Mizuchi probably never imagined that one single decision of his would drastically alter the course of the original storyline.
"Yo! Mizuchi, long time no see!"
Just as Mizuchi casually pushed forward from the first level toward the second, Luffy and Buggy came barreling toward him, a swarm of Blue Gorillas in tow.
"Luffy? Why are you running? You can't possibly be losing to them?"
Mizuchi was slightly exasperated. Luffy wasn't even that weak—why was he running alongside Buggy?
"Ah! I forgot!"
Hearing Mizuchi's words, Luffy scratched his head awkwardly. Seeing Buggy being chased, he had reflexively followed. He never realized he could actually fight back.
"Then let's take them out together!"
At Mizuchi's call, Luffy and Buggy skidded to a stop, pivoted, and assumed battle stances against the charging Blugori.
"Luffy! A real man fights one-on-one! And as for you, Buggy—I see a unique frame there. You might have a talent for combat. I'll teach you a bit of martial arts!"
With that, Mizuchi enthusiastically draped an arm over Buggy's shoulder and shoved Luffy straight into the midst of the Blugori. Buggy's current combat ability wasn't particularly strong; keeping him by his side was better than letting him interfere with Luffy.
"Luffy! You can do it! Believe in yourself!"
Mizuchi cheered Luffy on while sneaking glances at the system interface. The timer had started as soon as he placed his arm over Buggy's shoulder.
"Oh… I'm up!"
Luffy roared and lunged forward, stretching his arms.
"You're Luffy's underling?"
Buggy glanced at Mizuchi with a hint of disdain.
"Are you planning to attack me?"
Mizuchi smiled at him. He knew Buggy wasn't exactly trustworthy. Right now, Buggy's compliance was just him waiting to see how the battle would unfold. If Luffy defeated the Blugori—or got defeated himself—Buggy would be the first to run off.
"No! No!"
Buggy, unnerved by Mizuchi's gaze, waved his hands frantically to indicate he had no such intentions.
"One minute has passed. The Split-Split Fruit has been successfully copied."
Seeing the system notification, Mizuchi smiled and released his arm from Buggy's shoulder. He patted off some dust from Buggy's shoulder and chuckled, "Good job!"
"Eh! Should I say 'good job'? Or 'not good job'?"
Buggy was thoroughly confused. He hadn't fought Mizuchi, but instinct told him that attempting anything against Mizuchi would end badly.
"In any case…" Mizuchi glanced at the arm bands on Luffy's wrists and shook his head with a smile. "I'll head ahead first. Luffy, this is your stage now!"
"Oh! Mizuchi, Ace's on the fifth level! Let's meet there!"
Luffy shouted back while attacking the Blugori.
"Fifth level, huh? I'm not strong enough yet. Even with the Empress and Buggy's abilities, I still can't take on Blackbeard or that terrifying warden!"
Mizuchi decided to move ahead. He needed more Devil Fruits, and to avoid raising too much alarm, he had to reach a deeper area first.
The first level of Impel Down didn't hold any "important" figures. If Buggy weren't weak at this point, he likely wouldn't have been confined here.
After parting ways with Luffy and the others, Mizuchi transformed into lightning and shot straight for the second level.
Along the way, countless guards and Blugori frantically tried to corner him on the first level. But Mizuchi, as the fastest in the world, wasn't going to be trapped. After storming through the first level, he found an entrance and entered the second level.
The second level of Impel Down was far more sinister than the first. Numerous vicious prisoners stared at Mizuchi with chilling eyes.
"This level seems to have that person. His ability could be quite helpful for my future plans," Mizuchi thought while moving aimlessly forward, searching for Gal Dino.
"Has he already reached LV2? Who exactly is he?"
In the monitoring room, the staff stared at Mizuchi on the screens, puzzled. His bounty probably hadn't been issued yet, so no one knew who he really was—making his movements much smoother.
"This is… a hippo?"
Seeing the small, pink, adorable hippo in front of him, Mizuchi shook his head in disbelief. A hippo wasn't a threat to him.
"Go!"
As the little hippo slid forward rapidly on its short, powerful legs, Mizuchi planted his left foot lightly against its body. In an instant, he sent the creature flying like a cannonball, embedding it deeply into a nearby wall.
"Speaking of which, this level has quite a few demonic beasts! Definitely trickier than the first level!"
Mizuchi continued forward, dealing with all manner of hellish creatures—birds, mantises, lions—appearing before him one after another.
"Oh dear! What a hassle!"
While casually disposing of attackers, Mizuchi glanced into nearby cells. He was searching for Gal Dino to copy his Devil Fruit.
However, due to the second level's complex layout and interference from guards, some time was wasted. By the time Mizuchi found Gal Dino's cell, it was already empty.
"Forget it! I'll check further ahead!"
He glanced at the trembling prisoners in the cells and swiftly moved past them toward the entrance of the third level.
At the third-level entrance, a massive beast lay sprawled, glaring irritably at him.
This towering creature, over ten meters tall, was the guardian of the stairs—Sphinx!
"Ramen!"
Seeing Mizuchi, Sphinx raised its enormous forepaw and swiped downward without hesitation.
"Whoosh!"
A dazzling light flashed as Mizuchi effortlessly dodged the attack.
"Ramen!"
Strike after strike, Sphinx swung its massive paws at Mizuchi.
"Soup noodles!"
"Char Siu noodles!"
"Dan Dan noodles!"
"Iken noodles!"
"…."
Like a ravenous monster, Sphinx kept shouting various noodle dishes while relentlessly attacking Mizuchi.