Aboard the Dragon Ship, originally owned by the Revolutionary Army's Dragon but commandeered by Alucard.
"Is this... the fighting of the New World pirates..." Bepo rested his paws on the ship's railing, watching the carnage below. His bear mouth was wide open, wide enough to fit a whole pineapple.
To his right, Law leaned against the railing with one hand, his other hand gripping the hilt of his sword, clenching the railing so tightly it began to crumble slightly.
'What... what am I doing here?' Law thought to himself. Watching the battle unfold below, a battle he couldn't possibly join, his heart was filled with humiliation and resentment.
Shachi and Penguin, standing nearby, noticed Law's expression and guessed what he was thinking, but they didn't know what to say and remained silent.
"Captain... oh, no, um... I mean, Captain."
Bepo struggled multiple times over what to call Law. He had always called him "Captain." Now that the Heart Pirates were semi-affiliated with the Immortal Pirates, should he still call Law "Captain"?
After thinking it over, Bepo decided to stick with the familiar title for now. "What is it?" Law asked, his face sullen.
Bepo pointed a hand toward the far corner of the isolated island. "The people over there seem very weak. You should be able to beat them."
Including Law, the members of the Heart Pirates looked in the direction Bepo was pointing.
In the corner of the isolated island sat a group of people. From the tattoos and symbols on some of their clothing, they could be identified as members of the Red-Hair Pirates.
But even more conspicuous than their markings was the white jacket tied to a branch beside them.
The meaning of that white flag fluttering in the wind was clear to everyone present: surrender. It was for this reason that the Immortal Pirates had not attacked them.
Law's eye twitched fiercely. What a clumsy bear.
Shachi and Penguin, meanwhile, immediately pressed Bepo to the ground and slapped his muzzle, scolding him: "Idiot, what are you saying?!"
CRACKLE!!!
Suddenly, a flash of lightning and thunder erupted. Law and the others looked up at the sky, but the bolts were not the usual blue and white lightning; they were scarlet.
Shanks was currently holding his exchanged saber high above his head. The red lightning struck the blade, as if a savage beast were awakening.
"A non-Devil Fruit user who can utilize the power of nature... Have you mastered Roger's ability to hear the voice of all things?" Alucard asked, his head slightly lowered, genuinely intrigued.
"I've only learned a fraction of it."
Shanks shouted, but his words were pure modesty. If this level of power was only a "fraction" of Roger's, then Whitebeard and Garp wouldn't have been equals to him, they would have been utterly eclipsed.
Unfortunately, in Shanks's mind, Roger was a god-like existence. He believed that no matter what he did, he could never measure up to Roger. That's why he chose not to become the Pirate King, but to carry on Roger's spirit.
He even entertained the idea of cultivating Luffy to become the Pirate King, because he felt Luffy resembled Roger more than he did.
Sometimes standing on the shoulders of giants can make a person grow quickly, but it can also make them lose sight of their own power. Shanks was one such person.
"Red-Haired Shanks, your greatest defeat lies in betting everything on someone else's hands."
Alucard put his index and middle fingers together on both hands and cocked his thumbs, forming a vertical rectangular shape. His body gradually turned into a black shadow, from which countless red eyes appeared. Even Alucard's facial features completely vanished, leaving only one massive red eye.
"Releasing Restriction System Level Two. Level Three." ROAR!!!
Suddenly, the pool of blood beneath Alucard's feet rose and covered half the isolated island, startling both sides engaged in combat. The next second, irregular, dark-red, flame-like masses continuously emerged from the blood pool, gradually enveloping Alucard's body. When he reappeared, his blood-red trench coat and wide-brimmed hat were gone.
The newly manifested Alucard had a grim expression. The clothes he wore looked like a frayed mop nailed to his body, piece by piece, showcasing his slender physique. More conspicuous was the single gigantic red pupil that nearly dominated his entire chest.
"Take this!"
Shanks fiercely swung his sword. The scarlet lightning at the tip of the blade connected straight to the clouds and ruthlessly split Alucard's body, causing it to disintegrate and separate.
However, it wasn't just Alucard's body that broke apart; the entire island was split in two by this single strike from Shanks.
"So powerful, Red-Haired Shanks..."
Aboard the Dragon Ship, Law couldn't stop exclaiming, but he thought back to the incident where Shanks attacked Alucard so eagerly right after fighting Kaido. He deeply furrowed his brow. "But why would such a powerful man..."
The logic was simple enough for even a seventeen-year-old like him to grasp: how could you go fight another Yonko right after fighting one, especially when the first Yonko wasn't even dead yet?
Even if Shanks lost his mind for a moment, did his first mate, Beckman, said to inherit the intellect of Rayleigh, lose his mind too? Did the entire Red-Hair Pirates crew lose their minds? They didn't need to do that, did they?
Otherwise, they truly could have contended for the new Yonko position.
Just ten seconds after Shanks delivered that strike, Yassop suddenly screamed a warning, "Captain! Watch out below!!"
Shanks looked down. Although he had nearly split the island in two, Alucard's blood pool remained. Now, enormous white fangs and shadows began to emerge from it.
Shanks didn't overthink it, relying purely on reflexes to leap over ten meters high. The monster inside the blood pool fully revealed its complete form.
It was Baskerville, comparable in size to Wolf!
The creature had narrowly missed swallowing Shanks whole. After failing, Baskerville did not pursue him but sank back into the blood pool.
Shanks landed on the ground again, still above the blood pool. Immediately, Baskerville shot out of the blood pool once more, preparing to swallow Shanks. Shanks jumped and dodged again, then landed. But as soon as Shanks touched the ground, Baskerville would burst out of the blood pool to try and eat him.
"Isn't that move completely shameless?"
Shanks's face looked grim. Without realizing it, the blood pool had covered the entire island, meaning that the moment he landed, he was essentially in mortal danger.