Alucard was back on his ship—or to be precise, his "man-ship," a vessel named the San Juan Wolf.
Wolf was in a bowed, half-submerged position with his back exposed to the surface. Just as before, Alucard took the large, wine-red chair he had stolen from Mariejois—studded with precious jewels—placed it on Wolf's back, and sat down.
"Captain~~"
Wolf lifted his head slightly and asked, "Are we heading to the New World now? Huh? We're going to the New World, right?"
Wolf asked excitedly. He'd always dreamed of being a pirate and was naturally looking forward to the New World.
Although Alucard had never publicly acknowledged being a pirate or founding a crew, unlike others, he still accepted the title of "Captain" from Wolf. He said flatly, "Yeah… let's go. But before we do…"
Alucard's expression suddenly turned murderous. "I want to see what you're capable of. Sink that pirate ship five kilometers northwest of here."
Wolf's simple-minded expression abruptly shifted, revealing a cold, murderous intent. This was his chance to prove himself.
Wolf knew what kind of terrifying person he was now serving under. If he didn't perform well, he risked being abandoned or even killed at any moment.
This first battle was his opportunity to truly show his ability.
With that thought, Wolf began to swim rapidly in the direction Alucard had pointed, his back exposed, paddling like a dog.
A few minutes later, the Jeff Pirates, sailing on the calm sea, suddenly felt the surface of the water shake. Before they could react, a gigantic shadow quickly closed in on them.
"Is that a person… sitting on a chair on the sea?" Captain Jeff squinted, barely able to make out a person sitting with their legs crossed on a huge chair, gliding eerily across the water and approaching them fast.
Boom!
Suddenly, a violent wave rocked the Jeff Pirates' ship, nearly throwing the navigator off the mast.
"Wh-What's happening?" Jeff grabbed the railing and asked.
Suddenly, Wolf's massive body burst from the sea beneath Alucard's chair. His enormous mouth, which was larger than the entire pirate ship, opened wide and swallowed the Jeff Pirates' vessel whole.
Crunch, crunch, crunch…
Wolf chewed constantly, making a sound like a dog gnawing on bones. After a dozen seconds, he swallowed it down.
"A-ha… ahahaha… ahahaha!"
Sitting on the large chair on Wolf's back, Alucard's shoulders began to twitch. He started with a low chuckle, which a few seconds later turned into a roar of laughter. "Hahaha! How interesting! You're surprisingly interesting, you brute! Hahaha!"
"Burp..."
Wolf let out a satisfied burp. The corners of his thick-lipped mouth curled up; he knew he had "passed the test."
A few days later, at Marine Headquarters, Marineford. Inside the Marine conference room.
"The Jeff Pirates have been dealt with," a Rear Admiral announced, showing a bounty poster to everyone present.
Kuzan looked half-asleep. Borsalino took a sip of tea and glanced at the poster. "Oh, it's just a small fry with a 20 million Berry bounty. Was it really necessary to summon all of us? I still have to guard the branch, and all this travel is tiring, ne~"
"The one who took them out was San Juan Wolf," Sengoku said from his seat on the other side.
At this, some of the Marines who had seemed bored perked up. Borsalino's expression subtly changed, and his pupils narrowed. "Oh, the monster with the largest human body in the world? He just came out and already has a 90 million bounty. Hmm, we should definitely be wary of him."
"It's more than that," Sengoku said with a bitter laugh, gritting his teeth. "He has joined Alucard's crew."
Instantly, even the half-asleep Kuzan straightened up, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Alucard takes subordinates?"
"At the very least, he's agreed to work with Wolf, who has always been a lone wolf. That's a huge shift."
Sengoku took a new bounty poster from the Rear Admiral and showed it to everyone present. "This is Wolf's new bounty poster."
"He jumped to 192 million Berries in one go? Isn't that a bit much?" Borsalino said, grinning.
It hadn't been long since Wolf's first bounty of 92 million, and to see it increase by 100 million in one go was shocking.
"This is the consequence of joining Alucard. It was bound to happen."
Sengoku said with a serious expression. "I was planning to send someone to capture San Juan Wolf, but it seems we'll have to put that on hold for a while."
The Marines had adopted a policy of temporary avoidance when it came to the Three Monsters and Whitebeard, choosing not to actively hunt them down unless they were provoked. Since Wolf had joined Alucard's crew, the only option was to leave him alone for now or to deal with him only if he acted alone.
"There's one more thing, regarding the Warlords of the Sea."
Sengoku continued. Currently, there were only two Warlords: "Sir" Crocodile and Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk. The number was far too small to meet the required quota.
Sengoku took out two more bounty posters: one for Gecko Moria and one for Bartholomew Kuma.
"The two individuals the government has designated as the next Warlords are Gecko Moria, who was defeated by Kaido but came out with honor, and Bartholomew Kuma, who has been causing chaos in the New World under the rule of the Three Monsters and Whitebeard and enjoys killing pirates."
Sengoku's gaze swept over everyone in the room, finally settling on Kuzan and Borsalino. "You two will go invite them."
"There was actually a third candidate... but I want to observe him further and wait for the Navy's new technology to be completed. Alright, meeting dismissed!"