The sound of footsteps was particularly piercing in the empty and silent Infinite Hell.
First, there were light clacking sounds, then they grew denser and denser, connecting into a continuous stream.
When Naruto and the other three reached a disc-shaped space at the center of a crossroads, sounds of approaching people came from all directions.
Unless they immediately retreated the way they came, no matter which direction they chose, they would encounter that group of frenzied criminals.
The criminals here weren't limited to just pirates, they also included many who had committed other sins, or whose very existence or the information they possessed wasn't permitted to spread by the World Government.
Among them, the former Warlord, Crocodile, who committed the 'crime of stealing a country' against the Alabasta Kingdom, was a classic example.
Of course, whether his life sentence was related to the Nefertari royal family, or because his actions had truly approached the legendary forbidden weapon [Pluton], was hard to say.
Among his Baroque Works' subordinates, Mr. 3, Mr. 2, and Mr. 1 were imprisoned on higher levels. The others had scattered or left. The Vice President, Miss All Sunday, Nico Robin, had disappeared even before his defeat.
Of course, Crocodile didn't know that Robin had joined the crew of the Straw Hat Luffy who defeated him and was now training near Sabaody Archipelago.
Experiencing such a defeat finally woke Crocodile from his obsession with the dream of Pluton.
He realized that only strengthening oneself was true power; relying on external forces or artifacts was ultimately unreliable.
Because of this, during his time imprisoned, even while wearing Seastone shackles, he attempted to train his Haki.
Especially during the period after the shackles were removed, he trained recklessly and without restraint in his cell.
As long as they didn't leave Level 6, they were temporarily free.
Crocodile ran slower and slower, soon falling to the rear of the group with others who harbored ill intentions.
Let those guys go die first.
This was their consensus.
"Hahaha!! His head is mine!"
A skinny pirate, wielding the long sword returned to him, charged out from around the corner at the forefront.
Simultaneously, more pirate figures poured in from different directions all at once.
These scoundrels, who didn't know how many years they had been imprisoned and finally saw a glimpse of freedom, had faces shining with excitement and ferocity. They roared while adopting offensive stances.
Would an intruder taken so seriously by the World Government be a simple character?
Of course, they had thought of this.
But the desire for freedom... or perhaps the thirst for slaughter constantly urged them: Charge, kill, destroy at will.
Naruto, watching the converging crowd, raised an eyebrow slightly.
"There are still too many small fries."
The space was relatively spacious for the four of them, but with so many people arriving at once, let alone fighting, even moving would be a problem.
So Naruto decided to clear out some of the prisoners who only got the 'participation prize'.
"Weaker ones should exit here first."
Hum-
With Naruto's words, an abyssal-like aura instantly surged from within him.
Conqueror's Haki rapidly spread outwards from Naruto.
Crack... Crackle...
When enveloped by the Haki, the stone floor tiles, ceiling, and walls, mixed with Seastone powder and incredibly hard, developed uniformly spreading cracks.
This was Haki powerful enough to cause physical damage to reality.
Long ago, Naruto and Shanks could already use Conqueror's Haki to damage simple objects, like ship rails or houses.
But a scene like today, where even those stone slabs were shattered, was a first.
One could imagine the experience of being enveloped by Haki of this degree.
Those whose minds were already ruined by imprisonment, or those who had been locked up for so long they didn't know Naruto's identity, instinctively stopped in their tracks the moment this Haki swept over them.
"This is... what..."
Among the crowd, some pirates felt as if they had seen some indescribable entity, their entire bodies stiffening.
Cold sweat broke out uncontrollably, only to be blasted into even finer mist by the Haki.
And these were the ones with considerable strength and resilient enough spirits.
For example, Crocodile, who 'shielded himself with the crowd', and other old schemers, or characters like Shiryu of the Rain whose mental fortitude was barely passable.
The rest, the unqualified small fry, as Naruto said, directly lost consciousness and exited the scene here.
As for whether they would face more punishment later for being unconscious… Naruto didn't care about that.
"Hmm, the intensity was just right this time."
Looking at the prisoners who could still stand, their numbers reduced to roughly thirty percent, Naruto nodded in satisfaction.
"These guys are your opponents. Don't let your guard down."
As he spoke, Naruto pointed.
"Then I'll go deal with a few troublesome old guys over there. See you later."
As his voice faded, his figure disappeared from the spot.
Watching the god-like figure vanish, the pirates who were still fearful straightened up again, looking at each other.
"What do we do?"
"Do we still fight?"
The prisoners looked at one another. At this moment, several individuals who had been hiding in the crowd decisively charged out, striking first.
'Hic... A bunch of idiots...'
Vasco Shot let out a disdainful laugh, a rare look of resolve appearing on his clown-like face.
"Those guys only said to kill the intruder for our freedom, and they didn't specify which one!"
The Corrupt King also charged out.
A few other pirates had the same idea. They were all ruthless characters with the willpower to remain conscious during the brief earlier impact.
Although they didn't know why Naruto dared to leave these three kids here so confidently, or why he hadn't attacked them-
These guys understood deeply the principle of seizing the opportunity.
"Drunkard's Hearth!"
"Desert Spada!"
The Heavy Drinker took a deep breath, then spat out a high-concentration stream of alcohol from his mouth, forming a water dragon.
Upon meeting a flame source he produced, the alcohol dragon instantly turned into a blazing inferno, scorching towards the three.
As a user of the [Sake Sake no Mi], he could release massive amounts of high-concentration alcoholic liquid and ignite it anytime, anywhere. (T/N: Booze Booze Fruit.)
No wonder some people said the 'Mera Mera no Mi is trash'...
Crocodile timely unleashed a sand blade slash, using the cover of the Heavy Drinker's attack to hide his killing move beneath it.
A thin layer of Haki coated this sand, not much, but enough to enhance its cutting power.
Sasuke, seeing this, didn't even bat an eye. With a casual wave of his hand, the sky filled with Calamity Flames.
The fire produced by the burning alcohol was instantly assimilated upon meeting the bluish-green Calamity Flames, then transformed into a fire dragon obediently floating around Sasuke.
As for the hidden slash attack, Karin, who charged out at the forefront, blocked it with her feathers.
"I'm not waiting for you!"
After shouting this, Karin turned into a golden light and charged towards the still-standing pirates.
Sasuke sighed helplessly, then also transformed into his hybrid form.
"...Pick a suitable opponent for yourself."
Before taking action, Sasuke glanced at Konohamaru and lightly said this.
Then he also leaped up, delivering a whip kick carrying an intangible impact towards the two charging at the front.
Konohamaru, reminded, was momentarily stunned, then came to his senses, a smile appearing on his face.
'What? This guy is pretty caring, isn't he?'
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
The next moment, dense figures turned into a rolling tide, charging towards the pirate side.
This was the combat method Konohamaru had developed.
If quality isn't enough, make up for it with quantity.
Now was the time to outnumber the enemy!