The figure finally stepped into view, his incomplete set of teeth showing as he laughed wildly, the sound echoing across the prison floor. He was not alone. Four more figures stood behind him, each radiating a menacing aura of their own. Noir could sense that all of them possessed considerable strength, but he judged that none of them quite matched the power of the monsters he had already recruited from Level 6.
"Ze ha ha ha ha, we meet again, Strawhat!" Blackbeard bellowed, his laughter booming as he fixed his eyes on Luffy, grinning without a shred of care.
"The guy from Jaya?" Luffy muttered, his face twisted in confusion as he squinted at the familiar figure.
"Teach… or should I call you Blackbeard now?" Jinbei interjected suddenly, his voice heavy with venom. He glared at Blackbeard with undisguised animosity, blaming him for the chaos that had unfolded. The moment Luffy heard Jinbei utter that name, realization struck. His eyes widened as he remembered—this was the very man Ace had been pursuing, the one directly responsible for Ace's current imprisonment and looming execution.
Before Luffy could say another word, Noir stepped forward, placing himself between Blackbeard and the Strawhat captain. The clash of presences was immediate. As Blackbeard's eyes met Noir's, his grin faltered. He could feel something off about this man—something unsettling enough to wipe the mockery off his face and force him into seriousness. Behind him, the rest of Blackbeard's crew noticed the figures standing behind Noir . Their eyes widened further when they spotted the towering giant of Sanjuan Wolf looming above them like a living fortress.
"Hahahahaha… I can feel it," Noir said with a chilling grin. "Madness runs through your veins. You're not an ordinary man, are you?"
Blackbeard chuckled in return, regaining some of his bravado. "Zehahahaha, no, I'm not. It seems fate has chosen this moment for us to meet. Why not join me? Together we could subjugate the entire world!"
Noir smirked, unimpressed, while Bullet burst into laughter beside him. At that moment, Blackbeard's eyes finally settled on Bullet—and the grin returned to his face, though it was edged with tension. He recognized him instantly. Douglas Bullet, the Demon Heir, a man who had once fought alongside the Whitebeard Pirates and clashed countless times with the Roger Pirates. To see him here, standing as an ally to Noir, was no trivial matter. Bullet's strength was the stuff of legends, and Blackbeard knew it.
"You're Blackbeard," Luffy suddenly interrupted, cutting into the tense standoff. His words were simple, but they carried an edge, as if demanding confirmation.
"Zehahahaha, I suppose I never properly introduced myself to you," Blackbeard replied, grinning as he turned back toward Luffy. "Strawhat Luffy, I first knew of you as the rookie who defeated the Warlord Crocodile over there. I wanted to become a Warlord myself, and I figured the best way to prove to the World Government that I was the right man for the job was to bring your head to them. But fate—fate protected you."
He then raised his voice, recounting events with mock theatrics. "The second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Ace, has been hunting me for some time after I committed a crime against our crew. And by curious coincidence, he turned out to be your brother. Once I revealed my plan, Ace couldn't simply turn his back. If he did, he would sully the Whitebeard name… and he'd also let his little brother's life be taken."
"It's not coincidence at all—it's fate," Van Augur, the sniper at Blackbeard's side, interjected with calm certainty, reinforcing his captain's point.
"You're really lucky, Strawhat," said the sickly doctor, his tone laced with mockery.
"Wee ha ha! Your brother fought bravely!" Burgess added, laughing crudely.
"How about you test me now?" Luffy roared, his patience gone. Without hesitation, he lunged forward and smashed his fist into Blackbeard's torso. The blow landed cleanly—Teach didn't even bother to dodge. But before Luffy could follow up, Blackbeard's body swirled with darkness. He pulled Luffy in with an irresistible force and slammed him brutally into the ground. Luffy coughed up blood, the impact shocking everyone present. His rubber body was supposed to be immune to blunt damage, yet his Devil Fruit powers had been erased the moment Teach touched him.
Luffy staggered to his feet, but before he could launch another attack, Jinbei grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "Remember our goal!" the fishman shouted. The words struck through Luffy's rage, snapping him back to his senses. He clenched his fists but took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"Hmmm… impressive," Noir suddenly said, his sharp eyes locked on Teach. "A Devil Fruit that mimics a black hole and can disable other powers with a single touch… I never expected such an ability to exist on these seas."
Gasps rippled through the Devil Fruit users nearby. The revelation stunned them.
"Oh? And how did you figure that out?" Blackbeard asked curiously, tilting his head.
"Luffy's body is rubber. Even when he touches seastone, his basic properties don't change. Yet you completely stripped him of his powers. That makes you dangerous, Teach—especially to those who don't understand what you can do," Noir explained.
Laffitte raised his brow in surprise. He hadn't expected such sharp insight from Noir, who looked like nothing more than a bloodthirsty warmonger.
Before the tension could rise further, a prisoner suddenly shouted from the distance: "Magellan's here!"
The air shifted instantly. Panic spread like wildfire, as every soul on the floor knew the terrifying scope of Magellan's poison. The prison chief wouldn't hesitate to massacre everyone if it meant preventing an escape.
"Wolf! Carry as many as you can!" Noir ordered. Sanjuan Wolf immediately scooped up allies with his massive hands, while Noir, Bullet, Luffy, Jinbei, Crocodile, and Ivankov all prepared to move in the direction Blackbeard's crew had entered from. But just as they began to run, a Jailer Beast lumbered into their path, blocking the way.
Noir's patience snapped. Channeling the form of Fishman Karate, he unleashed a whip strike. The attack landed cleanly, tearing a deep wound across the beast's body as if slashed by a sword. The force extended into the wall behind it, leaving a massive cut. Without hesitation, the group rushed through the newly opened path toward the exit.
"Lucky for us, Blackbeard already destroyed the defenses," Jinbei remarked, though his tone was grim.
"Tch. I could kill them all myself," Bullet scoffed arrogantly.
"I don't waste my time on weaklings. Fighting them would make it look like I don't fight fair," Noir replied with a smirk. Bullet turned to him, then grinned, recognizing the same hunger for worthy battles.
"I'll rescue Ace no matter what," Luffy declared, glaring at Blackbeard.
"Zehahahaha! I wouldn't say you're wasting your time," Blackbeard answered. "Nothing is impossible in this world."
Luffy turned his back and began walking away, but Blackbeard's voice rose again: "Sky Island existed, didn't it?"
The words made Luffy stop in his tracks. He turned back, and so did the others.
"It's the same with One Piece—it definitely exists! Zehahahaha! Just you wait and see. In only a few hours, we're going to shake the world! ZEHAHAHAHAHA!" Blackbeard roared, his laughter echoing like a curse.
"I look forward to it, Blackbeard," Noir said, grinning dangerously. "I hope you'll be a worthy opponent in the war to come."
Bullet caught Noir's expression and let out a grin of his own, excitement surging at the thought of the battles waiting in their future.
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Back when Shiryu separated from the others, he arrived at the storage room where the belongings of the prisoners were kept. His eyes immediately landed on his sword resting among the piles of confiscated goods. Without hesitation, he took it back into his hand, the familiar weight returning to him like an old companion.
After reclaiming his blade, Shiryu gathered as many antidotes as he could carry, knowing how vital they would be against Magellan's poison. With his preparations complete, he set his next target—the communication center of Impel Down. If he destroyed it, no outside reinforcements or alerts could disrupt their escape.