"You're Alucard?" Drew looked at Alucard with cold eyes.
"State your name, Whitebeard Pirate," Alucard mocked.
"Alanson Drew, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates." Drew pulled out two katanas from seemingly nowhere, looking gravely at his opponent. He wouldn't underestimate him; mainly, he could feel from Alucard's aura that he wouldn't be easy to deal with.
No more words were needed. Attacking the Whitebeard Pirates or Whitebeard's men was tantamount to declaring war!
"Second Division... Oh, Ace's predecessor, or perhaps his predecessor's predecessor?" No sooner had Alucard finished muttering than he raised his gun and fired.
Drew saw this and raised his swords, deflecting the bullet with their tips.
The moment the bullet touched the blade, he felt its extraordinary power. He quickly dispersed the force, not blocking it head-on but deflecting the bullet.
The instant Drew deflected the bullet, he turned his head to look at Alucard, only to find the other man already in front of him, his white-gloved hand shaped into a blade, aimed at his chest.
So fast!
A normal person wouldn't even have time to stop the attack.
"So fast!"
"That guy's no ordinary person!"
The Second Division members were startled, but didn't show concern, as their captain hadn't yet revealed his true abilities.
CLANG!
Suddenly, a crisp clang rang out. Alucard felt his hand blocked by something. Focusing his gaze, he saw another blade extend from Drew's large robe, completely covered in black, clearly Armament Haki. It emerged from his body; this was clearly not something a normal person could do.
"A Devil Fruit user," Alucard uttered these four words.
"A Store-Store Fruit user. I can freely store things within my body and control when and in what form they appear, even covering them with Armament Haki." Drew snapped. Suddenly, countless Armament Haki-covered blades burst from his skin, instantly piercing Alucard like a sieve.
"It's over, Alucard. A boring fight," Drew said, shaking his head and turning away.
Countless close-combat opponents had fallen to this move of his. It seemed this was just a rookie who hadn't heard of his Devil Fruit ability or combat techniques. That's why he fell for it.
"Thousand Blades" Drew—that was his epithet, not because he could wield a thousand swords, but because he had a thousand blades within him.
Getting stabbed like a porcupine by Armament Haki-covered swords in close combat was a common fate for enemies fighting Drew.
CLICK!
Suddenly, the sound of a gun cocking from behind him made Drew spin around abruptly. Alucard's black gun, Jackal, had been cocked, and a shot fired. Even with Observation Haki, Drew's reaction was slow; he couldn't dodge!
'He didn't die!'
This thought flashed through Drew's mind, but a faster reaction was to defend. Although he could have simply used Armament Haki for defense, Drew still used his Devil Fruit ability to conjure an alloy shield in front of him, then covered his body with Armament Haki.
Better safe than sorry, especially since he was aware of the bullet's power.
BANG!
The moment the shield blocked Jackal's bullet, Drew's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. His instinctive reaction was, 'What power?!'
BOOM!
Drew's body was struck as if by lightning, sent flying violently. He got up a few seconds later, coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood. The alloy shield had fallen away, and a bloody hole appeared in his abdomen.
"Captain!"
"The captain's defense was broken! How is that possible!"
"That's the Whitebeard Pirates' defense, second only to Captain Jozu's!"
The Second Division members were completely stunned. They didn't know how long it had been since Drew was last injured. Even the Third Division Commander, Diamond Jozu, renowned as the world's foremost defender, highly regarded Drew's defense. And now, he was coughing up blood from a single bullet?
"Your carefulness saved your life," Alucard said, racking Jackal and ejecting the casing. If that alloy shield hadn't changed the bullet's trajectory, his heart would have been struck.
"Cough, cough," Drew coughed twice, then stood up and looked at Alucard, who had been riddled with wounds but was now completely restored. "I pierced every vital point in your body. What kind of Devil Fruit user are you?"
"I'm not a Devil Fruit user. Hurry up and attack," Alucard said with a light chuckle.
"This guy..." Drew gritted his teeth, knowing that this guy wasn't just difficult to deal with, but extremely difficult.
He had pierced his head and heart, riddling his entire body, yet he couldn't die. Could it be a decoy, or an illusion?
There was no time to think further.
Countless bladed weapons emerged from Drew's skin, and then Drew's power erupted, surging out all at once.
This was the true Thousand Blades!
It was like an endless sea of blades, combined with Armament Haki, turning into a terrifying killing move.
"There it is! The Captain's signature move!"
"It's a special move that can instantly kill a Marine Vice Admiral!"
Seeing Drew unleash this move, the Second Division members cheered excitedly again.
He won't dodge!
But what happened next was even more surprising. Amidst the mountain of countless Armament Haki-covered blades, Alucard neither dodged nor flinched. He simply endured Drew's attack, slowly walking forward, ignoring the countless blades piercing his body.
"Monster! He's a monster!"
The crowd, who had initially been ecstatic over Drew unleashing his ultimate move, was now too terrified to speak after seeing Alucard's actions.
Countless blades pierced Alucard's body, and before they even had time to be pulled out, new blades plunged in, pushing out the ones already embedded in him.
Blood splattered everywhere; it hurt just to watch!
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