As Golden Lion II was about to crash into the sea-level floor of Impel Down,
the power of his [Float-Float Fruit] silently activated.
In an instant, all gravity acting upon his body vanished without a trace.
Like a swift and agile seabird, he narrowly skimmed past the top of the fortress tower on Impel Down's sea-level floor.
The next moment,
Golden Lion II soared toward several Marine battleships anchored nearby on the sea.
At Impel Down's port, several Marine vessels were permanently stationed.
Some were [Prison Battleships] responsible for transporting prisoners to Impel Down for punishment,
but most were combat ships dispatched by Marine Headquarters to guard the prison.
Golden Lion II's sudden appearance immediately caught the attention of the lookouts and guards on the battleships.
Yet before the sentries could sound the alarm for "enemy attack,"
Golden Lion II raised his right hand and lightly touched the metal hull of the nearest Marine battleship—
The [Float-Float Fruit] had already made contact with the ship!
In the next instant,
the Marine battleship, which had been floating on the sea, abruptly broke free from planetary gravity and defied all logic by levitating into the air. The screams of the Marines aboard echoed incessantly.
Such a surreal spectacle drew the attention of everyone on Impel Down's sea-level floor, even without an alarm.
The prison's sirens blared in response.
But at least for now, no one appeared before Golden Lion II to intercept him.
Golden Lion II moved with agile speed, darting between the Marine battleships and continuously touching their hulls.
At the same time, his [Cherry Ten] sliced through the calm seawater below, leaving a fine trail on the surface.
The [Float-Float Fruit] had also affected the seawater in this area!
Within moments,
Golden Lion II had touched every Marine battleship and unhesitatingly activated his [Float-Float Fruit] ability.
All the Marine vessels anchored at Impel Down's port suddenly rose into the sky.
Only then
did someone finally rush out of Impel Down in a panic.
Seeing the multiple Marine battleships floating in the air, Hannyabal, the current Chief Warden of Impel Down, felt his legs go weak.
He must be witnessing something unbelievable…
This had to be a dream, right?
Before Hannyabal could speak,
under the control of an immense force, the Marine battleships drifted directly above Impel Down's sea-level floor.
The hulls of the battleships suddenly rippled before splitting open into enormous gaps.
A Marine soldier fell through one of the gaps, then ten, dozens, nearly a hundred…
Marines rained down from the breaches in the battleships' hulls, crashing onto the floor of Impel Down's sea-level level. Cries of pain and agony filled the air without end.
Gripping his naginata [Blood Drain] tightly, the Chief Warden struggled to breathe.
"Hannyabal?"
The voice of Golden Lion II rang like thunder in Hannyabal's ears.
"Long time no see..."
Hannyabal instinctively looked up at the sky.
There, he saw a young man with long golden hair.
Golden Lion II sat perched on the railing of a floating Marine battleship, his face adorned with a cheerful yet wild smile. The sunlight cast a golden glow upon him, making him resemble a great golden bird ready to take flight.
"G-Golden—Will I get promoted today? Ah! Wrong thing to say!"
Hannyabal was so flustered he could barely speak coherently, his hands trembling as he raised his naginata, Blood Drain.
"Golden Lion Shiki!"
About a decade ago.
Back when Hannyabal wasn't yet the Chief Warden of Impel Down, he had unexpectedly encountered Golden Lion Shiki, who had escaped from Infinite Hell.
The current scene wasn't exactly identical to back then, but it was strikingly similar.
Hannyabal even felt this "Golden Lion" in the sky looked younger and more imposing than the one from all those years ago!
But no matter what.
This was still Golden Lion!
"I'm not Golden Lion Shiki."
Golden Lion II tapped the ship's railing lightly with his finger.
Under the power of the Float-Float Fruit, the steel of the Marine battleship became as malleable as cotton in his hands, twisting into the form of a massive iron-gray serpent.
Whoosh—
The steel serpent plunged downward, its enormous body tearing through the air with a piercing shriek.
Hannyabal saw the serpent's attack and heard the wail of the wind.
But given his strength, there was no way he could evade the strike.
In the blink of an eye.
Hannyabal was coiled tightly by the steel serpent, completely immobilized.
"Chief Warden!"
"Warden Hannyabal!"
The Impel Down wardens nearby paled at the sight of their superior being effortlessly subdued. Many even fumbled with their weapons in shock.
Golden Lion had been absent from these seas for far too long.
Even among Impel Down's wardens, there were plenty of "newcomers" who had never heard his name.
But even the most clueless rookie warden could grasp how terrifying an enemy was if they could instantly defeat the Chief Warden of Impel Down!
Fortunately, at this moment.
Impel Down's true "great wall"—Magellan—hurriedly arrived from the fourth level, Scorching Hell, to the first level by the sea.
The moment Magellan stepped out of Impel Down's gates, his eyes first fell upon Hannyabal, tightly bound by the steel serpent, and then on the floating Marine battleships in the sky.
Beads of deep purple sweat instantly formed on Magellan's forehead as he stared at the "golden bird" in the sky, solemnly uttering the name.
"Golden Lion!"
"Magellan."
Golden Lion II remained seated on the railing of the same Marine battleship.
Looking down from above at the Chief Warden of Impel Down's first level, he spoke in a tone that starkly contrasted with his wild and unruly appearance—polite and measured.
"May I ask, is the Queen of Kamabakka Kingdom, Emporio Ivankov, still serving their sentence in Impel Down?"
The Queen of Kamabakka Kingdom?!
Magellan's pupils contracted slightly as he instantly realized the intentions of the "Golden Lion" in the sky—
Prison break!
Magellan had no interest in idle chatter with enemies. Without hesitation, he unleashed the power of his [Venom-Venom Fruit], and thick, viscous poison rapidly formed into a terrifying purple dragon behind him.
"Poison Dragon!"
"The wardens here are truly so rude!"
Golden Lion II showed no trace of fear as he watched the purple venom dragon charging toward him, merely sighing in disappointment.
"Lion's Roar · Sea Dragon Twister!"
Whoosh—
Under the influence of his [Float-Float Fruit] ability, the once-calm seawater suddenly surged upward, forming a swift [Knock-Up Stream].
With Golden Lion II's precise control, the rising current twisted into a spiraling shape, its tip sharpening into a drill-like spear of seawater.
The "Sea Dragon Twister" shot up from the ocean below, striking Magellan's "Poison Dragon" with pinpoint accuracy.
With a thunderous crack, the serpentine body of the venom dragon was instantly severed by the spiraling water drill.
The detached purple dragon head lost its connection to the main body, dissolving into formless droplets that rained down into the sea below.
The Poison Dragon's assault had been abruptly halted.
Magellan's expression shifted slightly.
"The ability to manipulate seawater..."
For every Devil Fruit user, the ocean was their absolute nemesis.
Yet, the [Float-Float Fruit] allowed its user to control seawater as a weapon!
Even Magellan had no desire to face such an opponent.
But Golden Lion II wouldn't halt his assault just because his enemy was unsettled.
Repeating his earlier tactic, he used the [Float-Float Fruit] to wrench the surrounding seawater into the sky.
An endless volume of water was lifted nearly a hundred meters high, as if an unprecedented super tsunami had erupted in the [Calm Belt].
Above and below, the overwhelming deluge sealed off every inch of Impel Down, leaving no room for escape.
Just then, Golden Lion II's slightly mocking voice reached Magellan's ears.
"Magellan... can your poison infect the sea itself?"
The next instant—
A hundred-meter-high wall of seawater crashed down from the sky with terrifying force, submerging the entire first floor of Impel Down.
Under Golden Lion II's [Float-Float Fruit] control, the water didn't simply flow freely—it was molded into a colossal sphere.
An enormous water prison, trapping Warden Magellan inside with no escape.
Magellan held on for one second... two seconds...
But ultimately, he couldn't withstand the ocean's innate suppression of Devil Fruit users.
Even through the thick barrier of water, Golden Lion II could clearly see Magellan's eyes rolling back—the telltale sign of a Devil Fruit user losing consciousness.
Before Golden Lion II's eyes, a dazzling [Grand Prize Trophy] materialized.
[Constellation Trophy: Magellan]
[Trophy Rank: ★★★★★★★] (7 Stars)
The moment the [Constellation Trophy] appeared, Golden Lion II—or rather, Storm inside him—dispersed the massive water sphere that had been hovering over the sea above Impel Down.
Relief washed over the faces of the wardens and marines, as if they had narrowly escaped death.
Only Hannyabal's eyes flickered with a trace of anguish.
Because he had already seen the state of his warden.
Magellan… had fallen!
Impel Down… had been breached by pirates!