"Is this the second floor?" Luffy adjusted his hat as he surveyed the dimly lit prison cells around him. "Doesn't seem particularly special."
The place looked identical to the cells they'd seen earlier.
"You idiot, that's not the point!" Buggy's disembodied head flew up from the ground, smacking directly into Luffy's face. "We almost died from that fall, you know!"
Buggy never dreamed this kid would be so insane—the moment they'd approached the pit, Luffy had just grabbed them both and jumped. Hadn't the idiot considered they might die from the impact?
If Meiser hadn't used his Water Release Technique to cushion their fall, they might have been splattered across the ground!
"Ahahaha, but we're fine, aren't we?" Luffy grinned, baring his teeth.
"You moron, at least show some remorse!" Buggy nearly exploded at Luffy's carefree attitude. Did this brat just not value other people's lives?
Or was he genuinely too stupid to even think about consequences?
At this thought, Buggy cast a pitying glance at Meiser.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Meiser frowned, confused by Buggy's strange look.
"Meiser, why don't you join my crew instead?" Buggy suggested.
Meiser: "..."
Where did this guy get the audacity to say something like that?
His bounty wasn't even a fraction of Luffy's.
Too exasperated to respond, Meiser simply ignored him.
"Hey, Buggy!" Luffy glared. "You trying to steal my crewmate?"
"Hmph. Anyone following you would be exhausted just dealing with your nonsense."
"What did you say?!"
"Enough, both of you." Meiser cut in. "Let's just find this floor's exit and move to the next level."
Since Meiser had spoken, Luffy backed off—though not without a final warning. "Buggy, if you say that again, I'll punch you!"
Buggy scoffed but didn't push further. Truthfully, he hadn't been serious about recruiting Meiser. He knew his own influence was... limited.
Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the corridor.
"What's that noise?"
"Probably someone coming." Meiser smirked. "Perfect timing to figure out what this floor—"
His words died in his throat as the source of the noise came into view—not prison guards, but a tiny, puppy-sized hippopotamus.
"A... baby hippo?" Luffy tilted his head, baffled.
"Why is there a baby hippo here?"
"That is weird." Buggy crouched, examining the small creature. "I heard the second floor was Beast Hell, crawling with terrifying Magical Beasts. But this thing..."
Were the rumors just lies?
If so, they might be able to breeze through this floor and reach the third level without trouble.
Buggy straightened up. "Seems like this floor's safe. We should—"
Before Buggy could finish his sentence, he saw the hippo in front of him open its massive jaws and swallow his upper half in one gulp!
Buggy: !!!
With only his head remaining above the waist, Buggy stared in shock at the small hippo below him.
Unless he was mistaken, the mouth it had just opened was several times larger than its own body!
What the hell was this?!
"So this is a Magical Beast?" Meiser mused, stroking his chin as he examined it. "Interesting."
"Hey, why are you analyzing it at a time like this?!"
Buggy gaped at Meiser. Shouldn't they be running away right now?
"There's nothing to fear." Meiser walked over and patted the little hippo. "This guy's already under my control."
"Under control?"
Buggy blinked, then noticed the hippo had indeed calmed down.
"Spit his body out."
"Roar~"
The small hippo opened its massive maw and regurgitated Buggy's upper half.
"How did you do that?!" Buggy exclaimed in disbelief.
This guy could actually control the Magical Beasts of Beast Hell?!
That was insane!
Was he a beast tamer like Mohji, one of his subordinates?
"I have my ways," Meiser replied.
Seeing that Meiser had no intention of explaining, Buggy didn't press further.
But... if he could control Magical Beasts, that meant they could easily pass through the second level—Beast Hell!
At this realization, Buggy grinned widely.
Just then, a strange sound echoed through the air, as if something was flying overhead.
The next moment...
"Clang!"
A sharp slash sliced Buggy clean in half, scaring him so badly that snot shot out of his nose.
"Damn it, what the hell is this now?!"
"A mantis?"
Meiser tilted his head at the mantis wearing a jailer's hat. "Is this thing a guard too?"
If it could command these beasts... did that mean there was another Devil Fruit Ability User here who could control Magical Beasts?
If so, wouldn't controlling them mean controlling the entire second level?
Meiser's eyes gleamed at the thought.
"How should I know if it's a guard?" Buggy snapped. "All I know is it's dangerous!"
It had sliced him apart effortlessly—its attack power surpassed that of most pirates!
"Look out, it's coming again!"
Seeing the mantis charge, Buggy turned tail and ran.
"Go. Kill it," Meiser ordered.
"Roar!"
The little hippo, obeying Meiser's command, immediately lunged at the mantis with its jaws wide open.
"Screech!"
The mantis flinched in surprise, then spread its wings and retreated.
"Scree?"
Adopting a combat stance, the mantis stared at the hippo in confusion, unsure why an ally would suddenly attack it.
But the little hippo gave it no time to think, pressing forward and forcing the mantis into a desperate fight—until it finally turned and fled into the distance.
It was an assassin, after all. One bite from that thing would be fatal.
"Ooooh~"
"So that's how it works!"
Watching the two beasts turn on each other, Buggy's face lit up with excitement. "Go on, little hippo! Finish it off!"
"Roar!"
"Screech!"
"Alright, stop watching." Meiser grabbed Buggy, who was still spectating, and said, "This place will attract other animals sooner or later. We should leave before—"
Before Meiser could finish, the voice of a jailer echoed from the broadcast above.
"Attention!"
"Two intruders, accompanied by a criminal, have entered the second level—Beast Hell!"
"All personnel on the second level, remain vigilant!"
"Repeat!"
"Two intruders, accompanied by a criminal, have entered the second level—Beast Hell!"
"All personnel on the second level, remain vigilant!"
"W-we've been spotted?"
Buggy wore an expression of disbelief. How had the jailers discovered them?
"Tch, so we were seen after all," Meiser muttered.
"What the hell happened?"
"Most likely, we were caught by the Visual Den Den Mushi back in Crimson Hell," Meiser replied.
Either the Den Den Mushi had transmitted their image to the surveillance room on the first level before he destroyed it, or a hidden Den Den Mushi had captured footage of them entering the hole.
Seems sneaking into Impel Down unnoticed isn't so easy, Meiser thought to himself.
In that case... we'll just fight our way down!
Right now, he just hoped Hancock wouldn't be suspected because of their exposure. If she were, she might get captured.
At that thought, Meiser sighed quietly.
"What do we do now?" Buggy panicked. "If Magellan catches us, we're dead!"
Even though Meiser had promised to protect him... if they really ran into Magellan, who knew if this guy would keep his word?
After all... they were all pirates!
"So what? No one's stopping me from saving Ace!" Luffy declared.
"Idiot, you have no idea how terrifying Magellan is!"
"Enough, what's the point of saying that now?" Meiser glanced at Buggy. "If you're that scared, leave now. The two of us will go on our own."
After a pause, he added,
"Of course, if you manage to hold out until we fight our way back, we'll take you with us. Consider it payment for the intel you gave us."
"But—if you don't last until we return, don't blame us. Got it?"
If Buggy really didn't want to go with them, Meiser wouldn't force him.
After all... the guy had already admitted he didn't know how to get to the third level, so his presence wasn't essential.
Buggy fell silent, his mind racing.
"Go alone?"
If he left now, he wouldn't have to face Magellan... but he couldn't even handle the jailers here!
He couldn't even beat Brugeli on the first level, let alone the stronger jailers elsewhere.
With that realization, Buggy abandoned the idea of escaping alone.
Then, forcing an awkward smile, he said to Meiser, "Fine, I'll stick with you guys."
"Then quit whining and keep up..."
Before Meiser could finish speaking, he sensed a gust of wind rushing toward them from afar, carrying a foul stench.
This made him instinctively frown. "This feels like some kind of animal's breath," he muttered.
Then, Meiser looked up and spotted a massive creature looming above.
"Is that the thing?"
"W-what the hell is that?!" Luffy exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the drooling beast.
"Dammit, so the rumors were true! There really are Magical Beasts on the second level!" Buggy gasped in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Meiser studied the creature curiously. "Huh, this thing kinda looks like a snake... or is it a chicken?"
"Snake-chicken?"
"Chicken-snake?"
"What the hell is this thing?"
"ROAR!"
Seeing the three motionless 'snacks' below, the beast let out a deafening roar.
"Who cares what it is—run for your lives!" Buggy shrieked.
"Run?" Meiser grinned as the colossal creature drew closer. "Why run when we've already been spotted?"
He bared his teeth in a fierce smile. "Big guy, if you think you can eat us... you're not nearly strong enough!"
As he spoke, a pale golden light enveloped Meiser's body, forming a skeletal frame that encased him protectively.
"W-what is that?!" Buggy gaped at the golden skeleton. "Is he a Devil Fruit Ability User? What kind of power is this?!"
"So... so cool!!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Hey, Meiser! What is that?!"
"Oh, this ability is called Susanoo," Meiser replied without turning his head. "Something I've only recently mastered."
He raised the skeletal arm, aiming it at the approaching beast. "Try tasting my Susanoo's Fist!!"
In the next instant, Meiser leaped into the air, appearing right before the monster's face. With a powerful swing, he smashed his fist directly into its skull.
"CRACK!"
The sheer force of the golden punch shattered the beast's skull, sending its massive body flying backward. The impact was so tremendous that it blasted straight through the distant wall.
"WHOOSH—BOOM!"
"AAAH!!"
A scream echoed from behind the wall—someone had been unfortunate enough to be crushed beneath the beast's unconscious body.
"Wait, he's this strong?!" Buggy stammered. "He took that thing down in one punch?!"
"Ahahaha! Meiser's crazy strong!" Luffy laughed proudly. His crewmate's power was more than enough to handle a monster like that.
Buggy nodded absentmindedly before suddenly perking up. His eyes gleamed as he dashed toward Meiser.
Under Meiser's puzzled gaze, Buggy reached out and touched the Susanoo.
Meiser: "???"
"What are you doing?"
Frowning, Meiser stared at Buggy, utterly confused.
"Is this ability made of gold or something?" Buggy asked eagerly. "Can I chip some off?"
If I could pry it off, that golden skeleton of his would be worth a fortune!
Meiser:
Looking utterly exasperated, Meiser muttered, "What a lunatic!"
"And pry it off—want me to gouge out my eyeballs for you too?!"
"What would I do with your eyeballs?" Buggy shook his head. "I'm just interested in gold. Other people's eyeballs can't be sold for money—they're completely useless to me, so no thanks."
"Wow, now you're getting picky."
Meiser couldn't help but laugh in frustration. Did this guy have no sense of boundaries at all?
After casually tossing Buggy aside, Meiser said, "This isn't gold. It's just a manifestation of energy."
With that, he deactivated his Susanoo.
"Huh?"
"It's not gold?"
Hearing this, Buggy, who was sprawled on the ground, immediately looked disappointed. "Well, never mind then."
He had thought it was made of gold, but it turned out to be just energy?
Forget it—this thing couldn't be taken away or turned into money anyway.
"Even if it were gold, what could you do with it? Could you even carry it away?" Meiser snapped.
"Ahahaha, good point."
Now calmer, Buggy scratched his head awkwardly.
Just as Meiser said, even if he were given such a massive amount of gold, he wouldn't be able to take it with him right now.
After all... they were currently inside Impel Down!
"Enough talk. Let's get moving," Meiser said. "If you want gold, go find some once we're back on the open sea."
"Right!"
Buggy grinned. "Once I'm back on the sea, I'm gonna become the Treasure King!"
Of course, it would be even better if he could build his own crew.
That way... he might even have a chance to surpass that bastard Shanks!
At this thought, a strange glint flickered in Buggy's eyes.
Clearly, Meiser's words had stirred something in him, shifting his ambitions.
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