It was the end of the year 1507 of the Marine Calendar. On the desolate, frigid island of Torabia in the New World. It wasn't a small island by any means.
Alucard stepped ashore and walked toward the center of the island. After about two kilometers, he found a succession of iron cages. Each cage held hundreds of people, all gaunt and pale, their faces thin with hunger.
He had no idea how long they had been trapped in this freezing environment. This was the fourth time this had happened.
The nations that had been forced to surrender to Alucard had all raised white flags and paid their semi-annual tribute of death-row inmates. The number had gradually dwindled from ten thousand at the start to less than three thousand now.
Alucard wasn't sure if Squall's claim, that the number of criminals in the kingdoms had decreased due to Alucard's pressure, was true, and he had no interest in finding out.
As he approached one of the cages, Alucard shifted his gaze to the "death-row inmates" crouching inside. When they noticed him looking, they all raised their heads, their eyes filled with a mix of fear, despair, disgust, and hatred.
Alucard placed his hand on the chains, sizing up the group. Then, he suddenly let go, turned his back to them, and said nonchalantly, "Marines, couldn't you have used a better lock?"
At Alucard's words, everyone inside the cages looked stunned.
In the next moment, a loud bang erupted as the last cage was smashed open. A figure soared dozens of feet into the air. Taking advantage of the frigid climate, his power multiplied exponentially.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
Two lances made of ice shot toward Alucard.
Whoosh!
The two ice lances pierced Alucard's body, pinning him to the ground.
"It worked!"
"As expected of Vice Admiral Kuzan!"
Having landed his attack, the Marines in the cages dropped their disguises. They took off their prisoner uniforms, revealing their Marine clothes underneath, and cheered.
At that moment, Kuzan landed on top of one of the cages, rubbing the back of his head. "Fools. If he were that easy to defeat, would the government have been so troubled by him for all these years?"
Just as Kuzan finished speaking, Alucard's body dissolved into a cloud of black mist, leaving the entire crew dumbfounded.
Kuzan closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. Suddenly, he created an ice sword in his hand, took a step back, and swung it horizontally.
Clang!!!
The ringing sound drew everyone's attention. They turned to see Alucard and Kuzan locked in a clash, one wielding his greatsword, the other an ice sword, on top of one of the cages.
"That's a useful ability~" Alucard chuckled sinisterly.
Under the immense force of Alucard's strike, the ice sword in Kuzan's hand was being pushed back. Kuzan's eyes narrowed as he heard the words. He pursed his lips and said, "Don't lie..."
Suddenly, Alucard raised his foot and delivered a powerful kick to Kuzan's abdomen, sending him flying into a nearby iceberg.
BANG!!!
Kuzan's body slammed violently into the iceberg, causing the peak to crumble and creating a thick cloud of icy mist that obscured the view.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan was sent flying with just two moves!"
"Is that the power of a top-tier pirate?"
All the Marines who had escaped their cages were shocked by the sight of Kuzan being kicked away.
Suddenly, a soldier glanced down at the ground and said to the others, "Hey, doesn't the ground look a little strange?"
"Hmm?"
The person next to him looked down and noticed that despite the lack of sunlight on this cloudy day, the shadows were incredibly distinct.
Soon, a second, third, and fourth person started to notice. Everyone began looking down at the ground. Even without the sun, the ice was stained black by their shadows. Wait, wasn't this shadow a bit too black?
"Hey! Get out of there, now!" Kuzan emerged from the mountain, yelling to warn everyone when he saw what was happening.
"Ahhhhh!"
But Kuzan's warning came too late. With a great laugh from Alucard, countless arms erupted from the shadows on the ground, grabbing the bodies of the Marines who were disguised as prisoners. Their bodies and flesh were crushed and then sucked into the pool of blood on the ground, becoming part of Alucard's River of Death.
"Well, this is..."
Kuzan squinted. Over two thousand people were wiped out in an instant. He had to admit he was impressed. "When I get back, I have to report to Zephyr-sensei. These newest recruits are completely useless."
"But first, you have to get back safely." Alucard chuckled after "devouring" the over two thousand men Kuzan had brought with him.
"Arara, I guess this is a truly dangerous mission~~" Kuzan said with a drawn-out tone. He then pointed in various directions around Alucard. "Though we didn't get a good start, we've still accomplished our goal."
Alucard's blood-red eyes looked around. He saw countless Marines surrounding him from every direction, leaving no escape. On top of another iceberg, Borsalino, who was uncharacteristically not wearing his yellow suit but a light purple striped one, tugged at his face while his hands were in his pockets. "Oh my Two thousand men gone in an instant So scary~~"
Garp stood at the forefront of a group of Marines behind Alucard. He flexed his fist and blew on it. "Hah~ I don't have any personal beef with you, kid, but I'm sorry. If you think you can escape from my iron fist, go ahead and try!"
"Oh..."
Alucard's lips curled into a smile. "Did Squall and the others betray me?"
Kuzan rubbed the back of his head. "While I find this method a bit dishonorable, unfortunately, you brought it on yourself by being such a loner. But since it's come to this, I can't let you leave alive. You'd definitely seek revenge on them. That's twelve entire nations. We can't let you do that."
"War is a combination of deceit and betrayal. If anything, I'd like to commend them for their foresight." Alucard grinned, pulling out his twin black and white pistols from his coat. "But 'betrayed' isn't quite the right word. We were never on the same side in the first place."
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanFiction [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are over 100 advance chapters available for you!