Bang!
The black pistol Jackal was cocked and fired. The attack, seemingly insignificant, carried a force that even Kaido dared not underestimate.
Seeing the incoming bullet, Kaido smashed his fist violently into the ground, raising another fierce shockwave, intending to block it. However, less than a second after his shockwave and Alucard's bullet collided, the ground beneath his feet had completely turned a dark, blood-red.
Looking up, he saw that Alucard had already holstered Jackal. His thumbs, index fingers, and middle fingers were extended, forming a vertical rectangular hand gesture. The features on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a single gigantic red eye.
Alucard's body, too, was becoming one with the dark shadow on the ground, turning into the dark red color of a pool of blood, covered with countless tiny eyes; a chilling sight.
A sense of foreboding welled up in Kaido's heart. He flashed sideways, evading the bullet, then charged forward with his iron club. He was surprised to find Alucard had vanished from his spot.
"Over here!"
Kaido spun around abruptly and swung viciously behind him. Having fought Alucard many times, he already understood this "Form Change" technique. Generally, once Alucard disappeared, he would attack from the opponent's back.
However, Kaido's swing hit nothing. When a look of surprise flashed across his face, Alucard, no longer wearing his usual red trench coat and wide-brimmed hat, but rather a tight suit, reappeared behind him. An arm coated in Armament Haki slashed heavily across Kaido's lower back, violently tearing away a chunk of flesh.
"Ugh, nnngh!!"
Even Kaido couldn't help but groan in pain. He spun around with a speed completely unsuited to his massive body, slamming his club into Alucard and sending him flying.
Alucard spun and flew backward for more than ten meters before suddenly dissolving into countless bats in mid-air. He reformed into his human shape from the mass of bats, his tight, rag-like clothing showing off his slender physique to the extreme.
"You fall for such a simple trick. You truly haven't improved at all compared to six months ago, Mad Dog," Alucard relentlessly mocked.
"Hmph!"
Kaido flew into a rage, constantly slamming his club onto the ground to express his fury.
Those standing two miles away could feel the ground shake. Some even fell directly to the ground.
"That bastard Kaido! Every time he comes, he has to make such a huge scene!"
"Does he want to destroy our base?"
"Next time, let's just launch a preemptive strike ourselves!"
The Immortal Pirates were extremely displeased with Kaido's island-destroying fighting style. They felt that if he came a few more times, Arderay, this super-island nation capable of housing two million people, wouldn't be enough for that mad dog to rampage on.
Zephyr stood in front of his novice students, occasionally shattering the massive stones that were flung their way by Kaido's attack. With his back to Ain and the others, he asked, "What are you doing here? Arresting me?"
The fierce wind pressure generated by Kaido's attacks messed up Ain's deep blue hair, and the explosive airflow made it difficult for her to breathe. But when she heard Zephyr's words, she yelled without hesitation, "No! We only want to follow in your footsteps, Sensei! We want to know the truth!"
ROAR!
The pool of blood suddenly rose into the air, and a black dog, the size of an elephant's head but several meters long, emerged from it. Like a hunting viper, the Baskerville dog savagely bit one of Kaido's arms, the one holding his club.
Seeing this, Kaido extended his other hand, intending to tear the black dog, Baskerville, off. But just as he reached out, his other hand was also clamped down upon. He glanced sideways and saw a second dog.
"This is my territory. If you want to destroy things, go somewhere else!"
Following Alucard's words, he swung his hands, and the two Baskervilles twisted their long bodies, flinging Kaido's huge frame up and out toward the sea. Two seconds later, an exaggerated plume of spray several dozen meters high erupted on the ocean surface.
"What a barbaric battle!"
As a Devil Fruit user himself, Binz was all the more shocked by the sight.
Even with Zephyr, his Sensei, as an example, seeing a battle fought to this degree without the use of a Devil Fruit completely overturned his view of combat.
A few seconds later, Kaido's upper body broke the surface of the sea. Alucard dissolved into bats and reappeared high above and several meters in front of Kaido. His upper body was normal, but his lower half was an irregular mass formed by coalesced bats, looking about seventy percent similar to a Logia-type's elemental form.
"Are you at a disadvantage, Mad Dog?" Alucard's pupils vanished, replaced by a complete crimson red.
"Who do you think I am?"
Kaido slammed his club onto the water, generating a hundred-meter-high surge of spray. "I am Kaido of the Beasts!"
Kaido's fighting style was extremely simple and crude, yet highly effective. At least, if Devil Fruit users like Big Mom or Whitebeard were thrown into the sea like that by Alucard, they would be done for. Of course, getting them into the water wouldn't be easy, either.
Click!
Alucard drew his white pistol, Casull. A blue light flashed as he fired repeatedly. Kaido constantly blocked the bullets with his club. Then, Kaido launched another punch, and the terrifying pressure released by the blow became a long-range attack.
He was not a user of the Gura Gura no Mi, yet he generated a similar effect.
"What's wrong? Now that you're on the sea, you can't use your whole arsenal of tricks?" Kaido mocked.
Compared to himself, Alucard had many more bizarre techniques. For example, the instantaneous movement he used earlier to tear off a piece of Kaido's flesh—Alucard hadn't used that on the sea. This made Kaido feel amused. It looks like I'm not the one being cornered, but Alucard the Immortal!
After a clash between his rapier and Kaido's fist, Alucard used his ability to fly backward a certain distance. A slight breeze blew, scattering his bangs and revealing both of his eyes.
"Are you referring to me? Am I at a disadvantage?"
Suddenly, the shadowy, dark red pool of blood on Alucard's body began to surge, becoming substantial like molten magma.
"Very well, Kaido. You'll be the one to test out the technique I've never had a chance to use."