One Piece: Alucard the Immortal

As Marco, in his phoenix form, dodged bullets while rushing towards their source, Alucard's aiming grew steadily more precise, and the power of his Casull intensified.

Even with dodging, at such a distance, the bullets' force was somewhat diminished. But as Marco steadily closed the gap, the impact of the bullets grew stronger upon hitting his body.

"It really is him!" Marco's eyesight was excellent. Even from a significant distance, he could already see Alucard raising his gun and firing at him.

Bang!

Another bullet struck, catching him off guard. It was faster than the previous ones—a shot from the Jackal black gun.

Marco had grown accustomed to Casull's attacks. Facing the sudden Jackal shot, his shoulder was hit, and its power and speed were incomparable to the previous bullets.

"Ah…!" Marco cried out in pain. He wasn't a Logia user; even with his regeneration ability, he would still be injured if hit. Whether a scar would be left on his body depended on which was stronger: the attack's power or his regenerative ability.

The hit Marco reverted from his phoenix form to his human form, plummeting rapidly. He was a Devil Fruit user, and if he fell into the sea, he would surely die.

Less than two meters from the surface, Marco gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and transformed his hands into wings again. After a wide turn in the air, he managed to stabilize himself two meters above the water.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

A flurry of shots followed from the Casull!

Though not as impactful as the Jackal, it was still potent enough to challenge Marco's regeneration.

Alucard seized the opportunity, striking Marco's body with countless bullets. Because of the critical situation just now, Marco had only partially transformed his hands into wings, leaving his body in human form. This meant his regeneration in other parts of his body was significantly weaker.

When Alucard's bullets struck, blood was already drawn.

"Cough... agh!" Marco spat out a mouthful of blood.

Alucard, gradually closing the distance with his ship, chuckled, "The second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates? Seems you're only at this level."

Although Alucard used some trickery, he hadn't expected to succeed so easily. He had indeed stumbled into Whitebeard's territory by accident. Alucard had simply been drifting aimlessly, following the ocean currents, so entering here was entirely an unexpected event, yet it was still discovered by the Government, who had connections everywhere.

Hearing Alucard's slightly insulting words, Marco's eyes sharpened as he glared at Alucard. But Alucard paid no mind to Marco's threatening gaze, acting as if he hadn't seen it. He asked again, "When you were a kid, did you ever play a bird hunt game?"

As he spoke, Alucard raised both guns simultaneously, his body still seated. He grinned malevolently, "I used to play it all the time."

Retreat!

In that instant, Marco made up his mind. He never intended to fight this guy one-on-one anyway. Besides, this was Pops' territory, and Pops was on his way. Why would he risk his life fighting a battle he couldn't possibly win just to save face?

It had to be said that even at his young age, Marco's composure completely surpassed that of the future Ace. At that time, Ace might have been able to escape, and Blackbeard might not have been able to stop him, but because of a comrade's death and being blinded by rage, he insisted on fighting Blackbeard to the death, which led to his unfortunate end.

Seeing Marco spread his wings and flee, Alucard tilted his head back, a slight opening in his mouth. He hadn't expected the Whitebeard Pirates' second-in-command to not even have the will to fight.

However, since he had entered Whitebeard's territory, even if he wasn't confident in defeating Whitebeard, he couldn't just leave, could he? At the very least, he should test Whitebeard's current strength.

With that thought, Alucard steered his ship to follow Marco, gradually venturing deeper into Whitebeard's territory, all while continuing to fire at the fleeing bird.

"Are you truly the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates? Is turning your back on the enemy your fighting style?" Alucard chatted with Marco as he continued to shoot.

Marco had no time for Alucard's taunts. If he couldn't win, he couldn't win; he wouldn't foolishly throw his life away.

"You won't be so arrogant when Pops steps in!" Marco gritted his teeth. Although he was the Whitebeard Pirates' second-in-command, he wasn't even ranked among the "Beneath the Legends." This was somewhat embarrassing for him, but he was also a keen observer of battle situations.

Through his Observation Haki, Marco was surprised to find that Alucard's ship's speed was not at all slower than his own. He had never seen a ship move so fast.

It was only then that Marco realized with a start that the ship seemed to have no sails and was made of iron. How could such a ship move at all?

Bang!

Alucard fired the Jackal again. Marco sensed that the shot was aimed at his heart. He quickly twisted his body, avoiding the attack, but he was a beat too slow, and his palm was hit.

"Hahahaha!" Alucard began to laugh madly. Such shooting reminded him of his childhood, when he lived in a high-rise building and shot at birds in the sky from his balcony with a BB gun. He never expected to relive that feeling here. It made Alucard burst into hearty laughter.

Marco, flying in mid-air in his phoenix form, still showed anger in his eyes, especially upon hearing Alucard's laughter. Was this guy completely toying with him?

——————

TN: Bro remembered his time when he was a kid hunting birds, but couldn't remember Poneglyph?? This is blasphemy! Or maybe he needs some strong, specific stimulation to awaken those deeply buried memories?

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