"This should be the place," said Bon Clay, transformed into Hannyabal, as he looked up at the sign before him.
Then, the man composed his expression and pushed the door open to enter.
"Deputy Warden?" The guard in the control room looked at the heavily bandaged 'Hannyabal' in surprise. "You've awakened?"
"Yes," 'Hannyabal' nodded. "What's the current situation?"
"Unclear," the guard shook his head. "The surveillance room on the first floor was destroyed by someone, so we can't get specific details. We only know that Warden Magellan is currently engaging those pirates."
"Destroyed?" 'Hannyabal' showed a puzzled expression. He didn't remember anyone destroying the surveillance room when they left. Could it have been Blackbeard's crew?
"Yes, that's right," the guard nodded, then said, "Deputy Warden, I think you should rest properly first. I heard you were almost—"
Though he didn't finish his sentence, 'Hannyabal' understood his meaning.
"How could I rest peacefully at a time like this?" 'Hannyabal' sighed.
The other guards hesitated to speak. They actually wanted to say that the severely injured deputy warden might not be of much use in this situation. After all, Warden Magellan's attacks covered a wide area, and others going over would only cause trouble. But since their deputy warden was trying so hard, they couldn't say anything.
"Alright, no need to worry about me," 'Hannyabal' waved his hand, then said seriously, "Now, follow my order - open the Gates of Justice."
"What?!" The guards stared at 'Hannyabal' in shock. "Deputy Warden, why do we need to open the Gates of Justice?"
"That's right! This might allow these pirates to escape!"
The Gates of Justice were the final defensive line. If opened now, these pirates might truly escape. Once escaped pirates left Impel Down alive, it would be disastrous.
"Don't worry, I've already called for reinforcements from Marine Headquarters," 'Hannyabal' said calmly. "They need to enter through the Gates of Justice now."
"So that's how it is!"
"As expected of our Deputy Warden!"
Hearing about the reinforcements, the guards' eyes lit up. If a Marine Admiral came to support them, mere pirates would be no match for them!
Thinking this, the guard pressed the switch for the Gates of Justice without hesitation.
"Bzzzzzz~"
As the switch was pressed, the distant Gates of Justice began to tremble slightly, then slowly opened!
Seeing this, 'Hannyabal' slowly let out a sigh of relief.
'Little Straw Hat, you must rescue your brother! This way, my sacrifice will have been worthwhile!'
At that moment, Meiser pushed the door open and entered, scanning the people in the room before saying, "Hey, everyone's here."
"Eh?!!"
The guards stared dumbfounded at Meiser as he walked in.
Why was this man here?
"Xiao... Xiao Meiser?"
Hannyabal also stared at Meiser in shock, clearly not expecting this man to appear here.
"Xiao Meiser?"
Hearing how the other addressed him, Meiser paused briefly before saying, "Bon Clay?"
"You transformed into Hannyabal?"
Only Bon Clay would call him by that nickname.
"Hannyabal" nodded in response, then suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "You idiot, don't say it out loud!"
He had specifically transformed into Hannyabal to issue orders and deceive these foolish guards. If his cover was blown now, all his efforts would be wasted!
"What? This guy isn't Deputy Warden Hannyabal?!"
"But he looks exactly like the Deputy Warden."
"Wait, that Blood-Eyed Ninja called him Bon Clay... He must be that Bon Clay who has the Mane Mane no Mi's transformation power!"
Hearing this guard's words, the others' pupils constricted sharply.
"Does that mean... we've been helping pirates?"
The Gates of Justice were already open. Those pirates were probably about to escape Impel Down's jurisdiction any moment now!
At this thought, their hearts sank.
"Oh dear, I didn't think you'd still figure it out," "Hannyabal" grinned and said, "That's right! This humble one is Bon Clay!"
As he spoke, "Hannyabal" slapped his own face, reverting to his original appearance.
"Dammit! In that case, we—" "Hey!"
"All of you, look into my eyes."
"Huh?"
Following Meiser's command, the guards instinctively turned their gaze toward him, only to see a pair of Sharingan eyes growing larger in their vision.
Clang!
The next moment, all the guards' eyes glazed over as they stood frozen in place.
Glancing at the controlled guards, Meiser thought to himself: 'Come to think of it, I haven't seen those two guards I controlled earlier. Were they eliminated?'
Seems they had pretty bad luck.
"Eh?!"
"Why did they all stop moving?"
Bon Clay, who had been preparing to attack the guards, stared in astonishment at the scene.
In just an instant, all these guys had frozen in place?
"Ah, they're just under my hypnosis."
After saying this, Meiser turned to a guard and asked, "How do you use the controls here?"
The guard proceeded to explain the control mechanisms to Meiser, helping him understand their functions.
"Such a convenient ability."
Recalling how Meiser had previously hypnotized the Jailer Beasts, Bon Clay sighed with admiration. As expected of a ninja!
Then he glanced back at Meiser's eyes and asked, "Speaking of which... what's the deal with your eyes?"
He'd been curious about this since first meeting Meiser.
He just hadn't found the right opportunity to ask until now.
"Ah, just a symbol of my bloodline," Meiser replied with a smile.
"Bloodline, huh." Bon Clay nodded.
It seemed this man carried secrets beyond ordinary imagination!
However, Bon Clay had no intention of probing further. After all... everyone has their secrets, right?
As a friend, the last thing one should do is pry into another's secrets.
"You're planning to sacrifice yourself to buy us time, aren't you?" Meiser stared intently at Bon Clay.
"Isn't saying something like that at a time like this a bit unromantic, Xiao Meiser~"
Hearing Bon Clay's words, Meiser immediately rolled his eyes.
Unromantic? Why did those words sound so strange coming from this guy's mouth?
Shaking his head, Meiser said, "Anyway, since I'm here, don't even think about sacrificing yourself."
"Gahahaha~ If there's a way to survive, this lady naturally wouldn't seek death either." Bon Clay laughed heartily. Since Xiao Meiser could use his ability to hypnotize these guys, there was no need for him to stay here pretending to be Hannyabal and issuing commands.
"Good." Meiser nodded. "After we handle things here, you'll come with me to chase after the marine ships."
Hearing this, a trace of worry appeared on Bon Clay's face. "Can we actually catch up to marine ships?"
The Gates of Justice were quite far from here. Even if Xiao Meiser possessed the Water Release Technique, it might not be possible to catch up.
"Don't worry, leave it to me."
"Alright then." Bon Clay nodded.
Just then, Magellan's furious roar echoed from outside.
"Blood-Eyed Ninja, you won't succeed!" Magellan bellowed.
Hearing Magellan's roar, Bon Clay's body shuddered involuntarily.
"Xiao Meiser, that guy is here!" Bon Clay said in panic.
If Magellan discovered them here, he would definitely attack both of them.
"He arrived quite fast." Meiser frowned. "In that case, let's leave this place first."
Bon Clay fell silent for a moment before looking at the guards. "Then let them stay here to operate the Gates of Justice controls."
"After the marine ships pass through, close the Gates of Justice. That way, those ships won't be able to chase us."
Although there were many strong individuals among the escapees this time, it was best not to waste energy here.
After all... their next destination was Marine Headquarters!!!
Even with the Whitebeard Pirates participating in the battle, they needed to conserve as much strength as possible, otherwise they might very well die at Marine Headquarters.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same." Meiser nodded to Bon Clay, then turned to the guards. "You all heard that, right? Close the Gates of Justice immediately after the lead marine ship passes through!"
"Yes, sir!"
The guards nodded, accepting the order.
"Let's go." Bon Clay said.
With that, the man quickly headed toward the exit.
"Why are you running outside?" Meiser grabbed Bon Clay's arm. "Magellan is right out there. Do you want to get cornered by him?"
Magellan was in a furious state right now. If he discovered them, he would definitely attack with his strongest poison immediately.
Meiser wasn't afraid of Magellan's deadly poison, but Bon Clay couldn't handle it. If this guy got hit by Magellan's poison, he would die!
"Then how should we leave?"
"Of course, using the Earth Release Technique!"
"Oh, that's right!"
Bon Clay exclaimed, "You know the Earth Release Technique!"
With the Earth Release Technique, there was no way Magellan could trap them here.
Thinking this, Bon Clay burst into loud laughter.
"Gahahahaha!"
While laughing, Bon Clay approached the main door, carefully opened a crack, and peered down the distant corridor.
The moment he opened it, he saw a man running toward them at incredible speed, with deep red liquid continuously dripping from his body.
Wherever the crimson poison touched the ground, it sizzled, clearly corroding the floor!
"Yikes!"
"This color of poison...
Isn't the poison Magellan's using this time a bit too terrifying?
It can even corrode the ground?"
Just then, Bon Clay heard a strange sound from behind.
Poof
"Huh?"
Turning to look, he noticed a puff of white smoke around Meiser, who now held a Kunai in his hand.
"What's that?" Bon Clay asked curiously.
"Nothing, just a weapon," Meiser replied with a laugh.
As he spoke, Meiser walked to a corner and tossed the Kunai onto the floor.
Bon Clay: ???
Wait, if it's a weapon, why throw it away?
After observing for a while and finding no clues, Bon Clay simply gave up thinking about it.
After all... he wasn't a Ninja and couldn't understand Meiser's intentions.
"Alright, let's go."
Having done this, Meiser clapped his hands, walked over to Bon Clay, grabbed his arm, and said, "It's time to leave Impel Down!"
With those words, Meiser took Bon Clay underground, swiftly moving away and quickly putting distance between them and Magellan.
"Huh?!"
"This presence...
Sensing two presences moving underground, Magellan's expression darkened. "Damn it, could they have already opened the Gates of Justice?"
Thinking this, Magellan temporarily abandoned his pursuit of the two and rushed to the control room.
The moment he entered, he saw the state of the Gates of Justice.
"Damn it, they're really open!"
Watching the slowly opening Gates of Justice, Magellan's face turned grim.
If the pirates seized this chance to escape, he would truly have failed Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"Warden Magellan?"
The guards, now back to normal, looked at Magellan in confusion and asked, "What brings you here?"
"Why did you open the Gates of Justice?"
"Deputy Warden Hannyabal was here earlier and said Marine Headquarters is sending reinforcements," one guard explained. "So he ordered us to open the Gates of Justice."
"Bullshit, Hannyabal is still receiving treatment. There's no way he could be here..."
Before Magellan could finish, he seemed to realize something, his words catching in his throat.
Damn it, could it be that Bon Clay?
Recalling the two different presences he had sensed earlier, Magellan's expression darkened.
Using the Mane Mane no Mi's power to deceive people, huh?
What a clever move
However, it was a pity. Since he had already arrived here, there was no way he would allow the Gates of Justice to open!
With that thought, Magellan strode over to the switch and pressed his hand against it.
Buzz buzz buzz~
Soon, the massive Gates of Justice came to a halt and slowly began to close.
Seeing this, Magellan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, As long as the Gates of Justice remain closed, there's no way they can escape!
"Warden Magellan, don't you need to tend to your arm?"
Seeing Magellan's blood-soaked arm, a nearby guard spoke with concern, "If left too long, it could easily get infected."
"I don't have time for that right now," Magellan replied.
He wanted to stop and treat it, but the problem was, he had to pursue those people as quickly as possible!
It seems I'll have to try using poison to temporarily seal the wound, Magellan murmured inwardly.
No sooner thought than done!
The next moment, Magellan activated his Devil Fruit Ability, driving poison to the wound and forcibly plugging the gap.
After doing this, Magellan turned to look at the guards in the room.
"Wh-what is it, Warden?"
Seeing the look in Magellan's eyes, the guards showed signs of fear.
Magellan remained silent for a moment before saying, "Sorry, but I'll have to inconvenience you for now!"
"Poison Dragon!"
Whoosh~
As soon as he spoke, Magellan's deadly poison slammed into the guards, forcefully poisoning them until they collapsed to the ground, temporarily immobilized.
"To prevent any of you from being hypnotized, this is the only way," Magellan explained. "But don't worry, once I've dealt with them, I'll come back and administer the antidote."
With those words, Magellan left without hesitation, leaving behind a group of guards groaning on the floor.
A short while later...
Poof~
A puff of white smoke drifted by, and the Kunai in the corner transformed into Meiser.
Then, the man walked over to the control panel for the Gates of Justice and pressed the button to open them.
Glancing at the now-reopened Gates of Justice, the clone grinned and said, "Good thing I prepared a backup plan in advance~"