The first half of the Grand Line.
"T-that's the Yonko Alucard's flag!" "W-why is a Yonko's ship here!"
"Haha! What a great opportunity! If I take the Yonko's head, I'll be famous instantly!"
"Are you an idiot? Turn back immediately! Take a different route! Run! Hurry up and run!"
When they saw the ship flying Alucard's flag approaching, countless pirate ships scrambled to avoid it. It was truly the mark of a Yonko—just the sight of the flag was enough to terrify many.
But the first half of the Grand Line was indeed swarming with pirates. The closer they got to the front, the more pirate ships appeared; the number in the New World was probably less than one- fifth of this. Since entering the first half, the farther they advanced, the more frequently Alucard and his crew encountered pirate ships.
Although the majority were sensible enough to flee, there were also a few idiots, like calves born without fear of a tiger, who rushed forward shouting slogans like, "Take down the Yonko, and I'll be famous!"
"Ah... It's been a long time since I've been back. There sure are a lot of idiots~" The Colossal Battleship Wolf that Alucard was standing on was moving in a breaststroke fashion. When he saw a ship foolishly sailing toward them, half of his face emerged from the sea.
"Captain, I'm a little hungry," Wolf tilted his massive, neckless, radish-like head and said. "Then what are you waiting for?" Alucard grinned.
Upon receiving the cue, Wolf twisted his head back, licked the side of his face with his enormous tongue, and sped forward. When Alucard, sitting on the throne, was about a hundred meters away from the reckless pirate ships, Wolf suddenly performed a massive 'carp jump,' launching most of his colossal body out of the sea. He opened his huge mouth and swallowed two pirate ships in a single gulp.
Crunch, crunch~
Wolf chewed continuously as if he were eating chewing gum, mumbling to himself, "It tastes awful~ But it's barely acceptable."
The pirates on a nearby escaping ship watched this scene, their bodies erupting in goosebumps from terror. They trembled as they cried out, "That's... the Colossal Battleship Sanjuan Wolf."
"The pirate with a 455,000,000 Berries bounty! The ship of the Yonko Alucard."
"And the man on him is the Yonko Alucard... does that man not even think he needs to make a move?"
"But why would a Yonko come here? For a trip? Like Whitebeard?"
Among the Yonko, only Whitebeard was known to travel the world aimlessly. The other three gave the impression of staying put in the New World to vie for power. The sudden appearance of the Alucard Pirates in Paradise was truly perplexing.
"As expected of Wolf, he swallowed two ships in one gulp."
"With that Armament Haki coating his teeth, he can probably eat anything, right?"
On the ship following Alucard, led by Stragus, the crew members watched Wolf chewing and discussed amongst themselves.
"How much further is it to the East Blue?" Alucard suddenly asked.
The navigator on the ship was startled and quickly replied, "Alucard-sama, if we cross the Calm Belt forcefully, we can arrive in less than a week. If we follow the Log Pose route, it will take over a month."
The advantage of crossing the Calm Belt was the immense time saved. This was also why the Marines could traverse the four seas at an unbelievable speed.
"Is there even a choice?"
Alucard gazed toward the right, toward the course of the Calm Belt. "Of course, we take the shorter route."
Alucard did not bring Hancock and the others this time. After hearing about the turmoil in Dressrosa, Scarlett and Viola, along with a part of the crew, had rushed back to Dressrosa to ensure stability.
While Hancock hadn't joined the main expedition, she was out on a campaign, and Alucard didn't have the luxury of waiting for her.
....
Meanwhile, at Marineford. "Any news about Zephyr?"
After finishing the day's work, Kong stretched and asked a civilian official beside him.
The latest news was that the Red Hair Pirates were clashing with the Beasts Pirates. No, to be precise, the Red Hair Pirates were attempting to seize one of the Beasts Pirates' territories to claim for themselves. Although they were a developing threat and warranted attention, they were not yet a serious menace, so Kong only assigned Fujitora to monitor the situation.
He was more concerned about the Zephyr situation.
Although there was a precedent for Zephyr traveling, this time Kong confirmed with Tsuru and Sengoku, but they had no answers either. Zephyr had not informed them of his departure, which worried Kong.
"Not yet. Zephyr-san's strength is top-tier, and even CP is having a difficult time finding him when he is alone," the official shook his head.
"Zephyr... sigh."
Kong sighed and got up, preparing to leave his office and head home to sleep. WHOOSH!
Just then, the sliding door was violently thrown open without so much as a knock. A Marine officer holding a document rushed in and said to Kong, "Fleet Admiral, sir! We just received a report from Commodore Alanson, the commander of G4 Branch Base in the first half of the Grand Line! They captured some passing pirates who revealed that the Alucard Pirates have
entered the first half of the Grand Line!"
The sleepiness that was on Kong's face instantly vanished as if he had been slapped wide awake. In his agitation, he nearly knocked over the chair behind him. "Alucard is here too?"
"Yes, it's reported that he is with his 'mount' Sanjuan Wolf, leading a fleet of about a thousand men."
Kong took the document, opened it, and rapidly scanned the contents. It stated that Alucard and his crew were currently forcing their way through the Calm Belt. If they continued on this route, they would, without a doubt, reach the East Blue within five days.
Kong had originally held a faint hope, guessing that Alucard might just be bored and traveling around like Whitebeard.
But clearly, this wasn't the case. For a Yonko to be so bored that he would wander into the weakest of all seas—even using Whitebeard, the most frequent traveler, as an example—it was simply impossible!
"Fleet Admiral," the civilian official spoke up, "In one more week, the World Nobles are scheduled to inspect the Goa Kingdom. At this time..."
"Is this a coincidence? Or does he genuinely have an objective..."
Kong rubbed his aching forehead twice with one hand. That bastard Alucard either does nothing, or when he does, it's a major event that affects the world order.
Kong was now in a dilemma. Should he stop the World Nobles' trip, or launch an attack on Alucard?