Just as everyone thought the giant serpent was about to collide with the earth and instinctively closed their eyes, expecting certain death, only a heavy thud echoed a few seconds later. Aside from that, nothing happened.
After a long while, people began to tentatively open their eyes.
There was no world-shattering destruction, nor was there the celestial-disaster beast they had just witnessed. In its place at the town's entrance sat a body as massive as a mountain range. However, compared to the monster they had seen just moments ago, this man strangely felt "not that big."
"Captain, why were we flying so fast? I want to throw up..." Wolf lay prone on the ground, his eyes spinning in dizzying swirls.
"Find a doctor yourself."
Alucard stepped off Wolf's body and surveyed the town entrance. He noticed the insignias on several agents, specifically focusing on the most conspicuous one, Rocky. He let out a low, mocking hum. "The World Government?"
Cold sweat began to pour down Rocky's face. The shock of Alucard's appearance was far more terrifying than the descent of the giant serpent. Against a mere monster, Rocky could at least console himself with the fact that he was a Logia user; a beast wouldn't know Haki, so even if he couldn't win, escaping wouldn't be an issue.
But the man standing before him... was it possible for him to be unable to deal with a Logia?
At that moment, Wolf crawled toward the villagers huddled in the corner of the town, flashing a smile that looked more like he was preparing to eat someone. "Excuse me, where is the doctor? Treat me! It hurts so much!"
Wolf's simple sentence caused several people to faint on the spot. With a face like his, a smile was worse than a scowl. To the ears of those elderly residents, "It hurts so much" sounded more like "I really want to eat someone."
"Why bother them? Doesn't the Government provide ship doctors?"
Alucard's words snapped Wolf back to reality. He immediately turned around, looking with delight at the suited agents who were like ants beneath him. He repeated the same words: "Treat me! It hurts so much!"
"A top officer of the Immortal Pirates... Sanjuan Wolf!"
"More than that! Even the Yonko Alucard is here!"
The agents, who had been limitlessly arrogant just moments ago, were now so terrified they could barely stand. They didn't even dare to turn and run, fearing that the moment they showed their backs, they would lose their lives.
Seeing no response, Wolf's expression darkened. He roared, "I said get a doctor over here! It hurts!!"
The roar sent a gale-force wind erupting from his mouth, literally blowing away several agents who hadn't braced themselves.
Rocky held onto Bonney with one hand while shielding his face with the other. Once the wind died down, he managed to choke out, "Go... go get the ship doctors."
Pressed by the Yonko's crew from the front and with their leader's consent, the black-suited rank-and-file agents scrambled toward the docks as if they wished they had been born with extra legs.
But before they could all make their getaway, Rocky pointed to one man. "One person is enough. Just you. The rest of you, stay here."
In an instant, the group that had been about to bolt felt as though they had plummeted from heaven back into hell.
Nearly half an hour later, ten ship doctors belonging to the CP organization arrived. Upon seeing Wolf's gargantuan body, their legs shook so violently they nearly collapsed. However, under the giant's threatening gaze, they hurriedly began the treatment.
"With this, you won't die."
Having said this, Alucard prepared to leave on his own.
Wolf, currently being patched up, blinked in confusion and scratched his chin. "Eh? Captain, aren't you going to get revenge for me?"
"Take care of such things yourself."
A subordinate gets bullied, so the captain goes to settle the score?
What a joke. Alucard wasn't Whitebeard. If someone got beaten, they had to pay it back themselves, it was the same for Wolf as it was for Law.
"How can this be..." Wolf looked like he was witnessing the end of the world, but he didn't dare complain.
As Alucard walked past Rocky, the latter, buckling under the immense pressure, finally found the courage to ask, "Can we... leave after we finish treating Wolf?"
Alucard glanced at Rocky and the girl in his grasp. The look made Rocky instinctively recoil half a step, while Bonney forced herself through her inner terror to lock eyes with Alucard.
"The Government..."
Alucard murmured the words. He had run into Momousagi and Shirokitsune on the Sky Island, and now it was a CP organization. The Government's movements had been very frequent lately, or perhaps they had always been frequent, and he simply hadn't noticed before.
"The CP organization of the World Government... going to such great lengths to capture a little brat. What are you planning?" Alucard reached out and grasped Bonney's neck, inspecting the girl who, at a glance, didn't seem like much.
"You... you bastard! Let go of me!"
Bonney twisted her head violently, but she couldn't break free. Instead, she only succeeded in making her own neck ache.
"…"
Rocky swallowed hard, silent. This was top-secret government business.
Click!
Alucard's black pistol, Jackal, was cocked and pressed against Rocky's throat. "Is the tongue of a CP0 agent still as stiff as it used to be?"
Just by having the muzzle pressed against him, Rocky, a Logia user, felt a wave of weakness wash over his entire body. There was no doubt; this gun was loaded with Seastone bullets.
"I... I'll talk."
No one wants to die. Though he was loyal to the Government, in this situation, he could only reveal the secret.
"Jewelry Bonney ate the Age-Age Fruit. Along with Trafalgar Law's Op-Op Fruit and Ain's Return-Return Fruit, it is one of the Devil Fruits the Celestial Dragons desire most. They are all fruits that potentially hold the power of eternal life."
Rocky confessed everything, knowing he couldn't hide the truth from Alucard.
The Op-Op Fruit, rumored to perform the Perennial Youth Operation; the Return-Return Fruit, which can turn a person back twelve years at a time; and now Bonney's Age-Age Fruit, which can manipulate age at will.
When one thought about it, these fruits were all related to age, lifespan, and death. To the high-ranking "old fossils" whose lives were nearing their ends, they possessed a lethal temptation.
It wasn't hard to understand why they went to such lengths to catch Bonney.
However, hearing Rocky's explanation, Alucard only found it amusing. His lips curled upward, revealing the fangs within.
"If they want eternal life, why don't they come looking for me? Compared to those Devil Fruits with such low success rates, wouldn't it be better to just capture me for research?"