"So that scream earlier came from here?"
Looking at the shattered wall beside him, jin rubbed his chin.
"I didn't expect to accidentally take down this level's monitor room."
In that case, had he knocked out Level Two's eyes?
"Hey, who exactly are you people?"
"You even took down such a terrifying monster!"
"Could you please get the keys for us? We want to escape too!"
Listening to the noisy voices around him, jin picked his ear and said,
"You're too loud, you bastards."
"Don't say that, little brother~"
Unfortunately, jin had no intention of dealing with them.
"Yahahaha! Don't be so impatient, jin."
Buggy floated up, flew into the monitor room, took out the keys, then returned to jin's side.
"I know you're strong, but if we run into a large number of jailers, it'll still be troublesome."
After saying that, Buggy paused before continuing,
"If we let these guys out, then we can also…"
Although Buggy did not finish, jin still understood what he meant.
However, he truly did not expect these small fry to be of much use.
But since Buggy had already started acting, he did not say anything more.
"Hey, you bastards! Do you want this thing?!"
Buggy raised the keys and shouted.
"Yes!"
"Hurry, give them to us!"
"Hm?"
Buggy narrowed his eyes.
"Is that the attitude of someone asking for help?"
"We were wrong! Please, we beg you, give us the keys!"
The pirates all knelt down in unison, their attitudes extremely sincere.
"What did you say? I can't hear you~"
"Please!"
"Yahahaha! Since that's the case, I'll give you the keys!"
Buggy laughed loudly.
jin: "…"
Looking at Buggy's excited face, jin's mouth twitched.
This clown Buggy really knew how to make a scene.
Shaking his head, jin walked to a nearby cell and looked at the pirates inside.
"Do you know where the gate to Level Three is?"
The jailers this time had already been taken out, so finding someone to ask might not be easy. He might as well ask these pirates.
If they knew, it would save trouble.
"We know!" one pirate said. "It's in that direction!"
"That direction, huh?"
jin glanced in the direction the pirate pointed and narrowed his eyes.
"You're not lying to me, are you?"
"No."
The pirate shook his head.
"But the Sphinx is guarding that place. Getting past it is basically impossible."
"Sphinx?"
"Yeah. It's an enormous man-faced lion."
"So there are man-faced lions here too."
jin rubbed his chin.
"Interesting."
The last time he had seen such a thing was in Moria's Florian Triangle.
However, the man-faced lion there had been a zombie, driven by a shadow.
'I wonder how strong this Sphinx is.'
"Yahahaha! You bastards had better remember Captain Buggy's kindness!"
Buggy stood with his hands on his hips and laughed loudly.
"Yes! We will forever remember your kindness!"
"Hurry, get out of here!"
"Yeah!"
The next moment, the pirates rushed into the distance like madmen, clearly planning to charge to Level One and escape.
"Hey, now that you've released so many people, you should be satisfied, right?"
Luffy grabbed Buggy and said,
"Now hurry up and let's go!"
"What an impatient guy."
Buggy was somewhat helpless.
Could this guy not let those people attract the Marines' attention first?
He did not want to face Magellan ahead of time.
"Let's go. I already know where the gate is," jin said as he walked back.
"Mm, then—"
Before Buggy could finish, he saw the pirates who had just run out now running back again.
Buggy: ???
"Hey, what are you guys doing?"
Seeing the pirates hide back inside their cells, Buggy was dumbfounded.
"Sorry, we got carried away."
"There are still a lot of demon beasts on this level. Going out is actually dangerous."
"That's right. We should stay in the cells. It's safer this way."
Buggy: "…"
These useless bastards!
"This was your plan?" jin glanced at Buggy.
"How was I supposed to know these guys were this useless?!"
Buggy was going crazy.
If he had known this would happen, he would not have bothered with them.
"Roar-roar-roar~"
"Looks like you've run into some trouble~"
Mr. 3 laughed cheerfully.
"Who are you?"
Buggy looked at Mr. 3 in confusion. He had not expected there to be someone bold enough to stand in the corridor.
'This guy…'
jin studied Mr. 3's appearance and thought,
'Isn't he Baroque Works' Mr. 3?'
A Wax-Wax Fruit user. The man who had once driven the Straw Hat Pirates into despair!
He had not expected to run into him here.
"Roar-roar-roar~"
"It's been a long time, Straw Hat."
Mr. 3 ignored Buggy and looked at Luffy.
"Thanks to you, I have regained my freedom!"
"I am a man who knows how to repay kindness, so allow me to lend you a hand!"
Although he did not know why Straw Hat had appeared here, this was an opportunity.
As long as he assisted Straw Hat, perhaps they could escape from this place alive.
Thinking of the life he could enjoy after getting out, Mr. 3 could not stop himself from laughing.
"Roar-roar-roar~"
"Who are you?"
Mr. 3: "…"
Mr. 3's laughter abruptly stopped, as if someone had grabbed him by the throat.
Seeing Mr. 3's reaction, jin could not hold back and laughed.
Getting Luffy to remember someone was no easy task~
"No, did you forget who I am?!"
Mr. 3 raised his hair upright and said,
"Now that you see this, you should remember, right?!"
"Ah!"
"You're the Three from the giant uncle's place!"
"My name is Mr. 3, bastard!"
Mr. 3 opened his shark-like mouth and roared.
Forgetting someone's name was one thing, but why did he have to give people nicknames too?!
"So why are you here?"
"That's a long story."
Mr. 3 rubbed his head.
"In short… after you defeated Crocodile, I was also captured by the Marines and brought here."
Originally, after being abandoned by Baroque Works, he had planned to escape. But halfway through, he had been discovered by the Marines and ultimately arrested.
Thinking of this, Mr. 3 silently sighed.
"So that's how it is."
Luffy nodded. Then he grabbed Buggy beside him.
"jin, Buggy, let's go."
"Yeah!"
"Hey, what about me?!"
Mr. 3 was stunned.
He had said so much because he wanted them to bring him along too, but this kid was planning to leave him here?
"Three, are you willing to help me save Ace too?!"
"Fire Fist Ace?!"
Mr. 3, who had just run a few steps, suddenly face-planted into the ground. Then he crawled up, ran to their side, and said in disbelief,
"You're going to Level Five to rescue Fire Fist Ace??"
"Yeah, that's right!"
Luffy said firmly,
"I have to save Ace!"
"Straw Hat and Ace are brothers," Buggy explained. "I'm planning to go down with them now. Do you want to come too?"
"No, are you people insane?!"
Mr. 3 was going crazy.
"Magellan is down there!"
That terrifying man possessed poison capable of killing everything!
Trying to rescue Fire Fist Ace from someone like that was pure nonsense!
Thinking of this, Mr. 3 said,
"Then you guys go. I'm not getting involved!"
After saying that, Mr. 3 prepared to leave and find another way out.
At that moment, jin spoke.
"Are you sure you want to leave?"
"There are ten Marine warships waiting on the sea outside."
"Ten…"
Mr. 3's body stiffened, his face full of disbelief.
With such terrifying military strength, even if he was capable, there was no way he could escape from their hands.
"I've seen your wanted poster."
jin said,
"You're the Wax-Wax Fruit user, right? Can you make keys?"
If he remembered correctly, the Wax-Wax Fruit's ability was extremely versatile. It could basically create whatever the user wanted.
If this guy could make keys, bringing him along would be quite convenient. At the very least, they would not need to search for Sea-Prism Stone handcuff keys.
"I can make keys, but—"
"Then come with us," jin said. "When we leave, we'll take you with us too."
"Let me finish speaking first!"
Mr. 3 said,
"Why do you think you can rescue Fire Fist Ace from under Magellan's nose?"
"Because we're strong enough," jin said confidently.
Mr. 3: "…"
That was indeed a reason.
But the problem was, he did not even know this guy!
How much was his bounty?
How strong was he?
As a cautious person, Mr. 3 would not easily entrust his life and death to a stranger.
"But I—"
"Enough. Stop wasting words. Just say whether you're coming or not," jin said.
As he spoke, jin looked toward the massive gate in the distance and continued,
"Once we reach that gate, we'll enter the next level. At that point, you won't have any chance to regret it."
As his voice fell, jin revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan.
If this kid did not know what was good for him, jin would not mind forcibly controlling him.
At that very moment, Mr. 3 felt a fatal threat.
It was as if refusing to follow them would lead to an even more miserable death.
Thinking of this, Mr. 3 said without hesitation,
"Fine, I'll go!"
"But you have to guarantee my safety!"
"At least we won't make you face Magellan," jin said. "That guy is mine."
A man whose entire body was covered in poison was most suitable for him to handle.
"That's fine."
Mr. 3 breathed a sigh of relief.
Thinking about it carefully, he really could not escape this place alone. After all, there were ten warships stationed outside.
Even if he managed to fight his way out, he would be killed by the Marines on those warships.
So he might as well follow them downward and gamble.
Of course, if this kid was killed by Magellan, he would run without hesitation.
At that moment, Buggy suddenly grinned and laughed.
"Yahahahaha!"
"What are you laughing at now?" Luffy asked in confusion.
"Nothing. I just feel like I'm not the only unlucky one."
Mr. 3: "…"
Looking at Buggy, who could not stop laughing, Mr. 3 fell into thought.
Did that mean the other party was the same kind of person as him?
But after realizing that he was not the only unlucky one, Mr. 3 immediately relaxed.
Soon, everyone arrived at the gate area leading from Level Two to Level Three.
"Hey, why is there a wall here?" Luffy asked in confusion.
As he spoke, he even reached out and touched the huge wall of flesh.
"What wall?!"
Mr. 3 was going crazy.
"This is the king of the man-faced lions guarding the entrance to Level Two, the Sphinx!"
Damn it. How could he have forgotten this big guy?
This was the king of all man-faced lions, a terrifying existence capable of suppressing the entire Wild Beast Hell!
Facing such a terrifying creature, Mr. 3 did not even know how to fight.
"So this is that Sphinx."
jin studied the huge creature in front of him with interest.
"It's pretty big."
With this size, it was almost comparable to a small Sea King.
No wonder the pirates who escaped earlier were so afraid. With such a giant here, they would have to think twice before attempting to escape.
At that moment, the Sphinx lifted its head from beneath its paws and turned to glance at the people behind it.
Sphinx: ???
Why was there delivery coming straight to its door?
"Ah!"
"It discovered us!"
Buggy and Mr. 3 looked at the Sphinx in terror, their tongues uncontrollably sticking out.
"Hurry, we—"
"Dried noodles!"
"Hm?"
Hearing the word from the Sphinx, everyone present froze.
"D-Dried noodles?"
Why would this big guy say dried noodles?
"This guy is also a man-faced lion," Mr. 3 thought for a moment and said. "It has a human-like skeletal structure, so it can make human sounds."
"But it probably doesn't know what it's saying."
Just as Mr. 3 finished speaking, the Sphinx's massive paw slammed down.
At the same time, it said,
"Char siu noodles!"
"Ahhh!"
"It attacked!"
Clang!
jin activated Susanoo and blocked the attack, complaining,
"Why are they all noodles?"
Could this guy usually like chatting with jailers who ate noodles?
"He really blocked it?"
Mr. 3 stared at the pale golden skeletal armor around jin in shock.
"What is that thing on him?"
That thing looked like it was very valuable!!!
"He said this thing is called Susanoo," Buggy said. "It's the manifestation of energy."
"A Devil Fruit ability?" Mr. 3 guessed.
"I don't know."
Buggy shook his head.
"But he said he's a ninja."
As for whether this ability was a Devil Fruit power or ninjutsu, he did not know.
"A ninja!!!"
Mr. 3 looked at the man's back in disbelief.
"He's actually a ninja?"
After living for so many years, this was the first time he had seen a living ninja.
This was incredible!!!
"Char siu noodles?"
Looking at jin, who had blocked its attack, a question mark seemed to appear above the Sphinx's head.
Clearly, it could not understand what that pale golden thing was.
"Done attacking, big guy?"
jin grinned.
"Then it's my turn!"
As soon as his voice fell, the pale golden skeletal frame moved, forcibly pushing back the massive paw in front of him.
Then jin controlled the skeletal frame to raise its right hand and punched directly at the Sphinx's head.
"Take my punch!"
Boom!
The terrifying fist slammed into the Sphinx's head, forcibly sending it flying toward the distant prison cells.
Whoosh—
Boom!
Its massive body directly smashed several cells apart.
Then the huge creature's head tilted to the side. Its eyes rolled back, and it lost consciousness.
"He really defeated it!!!"
Mr. 3 stared at jin in shock.
The other party might not have been boasting. His strength really was terrifying!
'In that case… this jailbreak plan might actually succeed!'
Thinking of this, Mr. 3 immediately became excited.
"All right. This level's guard has been dealt with," jin said. "Let's go. We're heading to the next level."
"Yeah!"
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