Chapter 149: The Scent of Filth
"Oh, right, I heard Garp was involved in the operation to capture Roger’s heir. Where is he now?" Alucard suddenly thought of a question.
He had been quite interested in Rouge, the woman who dared to couple with a devil, but lacking intelligence and knowing nothing of her whereabouts, he had temporarily given up. However, Roger surely told Garp. If he could just find Garp’s destination, he could definitely find Rouge.
"Are you planning to challenge Garp?" Vegapunk asked curiously, waving his hand. "Unfortunately, this facility is completely sealed off. I know nothing of Marine operations, not even Garp’s."
"Is that so? What a pity." It seemed he still couldn’t meet that woman. He had genuinely intended to check on her.
Two hours later, Alucard, still in the guise of a scientist, left Vegapunk’s laboratory and headed to the Marineford plaza docks. He blended in with a departing warship, deciding to leave. This kind of infiltration was second nature to him by now.
"Hmm? This ship doesn’t seem to be heading for the New World?" As the ship sailed through the Gates of Justice, Alucard suddenly noticed something.
This route wasn’t the same as the one he took from Secon Island in the New World. It didn’t pass through the Marine-exclusive route that went over the Red Line and then into the New World.
Instead, it sailed through the Gates of Justice. This meant the ship wasn’t going to the New World, but rather to the first half of the Grand Line.
"Whatever. Nothing else to do anyway. I’ll just go with this ship."
Alucard had transformed into an ordinary soldier. He noticed a man draped in a Marine greatcoat standing at the bow. The Marine insignia on his shoulder indicated the rank of Vice Admiral.
A flicker of curiosity sparked within him, and he asked a nearby Marine, "Where are we headed again?"
Although he could absorb people’s bodies and memories through the Blacklight Virus, Alucard could choose whether or not to accept the memories. While at Marineford, his mind had been solely focused on leaving Marine Headquarters, so he hadn’t absorbed this soldier’s memories.
The other Marine, upon hearing this, looked utterly aghast. "Are you still half-asleep, kid? We’re about to face a major battle! Our destination is the Pirate’s Haven, Isanna Island!"
"Pirate’s Haven?" Alucard’s eyes subtly shifted.
"Yeah, according to the latest intelligence, it’s currently occupied by the Titan Pirates. For a long time, it was a gathering place for a bunch of scoundrels, but it was wiped out by Chief Instructor Zephyr years ago. Recently, with the rise of the Great Pirate Era, it’s flourished again. That’s why Vice Admiral Sid wants to wipe them out before they get too strong." The soldier was probably bored out of his mind, rattling off a lot of information to Alucard.
"Titan Pirates? Isn’t ’Titan’ the name of a legendary giant?" Alucard said with a faint smile.
"The captain seems to be a giant," the soldier yawned, adding, "But with the Vice Admiral here, there’ll definitely be no problem."
Having learned quite a bit from the man, Alucard now knew the destination was an island called "Isanna," the mission was to wipe out a pirate stronghold, and the Vice Admiral leading them was named Sid.
Most of the necessary intelligence was now in hand. Alucard was contemplating something else: he was slightly interested in this "Pirate’s Haven," which Zephyr had once annihilated, and was tempted to see it for himself.
The question was, should he destroy this warship now, or should he temporarily go along with them and take this ship to Isanna?
After several minutes of consideration, Alucard decided not to act for now and to take this warship to Isanna. After all, navigation wasn’t his strong suit. Though it was only the first half of the Grand Line, the Marines were definitely more adept at sailing than he was.
Several days later, from the warship’s railing, the sun gradually dipped below the horizon, plunging the sky into dusk. Approximately a few nautical miles away, an island came into view. Its sparse vegetation made it appear barren.
"That’s Isanna," Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Sid announced. "If we attack head-on, we’ll alert the pirates and give them a chance to escape. So, we’ll proceed with an infiltration plan. Since it’s crawling with pirates, I’ll send a quarter of our troops disguised as pirates to infiltrate. The rest of us will wait for the signal, ready to launch a full-scale assault. Alright, soldiers willing to execute the infiltration plan, step forward."
However, no one on the ship, including Sid and over five hundred Marine soldiers, noticed that as they entered the waters surrounding Isanna Island, countless bats were flying towards the island. But this didn’t draw attention, as there were already many bats naturally flying in the evening sky.
By the island’s edge, countless bats descended from the sky, gradually coalescing. Opening his eyes, Alucard reverted to his original form.
"How many years has it been since I was last in the first half of the Grand Line?" Alucard mused to himself, then walked towards the town at the island’s center.
"Pirate’s Haven"? That’s an interesting title.
As soon as he stepped into the town entrance, he could hear all sorts of noises and see various deplorable scenes.
One scene even made Alucard laugh aloud: Someone walking down the street was suddenly shot dead by another person who burst out of a corner. The assailant then snatched the wallet from the corpse’s pocket. But before he could even open the wallet to count the money, a burly man, much taller than him, suddenly punched him into the ground and snatched the wallet away.
However, the onlookers merely laughed cruelly at such a sight, as if watching a street performance.
"It reeks of filth. These people are only fit to be eaten by dogs." Alucard let out two loud laughs, but because the surrounding noise was already too chaotic, his words and laughter were completely drowned out before anyone could hear them.
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