As a blind man, Issho (Fujitora) relies completely on Observation Haki for perception. Even as Alucard moved thousands of meters in the sky, Issho could sense the anomaly from the subtle air currents in the clouds, let alone when Alucard dropped something like Kaido down.
"I hope we can make it in time."
Issho drew his sword and released his gravity power. Countless purple rings interlocked and shot into the sky.
On the crescent bay dock, everyone looked toward the direction of Issho's explosive move. At the top, a gigantic dark shadow was gradually falling, and Issho was using his full power to stop it from crashing onto the bay.
After a stalemate of about twenty seconds, Issho finally managed to safely lower the dark shadow to the ground without causing any casualties.
But when everyone saw the true identity of the shadow, they couldn't help but gasp.
Kaido of the Beasts!
However, seeing that he was currently unconscious, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"I remember now."
A slightly older Marine Major was drenched in cold sweat and said, horrified, "Ten years ago, when the Yonko Alucard and the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki jointly attacked the Government and Marine Headquarters, they first used Kaido as a decoy to divert attention, allowing Shiki to launch a full assault on the Headquarters!"
"Well, this is the second time then."
Following the grating screech of flying bats, Alucard's voice entered the ears of everyone in the crescent bay. Issho looked up and gave a faint smile. "Oh, I never thought I'd see two Yonko in one day. I am deeply honored."
The others were not as composed as Issho. Looking at Alucard, who was flying mid-air in his Logia-like elemental form, they were so frightened their tongues almost fell out. "A-Alucard!!"
It's over, it's over.
Two Yonko coming to the Headquarters at once, can we stop them?
Alucard pointed a hand at Kaido on the ground. "That mad dog is a gift for you all. I couldn't manage to kill him properly for the moment, and I didn't want him to just comfortably go home, so after some consideration, I decided to give him to you."
Issho's smile gradually faded. Although he was extremely cautious internally, as an Admiral, he had to be the spiritual pillar for all the Marines present and outwardly remain calm.
"We previously received news that the great battle between the two of you at Arderay ended with Kaido's defeat, but I never expected Alucard-san to personally deliver him."
To show that he had no intention of fighting, Issho sheathed his cane sword and simultaneously waved to the surrounding Marines, signaling them to put away their weapons.
"I'm not some useless waste like Charlotte Linlin who only sits at home and pops out babies."
From Alucard's tone, one could tell his extreme disdain for Big Mom.
A waste who only pops out babies...
The Marines present were covered in sweat at this assessment. There were only a few people in the world who dared to speak about Big Mom like that.
"As a return favor, call Dr. Vegapunk for me. The items he gave me two years ago are almost used up. With his brain, I'm sure the new batch has already been completed."
In the past, Alucard would meet Vegapunk in secret; now, he was being overtly brazen about it. Since the two had already met in public two years ago, he decided to just let things slide.
Threatened like this, Issho's expression was naturally far from pleasant. He gave a slight bow, left a curt "One moment," and quickly returned to the Marine Headquarters building, which was emblazoned with the two large characters for "Justice."
…
"That's the situation."
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Issho concisely summarized everything that had just occurred at the crescent bay to Sengoku.
Sengoku adjusted the glasses on his nose with one hand and gritted his teeth. "That bastard Alucard! Among the Yonko, he and Kaido are the most uncontrollable!"
Issho suggested, "I believe we should accept Alucard's terms. He's merely taking weapons, while we gain the opportunity to imprison Kaido."
Sengoku was startled, looking at Issho with disbelief. "Are you serious, Fujitora? Compromising with a pirate is utterly disgraceful."
"Face is completely meaningless. If you can't keep it, you might as well throw it away."
Shedding his usual easy-going demeanor, Issho's tone was now firm. "An opportunity to imprison one of the Yonko, when will we ever get a second chance like this?"
Sengoku gravely considered the current state of the world...
Whitebeard, a man who traveled aimlessly and had lost his ambition, was the "World's Strongest Man," but was no longer considered a major threat. Big Mom was relatively quiet among the Yonko, but she remained a hidden danger.
The other two, Alucard and Kaido, were the most volatile. Kaido's actions were unpredictable, and Alucard, a lone wolf, was difficult to track down.
Indeed, as Issho said, having the chance to imprison one of the Yonko meant losing nothing more than face. What was the harm?
"Have Vegapunk return here."
Sengoku gave the difficult order. At the same time, he was prepared to be severely criticized by the higher-ups in the Government afterward.
"I am grateful, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Issho bowed and withdrew.
An hour later, in the crescent bay.
Dr. Vegapunk, just like when he was at Enies Lobby two years ago, was escorted by Issho and Kuzan, carrying two metal boxes as he walked up to Alucard.
He glanced at Kaido to the side, then opened the boxes to check the contents, saying, "Last time, you sent a Dragon to the Government; this time, it's Kaido. You're more helpful to the Marines than the Marines themselves."
Dr. Vegapunk's remark caused countless Marines present to feel a wave of embarrassment. Why does that sound so strange?
Alucard absorbed the bullets into his blood pool, turned to leave, and just before transforming into bats to fly away, he looked back and gave an evil smile. "He's about to wake up."
With that, Alucard's body dissolved into countless bats and flew toward the other side of the sea. Kuzan and the others quickly turned to look in Kaido's direction. Sure enough, the unconscious Kaido twitched, showing signs of waking up.
"Ice Age!"
Kuzan jumped up and immediately activated his ability, freezing Kaido solid. He then landed on top of Kaido's massive frozen body, hands in his pockets, and said with lingering apprehension, "Phew... Could you two stop making these dangerous situations happen?"
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