Alucard and Oseinofica stood facing each other on the grand staircase outside the Alabasta Royal Palace.
Confronting Alucard, the other man showed not a shred of fear. Instead, he raised an eyebrow in a mocking arch. "I told you, if I want to leave, you can't stop me."
"Heh."
Alucard said nothing; a single, cold smirk was his only answer.
Oseinofica slowly drew the Supreme Grade blade from his back. He adjusted his grip, the edge of the blade catching the light—the wide-framed, imposing Oodenta Mitsuyo.
Yet, after drawing this legendary weapon, Oseinofica's first move wasn't to strike at Alucard. Instead, holding the sword in his right hand, he drew the blade across his left palm, coating the steel in his own fresh blood.
The Celestial Dragons Alucard had captured in the past had once revealed a secret: among the nineteen families residing in the Holy Land, sixteen were merely useless gluttons waiting to die. Only three families truly held the reins of global power alongside the Gorosei.
Judging by the sheer strength radiating from him, this man was almost certainly from one of those three.
Alucard instinctively held back his attack. He wanted to see exactly what this top-tier Celestial Dragon, who looked more like a muscular ape than a noble, was plotting.
In the next heartbeat, Oseinofica gripped the hilt with both hands and slammed the tip of the blade violently into the ground.
BOOM!!
The earth fractured instantly. Deep beneath the surface, far beyond what Alucard could see, a blade energy infused with Oseinofica's blood tore through the bedrock of Alabasta, striking the very heart of the island.
It was the Ryumyaku (Dragon Vein), or as the Celestial Dragons called it, the "Shinmyaku" (Divine Vein).
The subterranean energy, originally an icy blue, was stained crimson. As if responding to Oseinofica's call, the energy began to surge back up through the fissure he had created.
In a matter of seconds, the energy feedback erupted from the depths, funneling through Oodenta Mitsuyo and into Oseinofica's body.
Suddenly, his eyes turned a brilliant, glowing silver, radiating a distinct luminescence, exactly like the Gorosei.
"So, the medium for tapping into the National Treasure really is the blood of a Celestial Dragon..."
Alucard's initial surprise shifted into a cold sneer. "I see. That's how you trash managed to share rule of the world with the Gorosei for so many centuries."
Everything aligned with Dr. Vegapunk's hypothesis. The true value of the Celestial Dragons lay in the National Treasure; they were the living keys required to unlock its power. This was exactly why the World Government had no choice but to protect them.
Sensing the terrifying aura, Kuzan, Aranea, and the others still inside the palace furrowed their brows. It wasn't Alucard's presence, was it that old man with the slicked-back white hair? He was this strong?
Kuzan suddenly felt as though he were back at Marineford, facing down Whitebeard.
Alucard drew his twin pistols, the black and the white, but in that same instant, his opponent pivoted abruptly and swung backward.
A horizontal arc of golden sword energy, over a hundred meters long, sheared off the top half of the Royal Palace. From inside the palace, everyone looked up to see nothing but the vast, cloudless sky.
Whoosh!
A mere afterimage remained where Oseinofica had stood. He had no intention of fighting Alucard. Charging back into the palace while sheathing Oodenta Mitsuyo, a sequence taking less than two seconds, he blurred past Kuzan and Robin, appearing directly in front of Cobra and the others.
Standing three meters tall, his sheer physical presence was chilling enough, but now, saturated with the power of the National Treasure, the aura he projected was so heavy it threatened to make those present lose consciousness.
"I'll have to be a bit rough in taking you away," Oseinofica grunted, reaching out with both hands to seize Cobra and Vivi.
BANG!
A bullet suddenly exploded against Oseinofica's right hand just as he was about to grab Vivi. It tore through his skin and flesh, but it wasn't enough to shatter the bone.
Hissing in pain, Oseinofica's white eyebrows twitched over his silver eyes. He glanced back at Alucard, who was now standing on a jagged section of the ruined wall. "You actually possess such speed as well."
With his right hand injured, Oseinofica settled for his second choice. His left hand clamped around Cobra's neck, and he vanished like a fading shadow.
"So fast!"
Even Kuzan couldn't help but marvel. This speed... it was even greater than Borsalino's...
"Tch..."
Aranea clicked her tongue in frustration. She wanted to order the Pacifistas to give chase, but the gap in speed was too vast. The difference in their levels was clear; there was no point in rushing to her death.
Step.
Alucard leaped down from the broken wall to the floor. Aranea asked uncertainty, "Alucard-sama... are we not pursuing him?"
"He has decent speed. Catching him would take time, and I'm not in the mood for cat-and-mouse." More importantly, Alucard knew that as long as he continued his current path, the Government and the Celestial Dragons would eventually come looking for him. There was no need to hunt them down.
"But why go to such lengths to kidnap King Cobra, who was once a member of the Celestial Dragon bloodline?" Aranea couldn't wrap her head around it. Did they need him to breed more nobles because Alucard had thinned their numbers?
"Father! Father!!"
"Princess Vivi! Please, stay calm!"
"They are the World Government! You must remain calm!"
On the other side of the room, Vivi was in tears, her heart racing with panic. She tried to give chase despite the overwhelming power gap, but Ikaram and Pell held her back.
"Now, now, young lady... don't worry. They're all Celestial Dragons; they probably won't do anything to your father," Kuzan offered, trying to comfort her.
Unfortunately, Alucard cut him down with the truth: "No. That 'spare tire' is ten to one a dead man."
Kuzan, his attempt at comfort instantly shut down, turned around blankly. "W-Why?"
Alucard didn't bother to explain. He turned to Aranea and commanded, "Notify Vegapunk. The core has been located. Bring the team to destroy it immediately."
Aranea pulled out a Den Den Mushi to place the call, noting, "With this... that makes nine."