"That's Shanks's..."
Seeing the red lightning flash on Alucard's sword, the former Red Hair Pirates felt as though they were in a dream.
If Alucard's previous sword moves, which were identical to Shanks's, could be explained as him being gifted enough to observe and imitate them during their two battles, that was a stretch, but still manageable.
But... this couldn't be explained by mere talent!
Shanks, who is not a Devil Fruit user, is able to summon and utilize lightning, a natural force, and furthermore evolve it into a more powerful red lightning using his Conqueror's Haki. This involves not only Roger's power of the "Spirit of All Things" but also Shanks's masterful control over his Haki.
Forget Alucard having only fought Shanks twice; even Dracule Mihawk, who clashed with Shanks thousands of times, was never seen to have learned a single move from him.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the sky was covered in dark clouds, quickly forming a swirling vortex of air, from which lightning bolts began to strike down.
Judar saw this and quickly canceled his attack, retreating several dozen meters to avoid the lightning.
Alucard, meanwhile, raised his sword, letting the lightning strike the flat of the blade. The originally blue-white lightning instantly turned crimson upon contact with the blade, transmitting the color up into the dark clouds, staining all the lightning within them red.
"Cough! Cough!"
Suddenly, Beckman, lying on the deck of the Golden Hair Pirates' ship, coughed violently and regained consciousness. He looked up at the red lightning flashing in the dark clouds above, nearly fainting again in shock, his voice beginning to tremble. "Th-that is..."
"You're awake?"
Ivalis glanced at Beckman, then immediately returned his attention to the battlefield, stating coldly, "I don't know what's going on either, but what's happening before us is the truth."
Beckman struggled to get up to see for himself, but the moment he twisted his waist, a searing, heart-wrenching pain shot through him.
"Lie down like a good boy, you idiot. Do you know how much trouble I went to save you?"
Ivalis mercilessly stomped on Beckman's leg—it wasn't injured anyway.
"Urgh!"
Even so, Ivalis's stomp made Beckman stream cold sweat. He endured the pain, forcing himself not to cry out.
Boom-crack!
As the red lightning flashed more intensely on the clouds, Ivalis and Beckman refocused their attention on the battle.
Beckman couldn't see the action from his angle, but he could sense it.
"What's going on... I feel like his 'Spirit of All Things' is even superior to Shanks's," Beckman thought, his face filled with unwillingness. Although he didn't want to admit it, it was the truth.
"Then it only means there's always someone better," Ivalis replied.
Looking at the distant battlefield, the Impaler Knights had all retreated into the blood pool, but even so, no one dared to flee. The red lightning had formed a circular magnetic field around Alucard that no one dared to casually break through. And don't forget, many of the Immortal Pirates who were watching were still eyeing them with predatory looks.
Defeating Alucard was their only way to survive.
Alucard maintained his posture, fighting with only his right hand holding the sword, his left hand tucked into his pocket. If he were given a "skin change," no one would doubt that he was Shanks himself.
Kraaak!
Lightning surged around the greatsword, instantly extending its 1.5-meter length to over a hundred meters. A single strike heavily injured and forced back over a dozen of the remaining pirates.
Alucard slightly reined in his power, looking at the crimson lightning wrapped around his blade. "To master a technique that surpasses most Devil Fruit abilities without being a Devil Fruit user… Red-Haired Shanks is a remarkable man."
The next instant, Alucard swung his sword backhanded, thrusting behind him, perfectly skewering a pirate who had attempted to sneak attack him from the rear.
"It's a shame he staked everything on a mere kid," Alucard's tone abruptly shifted from praise to contempt.
"Damn it!"
Red Dragon and the others roared in fury, exchanging glances. Over ten pirates, some leaping, some charging, launched an attack on Alucard from every blind spot.
Alucard twirled his greatsword twice with his index and middle fingers, then plunged it into the blood pool on the ground. "Blazing Inferno."
The moment the words fell, the entire space seemed to fall into a state of stillness.
BOOOM!!!!
Before anyone could recover from the unsettling sensation, the red lightning in the sky's dark clouds descended, accompanied by azure blue flames, striking the people who were attempting to attack Alucard.
"AAARGH! AAARGH! AAARGH!"
Whether it was Lucky Roux, Yasopp, Judar, Exdeath, or the other rebels, all of them let out cries of utter despair.
The combined lightning and fire attack lasted no more than five or six seconds, but when it ceased, no one retained the will or ability to fight.
Alucard abruptly swung his sword, sending a red light into the clouds. The dark clouds vanished, and the sky returned to clear blue.
"No mistake, the power of the Spirit of All Things."
Ivalis looked up at the sky. "It's superior to Shanks's... If the legendary Pirate King were still alive, who would be stronger?"
Splash!
The blood pool dissipated, and those struck by the lightning sank into the sea.
Alucard transformed into bats and flew toward the nearest ship. When the bats reformed, he had returned to his previous appearance: the red-brimmed fedora, the dark sunglasses, the black shirt, the red greatcoat, and the face of a man in his mid-twenties.
After a moment of silence, Stragus was the first to declare his loyalty, shouting, "Long live Alucard-sama!"
Stragus's cry was like a bomb thrown into a calm lake, making the atmosphere explode.
"Long live Alucard-sama!"
"Long live the Immortal Pirates!"
The second, the third... the hundredth, the two hundredth... up to the thousandth, the two thousandth. Everyone's voices converged into two statements: "Long live Alucard-sama! Long live the Immortal Pirates!"
If they had to give an assessment of Alucard's power right now, it would no longer be "Yonko-level," but "One man against an entire Yonko crew!"