"Zehahaha~"
"So this is Impel Down?!"
Blackbeard burst into laughter as he gazed at the magnificent structure before him.
Once they breached this place, he would gain the crewmates he desired!
The thought made Blackbeard laugh even more heartily.
"Captain, the Marines nearby have noticed us," Van Augur reported.
"Zehahaha, doesn't matter," Blackbeard chuckled. "We're already here—no need to keep up appearances."
Having effectively severed ties with the Marines, he saw no reason to concern himself with them now.
Of course, if these Marines dared to cause trouble, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate them!
"Weehahaha, the captain's right!" Jesus Burgess struck a bodybuilder pose and laughed. "No need to bother with these Marines!"
"Let's go. Time to welcome our new crewmates."
"Yes, Captain!"
"Weehahaha!"
Following Blackbeard, the group quickly disembarked from their warship and headed toward the main entrance of Impel Down.
"Why are these bastards here?" A Marine Rear Admiral muttered with a grim expression. "They're supposed to be at Marine Headquarters right now!"
For some reason, he instinctively sensed danger.
He turned to a nearby Marine and ordered, "Quick, check what's happening on that warship!"
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, the Marine returned with alarming news.
"What did you say?!" The Rear Admiral's face twisted in disbelief. "All the Marines on that ship are dead?"
"Correct."
"Damn it..." The Rear Admiral's expression darkened. "Pirates can never be trusted!"
Though he didn't know their purpose for being here, it certainly wasn't anything good.
'Damn it, of all times...'
To prepare for Whitebeard's potential attack, Admiral Borsalino had taken all Vice Admirals when he left. Only a few Rear Admirals remained.
'Can we even stop Blackbeard?' The Rear Admiral wondered inwardly.
No—this wasn't about capability. They had to do it!
Even if it cost them their lives, they had to hold Blackbeard back!
"Rear Admiral, what should we do?"
"Stop them, of course!" The Rear Admiral declared. "In the name of justice, we must block their path!"
As he spoke, he drew his sword, his gaze sharpening.
"Yes, sir!"
Watching Blackbeard slaughter the guards at Impel Down's entrance, the Rear Admiral charged forward coldly.
Several other Rear Admirals from nearby warships joined the assault.
"Blackbeard, die!"
"Zehahaha, such sharp edges you have," Blackbeard laughed heartily. "In that case, I'll deal with you first!"
"BOOM!!"
As his words faded, a surge of darkness erupted from Blackbeard's body, radiating killing intent!
"What's happening? What in the world is going on?!"
Hannyabal frantically exclaimed as distant explosions echoed. "Could the prisoners be rioting?!"
At that moment, the Den Den Mushi in a nearby Guard's hand suddenly rang.
"Buro buro buro~"
"Buro buro buro~"
"Buro buro buro~"
"Click."
Snatching the Den Den Mushi, Hannyabal barked, "This is Hannyabal."
"Vice Warden! One of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea—Marshall D. Teach, Blackbeard—has arrived at Impel Down!" the Guard urgently reported.
"What did you say?!" Hannyabal gasped in disbelief. "Why would that bastard come here?"
Shouldn't all the Warlords be on standby at Marine Headquarters right now? How did this guy leave?
Damn it, what the hell are those Marine Headquarters idiots doing?!
"His motives are unclear," the Guard replied, glancing at the gates. "But he's already attacked our men. We—"
Before he could finish, dark, shadowy matter suddenly engulfed Impel Down's massive gates, swallowing them whole.
Witnessing this, the Guard's pupils shrank in horror.
"What's wrong?!"
"The gates—they've been devoured!"
"What?!" Hannyabal gaped. "What do you mean 'devoured'?"
But this time, no answer came—only a bloodcurdling scream.
"AAAH!!"
"Click~"
Staring at the disconnected Den Den Mushi, Hannyabal's face twisted with fury.
"Dammit! That bastard picked the worst possible time to show up," he growled.
"Hmm~"
"Should I go reinforce them?" Sadie asked.
Hannyabal didn't answer immediately, instead falling into deep thought.
"Eh?!"
"The Vice Warden is actually thinking seriously?!!"
The Guards stared at Hannyabal in shock, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Of course I'm thinking!" Hannyabal snapped. "Otherwise, I might lose my head!!"
"Eh?!"
"So it's just because you're scared of dying?!" Everyone gaped at him.
"I haven't become Warden yet—I can't die now!"
Pausing, he added, "Whatever Blackbeard's reason for being here, we can't let him run wild."
"Exactly! We can't allow Blackbeard free rein!"
"Right." Hannyabal nodded. "Where's Warden Magellan? Still on Level 2?"
"Most likely."
"In that case, I—"
Before Hannyabal could finish, the Den Den Mushi rang again.
"Buro buro buro~"
"Buro buro buro~"
"Buro buro buro~"
"Click~"
Frowning, Hannyabal answered. "Hannyabal here. What's happened now?"
"Vice Warden, the intruders have appeared on Level 4," the guard shouted. "Crocodile and Jimbei are with them too."
"Those two as well?"
Hannyabal's expression immediately changed. How were they supposed to stop them?
Even with Sadie and the three Jailer Beasts guarding this place with him, they might not be able to hold off so many powerful enemies!
Especially that Blood-Eyed Ninja—he possessed an Undying Body. How were they supposed to fight that?!
"Not just that!" the guard yelled. "All the prisoners who mysteriously disappeared earlier have reappeared and started a riot with Ivankov!"
"We can't stop them at all!"
"What did you say?!"
Hearing his subordinate's words, Hannyabal's eyes nearly bulged out of his head in shock and disbelief.
A riot...?
Why were these people rioting alongside the Blood-Eyed Ninja?!
Hannyabal felt numb, his legs giving out as he collapsed to the ground.
"It's over. My life is over."
With the Blood-Eyed Ninja and those rioters on Level 4, and Blackbeard's crew with unknown intentions on Level 1...
It was over. His life was completely over.
"Vice Warden, pull yourself together!"
"How can I pull myself together?" Hannyabal muttered, his entire being drained of color as he knelt on the ground. "What am I supposed to do in this situation?"
After a moment of silence, he lifted his head and said, "Maybe we should just go back to the surveillance room and eat some persimmon cakes."
The way he looked right now—as if he had completely given up on life—left the guard utterly dumbfounded.
"You damn Vice Warden, snap out of it!" the guard roared, his shark-like mouth wide open. "We have to protect Impel Down!"
"You're only saying that because you don't have to take responsibility!" Hannyabal stood up and pointed accusingly. "Admit it—you're after my Vice Warden position, aren't you?"
"You—"
"Vice Warden, Warden Magellan is calling."
Seeing the Den Den Mushi shoved in his face, Hannyabal immediately grabbed it. "Warden Magellan?!"
"Yes, it's me."
"Are you still on Level 2?"
"Yes, that's right."
As he spoke, Magellan glanced at the Level 2 exit he had blocked off. "I've suppressed the riot here and sealed the exit to Level 1."
After a pause, he continued, "As for Blackbeard... I already know about that."
Hearing this, Hannyabal swallowed the words he had been about to say.
"So... what should we do?" he asked instead.
"I plan to release Silvers Rayleigh and have him suppress Blackbeard's crew," Magellan said. "With his strength, stopping them shouldn't be a problem."
"Wha—?!" Hannyabal gasped. "Release Silvers Rayleigh? Are you serious?!"
That guy was a terrifying, cold-blooded demon.
Was it really okay to release him at such a dangerous time?
"We have no other choice," Magellan sighed.
"But we could ask Marine Headquarters for—"
"The Marine Headquarters can't support us!" Magellan interrupted Hannyabal, saying, "The public execution of Fire Fist Ace will begin in just a few hours."
"At any moment during this time, Whitebeard could appear at Marine Headquarters. Do you really think they can spare any forces to reinforce us now?"
Magellan was well aware of the Whitebeard Pirates' strength.
Under these circumstances, Fleet Admiral Sengoku couldn't possibly send reinforcements to aid them.
This time, they would have to rely on themselves to overcome this crisis.
"How can this be?" Hannyabal exclaimed in frustration.
As he spoke, he noticed figures appearing in the distance and immediately spotted an enormous head.
"That head... Ivankov?!"
Damn it, had they already made it this far?
"Hannyabal, do everything you can to hold them off," Magellan ordered. "I'll hurry to Level 4 as soon as possible."
If Hannyabal and the others could stall the Blood-Eyed Ninja and his group for a while, Magellan could return to Level 4 and block their path!
With that thought, Magellan sprinted toward the elevator.
"So it's up to us to stop them..."
"Hannyabal, you're the deputy warden I recognize—pull yourself together!" Magellan shouted. "Hold out until I get there!"
Click~
Staring at the disconnected Den Den Mushi, Hannyabal fell silent for a moment before roaring, "You're right! I'm the deputy warden of Impel Down—how can I back down now?!"
"Everyone, get ready!"
"YEAH!!"
Seeing their deputy warden rallying, the guards found their morale instantly boosted, as if they had regained their backbone.
"Mmm~"
"Working together, we should be able to hold them off for a while."
After saying this, Sadie paused and glanced at the three Jailer Beasts. "And you three—don't get hypnotized like that idiot Minotaurus, got it?"
"ROAR!!"
The Jailer Beasts roared in response.
"Mmm~"
"Good boys~" Sadie smiled in satisfaction. "Prepare for battle!"
Hannyabal gripped his double-headed sword tightly, his gaze fixed intently on the distant bridge. "We must stop them here!"
"YEAH!!"
With a battle cry, the group charged forward alongside Hannyabal toward Ivankov and the advancing enemies.
"HEE-HAW!!"
"With your strength, stopping us is impossible!" Ivankov laughed mockingly.
"Dammit, we can't hold them back at all!"
"What do we do?!"
"Ah! It's Deputy Warden Hannyabal and Sadie!"
The guards' faces lit up with relief as they saw Hannyabal leading the charge.
Though their deputy warden was usually a bit of a fool—always muttering about taking the warden's position in front of Magellan and getting beaten up for it—when it mattered, this man was dependable!
"These bastards released so many prisoners—no wonder there's such chaos," Hannyabal muttered.
His expression darkened as he spotted the prisoners in their striped uniforms among the crowd.
This only made suppressing the riot even harder.
"Hannyabal, huh?" Meiser stared at Hannyabal and asked, "How strong is this guy?"
"Not sure, but probably not as strong as Magellan."
"Is that so..."
"You bastard, I heard that!" Hannyabal roared in anger.
To say he wasn't as good as Magellan was practically declaring he'd never become the prison warden in this lifetime!
That was something he couldn't tolerate!
Ivankov: ???
He had just stated a simple fact—why was this guy so furious?
Couldn't he handle the truth about his own weakness?
Just then, the crack of a whip striking the ground echoed in everyone's ears, drawing their attention.
"You scum aren't leaving this place!" Sadie declared.
"Well, well, if it isn't Sadie," Meiser remarked, sizing her up. "Didn't expect you'd dare to stand in my way again."
"Did you forget what happened last time?!"
As soon as he spoke, Meiser activated Susanoo once more.
"That thing again..."
At the sight of the pale golden skeletal armor, Sadie immediately stumbled backward, her legs giving out uncontrollably.
Fortunately, a Jailer Beast stood right behind her, preventing her from crashing to the ground.
But her reaction didn't escape the others' notice.
"What's wrong with her?" Ivankov asked, puzzled. "Why is she acting like a mouse seeing a cat?"
"What did you do to her?"
"Nothing much. Just gave her a taste of her own weapon," Meiser replied nonchalantly.
Ivankov: "..."
Ivankov's expression twisted into something complicated. Who would've thought someone like her would ever be on the receiving end of such treatment?
Serves her right!
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