Shoot Him, Shinsō

"Did he run?"

"Hahaha, now this is getting interesting."

"Letting a prisoner escape from Infinite Hell— even Zefa will be held accountable for that!"

"This is the price of underestimating pirates!"

"This kind of entertainment won't be around tomorrow!"

Seeing Gebol choose to flee rather than fight Rosen, soaring through the air toward the exit of Infinite Hell with the flight ability and speed of Pterodactyl Form, the surrounding prisoners all began gloating.

Not a single pirate could swallow the insult of Zefa using them as training material for his students.

Now this was better.

If Gebol's escape succeeded, it would not only be a slap across Zefa's face, forcing him to stop underestimating the prisoners of the Sixth Layer, but it would also make him think twice before using them as training material again.

Even if Zefa wanted to, Magellan of Impel Down, and even Sengoku of Marine Headquarters, would never allow it.

With a thought from Rosen, the Outer Shell Still Blood Armor unfolded, knocking away both the Seastone handcuffs Gebol had kicked toward him and the anklets flying toward Borsalino.

"As expected of CP0. That speed really is terrifying."

"Need me to step in?"

"Junior."

With both hands in his pockets, Borsalino glanced at Gebol as he drew ever closer to the exit of Infinite Hell. Not only did he show no urgency to give chase, he remained where he was, first sarcastically praising Gebol's speed before leisurely speaking to Rosen.

As a Glint-Glint Fruit user, unless someone hid at the bottom of the sea, if he truly wanted to hunt down a pirate, it made no difference whether they fled into the sky or underground.

A hundred miles in an instant was nothing to him.

It only depended on whether he wanted to give chase.

"This is my internship class, after all!"

"Senior."

"Even if I wanted someone to take over for me, I couldn't ask in front of Teacher Zefa, could I?"

Rosen did not move to pursue him either. Instead, he calmly began chatting with Borsalino.

"Is he really that confident?"

Although Shiryu, the Chief Guard, had his hand resting on his sword hilt, he did not make a move.

He wanted to see how Rosen would perform next.

Would he become the Marines' biggest joke on his second day, or would he amaze him as he had on the first?

However.

What Rosen did next caught even Shiryu off guard.

Not only did he not give chase, he actually began making small talk with Borsalino.

As for the fleeing prisoner, Rosen, Borsalino, and even Zefa seemed to have all forgotten about it. Every one of them stood there calmly and unhurriedly.

To be honest.

Those few were not in a hurry, but Shiryu was starting to get anxious.

After all.

He was still Impel Down's Chief Guard. Even if he did not care about the position, letting a prisoner escape right in front of him was still an immense humiliation.

"Do you really not need your senior's help?"

"Don't be embarrassed."

"You should know that Sengoku sent me along precisely to prevent something like this from happening."

As though he had not noticed Shiryu's somewhat anxious gaze, Borsalino continued speaking to Rosen.

"Honestly, if a prisoner refuses to cooperate and chooses to run, that isn't your problem. It's your senior's problem."

"After all."

"Keeping these prisoners in line is why I came here."

As Borsalino spoke, he pulled his right hand from his pocket, clearly preparing to make a move.

"That's true, but it's hard to come across such a good whetstone for my blade. I really can't bear to let him go."

"So, Senior."

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"You should keep being your handsome self and watch from the sidelines."

Rosen slowly drew the Zanpakuto from his waist.

"Since you insist, fine!"

"But let's make this clear first. The line will be five meters from the entrance. As long as Gebol doesn't cross it, I'll pretend I didn't see anything. But once he crosses it, I'll have no choice but to act."

"Junior, you should understand your senior's difficulties too. In about a year and a half, I'll probably be promoted to Admiral and no longer be an Admiral Candidate. If a prison break happens at a time like this, then this Admiral Candidate will have to remain a candidate for several more years."

Borsalino wore a pitiful expression.

"He won't get the chance to cross the line."

Rosen reassured Borsalino, then drew the Zanpakuto from its sheath and pointed its tip at Gebol's retreating back.

"Compared to the weapon called Thousand Cherry Blossoms from yesterday, this blade is half as long."

"Junior is a Weapon Fruit user who can turn into all kinds of weapons. That means this short blade is a new weapon."

"It should have an ability completely different from Thousand Cherry Blossoms."

Borsalino's gaze swept over the short blade in Rosen's hand, and he could not help feeling a little expectant.

What peculiar ability would this short blade possess compared to Thousand Cherry Blossoms?

"His talent is by no means limited to Haki, Swordsmanship, and Physical Techniques. Even his development of Devil Fruit abilities is unmatched."

"In other people's hands, the Weapon Fruit can only turn into ordinary weapons like swords, spears, blades, and cannons. But Junior is different."

"He has developed the Weapon Fruit along another path—or rather, he has elevated this Paramecia Ability to heights it was never meant to reach."

It was not only Borsalino. Even Zefa was watching the short blade in Rosen's hand.

After Rosen had displayed Thousand Cherry Blossoms' abilities in Infinite Hell yesterday, Zefa finally remembered once again that his student was a Devil Fruit user.

At the same time, he realized that Rosen's comprehension in the field of abilities was equally monstrous.

He had actually used the Weapon Fruit to develop an ability like a Zanpakuto.

Although Zefa had never placed much importance on Devil Fruit abilities, after witnessing Thousand Cherry Blossoms, he understood that in Rosen's hands, the Weapon Fruit was absolutely equivalent to a top-tier Paramecia Devil Fruit—perhaps even above one.

"Observation Haki and that Zanpakuto are truly a perfect match!"

"He still can't use Future Sight, but this is enough."

"Then."

Rosen stared at Gebol's back. His eyes gradually showed a red glow as Observation Haki spread outward, not only locking onto Gebol's position but also sensing his next move:

"Shoot him dead, Shinsō."

As his indifferent words rang out, the short blade in his hand immediately bloomed with a dazzling flash of blade-light. Its blade shot forth like thunder and wind, becoming a streak of silver that sliced through the darkness that had shrouded Infinite Hell for years.

In Borsalino and Zefa's eyes, Rosen merely spoke a sentence, and then a silver streak shot forth like a white rainbow piercing the sun, reaching Gebol's back in an instant.

"Kami-e!"

The instant he heard Rosen's voice, Gebol felt as though needles were pricking his back.

In fact, though his back was turned toward Rosen, Zefa, and the others, his attention had never left them. He had even used his long-neglected Observation Haki to sense them.

Because of that, the moment Shinsō shot out, his body in midair seemed to shed every bone, swaying like a willow branch in the wind as he narrowly evaded it at almost point-blank range.

"He dodged it!"

Just as Gebol was still shaken but relieved that he had evaded the attack in time, the silver streak that had brushed past him seemed to know what he would do next in advance. Like a silver dragon flicking its tail through the air, it suddenly slashed downward.

Shinsō, which should have passed him by, suddenly cut downward with such speed that he could not react in time. It carved a deep wound from his shoulder all the way to his left abdomen, deep enough to expose bone.

From firing to slashing downward, the entire process had been as swift as the wind—faster than lightning.

By the time Gebol reacted, blood was already pouring from him, staining the sky crimson.

Amid the sounds of a heavy body hitting the ground and blood dripping, Gebol fell from the air.

At this moment, if someone approached and measured the distance between where he had landed and the entrance to Infinite Hell, they would find that it was exactly six meters.

There was still one meter between him and the boundary Borsalino had set.

At this moment.

The vast Infinite Hell had fallen completely silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.