Sengoku looked at him and slowly revealed the information he knew:
"Three days ago, Raiver broke into the Holy Land Mariejois and fought against the Five Elders."
The conference room instantly fell silent.
Everyone was stunned.
Raiver—that man known as the world's strongest—had actually charged into the Holy Land all by himself?
"In the end..." Sengoku paused, as if carefully choosing his words, "both sides reached an agreement to not infringe upon each other."
That was what the Five Elders had told him.
But Sengoku could sense that this wasn't the whole truth.
As the Admiral-in-Chief of the Marines, he knew the Five Elders all too well.
When had those five lofty beings ever bowed their heads to anyone? Let alone to a pirate?
They must have hidden something.
But the Five Elders had sealed the information extremely tightly, and Sengoku couldn't dig up any more useful details.
Silence fell over the conference room.
Everyone was digesting this shocking news.
Just then, the door to the conference room was abruptly pushed open.
An officer rushed in and urgently shouted:
"Report, Admiral-in-Chief! Golden Lion Shiki has escaped from prison!"
"What?!"
At these words, everyone present stood up simultaneously.
Sengoku leaned forward, his hands braced on the table:
"Say that again?!"
The officer reported:
"Impel Down has sent an emergency communication! Golden Lion Shiki severed his own feet and escaped from Level Six!"
The air in the conference room instantly froze.
Golden Lion Shiki.
That legendary great pirate, on par with Roger and Whitebeard.
That monster who once charged into Marine Headquarters alone and destroyed half of Marineford single-handedly.
That man who was locked away in the deepest part of Impel Down, believed to be impossible to escape from—
Had broken out!
...
Meanwhile, at Impel Down.
The great underwater prison, Impel Down.
This prison, known as the "impregnable fortress," had now descended into complete chaos.
"Report! Report! A prisoner has escaped—!!"
Screams tore through the dead silence of Impel Down.
Alarms blared, their piercing sirens echoing through every level!
Red warning lights flashed incessantly, illuminating every terrified face!
"Level Six! It's a prisoner from Eternal Hell!"
"Golden Lion! It's Golden Lion Shiki!"
"He severed his own feet! He's escaped!"
The entire Impel Down instantly erupted into turmoil!
Countless guards swarmed toward the underground depths from all directions, their footsteps and shouts mingling together.
In the Warden's office.
Warden Gotez Jubei stood up and said gravely:
"Golden Lion has escaped."
"I'll go." Deputy Warden Magellan turned and left.
Level Six, Eternal Hell.
In the dimly lit corridor.
Chief Guard Hannyabal stood in the middle of the hallway, staring at the man floating in the air before him—the man who had severed his own feet, blood still dripping—and stumbled backward in fear.
The man floated in mid-air, his golden hair wildly dancing.
"Gehahahaha—!"
Golden Lion Shiki laughed heartily:
"Do you know where my two swords went? They're Great Grade Swords, you know!"
Hannyabal blurted out instinctively:
"I won't tell you they're in the prisoner weapon storage room—"
He suddenly covered his mouth:
"Oh no! I said it!"
"Is that so?"
Shiki's grin grew even more ferocious:
"Then I thank you."
He raised his right hand.
Float-Float Fruit ability activated!
Hannyabal's body suddenly lost control and flew up!
"Ah—!!"
He screamed, tumbling through the air before being violently hurled away!
Thud!!
His body slammed heavily into the wall, cracking it, embedding himself in the stone. His eyes rolled back as he fell unconscious.
Shiki didn't even glance at him, turning to drift toward the weapon storage room.
A moment later, he found his sabers.
Cherry Ten. Withered Tree.
Shiki reached out and grasped the hilts. The familiar touch made him burst into laughter once more.
"Gyahahaha—!"
He turned and drifted upward to the next level.
The fifth level.
Just as Shiki floated out of the stairwell, chaotic footsteps echoed from ahead.
"Halt!"
"Fire! Fire now!"
Dozens of guards charged from the end of the corridor, raising their guns and opening fire simultaneously!
Bang bang bang bang—!!
Bullets poured down like rain!
Shiki didn't even pause.
He raised his right hand.
Float-Float Fruit ability activated!
The bullets suddenly stopped three meters away from him, as if blocked by an invisible wall, hovering in mid-air!
"What?!"
The guards widened their eyes, unable to believe the scene before them!
Shiki swung his right hand.
The bullets reflected back at even greater speed!
Thump thump thump thump—!!
Dozens of guards were hit simultaneously, screaming as they collapsed!
Shiki continued forward, drifting past them without a glance.
A second wave of guards rushed up.
This time, it was a melee unit armed with swords!
"Kill—!!"
Over a dozen blades slashed toward Shiki at once!
Shiki drew Cherry Ten and Withered Tree.
A flash of blade light.
No one saw how he drew his swords.
Only a series of metallic clashes was heard, followed by the sound of blades shattering!
Over a dozen swords snapped in half simultaneously, clattering to the ground with crisp echoes!
The guards froze in place, staring at the broken halves in their hands, unable to believe their eyes.
Shiki drifted through their midst, lightly swinging both blades. Over a dozen men fell at once!
Blood gushed, staining the corridor floor crimson.
He pressed on.
Third wave, fourth wave, fifth wave...
Wave after wave of guards charged forward, only to fall one after another!
Finally, Shiki drifted before a massive iron door.
This was the entrance to the fourth level.
Once he passed through this level, he would reach the third, second, and first levels, and then—
Escape Impel Down!
"This ends here." Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind the iron door.
The door slowly swung open.
A tall figure appeared behind it.
Magellan.
Deputy Warden of Impel Down, Venom-Venom Fruit user.
Shiki halted, sizing up the man before him.
"Logia Type?" He narrowed his eyes slightly. "And it seems to be poison-based."
Magellan wasted no words.
He directly raised his right hand, palm aimed at Shiki.
"Venom Dragon—!!"
Three purple venom dragons surged from his arm!
The dragons, formed from pure concentrated venom, bared their fangs and claws as they lunged at Shiki!
Shiki's figure flickered, drifting backward!
The venom dragons pursued him with astonishing speed!
Shiki drew his blade, slashing at the nearest venom dragon!
The blade swept through, shattering the dragon and splattering venom everywhere!
The venom splashed toward Shiki, but he was prepared. Armament Haki instantly surged outward, forming an invisible Haki armor over his body.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!
The venom splashed against the Haki, emitting a corrosive hiss, yet it failed to breach the defense!
Such potent poison!
Shiki furrowed his brow, his entire body floating upward to evade the pursuit of the other two Venom Dragons!
Seizing the opportunity, Magellan charged forward, pushing both hands out simultaneously.
"Venom Swamp—!!"
The ground instantly transformed into a purple, highly toxic swamp, spreading wildly in all directions from him!
Wherever the swamp passed, steel corroded with a sizzling sound, releasing pungent smoke!
Shiki hovered in the air, looking down at the poisonous swamp below.
Just then, Magellan suddenly leaped!
He sprang into the air!
His body morphed into a massive blob of venom mid-air, like a toxic bomb, hurtling fiercely toward Shiki.
Shiki instantly shifted sideways!
The venom bomb grazed past him, crashing into the wall behind him!
Boom!!
The wall was instantly corroded into a huge hole, venom splattering everywhere!
But Magellan's attack was far from over!
The splattered venom coalesced in the air, reforming into a human shape and lunging at Shiki once more!
This was the terror of the Venom-Venom Fruit—Magellan himself was venom. He could change form at will, attacking from everywhere.
A sharp glint flashed in Shiki's eyes.
He spread his hands, activating his Float-Float Fruit ability!
"Lion's Might Earth Bind!"
The entire corridor began to tremble violently!
The ceiling, walls, and floor—everything started to twist and deform!
Massive steel plates were torn apart, reinforcing bars were twisted and snapped, and rubble was swept up!
Under Shiki's control, the steel plates and rubble converged and coalesced like living beings.
Finally, they took the shape of a gigantic lion's head!
The lion opened its massive maw, swallowing Magellan's venomous body whole!
Shiki clasped his hands together.
The enormous lion's head began to contract rapidly!
The steel plates and rubble were compressed into an iron sphere less than a meter in diameter.
Magellan's venom was squeezed inside the iron sphere, unable to spread or overflow.
Shiki floated to the iron sphere, looking at the struggling purple venom inside, and sneered contemptuously:
"No matter how potent the poison, it needs space to spread."
He gently patted the iron sphere:
"Without space, you're just liquid trapped in a jar."
A dull thud echoed from inside the iron sphere—Magellan attempting to break free!
But the sphere was compressed airtight, with no gaps whatsoever!
Shiki turned and continued floating upward.