Chapter 809 - 808: Zunesha Might Taste Quite Flavorful Too!

Vroooom!!!

A violent roar erupted from the Jet Dials installed along the hulls of the battleships. They served as the primary propulsion units that allowed these sky-faring vessels to cruise through the heavens.

"T-They can actually fly?!"

"Have the Marines and the Immortals truly achieved something of this scale?"

Down below, countless members of the Straw Hat Alliance stared blankly at the sky. Ships capable of flight were entirely beyond their realm of comprehension.

"Mmuuuuugh!!!"

Whether triggered by Momonosuke’s presence or its own survival instinct, Zunesha reacted with visceral emotion. It violently whipped its colossal trunk upward, its unimaginable length stretching directly toward a vessel bearing the flag of the Golden Hair Pirates.

"Alter course! Thirty-five degrees northwest!"

Sensing the staggering mass of the trunk sweeping in from their port side, Benn Beckman issued a calm, level-headed command.

The helmsman frantically spun the wheel precisely as Beckman ordered, narrowly avoiding Zunesha’s strike by a hair’s breadth.

BOOM!!!

Yet, even without a direct hit, the concussive shockwave generated by the swing tore a massive rift through the surrounding cloud layers. It required no imagination to realize what the fate of the battleship would have been had that blow connected cleanly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Right at that moment, the thick sheets of ice Kuzan had constructed over the ocean surface began to fracture and shatter. One of Zunesha’s massive legs broke free, followed closely by a second.

Momonosuke yelled at the top of his lungs, "Zunesha is breaking out of the ice!"

Hearing his words, the alliance felt a surge of collective relief. In a desperate situation like this, even the slightest shift in momentum was a welcome blessing.

Standing at the bow of the Kuja ship, Alucard merely smiled, letting out a soft, detached call. "Shirahoshi..."

"Aaaahhh~~~"

Instantly, a resonant, ethereal melody floated across the battlefield, sounding like a profound call to the deep. From the perspective of Luffy and the others positioned atop Zunesha’s back, thousands of dense black shadows suddenly began breaking the ocean surface all around the colossal elephant.

Peering closer, they realized the water was teeming with Sea Kings!

Leading the vanguard was a gargantuan whale-type Sea King whose sheer volume rivaled that of Laboon. While still tiny when measured against the astronomical size of Zunesha, the Sea Kings possessed overwhelming numbers. The sight of countless leviathans congregating around Zunesha’s legs was enough to strike terror into any heart.

Perched atop the leading whale-type Sea King was Shirahoshi. She held a hand gently against her chest, her eyes closed as a clear, melodic song flowed from her throat. Spurred by her voice, the concentration of Sea Kings in the vicinity continued to multiply by the minute.

"The Sea Princess... Shirahoshi..."

Sabo’s face grew incredibly dark. "To deploy a force of this staggering magnitude just to eliminate us... what on earth..."

"Zunesha, is it?"

Alucard took a slow step forward before suddenly leaping off the deck, plunging straight down toward the open ocean.

Witnessing this, Hancock, Robin, Alessia, and Viola, the women Alucard had personally transformed into vampires, stood completely frozen in sheer shock.

To a vampire, the ocean was equivalent to the absolute depths of hell itself! For Alucard to dive straight into it... what could he possibly be planning?

However, the answer materialized before them almost instantly.

A colossal crimson wave erupted from the River of Death billowing out of Alucard’s body, and from the depths of the blood, a titanic serpent’s head reared skyward. Its sheer girth alone easily matched the volume of Zunesha’s trunk.

True Ancestor Familiar: Jormungandr!

Hssssshhh!!!

Flicking its massive tongue, Jormungandr’s infinitely long, slithering form coiled tightly around Zunesha’s legs, trunk, and torso. The serpent’s head loomed directly in front of Zunesha’s eyes, its slender tongue darting out in a menacing display.

Staring up at the titanic silhouette of Jormungandr hovering in midair, the members of the Straw Hat Alliance dropped their jaws in absolute horror. They had believed Zunesha would be their ultimate salvation, never anticipating that Alucard harbored a monster of this terrifying caliber.

Alucard touched down gently on the crown of Jormungandr’s head. Spreading his arms wide, he broke into a manic, ecstatic laugh. "Devouring Zunesha might taste quite flavorful too!"

Whether positioned in the skies above or on the island below, everyone who caught his words felt an instinctive shiver run down their spine. Eat it? Was it even physically possible to eat a creature far more massive than an ancient Sea King?

Even if Alucard commanded a monster of his own, the concept was utterly mind-boggling.

Hssssshhh~~

As Alucard’s command resonated, Jormungandr began contracting its massive coils, constricting Zunesha with crushing force. The ancient elephant’s thick hide began to compress violently under the pressure, the flesh between the coils bulging outward as though it might rupture into a geyser of blood at any second.

"Just watching it looks agonizing..." Koala murmured, her brow furrowing out of pure empathy.

"It hurts so much... let me fight. Give me... the order."

Just like the time the Marines had launched their assault, Zunesha’s booming, bell-like voice resonated directly within Momonosuke’s mind.

This time, Momonosuke didn’t succumb to panic. He instantly screamed back, "Go! Zunesha, defeat Alucard!!!"

In a burst of primal desperation, Zunesha channeled its own staggering brute strength. Its trunk was the first to tear free from Jormungandr’s constriction, whipping violently toward Alucard standing atop the serpent’s head.

However, despite its immense physical power, it was simply too slow and rigid when compared to the supreme flexibility of a serpent.

Jormungandr executed a subtle twist of its massive body, effortlessly evading the swinging trunk. Seizing the opening in a flash, it snapped its jaws shut, clamping its fangs deep into the descending trunk.

The moment its teeth sank in, a highly concentrated, deep-purple venom injected into Zunesha’s nostrils, rapidly circulating through its internal system.

"Muuuughhh!!!"

Zunesha let out a long, agonizing wail as its colossal body began to tilt heavily to the side, listing precariously toward the ocean.

"Aaahh!!! We’re going to die!!!"

The weaker members of the Straw Hat Pirates clung to one another, screaming in terror. The land mass on Zunesha’s back had tilted to a severe angle, threatening to dump them all into the sea below.

Fortunately, just before completely capsizing into the ocean, Zunesha managed to stabilize its weight. Though it remained locked in a heavy list, it had at least forced itself to a halt.

At that moment, Zunesha’s voice echoed inside Momonosuke’s mind once more.

"Run quickly... run quickly... I can’t hold out much longer. Hurry, all of you."

"Zunesha!!!"

Tears welled in Momonosuke’s eyes as he wept openly, screaming in grief.

This time, the telepathic message wasn’t restricted to Momonosuke alone; both Luffy and Ace caught the broadcast loud and clear.

"Everyone, get off the ship! Zunesha can’t hold out much longer! Move! Hurry up!!"

Spurred by Ace’s urgent rallying cry, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates were the first to abandon ship, followed closely by the rest of the Straw Hat Alliance and the deeply reluctant, weeping Minks.

Alucard narrowed his eyes, before snapping them wide open in the next second. "Devour it, Jormungandr!"