"What a noisy bunch of brats. Wouldn't you agree, Boss Matthew?" A pirate from the Immortal Pirates, cruising in the East Blue, mocked the three brothers—Sabo, Ace, and Luffy—who were sprawled on the main deck, having been thoroughly beaten.
Matthew stood with his arms crossed, staring at the bruised and swollen trio. They had already left the island where the Goa Kingdom was located. Although they had plundered many things and successfully captured the boy named Luffy, Alucard had yet to explain why he wanted the boy.
"Damn it... You bastards!"
Ace struggled to stand up, his right eye a completely black shiner, making him look comical. He charged forward but was instantly kicked back by a pirate, slamming into the huge mast.
"Agh!"
Ace was hit hard on his back, feeling his insides churn. He couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood.
"Ace!" Luffy and Sabo shouted worriedly.
"We told you, the only one we want is the rubber boy, Luffy. You two brats are worthless now," one of the Immortal Pirates members said with a yawn as he walked up. "Since you aren't Devil Fruit users, why don't you jump into the sea and swim back? How about it?"
"Shut up..."
Ace and Sabo stood up simultaneously, shielding Luffy. They spoke in unison: "We absolutely won't let you hurt Luffy!"
"How touching. Too bad Alucard-sama said we couldn't kill you, and we're not interested in abusing children either. Just stay quiet. As long as you don't try to run, no one will bother you."
With that, the surrounding pirates gradually dispersed, and the three brothers huddled together in a corner, discussing a new escape plan.
Night slowly descended. Soon, they would be able to leave the East Blue and enter the Grand Line. A message had just arrived from Arderay: due to Kaido's intervention, the battle was beginning to tilt in favor of the Immortal Pirates. However, Kaido was a temperamental anomaly; no one knew what he would do next. So, while it was too early to declare victory, they were confident they wouldn't lose.
"..."
As the night deepened, the navigator standing on the crow's nest at the top of the mast frowned, lowered his telescope, and stated bluntly, "The wind around us has become very strange..."
Sensing the increasing abnormality of the atmosphere, the navigator shouted down to the helmsman, "Stop the ship! Stop the ship!"
"Y-Yes!"
The helmsman immediately stopped the ship. Following the navigator's advice, they quickly pulled alongside a nearby uninhabited island. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"The wind direction is strange. It feels like a beast tracking us, and now it's concentrating on our position," the navigator replied as he climbed down from the crow's nest.
Alucard also walked off Wolf; the night was a vampire's home turf. "They're here."
Alucard's sudden statement caused the surrounding crew members on the shore to turn their heads.
"Alucard-sama, what are you talking about?" "Who's coming?"
Meanwhile, by the ship's side, the three brothers were huddled in a corner. Ace looked down and said, "Hey, why don't we look for a chance to escape onto the island? They won't find us for a while that way."
"The risk is too high. And even if we succeed, we don't have a ship to leave the island," Sabo countered.
"We could just use wood to build a ship, couldn't we?" Ace suggested a poor idea.
Alucard, standing on the shore, looked up at the huge full moon in the night sky. "The world's most mysterious man, Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army. Isn't it worth being happy that he has arrived?"
Matthew and the others were shocked. They quickly drew their weapons and went on high alert. Some scanned the island's interior, while others looked out at the surrounding sea, but they saw no ships or figures.
"What are you afraid of?"
Alucard suddenly spoke, causing the expressions of Matthew and the crew to freeze. Alucard continued, "Is the Revolutionary Army truly terrifying?"
Alucard's simple question awakened them.
That's right! We are a Yonko crew! And we are followers of the man destined to become the strongest pirate in the world. What is so scary about the covert Revolutionary Army?
With this thought, Matthew slid his drawn blade back into its sheath and cleared his throat. "Apologies, Alucard-sama. That was embarrassing."
WHOOOSH!!!
The calm surroundings suddenly erupted with the howling sound of a tornado. A violent sea wind materialized into a powerful storm, attacking like a massive water dragon.
"Is that a Logia user?" a crew member speculated in shock.
The magic circle on the back of Alucard's hand, which was the same symbol as the pirate flag, began to glow. His eyes almost narrowed into slits. "Releasing Restriction System to Level Two, Level Three."
Suddenly, a pool of blood spread under Alucard's feet, dyeing the entire island shore red. In less than a second, a furious surge of power erupted, completely blocking the storm.
The shockwave from the violent collision almost swept Luffy away. Thankfully, Ace quickly grabbed him. Otherwise, even if he wasn't blown away, he, a non-swimmer, would have drowned if he fell into the sea.
The three brothers clung together, resisting the wind pressure. After about ten seconds, the shock subsided, and the trio managed to open their eyes with difficulty.
Beside the ship they were sitting on, they noticed a new ship had appeared out of nowhere. The sides and bow of this ship were shaped like two giant flying dragons, giving it an extremely majestic look.
Even more striking was the foam-like coating enveloping the ship's outer layer.
"The coating from the Yarukiman Mangrove on the Sabaody Archipelago!" the Immortal Pirates exclaimed in astonishment. "Why is it here?"
"It's not so incredible if you bring the materials and tools with you."
Matthew fully drew his sword. "But that requires extremely skilled technique. The Revolutionary Army appears to be full of capable people."
"Were they hiding in the sea waiting for us the whole time? When did we expose our movements?"
"Enough chatter! Prepare to fight!"
On the other side, Alucard had silently appeared behind the three brothers. He picked up Luffy and held him aloft, dangling him towards the Dragon Ship across the water.