"Shiki, you bastard!" Sengoku gritted his teeth in fury. While he had considered Kaido being captured, the possibility was too slim. But if Alucard was also involved, that possibility increased significantly.
"Why would Alucard and Shiki be working together?"
This was the question on the minds of countless Marines, including Sengoku and Tsuru.
It was an unspoken rule that the more powerful a pirate was, the less likely they were to cooperate with others, especially with a pirate of similar strength. Their shared characteristic was their arrogance and distrust of one another.
Ten years ago, if Roger, the Golden Lion, and Whitebeard had united, they would have easily conquered the world. But the Marines and the Government never worried about this because they knew it was an impossible scenario.
And now, even though Shiki was from the old era and Alucard from the new, their grudges were nowhere near as severe as those between the three great pirates. Still, they shouldn't be allied! What exactly happened?
"Tsuru-san..." Momousagi walked up to Tsuru, waiting for instructions.
"It seems they plan to use Kaido to exhaust our forces first." Tsuru shrewdly grasped the enemy's objective. She waved her hand. "We can't just guard the plaza. It's very likely that Shiki will land on another part of the island while our attention is on Kaido."
"Good point." Just then, Fleet Admiral Kong's voice came through the broadcast system. "Don't focus all your attention on Kaido. We don't know when Shiki will land. Everyone, split up now to prepare for a surprise attack by the Golden Lion Fleet. Leave just enough elites to deal with Kaido."
Sengoku nodded in agreement, glancing at the three Logia Vice Admirals fighting Kaido. While they hadn't injured Kaido yet, they were keeping him from harming others. For now, the two sides were evenly matched.
Borsalino glanced at Sengoku and understood. "Can we three handle this monster for a bit?"
Sengoku nodded grimly, then ordered everyone to disperse, leaving only a thousand Marines and the three Logia Vice Admirals to hold off Kaido.
"Remember, our enemy right now is the Golden Lion." Sengoku's final reminder was a warning not to waste too much energy on Kaido, or they would fall into Shiki's trap. The entire Marineford force began to spread across the island, with every corner on alert for an attack from the sky.
High in the sky, thousands of meters above, Shiki observed the battle through a visual Den Den Mushi. He sat in his chair, frowning. "As expected of Sengoku. He's rationally distributing his forces and has found the best way to deal with Kaido."
Although he couldn't see the specific situation on the ground, he could roughly see the distribution of forces thanks to the special visual Den Den Mushi modified by his scientists.
"Boss Shiki, they've dispersed their forces to monitor us. It'll be difficult for us to land," a tall, thin swordsman walked up to Shiki, concerned.
While a flying fleet was undoubtedly invincible when it came to escaping, landing was a double-edged sword. Once a landing spot was compromised, the enemy could shoot down their ships from mid-air, and the war would be over before it even began.
"..." Shiki grinned, his cigar in his mouth, and picked up a Den Den Mushi on his right. "How's it going?"
The Den Den Mushi's eyes opened and turned crimson, transmitting Alucard's voice. "It's time. The Government has discovered us."
Shiki hung up the Den Den Mushi with a laugh, leaving his seat and walking to the figurehead of the Golden Lion. He first closed his eyes, using his Observation Haki to locate the two islands Alucard had taken. The next moment, Shiki's eyes shot open, and he relinquished control of the two "Merveille Islands."
At that exact moment, in the sky above the Holy Land of Mariejois, countless Government agents in suits stood on the Red Line, watching the two gigantic islands floating above them. This place was already extremely high up, and even with the power of the Float-Float Fruit to lift the islands, this was the maximum they could achieve.
The Government had no fewer capable people than the Marines.
When Alucard's two islands approached, someone had already sensed his presence using Observation Haki. Alucard didn't know whether the person who sensed him was a master hidden in the Government or... the Gorosei themselves.
Inside Mariejois, the blond elder of the Gorosei watched the islands approaching through a visual Den Den Mushi along with the other four. He frowned. "Shiki has a lot of guts, trying to ram Mariejois with islands."
The curly-haired elder narrowed his eyes. "The fleet isn't with him, so he's only controlling two islands?"
"Regardless, it would be troublesome if the islands reached the skies directly above Mariejois." The elder with the sword said impassively. "The islands are still within a controllable range. Shoot them down."
Although the Gorosei appeared calm on the surface, they were still extremely shocked by Shiki's actions. They had thought daring to directly confront Marine Headquarters was audacious enough, but they never expected him to come crashing towards Mariejois.
As the World Government, even with Marine Headquarters acting as a shield, Mariejois didn't rely solely on them for security. They had their own hidden, powerful forces that were in no way inferior to Headquarters.
Just as the Gorosei gave the order to destroy the two islands in the sky, the islands suddenly began to descend at an incredible speed. The Gorosei watching through the visual Den Den Mushi were stunned. How could the islands be falling when they hadn't even made a move?
....
At that moment, Alucard, standing on the edge of one of the rapidly descending islands, whispered, "Releasing Restriction System to Level Three, Level Two, Level One..."
In an instant, a pool of blood rose from Alucard's body, filled with countless eyes. Alucard's body turned into a shadow, with only one eye and a mouth full of fangs exposed.
"Soon, the sun shall fade into silence...
"And fate will cast you to your fall!"
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