"So this is Level Two?"
Luffy looked around at the dim prison cells, placing his hat back on his head.
"It doesn't feel that special."
It looked exactly like the cells they had seen before.
"Bastard, is that what matters?!"
Buggy's head flew up from the ground and pressed directly against Luffy's face.
"We almost fell to our deaths just now, you know?!"
Buggy had never dreamed this kid would be so insane. The moment they got close to the huge pit, he had dragged the two of them and jumped straight down.
Had this brat never thought they might fall to their deaths?
If jin had not used Water Release to catch them, they might have died from the fall!
"Ahahaha! But we're fine, aren't we?" Luffy said with a toothy grin.
"Bastard, reflect on it properly!"
Luffy's attitude nearly made Buggy die of anger.
Did this kid really care so little about other people's lives?
Or was this guy just pig-brained and unable to think that far?
Thinking of this, Buggy looked at jin with pity.
"Hm?"
"What is it?"
jin looked at Buggy in confusion.
Why was this guy looking at him like that?
"jin, why don't you join my crew instead?" Buggy said.
jin: "…"
How did this guy have the courage to say something like that?
His bounty was not even a fraction of Luffy's.
Speechless, jin chose to ignore him.
"Hey, Buggy, what are you doing?!" Luffy said unhappily. "You're trying to steal my partner?"
"Hmph. Following someone like you must be exhausting."
"What did you say?!"
"All right, stop messing around," jin said. "Hurry up and find the gate on this level. Then we'll leave here and enter the next level."
Since jin had spoken, Luffy stopped moving and said,
"Buggy, if you say something like that again, I'll beat you up!"
Buggy curled his lips but said nothing more.
In the end, he had only said it casually. It was not as if he truly wanted to recruit jin.
After all… he still knew the limits of his own influence.
At that moment, they heard footsteps, as if something was running toward them.
"What's that sound?"
"Someone's probably coming."
jin grinned.
"Perfect. We can figure out this level's—"
Before jin could finish, he fell silent.
Because what appeared before them was not a jailer, but a hippopotamus about the size of a puppy.
"A… baby hippo?"
Luffy tilted his head and looked at the little hippo on the ground, question marks appearing on his face.
"Why would there be a baby hippo here?"
"It is a bit strange."
Buggy crouched down and looked at the little hippo.
"I heard Level Two is the Wild Beast Hell. This place should be full of terrifying demon beasts. But this thing…"
Could the rumors be false?
If that was the case, then they should be able to smoothly pass through Level Two and reach Level Three.
Thinking this, Buggy said,
"Looks like this level isn't dangerous. We—"
Before Buggy could finish, the hippo in front of him opened its enormous bloody mouth and swallowed his upper body in one bite.
Buggy: !!!
Buggy, whose upper body was now reduced to only his head, stared at the little hippo below in shock.
If he had not seen wrong, the mouth that thing opened just now was several times larger than its body, right?
What the hell was this?!
"So this is a demon beast?"
jin rubbed his chin and studied it.
"Interesting."
"Hey, why are you analyzing it now?"
Buggy looked at jin in disbelief.
Wasn't this the time to run?
"There's nothing to be afraid of."
jin walked over and patted the little hippo.
"This guy is already under my control."
"Under your control?"
Buggy froze, then realized the hippo had indeed quieted down.
"Spit out his body."
"Roar~"
The little hippo opened its huge mouth and spat Buggy's upper body back out.
"How did you do that?" Buggy asked in shock.
This guy could actually control the demon beasts of the Wild Beast Hell?
Wasn't that too amazing?
Could this guy be a beast tamer like his subordinate Mohji?
"Naturally, I have my ways," jin said.
Seeing that jin had no intention of explaining, Buggy did not continue asking.
But… since jin could control demon beasts, that meant they could easily pass through Level Two, the Wild Beast Hell!
Thinking this, Buggy grinned.
At that moment, a strange sound rang out, as if something was flying through the sky.
The next moment—
Clang!
A sharp slash cut Buggy in half, scaring him so badly that snot burst from his nose.
"Bastard! What the hell is it this time?!"
"A mantis?"
Looking at the mantis wearing a jailer's hat, jin asked in surprise,
"Is this thing a jailer too?"
It could command these beasts…
Could there be some Devil Fruit user here who could control wild beasts?
If that was the case, then if he controlled that person, wouldn't it be equivalent to controlling all of Level Two?
Thinking of this, jin's eyes lit up.
"How would I know if it's a jailer?" Buggy said. "All I know is that it's extremely dangerous!"
It had sliced him apart so easily. Its attack power was stronger than that of ordinary pirates.
"Not good! It's coming again!"
Seeing the mantis rush over, Buggy was so frightened that he turned and ran.
"Go. Take it down," jin said.
"Roar!"
After receiving jin's order, the little hippo immediately opened its huge mouth and rushed toward the mantis.
"Hiss!"
The mantis was startled and quickly spread its wings to pull away.
"Hiss?"
The mantis assumed a combat stance and looked at the little hippo in confusion, unable to understand why one of its own had suddenly attacked it.
But the little hippo did not give it much time to think. It immediately charged forward and began fighting it, forcing the mantis to turn and flee into the distance.
It was an assassin. Its body was too fragile. If that thing bit it once, it would die.
"Oh~"
"So it can be used like this!"
Looking at the two beasts killing each other, Buggy said excitedly,
"Go! Take it down, little hippo!"
"Roar!"
"Hiss!"
"Enough. Stop watching."
jin grabbed Buggy, who was still enjoying the show, and said,
"This place will attract other animals sooner or later. Before that, we need to hurry and—"
Before jin could finish, the voice of a jailer came from the broadcast above.
"Announcement!"
"Two intruders and one criminal have entered Level Two, the Wild Beast Hell!"
"All Level Two personnel, remain alert!"
"Repeating!"
"Two intruders and one criminal have entered Level Two, the Wild Beast Hell!"
"All Level Two personnel, remain alert!"
"We've… been discovered?"
Buggy showed an expression of disbelief.
How had those jailers discovered them?
"Tch. So we were still seen."
jin clicked his tongue.
"What exactly happened?"
"Most likely, we were discovered by the Visual Transponder Snails in the Crimson Hell earlier," jin said.
Either the Transponder Snail had transmitted the image to the monitor room on Level One before he cut it down, or there had been another hidden Transponder Snail that just happened to capture them entering the large hole.
'Looks like silently breaking into Impel Down really isn't an easy thing.'
jin muttered inwardly.
Since that was the case… they would just fight their way down.
For now, he only hoped Hancock would not be suspected because of their exposure. Otherwise, she might be captured.
Thinking of this, jin silently sighed.
"What do we do now?"
Buggy was somewhat frantic.
"If Magellan catches us, we might all die!"
Although jin had said he would protect him… if they truly encountered Magellan, who knew whether this brat would keep his promise?
After all… they were all pirates.
"So what? No matter who it is, no one can stop me from saving Ace!" Luffy said.
"Idiot! You have no idea how terrifying Magellan is!"
"Enough. What's the point of saying that now?"
jin glanced at Buggy.
"If you're really that scared, then leave first. The two of us will go on our own."
After saying that, jin paused briefly before continuing,
"Of course, if you can hold out until we fight our way back, we'll take you with us. Consider it payment for the information you gave us."
"But… if you can't hold out until we return, then you can't blame us. No problem, right?"
If Buggy really did not want to follow them down, jin would not force him.
After all… this guy had also said he did not know how to enter Level Three, so whether he came or not did not matter.
Buggy fell silent, his mind spinning rapidly.
'Leave by myself?'
If he left alone, he indeed would not need to face Magellan.
But… he could not beat the jailers here either!
He could not even defeat the Bluegori on Level One, let alone the even stronger jailers and beasts.
Thinking of this, Buggy gave up the idea of escaping alone.
Then he gave jin an awkward smile.
"Forget it. I'll stay with you."
"Then stop talking nonsense and follow—"
Before jin could finish, he sensed a current of air rushing toward them from afar, mixed with a foul, fishy stench.
This made jin subconsciously frown.
"Why does this feel like some animal's breath?"
Then jin raised his head and looked up, discovering a massive creature.
"So it's this guy?"
"W-What the hell is that?!"
Luffy looked at the drooling creature above, his eyes full of shock.
"Damn it! So the rumors were true! There really are demon beasts on Level Two!"
Buggy said in shock.
jin, however, studied the creature curiously.
"Why does this thing look a little like a snake?"
"No, wait. Like… a chicken?"
"A snake chicken?"
"A chicken snake?"
What the hell was this thing?
"Roar!"
Looking at the three motionless "desserts," the beast roared.
"Stop caring about what it is and run!"
"Run?"
"We've already been discovered. Why should we run?"
Looking at the huge creature getting closer and closer, jin grinned.
"Big guy, you want to eat us… but you're not qualified!"
As soon as his voice fell, pale golden light appeared around jin.
Then a pale golden skeletal frame appeared over his body, firmly protecting him.
"W-What is that?!"
Buggy stared at jin in shock.
"A golden skeleton?"
Was this guy a Devil Fruit user?
What kind of ability was this?
"So… so cool!"
Luffy looked at the skeletal frame around jin with excitement, his eyes shining.
"Hey, jin, what is this?!"
"Ah, this ability is called Susanoo," jin said without turning back. "You could say it's an ability I only recently mastered."
Then jin controlled the skeletal frame to raise its arm, aiming at the approaching giant beast.
"Taste my Susanoo Fist!"
The next moment, jin jumped up, arriving in front of the beast, and punched its head viciously.
Boom!
Crack!
The incredibly heavy pale golden fist slammed into the beast's head, forcibly shattering its skull.
Under the impact of that force, the beast's enormous body flew backward and smashed straight through the distant wall.
Whoosh—
Boom!
"Ahhh!"
The moment the wall was smashed open, screams came from inside. Clearly, someone had been hit head-on by the beast and knocked unconscious.
"So this guy was actually this strong?"
Buggy looked at jin.
"He defeated that thing with one punch?"
"Ahahaha! jin is super strong!"
Luffy laughed loudly.
His partner's strength was extremely powerful. Taking down this monster was not a problem.
Buggy subconsciously nodded. Then, as if thinking of something, his eyes lit up and he rushed toward jin.
Under jin's confused gaze, Buggy placed his hand on the Susanoo.
jin: ???
"What are you doing?"
jin frowned at Buggy, unable to understand what this guy meant.
"Is this some kind of gold ability?" Buggy asked excitedly. "Can I pry some off?"
If he could pry some off, then this golden skeleton around jin would be extremely valuable!
jin: "…"
Speechless, jin complained,
"Are you insane?"
"Pry some off… Should I dig out my eyeballs for you too?"
"What would I do with your eyeballs?" Buggy shook his head. "I'm only interested in gold."
Other people's eyeballs could not be sold for money. They were completely useless to him, so he did not want them.
"Heh, now you're being picky."
jin was so angry he laughed. Was this kid a little too lacking in boundaries?
After casually tossing Buggy aside, jin said,
"This isn't gold. It's just the manifestation of energy."
After saying this, jin released Susanoo.
"Huh?"
"It isn't gold?"
Buggy, lying on the ground, immediately showed a disappointed expression.
"Then forget it."
He had originally thought this thing was made of gold, but it turned out to only be energy.
Then never mind. This thing could not be taken away or turned into money.
"Even if it were gold, so what? Could you carry it away if I gave it to you?" jin said irritably.
"Ahahaha, that's true."
After calming down, Buggy scratched his head awkwardly.
Just as the other party had said, even if he were given such a huge amount of gold, he currently had no way to take it away.
After all… they were inside Impel Down right now.
"All right, stop wasting time. Let's go," jin said. "If you want gold, go look for it after we return to the sea."
"Yeah!"
Buggy grinned.
"Once this great me returns to the sea, I'll definitely become the Treasure King!"
Of course, if he could build a force of his own, that would be even better.
That way… he might even have a chance to surpass that bastard Shanks!
Thinking this, a strange light flashed in Buggy's eyes.
Clearly, because of jin's earlier words, Buggy's mentality had begun to change.
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