"Well done, Katakuri."
Having reverted from his shadow state to his normal form, Alucard grabbed Katakuri by the head. By now, Katakuri was half-dead, his entire body twitching uncontrollably from the lingering paralysis of the Strike of All Creation.
"Next... you're going to feast on my flesh and blood, aren't you?" Katakuri managed to choke out.
His Observation Haki, capable of glimpsing the future, was still functioning, but all he saw was the impending vision of his own death.
"Precisely."
Alucard held Katakuri's skull with both hands, their eyes meeting. "Blood is the currency of the soul. Now, offer everything you are to me. Yes... every last drop."
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Alucard suddenly bit into Katakuri's neck. Blood splattered across Alucard's cheeks as Katakuri's body jolted violently. After a few brief spasms, he went completely still.
"He's dead..." Kin'emon murmured.
"No way... Sanji and a Warlord were taken out so easily by that guy..." Nami's eyes lost their focus, her face a mask of pure terror.
Sanji, one of the Straw Hat Pirates' three main powerhouses, and Mad Treasure, a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had both been swiftly defeated by Katakuri. Yet in the battle just now, Katakuri had been utterly suppressed by Alucard from start to finish. Such a staggering disparity meant that simple words like "despair" were no longer enough to describe the shock paralyzing Nami and the others.
Rumble...
As the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit dissipated, the Thousand Sunny plummeted toward the sea, pushed by the receding waves.
"Eeeek! Save me, Kin'emon!" Momonosuke shrieked. As the ship fell, his tiny body almost flew overboard.
Seeing this, Kin'emon lunged forward and pulled Momonosuke into a tight embrace, using his free hand to death-grip the railing. The rest of the Straw Hat crew did the same, clinging on for dear life.
BOOM!!
The Thousand Sunny slammed back onto the ocean surface, shuddering violently several times before finally stabilizing.
At that moment, Alucard looked up at the night sky. "Is that so? Teaming up with the Vinsmoke Family to face an enemy? You really are rotten to the core, old hag."
Hearing this, the Straw Hats and the father-son duo from Wano involuntarily shrank back. They feared that after Alucard finished with Katakuri, they would be next. But they were mistaken; currently, the Straw Hat crew held zero interest for Alucard.
"Report! There's no sign of Katakuri on the Straw Hat's ship!" a scout from the Fire Tank Pirates reported through his telescope.
There wasn't a hint of grief on Bege's face for his fallen "ally." Instead, the corners of his mouth curled into a cruel sneer. "Excellent. With that nuisance out of the way, the plan to assassinate Big Mom is one step closer to success."
"Oho? Has Charlotte Linlin reached the point where even her own people are plotting to kill her?"
Bege felt a blur before his eyes, and then Alucard was standing directly in front of him.
"Y-You... how did you get here!?" Bege stammered, stumbling back two steps.
Even though he had been stunned by Loli A's movement, which even Katakuri couldn't track, it was only after experiencing it firsthand that he truly understood how terrifying this power was.
"Do you really intend to assassinate Charlotte Linlin?" Alucard repeated, ignoring Bege's question entirely.
Paralyzed by fear, Bege could only confess. "T-That's right. I've already formulated a plan to assassinate Big Mom. But the plan requires Caesar, which is why I volunteered for the job of capturing him."
Nearby, Caesar's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Just what kind of insanity had he been dragged into?
"Interesting."
Alucard's eyes turned a deep crimson as a wide grin spread across his face. "It seems things are going to take an entertaining turn."
With that, Alucard walked into the interior of the Queen Mama Chanter. "Well then, let's head back to Whole Cake Island."
Bege glanced at him, then gritted his teeth and ordered, "Kill everyone who heard what I just said."
Under Alucard's threat, he had been forced to reveal his greatest secret. However, on the deck, there weren't just members of his Fire Tank Pirates, there were also a few of the Big Mom Pirates' crew that Katakuri had brought along. Since they had heard the secret, they couldn't be allowed to live.
The Fire Tank Pirates drew their guns without hesitation. The few Big Mom crew members weren't about to back down either, drawing their weapons as a fierce skirmish broke out on the bow. After about fifteen minutes of intense fighting, all thirty-three members of the Big Mom Pirates were wiped out and their bodies tossed into the sea. The Fire Tank Pirates took fewer losses, with less than ten dead.
When reinforcements from inside the ship arrived and saw the carnage, Bege said without blinking, "The Straw Hats tried to launch a sneak attack. We lost some men, but we dealt with them. Sweet Commander Katakuri was caught up in the fight with Alucard and was immediately... hm!?"
Just as Bege was about to say more, Katakuri suddenly walked out of a room. He sat down on a cake chair, crossing his legs over the fondant tabletop.
"Is something wrong with me?"
The Fire Tank Pirates, Caesar, and Sanji were all so terrified their tongues felt tied. Under the watchful eyes of the newly arrived Big Mom Pirates, Bege had no choice but to cover up the lie.
"Report our casualties to Mama immediately. And tell her the capture of Vinsmoke Sanji is complete."
"Understood, Baron Bege!" a foot soldier nodded, and the others quickly returned to their posts.
Bege took a deep drag of his cigar to steady his nerves before summoning the courage to ask the "Katakuri" before him: "Who... exactly are you right now?"
"Katakuri" glanced at Bege and said tonelessly, "Bring me the finest red wine on this ship."
With that single sentence, Bege had his answer. Katakuri, as everyone knew, did not drink red wine.