On the Calm Belt, a small skiff waited on the still waters.
Bartholomew Kuma sat aboard, the Bible in his hands, reading with quiet focus.
Just as he was about to turn the page, ripples suddenly disturbed the motionless sea. Fisher Tiger burst out from below, carrying the unconscious Shiki with Rayleigh surfacing beside him.
Bartholomew Kuma immediately stepped forward to help, hauling Shiki up alongside Tiger. Moments later, Tiger and Rayleigh climbed aboard as well.
"Looks like everything went smoothly," Bartholomew Kuma said with a faint smile.
"Yeah. That Ortoren guy is surprisingly reliable," Rayleigh said, peeling off his soaked clothes and wringing out the seawater as he spoke.
"No time to waste. It's your turn now, Kuma-san," Tiger urged, still in a hurry.
Bartholomew Kuma didn't delay. He stood, raised his hand, and struck out with a palm. The instant his hand touched Tiger, the fishman—still carrying Shiki—vanished from the skiff in a blur.
Rayleigh watched the display and let out a breath of admiration. "Really impressive… this Devil Fruit…"
"Are you ready, Rayleigh-san?" Bartholomew Kuma asked shyly, almost apologetically.
"Go ahead…" Rayleigh laughed.
A moment later, Kuma delivered another palm strike. Rayleigh felt a powerful force wrap around him, then he was shot through the air at incredible speed. How fast?
When he glanced back toward where he came from, all he could see was endless ocean—Kuma was long gone from sight.
Turning forward, he could already make out the massive Yarukiman Mangroves of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Before he could even process it, thump—he landed safely, standing right at the door of Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
Right beside him stood Fisher Tiger, looking dazed as he looked at the familiar scenery, and the still–unconscious Shiki slumped over his shoulder.
"That was fast… way faster than I expected…" Tiger said in awe.
"As Kuma-san explained, over short distances his ability basically becomes teleportation. Impel Down isn't too far from here, so it's instant. Longer distances across the seas take more time," Rayleigh explained.
Then he waved it aside. "Let's head in. Once night falls, we start phase two…"
Tiger nodded and carried Shiki as he followed Rayleigh toward the nearby tavern.
...
Meanwhile, inside the tavern, Ortoren had just picked up his drink to wet his throat when the Den Den Mushi in his arms suddenly rang.
"No surprise. Must be Fleet Admiral Sengoku…" Ortoren checked the Den Den Mushi, confirmed it, then grinned at Gion and Issho. "He's probably about to order me to rush to Impel Down."
Without thinking too much of it, Ortoren answered.
"Admiral? What's the matter?"
On the other side, Sengoku's tone was heavy.
"Ortoren, Impel Down has encountered an incident. Shiki has escaped. Do you know anything about this?"
"What!? Shiki escaped!?" Ortoren put on his best shocked voice. "How could that be? Isn't Impel Down supposed to be impenetrable?"
"Even the strongest fortress can't withstand a traitor working from the inside," Sengoku said pointedly. Before Ortoren could reply, he pressed further. "Tell me—does this have anything to do with you?"
"Admiral, my loyalty to the Marines is absolute. The moment something goes wrong, you suspect me? Isn't that unfair? I, Ortoren, have never done anything to let you down! How could you say that…" Ortoren's voice took on the perfect tone of a wronged subordinate.
Hearing this, Sengoku actually felt a pang of guilt. Why was Ortoren always the first person he suspected whenever something happened?
He was supposed to be on vacation. Something as serious as Impel Down should—
Before that thought could settle, and before Ortoren could finish expressing his "grievance," the tavern door was shoved open with explosive force. Fisher Tiger barged in, his voice booming across the room.
"Ortoren! I brought Shiki for you! Impel Down was totally fine!"
The entire bar went silent.
Issho glanced at Ortoren, who had frozen like a stone statue, then at the oblivious, loud-mouthed Tiger… and burst into laughter.
That was enough to set Gion off too. She broke into hysterics, pounding the armrest of the sofa as she laughed uncontrollably. Behind the counter, even Shakky could only shake her head with a helpless smile.
Tiger, meanwhile, scratched his head in confusion and casually tossed Shiki aside.
"What's wrong? What's got you all so happy?"
"You—" Ortoren was just about to curse this clueless brute when the Den Den Mushi in his hand nearly leapt out of his grip from Fleet Admiral Sengoku's thunderous roar.
"You bastard! So it was you! Still pretending with me!? Have you lost your mind, Ortoren!? Explain yourself! Why did you pull Shiki out of Impel Down!?"
Just moments ago, Sengoku had actually felt guilty for suspecting poor, "loyal" Ortoren. And now? Not even one second later—blatant confirmation.
"Admiral, let me explain!!!" Ortoren wailed, then hurriedly added, "I did this for the Marines! For you!"
"For the Marines? For me? I don't recall ever asking you to do something like this! Shiki was locked up perfectly fine in Impel Down, and you just had to drag him out! Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused us!? If you don't give me a full explanation today, you're finished! I'll come deal with you myself!"
"Admiral, really, I did all this purely for the Navy's overall benefit. This is only the first step of the plan. I needed Shiki to take the blame..." Ortoren explained rapidly.
"The first step? A plan? You're telling me this disaster is only the beginning? You turned Impel Down into a mess just to start things—what's next, burn Mary Geoise to the ground!? You're getting bold, aren't you!?"
"Huh?" Ortoren froze for a second. So this was the famed intuition of the Resourceful General?
"No, no—the next steps... they're hard to explain right now. Just trust me. I really am doing this for the Marines. Once everything settles, you'll understand. You might even thank me..." Ortoren said quickly, trying to soothe him.
"You still won't talk?" Sengoku growled, but after venting his rage, much of the fire had burned off. His reasoning began to return. When he thought about it carefully, Ortoren was usually meticulous, someone who followed a system—overall, a dependable man. As for betraying the Marines? Even after the Impel Down fiasco, Sengoku had never seriously suspected such a thing. He trusted Ortoren deeply. The problem was that Ortoren always pulled off huge stunts without giving him any warning, startling him over and over again. That was why he got angry.
"You won't explain? Fine, for the sake of our past, I'll trust you this once. But answer me this: when you're done, can Shiki be returned to Impel Down? And what am I supposed to tell Mary Geoise about this disaster? What reason do I report!?"
"Ahem... in a little while, Shiki will probably be killed by me, so there's no need to send him back to Impel Down. As for Mary Geoise, I've already arranged someone to take the blame. The Revolutionary Army. Just say the Revolutionary Army carried out this operation, launched a raid on Impel Down, and caused the current situation. Dragon-san will come forward afterward and publicly accept responsibility. I've already discussed it with him." Ortoren explained quickly.
"Dragon!?" Sengoku's eyebrow twitched. "Don't get involved with him. You two individually already give me headaches. Together, you'll tear the sky open!"
After a brief pause, Sengoku asked, "How long is this going to take?"
"Almost done, almost done. If the weather holds tonight and it doesn't rain, everything will be wrapped up by today. You'll be able to sleep well tomorrow..." Ortoren said after thinking it over.
"So you're saying I won't be sleeping well tonight?" Sengoku asked stiffly.
Ortoren thought silently to himself: If you manage to sleep tonight, I'll be impressed.