"There are so many rooms here," Luffy observed, looking around. "Are these all prison cells?"
"Most likely," Meiser replied. "Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to hold so many prisoners."
"Makes sense."
"Hmm?"
Turning to see Meiser crouched on the ground, Luffy asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Why wasn't he hurrying to find that gate? What was he doing squatting here?
"I'm checking if I can use Earth Release Technique to pass directly to the next level," Meiser explained.
"Oh right, Earth Release Technique!"
Luffy immediately got excited, running over eagerly. "Can you do it?"
If they could use Earth Release to get to the next level, they wouldn't need to bother searching for that gate. "The difficulty of using Earth Release has increased, but it's still possible," Meiser said, frowning. "However... I can't go directly to the next level."
Based on his Chakra's reaction, certain areas of the floor were made of special materials that prevented his Earth Release from taking them through.
In that case, the only option was brute force. But that would likely attract the guards' attention, and they didn't know what awaited them on the next level... Falling into some dangerous place would be bad.
With that in mind, Meiser temporarily abandoned the idea.
Standing up, he turned to Luffy. "Let's go, Luffy. We'll head to that gate."
"Can we use Earth Release to pass through the gate?"
"Not sure," Meiser shook his head. "Let's check it out first."
If the area below was also lined with special materials, his Earth Release wouldn't work there either. But whether that was the case or not, they'd only know after inspecting it.
"Oh."
Luffy scratched his head, not entirely understanding Meiser's reasoning, but since Meiser suggested it, he'd follow along.
Soon, Meiser led Luffy past some surveillance and toward their target area.
"If Earth Release can't get us underground there, we'll have to try cutting through the gate," Meiser said as they ran.
"Got it!"
Just then, a piercing scream echoed through the halls, as if someone had encountered something terrifying.
The sound made them instinctively stop.
"What was that?" Meiser glanced toward the source. "Did someone escape?"
If someone had really broken out, it might bring danger their way.
"Should we check it out?"
"Why bother? We don't know them. No need to get involved."
Shaking his head, Meiser pointed to a side passage. "Let's go this way to avoid getting dragged into—"
Before he could finish, a strange sound cut through the air.
"Whoosh—"
"That sound is—"
Noticing the growing shadow beneath them, Meiser's expression changed. He grabbed Luffy and leaped into the corridor.
The next moment...
"BOOM!!"
"BOOM!!"
"BOOM!!"
Enormous steel spikes crashed into the ground, leaving massive craters in their wake.
The sight left Luffy stunned.
"What the heck was that?!"
If Meiser had been even a second slower just now, that massive spike would have impaled him.
"This must be one of Impel Down's defense mechanisms," Meiser said as he stood up.
But... how was it triggered?
He was certain they hadn't touched anything unnecessary on their way here—not even the floor had shifted.
That meant the trap hadn't been activated by anything they'd interacted with.
Could it be set to attack automatically when it detects people? Meiser wondered.
But he dismissed the thought almost immediately.
After all, guards also passed through this area. It wouldn't make sense for the trap to attack indiscriminately.
So... maybe it has a friend-or-foe identification system?
Not impossible. Meiser stroked his chin.
Come to think of it, if they could create biological weapons, developing a system like that wouldn't be far-fetched.
Realizing this, Meiser warned, "Luffy, we need to be careful from now on. Maybe—"
Before he could finish, small holes appeared in the walls, and a barrage of Fish Guns shot out!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Meiser drew his Grass Sword at lightning speed, slicing every Fish Gun aimed at them out of the air.
"Where the hell did these Fish Guns come from?!"
Luffy broke into a cold sweat as a severed Fish Gun whizzed past his head—nearly taking it clean off.
Glancing at the purple liquid smeared on the weapons, Meiser frowned. "Not just Fish Guns—they're poisoned too."
Brutal.
But from the enemy's perspective, it made sense.
After all... most escaped prisoners would likely face execution anyway, so killing them outright wasn't unreasonable.
After scanning the area and confirming no more traps lay in wait, Meiser said, "Let's go. We need to get out of here first."
"Got it!"
Soon, the two made their way through the corridor and arrived at Block C of the prison's first level.
"Huh?!"
The pirates locked in the cells gaped in shock at the two figures walking down the hallway.
"Hey, those guys aren't guards!"
"They're not wearing guard uniforms... probably not."
"Then how'd they get out there?"
"No idea..."
The pirates exchanged glances before their eyes lit up with realization.
If these two could escape... did that mean they could too?
Excited, the prisoners began shouting, "Hey, you two! Wait up!"
"Hold on a second!"
"Huh?"
"What's up?"
Luffy instinctively stopped and turned, puzzled. "You need something?"
"Don't bother with them, Luffy."
Meiser barely spared the cells a glance. Even if the prisoners didn't outright say it, he could guess their intentions.
They probably wanted us to break them out.
But unfortunately, he had no interest in helping them.
"Don't be like that, man~" one pirate pleaded with a sycophantic grin. "No clue how you got here, but escaping's easier with more people, right?"
"You're absolutely right! If you let us out, we can help you take down the guards!"
"That's right, we can help too!"
Meiser didn't respond, just gave them a speechless glance.
Earlier, a guard had mentioned that prisoners with bounties over 100 million would be locked up on the fifth level. And Impel Down was divided into... Wait, no—if you included the surface level, that made six floors!
As for these pirates locked up on the very top floor... how strong could they possibly be?
It was doubtful their bounties even reached 10 million.
To put it bluntly, they were just small fry.
So Meiser didn't think they'd be of any use.
Perhaps sensing the disdain in his eyes, the pirates insisted, "Hey kid, don't judge us by appearances. We're actually pretty strong."
"Yeah, sure, sure."
The pirates: "..."
Meiser's dismissive tone left them utterly speechless.
"Luffy, let's go. Ignore them," Meiser said. "Don't forget our objective."
This was a covert infiltration—doing unnecessary things would only risk exposure.
"Got it!"
Watching the two turn and leave without hesitation, the pirates were stunned.
"Wait! Take us with you!"
"Damn it, don't be so selfish!"
"Selfish?"
Meiser shot a glance at the one who spoke. "Do we even know you?"
At the end of the day, this was their first meeting. Were they seriously trying to guilt-trip him already?
"You bastard! If you don't let us out, I'll report you to the guards!"
"That's right!"
"Kid, you wouldn't want—"
"Shut up."
Meiser's eyes instantly transformed as he glared at the cell where the voice came from.
Clang!
An Illusion Technique at the level of the Mangekyō Sharingan instantly paralyzed them.
Then, the pirates let out bloodcurdling screams, as if witnessing something horrifying.
"Stay away!!"
"I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
"Kill me! Just kill me!!!"
"AHHH!!!"
In the end, they collapsed, foaming at the mouth, a faint stench of urine in the air.
Clearly, they had pissed themselves in terror.
The other pirates: "!!!"
Watching this, the inmates in the neighboring cells instinctively backed away, faces pale with fear.
"That's terrifying..."
"What did that guy do? Just one look and they turned out like that?"
"A Devil Fruit Ability User?"
Under Meiser's cold gaze, they gulped nervously, afraid he'd do the same to them.
Fortunately, he only glanced their way before turning his attention back to the path ahead, letting them exhale in relief.
"Let's go, Luffy."
"Got it!"
Only after the two had left did the pirates finally breathe easy.
"Phew..."
"...What a terrifying man."
"Damn it... We finally had a chance to escape, but we ran into someone like that..."
"Idiot, shut your mouth!" Another pirate immediately clamped a hand over his companion's lips. "If you want to die, don't drag me into it!"
The cell next to them had just been silenced with a single look—those fools had talked too much.
He certainly didn't want to follow in their footsteps.
Watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, the prisoners all sighed in resignation.
Their chance to escape... had just slipped away.
"Damn it, when will these bastards ever stop?!"
Buggy was fuming as he glanced back at the Brugelis chasing him.
He'd thought he could sneak out quietly, but halfway through, a Surveillance Den Den Mushi had spotted him.
Now he was being hunted all the way... What kind of luck was this?!
Just then, a massive Brugeli charged at Buggy from behind, swinging its axe at his body multiple times!
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
After several chops, Buggy was forcibly sliced into several pieces. Unfortunately for his attackers, this man possessed the power of the Chop-Chop Fruit—even if cut into ribbons, he could still reassemble himself.
"Trying to kill me with slashes? That's absolutely impossible!"
"Yahahaha!" Buggy laughed arrogantly.
"Look, it's Buggy!"
"He actually came back?"
"He's being chased, isn't he? Hahaha!"
"Buggy, you bastard, just die already!"
"Hmph! These guys could never kill me!" Buggy gradually picked up speed while shouting, "You idiots have no idea how strong I really am!"
"Yahahaha!"
Laughing wildly, Buggy soon left the area, rushing toward a distant corner.
But the moment he turned the corner, Buggy froze—because... he saw an all-too-familiar figure.
"Straw... Straw Hat Boy?!"
His eyes turned red as he stared at the man at the end of the hallway.
"Straw Hat Boy!!"
"Why the hell are you here?!"
"Huh?"
Hearing Buggy's voice, Luffy instinctively turned to look behind him.
"This guy..."
Studying the familiar face, Luffy frowned before suddenly brightening with recognition. "Oh, it's Buggy."
Meiser also looked at Buggy in surprise, never expecting to run into one of Rayleigh's old apprentices here.
"You damn Straw Hat brat, did you just forget who I was?!" Buggy roared.
That bastard's expression—he'd definitely forgotten who he was!
Furious, Buggy started running toward them.
But before he could take more than a few steps, a Brugeli charged out from a side corridor and split Buggy clean in half with one swing!
"Thunk!"
Meiser: "..."
Watching as the bisected Buggy continued running toward them, Meiser's lips twitched. "This is so creepy..."
So this was the power of the Chop-Chop Fruit. Truly bizarre.
I wonder if he'd still survive if we diced him into mincemeat.
"Yahaha, Chop-Chop Reassembly!" Buggy cackled. "Slashes don't work on me!"
With that, he kept charging at Luffy and the others.
Seeing this, Meiser frowned. "What a nuisance."
Then, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and cast an Illusion Technique on the Brugelis.
"Clang!"
The moment the Brugelis locked eyes with Meiser, their bodies stiffened, frozen in place.
Then, as if obeying some command, the Brugeli turned around and left, their giant axes in hand.
"Huh?"
Sensing movement behind him, Buggy instinctively glanced back and noticed the Brugeli's behavior.
These guys... actually left on their own?
"What's going on?" Buggy stopped in his tracks, puzzled. "Why aren't they chasing me anymore?"
Watching the Brugeli run toward a side street with their weapons, Buggy's eyes were full of confusion.
But soon, he gave up trying to figure it out—his brain just couldn't process why.
Whatever the reason, he was finally safe!
At this thought, Buggy let out a long sigh of relief, then planted his hands on his hips and burst into laughter.
"Yahahaha! Looks like Lady Luck is still on my side!"
"Yahahaha!"
Watching Buggy laugh like a madman with his hands on his hips, Meiser muttered, "This guy's an idiot."
"Hmm... yeah!"
Luffy thought for a moment, then nodded in full agreement.
This guy named Buggy really was an idiot!
Buggy: "..."
Hearing their words, Buggy's laughter abruptly cut off, making him look like a duck with its neck squeezed—utterly ridiculous.
Then, with a furious expression, he roared, "Bastards! Who are you calling red-nosed?!"
Meiser: "???"
When had he ever called this guy red-nosed?
This guy was definitely out of his mind!