Golden Lion II leaped down from the flying battleship high in the sky, the fierce winds billowing his robes like a golden roc spreading its wings.
The wardens and marines stationed at Impel Down's Maritime First Level instinctively raised their weapons—guns, cannons, swords—toward the terrifying enemy descending from above.
In this tense standoff, Hannyabal, as Chief Warden of Impel Down, painfully issued his command.
"Everyone, lower your weapons! No more pointless sacrifices!"
The Chief Warden couldn't withstand a single strike from Golden Lion II.
Even the Warden Director couldn't endure Golden Lion II's tsunami attacks.
No one else in all of Impel Down could oppose Golden Lion II!
If Hannyabal could still move—even if only his mouth could twitch—he would have fought tooth and nail to tear a piece of flesh from Golden Lion II.
But he was completely immobilized now.
Magellan, too, had lost all ability to resist due to the seawater.
If these ordinary wardens and marines were to resist Golden Lion II...
Death would be their only fate.
Hannyabal absolutely refused to let Impel Down's prisoners escape to harm innocent civilians outside.
But the wardens and marines of Impel Down were also innocent—he couldn't bear to see their blood spilled either.
At the Chief Warden's order, the terrified soldiers lowered their weapons without hesitation.
"I do enjoy cooperative enemies like this."
Golden Lion II strode calmly to Hannyabal's side.
He raised his right hand, summoning another mass of seawater to envelop the unconscious Magellan, leaving only the Warden Director's head exposed.
With most of his body submerged in seawater, even if Magellan regained consciousness, he'd be powerless to resist.
Simultaneously controlling both the iron serpent and the seawater prison, Golden Lion II carried Hannyabal and Magellan with him as he boldly marched toward Impel Down's gates.
"Care to answer a question in the Warden Director's stead, Hannyabal?"
Golden Lion II asked casually under the watchful eyes of Impel Down's wardens.
"Is the Queen of Kamabakka Kingdom still alive?"
"I don't know!"
Hannyabal wanted to spit in Golden Lion II's face, but he dismissed the thought almost immediately.
"Maybe the Queen's already dead!"
"Dead?"
Golden Lion II paused mid-step before continuing forward.
"No matter. I'll just check Level Five Point Five directly!"
Level Five Point Five?
Hannyabal stared blankly at Golden Lion II.
After all his years working in Impel Down, he'd never heard of any "Level Five Point Five."
"Are you... in the wrong place?"
Hannyabal mustered his courage to speak up.
"My Impel Down has no Level Five Point Five."
"That's only because you've never discovered it."
Golden Lion II replied offhandedly.
"Impel Down contains countless 'secret passages'—all leading to one destination: Level Five Point Five."
During their conversation, Golden Lion II had already flown with Hannyabal and Magellan to the elevator room on the Maritime First Level, then taken the elevator directly down to the fifth level—the Extreme Cold Hell.
Golden Lion II's tone was so sincere that Hannyabal couldn't immediately tell whether he was being truthful or not.
The moment they entered the Extreme Cold Hell, a wave of freezing air assaulted them.
A sharp red light flashed in Golden Lion II's eyes.
Beside them, Magellan, who was completely submerged in seawater, stirred awake amidst the biting cold.
He opened his eyes, took in his surroundings, and instantly realized where he was.
"The Extreme Cold Hell…"
Wrapped entirely in seawater, Magellan seemed too weak to even speak, appearing utterly drained.
"To think the intruders have already made it this far…"
Hannyabal looked at the now-conscious Magellan and was about to say something when Golden Lion II also noticed the awakened Warden Director.
"Sorry, Magellan, but your powers are too dangerous…"
Before Magellan or Hannyabal could react, Golden Lion II shifted the mass of seawater slightly, submerging Magellan entirely once more.
"Gurgle—gurgle—"
Bubbles burst from Magellan's mouth as he choked on the seawater, losing consciousness again.
Instantly, another six-star Grand Prize Trophy materialized out of thin air.
[Diamond Trophy: Magellan]
Watching Magellan slip back into unconsciousness, Hannyabal suddenly felt a pang of sorrow—like a rabbit mourning the death of a fox.
"Magellan, don't die on me now… I still need to take back Impel Down from you…"
"We're here."
Golden Lion II's words snapped Hannyabal's attention back.
Only then did he realize the temperature around them had grown noticeably warmer.
This was no longer the Extreme Cold Hell.
Instead, it was a secret passage leading from the Extreme Cold Hell to Level Five Point Five—the New Transvestite Paradise.
"I won't be needing you for the rest of the way."
Golden Lion II tossed Hannyabal into a corner of the secret passage.
Without giving him a chance to speak, Golden Lion II then used the iron serpent to gag the Chief Warden, sealing his ability to talk.
Next, the unconscious Magellan was dumped beside Hannyabal.
Golden Lion II floated effortlessly toward the end of the secret passage.
Hannyabal glanced at the unconscious Magellan beside him, then at Golden Lion II's retreating figure disappearing into the darkness, a series of question marks popping up in his mind.
Wait, this Golden Lion… isn't killing me again?
Huh?
Hannyabal froze.
Why had he thought "again"?
Golden Lion II continued flying forward, unimpeded, until he reached the New Transvestite Paradise.
His Observation Haki had been active since entering the Extreme Cold Hell.
Back then, he had already sensed the presence of the Queen of Kamabakka Kingdom.
Contrary to what Hannyabal had claimed—that he was "already dead"—the man was alive and well!
Seems his survival skills are pretty impressive…
New Transvestite Paradise.
Emporio Ivankov received a report from his subordinates: a mysterious powerhouse had broken into Impel Down from the outside, and the surveillance room had already noted his movements.
"To defeat Magellan so easily… What a terrifying man!"
The Queen of Kamabakka Kingdom, Ivankov, stared at the freshly printed, still-warm photograph in his hand, then glanced toward the entrance of New Kama Land.
"This man... looks so much like Golden Lion... and also like the guy at the entrance..."
"Entrance!?"
Ivankov jolted, raising his head again to stare in disbelief at Golden Lion II.
Without any warning or hesitation.
This guy had just appeared out of nowhere in New Kama Land!?
Like some kind of ghost!?
Ivankov's jaw dropped, his tongue lolling out, eyes bulging comically.
"Golden Lion!!!"
"Queen of Kamabakka Kingdom, Ivankov?"
Golden Lion II watched the shocked drag queen with hidden amusement, maintaining a straight face as he greeted him properly.
"I'm Teach's friend. I'm here to get you out."
"T-Teach?"
Ivankov stammered, his usual regal demeanor completely gone.
"Which Teach do you mean? Could it be... Whitebeard Jr., Edward Teach?"
The only "Teach" Ivankov knew was the "Whitebeard Teach" he'd briefly met in New Kama Land some days ago.
During that mess when Storm caused chaos in Impel Down, Ivankov hadn't seen Edward Teach and assumed something had happened to him.
Then just recently, Ivankov got hold of an outdated newspaper that included Edward Teach's bounty poster.
At their first meeting, the man had been a nobody.
Now, seeing him again through the bounty, he'd become a super rookie with a nearly 2 billion Belly bounty...
The only thing that puzzled Ivankov was why the newspapers called him "Whitebeard Jr." instead of the "Whitebeard III" he'd known before.
But that minor confusion was quickly forgotten in the face of that staggering 2 billion Belly bounty.
Who cares if he's "Jr." or "III"—he's still a Whitebeard!!!
What Ivankov never expected was...
Just days after seeing Teach's news, a friend of Teach's would show up at Impel Down...
And this friend of Edward Teach's looked just like Golden Lion Shiki in his youth...
"Yes, Edward Teach."
Golden Lion II introduced himself.
"I'm Lion.
"Teach's abilities aren't suited for breaking you out, so I came instead."
Ivankov didn't know much about Golden Lion II's powers, but from the reports other Newkamas had brought back...
This younger version of "Golden Lion" seemed to possess the real Golden Lion's signature [Float-Float Fruit] ability...
That power would indeed be perfect for a prison break...
Or so you'd think!
"Why would you come to Impel Down? Was this Teach's idea?"
Ivankov clawed frantically at his oversized face, sharp nails leaving bloody scratches.
"This makes no sense! My brain and face are getting shredded—NOT!"
With a dramatic flourish, Ivankov grabbed his tattered face and pulled it off, reverting to his original appearance.
Golden Lion II watched this circus act without batting an eye, though inwardly he found it mildly amusing.
"No, I just heard from Teach that you once did him a small favor."
Golden Lion II gave a simple explanation.
"Since I'm coming to Impel Down to recruit a few prisoners anyway, I might as well take you out with me!"
How familiar these words sound...
Ivankov blinked.
Didn't Teach also say he wanted to "recruit a few prisoners" from Impel Down?
But was that really "recruiting" prisoners?
The entire Infinite Hell had nearly been emptied by that utterly insane warden Storm!
Now that Storm is gone, Teach is gone, and Lion has come?
"Your target is also the sixth level?"
"Of course—"
Golden Lion II nodded cheerfully.
"Infinite Hell!"