"I see."
On the other side, inside the bar run by Silvers Rayleigh and Shakuyaku, Renji nodded after hearing Rayleigh's explanation. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
Seeing that look, Rayleigh seemed slightly surprised. "It seems you're not that worried about Ace."
Renji shook his head. "No, I'm very worried about Portgas D. Ace. You know what it's like on Old Man's ship. Among everyone there, the only one around my age who I can really get along with is Ace. You could say he's my best friend in this world."
Renji recalled his days with the Whitebeard Pirates. Aside from Edward Newgate, who treated every crewmate like family, the people who treated him best were Thatch and Ace.
Because they were about the same age, the two of them always had endless things to talk about.
Renji paused and looked directly into Rayleigh's eyes. "But the more serious the situation is, the more we have to stay calm. Isn't that right?"
Rayleigh nodded slightly, avoiding Renji's gaze. "That's true. According to my information, the Marines have been preparing for this war for over a month. They mobilized troops from across the world, which means this isn't just about using Ace to gain leverage against Whitebeard anymore."
He continued, "Both Ace and Whitebeard are now in extremely dangerous positions. Their lives could be at risk."
Renji nodded but did not reply immediately. Instead, he quietly began analyzing the situation in his mind.
This would be a life-and-death collision between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates.
If possible, Renji naturally hoped to avoid a direct war between the two sides. Unfortunately, that decision was no longer his to make.
What he could do instead was consider what opportunities might arise from the situation.
A full-scale war meant the strongest fighters from both sides would appear.
On the Whitebeard side, there was one Emperor, two commanders at Emperor level including Renji himself, one fighter approaching Emperor level, and countless powerful subordinates.
On the Marines' side, there were three Admirals, numerous Vice Admirals, and elite troops gathered from all over the world.
Even fighting just one Admiral had allowed Renji to grow enormously.
If a battle of that scale broke out, even if he could not collect every attribute dropped during the fight, reaching the level of the Four Emperors would not be a problem.
"If we want to stop this war, we need to eliminate the cause of it. In other words, we must remove the reason forcing Old Man to leave the New World."
Rayleigh looked at him carefully. "So you're planning to break into Impel Down and rescue Ace?"
Renji nodded. "Yes."
Rayleigh thought for a moment and frowned slightly. "The idea is good, but the timing might be impossible. There's only one week left before Ace's execution, and since they'll transfer him to Marineford beforehand, he'll probably stay in Impel Down for at most five days."
He continued, "Just traveling from the Sabaody Archipelago to Impel Down takes three days. Impel Down has six levels, and even I don't know its exact structure. That means you would only have about two days to search the prison while dealing with its entire military force. I don't think that's possible."
At that moment, Monkey D. Luffy, who had been listening anxiously nearby, suddenly lit up.
"There's a way to save Ace? Then I'm going too!"
Rayleigh immediately shook his head. "No. You couldn't even withstand one kick from Kizaru, and Impel Down has a warden who is at least as terrifying as an Admiral. Magellan guards that prison, so what exactly are you planning to use to rescue Ace?"
Luffy fell silent, but the determination in his eyes said everything.
Even if it meant risking his life, he still wanted to save Ace.
Rayleigh sighed. "Fine, you can go with him. The only real threats in Impel Down are Magellan and the chief jailer Shiryu. Shiryu has already been imprisoned because of his cruelty, so the biggest obstacle will still be Magellan."
He added, "Impel Down is six levels deep beneath the sea. Nobody knows what kind of paths exist inside. Your Gomu Gomu no Mi abilities might help Renji pass through places that would otherwise be difficult."
Luffy's eyes shone with excitement. "Don't worry, I won't cause trouble for Renji!"
Rayleigh smiled faintly. In truth, he did not expect Luffy to help much. He simply didn't want Luffy sneaking off alone and causing even more trouble.
After calming Luffy down, Rayleigh turned back to Renji. "To be honest, I don't think rescuing Ace alone will solve everything."
Renji's eyes flickered slightly. Rayleigh nodded and continued, "You already understand what I mean."
The two of them looked at each other and smiled in mutual understanding.
"Exactly. Create chaos in Impel Down."
Rayleigh explained, "The Gates of Justice connecting Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and Marineford are linked. Even if the war begins while you're still inside Impel Down, you can reach Marineford very quickly."
He continued, "And Impel Down has no shortage of powerful criminals. Just the prisoners on Level 6 alone are criminals that even the world government fears."
"Even the prisoners on Level 5 are at least Supernova-level pirates or powerful political criminals."
"And the inmates on Levels 1 to 4 are still formidable. Anyone sent to Impel Down instead of a normal prison is already extremely dangerous."
Rayleigh looked at Renji seriously. "So even if you fail to rescue Ace, imagine what would happen if you bring a group of those prisoners to Marineford."
…
One week later.
With Rayleigh's help, Renji and Luffy successfully infiltrated Impel Down.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard had already gathered his forces.
The main ship, forty-three allied pirate crews, and the elite warriors from every island and nation under his protection were fully prepared for the coming war.
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