"He ran...?"
"Hahaha, now this is going to be interesting!"
"To let a prisoner escape right under their noses... Even Zephyr will have to take responsibility for this!"
"This is the price of looking down on pirates!"
"Tomorrow, there won't be such a good show to watch!"
Seeing that Geber chose not to fight Rosen, but instead used the speed and flight of his Quetzalcoatlus form to rush toward the exit of Infinite Hell, the prisoners all burst into schadenfreude-laden laughter.
No pirate could stomach the humiliation of being used as a mere "training tool" to nurture a marine student.
But now.
If Geber's escape succeeded, it would not only be a vicious slap across Zephyr's face, forcing him to reconsider ever treating the prisoners on Level 6 as consumables again, but even Magellan and Sengoku wouldn't allow such an act to continue.
Clang—!
Rosen's thoughts moved slightly. The outer shell of his Blut Vene opened, knocking away the seastone handcuffs Geber had kicked at him and effortlessly deflecting the shackles flying toward Borsalino.
"As expected of CP0... His speed is truly terrifying!"
"Need a hand?"
"Junior."
Borsalino put his hands in his pockets and glanced lazily at Geber, who was already nearing the exit. Instead of chasing, he stood there leisurely, first praising Geber's speed in a sarcastic tone, then slowly asked Rosen.
For him, as the user of the Pika Pika no Mi, unless one hid at the bottom of the sea, there was no escape.
Whether you fly to the skies or tunnel into the earth, in front of light—there is no escape.
"After all, chasing and killing is my job, not yours."
"This is my internship test!"
"Senior."
"Even if I wanted to pass the responsibility to someone else, how could I do that in front of Teacher Zephyr?"
Rosen didn't even bother to move, chatting casually with Borsalino as if the scene before them was nothing more than afternoon tea entertainment.
"Is he... that confident?"
As chief warden, Shiryu's hand rested on the hilt of his blade, but he didn't draw.
He wanted to see—
Would Rosen become the Navy's biggest laughingstock on only the second day, or would he once again leave him speechless, just like yesterday?
However—
What Rosen did next exceeded all of Shiryu's expectations.
He didn't pursue it.
Instead, he started to leisurely chat with Borsalino.
As if the escaped prisoner didn't exist at all.
To be honest—
These two weren't anxious at all, but Shiryu himself felt a faint sense of urgency.
After all, he was still the warden of Impel Down. Even if he didn't care about his position, having a prisoner escape from Level 6 under his watch would be the greatest shame imaginable.
"You really don't need help, junior?"
"Don't be shy."
"You should know, the reason Sengoku sent me here was to prevent this exact situation."
"Strictly speaking, if a prisoner refuses to fight and chooses to flee, it isn't your problem—it's mine."
"After all..."
"Maintaining dignity here is my job."
As Borsalino spoke, he finally pulled his right hand out of his pocket, as if ready to intervene at any moment.
"That's true, but... it's so rare to find such a perfect whetstone. I'd be truly reluctant to let him go."
"So, senior—"
"You just continue standing there, acting cool and looking handsome as always."
Rosen slowly drew the Zanpakutō at his waist.
"...Since you insist, then fine!"
"But let's make it clear: if he crosses five meters from the exit, I'll intervene. As long as he doesn't cross that line, I'll pretend I saw nothing."
"Junior, you should understand your senior's situation... In another year or so, I'll officially become an Admiral. If I let a prisoner escape now, I'll probably have to remain an Admiral candidate for a few more years."
Borsalino feigned a pitiful expression.
"He won't cross that line."
Rosen gave Borsalino a reassuring smile, then calmly pulled the Zanpakutō fully from its scabbard, its tip aimed at Geber's distant back.
"The blade... It's half as short as Senbonzakura from yesterday."
"Junior is a Weapon-Arms-Arms Fruit user; he can transform into countless weapons. This short sword must be a completely different ability from Senbonzakura."
"Just what kind of power does it hide...?"
Borsalino's eyes under his sunglasses gleamed faintly with excitement.
Compared to Senbonzakura—what kind of surprise would this new blade bring?
"His talent isn't just in Haki, swordsmanship, and physical skills—even his Devil Fruit development far surpasses anyone else."
"In anyone else's hands, the Arms-Arms Fruit could only become basic swords, guns, cannons—but in his hands, it has transcended."
"Rather than saying he developed the Arms-Arms Fruit differently, it would be more accurate to say... he brought this fruit to a realm that does not belong to this world."
Not only Borsalino—even Zephyr watched the blade in Rosen's hand intently.
Ever since yesterday, when Rosen unleashed Senbonzakura in Infinite Hell, Zephyr was reminded that his student was also a Devil Fruit user.
And more than that—
He realized that Rosen possessed monstrous comprehension even in the realm of Devil Fruits.
He actually used the Arms-Arms Fruit... to create Zanpakutō.
Even Zephyr, who had never thought much of Devil Fruits, had to admit—
In Rosen's hands, the Arms-Arms Fruit was no different from a top-tier Paramecia, perhaps even beyond.
"Observation Haki and this Zanpakutō... a perfect match!"
"Although I can't yet see the future... this is enough."
"So—"
Rosen's gaze locked onto Geber's back, his pupils gradually turning blood-red as Observation Haki erupted, locking down Geber's trajectory and predicting every micro-movement.
"Ikorose — Shinsō!"
With a voice as calm as death, the short blade in Rosen's hand suddenly burst into dazzling silver light, the entire blade transforming into a brilliant streak as swift as a thunderbolt, slicing through the eternal darkness of Infinite Hell.
Swoosh—!
In the eyes of Borsalino and Zephyr, Rosen simply opened his mouth and spoke—then a single beam of silver light shot forth like a rainbow piercing the sun.
In an instant, it arrived behind Geber.
"Paper Art—!"
The moment Geber heard Rosen's voice, an inexplicable chill crawled up his spine.
Though his back was turned, he had never once let down his guard. His Observation Haki had been fully deployed the entire time.
In that instant—
His body seemed to lose its bones, becoming as soft and fluid as a willow branch swaying in the wind. He barely avoided the Shinsō at a distance close enough to graze skin.
"...I dodged it!"
Geber's heart pounded wildly. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the silver light that should have already passed his shoulder suddenly twisted in midair, as if it had anticipated his evasive movement.
It swung like a silver dragon's tail, cleaving downward with terrifying speed.
The Shinsō, which should have missed him completely, suddenly carved a deep gash from his right shoulder down to his left abdomen, exposing bone as blood sprayed forth in torrents.
Whoosh!
The entire process—from the spear's firing to its sudden downward slash—was as fleeting as wind and faster than lightning.
By the time Geber even realized it, he was already falling, blood raining down from the sky.
Drip.
Bang.
With the sound of a heavy impact and dripping blood, Geber crashed to the ground.
If someone were to measure, they would find he fell exactly six meters from the exit—one meter away from Borsalino's invisible boundary.
At this moment.
The vast expanse of Infinite Hell fell utterly silent.
So quiet, one could hear a pin drop.
...
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