Battles were erupting all over the Island of God. Because of Alucard's sudden aerial maneuver with the Float-Float Fruit, the Government's preparations had gone up in smoke. Stratagems and traps had all been rendered useless. Now, it was a contest of pure strength.
CLANG!!
Ivalis and a man locked swords. The man was Rufus Jarram, the Vice Commander of the Karathoka Banuyar Knight Order who had been so confident in the Government's traps. Jarram wielded a two-meter-long, ultra-slender tachi, managing to stall Ivalis, whose strength was among the top in the Immortal Pirates.
"Half-Moon Funeral!"
Ivalis vanished and reappeared instantly in front of Jarram, delivering a vicious frontal strike. Jarram blocked it with his impossibly thin blade. Sparks flew as their blades became blurs, clashing dozens of times in a heartbeat.
"Something is strange about your movements," Ivalis said, frowning as they locked blades. "I don't know what it is, but you'd better go all out, or you're going to die."
Jarram's face flickered. He retreated a hundred meters and snapped his fingers. Instantly, a flood of Government soldiers rushed between him and Ivalis, opening fire with rifles.
"Tricks like this only buy time." Ivalis's sword turned pitch black. He deflected the bullets with ease, wiped out the firing squad, and charged forward even faster.
"Avici Hell!"
The mustachioed man, Momonga, slammed his hands into the ground. The earth spun and inverted, forming a cylinder that encased Alucard, compressing inward to crush him.
"Gather-Gather Fruit..."
Alucard glanced at Momonga and clenched his fist. The massive arm of the True Ancestor Baskerville erupted from the blood pool, shredding the twisted earth into dust.
In his released state, Alucard's control over the blood pool was more thorough and rapid, putting immense pressure on the three top Vice Admirals and the former Fleet Admiral.
However, Alucard was most interested in why Momonga had the Gather-Gather Fruit. That ability had belonged to a man named Flurette whom Alucard had fought during the Reverie. Since two identical abilities cannot exist, the only possibility was that Momonga ate the fruit after it respawned. But the speed of it was suspicious. Was it a coincidence, or did the Government have a special method?
"You aren't using the power of the National Treasure," Alucard said, looking at Kong. "Is it because you don't know how, or are there restrictions?"
National Treasure?
Kong looked shocked. During the battle at the Holy Land, the Gorosei had used the National Treasure's power to barely repel Alucard. But Kong truly didn't know how to use it. Beyond glimpsing it once, he knew nothing of its principles, usage, or even its name.
Seeing that shocked, ugly expression, even Alucard felt a flicker of pity for these men working for the World Government.
"Commander-in-Chief... Admiral candidates... In the end, you're all just cannon fodder used by the Gorosei to deal with me."
If the top brass truly trusted Kong and the others, they would have at least explained the National Treasure's state. Alucard couldn't see any other reason besides them being considered expendable.
"..." Kong's face was livid. He knew he wasn't fully trusted, but being called "cannon fodder" was an insult he couldn't swallow quietly.
"Let's end this. You wanted to see me lose my immortality?"
Alucard let out a breath, and the sigils on his gloves began to glow red.
"The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame."
Alucard's body was submerged in a pool of blood until his features vanished. A massive River of Death, teeming with eyes, poured from his body as new silhouettes began to rise from the crimson tide.
When the blood receded and the figures were revealed, everyone, friend and foe, stood agape. Kong remained relatively composed, having seen this years ago, but even he lost his cool as he saw who was emerging. His jaw twitched as he stuttered out a sentence:
"Is this... your complete ability?"
Walking out of the River of Death were: Red-Haired Shanks, Golden Lion Shiki, World Destroyer Byrnndi World, former Vice Admiral and Admiral Candidate Sakazuki, and the former leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon.
These five alone constituted a Yonko-level team. And they were all under the control of one man.
In the River of Death state, Alucard whispered to himself: "This is enough. I need to save some strength to guard against the Government's foxes."
He had only summoned five of his strongest souls. He did this for two reasons:
One, releasing the millions of souls in the River of Death would make them impossible to control, potentially wiping out his own allies.
And two, ease of recovery. In this state, Alucard temporarily lost his immortality. If he released millions, it would take far too long to recall them and regain his "undying" status if the Government played a hidden card. With only five, he could revert instantly.