The Five Elders and Kong had dispatched all of CP0, plus two Admiral candidates—Momousagi (Gion) and Chaton (Tokikake).
With the Navy's main forces completely tied down by the Whitebeard Pirates, being able to mobilize power on that level at all…
On this sea, only the World Government could manage it.
CP0, Momousagi, and Chaton rushed toward Impel Down at full speed.
But their mission was doomed to fail from the start.
Because Impel Down was already collapsing.
When Redfield and Bullet stepped out of their cages and released Conqueror's Haki to clash with Luo Xing's—
Impel Down, whose foundations had already been battered by the earlier fighting, became even more unstable.
Bullet glanced at the trembling, creaking prison, then slammed his foot down.
His body shot upward like a cannonball.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several upper levels were smashed apart by his charge, the structures cracking and collapsing.
Walls ruptured, and endless seawater began pouring in.
Level Six was about to flood.
There was no way they could stay there.
Luo Xing's gaze swept toward Pizarro, Devon, Vasco Shot, and Sanjuan Wolf.
The four immediately lowered their posture and made their stance clear—
they were willing to submit.
So Luo Xing had Shiryu release them.
That left only Jinbe.
Jinbe hadn't submitted, yet Luo Xing still personally unfastened his chains.
Jinbe's eyes widened in surprise.
"I don't believe I have any ties with you," Jinbe said heavily. "And I've never had dealings with the Beasts Pirates."
Luo Xing smiled faintly.
"No ties now doesn't mean no ties later."
Luo Xing wasn't doing this out of "admiration."
He was thinking about Fish-Man Island—and the Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi.
His plan was already set:
Once Sabaody Archipelago was firmly in his grasp, he would head straight for Fish-Man Island and bring it into the Beasts Pirates' sphere of influence.
And Jinbe, as a pillar of the Fish-Man people, was someone worth winning over.
Gaining his goodwill would make everything smoother later—especially earning the trust of Shirahoshi.
Of course, Luo Xing had no intention of telling Jinbe that.
He only said, meaningfully:
"The Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy have begun an all-out war. No matter how it ends… Fish-Man Island's future will be difficult."
"Fish-Man Island will have to seek the protection of a Yonko crew."
"Instead of choosing someone else… choose the Beasts Pirates."
In the original timeline, after Whitebeard fell, Fish-Man Island sought shelter under Big Mom.
But Luo Xing had no intention of letting that happen.
For Shirahoshi's sake—so she wouldn't end up living under Big Mom's shadow—
he was more than willing to intercept that future.
Jinbe fell silent.
He had to admit Luo Xing was right.
If Fish-Man Island didn't have the backing of a Yonko, it would be torn apart by endless pirates.
In the end, Jinbe lowered his head and agreed to join the Beasts Pirates.
After all, the Beasts Pirates were now stronger than Whitebeard's crew ever was.
If Fish-Man Island needed protection, there was no better choice.
And so—
among the monsters of Infinite Hell, aside from Redfield and Bullet, and the already fallen Bondi Waldo…
the other five had all submitted.
Luo Xing was in a good mood.
And when Luo Xing was in a good mood—
he preferred to end things cleanly.
He brought Zoro, Enel, Shiryu, Jinbe, Pizarro, Devon, Vasco Shot, and Sanjuan Wolf—eight powerful subordinates in total—along with more than a thousand prisoners enhanced by monster cells…
and moved up to the surface of Impel Down, Level One.
Redfield and Bullet were waiting there.
Redfield stood with hands behind his back, gaze cold and aloof.
Bullet looked like a steel fortress—broad-backed and brutal, his expression savage.
The moment he saw Luo Xing, Bullet laughed wildly.
"Come on, kid! Let me see if that 'Fifth Emperor' title of yours is actually worth anything!"
Luo Xing—despite being "just a scientist," as he liked to call himself—never enjoyed fighting to the death.
If he could avoid throwing hands, he would.
But right now, he had no choice.
He also wanted to end this fast.
He guessed the World Government and the Navy had already sent reinforcements. The longer he dragged this out, the worse it got.
So Luo Xing didn't waste breath with Bullet and Redfield.
He simply turned to the eight behind him and said:
"All of you together—kill Redfield."
"Bullet is mine."
The moment those words fell, Redfield's expression changed.
Eight people… ganging up on an old man?
Was there no shame left at all?!
Redfield couldn't stay calm anymore.
His body had aged—his strength was no longer at its true peak.
Redfield's greatest weapon was his Observation Haki.
Some said it was so sharp he could even "read" an enemy in ways most people couldn't imagine.
And because of that—
he could sense just how terrifying the eight about to surround him truly were.
That green-haired three-sword user.
That pale-skinned lightning man.
Shiryu, the former chief jailer of Impel Down.
Any one of them could contend with him.
And the remaining five—Jinbe, Pizarro, Devon, Vasco Shot, Sanjuan Wolf—were all monsters in their own right.
If eight of them came at him together…
he was walking into a slaughter.
Even so, Redfield still had no intention of submitting.
He was proud to the bone.
He would rather die standing than live on his knees.
Maybe that was the trait every true sea-king shared.
But against the crushing tide of the era…
even a former legend, trying to resist, could only be ground into dust.
Zoro and the others moved.
Eight directions. Eight kill-zones.
Even Redfield's unmatched Observation Haki faltered for a heartbeat.
Because every strike was calculated—every possible retreat sealed.
He had nowhere to go.
So he could only take it head-on.
And with his aging body and thinning vitality…
how long could he possibly endure?
From the very beginning, this battle had already become a dead-end.
Bullet saw it too, and his expression darkened.
Not because he cared about Redfield—
but because Luo Xing had sent his strongest subordinates to surround Redfield, while choosing to face Bullet alone.
To Bullet, that was contempt.
"Kid… you're very confident in your own strength," Bullet said, voice cold as iron.
"I already warned you—right now, I'm stronger than I ever was!"
Luo Xing's face didn't change at all.
"Spare me the speeches."
"My time is limited… so hurry up and die, Mr. Bullet."
As he spoke, he raised Yama high—then brought it down.
"Purgatory—Asura!"
A pitch-black sword wave dozens of meters long ripped forward at an unbelievable speed.
It was coated in Conqueror's Haki.
So fast that even future-sight Observation couldn't reliably dodge it.
Bullet's pupils shrank violently.
He hadn't expected Luo Xing to open with something like this—like he truly intended to end him immediately.
Damn it…!
How dare you look down on me like that!
Bullet roared.
"Break for me!"
Armament Haki exploded over his hands as he clamped down on the incoming black sword wave with brutal force.
Bullet's physique was monstrous—raw power without limit, Haki without obvious weaknesses.
But he still underestimated Luo Xing's Conqueror-coated sword technique.
The first time Luo Xing used this move, he had wounded Golden Lion Shiki—
and back then, Luo Xing was nowhere near his current strength.
Bullet was forced backward step by step, veins bulging on his forehead, strength pushed to its limit.
"No good… brute force and Haki alone won't stop it."
"I'll have to use the Clank-Clank Fruit."
It humiliated him.
He'd shouted so boldly, yet couldn't crush this attack with his bare hands—like slapping his own face.
Grinding his teeth, Bullet activated his Devil Fruit.
The ground beneath him—and even the warships floating on the nearby sea—were dragged toward him, fusing together into a massive mechanical body.
Only then did he fully block the black sword wave.
But before he could even breathe—
Luo Xing's voice came again, calm and merciless:
"Purgatory—King of Hell!"
Clang!
A second sword wave erupted—ten times larger than the last, hundreds of meters in length, a black arc that looked like it could split the world.
Bullet's heart jolted.
That man's mastery of swordplay fused with Conqueror's coating…
Had it reached this terrifying level?!
BOOM—!!!
This time, Bullet didn't even get the chance to set himself properly.
He was struck head-on and blasted backward.
The fused mechanical body shattered apart.
Bullet flew out, blood spraying from his mouth, and crashed hard onto the ground.
He coughed violently, struggling to rise.
His face had turned uglier than ever.
He was hurt—badly.
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