Hiss—
"What a fierce Conqueror's Haki!"
"And it's under perfect control—he only aimed it at Daipen just now!"
"He just knocked someone of Daipen's level unconscious? That means… this guy's Haki is at—"
"Yonkō level!"
The row of vicious pirates watched Arthur's receding figure in stunned silence, shouting in unison.
Arthur had no idea how shocked and rattled the ex-sea-overlords of Level Six were. Right now his only thought was to get out of this cursed place before things spiraled further.
He repeated his previous method: he freed the inmates on Levels Four and Five, and with the earlier chaos on Levels Two and Three, the whole prison was in an uproar. Getting out should be easy enough.
He deliberately left Level Six sealed; his aim was to create enough confusion to escape, not to drag out trouble for himself. The prisoners on Level Six were no joke—he had no interest in tangling with them. Prisoners above Level Five weren't particularly overwhelming; the Navy could suppress them and they could serve as a convenient human shield if needed.
Once everything was set, he blended into the fleeing masses and flowed toward the main gate with the crowd.
Magellan, who'd been taught a harsh lesson on Level Four, finally recovered enough to draw his venom back in and close his wounds. This incident was a major black mark on his record—someone brazen enough to cause this much chaos on his turf? Unforgivable.
But even as Warden, he couldn't afford to lose his head. He ordered the guards to abandon their posts on the floors and concentrate at the rooftop gate, then rang the headquarters for reinforcements.
"Hello? This is Sengoku—what's the situation, Magellan?" came the calm voice on the line.
"Marshal! Impel Down is in crisis! A supremely powerful inmate has escaped and released prisoners from Levels Two, Three, Four, and Five! He freed Red Count, Waldo and Crocodile! I'm holding the prison gate with all I've got, but I can't hold much longer—I've been seriously wounded!" Magellan reported, breathless and embarrassed.
Sengoku nearly choked on his tea and dorayaki. "Wha—Crocodile? Waldo? Red Count? Magellan wounded?!" His face went pale. Crocodile getting out was a catastrophe—he could become a major power overnight.
"Hold on—reinforcements are coming. Stay strong!" Sengoku snapped. Then he bellowed into the room, "Get Kizaru to Impel Down immediately! Don't ask why—just go! Move fast!"
The officer dozing by the door jumped up and scrambled out. Another sentry stammered the list of available officers at headquarters.
"Kizaru is available, plus five Vice Admirals including Garp, Vice Admiral… come here at once. The others—deploy to Impel Down now."
Sengoku's eyes narrowed. If Magellan had been driven to such desperation—wounded and begging for aid—that meant the opponent was no ordinary thug. A chill ran through his chest as if some terrible beast was about to be unleashed.
Meanwhile, Arthur and his small group had surged down to Level Three. He noticed something odd—none of the guards were suppressing the riot. Then a distant, bone-chilling sound reached them: the wails of slaughter.
"Shiliew! I order you to return to the gate immediately!" a voice barked over a comm.
"Hmph. Magellan, your incompetence brought this on. You guard your door—I'll slaughter these escapees myself and show the world that no one escapes Impel Down!" came the cold reply.
"Shiliew, our mission is to reform and detain prisoners, not massacre them! Your methods blur the line with those vicious pirates!" another voice protested.
Shiliew merely drew on his cigar, inhaled slowly, and with a single motion smashed the earpiece under his heel, crushing it. He spat with contempt.
"Reform? Enlighten them? Ridiculous. Those who defy deserve death."
Red light flared in his eyes; an unrelenting, murderous aura swept across Level Three.
The prisoners facing him felt their hearts freeze. This wasn't a man—they were staring at an ancient killing beast. Legs trembling, they took involuntary steps back.
Shiliew advanced, sword in hand, lightning coiling in his other palm.
"Criminals of a sinful age! Death will be your only release. Die!"
He vanished into the crowd—and in the next instant the third level became a massacre. One by one, heads fell, blood spattered, the place reeked of iron and death. Screams echoed:
"No—please don't kill me! I won't run anymore!"
"My arm—help!"
"Don't kill me—I still don't want to die!"
Arthur frowned. Something was wrong. He let his Observation Haki sweep the area. The scene that met him was a bloody slaughter.
He exchanged a look with Red Count; they both mouthed the name.
"Shiliew of the Rain."
"Leave him to me!" Waldo immediately volunteered, puffing his chest out—and then Arthur stopped him with a firm hand.
"Our priority is escape. We don't have time to tangle with irrelevant targets. I'll handle him."
Red Count nodded. Waldo looked dumbfounded.
"'Irrelevant'? Shiliew is irrelevant?! Are you serious?" Waldo gaped, glancing between Arthur, who remained calm as ever, and Red Count who was oddly inscrutable. Crocodile looked entirely unconcerned.
Waldo felt like he'd boarded a sinking ship.
Arthur smiled, showing a row of teeth. "Give me ten seconds."
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