Fleet Admiral Sengoku was about to explode with rage. First, Dracule "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk had delivered a purely symbolic slash before turning tail and retreating back to the city walls, showing no further interest in the fight. Then, that useless Moria had been beaten half to death in a single exchange.
Next came Weevil, Treasure, and the rest. They all followed Mihawk's lead, stepping forward to unleash one token move for show before promptly withdrawing.
In other words, this group of Seven Warlords was here merely to perform, treating a world-shaking war like a walk-through rehearsal.
Shifting his gaze back to the center of the battlefield, Sengoku saw Alucard standing beneath the massive lower jaw of a colossal black dog.
The creature's size was easily comparable to Sanjuan Wolf, the signature giant of the Immortal Pirates. It was this very beast that had nearly crushed Moriah with a single swipe of its claws.
Donquixote Doflamingo was currently darting around the feet of the True Ancestor Familiar, Baskerville, utilizing his String-String Fruit powers. His right hand curved into a claw as he slashed at the beast's leg with his Five-Color Strings, yet he failed to leave even a scratch on its hide.
"Roar!"
Baskerville let out a deafening howl, its massive claws swiping down at Doflamingo. The movement was so swift that the friction against the air produced a whistling sonic boom.
Doflamingo maneuvered nimbly through the air, narrowly evading Baskerville's strike. However, the sheer force of the shockwave threw him off balance. After quickly stabilizing himself and retreating, he landed on a distant section of the city wall.
"Fuffuffufu... what a monster."
Doflamingo let his tongue loll out of the corner of his mouth, chuckling as he turned to look at Sengoku. "My apologies, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. It seems my strength is insufficient. I'll just hold down the fort back here."
Sengoku felt like he might burst. Although he didn't know exactly how much Doflamingo had held back, that bastard's strength was definitely greater than that.
This "Joker" of the New World, the Dark Emperor who mastered the art of playing both sides, simply didn't want to offend Alucard to the point of no return. He knew that if the war ended and Alucard remained alive, his own death wouldn't be far off.
"I'm beginning to understand why Fujitora suggested the abolition of the Seven Warlords system," Tsuru remarked from the side.
Meanwhile, Alucard commanded Baskerville to launch a fierce offensive, miring the Marines in chaos as if he were mowing grass, sending soldiers flying in every direction.
"That wild dog... let this old man handle it."
With Kuzan having defected and Issho's whereabouts unknown since the start of the war, Borsalino was the only Admiral left on the field. He had to take responsibility and bolster morale, even if he really didn't want to exert the effort.
With that, Borsalino leapt toward Baskerville. He raised his right leg slightly as golden light erupted. "Mmm~ With such a massive size, if I attack you this way, it's going to be quite troublesome for you, isn't it?"
Just a fraction of a second before Borsalino's light-speed kick could connect with Baskerville's back, the fur around the area suddenly grew incredibly long and intertwined, forming a spear-like mass that lunged at him.
When facing Alucard, or even Alucard's techniques, Borsalino didn't have the nerve to rely on his Logia intangibility. He couldn't simply ignore attacks and let them pass through him like he did with the rookies at Sabaody Archipelago.
The moment he saw the attack formed from the matted fur lunging at him, Borsalino abandoned his offensive and blurred away to dodge.
Splash!
Suddenly, the fur coiled around Borsalino's ankles, preventing his escape and even interfering with his ability to transform into light.
"..."
Before Borsalino could utter another word, countless strands of fur surged forward from the hound like a barrage of arrows, threatening to perforate his body.
"Admiral Borsalino, evasive maneuvers!"
Suddenly, two sword flashes struck from the left and right, severing the fur bound around Borsalino's ankles. Since Borsalino was a Logia user, the attacks, which were not infused with Haki, did no actual damage to him.
Borsalino immediately turned into golden light and fled. Seconds later, the light particles reassembled his body on a rocky crag a hundred meters behind Baskerville.
Baskerville twisted its massive head and saw Vice Admirals Strawberry and Onigumo. They were the ones who had just rescued Borsalino.
The beast pivoted its massive frame, its claws swiping toward the two Vice Admirals in mid-air.
"Geppo!"
Seeing the mountain-like claws swinging toward them, the two quickly used the Rokushiki technique Geppo to dodge to the side, narrowly escaping the strike.
But dodging once didn't mean Baskerville's assault was over.
The beast leapt with its gargantuan body, threatening to crush the two under its mountain-like weight. As it closed in, it bared its massive, blood-red maw.
"Become dog food!" Alucard shouted from below.
"Vice Admiral Strawberry! Vice Admiral Onigumo!"
The Marines below cried out in horror as they saw the two being snapped up by the black hound.
Seconds later, everyone noticed the black dog's expression was strange. Looking closer, its upper and lower jaws were struggling to close. Onigumo and Strawberry were inside, one bracing his sword upward and the other downward, desperately holding the teeth apart to prevent the beast from crushing them. Their blades were coated in a deep black from their Armament Haki.
Seeing this, the soldiers below were about to cheer, but Sengoku roared his command: "What are you standing around for? Attack that beast and save them!"
The two Vice Admirals were in dire straits; they could become dog food at any moment.
No one dared to hesitate. They unleashed their strongest techniques, bombardment after bombardment hitting Baskerville in an attempt to make it release its grip.
"This old man is joining in too!"
Garp moved. His iron fists, containing boundless power, propelled him toward Baskerville's right knee. Coated in Haki, his very first move was a full-power strike.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the pool of blood surged, and Alucard's upper body emerged from within. "Did you forget that I am still in this fight?"
Garp was startled, but it was too late to change his trajectory. Instead, he pushed the power of his punch to the absolute limit, hoping to punch through both the hound's knee and Alucard's body in a single blow.
Click!
Alucard pressed his two pistols together, aiming them directly at Garp's fist.
BOOM!!!
The two attacks collided.
A bullet capable of piercing a battleship met a fist that, in its prime, could level mountains.