Foosha Village, East Blue.
The dog-head battleships, with Garp biting a bone, arrived at Foosha Village. Garp didn't waste time waiting for the gangway to slowly descend; he quickly leaped from the warship and rushed into Mayor Woop Slap's house. "Mayor! What happened to Luffy?" he demanded urgently.
Woop Slap's face was complex upon Garp's arrival. After a long moment, he said, "He was... taken. Along with Ace and Sabo, those two boys."
Garp's eyes constricted sharply. Without another word, he quickly left. The Marines who had accompanied Garp to the East Blue had just stepped ashore when they saw Garp returning to the ship.
"Vice Admiral Garp?"
Everyone was confused. They knew Alucard was targeting Garp's grandson, but why had Garp left and then returned so quickly?
"Garp-san!"
Suddenly, a woman's voice called out from below, causing him to turn his head. Standing on the dock was Makino, a woman dressed simply, wearing a bandana, and sporting a deep green, center-parted hairstyle.
Garp paused. "Makino."
Makino's eyes were glistening with tears. When Garp looked at her, the tears flowed unchecked. "I-I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I was the one who gave the pirates information about Luffy!"
"It's not your fault."
Leaving those few words behind, Garp returned to his warship, his expression more serious than ever before. "Marines! Set sail! We're heading for the New World!"
At the very least, if I can ensure Luffy and the others are safe when Alucard leaves, they shouldn't be killed like Zephyr's relatives were. That way, at least I'll have a chance to negotiate.
He didn't know why Alucard would target Luffy, but Garp considered his personal grudge with Alucard to be minor—they had clashed fewer than three times in total. What deep-seated hatred would make him travel all the way from the New World to the East Blue?
Thinking it over, Garp considered one person: his troublesome son, Dragon.
Could this be related to Dragon?
Garp's brow furrowed tighter and tighter. The more he thought, the more he felt it was possible, as he could find no other reason.
He was currently in contact with Dragon, but typically, Dragon would seek him out, not the other way around. Thus, Garp couldn't immediately contact his son to confirm the information.
Taking a map from a subordinate, Garp began to analyze the route the Immortal Pirates would take from Foosha Village.
Currently, the three-way war between the Immortal Pirates, the Red Hair Pirates, and the Beasts Pirates had not ended at Arderay in the New World. Based on standard deduction, Alucard would likely push straight through the Calm Belt to re-enter the Grand Line, pass through Fish- Man Island in the Deep Sea, and return to the New World as quickly as possible.
If that's the case...
At this thought, Garp took a red pen and drew a straight line on the map, muttering to himself, "This is the fastest route back to the New World. He must take this path."
After handing the route to the navigator on the warship, Garp rubbed his hair in frustration. I should have made a Vivre Card for that boy a long time ago; it would have saved me all this trouble.
Based on normal thinking, Garp's assumption was correct. Knowing the Red-Hairs were attacking his main base, Alucard should logically break through the Calm Belt as fast as possible, rush through the Sabaody Archipelago and Fish-Man Island, and return to the New World.
However, Alucard anticipated the Marines would think this way, so he did the opposite. After his battle with Dragon, he did not push through the Calm Belt but followed the proper route through Loguetown and Reverse Mountain.
Undoubtedly, this would waste a lot of time, but Alucard was simply being willful.
....
Loguetown, night.
After abandoning the three brats—Luffy, Sabo, and Ace—at the town dock, Alucard and his group left without lingering.
Alucard did not abuse the three brothers, nor did he even communicate with them much, as he simply had no interest. However, the one-sided, overwhelming defeat he inflicted upon Dragon left an indelible impression on the three brothers' minds.
In the future, Luffy would most likely become his enemy, but Alucard had no interest in a nine- year-old child. If he were to fight him, he'd wait until the boy grew up and developed some skill.
And throughout the entire encounter, Dragon never revealed his relationship with Luffy in any way.
"We got away, right?" Luffy laughed, relieved after their ordeal.
Ace and Sabo were not as cheerful. Recalling Dragon's face, Ace said to Luffy, "Luffy, that man might be your... Mmmph!"
Just as Ace was about to voice his suspicion, Sabo quickly covered his mouth and forced a smile. "I'm hungry. Let's go find something to eat first..."
At the mention of eating, Luffy seems to instantly forget everything. "Oh! Let's go! Let's go!" With that, Luffy happily dashed into Loguetown.
Sabo then released his hand from Ace's mouth, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness that kid is so optimistic."
"Why did you stop me?" Ace asked, puzzled.
"I don't know. Too many things have happened, and I can't think straight," Sabo shook his head, his expression serious. "But I think it's better not to burden Luffy with too much right now."
"I'll trust you on this; you're better at this than I am."
Ace and Sabo ran to catch up with Luffy. Ace added, "But... if that man really is Luffy's father, and he fell into that person's hands..."
Sabo's eyebrows knitted together. "That's beyond our control now. The only thing we can do is grow up quickly, and get stronger."
....
On the open sea.
Alucard's dedicated ship, Sanjuan Wolf, and the Immortal Pirates warship that Matthew and the others had sailed, were now accompanied by a third warship: the Revolutionary Dragon, which was the personal vessel of Dragon, the Revolutionary Army leader.
In the fierce battle in the East Blue, the Revolutionary Army suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Immortal Pirates. All 1,500 people on their ship were captured.
Alucard was currently sitting on the deck of the Revolutionary Dragon, a glass of virgins' blood wine in his hand. After taking a sip, he said, "Get rid of the word 'Revolutionary' on this ship. It sounds truly unpleasant."
"My apologies, Alucard-sama. It is because of my weak power," Urdaha said, kneeling before Alucard. His left arm was empty; the metal prosthetic had been ripped off by Dragon during the battle at Firs Island.
"Never mind. I wouldn't have defeated him so easily without exploiting the Straw Hat. He certainly has power, doesn't he? Dragon of the Revolutionary Army?"
As Alucard spoke, he looked toward a Seastone cage to his front-right. Inside lay a man whose black cloak was mostly torn. He was covered in blood, his head drooping, making it impossible to tell if he was dead or alive.
Mid-sentence, Alucard shook his head and sneered, "No... Monkey D. Dragon."
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]