"Captain, what now?" Aranea descended to a hover ten meters behind Alucard.
"Withdraw from the Island of God," Alucard commanded simply. His eyes glowed crimson as he crossed his pistols into an inverted cross, the sign of "Sacrilege." "In the end, it still comes to this."
The Immortal Pirates had suffered heavy losses from the human bombs and were wary of further hidden cards. Following Alucard's orders, they began a tactical retreat.
"It will take a little time, but no matter." Alucard blurred, appearing before Kong and the others. Before they could react, he raised his white pistol, Casull, and opened fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A flash of steel intercepted the bullets. Momousagi stood before him, her blade smoking.
"Hmph!"
Behind her, Chaton manipulated the soil, manifesting a massive earthen fist that slammed down on Alucard from behind.
Blood splattered, staining the ground and the base of the fist crimson. But before the Government could capitalize, the blood pool erupted. Countless shadow hands surged forth, and Alucard slithered out from the mass like a serpent, now clad in a black, form-fitting suit.
"He's regained his immortality?" Chaton muttered, frustrated.
Momousagi landed on a piece of rubble, brushing back her bangs. "When he releases the dead, he loses his immortality. When he recalls them, he gets it back. I'm beginning to understand how he works."
The blood pool rose and scattered, countless eyes opening within it as the shadow hands swarmed the opposing army.
"DYNA UNIT, FORWARD!!" Jarram roared. Several more of his knights threw themselves forward as human shields.
As the shadow claws tore them apart, that same violet light pulsed from within their bodies.
BOOM!!!
On the edge of the island, Hancock and her group felt the ground shake. Looking back, they saw the exaggerated sphere of the explosion and a mushroom cloud slowly rising into the sky.
"Master..." Hancock whispered.
"What do you think will happen?" Bonney asked Law and Cavendish.
"If he has his immortality back, no attack matters anymore," Law said, leaning on his sword as he recovered his strength. "The fact that he ordered us to leave means he's certain he can win this alone."
As Law predicted, the Dyna Stone explosion produced a gale-force shockwave that sent soldiers flying. Even masters like Kong and Momousagi had to shield their eyes.
But as the smoke cleared, Alucard walked out of the epicenter.
"Nothing new? Relying solely on the power of Dyna Stones is a bit monotonous, don't you think?"
Seeing Alucard emerge without a scratch, Jarram's smugness vanished. His teeth chattered as he stammered, "Commander-in-Chief... should we... should we retreat?"
…
While the battle above the clouds reached its peak, the conflict at Marineford was just entering its most climactic phase.
As a group of people fell from the sky, the Marines, the Whitebeard Pirates, and the Warlords were all frozen in shock.
"ACE!!!"
With Luffy's roar, all eyes focused on the boy in the straw hat.
"Lu-Luffy! Sabo!!" Ace cried out from the execution platform, his hands bound by Seastone chains.
"Straw Hat Luffy... and the former Warlord, Sabo..." Sengoku adjusted his glasses, his jaw tight. What the hell is Garp doing?!
Doflamingo crouched on the crescent wall, grinning widely. "Fuffuffu! So that's the rookie everyone's talking about? Why is the Sabo kid with him?"
The Marines looked at the newcomers in confusion.
"First Jinbe betrays us, and now another former Warlord appears? What is this... the Seven Warlords are supposed to be our assets. Now we have three, including Crocodile, standing against the Navy."
"It's not just the Warlords. The whole Straw Hat crew is here, plus the Revolutionary Ivankov and a mass of escapees from Impel Down. This is a disaster."
"Did Garp let them through?!" Sengoku barked at a nearby comms officer.
"Reporting! We just received word from Vice Head Jailer Domino at Impel Down. Vice Admiral Garp was injured and ambushed by the Blackbeard Pirates, led by Marshall D. Teach!"
Sengoku's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"
The officer was sweating profusely. "Domino reports that Teach used Straw Hat Luffy as a distraction to ambush Garp. The Vice Admiral's injuries aren't fatal, but under the combined assault of the Blackbeard Pirates and the traitorous Head Jailer Shiryu of the Rain, he has been rendered unable to fight."
"Damn it... they chose the exact moment the Government is tied up with the Immortals..."
Sengoku knew the situation at Impel Down was a catastrophe. Worse, both the Government and the Navy had no reserves left to send.
"We have to end this war now and minimize the damage."
Sengoku made a decision. He turned to the officer and lowered his voice. "Cut all video feeds from the visual Den Den Mushi. Move up the execution time for Fire Fist Ace!"
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