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With a sweep of his Observation Haki, Arthur confirmed that all the surrounding soldiers were unconscious.
'Hm? Where's Shiryu?? He's being held in Eternal Hell?' He hadn't found a trace of Shiryu in any of the warden's offices, but instead sensed his presence within the prison cells.
Amplified by his electric waves, the range of his Observation Haki was immense, but for now, Arthur could only judge a person's existence by their aura and the sound of their voice.
Within the scope of his Haki, he could only see others as white, shadowy figures, not clear, distinct "images."
'He was imprisoned... Did he already kill his teacher? Or was he locked up for his uncontrollable bloodlust?' Arthur shook his head and walked step by step into the first level of Impel Down.
Shiryu was the second official crewmate he had recruited. He liked the man's temperament, and he was a powerful subordinate. He couldn't just leave him here.
He delved deeper.
"INTRUDER! HALT!!"
Arthur had just walked in when he saw two figures approaching, Deputy Warden Magellan shouting in a rage.
A purple poison gas permeated the air around him. Just an accidental whiff was enough to cause dizziness as the deadly toxin began to take hold.
"Magellan... what a coincidence. We meet again!" Arthur greeted him with a smile.
"IT'S YOU!!" Magellan's eyes widened in fury, his anger flaring.
It was this man before him who had shattered the title of the "Impenetrable Fortress" of Impel Down, becoming the first person in history to escape from this place.
As a highly responsible warden, he was exceptionally angered by the shame Impel Down had suffered. He wished he could go to the New World and kill Arthur himself.
"Ah... It's Thunder Emperor Arthur!" Hannyabal, in his pharaoh-like attire, shrieked and quickly hid behind Magellan.
"To get my crew out sooner, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to die!" Arthur said with a smile, simultaneously raising his right hand.
"Zzzzzzzzzzz!"
"Three Hundred Million Volts—Divine Judgment!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!"
Purple lightning coiled relentlessly around his entire arm, then suddenly converged into a pillar of light that erupted from his palm.
"Venom Demon—Hell's Judgment!"
Facing the terrifying lightning that made his hair stand on end, Magellan's body suddenly released a torrent of poison. Unlike his usual toxin, this poison was a vibrant, crimson red.
The venom coalesced into a skeleton-shaped giant, its crimson poison fist swinging brazenly towards Arthur's Divine Judgment!
This was a deadly poison that could infect and corrode any substance it touched. A single touch meant death for any living being.
However, Magellan at this moment simply didn't have the strength to resist Arthur. He was still a considerable distance from the terrifying, Admiral-level combat power he would possess in the future.
The Venom Demon met the lightning and almost instantly disintegrated. The lightning, its power undiminished, tore through it like paper and slammed into Magellan's chest.
One move was all it took...
There was absolutely no room for him to fight back...
"..." Magellan's eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed, completely unconscious.
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzz~"
An electric arc jumped at Arthur's fingertips, gradually condensing into a sharp, purple lightning sword. Arthur slowly walked toward the unconscious Magellan and swung it down.
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"WAIT, THUNDER EMPEROR!"
Hannyabal, who had been trembling in fear, his courage seemingly gone, suddenly burst forth with unprecedented bravery. He rushed over from a distance and threw himself in front of Arthur.
"Hm?"
Hearing the voice, Arthur's hand slowed. He looked at this man with some surprise, unable to understand what he was doing.
A man with principles... no matter how questionable his usual behavior, to be able to step up at a critical moment... he isn't entirely detestable.
Hannyabal, cowardly as a mouse, had his own convictions. Facing Arthur, he had actually managed to summon the courage to stop him from beheading Magellan.
"It's just a matter of dying sooner or later. What's the point of this?" Arthur's raised lightning sword hesitated, his voice cold as he asked, intrigued by Hannyabal's resolve.
"Even if I'm usually a coward, even if I want to kick Warden Magellan out of his position every single day, I CAN'T JUST STAND BY AND WATCH HIM DIE IN FRONT OF ME," Hannyabal said, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, yet his voice was exceptionally firm.
"So you'd rather die before him? Then I'll grant your wish." Arthur smiled nonchalantly, his longsword about to fall.
"Wait..." Hannyabal squeezed his eyes shut in terror, shouting.
"Hm?" Arthur's brow furrowed, a hint of impatience in his voice. "You're afraid of death?"
"No... I just want to trade my life and the prison keys for Warden Magellan's life!" Hannyabal lowered his head, his heart pounding with tension.
But he had no regrets. Protecting others was the justice he had always upheld!
"Your life is already in my hands. You're not worthy to negotiate with me," Arthur said with contempt.
"Because you are the Thunder Emperor, who strikes fear across the world! The Rising Emperor of the New World, a future legend of the seas!" Hannyabal fell to his knees with a thud, his forehead pressed firmly to the ground, cold sweat streaming down his face.
"As long as you spare Warden Magellan, I will repay you even in death!"
His words were filled with a conviction that he was ready to die. His resolve made even Arthur pause and look at him with a new light.
After a long silence, Arthur spoke calmly, "Is it worth it? To abandon your own dignity and kneel for someone else?"
In the eyes of some, dignity was more important than life itself.
"IT IS!" Hannyabal said with unwavering, resolute force.
"Hah!" Arthur suddenly took a deep breath. "Then you tell Magellan... that his life was saved by a True man."
With that, Arthur turned without a second glance and strode towards the Crimson Hell, giving up on killing Magellan and Hannyabal.
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To abandon one's dignity for another, someone not of his own family... Arthur asked himself in his heart, and he knew he couldn't do it.
At the same time, he even felt a twinge of envy and admiration. Because he would never kneel for someone else, and perhaps, in this life, no one would ever kneel and abandon their dignity for him.
It was... a deeply profound bond that was incredibly enviable!
Just like the future Zoro—a true man—who, for the sake of Luffy, his captain, knelt and begged Mihawk to teach him swordsmanship to become stronger. He endured countless hardships without a word, taking on all the pain repelled by Kuma with a simple, "Nothing happened"!
That was the action of a true man, something truly moving.
At the same time, that was Luffy's charisma, the ability to make his crew follow him with all their hearts.
Their philosophies were different.
Arthur would never be able to be like Luffy in this lifetime...
Everyone lives their life differently, and Arthur would never regret the path he had chosen.
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