At Grove 27 of Sabaody Archipelago, two warships, their sails emblazoned with the Marine symbol, formally docked.
The nearby pirates were struck dumb with fear at the sight of Borsalino and Strawberry standing on the bows.
After a few seconds, they all screamed and fled.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a flash of golden light appeared. A beam of light blocked their path, and two pirates from a crew involuntarily stopped, staring dumbfounded as the light gradually materialized into a tall man.
"My apologies, ne~" Borsalino asked, hands in his pockets, bending slightly toward the two. "I'm looking for a man named Alucard. Do you happen to know him?"
The man with the eye patch looked at the tall, seemingly old man in his thirties before him. He fearfully took two steps back and shrieked, "Borsalino!"
Both quickly turned and fled.
While Marine Vice Admirals weren't few in number, Borsalino was undoubtedly one of the most famous among them, aside from Garp.
Seeing the two flee a considerable distance, Borsalino wasn't in a rush to chase. Instead, he stroked his chin with one hand and said with an innocent tone, "How mean. I was just trying to ask for some information..."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Borsalino raised his hand, his index finger extended. A beam of light shot from his fingertip, flashing between the two. Half a second later, a violent explosion erupted directly in front of the two pirates, blasting all surrounding pirates into the air, naturally including the two men themselves.
"Vice Admiral Borsalino, our objective is Alucard. First, we need to find his ship to prevent him from heading out to sea." Strawberry walked up to Borsalino. He was currently a Rear Admiral, serving under Vice Admiral Borsalino.
"Pere pere pere..."
Just then, a Den Den Mushi sounded from within Strawberry's Marine cloak. He took it out and pressed the receiver. A Marine's voice immediately came through. "Report! The target Alucard's ship has been found in Grove 21—"
BANG!
Before the report could be finished, the two Vice Admirals heard a gunshot, followed by the sound of something falling to the ground. Something had happened.
"Oh my~ Faster than expected, aren't they~" Borsalino drawled, pinching his chin.
"The soldiers over there have probably been sacrificed, but the target location has been confirmed: Grove 21," Strawberry stated.
"Then I'll go myself," Borsalino said. His entire body transformed into a flash of light, quickly heading towards Grove 21.
...
Grove 21.
"Seriously, did the intel still leak out?" Alucard stood beside his ship, surrounded by the corpses of Marines and pirates he had just dealt with. He picked up the fallen Den Den Mushi and casually tossed it into the sea beside the dock.
From the situation just now, it seemed the Marines already knew his ship was docked here. He turned to look; the coating still wasn't finished.
The coating mechanics had probably been called back by the Marines. There was nothing he could do. He would have to wait for a while.
Based on the information he'd gathered from the pirates, the arriving Vice Admirals were the future Admiral Kizaru Borsalino and Strawberry.
While he wasn't entirely unwilling to test his strength against Borsalino, Alucard truly had no desire to fight right now.
His enjoyment had been interrupted, and he really just wanted to get some good sleep.
"Hmm? Are they already on their way?" Alucard turned back. Through his Thermal Vision, Alucard could clearly sense an extremely fast presence approaching him. It was already passing through Grove 24 and would soon enter Area 23.
The only one capable of such speed was, without a doubt, the user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, Borsalino.
"I don't really feel like fighting you today. I'll just mess with you a bit." With a thought, Alucard casually picked up a Marine officer he had just killed, who wasn't quite dead yet.
Judging by his rank, he should have been a Marine Lieutenant. Alucard quickly absorbed him into his body using the Blacklight Virus.
...
On the other side, Borsalino passed through Grove 24 at extreme speed and was about to enter Grove 21. However, as he passed through Grove 23, he paused briefly to confirm his direction.
Just then, a Marine Lieutenant, covered in wounds, ran up to him and saluted. "Report! Vice Admiral Borsalino! Target Dracula D. Alucard just abandoned his ship and fled towards Grove 22!"
The areas of Sabaody Archipelago aren't connected in a straight line; they're densely connected in a circular fashion. Alucard's ship was located in Grove 21, which connected to both Grove 22 and Grove 23. Borsalino's path to get here was through Grove 23.
Borsalino, hands in his pockets, looked towards Grove 22, then scratched his head. "That guy actually ran away. How strange~"
With that, Borsalino turned his head to scan the Marine Lieutenant. The identity and wounds were undoubtedly real.
Thinking this, Borsalino had no further suspicions. He turned and rushed towards Grove 22, leaving one last instruction: "Keep a close eye on the ship. Make sure to watch it carefully until Strawberry and the others arrive."
Once Borsalino completely vanished in a flash of light, irregular blood plasma completely enveloped the Lieutenant's body. A few seconds later, Alucard's body returned to its original state.
"Good work. Go on and search, Kizaru," Alucard chuckled, turning to head back the way he came.
'Occasionally, not fighting, but rather toying with people, is quite interesting.'
——————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanFiction [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are over 100 advance chapters available for you!