Hearing the way the samurai on the ship spoke, Alucard found it laughable. Their pseudo-archaic tone was so stilted it crossed the line into being ridiculous.
The Immortal Pirates had ventured into the latter half of the New World many times, frequently passing through the waters surrounding Wano. However, on those occasions, they flew their black flag. Whenever the ships of Wano spotted the symbol of the Immortal Pirates, they would give them a very wide berth.
But Alucard's current situation was different. His small boat bore no emblem, and he was still in the form of Loli A. This led the samurai to mistake her for a lone-wolf pirate, much like Dracule Mihawk.
As Alucard's boat drew closer without any sign of retreating, the samurai began to show open hostility. One roared, "You of the weaker sex! If you do not retreat at once, we shall blow you to the bottom of the sea!"
"Ha..."
Loli A let out an exaggerated laugh. She never expected the day would come when someone would call her a member of the "weaker sex." Wano Country was certainly living up to its reputation.
Wano upheld a strict traditional system of male dominance. According to their ideology, "women are strictly forbidden from showing disrespect to samurai; as women, they must observe the rites of modesty and remain three steps behind men."
One couldn't help but wonder what would happen if these men ever crossed paths with the battle-hardened warrior women of Amazon Lily.
Driven by this mindset, they felt not a shred of pity for Loli A, who appeared to be a young girl of fourteen or fifteen. In their eyes, women were merely appendages to men—if one was killed, another could be found. Furthermore, the person before them was an intruder and an enemy.
When Loli A was only half a mile from the Wano warship, the vessel fired without hesitation.
BOOM!
Watching the pitch-black cannonball hurtle toward her, Loli A grinned and flicked her finger.
Suddenly, a massive, deep shadow rose from the seabed, shielding her like a small mountain. The cannonball slammed into it, failing to leave even a scratch.
"What is that thing?"
The samurai who had fired the cannon stared, dumbfounded, at the entity that had suddenly emerged from the depths.
"It... it looks like the body of a sea serpent," a long-haired samurai nearby guessed.
"Nonsense! How could a sea serpent be that long?" the first samurai snapped. But looking closer, he saw it truly did resemble one, especially with the shimmering scales visible on the black hide.
As Jormungandr's body slowly retreated back into the sea, Loli A reappeared in their sight, but this time, she held a gun.
"What an interesting country," she remarked.
With that, Loli A began firing in rapid succession, picking off the samurai on the ship with precise headshots.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Watching their comrades' heads burst one by one, the remaining samurai scrambled for cover. They screamed, "Adjust course! Full speed to the shore! We engage them on land!"
There were battle-hardened experts among them. From the display Loli A had just provided, many realized they stood no chance in a long-range battle involving firearms and artillery. They were samurai who specialized in cold steel; fighting on land was where their advantage lay.
Loli A ceased fire for the moment, letting the Wano fleet lead the way. It was convenient, after all, to have them act as guides.
Half an hour later, the ships returned to a Wano dock. Unlike any other country Alucard had visited, the security even at the pier was incredibly tight. Although the country was known for its "Closed Door" policy of isolationism, the reality was even more severe than imagined.
"A mere woman showing such insolence to samurai... we shall subject you to the ultimate execution!"
Upon landing, a samurai drew his katana, gripping the hilt with both hands as he bellowed at Loli A. They indeed possessed the confidence to back up such threats. While their geography provided a natural defense, they could never have survived in the New World, controlled by the Yonko, without significant strength.
"Can you stop talking like that? It's revolting." Loli A shoved her hands into her pockets and surveyed the scenery. Most of the buildings were single-story tiled houses, reeking of the Edo period. Only a large, multi-story castle in the distance stood out, representing the peak of power in this land.
"!?"
Hearing Loli A's voice, the faces of the twenty-odd samurai twisted in shock. The man who had already drawn his sword roared, "A woman with the voice of a man? You must be a demon! I, Sagawa, shall slay this monster here and now!"
While Madam Shyarly and Cavendish had been startled by the contrast between Loli A's face and Alucard's voice, they had remained polite. These chauvinists, however, were a different breed. They immediately labeled her a "demon."
"What a bunch of idiots."
Loli A withdrew a hand from her pocket and brushed back her bangs. Words couldn't describe how eccentric these people were, but since they had dared to point their blades at her, they had better be prepared to die.
Reaching into her pure white overcoat, Loli A drew her twin pistols, one black and one white. She mocked them intentionally, "What century is this? People are still using swords?"
It was a deliberate taunt; in reality, she knew that among the world's strongest, those using melee weapons far outnumbered those using firearms.
"Arrogant woman!"
Sagawa swung his blade in a flourish and charged toward Loli A. Despite his verbal idiocy, he did possess genuine skill.
Loli A retreated several steps, firing first with the white pistol, Casull. Sagawa raised his blade to parry, but the moment the bullet struck the steel, his arm went numb. He looked at his sword and saw the blade beginning to warp under the bullet's impact.
What kind of bullet is this? Sagawa thought in shock. To have such power...
Click!
Loli A's expression turned predatory as she chambered a round in the black gun, Jackal.
BANG!!
Another shot rang out. Sagawa tried to block again with his katana, but he hadn't expected the power of the black gun to be on a completely different level from the white one.
The single bullet snapped his katana in two and tore a bloody hole straight through his abdomen.