The thunderous roar of cannons from the Marineford War echoed across the world through live den den mushi broadcasts, capturing everyone's attention.
Near the Sabaody Archipelago, the battle between the Gorosei and the Beasts Pirates was also in full swing.
However, the Calm Belt in the first half of the Grand Line was exceptionally tranquil.
A crude wooden raft-like warship was silently drifting towards a colossal steel beast on the opposite side—the underwater great prison, Impel Down.
There was no wind on the sea, only the faint sound of the raft breaking through the still water.
"Zehahahahaha! We've finally arrived!"
At the bow of the ship, Marshall D. Teach spread his arms, gazing at the approaching Impel Down with undisguised greed and fanaticism on his face.
"Captain, are we really going to do this?"
Lafitte, holding his cane, stood elegantly behind Teach, his crimson lips slightly pursed. "This is, after all, the world's greatest prison. No matter how distracted the Marine is, it's impossible..."
"Zehahahahaha! Lafitte, you're still such a coward!" Teach suddenly turned around, waving his thick arm, cutting him off. "The whole world's attention is on Marineford, watching how that old Whitebeard guy meets his end! Who has time to bother with us? This is fate! Fate is clearing the way for me!"
His crew members behind him, whether it was the ox-strong Burgess or the sickly Doc Q, all had the same glint in their eyes.
The wooden raft-like warship went straight in, finally docking at the ground-level entrance of Impel Down.
The heavy steel gate stood open, like a giant mouth waiting for its prey.
Teach took the lead, striding in.
However, what greeted them was not the anticipated gauntlet of blades and fire, but a deathly silence.
No prisoners, no jailers, not even a single Masira was to be seen.
"Hey! Where is everyone!"
Champion Burgess bellowed, his voice echoing in the empty first level, sounding particularly abrupt. "Get out here, all of you!"
His only response was his own echo.
"This is truly a peculiar fate," Van Auger said, adjusting the brim of his hat, his tone devoid of any emotion.
Lafitte's expression darkened. He lightly tapped the top of his cane and whispered, "Captain, something's not right. It's too clean here, as clean as a stage specially swept for us."
"Cough, cough, cough..." Doc Q, slumped on the back of his beloved horse "Stronger," spoke weakly, "Perhaps... even the God of Death went to Marineford to watch the show."
For a moment, everyone looked at Teach.
Teach's smile also receded slightly. He looked around, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but soon, this doubt was replaced by an even more surging ambition.
"Zehahahahaha! What's there to be afraid of!"
He once again burst into his characteristic wild laughter, filled with disdain and arrogance. "The Marine has sent all its forces to Marineford! Even if there's a trap, what kind of decent fighting force can they muster?"
"The more they try to be mysterious, the more it shows they're guilty!"
"This is precisely our opportunity! Let's go! To the sixth level! Turn those legendary monsters into my comrades!"
Teach waved his hand, taking the lead towards the entrance to the next level.
His crew members exchanged glances and followed closely behind... Meanwhile, in Impel Down's fourth underground level.
Inside the warden's office bathroom.
"Gurgle... gurgle gurgle..."
Magellan sat on the toilet, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his entire face contorted by intense pain.
As a Poison-Poison Fruit user, he spent ten hours a day in the bathroom.
Yet, even so, his eyes remained fixed on the surveillance den den mushi hanging on the wall.
The screen of the den den mushi clearly showed Teach and his group brazenly entering Impel Down.
When he saw Teach and his group arrive as expected, Magellan's pupils suddenly contracted, and the look of pain on his face was instantly replaced by an indescribable shock.
He remembered the voice that had come through the den den mushi a few hours earlier.
That young, yet authoritative voice that made him dare not disobey in the slightest.
"Magellan, guard your Impel Down well. After Whitebeard dies, his position will need to be filled, and Blackbeard Teach is the most ambitious and most likely candidate. He won't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and will definitely go to Impel Down's sixth level during the Marineford War to recruit powerful enough comrades."
"Clear out all the jailers from the first to third levels and transfer them all to the fifth level. Then, you and all fighting forces gather on the fourth level."
"Give him a surprise."
At the time, Magellan thought this order was a bit of an overreaction. The Marine was at war with Whitebeard; how could Blackbeard, an unknown pirate, dare to cause trouble in Impel Down at such a time?
But now... looking at that wildly laughing face on the surveillance den den mushi, Magellan felt a chill run from his tailbone straight to the top of his head. It wasn't that he feared Teach's ambition, but that Saint Ian had predicted all of this!
Saint Ian not only calculated that Teach would come, but even what Teach would say and think, as if he had seen through him!
The ability to foresee the future?
As expected of the most powerful young master of the Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land! This terrifying ability to see the future is simply incredible!
"Splash—"
Magellan suddenly stood up, not even having time to pull up his pants, and pushed open the bathroom door.
Outside the door, Vice-Warden Hannyabal was pacing anxiously.
"Warden! This is bad! Blackbeard Teach and his crew have really broken in!"
"What are you panicking about!"
Magellan growled, his face, pale from diarrhea, was now filled with a chilling murderous intent.
He snatched the den den mushi from Hannyabal's hand, his voice coldly echoing throughout the entire fourth level.
"Everyone, attention! Prepare to execute the 'Hell Welcome Ceremony'!"
"Teach and his crew have already broken into Impel Down!"
"Remember, everyone, stay alert! If Teach and his crew successfully break into the sixth level and bring those criminals who shouldn't exist in this world out of Impel Down, none of us can bear the consequences. For the glory of Impel Down, prepare to die!"
As Magellan's voice resounded in every corner of the fourth level, the criminals confined there rushed to the doors of their cells. Although they didn't know what was happening, upon hearing Magellan tell all the jailers to prepare for death, they all let out excited howls, joining in the commotion.
However, just as the criminals' 'carnival' sounds erupted, Magellan's voice immediately came through the broadcast den den mushi again, "During this period, if any criminal makes a sound, execute them directly without asking for permission!"
"Remember, this is an order personally given by His Excellency Saint Ian, the Crown Prince of the Holy Land!"
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