Maud, who should have been on the Sixth Floor, had somehow arrived in the central control room without anyone noticing.
And the former Shichibukai Jinbe was with him.
Hannibal was utterly horrified, nearly suffocating.
As for Clown Buggy's presence, he ignored it completely.
The others, meanwhile, stared in horror at Maud and Jinbe, who had suddenly appeared behind them.
How had they gotten here?
What about the armed forces stationed outside the central control room?
Why had they allowed the enemies to enter without making a sound?
What had happened in the prison during the brief time they had spent watching Empress Hancock's movements?
In an instant, countless questions sprang into Hannibal and the others' minds.
But given the situation, they had no leeway to sort through them.
Clatter—!
A second or two after hearing Maud's voice, they almost simultaneously drew their weapons and fixed their eyes on Maud and Jinbe.
The atmosphere that had abruptly stagnated inside the central control room became tense and explosive in the blink of an eye.
"Bagard. Maud, you..."
Hannibal, ashamed of his dereliction of duty, stared at Maud with widened eyes.
But he had barely begun speaking when he was forcibly interrupted.
A terrifying aura suddenly surged through the central control room. Centered on Maud, it spread to every corner in an instant.
Feeling the terrifying pressure at such close range, Hannibal's heart jolted. He gaped at Maud in inexplicable fear.
In a daze, he seemed to see a pair of scarlet eyes suspended behind Maud, coldly watching him.
"Thud, thud..."
As Hannibal trembled in fear, the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground rang beside his ears.
Hannibal glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw his colleagues collapsing with their eyes rolled back, motionless.
Conqueror's Haki...!
The thought flashed