Sugar hugged the grapes tightly and quickly ran to a corner of the square, still looking a bit shaken.
"Sugar!"
Her sister was waiting there. The moment she saw her little sister approaching, Monet hurried over and grabbed her, carefully inspecting her.
"Ian—did that man do anything to you?"
"I'm fine, sister."
The little girl shook her head and handed the grapes to Monet.
"Eat grapes."
"You eat."
Monet finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as she ruffled her sister's hair.
"I told you nothing would happen."
A female voice came from nearby.
"How could Lord Ian trouble a little girl? Who in this world doesn't know Lord Ian is magnanimous and noble?"
Monet turned her head.
A tall woman with red hair was lying on a nearby lounge chair, sunbathing by herself.
Her name was Baccarat. She was sent by Mr. Tesoro to accompany the Don Quixote family and help them get familiar with the island.
"Don't worry so much, Monet," Baccarat said leisurely.
"Lord Ian is famous for being kind to his subordinates."
The beautiful woman stretched lazily, freely extending her legs longer than life itself.
"You'll soon realize how fortunate it is to work under Lord Ian's command."
Monet pursed her lips but said nothing.
"Look, isn't that girl adapting quite well?"
Baccarat pointed toward the sky.
Monet looked up.
An airplane was flying across the sky.
No, that was not an airplane.
"No, it's not like that."
"Hahaha! This move is called Bomber Girl!"
The front of the plane had a cute little face, laughing out loud. "Lord Ian! Look! I did it!!"
She hovered above Ian's head, the wind whistling around her.
The other Homies bombers flying in the sky saw her and thought they had found a companion. They all came over, wanting to play with her.
"Wow! Don't come near me!"
Baby-5, the plane girl, screamed in fright at the approaching Homies.
Her ability instantly deactivated, and she fell from the sky, landing hard on her backside.
Ian looked toward the corner of the square, where Kuina was sparring with Zoro, as Baby-5 clutched her sore butt, groaning in pain but already back on her feet.
So, just how high was that staircase?
"How is it, Lord Ian?"
Baby-5 happily bounced over, "I can turn into a bomber now!"
This girl showed no resistance to the current situation at all.
No wonder—she couldn't refuse any request from others.
"Not bad."
Ian nodded approvingly, "You did well."
"Yay!"
Baby-5 jumped and spun around twice in joy.
The Weapon Fruit was truly a powerful Devil Fruit.
In theory, it could turn into any weapon.
Whether cold weapons or firearms.
She could become whatever she wanted.
Of course, the actual strength depended on the user.
"I'll work even harder from now on!"
Baby-5 vowed, "Lord Ian, I will never disappoint you!"
Ian shook his head with a bit of helplessness.
Her loyalty to him was beyond doubt at this moment.
But the problem was, with just one word, her loyalty could easily switch to someone else.
Education still needs to be strengthened.
At that moment—
Brubrubrubru.
The Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
Ian, somewhat surprised, picked up the Den Den Mushi and answered.
"Big news! Ian! Big news!"
Whether it was really big news or not, Morgans, what did I do to deserve such disrespect?
Not even "Lord Ian" anymore?
But the next second, Ian knew—it really was big news.
"The Impel Down has been breached!"
Oh.
Ian blinked.
If he remembered correctly, Luffy should still be the troublemaker at the Marine Headquarters, right?
So, whose handiwork was this now?
"Tell me the details."
Now he had to understand this properly.
Time rewinds to a little earlier.
Somewhere in the Calm Belt, the world's top maximum-security prison, known as the Hell Fortress—Impel Down—stood.
From the outside, Impel Down looked like an ordinary sea fortress, not particularly large in scale.
But anyone who knew a bit more understood—
Most of Impel Down lay beneath the surface of the sea.
It was a huge tower-shaped structure built on the deep seabed.
Its special location and unique construction made it an ironclad prison, with only the Golden Lion Shiki having ever successfully escaped.
But today, this iron fortress faced a new challenger.
Due to its special location in the Calm Belt, the government and Marines had to pass through the massive current behind the Gate of Justice to reach Impel Down.
However, passing through the giant current wasn't the only way to approach.
A small boat, rowed fiercely by two men, finally neared the massive fortress.
"Hehehehehe!"
Moria, gazing at the distant Impel Down, couldn't help but laugh loudly.
"Crocodile, you're really daring! Suggesting recruiting people at Impel Down itself!"
"Is there a better place than this?"
Crocodile stood up, his body already turning into yellow sand.
"Move quickly. Don't get caught."
His body dispersed directly, the yellow sand scattering so much it was almost invisible to the naked eye as it flew through the air.
"Then just watch closely."
Moria sneered coldly. The shadow beneath his feet suddenly detached and sped forward over the sea surface.
Crocodile chuckled lightly, the yellow sand flying forward.
Before long, he had already reached above Impel Down. The Navy patrolling nearby didn't notice him at all.
Crocodile landed silently on the outer wall of Impel Down, quietly reforming his body. Then, using his erosion power, he carved a hole in the wall and slipped inside, going down.
Many of the prison cells inside Impel Down are made of Sea-Prism Stone.
But that doesn't mean the whole building is Sea-Prism Stone. Crocodile's infiltration was completely silent.
As he slipped through the hole, a shadow followed quietly behind him, slipping in through the same opening.
Down, down, deeper.
Crocodile confirmed with his Observation Haki which level he had reached.
His target was the hidden sixth level inside Impel Down, where the strongest prisoners were kept.
He counted silently.
First underground level, second, third, fourth, fifth.
This is the sixth—
Huh?
Crocodile paused in surprise.
How was there another level below this?
What he didn't know was that long ago, someone had dug out another hidden space between the fifth and sixth levels.
Crocodile didn't hesitate much because he sensed that the upper layer of the space was completely empty, while the lower layer was filled with strong, unmistakable auras.
He continued downward.
After reaching roughly the right spot, he drilled toward the center.
Soon, Crocodile broke through a solid wall and emerged from a hole.
He gathered his body.
Thud.
That was the sound of his leather shoes stepping on the ground.
Then, a shadow by his side condensed into Moria's shape.
Right after—
"Hehehe! Got in this easily?"
The shadow transformed fully into Moria, who burst out laughing.
In the dark sixth layer, heavy breathing echoed all around.
A slight smile curled on Crocodile's lips as he stepped forward.
"Hey, lost dogs!"
He shouted loudly, "Want to get out?"
**********
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