"No."
Mihawk stood before Issho, drawing his black blade. "I simply wish to follow my own heart and duel with the strong."
Among all the Warlords, Mihawk was the one who valued the title most, yet even he could no longer make sense of the current situation.
Would the Government fall? If it did, the Seven Warlords of the Sea would naturally cease to exist. If it didn't, the Government was likely to lose a massive amount of its precious combat strength, and at that point, they would be desperate for the Warlords' assistance...
After a brief internal struggle, Mihawk decided to cast all consequences aside. Another Supreme Grade Blade was right in front of him, wielded by a swordsman of Yonko-level or higher—how could he not issue a challenge?
"Warlord Mihawk-dono? This old man owes you a favor..." Behind him, Issho struggled to stand, his voice strained.
Mihawk's thin mustache twitched upward. "Heh, don't misunderstand. I only wish to witness the power of the ultimate blade, Oodenta Mitsuyo."
"Then you'll pay for that sight with your life!!"
Oseinofica roared. In an instant, he unleashed over a dozen golden slashes, each extending over a hundred meters. They crisscrossed through the air, as dense and unavoidable as a web of infrared lasers.
Mihawk brought his black blade behind his head as if preparing to swing a bat. Beneath the brim of his hat, his hawk-like eyes stared at the incoming storm of overlapping sword ki. A split second later, he spoke: "I see it!"
…
Inside the City of Spring Queen, Alucard stood before the tallest hotel tower. Behind him, the corpses of countless Government guards littered the ground, a trail of carnage stretching all the way back to the city gates.
"Facing death, and they're still thinking of luxury?"
Alucard murmured, looking up at the opulent hotel.
Voom—!!
Suddenly, a piercing hum echoed through the air. Alucard felt the world around him suddenly turn dizzy.
His body felt light, almost as if he were about to float away, but in less than a second, everything became abruptly heavy.
It wasn't just his own body; everything in the vicinity grew weighed down by a crushing force. Several corpses of Government soldiers nearby were flattened into meat paste instantly.
"Fujitora's ability? No... it's slightly different," Alucard murmured. In the next heartbeat, his feet were already being twisted by the terrifying pressure.
"There."
Alucard looked toward the right side of the hotel. Baskerville's massive bestial claw lunged out from the pool of blood, slamming into the hotel's tenth floor.
BOOM!!!
Once the bestial claw shattered the building, the crushing pressure on Alucard vanished. Two figures leaped from within, evading Baskerville's grip and floating down slowly. It was a power similar to Issho's, yet entirely different in nature.
Suddenly, from the top of the crumbling hotel, another figure darted out, launching a crescent-shaped sword beam at Baskerville's right shoulder, momentarily throwing the beast off balance.
"ROAR!!!"
Baskerville recovered within seconds, letting out a furious howl as it counterattacked its assailant.
Flash!
Suddenly, a golden light erupted from the rooftop, piercing the heavens.
"Way of the Ghost: Asura!"
Behind the robe-wearing Gorosei, a thousand-armed ghost-god manifested. It evaded Baskerville's claws and swung its blade upward.
Alucard gave a cold laugh. Give them an inch and they take a mile. Did they really think the National Treasure made them invincible?
With a flick of Alucard's finger, a beast even larger than Baskerville emerged from the blood pool. It used its razor-sharp fangs to block the incoming sword ki while retaliating with deep purple venom.
True Ancestor Familiar: Jormungandr!
The blond Gorosei, who had landed on the ground, raised his hand. That piercing hum returned, causing the venom's speed to decelerate significantly, allowing the robe-wearing Gorosei to easily dodge the impact.
Crash!
The venom delivered the final blow to the teetering hotel. While severely corroding the structure, it caused the upper floors to collapse entirely.
"Another face I haven't seen. Who are you?"
Standing atop Jormungandr, Alucard's gaze fixed on the old man in the white suit who had jumped down alongside the blond Gorosei.
"I am Nedseo, one of the three Great Family Heads of the Celestial Dragons."
Like Oseinofica, Nedseo's eyes held a look that suggested he viewed everyone as beneath him, though his disdain wasn't quite as blatant as Oseinofica's.
Whether they were the Three Great Heads or ordinary Celestial Dragons, their arrogance had been etched into their very marrow over the past eight hundred years. It was a trait that would never change.
"The three families plus the Gorosei. Two outside, which means there should be six in here."
Alucard's gaze swept over the three men below. "What? Did the other three run away because they're afraid to die?"
Despite the insult, the three old foxes showed no obvious sign of anger. The one looking most displeased was Nedseo. "Cease your arrogance, Alucard. The three of us are more than enough to kill you."
Originally, they had planned for five of them to face Alucard together, using Cobra as a backup "battery." They felt that such a lineup was more than enough to slaughter him.
But they hadn't expected the Navy and Shirokitsune to suddenly stage a rebellion, forcing them to peel off two men to handle the situation.
However, there was no cause for concern. They believed that with the power of the National Treasure, things would be settled quickly.
As soon as Nedseo finished speaking, the ground of the city beneath their feet began to crack. A surging torrent of souls began to pour into the bodies of the three men.
Alucard's pupils constricted. Unlike the conditions Oseinofica used to activate the National Treasure outside, which required the blood of a Celestial Dragon as a medium, could they activate it through other means?
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away in Mariejois, the last of the Three Great Family Heads, Meinfini, dressed in priestly robes, looked toward the curly-haired, cane-wielding Gorosei and the long-bearded Gorosei beside him.
"I have already funneled the energy of the City of Spring Queen's citizens into them, up to the physical limit their bodies can endure."
"And the remaining soul power?" the curly-haired Gorosei asked.
"Seventy percent of the island's total remains."
The long-bearded Gorosei nodded. "That is enough. Send the Immortal to the next world."