Chief Instructor and head of the Special Guerrilla Marine Unit!
It was these two, of all people.
Viola quickly dialed the Den Den Mushi. Her subordinate rushed in and woke up Hancock, who was still sleeping soundly in Amazon Lily.
"Snake Princess-sama, it's an urgent call from Viola-san!" the nervous attendant reported to Hancock.
"What? That shameless woman's sister?" Hancock's face soured as she grabbed the Den Den Mushi receiver, but Viola was faster, immediately informing Hancock that Arderay was under attack by Garp and Zephyr.
"Zephyr and Garp?"
Hancock's expression changed. How could they just show up out of nowhere, without any warning?
Despite her many questions, Hancock immediately rose, threw a cloak over herself, and gave an order: "Tell the officers and everyone above that rank to assemble and prepare for battle!"
It would take at least two days to sail from Amazon Lily to Arderay. A rough estimate suggested the battle could drag on for five days, but even so, there was no time to waste.
A female attendant followed behind Hancock and reported, "Snake Princess-sama, a few days ago in the colosseum, Laliya-san was defeated by Sandersonia-san and is currently recovering from her injuries…"
"Anyone who is injured will stay behind in Kuja to defend against a potential surprise attack by the Marines."
Hancock gave the order, then spoke into the receiver to Viola, "Use your ability to monitor the situation."
"I understand."
With that, both sides hung up.
On Hancock's urgent command, a third of the Kuja warriors set sail for Arderay.
This time, their opponents were far from ordinary. Hancock did not bring Shirley with her; if the little princess were to be caught in the middle of this, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Hundreds of nautical miles southeast of Arderay, Garp was continuously launching cannonballs, forcing the three warships led by Stragus into constant retreat, giving them no time to retaliate as they focused all their efforts on deflecting the incoming shells.
"He's still got that same powerful barrage of cannonballs, Garp." Stragus, in mid-air, used his greatsword to slice a cannonball in half, causing it to explode.
After landing back on the ship's deck, Stragus, a former member of the Golden Lion Pirates who had experience fighting Garp, shouted orders: "First unit to the left, second unit to the right!
Disperse!" "Yes, sir!"
The three warships, marked with Alucard's symbol on their sails, quickly split up, attacking from three different directions. This naturally weakened the power of Garp's attacks.
"Are those the brats from Shiki's crew? They're way too familiar with my fighting style." Garp momentarily stopped firing his cannons.
He had heard that the remnants of the Golden Lion Pirates had joined Alucard's crew. It seemed the rumors were true.
Zephyr stood to the side, frowning. "Garp, we're here to investigate, not to annihilate. Why did you initiate the attack?"
Garp laughed heartily, completely unconcerned. "They were bound to find us anyway. Rather than waiting for them to attack, we might as well make the first move! Hahahahaha!"
Zephyr sighed. Garp's words weren't wrong.
"Come on! Disperse the units! Prepare to engage!" Garp shouted, clenching his fists and giving orders to the thousands of Marines on the two battleships.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"
The Marines in their white shirts and blue pants stood at attention and saluted, ready for battle.
"Oh, right, Zephyr, Alucard's here. Don't engage. It wouldn't be good for your condition to worsen. Vegapunk…" When he mentioned Vegapunk's name, Garp paused for a second before his tone returned to normal. "…He's not a miracle worker, you know!"
"Ah… I know."
Zephyr responded calmly, but deep down, he was already suspicious. What were Garp and Sengoku hiding from him? What did those looks mean?
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~
An extremely grating sound came from the sky. Everyone looked up to see a massive swarm of bats descending, gathering to form Alucard's body right in front of Zephyr and Garp.
"A Yonko… Alucard."
The Marines on the deck retreated several steps, all staring warily at the crimson figure. "Alucard-sama is here!"
"We've won for sure!"
Alucard's crewmates cheered when they saw him appear. "What are you scared of?!"
At that moment, a captain from Zephyr's unit shouted, "He's just a Yonko! We have Zephyr- sensei and Vice Admiral Garp on our side!"
Upon hearing the captain's words, everyone's faces brightened, and a feeling of deep confidence took over.
That's right. They might have a Yonko, but we have a man who fought the Pirate King to a standstill and the man with the strongest Armament Haki in the Marines!
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