Marine Headquarters.
Lucci knocked on the door of Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office.
"Reporting in, sir. News from Impel Down—Roya has broken into the prison. But strangely, rather than heading directly downward, he's... clearing out the Crimson Hell's flora and poisonous insects."
Hearing this, Sengoku frowned. Roya's behavior didn't make immediate sense.
Still, he didn't rush to a conclusion.
"Understood. Keep monitoring the situation. Report back immediately if anything changes."
Lucci nodded and turned away with a faint smile.
Sengoku watched him leave, quietly withdrawing his Observation Haki, which had been extended the entire time.
"No ripples in his mind. The intel should be solid."
"Only one day remains before the public execution... and Roya's wasting time wiping out the Crimson Hell?"
"Looks like he's truly preparing to go independent."
"He's clearly using Whitebeard as bait—to attract the Navy's full attention."
"No... I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Let's wait for further developments."
Even as he tried to stay cautious, Sengoku couldn't quite hide the grin forming at the corner of his lips.
He rose, poured himself a glass of red wine, and reclined into his couch to enjoy it.
---
Deep beneath the sea, Impel Down. Level Two.
Inside a vast underground arena nearly fifty meters tall, Roya and his team of four finally came to a stop.
Squard and McGuy each positioned themselves at one of the corridors feeding into the arena.
Roya stood directly opposite a massive arched gate.
From the side passages, the sound of stomping feet echoed closer and closer.
But even more ominous was the single, slow, thunderous footfall coming from behind the gate.
Each step shook the entire hall.
Buggy finally caught up, panting and trembling as he stared at the massive gate.
"Lord Fifth Emperor, w-we should run! That sound… that has to be the Sphinx, the strongest beast in this place!"
Before his words even finished, multiple beasts charged out from both side corridors!
On Squard's side, a tiny hippo, barely half a meter tall, came charging in.
But the strange thing was—despite its small size, it rushed forward like a bulldozer, shaking the ground with each step and leaving massive footprints meters wide in its wake.
Even Squard furrowed his brow at the oddity.
After a moment's thought, he set aside his greatsword and drew his long blade at the hip.
Then—a single iaido draw-cut.
No flashy sword aura, no visible energy.
Just a slash so fast that even Buggy couldn't see it.
He blinked—and Squard had already sheathed his sword.
The hippo appeared totally unfazed, still barreling forward.
"Did he miss?" Buggy thought, puzzled.
But then, the hippo suddenly tripped—and shattered into a thousand pieces, its body torn apart mid-gallop.
It was such a brutal and clean death that even Buggy—long used to dismemberment thanks to his Devil Fruit—felt a visceral, bone-deep shiver.
"I absolutely, definitely can't afford to piss off this 'Giant Whirlpool Spider' guy...!"
Meanwhile, on the opposite corridor, two enormous scorpions charged forth.
Their tails were as thick as a grown man's thigh, glowing ominously red.
They were terrifying to look at.
But McGuy didn't even glance at them.
Instead, he was staring at the ceiling, where two sickly green gemstones hung oddly in the shadows.
"You really thought I wouldn't notice you?"
With a cold smirk, McGuy hurled his sword toward the ceiling.
At the same moment, a platinum lightning bolt surged from its tip and struck the center point between the gems.
A blood-curdling shriek followed.
A massive rat, previously hidden in the shadows, fell to the ground with a thud—its body twitching before finally going still.
Its fur reeked of scorched flesh.
The two scorpions, seeing this, exchanged a panicked glance—then turned and fled back down the hallway.
Squard calmly picked up his greatsword and dashed down his corridor.
Soon, the halls echoed with the anguished howls of various unknown beasts.
McGuy followed suit, sprinting into his own corridor just as quickly.
Seeing this, Roya couldn't help but smile wryly.
"Hah... Are those two trying to give me space to shine?"
He turned toward the giant arched gate, just as a massive head poked through the opening.
Its mouth was filled with razor-sharp fangs, each at least the size of a grown man's arm.
Under its snow-white mane was deep purple skin, covered in countless scars—one of which slashed diagonally across most of its forehead.
Judging by its head alone, the creature stood at least 30 meters tall.
"Sphinx! It really is the Sphinx!"
Buggy gasped and instinctively stepped back in fear.
He'd heard all the terrifying legends about this beast during his time imprisoned.
As if responding to its name being called, the Sphinx let out a thunderous roar and lunged forward.
Its massive form finally emerged in full view—and without hesitation, it raised both of its colossal forelimbs, slamming them straight toward Roya!
Despite still being ten meters above the ground, the force of the strike alone generated a terrifying wind pressure—
—like standing beneath an army of industrial-strength fans at full blast.
Buggy screamed in terror, bolting backward as he shouted:
"Run, Lord Fifth Emperor! You can't beat a monster like that head-on!"
"You need a Devil Fruit that specifically counters it!"
But then—the wind pressure stopped.
The howling air around them fell silent.
All that remained was a soft sigh from Roya.
In that instant, Buggy realized something.
He had been stupid—he'd completely underestimated Roya.
Among the four-man team invading Impel Down, Roya was obviously the leader.
How could his strength possibly be lesser than that of Squard or McGuy?
This was a world where power ruled!
Buggy turned around, trembling—
Only to see Roya still standing there, calm and unmoved, not having taken even a single step back.
And the Sphinx?
Its terrifying paws were still hovering ten meters in the air, completely frozen in place.
But most shocking of all was the expression in the Sphinx's eyes—
It was fear.
Pure, unmistakable fear.
The undisputed beast king of Impel Down's second level—
Hadn't even landed a single blow before it was so terrified...
…it refused to continue attacking.
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