As their comrades sacrificed themselves one by one, the Marines realized that instead of staying on the ship to die, it was better to take a desperate leap into the sea; their chances of survival would be higher.
Many began jumping overboard. Alucard, witnessing this, looked at Seuss with interest. "Do you think you can escape from my grasp ?"
"Heh... To think someone like you would emerge from the pirate world. The seas are about to churn again, though it seems I won’t be around to see it." Seuss let out a mournful laugh. One of his legs had been blown off, but he still managed to raise himself up on his remaining foot.
"Hmm..." Alucard tilted his head, "In that case, I’ll send each of you on your way."
"Haaah!" Seuss roared, supporting himself on one leg, and abruptly lunged forward. Even having lost a leg, he was still considered among the "masters."
"Your life is mine," Alucard said, cocking black gun Jackal.
Several hours later, in a certain sea area in the first half of the Grand Line, a patrolling small Marine fleet discovered a large Marine warship adrift.
Subconsciously, they rushed to investigate, only to find it filled with the corpses of Marine soldiers. Among them were the body of a Marine Vice Admiral!
The branch personnel quickly reported this news to Headquarters, and Headquarters immediately assigned the matter to Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Several more hours passed, totaling over half a day. Two warships were speeding across the ocean surface: one led by Marine Chief of Staff and Vice Admiral Tsuru’s female soldier corps, and the other by Marine Rear Admiral Saul.
Upon arriving to investigate, Tsuru, on her way to the remains of Seuss’s fleet, spoke to the local Marines: "Along the way, we’ve constantly seen the bodies of soldiers floating on the sea. Some were killed by bullets, others by swords piercing their bodies. I’ve more or less anticipated what happened, but more investigation is needed."
When Tsuru pulled back the white sheet covering Seuss’s body, she frowned. "Seuss has been a veteran Vice Admiral for many years. To be killed by an intruder... the opponent’s body must be extraordinary."
Saul of the Giant Race stood on the dock, arms crossed, humbly lowering his head to ask, "Officer Tsuru, have you identified the enemy?"
"How could it be that fast? First, bring me a Den Den Mushi. I need to give Headquarters a preliminary report." Tsuru glared at Saul with annoyance, while Saul chuckled foolishly.
Two days later, Tsuru reported to Headquarters. She was unable to determine the culprit’s identity or the number of infiltrators, as the enemy had already escaped.
Currently, Tsuru could only report the casualties and characteristics of Seuss’s unit. Based on her deductions, combined with Dr. Vegapunk’s earlier statements, the CP0 agent who entered Marineford and spoke with Kong was likely an imposter. His true objective still required further investigation.
After three consecutive days of meetings, Kong and the World Government reached a consensus: they would suppress this matter.
The opponent clearly didn’t want this incident exposed. If it were an ordinary pirate, they would at least leave their name at the scene, letting the Marines know who did it, to increase their bounty.
However, according to Tsuru’s investigation, there was nothing left at the scene, which was enough to deduce that the opponent didn’t want to publicize it.
If it became known that Marineford had been infiltrated by a fake, resulting in the loss of an entire fleet, and that the government agents couldn’t even recognize a CP0 impostor, then both the Marines and the government would lose face.
From every perspective, it was better to suppress this matter.
In a certain sea area in the first half of the Grand Line.
On the pirate ship of Detolite Hart, the Captain’s seat was now occupied by a stranger. It was simple: the Captain had just been killed.
The Hart Pirates had over one hundred and fifty members, qualifying as a medium-to-large pirate crew. But just moments ago, a swarm of bats suddenly flew from a distance, descended from the sky, and transformed into a single person.
In an instant, this person killed their Captain and most of the pirate crew’s key members. Of the original one hundred and fifty-plus members, only a little over thirty remained, the least experienced.
The one who committed this act was, naturally, Alucard. After annihilating Seuss’s entire unit, Alucard abandoned that warship and chose a nearby pirate ship. Conveniently, the Hart Pirates had sailed right into his trap.
"How much longer until we reach Water 7?" Alucard asked, standing at the bow of the ship.
A crew member of the Hart Pirates shivered and quickly scurried forward. "Yes, sir! At this speed, it’ll take about another week."
"Hm?" Alucard’s tone seemed a bit displeased. The crew member quickly bowed his head and explained, "Apologies, sir. From here to Water 7 is mostly against the current, so it takes a bit more time."
"Hmph... Never mind. Consider it a relaxing journey," Alucard turned to look at the night sky. The moon hadn’t appeared yet.
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