"Huh?! It's you, Dracula. What, do you want to interfere in my feud with the Straw Hat?"
Smoker was astonished when he saw the man's face. He had thought that Dracula and the other former pirates had come to the Marine Headquarters with Luffy and the others just to take revenge on the Marines and the government. He hadn't expected that they had such a connection with Luffy. After thinking for a moment and understanding what the man meant, he stared at him with a serious look, ready to make a move at any moment.
"Hehehe, don't say that. I wasn't planning on attacking someone as junior as you, but I'm truly sorry. Seeing my savior in dire straits and not helping him would weigh heavily on my conscience. So, please die here... Blood Blade Slash!!"
With that, Dracula swung his arm, unleashing a crimson Flying Slash that hurtled towards the cautious Smoker.
Clang!!
A crimson blade of light sliced across the ice, the sheer power of the strike tearing through the ice. The cracks spread and ripped apart the spots where the pirates stood, causing them to cry out in alarm as they were swallowed by the ice shards.
"Damn it, don't underestimate me..."
Smoker was shocked to see that his opponent underestimated him so much, thinking that he could defeat him with just a casual wave of his hand. So Smoker gritted his teeth and did not dodge, but instead clenched his broken Jitte to meet the incoming slash.
Clang!!
The Jitte and Flying Slash collided head-on, a violent explosion rang out, and then, to Smoker's horrified gaze, Flying Slash severed the Jitte in his hand and slammed it heavily into his body.
"Uh... this isn't good... ah~"
boom...
Seeing that he couldn't withstand Dracula's Flying Slash, Smoker was struck directly by the blood-red slash that severed the Jitte. Even his proud elemental transformation failed to work, and he was sent flying by the tearing pain of his flesh.
Click click...
Smoker was thrown backward like a bird with broken wings, crashing heavily onto the ice. The ice beneath him cracked, the fissures spreading like a spider web, before collapsing with a deafening roar, burying Smoker beneath him.
"Lord Smoker... damn it..."
When Tashigi, one of Dracula's subordinates, saw her superior suddenly defeated by the enemy and his fate unknown, she couldn't help but pick up her sword and run towards Dracula, slashing at him head-on.
"Heh heh heh, I don't fight women. You'd better step back... Blood Vines... Bind!!"
Seeing that Tashigi had lost her composure and was yelling as she slashed at him, he, who always considered himself a gentleman, naturally wouldn't lay a hand on a woman, let alone a weak woman who posed no threat to him. He dodged the attack to the side.
Swoosh...
Seeing that Tashigi still hadn't given up, Dracula flicked his fingers, and crimson spread to her feet. Several vines then sprouted and wrapped around Tashigi's feet, completely Bind her and leaving her on the ground, helpless to watch as she attacked other marines or pirates.
"Ah!!"
Dracula raised his arm and flipped his palm, and two long snakes of blood shot out from his sleeves, entangled the two wrestling pirates and marines, and pulled them in front of him.
"Well..."
The two struggled incessantly, trying to call for help, but the snake was tightly wrapped around their necks, making it impossible for them to utter a sound. Their faces flushed red, and their breaths grew weaker and weaker.
Bang...
Smoker and Luffy stood up at the same time, looking at Dracula with puzzled expressions, having no idea what he was trying to do. But the power he used next made them realize what was going on.
"Hey, Dracula, what exactly do you want to do to our soldiers? Let go right now..."
Although he didn't know that Dracula hadn't fought him but instead captured two other people, one of whom was one of his own, Smoker, who was already highly emotional, couldn't stand it and yelled at him to stop.
"What exactly does this guy want to do?"
Luffy was not far away, was also puzzled by Dracula's actions.
"Hehehe, don't be in such a hurry, Smoke Bro. I'll show you why I, Dracula, am called the Bloody Prince. Blood Control... Life Force Extraction!!"
After saying that, two eerie, blood-red lines appeared on Dracula's hands, which were gripping the necks of the two men, followed by a dark aura emanating from them.
"Ugh..."
The two unfortunate fellows screamed in agony as their muscles gradually atrophied and their Vitality waned. A surge of powerful life force flowed from their necks and merged into the lines on Dracula's arms. Then, Dracula's face seemed to slowly become younger.
"What... what's going on? He seems to have gotten younger just now!!"
Looking at Dracula's face, Luffy felt incredibly amazed, as if he had suddenly become two or three years younger, and couldn't help but speak his mind.
"Damn it, you're right, that Straw Hat Luffy has indeed become younger. He was once a strongman in Roger's era, the Bloody Prince Dracula."
Legend has it that he is an immortal man, maintaining a youthful appearance for decades. I originally thought it was just a fabrication, but it turns out it's true. Is this your power, Dracula?
Smoker saw that his colleague's Vitality force had been drained, making him appear stronger and younger, and guessed that this might be due to some kind of Devil Fruit power. So he questioned him.
"Hahahaha, not bad, this is precisely the power of my Blood-Blood Fruit. How about it, Marines? I can absorb the life force from the blood of my enemies to replenish myself, keeping myself at my peak condition. Even time cannot take away my Vitality. Shouldn't this be called the strongest fruit? Uh, hahahahaha..."
"If I can absorb the life force of all the powerful warriors from around the world gathered on this battlefield into my body, I will not only be able to restore my peak strength, but I will also have the possibility of breaking through my original level. At that time, even the Navy will no longer be my match."
Dracula had no intention of hiding his abilities and revealed them directly, even fantasizing about drawing endless Vitality from headquarters and breaking through his own limits once again.
It has to be said that his idea was insane. If it could really be achieved, it would indeed place him among the world's elite. However, there was one thing he failed to see: the Navy's current countermeasures against his power. How could they not be aware of the extent of the danger posed by Dracula's ability during the decades they had imprisoned him? How could they not have taken precautions?
" Sengoku, that bastard Dracula seems to be getting more and more audacious. Have you already sent Chaton and Momousagi over there? You know better than I do how much damage it will do to our navy if we don't take action against him in time."
Here, sitting next to Ace, Garp, who was watching the battle with his arms crossed, suddenly saw that Dracula, that bastard pirate he hated so much, was once again recklessly attacking the pirates and the navy. This made him unable to help but remind Sengoku.
"Hmm, don't worry, Chaton and Momousagi are already gone. A mere Dracula can't cause much damage."
You should be worried about Red. Although he's lost his peak strength and his body has been greatly weakened by being imprisoned for so long, he can still inflict significant damage on our navy.
"And Luo Chen, one of the Shichibukai, should be on his last legs soon. He'll soon be free to attack our Marines. Will you, this lazy bum, continue to sit here?"
Sengoku, upon hearing Garp's reminder, rolled his eyes and replied, after finishing talking about Dracula, he quickly shifted his focus to another person, Red, a great pirate who was once on par with Whitebeard.