Chapter 10: Rampage on Level 3 of Impel Down
"Laser Beam!"
Facing Sphinx's relentless assault, Mizuchi no longer just dodged. He fired multiple beams from his right hand, instantly piercing through Sphinx's raised palms.
"Zha Jiang Noodles!"
"Mixed Noodles!"
Injured, Sphinx was visibly enraged. His attack speed spiked instantly, swinging both palms alternately toward Mizuchi with frightening intensity.
"What a gluttonous brute!"
Mizuchi didn't want to get entangled with Sphinx. After injuring him, he seized the opportunity while Sphinx was flailing in a frenzy and made his way toward the gate leading to the lower levels.
"Seastone… huh!"
Mizuchi glanced helplessly at Sphinx. He had intended to let him go, but confronted with a Seastone fence, he couldn't open the gate without first acquiring Gal Dino's Wax-Wax Fruit.
"Roar!"
Sphinx bellowed, charging at Mizuchi while shouting a jumble of noodle names.
"Borrowing your body for a bit!"
Using the Yata Mirror, Mizuchi teleported above Sphinx, stepping onto his body and delivering a series of devastating kicks.
"Flash Kick!"
"Flash Kick!"
Explosions rang out from Sphinx's back. In pain, Sphinx began running and stomping wildly, trying to shake Mizuchi off while pounding the ground to distract from the pain in his back.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What's going on here? First all that noise, and now it's like an earthquake! Is this really Impel Down?"
Prisoners on Level 2 peeked outside in terror, muttering complaints in disbelief.
"No… something's wrong! Sphinx has gone berserk! That man… that man has reached Level 3!"
Amidst cries in the control room, Mizuchi rode atop Sphinx, leaping into Impel Down's third level.
The searing air made Mizuchi feel like he was in a furnace—this was the Hunger Hell floor of Level 3.
"What a pain! If only I had taken the elevator from the upper floors…"
Looking at the swirling yellow sand, Mizuchi muttered, though he knew that if he acted so openly on Level 1, he would have already been surrounded by all the guards and Marines at the top of Impel Down.
"By the way, how long are you planning to keep spying?"
With a flash, Mizuchi appeared behind a guard holding a Den Den Mushi, lowering his head and smiling lightly at him.
"E-Exposed… repeat! Already exposed! Act immediately! Act immediately!"
The guard, sweating profusely, stared at Mizuchi. Without hesitation, he raised his arm and shouted into the Den Den Mushi.
"No choice! Grab him!"
At the command, a flood of Blugori and guards poured in from all directions, rushing toward Mizuchi.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire echoed as numerous black nets shot out furiously, heading straight for Mizuchi.
The pure black nets were made of Seastone. If Mizuchi was caught, he would instantly lose all his powers.
"So dangerous! So dangerous! Almost got caught!"
Mizuchi, using the speed granted by the Glint-Glint Fruit, moved rapidly while slicing through the rifles of nearby guards.
Though Mizuchi was fast, the guards' numbers were overwhelming. Thus began a high-speed chase across Level 3.
"Is this really Level 3? It's scorching hot!"
Amid Mizuchi's chaos, Luffy arrived on Level 3, accompanied by Gal Dino.
"Spotted Monkey D. Luffy. Confirmed: he is the brother of Portgas D. Ace, who is imprisoned on Level 5. His objective is clearly to rescue Ace. He must be captured on Level 3!"
From the control room, the guards reported Luffy's arrival to the Level 3 sentries with urgency.
"But… we have an even bigger problem now!"
A guard, holding a Den Den Mushi, sweat dripping down his face, looked ahead. Less than a hundred meters away, Mizuchi calmly stood atop the ground, while all around him, guards and Blugori clutched their stomachs, rolling in agony on the floor.
"What's happening? You can't stop that unknown man? Saldeath… isn't he on Level 3? Can't he stop the intruder either?"
The control room personnel watched Luffy and company approach the prison with mounting anxiety.
"Saldeath? He… he…"
"What happened to him?"
Faces in the control room grew grim. Could it be… Saldeath had also met with misfortune?
"Saldeath has been taken down too!"
The guard's panicked voice crackled through the Den Den Mushi. Not far from him, at Mizuchi's feet, a short demon wielding a trident lay on his back, eyes shut, utterly motionless.