Chapter 157: Red the Aloof’s Fear of Aging
"I’ve met with Big Mom and the mad dog before," Alucard stated.
"Mad dog?" Red questioned, then realized. "Oh, Kaido? While I haven’t officially fought him, I know a bit about his personality. That ’mad dog’ title of yours for him is strangely fitting."
Red paused, then continued, "The meeting between you three on Cheese Island was widely spread among the New World pirate circles; it’s not surprising."
"Big Mom said you’d be caught," Alucard suddenly interjected, observing Red’s expression with a sinister smile. As expected, Red’s face darkened considerably. Alucard, quite dark-bellied, added, "I share the same thought."
A flash of killing intent emanated from Red. He turned his head and said, "What makes you two say that?"
He was nearing sixty, had been a pirate for over forty years, and had always operated alone. No Marine had ever captured him in all that time. What right did these juniors have to claim he’d be caught?
"You’re not stupid, are you? How could you not understand..." Alucard tilted his head back, looking at the crystal ceiling of the fish-man tavern. "Your age, your strength. The former advances, the latter recedes. Plus, you’ve always been alone, with no subordinates, no power. Being caught by the Marines is a foregone conclusion."
Alucard’s simple words completely struck Red’s sore spot, hitting him directly where it hurt. His age was a few years greater than Whitebeard’s, Garp’s, and Roger’s. And it was precisely those few years that caused him to decline faster than the others.
They say that when people get old, they fear loneliness and become afraid. Red was experiencing similar psychological feelings now. He wasn’t afraid of being insulted, or of people saying he had lost to Shiki or anyone else. What he feared most was the word "old."
A crack appeared in the wine glass he held. Red’s tone now carried a hint of killing intent. "You’re merely called one of the ’Three Monsters,’ young man. Don’t get too arrogant!"
"’Young’ is also a word you’re very unwilling to hear now, isn’t it?" Alucard always looked to be in his twenties. Hearing Red’s words, he set down his wine glass and chuckled lightly. "Good. Rather than you being caught by the Marines later, why not test the strength of Red the Aloof now?"
Besides "Red the Aloof," Red also had titles like "Red Count." The word "Count" in many classical books referred to vampires, and coupled with their many similarities, the idea of Alucard wanting to fight Red had arisen more than once or twice.
"Oh... do you want to start a battle right here?" Red’s fighting spirit was also stirred by Alucard, and he retorted.
Alucard dismissed the idea. "No. Aren’t you going to the first half of the Grand Line? Perfect. Leaving from here is the way, isn’t it? It would take several days to find an island in the New World to fight on."
Red’s eyes narrowed. "Are you talking about Sabaody Archipelago?" If one were to go from Fish-Man Island to the New World, it would take at least a few days to reach the first island there. However, if they were to return to Sabaody Archipelago from here, it would only take a few hours. But that wasn’t a simple place; it was the Celestial Dragons’ territory, the island closest to Marine Headquarters!
"Don’t you think it’s interesting?" Alucard smiled. "Fighting while constantly having to prepare to fend off the Marines. Isn’t that very entertaining?"
Red stared at Alucard for a long time, then suddenly chuckled himself. "Before I came to Fish-Man Island, Newgate once described you as being even crazier than Kaido. It seems he was right."
"It seems you agree then. If you refused, it would prove you’re truly ’old,’ no matter how you look at it." Once again, the word "old" was brought up, intensifying Red’s fighting spirit. But he said no more, deciding to let his actions speak in the upcoming battle.
About half an hour later, at the exit of Fish-Man Island, the Kimari Pirates, who were just about to set sail for the New World, were preparing to depart. As they excitedly pulled up the anchor, ready to officially embark, suddenly, a red flash erupted from afar. Before they could react, the crimson flash had already cleared out over half of the Kimari Pirates.
The remaining crew members quickly turned to look, only to see an old man, past his prime, standing at the bow of the ship, eyes slightly closed, speaking in an matter-of-fact tone, "Take me to Sabaody Archipelago."
"You old geezer, do you have a death wish?!" A pirate angrily pulled out a machine gun and began firing at Red. But upon hearing the words "old geezer," Red’s brow furrowed. Before the man could even pull the trigger, he was sent flying off the ship.
The next second, a swarm of bats descended from the sky, gathering on the ship’s deck to form Alucard. He intentionally glanced in the direction the pirate had been sent flying. "You’re quite ruthless, aren’t you? Aren’t we still taking this ship to Sabaody Archipelago?"
"Inconsiderate youth, they need to be taught a lesson," Red said, gazing upwards at a forty-five-degree angle towards the sea above Fish-Man Island.
"Casull..." Alucard walked up to one of the remaining pirates, pressing his white gun, Casull, against the pirate’s forehead. "Excuse me, could you take me... no, could you take him and me back to Sabaody Archipelago?"
...
Meanwhile, after the two had left, in a mermaid café in Fish-Man Island’s bustling district, a small girl of only a few years old, with a shark tail and side-swept bangs, sat in a backroom.
In front of her, on a soft cushion, lay a transparent crystal ball. Under the girl’s control, the previously transparent crystal ball began to display images.
In the crystal ball’s vision, the shark-tailed girl saw continuous explosions and gunshots within a red light. Countless large red trees fell one after another, and an island turned into a sea of fire.
After a few seconds, seemingly due to the excessive power expended by the divination, sweat began to stream down the girl’s face until she ceased projecting her thoughts into the crystal ball.
The images on the crystal ball vanished, and her condition gradually improved.
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AN: To clarify, Red found and ate his Vampire Fruit during the two years after Luffy caused chaos in Impel Down and he escaped.
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