One Piece: Alucard the Immortal

Chapter 669 - 668: That Woman is Formidable

The intelligence circulating about Wano Country having successfully repelled the onslaught of Kaido and Queen the Storm was, in truth, slightly embellished.At that time, the Beasts Pirates and the Immortal Pirates were in a state of fierce confrontation. The Beasts Pirates were deeply concerned that the Immortal Pirates would seize the opportunity to strike their rear while they were occupied.

Consequently, during the siege, Elburn, the ace of the Sabertooth, suggested to Kaido that if the city did not fall within three days, they should withdraw. As it happened, Kaido and Queen failed to take the city within that window, so they retreated. This led to the rumors Fallon and the others had heard, claims that Wano had "withstood" Kaido and Queen, which were bolstered by a fair amount of exaggeration.

Under Hancock’s leadership, the pace of the siege was faster than anyone had anticipated. In less than a week, Wano’s defenses were breached.

From there, Hancock’s group advanced with irresistible force. However, they hadn’t expected Kaido to catch wind of the news so quickly. He arrived in a frenzy, taking out Urdaha and Bonney in one fell swoop. Now, a massive battle had erupted in the heart of Wano.

By the time Alucard learned of this, five days had already passed since the start of Hancock’s campaign.

...

Wano Country.

The city had been transformed into a sea of fire. The air was thick with the screams and wails of the residents. The Immortal Pirates, led by Hancock, stood on one side of a Wano street, facing off against the solitary monster, Kaido.

"Kaido of the Beasts, are you truly intent on fighting me?"

Hancock stood atop a high wall with Salome. Even though she was still dwarfed by Kaido’s height, her expression remained utterly haughty, looking down on him as if he were beneath notice.

"Damn it! Wano was my prey to begin with. You tried to snatch it from me, and this is what you get!"

Kaido swung his kanabo. Hancock leaped into the air just as the wall she had been standing on was smashed into dust by the blow.

"Still the same as ever, a mad dog who won’t listen to reason!" Hancock’s brows furrowed in anger.

"Onee-sama, are you alright?" Sandersonia and Marigold asked as they rushed to her side.

"He’s nothing more than a loser who was defeated by Master; he can’t do anything to me." Hancock glanced back at the Kuja Pirates. "But he is not someone you can handle. All of you, fall back! I will face him alone!"

Shirahoshi was not part of this battle. Everyone else, Fallon, Bartolomeo, and the rest, knew they were no match for Kaido and followed orders to retreat.

"The Shogun of Wano should still be in that castle. I’ll go pay him a threatening visit," Fallon muttered, leading his men toward the Japanese-style castle in the center of the city.

"Fallon-senpai, will Empress-senpai be okay facing Kaido alone?" Bartolomeo asked worriedly as he followed.

Fallon shoved his hands in his pockets and gave a dry chuckle. "Hehe. That woman’s strength is directly proportional to her temper."

Kaido’s brow twitched violently. He had endured plenty of contempt from Alucard in the past and had learned to swallow it. But now, a mere slip of a girl dared to talk down to him. His rage reached its limit. He swung his kanabo with a sound like rolling thunder, aiming straight for the crown of Hancock’s head.

"A beast who relies only on brute force."

Hancock ducked to the side, evading the strike. A split second before the ground was pulverized, a pair of long, beautiful legs sprang from beneath her cheongsam. She flipped over Kaido’s head and delivered a devastating downward axe-kick.

"Perfume Femur!!"

BOOM!!!

The usual sound of shattering stone didn’t follow. Hancock, her right foot pressed against Kaido’s defensive forearm, looked down to see a layer of pitch-black coating his skin where she had struck.

Armament Haki.

"Hmph!!"

With a heavy grunt, Kaido violently swung the arm that had blocked the kick, swatting Hancock away. While she was still mid-air, he wound up his kanabo for another strike.

"Tch!"

Hancock scoffed. Her eyes, normally burgundy, turned blood-red in an instant. Unbeknownst to anyone, the ground had already become flooded with a dark red pool of blood. Unlike Alucard’s, however, this pool wasn’t covered in a sea of lidless eyes.

The blood pool on the ground suddenly surged upward, taking the shape of snakes. They stretched their bodies to their limits, binding Kaido’s arms like crimson ropes and forcing his attack to a halt.

"GET OFF ME!!"

Frustrated by the interruption, a furious Kaido grabbed the blood-snakes with his free hand and tore them apart with a violent wrench. By then, Hancock had already landed safely away from his reach.

Glancing up at the twilight clouds, Hancock said coldly, "If it were night, I wouldn’t have even needed to use this power to dodge that."

"I don’t give a damn about your excuses!"

Kaido gripped his club in one hand and balled his other into a fist, launching a frenzied assault. The blood pool behind Hancock rose high, encircling her body as she focused more on defense than offense.

"Insolent beast!"

Hancock raised her right leg high, her red stiletto heel slamming hard into the ground. The blood pool became turbulent once more. Unlike the many small snakes from before, the blood coalesced into a single, massive boa constrictor, larger even than Kaido himself.

"ROAAR—!!"

The blood-born giant serpent opened its maw and hissed at Kaido, showing no fear toward the freak of nature known as the "Strongest Creature in the World."

"Is that... Hancock’s?" Scarlett murmured, standing near Sandersonia and Marigold.

She had heard much from Alucard regarding vampires—regeneration, summoning familiars, and shape-shifting were all vampiric abilities. However, those were powers typically developed as a vampire matured. That giant snake was likely Hancock’s Familiar.

Kaido’s expression shifted slightly; it seemed he had underestimated this woman.

But! If you think you can make Kaido of the Beasts back down, you’ve got another ten years of training to do, girl!

With that thought, Kaido slammed his kanabo into the ground and lunged forward, his massive hands locking onto the giant serpent’s throat.