Chapter 108: Beneath the Legends
Marine Headquarters G-1 Branch.
This is the closest Marine branch to the entrance of the New World, and one of only two Marine branches in the New World.
The Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters responsible for guarding this military fortress was an old veteran named Calius Sibelius.
He was a generation older than Garp, Sengoku, and others, with graying hair and a beard. He now sat at his desk in the G-1 Branch base commander’s office. On the desk lay a new wanted poster, issued by Headquarters just today.
...
Dead or Alive
Dracula D. Alucard
Bounty: 400,000,000 Berries
...
In less than half a year, his bounty had doubled from 200 million to 400 million, and the capture requirement had changed from "capture alive only" to "dead or alive." This showed that the Marines had realized the severity of Alucard’s threat.
Along with the wanted poster, the old Vice Admiral also received a file containing information about the newly wanted Alucard.
...
Engaged in battle with Kaido of the Beasts on Baizinbur for over five days and nights, eventually ceasing due to Vice Admiral Garp’s intervention, then forced Vice Admiral Sakazuki to retreat and escaped.
Abilities: Unknown
Known abilities:
Regenerative Physique: Can quickly recover from and revive from even the most severe injuries, but seems to have some limitations.
Black and White Twin Guns: Two large handguns capable of firing thousands, even tens of thousands, of Doriki-level attacks.
Greatsword: Can summon a massive sword from his hand at any time.
Bat Transformation: Can transform his body into bats to escape.
...
After reading through the information, Sibelius let out a sigh. He would soon retire, and he never expected such a monster to emerge at this time, and so young.
CRASH!
Just as Sibelius set the documents down, one of his subordinates, a Marine Seaman First Class, rushed in. Seeing the man breathless, Sibelius expressed his displeasure. "As a Marine, to be so flustered, what kind of decorum is that!?"
"S-sorry, Vice Admiral!" The Seaman First Class took a deep breath, then handed a new file to Shiba. "This... this is information transmitted by Headquarters to all branches immediately."
"Hmm?" Shiba’s expression hardened. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since Alucard’s intel and wanted poster were issued. Why was new information being sent so quickly?
When Shiba opened the file and read its contents, the corners of his wrinkled eyes twitched violently.
[Kaido of the Beasts, escaped during transport from Headquarters to Impel Down]
"What’s going on? What is Garp doing!?" Sibelius wondered, bewildered. It had only been less than two days since news of Kaido’s capture by Garp reached his ears, and now this had happened.
After reading the file in detail, Sibelius fully understood the entire chain of events.
Because the Roger Pirates were causing trouble in the New World, Garp had immediately left Headquarters, disregarding Kong’s order to escort Kaido to Impel Down Great Prison. Two other Vice Admirals were assigned to escort Kaido. As a result, during transport, Kaido broke free from his restraints, sank three escorting warships, and escaped.
Sibelius rubbed his temples, dismissed the Seaman First Class, and used a Den Den Mushi to inform Headquarters that he had understood the situation.
Before issuing wanted posters and notifying the world’s news agencies, Marine Headquarters would first give their own personnel a heads-up. Only after receiving confirmation from all branches that they were prepared would they publicly announce the news to the world.
Of course, if other reporters or news agencies found out, that would be a different matter. This method could only be used for matters exclusive to the Marines and the World Government.
In this world of the Grand Line, those impossibly strong individuals were referred to as "Legends." Although this term only truly gained prominence after Roger’s death, Roger and others were already gradually entering their twilight years. Now, more and more people were calling them "Legends."
Among the Marines, Garp and Sengoku held legendary status. On the pirate side, there were Roger, Whitebeard, Shiki, and Redfield, among others.
While it seemed there were more legendary figures among pirates, in reality, the overall strength of the pirate side relied heavily on these legendary individuals.
The Marine side, however, had a perfectly organized structure that couldn’t be easily shaken.
The first half of the Grand Line was practically a nightmare for pirates; only elites could even enter the second half. Among the pirates "beneath the legends," the foremost were Kaido of the Beasts, and then Charlotte Linlin.
However, now another figure had emerged, with reports and a wanted poster issued to the entire world today. This was the person who fought Kaido of the Beasts to a standstill.
Alucard the Immortal, Bounty: 400,000,000 Berries!
In today’s news, the front page featured Alucard’s story, his new wanted poster, and details of his battle with Kaido.
The second page briefly covered Kaido’s escape during his transport from Headquarters to Impel Down, detailing how he sank the warships.
Compared to Alucard’s detailed information on the front page, Kaido’s incident was much shorter. After all, it was an embarrassing incident for the Marines, so it naturally wouldn’t be written in great detail.
Since the incident occurred on an isolated island, only the Marines themselves and a portion of the Beasts Pirates knew about it.
The Marines naturally controlled the information.
The Beasts Pirates, upon learning the news, immediately headed to the first half of the Grand Line to retrieve their captain.
Kuzan also understood why the Beasts Pirates didn’t rescue their captain at Baizinbur; it was simple: they had absolute confidence that Kaido would escape.
The figures "beneath the legends," Kaido of the Beasts and Alucard the Immortal, quickly became the focus of global discussion.
The title "Beneath the Legends," used to describe those ranked just below Roger and Whitebeard, was now bestowed upon Alucard by the world.
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