Prelude to the Riot

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Fire Fist Ace has been escorted back to Marine Headquarters, but..." The reporting Marine Ensign seemed somewhat hesitant.

His hesitant manner startled Sengoku, who, fearing something might happen at this critical juncture, immediately shouted, "What's wrong with him!"

The lieutenant had never seen such a volatile Fleet Admiral Sengoku before, and he almost collapsed from exhaustion. "It's... it's because his mental state is extremely weak."

"Is that all?" Sengoku glared at the lieutenant, almost thinking that old bastard Garp had secretly released Fire Fist Ace. "Don't worry, no matter how much he is the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, he is just a rookie who has been at sea for three years. It's understandable that he would feel scared and fearful after going through Impel Down."

"Something terrible has happened, something terrible has happened, Fleet Admiral Sengoku..." Another naval lieutenant rushed in as if he were on fire, making Sengoku's heart, which had just settled back into his chest, jump to his throat again.

"What happened?"

"Blackbeard, one of the Shichibukai... Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach has gone missing. We've searched all over Marineford but haven't found him."

"Damn bastard..." Sengoku cursed under his breath. Blackbeard was no ordinary person. How could someone who could leave Red Hair with such a deep wound and even manipulate the entire Whitebeard Pirates be a simple character?

He wasn't worried about the impact of losing Blackbeard on the battle; he was concerned that Blackbeard's sudden departure would disrupt the Navy's plans and could even deliver a fatal blow from behind at a crucial moment.

Sengoku rubbed his temples, muttering to himself, "Is he worried that Whitebeard will kill him at all costs? That's unlikely. If he were truly afraid of Whitebeard, he wouldn't have made all these provocative moves. Besides, with his strength, even if Whitebeard wanted to kill him, it wouldn't be an easy task. Could it be... that his real target is our Navy?"

"Wait..." Sengoku slammed his hand on the table, shattering the poor desk into pieces once again, but he couldn't care less. "Nightmare, Nightmare is still there, isn't it?"

The lieutenant who reported seemed a little confused and asked in bewilderment, "Yes... yes! Nightmare has been here the whole time!"

Sengoku exhaled a breath of stale air. "Looks like I was overthinking things. I guess I'm getting old. I'm even having wild thoughts right before a major battle. Oh well, if Blackbeard doesn't exist, he doesn't exist. He wasn't part of the plan anyway."

"You can go down now. Continue to strengthen the monitoring of Nightmare. We absolutely cannot let him disappear mysteriously as well."

Impel Down Great Prison, Level 4, the Scorching Hell.

"Cough cough, cough cough... Ace!" Luffy's body was covered in venom, and he had lost his mind, only able to wail and feel the pain.

"After 24 hours of excruciating pain, you will descend into... true hell. This is the death sentence I, as the warden, hereby sentence you, intruder, to receive!" Magellan the Poisoner, said grimly. "Men, throw him into the Central Tower of level 5!"

The two people hiding in a corner on the upper floor trembled at the sight.

"It's over, Straw Hat is completely finished. No one has ever survived being poisoned by so much of Magellan's poison!" Buggy was so scared that he was crying and spitting out tears, as if he saw his own fate reflected in the Straw Hat.

"It's hopeless. As escaped convicts, our names and appearances have already been exposed. After the Straw Hat Boys are dealt with, it will be our turn. This escape was definitely a mistake!" Mr. 3 also looked dejected, feeling that his future was bleak.

Just then, a prison guard came running over in a panic, his face filled with terror. "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened! Warden Magellan..."

"What happened?" Magellan gently clutched his stomach, his expression displeased.

"When Lord Hannyabal went to inspect Level 6 just now, he found it to be a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, like a bloody slaughterhouse. The scene was simply... simply too terrifying!" The jailer stammered, as if he had returned to that horrific scene.

"What!" Magellan roared in fury. "Where are they? Where are the people from Infinite Hell?"

"Most of them are dead, but... but after checking the roster, we found that fourteen people have gone missing and are probably lurking somewhere between level 1 and level 5. If they release the remaining prisoners, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"Fourteen people?" Magellan knew that things were in serious trouble now. There were no truly weak people in Level 6. Even he, the strongest man in the prison, wouldn't dare to claim victory against 14 Level 6 prisoners.

"Yes, among them are the Crescent Moon Hunter Catarina Devon, the Evil King Avalo Pizarro, the World Destroyer Byrnndi World, and even... even Chief Warden Shiryu!"

"What? That damned Shiryu, he actually colluded with these prisoners!" Magellan even suspected that the root cause of the riot at Level 6 might lie with Shiryu. After all, his tenure was short, and his control over the prison might not be as strong as Shiryu's.

Magellan sighed. Shiryu of the Rain was already on par with him, not to mention the other 13, all of whom were ruthless pirates who had made their mark on history. With Hannyabal and his men's strength, it would be difficult for them to contend with them. Although he was very reluctant to admit it, the current situation had already exceeded his control.

Out of a strong sense of responsibility, he did not want to cause trouble for the Navy and the "government," but at this point, if he continued to hide things, the consequences would become unpredictable, so he had no choice but to compromise.

"Damn it, why now of all times... The Marine Headquarters is going to war with the Whitebeard Pirates, so there's no way they can spare any manpower to support Impel Down. It seems like we have no choice but to ask the 'Government' for help?"

Having made up his mind, he no longer hesitated and looked at the prison guard who had informed him, "Go to the monitoring room immediately and ask the 'government' for help."

"Little Sadie, you go with him too. If you find any trace of Shiryu and the others, do not act rashly. Notify me immediately."

"Hmm, no way, Warden," Little Sadie said sweetly. "I want to attack, attack, attack! Without attacking, life loses its meaning, Warden!"

"Are you questioning my decision?" Magellan's eyes widened, and he exhaled a venomous breath.

"Ah... don't sigh, I'll listen to you."

"Okay, I'll say it one last time: that's an extremely terrifying enemy. Never fight it alone!"