"Blood-Eyed Ninja!!"
"You deserve to die!!"
Magellan roared.
"Run!!"
"Magellan is coming!"
Hearing the roar from behind, the pirates were so terrified that tears streamed from their eyes.
They had finally made it to the first underground level; they didn't want to die here.
"Tch, he caught up already?"
Meiser glanced back and clicked his tongue. "It seems ordinary Ninjutsu won't be enough to stop this guy."
"The sound is coming from the floor below," Ivankov said. "He's probably about to catch up."
"Yeah, I know."
Meiser thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, as planned, I'll hold this guy off. You all keep running upward."
As he spoke, Meiser created a Shadow Clone and said, "As for the warship, my clone will handle seizing it."
"Huh?!"
"A... a clone?!"
Everyone was stunned at the sight of the clone Meiser had produced.
"As a Ninja, being able to create clones is pretty normal, right?" Meiser laughed.
"Even so, this is just too shocking..."
"Yeah, and it's a living, breathing Ninja!"
The prisoners who hadn't witnessed Meiser's abilities before all wore expressions of utter astonishment.
"Alright, enough chatter, hurry up and go," Meiser urged. "Don't blame me if you end up dead."
"Right!"
This time, without another word, the prisoners immediately turned and ran into the distance.
"Meiser, leave seizing the warship to me," Jimbei said. "You just focus on dealing with Magellan."
Although he didn't know what method Meiser used to create the clone, he was certain it couldn't be without cost.
To avoid unnecessary waste, it would be better for him to handle seizing the warship.
"Add me to that," Crocodile chimed in. "With the two of us, stealing one warship shouldn't be a problem."
Even if there were a few Navy Vice Admirals stationed on it, the two of them had the ability to take the warship.
"And me," Ivankov added.
As long as Jimbei could get them onto the warship, they could seize it!
Meiser looked at the three of them, fell silent for a moment, then said, "How about this: all of you go together to seize the warship."
"What do you mean?"
Crocodile was taken aback, clearly not understanding Meiser's meaning.
Jimbei and Ivankov were the same, both looking at Meiser with puzzled expressions.
"I left a Sea King outside," Meiser explained. "That guy will lead you to the warship."
"A... a Sea King?"
Crocodile stared at Meiser in disbelief. "You can actually control a Sea King?"
This was utterly shocking; how could a human possibly control a Sea King?
"Huh?!"
Jimbei also looked at Meiser with astonishment. "Meiser, are you serious?"
"You can really control the Sea Kings?"
"More or less," Meiser said indifferently.
He offered no further explanation to the two of them.
Crocodile fell silent for a moment, then gave Meiser a deep look and said, "Alright, I understand."
Without hesitation, he then walked off into the distance.
"Shi-ha!"
"What a surprising Candy Boy," Ivankov laughed heartily.
Then, the Okama King also left the area.
Jimbei, however, looked at Meiser and asked, "Meiser, do you perhaps have Fish-Man bloodline?"
At that moment, a legend about the Fish-Man race surfaced in Jimbei's mind.
"The legendary Fish-Man Princess possesses a special ability to control the Sea Kings and command them in battle. Could it be... this kid is the Fish-Man Princess?!"
Thinking this, a trace of shock appeared in Jimbei's eyes.
But he quickly caught himself.
"No, no, this kid is clearly a man!"
So what exactly was going on?
"Fish-Man bloodline?" Meiser shook his head. "I'm not some mixed-blood of the Fish-Man race. I'm purely human."
Jimbei remained silent for a while, then nodded and said, "Alright, I understand."
Watching Jimbei walk away with a troubled expression, Meiser felt somewhat puzzled.
"Why would he ask such a question?" Meiser murmured to himself. "Could it be... someone among the Fish-Man race can control the Sea Kings?"
Judging by the other's reaction, that seemed quite likely.
Forget it, now wasn't the time to investigate such matters. Dealing with Magellan came first.
Shaking his head, Meiser glanced at his clone and signaled for him to take the others to find Erha.
The clone didn't waste words and immediately ran off into the distance.
Meiser himself remained standing in the corridor, waiting for Magellan.
Just then, cries and shouts came from behind.
"Hm?"
Turning to look at the situation behind him, Meiser wondered, "Why are these two here?"
From his perspective, Buggy and Mr.3 were desperately fleeing with a group of people, while being chased by several Jailer Beasts.
"These two didn't die," Meiser mused, stroking his chin. "Seems they have pretty good luck."
The War Wolves on the fifth level were quite strong—those with bounties of tens of millions weren't necessarily their match.
Since Mr.3 and Buggy weren't particularly powerful, surviving was nothing short of a miracle.
"Why are these Jailer Beasts here?!" Buggy yelled as he ran. "Damn it, my escape dream!"
They had already reached the first underground level. Just one more step and they could return to the surface to seize a warship!
But now they were being driven back by these creatures halfway—it was truly agonizing!
"Run faster!"
"Bastards, it looks like this is as far as we go," Mr.3 cried out, tears streaming down his face.
With their strength, there was no way they could defeat these powerful Jailer Beasts.
Unless Meiser and the others were here, but the problem was... they were still down below!
At that thought, a sense of despair welled up in Mr.3's heart.
"Thud—"
Suddenly, the two tearful men bumped into a man, bouncing right back from the impact.
"Bastard, who dares bump into this great—"
"Croc... Crocodile?!"
"B-boss?!"
Staring at the man standing before them, the two were utterly dumbfounded.
Why would this immensely powerful man appear here?
"Hmm?"
Crocodile first glanced at Buggy, then turned his gaze to Mr.3. "It's you, Mr.3."
"What are you doing here, you useless waste?"
Mr.3: ...
Useless... waste?
Under Crocodile's icy stare, Mr.3 trembled, his mind involuntarily recalling the memory of being drained dry by the other man.
"He wouldn't... kill me, would he?!"
At this thought, terror flashed in Mr.3's eyes.
Fortunately, Crocodile only said that one sentence and paid him no further attention, allowing Mr.3 to breathe a sigh of relief.
Just then, angry roars came from behind them.
"Out of the way, you bastards!"
"Rubber Giant Pistol!"
"Fish-Man Karate: Five Thousand Tile Seiken!!"
"Okama Kenpo: Romantic Step!"
"BOOM!!"
"BOOM!!"
"BOOM!!"
With several deafening crashes, the Jailer Beasts were sent flying backward by the two, smashing into the walls and losing consciousness.
"Eh?!"
Watching the group that had just taken down the Jailer Beasts, Mr.3 and Buggy stared in shock, their eyes bulging.
The enemies they had struggled so hard against were effortlessly defeated by these guys?
Is this the gap in strength...? Damn, I'm so jealous!
Wait... Isn't that Straw Hat Boy?!
Recognizing Luffy's back, they exclaimed, "St-Straw Hat Boy?"
He actually survived?
That was Magellan's Mixed Toxin!
Even that cow Jailer Beast couldn't withstand that terrifying poison, yet this kid pulled through?
Is this a miracle?
"Ah, it's you guys!"
Seeing the two unharmed, Luffy's face lit up with joy. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Thump!"
At that moment, Buggy and Mr.3 felt as if their hearts had been pierced by arrows, tears welling up instantly.
"My heart..."
"It hurts so much!"
Although they had helped Straw Hat Boy and Bon Clay by diverting two waves of War Wolves, they never went back to look for them afterward.
In a way, they had abandoned them.
And yet... Straw Hat Boy was still concerned about them?
Thinking of this, Mr.3 and Buggy cried even harder.
Why did their hearts ache so much, even though they had no conscience?
Seeing the two kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly, Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong with you guys?"
"Damn you, Straw Hat Boy! Why are you making me cry?"
"Yeah!"
Luffy: ???
Luffy was utterly baffled, completely failing to grasp what they meant.
"You two have the nerve to say that?!" Bon Clay rushed over and kicked them, shouting, "If you hadn't run off, would I have had to face so many War Wolves all by myself?!!"
"Bastard, we weren't deserting!" Buggy, who had been kicked, jumped up and said, "The two of us drew away two groups of War Wolves for you!"
"Otherwise, do you think you could have made it into the forest so easily?"
"Ah, that does make sense."
Realizing what had happened, Bon Clay retracted his long leg and stopped kicking the two.
"Bastard, who gave you permission to treat Captain Buggy like that?!"
"Looking to die, you bastard?!"
"It's fine, we're friends." Buggy waved his hand dismissively.
Hearing Buggy say this, the others lowered their weapons and stopped targeting Bon Clay.
Of course, Bon Clay didn't care either.
"Dammit, why have these prisoners gathered together?" The guards looked at the large group in front of them with terror. "Where is Warden Magellan?!"
Even the three Jailer Beasts were no match for them, let alone the guards.
Even if they sacrificed their lives, they probably couldn't stop these guys.
"Brothers, the dawn of victory is right before us!" Buggy suddenly shouted. "Charge with me, fight your way to the upper levels!"
"Ooh!!"
Watching Buggy lead the roaring crowd forward, Meiser's clone stroked his chin and said, "This guy actually managed to gather quite a few subordinates here?"
He could see that the prisoners from the first and second levels worshipped Buggy, almost treating him like a savior.
But the question was... how did he pull it off?
Luck?
Or was this guy hiding his true strength?
Thinking this, Meiser fell into deep thought.
"Don't worry about that guy," Ivankov told him. "Before Magellan comes up, we need to hurry and seize a military warship at sea."
"Yeah, you're right."
Meiser nodded, then quickly followed the crowd running toward the staircase, soon arriving back at the entrance to the first level.
Seeing the light outside, Buggy shed tears and said, "We've finally returned here..."
"Yes!"
"After so many years, we're finally back!"
Every one of them had been brought into Impel Down through this place, then endured suffering in this hellish prison.
And now... they were finally about to be free!
"Charge, break out!"
"Ooh!!"
Led by Buggy, the crowd roared and charged outside.
But once they reached the outside, they were dumbfounded.
Because... there wasn't a single military warship stationed nearby!
"Dammit, where are the warships?" Buggy said frantically. "Why are there no warships?"
Without warships, how could they possibly leave Impel Down?
"We're in the Calm Belt here. Even without Devil Fruits, we can't leave this place." Mr. 3 knelt on the ground, saying, "It's over, we're doomed."
If they couldn't seize a warship, they could only stay here and wait for Magellan to come kill them.
The final outcome... could only be death!
"The warships haven't gone far; you can still faintly see the shadows of their sails," Jimbei said, staring into the distance.
"What good does that do? We can't get over there!" Mr. 3 said in agony.
Jimbei ignored him and instead looked at Meiser.
"Ninja Boy, where is that guy?" Ivankov glanced at Meiser beside him.
"That guy?"
Luffy, who had just arrived, looked at Ivankov in confusion. "What are you all talking about?"
"You idiot." Meiser looked at Luffy helplessly. "Have you forgotten how we came to Impel Down?"
"Ah, it's Erha!"
With Meiser's reminder, Luffy also remembered the giant Sea King.
Then Luffy laughed and said, "Meiser, quickly call that guy over! We'll ride him to Marine Headquarters!"
"No, we still need a military warship."
"Why?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
"Have you forgotten Aokiji's Devil Fruit ability?" Meiser said. "That guy can freeze the sea. If we ride Erha to Marine Headquarters, it would get him killed."
He quite liked this Sea King with the Husky dog head and didn't want it to be killed by Aokiji.
"I see." Luffy scratched his head. "Then forget it, let's just take a military warship."
He also liked this big guy with the dog head, so it would be better not to bring it along.
Thinking about it carefully, taking a military warship would be the same.
"What are you two talking about?" Mr.3 turned to look at Meiser with a confused expression. "What Erha?"
"What military warship?"
What's all this about?
"You'll know soon." Meiser said. "Just wait here quietly."
Then Meiser silently walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down at the sea surface below.
"Meiser, do you need my help?" Jimbei approached and said.
"No need, just wait here." Meiser replied.
After saying this, the man jumped up and dove headfirst into the sea.
"Eh?!!"
"He... he jumped into the sea?!"