Ability Development Progress
Vampire Physique Complete Form: 89%
Bat Transformation Complete Form: 77%
Casull LV6: 56%
Jackal LV3: 49%
Blacklight Virus LV4: 36%
Hidden Shadow LV4: 63%
Black Dog Baskerville LV4: 11%
Half a month had passed since Shiki's declaration of war on the Marines. The world was thrown into chaos. The Marines, naturally, were the first to react, recalling elite Marines stationed across the globe to Headquarters to prepare for the defense.
Just in the past few days, the names of elite Marines seen in the news were numerous: Borsalino, Sakazuki, Kuzan, Momousagi, Chaton, Yako...
What caught Alucard's attention was that Garp was conspicuously absent from the list. There was only one reason not to recall such a powerful force back to Headquarters: Garp needed to remain in the New World to prevent the possible rampage of the Three Monsters and any potential moves by Whitebeard who might take advantage of the chaos.
Although he didn't know if the Marines had realized he was missing, Whitebeard would definitely not make a move. Just as Alucard had said when he left the Moby Dick, Whitebeard no longer had ambitions.
"Does he want to catch up to Roger's footsteps while he still has some strength left? If you die in this war, the old era will be completely over." Alucard muttered to himself. According to the news from the newspapers, the Marine forces outnumbered the Golden Lion Fleet by more than five times. Even with the monsters included, it was still more than three times the number.
By every measure, the Golden Lion Fleet was at a disadvantage. Shiki certainly knew there was a high possibility of him dying in this war. But he would rather die than cling to life like Redfield, live in seclusion like Rayleigh, or become a "living legend" like Whitebeard. His only goal was Roger, to achieve what even Roger couldn't! For this goal, what did it matter if he risked his reputation?
This location was an island very close to Marine Headquarters. Five thousand meters above Water 7, in the clouds, several islands split from Merveille Island floated around the battleships. The time until the war was less than half a month.
"It's about time to start moving, isn't it?" Alucard made the rare move of calling Shiki.
"Jihahahaha! Impatient, are we? Don't worry, I'll send you to the skies above Mariejois first, then we'll proceed with the plan." On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Shiki's crazed, almost insane laughter echoed. "I'll throw Kaido to Headquarters on the 30th."
"Oh? Not the 1st?" Alucard had a faint idea of what trick Shiki was planning.
"Jihahahaha! I said I would go next month, not which day that kid Kaido would go. It's not a breach of contract on my part," Shiki roared with laughter.
"How despicable... but deceiving your opponent is also a form of strategy." Alucard smiled and hung up the Den Den Mushi.
He knew that the old trickster Shiki was about to pull a dirty move. But war, after all, was accompanied by deception and betrayal. Furthermore, if the Marines completely trusted a pirate's actions, then they would be truly hopeless.
....
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
With only two days left until the start of the war, the elites recalled from all over the world were ready and on standby.
Tsuru rested her head on her crossed hands. "Even though the Golden Lion said the war starts the day after tomorrow, he is a man known as the Flying Pirate and has always been skilled in strategy. Therefore, we cannot let our guard down for a single moment."
"Ah... that's just the kind of man he is." Admiral Sengoku said with a heavy expression. "There's another matter. Garp and Zephyr in the New World have sent back reports. Of the Three Monsters, only Charlotte Linlin is confirmed to be in the New World. The other two, Kaido of the Beasts and Alucard the Immortal, remain unaccounted for."
Tsuru thought for a moment before speaking slowly. "Kaido... he reportedly went missing after his battle with Shiki on Bannila Island. While it's a small possibility, we can't rule out him being taken captive. As for Alucard... as a lone wolf, his movements were always hard to track in the New World, but the spy we have in Fish-Man Island has not reported his entry, which means he should still be in the New World."
The Marines were certainly not so foolish as to completely trust Shiki's words. Was Shiki really going to attack the day after tomorrow just because he said so? Absolutely not. It wouldn't be surprising if he attacked the next second.
When he was young, Shiki loved to use his Float-Float Fruit to perform surprise attacks, and not much had changed.
A total of eighty thousand Marine soldiers had been assembled. Twenty thousand Marines were on standby at all times, in case the Golden Lion Fleet descended from the sky without warning.
According to the investigation into the Golden Lion Fleet, the number of Marines was at least five times theirs. Sengoku and Kong were confident that they could defeat Shiki by working together, but in war, who could say "absolutely"?
The New World was being suppressed by Garp and Zephyr. Zephyr himself couldn't remember how many years it had been since he was on the front lines of a major battle. With Sengoku and Kong on the front lines to counter Shiki, they also had Borsalino, Kuzan, Sakazuki, Momousagi, Chaton, Yako, and rising stars like Shirokitsune and Murasame below.
With this lineup, Sengoku and the others were confident against the Golden Lion Fleet. But the main problem was what would happen afterward. The Marines would surely suffer countless casualties, and dealing with the aftermath was the most headache-inducing problem.
"Even if you can't sleep, you should still rest. We're getting old, and our stamina is no match for the young ones anymore," Tsuru said, getting up and leaving Sengoku's office. As she opened the door, the female soldiers guarding the entrance quickly saluted. "Vice Admiral Tsuru!"
Among the female soldiers, standing to her left and right were another representative of the Marine's female forces, Momousagi, and the newly promoted Commodore Shirokitsune.
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I don't know who the hell are these two, Yako (Night Owl) and Murasame (Village Rain), are. I tried searching incase they might have different names in canon, but there is none. They might be OC here just like Shirokitsune. Shirokitsune (White Fox, Alessia Andoria) is that girl from the fallen kingdom who led Alucard to the place where a Poneglyph was located.
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