......
The scene appropriately flashed to a hellish sight of LEVEL 6:
The icy prison had turned into a gladiatorial arena. Once-infamous criminals tore at each other like trapped beasts—killing, with congealed blood and severed limbs on the ground creating a shocking scene.
Teach's rampant laughter seemed to echo: "Zehahahaha! Only the strong who survive are worthy of becoming my subordinates!"
"In other words,"
Sengoku's voice was hoarse from rage, "Aside from those taken away by Blackbeard, the drunkard, the Evil King, and others—as well as the prisoners who died in the chaos, there are still… other LEVEL 6 prisoners who escaped amid the disorder?!"
"Y-Yes, Fleet Admiral. Preliminary counts confirm that several dangerous criminals are unaccounted for…"
"Damn it! That bastard Blackbeard!"
Sengoku's face turned livid, his eyes bursting with unprecedented thick killing intent: "These released demons will surely cause incalculable negative impact on this world!!"
At this moment, immense regret surged in Sengoku's heart. If he had known earlier that Teach had committed such atrocities in Impel Down, even if gravely injured on the battlefield, he would have made sure to leave this fiend behind for good!
"Issue the order immediately! Global wanted notices for these escaped prisoners! Highest-level bounties!"
Sengoku practically roared the command.
However, the reporting Brannu hesitated timidly, not daring to look up: "F-Fleet Admiral… The higher-ups… The highest level of the World Government has issued a gag order…
Requiring us… to conceal from the world the massive prison break of LEVEL 6 Infinite Hell prisoners…"
"What's the reason?!" Sengoku's forehead veins bulged.
"The r-reason is… If this matter becomes public, it will severely damage the World Government's credibility…
Causing an irreparable crisis of trust in the Marines and the justice system among the people… So, it must be covered up…"
"What a joke!!!"
Sengoku's furious roar nearly blew the roof off the Fleet Admiral's office. The Marine soldiers outside the door were scared into silence, all glancing sideways.
This Marshal, who had always presented himself as a wise general, had now completely lost composure due to extreme anger and disappointment.
"It's exactly the kind of thing your World Government would do—utterly disgusting!"
Outside the light screen, Roger couldn't help but curse in the direction of Saint Garling upon seeing this.
Though he was a pirate, he fully understood what kind of utterly vicious criminals were locked in LEVEL 6…
For the sake of so-called "face," the World Government was concealing such a massive security threat, treating the safety of ordinary people as nothing—this behavior filled him with genuine anger.
Garp, sitting on the ground, heard Roger's curse and also lifted his gaze. His icy stare pierced toward Saint Garling like something tangible.
With Dragon's experience, plus this blatant scandal before him, he felt unprecedented disgust toward these lofty World Nobles.
"Hmph! What do you lowly commoners understand?"
Facing the accusations, Saint Garling showed no shame on his face. Instead, he raised his chin in the inherent arrogance of a Celestial Dragon: "Nothing matters more than the World Government's face and stability!
Sacrificing the safety of a minority to maintain overall order—that is a necessary cost!"
"Hey! Garp!"
Roger was thoroughly enraged by Saint Garling's shameless words and turned his gaze to his old rival.
"You see their true faces now, right? For the sake of so-called 'face,' they don't even care about the lives of the people…
Is a Marine like that still worth protecting? How about you leave the Marines right now and join us!"
Roger actually started poaching from the Marines in front of everyone, inviting this Marine hero who had always chased him to become a comrade.
Garp was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. His voice was low but firm: "Don't talk nonsense, Roger. If I leave…
What about those young soldiers who still hold justice in their hearts? Who will protect the true 'justice' flame in the Marines from being completely extinguished?"
Garp rejected Roger's request. Though his heart was filled with disappointment at the current state, his mission and sense of responsibility to protect the Marines' original heart and safeguard the weak had never wavered.
Hearing Garp's refusal, Roger pouted and turned his head away like a sulking child, but a trace of imperceptible regret and… understanding flashed in his eyes.
At this time, the light screen switched again.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo, was leading several Pacifistas modeled after "Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma to besiege another Warlord, "Gecko" Moria!
Moria was covered in wounds, in a sorry state. With his Shadow Master scattered in the background, he struggled to resist the Pacifistas' laser bombardment.
"Fufufufu… Moria, you're too weak—you no longer deserve the position of 'Seven Warlords of the Sea.'"
Doflamingo crouched high up, strings from the Ito Ito no Mi coiling around his fingertips, his smile cruel: "Dying in battle on the battlefield sounds better than being cleaned up like trash by the World Government later, doesn't it?"
"Is… is it Sengoku who made you do this?!" Moria coughed blood, asking in a trembling voice.
"No…" Doflamingo's smile widened, with mockery, "It's someone even higher up~"
"Damn it!!" Moria let out an unwilling roar, commanding his remaining zombie subordinates to fight like cornered beasts.
The World Government's ruthlessness and coldness were displayed in full at this moment.
The view switched again, to the vast, boundless sea. Trafalgar Law's Polar Tang, after shaking off the Marine pursuit, finally cautiously surfaced.
However, as soon as they emerged, they were blocked by a beautifully decorated ship of the Kuja Pirates.
On the deck stood a peerlessly elegant and stunningly beautiful woman—one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the "Pirate Empress" Boa Hancock.
It turned out that after witnessing Luffy being rescued on the battlefield, Hancock firmly believed he had not died. Using her ability, she easily "convinced" (petrified) the crew of a Marine warship and tracked them all the way here.
At this moment, the Marines on that warship had all been turned into heart-eyed stone statues—a scene both eerie and comical.
"Mam-ma-ma-ma~ Shakky, Gloriosa, this woman seems to be from your Amazon Lily!"
Big Mom keenly noticed Hancock's origin, and as a woman, she saw through Hancock's thoughts at a glance.
"And she seems to particularly like that grandson of Garp's! She helped him quite a bit on the battlefield."
Shakky leaned against Rayleigh, looking at the radiantly beautiful Hancock on the light screen, smiled faintly, and said calmly: "This woman is much prettier than me. In the future, I must have aged and become ugly~"
Shakky didn't care about appearance—as long as she could stay by the side of the one she loved, the marks left by time were proof of happiness.
"Hmph! Does that even need to be said?"
Gloriosa stood with hands on hips. Though she was still beautiful now, her tone carried a strange pride and certainty.
"Garp's grandson keeps saying he wants to become the Pirate King, and Roger is the Pirate King! This Hancock will definitely be my daughter in the future!
Because our mother-daughter tastes are exactly the same—we both fell for men who want to become the Pirate King! Haven't you noticed how much we look alike?"
Gloriosa's bold "family recognition" statement left everyone around speechless.
But thinking back carefully to Hancock's unreserved protection and admiration for Luffy on the battlefield, and looking at Gloriosa… one had to admit, there really were some similarities!
The Kuja women's tradition of daring to love and hate…
This argument actually left people momentarily unable to find a reason to refute it.
It was as if, in the unseen, there truly was a wondrous fate and "curse" continuing: Shakky fell for Roger's vice-captain Rayleigh…
Gloriosa fell for the Pirate King Roger…
And this future Kuja Empress had hopelessly fallen for the inheritor of Roger's will.
On the light screen, Hancock stood proudly at the bow, her gaze anxiously searching for the entrance to the Polar Tang, with only one thought in her mind: "Luffy… you must be alright!"
......