Hearing the conversation between the three members of the Gorosei, Alucard's expression shifted slightly. As expected, that power wasn't their own.
After all, no matter how great they were, even Whitebeard, Garp, and Shiki could not escape the ravages of time. For the robed Elder to maintain a level of power surpassing a Yonko at eighty or ninety years of age was simply against all natural laws.
"This fellow is..."
The newly arrived long-bearded Elder and the curly-haired Elder with the cane looked at Alucard, who had already entered his form of shadow and blood-red eyes, and asked in confusion.
"A freak capable of freely changing his form; his power exceeds that of the Yonko," the robed Elder stated with a frigid expression. "It might be Alucard himself, or someone with the ability to transform into him. In any case, he is an extremely difficult problem to deal with."
"That much is obvious, considering you used that power and still found yourself in a predicament," the curly-haired Elder noted pridefully. "Shall the three of us use that together?"
When describing the eerie power dwelling within the robed Elder, all three used the phrase "that power" instead of a specific name. Clearly, they had no intention of letting this secret be exposed.
"The cost of doing so is too high. Eight Celestial Dragons have already gone missing, five of whom were heads of their families. If we use it again, the others will cause a literal heaven-shaking uproar," the long-bearded Elder said, raising a hand to intervene.
He then turned his gaze toward Alucard. "Regardless of whether you are Alucard or some other officer of the Immortal Pirates, before we proceed, I want to know the whereabouts of those eight missing Celestial Dragons."
"..."
Alucard did not answer. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but in this new state, he was having trouble controlling his body. If he let his focus slip for even a second, he felt he would be in major trouble.
"No answer? Fine then. We'll simply force you to speak."
The long-bearded Elder took two steps forward with his hands in his pockets. With his back to the other two, he said, "Sword Saint, you take point; I'll provide support. I hope to conserve 'that power' as much as possible. If we over-use it, those Celestial Dragon fellows will definitely have complaints."
"Support? Those eight Celestial Dragons are almost certainly dead. The best course of action is to finish this monster in one go, hang his head in the newspapers, and declare that the dignity of the Government is not to be trifled with!"
The robed Elder was dissatisfied with the idea of sparing the pirate who had nearly killed him. He believed execution was the only answer.
"They are only missing; their deaths have not been confirmed. Furthermore, you should understand the price of losing five heads of Celestial Dragon families," the long-bearded Elder countered, silencing the swordsman's objection.
The robed Elder rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Fine. We'll do it your way."
"I will fight on the assumption that those eight are dead. I won't 'Release,' but that means we might not be able to take him down," the robed Elder finished, then lunged toward Shadow Alucard.
This time, he had let slip a crucial piece of information: "Release."
In combat, "Release" usually meant unlocking a much greater power. This suggested that even though he was currently at a level exceeding the Yonko, he could go even higher, but the cost was so severe that he was forbidden from doing so.
You talk as if you've already won.
Alucard narrowed his eyes and roared internally: Let me show you the true power of this form!
This technique was something Alucard had just understood after using the Blood Inheritance; it wasn't a gift from the System. Not only did it lack an official name, but it was also his first time using it, and he was facing enemies as terrifying as the Gorosei. The risk was directly proportional to the power.
Since it was nameless, he would tentatively call it Shadow, a form that completely discarded the vampire's traditional combat mode.
The robed Elder swung his sword, but Alucard dodged with effortless grace.
More-More: Fiftyfold Speed!
However, while Alucard easily evaded the blade, the long-bearded Elder had already caught up to him in mid-air. With no flashy abilities or wasted movements, he simply brought his hands together into a knife-hand strike and slashed at Alucard.
Rip!
Shadow Alucard was sliced in two. Yet, there was no spray of blood like before. The long-bearded Elder felt his hands touch extreme heat; looking closer, he saw the rift where he had split the body was bubbling with scorching magma.
The Elemental Transformation of the Magma-Magma Fruit!
The hands of the two halves of the body also turned into magma, erupting outward. The long-bearded Elder quickly dodged the attack, leaving Alucard to see only a blue blur.
The robed Elder specializes in destruction, while this long-bearded one specializes in speed? But does speed necessarily make you invincible?
Spirit of All Things!
The wind told Alucard the trajectory of the long-bearded Elder's movement. Catching the perfect moment, he thrust one hand into the ground.
An instant later, as the long-bearded Elder came to a halt, the very soil of the Red Line beneath his feet rose up, forming a massive hand of red earth. Caught off guard, the hand snagged his leg; besides the injury, the red soil stains on his black suit trousers were glaringly obvious.
Zephyr's Titan Fruit: Earth Manipulation!
Because Shadow Alucard didn't look like a Logia user in this form, the long-bearded Elder hadn't instinctively used Haki, leading him to suffer against the elemental transformation.
Then came the Spirit of All Things, possessed by both Gol D. Roger and Red-Haired Shanks, and the power of the Titan Fruit, which was famously called "Invincible as long as one stands upon the earth."
These abilities were all known to the three Gorosei members present. They didn't just sit in their office playing poker all day.
"Byrnndi World's More-More Fruit speed, Sakazuki's Magma-Magma Fruit, Red-Haired Shanks' Spirit of All Things, and Zephyr's Titan Fruit... There's no doubt now. You possess the abilities of every power-user killed by the Immortal."
The long-bearded Elder walked with a slight, awkward limp from his injury. He said coldly, "You really are Alucard himself, aren't you? No one else possesses such power."
But at that moment, Alucard suddenly clutched his head. His Shadow form, where shadows replaced his body and countless eyes watched everything, flickered, revealing half of Alucard's original face.
"Dammit, this form is still..." Alucard muttered through his teeth as he covered his visible left face, "Too much to force?"