With a mighty slash, Squard drove his massive greatsword down—its three-meter-long blade buried to the hilt.
CRACK!
A series of spine-chilling sounds echoed out as fissures radiated from the point of impact like a spiderweb.
In the blink of an eye, the entire transfer hall floor was covered in fractures.
It was only now that the Impel Down staff realized this wasn't just another visit from the Pirate Empress handing over a bounty—it was a full-scale invasion.
But by the time panic kicked in, it was far too late to react.
---
"That strike...!"
Just as Boa Hancock sensed something unusual about Squard's slash, the floor beneath her crumbled into dust—no longer able to support anyone's weight.
Amid the clouds of falling debris, everything and everyone in the hall dropped down.
Already prepared, Squard and McGuy landed lightly on their feet.
Roya strolled downward at a leisurely pace, as if descending an invisible staircase, completely relaxed and effortless.
Hancock, caught off guard, fell rather awkwardly. Thankfully, her ever-faithful serpent companion Salome reacted swiftly—tail anchoring to the ground and body coiling beneath her—gently catching her mid-air and lowering her to the floor.
Still, Boa Hancock's mind was fixated on that one slash Squard had just executed.
Her sharp gaze bounced between Roya and Squard in disbelief.
"That technique... It was exactly like one of Mihawk's signature moves!"
But as she watched Roya descend so calmly and gracefully, she realized there was a crucial difference:
"No... That slash didn't use Haki at all—just pure sword energy."
"Squard didn't just imitate Mihawk—he surpassed him in mastery!"
"He used less than a tenth of the sword energy Mihawk did, yet his destructive power is even greater!"
With that revelation, Hancock's gaze on Roya grew even more intense—complicated, burning, and deeply intrigued.
---
Meanwhile, the commotion had triggered immediate alerts across the ground and first underground levels.
In her office above, Vice Warden Domino bolted from her desk the moment the tremors struck.
Smoke and dust choked the halls. She burst into the surveillance room only to find a large portion of its floor collapsed as well.
The wall of monitors that once tracked every corner of Impel Down?
Now nothing but white noise.
The massive surveillance Den Den Mushi that received all video feeds?
Its head drooped, either unconscious or... dead.
"Damn it! Who the hell is bold enough to attack Impel Down head-on?!"
Domino cursed as she carefully skirted around the gaping hole in the transfer hall floor, sprinting toward the main elevator to the lower levels.
She wasn't dumb enough to jump into the pit just to "check it out."
---
Directly beneath the collapsed floor, another round chamber existed.
Four corridors extended from it, each leading to a different cell block.
Roya, using his Observation Haki, had already scanned and memorized the entire layout of the prison—from architecture to guard distribution.
Raising a hand, he pointed toward the left corridor.
Squard and McGuy immediately rushed ahead without hesitation.
Roya turned to the still-stunned Boa Hancock, extending his arm with a slight smile in gentlemanly fashion.
The Pirate Empress's usual poise returned instantly.
With a graceful toss of her waist, she leapt from Salome's back, landing perfectly beside Roya.
Slipping her left arm into Roya's extended right, she pressed close.
Roya blinked in mild surprise but chuckled, gently lowering his arm as they walked together into the corridor.
"Is it your intention to destroy the torture devices on every level, kill all the guards, and completely obliterate this prison?"
"Did I guess right this time, Lord Fifth Emperor?" Hancock teased with a radiant smile.
"That's right," Roya replied, feeling the warmth of her body clinging to his arm.
"Prisons may serve a purpose… but this prison? Heh."
---
In the surrounding cells, the prisoners began to notice the group walking freely past their bars.
Excitement flared.
They rushed to the bars, pounding and yelling:
"Let us out, friend!"
"How'd you get out? Come on, unlock us too!"
"If we all rush together, we've got a better shot at escaping!"
Roya ignored them completely.
Anyone captured and locked up in Level 1 of Impel Down was either insufferably stupid, or had committed crimes heinous enough to warrant zero mercy.
Such people weren't worth freeing.
As Roya walked past stone-faced, their pleas twisted into fury:
"BASTARD! LET US OUT!"
"You little punk! Open the damn door or I'll kill you, you hear me?!"
The threats escalated into chaos—until a mocking voice rang out:
"You guys really are idiots. You're stuck behind bars and threatening him? That's comedy gold!"
"How exactly are you gonna kill anyone? Glare at them to death? HA!"
A gruff inmate shouted back:
"What are you laughing at?! You're locked up same as us, idiot! What makes you any different?"
Suddenly, the taunting man stepped forward—his body splitting into floating parts that drifted effortlessly between the bars.
He reassembled outside the cell, adjusted his clown nose, and laughed in his signature tone:
"IDIOTS! I can leave whenever I want—I was just messing with you!"
(He stuck out his tongue and slapped his butt at the caged prisoners before running after Roya.)
---
Catching up quickly, the colorful man reattached both hands—each now holding a large battle axe.
He jogged up beside Roya and grinned:
"Hey there! Uh, Lord Fifth Emperor? Mind taking me with you?"
"Name's Buggy! A cheerful treasure-hunting clown, as you can see!"
Roya didn't reply—he neither liked nor disliked the clownish pirate.
Seeing the silence, Buggy tried to prove his worth.
He leapt forward, blocking Roya's path, and pointed to the hallway corner ahead:
"Careful! Corners like this usually have surveillance Den Den Mushi. They'll report us to the control room!"
"We should take care of them first befo—"
He was cut off by Roya and Hancock casually sidestepping him and continuing forward.
"Uh... okay. Just pretend I didn't say anything."
Buggy tiptoed to the corner and peeked.
Sure enough, the surveillance Den Den Mushi was there… except…
It was sound asleep.
"…What the hell?! Den Den Mushi need to sleep too?!"
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