Gilbert was a user of the Zoan-type Salamander Fruit. He was a high-speed, agile offensive Zoan fighter, the complete opposite of defensive types like the Turtle Fruit.
After catching Vergo, the transformed Gilbert asked solemnly, "Vergo, what's your status?"
Vergo wiped the wound on his left shoulder with his right hand. Smearing the fresh blood, he clicked his tongue. "Be careful. Those are Seastone bullets. Rumor has it they were weapons crafted by Vegapunk himself back when Headquarters made that deal with the Immortal Pirates."
Gilbert's expression turned icy. "No wonder he wants Vegapunk. He's looking to get his hands on even more powerful weapons."
At that moment, a G5 Marine behind the two Vice Admirals reported: "Base Commander Gilbert, Vice Admiral Vergo! We've notified Headquarters and the G-1 Branch. They said reinforcements have already been dispatched!"
"Good."
Gilbert stepped forward. Pale green energy claws erupted from his talons, each extending over a meter in length.
"A technique that fuses Haki with innate abilities?" Alucard observed, analyzing the Salamander form.
"Can you still fight, Vergo?" Gilbert asked.
"It's negligible," Vergo replied, ever a man of few words.
Gilbert nodded and suddenly transformed into a dark blur, charging at Alucard. As he moved, he roared, "The rest of you, jump overboard and run! That's your only chance at survival! Staying here will only get in the way!"
"Vice Admiral Gilbert!"
The G5 Marines cried out in protest. As the leader of this pack of "scumbag" Marines, Gilbert had been more than fair. He was like a father figure to them. The thought of abandoning him was agonizing.
Vergo's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. With a sweep of his bamboo staff, he swatted a large group of G5 Marines into the sea, then joined Gilbert in the fray.
Alucard blocked Gilbert's claw with his forearm, a savage grin spreading across his face. "Normally, I'd have some interest in fighting you. Unfortunately, I'm on a mission this time. I should probably finish you off quickly."
Insulted, Gilbert's face flushed with rage. "I may be old, pirate, but I am not as fragile as you think!"
With a sharp pivot, Gilbert whipped his massive, powerful tail around, forcing Alucard back several meters.
Vergo coordinated his strike with Gilbert's opening. His body was fully hardened with Haki, turning him completely into a "Black Man." Every movement he made radiated the aura of an indestructible iron man.
A pool of blood rose up. A lance flew into Alucard's palm as if returning to its master's embrace, parrying Vergo's staff.
"Impaling Castle!"
After blocking Vergo, Alucard suddenly drove the lance into the deck. In less than a heartbeat, Alucard shifted into his King of Execution form. Simultaneously, countless spikes erupted from beneath the deck, lunging toward Vergo's body.
Though Vergo's Observation Haki allowed him to sense the attack and retreat a step early, the speed of the Impaling Castle was too great. Caught off guard, numerous spike-tips tore into his flesh, instantly littering his body with bloodied holes of varying depths.
"..."
Vergo groaned in pain as he fell to one knee. He could honestly say he hadn't underestimated the enemy, nor had he held back.
He knew he couldn't win. Rather than putting on a fake performance, it was better to fight with everything he had and lose, ideally being beaten half to death. That was the only way to ensure no one realized he was a double agent.
However, even Vergo hadn't expected to be defeated this quickly.
Gilbert frowned and glanced at Vergo. Keeping his back to him, he said, "Vergo, you aren't a Devil Fruit user. Swim away, now! As the next Base Commander of G5, you cannot die here."
Vergo pressed one hand against the deck, struggling to prop himself up. He stood once more and stumbled to Gilbert's side. He didn't speak, but his resolve was clear.
A flash of deep admiration crossed Gilbert's eyes.
As expected of the successor he had chosen. Even facing such an overwhelming opponent, the man would not back down.
If Gilbert knew that the only reason Vergo was so fearless was because he was the traitor who leaked the intel, and that he knew Alucard wouldn't kill him, the old man might have died of pure rage on the spot.
A mole planted by Doflamingo, right? Reaching the rank of Vice Admiral shows you have some competence.
Alucard looked at Vergo, who had gone from an "iron man" to a "blood man." He felt amused, muttering to himself in a voice only he could hear: "Leaving him with just one breath should be enough, right?"
With that thought, Alucard folded his ring and pinky fingers, forming a pistol shape with the other three fingers on each hand to create a vertical rectangle. Instantly, countless eyes sprouted from Alucard's body. Vergo and Gilbert were engulfed in a pocket of darkness. To Dr. Vegapunk and the others watching from the room below, it simply looked like a pool of blood had swallowed the three men before they vanished entirely.
Alucard's attire shifted from his red greatcoat to his buckled, black suit.
"Hahahaha!"
Alucard let out an excited cry. Opposite him, Vergo and Gilbert had no time to process the change and threw themselves into defensive stances.
But in the next instant, Alucard vanished from their sight. Just as they tried to track him with Observation Haki, a heavy blow struck from behind. Alucard's hand-blade sliced across Vergo's back, leaving a gash that nearly spanned his entire spine.
Blood sprayed as the muscular body collapsed heavily. This time, Vergo didn't even have the strength left to pretend to be a hero.
"Vergo!"
"You don't have time to worry about others."
Gilbert had just cried out when Alucard's voice hissed directly into his ear.
"What!?"
Gilbert's left claw erupted with Haki, condensing into a lethal energy strike as he swung wildly. But Alucard caught his wrist with a backhand twist.
Alucard leaned his face close to Gilbert's, revealing his sharp, elongated fangs. "Bye-bye~"
Crack! Crack!
Alucard's right foot slammed into Gilbert's knee, shattering the bone into fragments.
Before Gilbert could even scream in pain, countless shadow hands rose from the blood pool beneath their feet, gripping Gilbert's body tight and pinning him in place. Alucard didn't miss the opening; his left hand-blade thrust out, piercing straight through Gilbert's heart.