Seeing Magellan unleash his ultimate move, Luffy immediately activated Gear Second.
But Sabo clearly understood—
At this point, Luffy was no match for Magellan at all.
"Luffy, get back!" Sabo stepped forward, shielding his little brother.
He was far stronger than either Luffy or Ace at the moment.
At the very least, he was already highly proficient in Haki.
"Dragon Claw Fist!"
Both of Sabo's hands were coated in Armament Haki as he charged head-on at the Venom Demon!
Boom!
Haki and poison collided, temporarily halting the advance of the massive poison giant!
"Death Wink!" Emporio Ivankov assisted from the side, firing off a devastating wink to disrupt Magellan.
Their goal wasn't to defeat him—
It was to create an opening to escape.
Meanwhile—
The Blackbeard Pirates ventured deeper into the prison, reaching Level 6, the Eternal Hell, where the most vicious criminals were held.
"Zehahahaha! Come on out, my future companions! The new era needs your power!" Blackbeard laughed wildly.
He began releasing the worst of the worst.
When former Chief Jailer Shiryu of the Rain was freed and once again appeared before Magellan—
It was as if someone had flipped a switch inside the warden.
His rage instantly shifted targets.
"SHIRYU!!! You bastard! Trying to escape again?!" Magellan roared.
Coincidentally, Sabo had just exchanged a heavy blow with him, forcing a brief separation.
Using the recoil, Magellan abruptly abandoned Luffy and Sabo.
The Venom Demon changed direction and lunged straight at Shiryu, who had barely regained his freedom!
The grin froze on Shiryu's face.
"F*** your mother, Magellan! You bastard! Are you just staring at me all the time?!" he cursed loudly.
He hurriedly raised his blade to defend himself, mentally cursing Magellan's entire ancestral line.
Sabo and Luffy seized the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Now! Let's go!"
Sabo grabbed Luffy, leading the group in a frantic dash toward the exit!
Though Magellan was nearly invincible within Impel Down—
He was still just one man.
The Jailer Beasts and guards were relatively average in strength.
Faced with a massive riot comparable to Leno's previous prison break—
Combined with the chaos caused by the Blackbeard Pirates and the Eternal Hell inmates—
Magellan felt the pressure stacking on pressure.
Especially since Blackbeard avoided direct confrontation entirely.
From a distance, he used the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit to absorb Magellan's poison, drastically weakening his threat.
This only intensified Magellan's hatred toward Shiryu.
He was convinced Shiryu must have told Blackbeard about this weakness!
In the end—
Magellan once again failed to defend his Impel Down.
People were entering and exiting as they pleased.
What could he do?
He was helpless!
He didn't even collapse in defeat—he fought desperately!
And yet he still couldn't stop them from coming and going!
—
Leno, of course, had no idea that Impel Down was once again in chaos, with Magellan once more resembling a powerless husband unable to protect his prison.
If he had known—
He would likely have scoffed.
As expected of Luffy, the so-called Child of Destiny—his luck was truly ridiculous.
And perhaps Buggy the Lucky King had something to do with it too.
Otherwise, how could they possibly have escaped again?
But right now—
Leno's full attention was on the two trembling figures hiding behind a shattered barricade.
The women beside him stared at Koby and Helmeppo's pitiful, quaking forms with strange expressions.
Perona floated in the air, curling her lip in disdain.
"Heh-rah-rah~ With goods like this, how could they compare to even a single finger of Lord Leno? That old geezer Garp must've had his brain eaten by ghosts!"
Robin crossed her arms beneath her ample chest.
"I don't see anything remarkable about them either… though…"
She shrugged lightly. "The Marine higher-ups making absurd decisions isn't exactly new."
"I heard when Garp made that decision, quite a few Marines opposed it. But well… hehe." Kalifa's tone dripped with sarcasm.
The contempt in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Hmph! The moment the Marines made that idiotic decision, I knew the place was rotten!" Domino snorted coldly.
Even little Alice puffed her cheeks indignantly.
"That's right! The Marines will regret their decision! They have no idea how powerful Lord Leno really is!"
Listening to the women defending him—
Leno felt a faint sense of satisfaction.
Yes.
This was how normal people reacted.
For someone like Koby—a king of deserters—to become a prized disciple and be hailed as the future hope of the Marines…
Two hundred times the effort wasn't enough.
He'd need two hundred times the charm too.
Even Akainu hadn't gone after him after the Paramount War.
Ridiculous.
No need to guess—Garp must have intervened.
Leno shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Today—
He was here to collect interest.
He stopped concealing himself and strode out from the shadows.
Directly into Koby and Helmeppo's line of sight.
The two, paralyzed by fear of the battlefield, saw Leno—
And their pupils shrank to pinpricks.
"Se—Senior Brother—No! Fallen One Leno!!!"
They screamed as if they'd seen a ghost.
Their bodies staggered backward uncontrollably. Their legs gave out, and they collapsed onto the ground.
Teeth chattering, shaking violently, unable to form a complete sentence.
But as Koby sat there in terror—
The corner of his eye caught sight of his surroundings.
Countless Marine soldiers.
The towering execution platform.
The Admirals in the distance.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Vice Admiral Garp.
Where were they?
Marine Headquarters. Marineford.
Wasn't Leno appearing here the same as throwing himself into a net?
A strange surge of courage rose in Koby's heart.
"That's right! Why am I afraid of him? This place is filled with Marine Headquarters' strongest fighters!
He's just one Leno. Would he dare run wild here?
No matter how strong he is, can he be stronger than Garp?
Stronger than the Admirals?
Stronger than Fleet Admiral Sengoku?
What a joke."
As these thoughts formed—
The fear drained from Koby's face.
Replaced by smug confidence.
He struggled to his feet and even brushed the dust off his clothes.
Straightening his back, he gave Leno a magnanimous smile.
"Leno… Senior Brother," Koby cleared his throat and forced his legs together—
Not only to appear less afraid, but also to suppress certain… biological urges.
"It's not too late for you to return from the wrong path."
He looked at Leno earnestly.
"As long as you sincerely admit your mistakes and contribute to the Marines in this war, I can plead with Vice Admiral Garp to forgive your past crimes."
By the end, Koby wore an expression that practically said, You're getting a bargain.
Beside him, Helmeppo's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Ko—Koby… are you insane?! Who are you talking to?!"
He tugged desperately at Koby's sleeve, whispering urgently for him to shut up.
He had no idea where Koby got this courage from.
Liang Jingru?
Or Garp?
But the problem was—
Garp wasn't standing next to them!
If Leno decided to kill them, Garp wouldn't make it in time!
Yet Koby—
No, not "as if."
He was fully immersed in his own world.
Helmeppo's warnings meant nothing.
He stared at Leno with unwavering confidence.
"Hmph. Even if I can't beat you, Vice Admiral Garp is here! He'll definitely deal with you!" Koby thought to himself.
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