"Eat it, Teach."
Hearing those three words from Alucard, Teach, Ace, and Queen were all stunned.
What... what was he trying to do? Even though the current situation was chaotic enough, the confusion Alucard brought was on an entirely different level.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Alucard, blotting out the arena's ambient light. In the silhouette, one could see a figure swinging a blade downward toward Alucard.
"Dammit! Every single one of you... why do you always have to try and steal my things!!!"
Weevil swung his naginata with tears welling in his eyes and snot running from his nose. Looking at his expression, one couldn't tell if he was trying to kill someone or if he was the one being killed.
Idiot!
That single thought crossed the minds of everyone watching.
In the next second, a massive beast claw, thick and covered in black fur, surged out from a pool of blood. It blocked Weevil's naginata with a single swipe; the blade only managed to graze the skin, allowing a few drops of blood to drip onto the ground.
The beast claw then pivoted, grabbing both the naginata and Weevil himself, and hurled them violently toward the opposite side of the arena.
BOOM!
Dust billowed. Seconds later, a massive crater appeared in the spectator stands. Anyone who witnessed that scene could guess that Weevil had been the one to carve it out.
With just one move, Alucard had tossed aside Weevil, a man who, moments ago, had been fighting on equal footing with three other top-tier experts.
They were simply not in the same league.
…
"Is that guy... really here?"
Van Augur and Audru of the Blackbeard Pirates dodged Tesoro's attacks, their eyes darting toward the arena floor. Alucard's sudden appearance and interference in the fruit's struggle left them completely bewildered.
Whish!
Suddenly, countless gold braids lashed out, forcing Augur to dodge frantically. He seized a gap to fire a return shot at Tesoro.
Clang!
The bullet embedded itself in a gold shield. Behind it, Tesoro grinned savagely. "Lurking within the Whitebeard Pirates for twenty years... then using dirty tricks two years ago to backstab Whitebeard and steal the ability of Jozu, the Third Division Commander... Blackbeard Teach truly is a remarkable ambitious man."
After the mock praise, Tesoro's smile turned even more predatory. "But it's a pity! After a lifetime of schemes, who would have thought you'd be the one being played?"
Augur's face darkened significantly. "What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean?"
The gold in the pool began to levitate and coalesce around Tesoro, hardening into a golden giant larger than any member of the Giant Race.
Tesoro's voice echoed from within, booming with an ear-piercing resonance. "Then I'll tell you. From the very beginning, this tournament for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was nothing but bait to lure your Captain here to eat it!"
Teach's eye twitched. He hadn't expected such a setup, but he was immediately confused. What could possibly be Alucard's motive?
"Hey! Are you telling me I was just being played like a puppet?" Ace roared in fury.
He had come with the resolve to reclaim his Pops' power. To hear that this was all a conspiracy planned by Alucard just to draw Teach out made him boil with the rage of being used. Furthermore, the bait used was the power of the man he respected most, Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Queen, upon learning this, didn't have Teach's suspicion or Ace's fury. He simply rolled his eyes, reverted to his original form, and spread his wings to fly away from the arena. He left behind a final, distant remark: "Looks like the prize is out of reach. I'm going back to get some sleep."
With a flap of his wings, Queen quickly vanished from sight.
"Hehehehe..."
Alucard's shoulders shook as he suppressed a loud laugh. After a few seconds, he spoke. "It seems Kaido, that mad dog, actually has some underlings with brains after all."
Unlike Kaido or Jack the Drought, who would fight to the death the moment they saw an enemy, Queen knew with a single glance that he was no match for Alucard and immediately retreated. For a member of the Beasts Pirates, this was extremely rare.
"Teach, eat it." Alucard repeated.
Teach's mind flashed back to the Summit War, remembering how Whitebeard had been absorbed. He cried out in alarm, "Do you want me to eat the Tremor-Tremor Fruit just so you can absorb me afterward?"
Those words also triggered Ace's memories.
Due to the World Government's deliberate efforts, Alucard's abilities and the secrets of his body were now well-known across the globe. Though no one knew why the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power, which had already been within Alucard, had manifested back into a fruit, analyzing Tesoro's words led to one conclusion: Alucard had most likely planned this tournament for that very purpose.
In less than the blink of an eye, Alucard moved in front of Teach. He slammed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the prize countless people dreamed of, straight into Teach's ugly face.
Splat!
The fruit was crushed instantly. Before anyone could react, the foul-tasting juice was forced down Teach's throat by Alucard's palm.
Alucard let go. The crushed, useless remains of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit fell to the ground.
Only then did Ace and the others snap out of it. They stared blankly at the ruined fruit on the floor, then at Teach's face. They knew it was too late to try and reclaim it now.
"You've finally obtained the power you've been dreaming of, haven't you, Teach?"
Alucard gave a demonic smile and pulled a gun from his coat. "Alright... now, give it back to me."
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