"Ryusei Kazan!"
"Spirit of All Things!"
Sakazuki's two elemental magma hands were raised high toward the clouds, and Shanks' sword tip pointed directly at the heavens, concentrating the crimson lightning as thunder erupted.
Five seconds later.
In the sky, countless fist-shaped masses of magma began to rain down from the clouds like a meteor shower, making avoidance impossible for anything below.
"Hmph!"
Kaido snorted and prepared to move and attack, only to find his body momentarily immobilized. He quickly looked down to see countless shadowy hands gripping him tightly.
"Get lost!"
Kaido roared and violently shook his body. The hand holding his club broke free of the restraints, and he swung it fiercely, shattering all the shadowy hands that had grabbed him. However, by this time, Shanks had already begun his attack.
"New World Strike!"
The attack, infused with the thunder of all things, came down as a crimson lightning bolt thousands of meters long.
Seeing this, Kaido expanded his body and fearlessly swung his club up to meet it.
Armament Haki!
Kaido, who was always supremely confident in his brute strength and recovery, actually coated his club in Armament Haki for this strike, proving he was truly fighting seriously. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Ryusei Kazan had arrived!
Magma fire fists, each no smaller than Kaido's huge body, were intentionally directed by Sakazuki to smash mercilessly onto Kaido's body one by one. Even with his immense physique, facing such a barrage, he was forced to recoil again and again.
Crack!
Five seconds later, the Haki-coated club began to emit a cracking sound, which rapidly grew louder.
Seeing this, Alucard drew his black pistol, Jackal, aimed it at the cracking point on the club, and fired.
Boom!
Alucard's finishing shot completely shattered Kaido's club. The crimson lightning, though somewhat depleted, still retained great power and struck Kaido. Coupled with the relentless attack of the Ryusei Kazan, Kaido was finally submerged beneath the Sea of Blood.
"It's over, Mad Dog Kaido."
Alucard spread his hands. The Sea of Blood slowly rose from the ocean surface as if it were alive, wrapping around Kaido and forming a dark red sphere the size of a planet.
Alucard brought his hands together into a cross shape, then suddenly flung them apart. "Checkmate!!"
Inside the sphere of blood, countless blood spears suddenly shot up, piercing Kaido's flesh and temporarily turning him into a blood-soaked pincushion.
A moment later, the sphere of blood gradually dispersed. At the same time, Shanks and Sakazuki reverted to their River of Death state and returned to Alucard's body.
Losing the support of the blood pool, Kaido quickly sank into the sea, unconscious. Even if they left him there to sink, the bastard wouldn't die. In the battle six months ago, it took the Beasts Pirates an entire week to fish him out.
However, Alucard had no intention of letting him off that easily.
The black dog Baskerville bit onto the half-submerged Kaido and violently flung him back onto the shore of Arderay Island. The great impact attracted numerous Immortal Pirates crew members to watch.
"One hour and twenty minutes."
Stragus walked up and announced the time taken for Alucard's victory over Kaido. He looked at Alucard, who had returned to his red trench coat and top hat, with admiration. "As expected of Alucard-sama! You defeated Kaido, who is also a Yonko, this time."
Putting his round sunglasses back on, Alucard resumed his usual "Count" demeanor, saying in his distinctive tone, "Wolf."
Whoomph...
The ground trembled slightly twice, and Sanjuan Wolf, whose head resembled an inverted white radish, emerged from the jungle. "Captain."
"Prepare to set sail for a while. I intend to make this mad dog suffer this time," Alucard said with a laugh.
"Oh... a rare outing for the Captain, is it?"
Wolf immediately understood Alucard's meaning. He grabbed Kaido's body, placed it on his back, and started walking toward the coastline.
No matter how arrogant Wolf was, he was still wary of Kaido. The reason he confidently grabbed Kaido and placed him on his back stemmed from his absolute confidence in Alucard's power.
"Alucard-sama, what about us...?" Stragus asked for instructions.
"...It's just a quick trip to clear my head. There's no need for a big send-off," Alucard clarified.
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone responded in unison, and Alucard slowly walked toward the shoreline.
After a brief silence, all the Immortal Pirates crew members turned their attention to the group of people in Marine uniforms, including Binz and Ain. The hostility in their eyes was obvious.
"These are my students. You all go about your business!"
Zephyr stood in front of Ain and the others, which prevented the Immortal Pirates crew members from acting aggressively. They slowly dispersed, though many still kept a watchful eye to prevent any mishaps.
On the coastline, Alucard climbed onto Wolf's back, conjured a throne from the blood pool, and sat upon it. Beside him lay the blood-soaked, unconscious Kaido.
Though he looked ragged, a closer inspection revealed that his wounds were already gradually healing.
Wolf slowly swam away from the coast. While Alucard preferred the Dragon Ship, the ship he took from Dragon, that vessel required many people to crew and maneuver. Alucard no longer used the ability to propel a ship using his shadows after his first ship "died."
…
The Mammoth, Beasts Pirates Ship.
"Jack-sama, the movement direction of Boss Kaido's Vivre Card has changed." Sheepshead, seeing the Vivre Card move from straight ahead to slightly right, immediately reported to his superior, Jack.
The Vivre Card was also gradually burning down, confirming Kaido's injury. However, Jack and the others were not worried about this; severe injuries were commonplace in battles between two Yonko.
Jack, who wore an iron mask, pondered for a moment, then decided, "Head to Arderay. Confirm the situation, then make the next decision."
"B-But... Boss Kaido isn't there anymore," Sheepshead frowned, slightly confused by Jack's order.
"Stop babbling! Just do as I say!"
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