Buggy felt the pressure from everyone present and quickly stood behind Jinbe. "Haha, I was just joking with everyone. I'm just hitching a ride. Where are you guys headed?"
Luffy said, "Is there even a need to ask? To Marineford, of course. We're going to save Big Brother Ace."
Dragon nodded. Seeing as Luffy seemed to know this person, he didn't make things difficult for Buggy.
Buggy suddenly felt dizzy. He had just escaped from that hell, Impel Down, and now he was headed to another, even more dangerous battlefield.
He looked toward Sir Crocodile with pleading eyes.
Sir Crocodile ignored Buggy. Upon hearing they were going to join the battle, he walked to the table. "I see. Perfect, I'm going there too. Give us a lift."
Dragon had heard of Sir Crocodile's story and his attempt to take over a country. He frowned; he didn't want an unstable element on his ship.
Ivankov, the Okama King, stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, I have something on him. He won't cause trouble on the ship, right?"
Sir Crocodile became agitated seeing Ivankov. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Ivankov, we had a deal. You are not allowed to reveal that information."
Ivankov looked at the angry Sir Crocodile with a question mark over his head. "I haven't told anyone your secret. What's wrong?"
Sir Crocodile said, "Then why did Hera ask me that question the first time she saw me? She even said she heard some rumors."
Dragon looked at the agitated Sir Crocodile and Inazuma, who was currently female. A thought surfaced in his mind: "Could it be, Sir Crocodile, that you are actually..."
"Shut up!"
Sir Crocodile seemed to sense Dragon's thoughts and turned a fierce gaze toward him. Dragon quickly said, "I'm going to go teach Luffy, then. He'll be your responsibility, Ivankov."
On the other side, the group escorted Ace back to the Argo first. It was then that the group noticed Little Hera next to Hera. Perona pointed at Little Hera and shouted:
"Look! Hera seems to have multiplied!"
Hearing Perona's description, the smile on Hera's face froze. She stepped quickly in front of Perona and raised her hand, wanting to pinch Perona's face.
"This is my new ability. I can summon this form of myself to help in battle. It's not 'multiplication'!"
Little Hera also put her hands on her hips and said, "Exactly, exactly!"
Seeing the aggressive Hera, Perona quickly controlled her spirit body to float up. But Hera also flew up and flicked a small lump onto Perona's head.
Perona looked at Ain, who shook her head, indicating it wasn't her doing.
Hera floated in the air and laughed triumphantly. "Hmph hmph, as my ability matures, I'm now one of those who can fly."
Kuina patted Little Hera's head, her face full of memories. "She looks exactly like Hera did when she was a child. How much combat capability does she have?"
Little Hera said with an expression of enjoyment, "I have half the strength of the original body, you know! And I can also use some of the power of the ability."
Garp sighed with emotion. "Every time I see you, you have new abilities. Even your partners give me surprises. There are only a few flying Devil Fruits in this world, but basically all of you can fly."
Garp continued to ask, "So, how many of these clones can you make?"
Hera extended a finger and shook it a few times.
Kuina, who was stroking Little Hera's head, asked curiously, "Only one? But even that is very strong."
Hera shook her head and said proudly, "No, as long as there's energy, I can keep splitting. And the clones don't affect my own combat strength."
"However, there is one flaw: each clone can only use one type of power. They can choose between Zafkiel and the ability, but their Armament Haki and Haoshoku will both inherit 50% of the original's strength."
As she spoke, Hera took out 'saikū'. Under everyone's surprised gazes, she activated 'Twin Swords'. The blade of 'saikū' passed through Hera's body.
Then, a Little Hera wearing a white military uniform split from Hera's body and stood next to the Little Hera wearing a black dress.
Hera looked at the pair of clones and nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, to distinguish you, these two forms will be called Black Hera and White Hera."
Black Hera and White Hera made faces at the original body upon hearing her words:
"The main body is really terrible at naming."
"Exactly, exactly. These names are too perfunctory."
Hera's face turned a bit red from being mocked. She wondered if her physical size had affected her maturity; even though they were just her from a second ago, the clones she split off were all quite childish.
Next, after leaving enough Time Value for combat, she created several more clones to act as sailors on the ship. The deck suddenly became lively.
Seeing the Little Heras running all over the Argo, Garp's heart, which had been somewhat heavy because of Ace's capture, gradually eased, and he even laughed out loud.
Hera took the Paramecia More-More Fruit she had obtained and gave it to Garp. "Grandpa Garp, this devil fruit can multiply one's own abilities. Do you want to try eating it?"
Garp examined the devil fruit Hera brought for a moment before ultimately declining her kindness. "Forget it. I'm already used to solving problems with my fists. What, do you think your Grandpa isn't strong enough?"
Hera quickly took the devil fruit back. "No, I just thought this devil fruit would suit you well."
Garp laughed. "I don't want to become a hammer in my old age. You should leave this kind of thing for you young people."
Unlike the atmosphere on the Argo, Ace's face was full of worry. He didn't hate Hera for not helping him escape; he couldn't take out his anger on others for a decision he had made himself.
In his heart now, there was only worry for the safety of Whitebeard and the other members.
On the other side, in Impel Down after Hera had left, Magellan's hand holding the transponder snail was trembling slightly. On the other end, Hannybal, who had eaten the Island-Island Fruit, was possessing Impel Down to repair the prison.
Magellan finally let out a long sigh and made up his mind. "Is this the World Government? This is Magellan. I am reporting the situation after the Blackbeard attack on the Great Prison, Impel Down."
While narrating, Magellan deliberately pinned everything on Blackbeard. In his description, the brutal Blackbeard had gone on a killing spree as soon as he entered, killing all the criminals in Impel Down.
In the end, it was only with the help of Hera and Garp that Impel Down wasn't torn apart by Blackbeard.
Additionally, he emphasized that Hera and Garp had wiped out the invading Blackbeard Pirates and captured the main escapee, Ace, who was now being escorted to Marineford.
In Magellan's description, Blackbeard killed the people and tore down the buildings. Anyway, he could just push everything that was hard to explain onto those criminals.
As for why Magellan reported it this way, it was naturally because not a single one of the Prison Guards had died in this riot; only a few unlucky ones were seriously injured, and they were all out of danger.
According to their descriptions, when the crisis arrived, a black shadow protected them and transported them to a safe place.
After Magellan finished his report, he put down the transponder snail. The surrounding Prison Guards cheered. They would have a very long holiday and a renovated, even more secure Impel Down.
Only Chief Guard Little Sadi was somewhat unhappy. With the criminals gone, she felt like her life had turned grey.
However, she thought of Hera, who still wore a smile amidst the slaughter, and a faint blush actually appeared on her face. "Miss Hera... I wonder what it would feel like to be whipped by her."
The Miss Hera she was pining for had long since departed. Besides, even if she were still here, Hera, who was unusually weak-willed in certain aspects, would likely have disappointed her expectations.
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