"Ah, ah? I’m dying, seriously... let’s get out of here."

All the way back to the warship, Kuzan continued to wail in mock agony, despite the fact that he didn’t have a single visible scratch on him.

Eventually, even Momonga couldn’t stand it anymore. "Admiral Kuzan, stop faking it! Alucard isn’t chasing us!"

At that, Kuzan, who had been clutching his heart with a pained expression, instantly snapped back to normal. He glanced left and right, confirming that Alucard really hadn’t pursued them, and then unceremoniously flopped onto the deck of the warship. "Good, good..."

"Admiral, sir... is this really okay?" a Captain asked, walking over with cold sweat dripping down his face.

Kuzan might have used this exasperating tactic to temporarily evade a confrontation with Alucard, but this mission was, after all, a battle for Pluton where the Marines were supporting the World Government. Leaving like this left the Government high and dry. How would they explain this back at Headquarters?

Kuzan propped his head up with one hand and yawned into the other. "The day of our clash with Whitebeard is just around the corner. Dalmatian is already out of commission; do you really want a few more to join him?"

Kuzan had just received word from the medical officer: Dalmatian’s life had been saved, but he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed and walk for at least six months.

In other words, they were already down one Vice Admiral for the total war against Whitebeard.

Silence fell over the deck. They had all heard about the pirate named "Blackbeard" who intended to trade Fire Fist Ace’s head for a seat among the Seven Warlords of the Sea. If Ace were truly captured, it would mean the outbreak of a full-scale war with the Whitebeard Pirates.

After a long pause, Momonga turned to Kuzan. "Admiral, do you truly believe a pirate like this ’Blackbeard’ can catch Fire Fist Ace?"

Blackbeard was a name they had never heard before, a complete nobody. Fire Fist Ace, on the other hand, was the renowned Commander of Whitebeard’s Second Division, a rising star evaluated to be at the top tier of the Warlords with the potential of an Admiral.

Kuzan replied lazily, "Those guys wouldn’t dare walk into Mariejois and say that if they weren’t absolutely certain."

As the warship drifted further from Water 7, Kuzan took one last look toward the city. But did that monster Alucard really let me go because of my ’acting’?

Just then, several military doctors in white coats emerged from the infirmary. "Admiral! Vice Admiral Dalmatian is awake. He’s extremely agitated and demanding to see you."

"Hmm?"

Kuzan tilted his head, stood up, and headed toward the infirmary.

...

Alucard hadn’t refrained from chasing Kuzan because of some "failed acting," but simply because it wasn’t necessary.

He had killed many people, but he wasn’t a mindless slaughterer. His criteria for killing remained the same: either the person was a worthless waste of space, or they had crossed him far too many times. Kuzan fell into neither category. Moreover, there were matters within Water 7 that required his attention.

The Marines had retreated en masse, and the Government forces didn’t even realize they’d been ditched. Given the widening rift between the two entities, this was bound to happen sooner or later. The Government’s future looked to be full of such pitfalls.

Meanwhile, Aranea was locked in a stalemate with her former superior, Vice Admiral Yako. She was growing anxious. Her eyes were fixed on the shipyard; if she didn’t hurry, Iceburg would be moved.

"Distracted in the middle of a fight? Aranea!"

Yako gripped his tantō blades with a reverse hold and spun through the air like a tornado. His blades were coated in Armament Haki, turning the brown cyclone into a blur of black shadows.

"Black Rope: Night Pheasant Whirl!"

Equipped with flight armor also crafted by Dr. Vegapunk, Yako accelerated instantly toward Aranea. Caught off guard, Aranea frantically raised her gun-lance to parry. Yako was a master of Armament Haki; this was a completely different level of difficulty compared to her previous elementary slaughtering of Nami or Robin by relying on her Logia form.

"Dammit!"

Aranea gritted her teeth. Normally, she would rely on the Seastone mechanism of her gun-lance, but Yako wasn’t a Devil Fruit user. In this instance, being a non-ability user was a distinct advantage.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several blue flashes suddenly streaked through the air. Sensing danger with his Observation Haki, Yako immediately aborted his attack and flipped backward. A blue light grazed his cheek, drawing blood, but the wound was superficial.

Yako looked west, his face darkening. Aranea, however, beamed with relief. "Captain!"

"Heh heh heh..."

Alucard’s mouth curled into a smirk, his right hand gripping the white pistol, Casull. "What’s wrong, Knight? You’re looking a bit pathetic right now."

"You took way too long to get here!"

Aranea quickly descended to stand beside Robin. Robin looked even more disheveled than her and was staring at Alucard in wide-eyed shock.

"Forget it. What’s the status of Pluton?" Alucard walked into the center of the battlefield. Around him, both the Air Force and the Government agents hesitated, backing away cautiously.

"I... I don’t know if they’ve moved Iceburg yet. I’ll go after them now!" Aranea scooped Robin up by the waist, utilizing her flight armor and her Steam-Steam Fruit abilities to rocket into the air.

"If we can’t have it, destroy it," Alucard said tonelessly.

"Understood!"

Aranea gave a quick salute and flew toward the Galley-La Company.

"Stop her!" Yako shouted, waving his hand toward the retreating Aranea.

BOOM!!

Suddenly, a massive, fur-covered beast claw erupted from the ground. With a single strike, it swatted a thousand Air Force soldiers out of the sky like flies.

"What is that thing?!"

Yako’s brow furrowed. He could barely recognize what kind of beast the claw belonged to, but the size was preposterous.

"Vice Admiral Yako, Commander of the Air Force... is it?"

Alucard’s body suddenly dissolved into shadow, riddled with countless glowing red eyes. His facial features were barely visible within the darkness as he entered his shadow form. "I hope you can hold out for a little while."

If Yako and his men had witnessed the battle at the Holy Land Mariejois, they would have recognized this as Alucard’s Shadow Form, an ultra-dangerous mode where he channeled the power of every soul trapped within his River of Death.