Escape from Death

Bang! Bang! Bang! A large number of naval personnel surrounded the water source and began firing wildly into the water.

The naval warrant officer's face was extremely grim, because he had deduced that another suspect was very likely the murderer of the Celestial Dragons.

He has already informed the higher-ups.

But the other party still managed to get away.

The dense bullets created ripples on the water's surface, but seemed to miss their target.

"You're asking for death! Two humans trying to dive into the deep sea? You'll be waiting here!" the warrant officer roared.

A normal person's breath-holding time is limited, and even if the path leads to the deep sea, the two people would need sufficient oxygen.

His only worry was... that a pre-coated ship was waiting for them in the deep sea. However, even if it was a group operation... no matter how shallow the seabed, apart from Fish-Men, it would take a very long time for ordinary humans to completely dive into the deep sea... and there was a high probability that they would drown.

In the water, Long pulled Dom downstream.

The space between the soil layers on both sides became wider and wider, and as he sank deeper, some small fish began to appear in the water, indicating that he had found his location.

Suddenly, the previously dark underwater world became incredibly bright. Long's pupils contracted, and he turned his head to look at the light source above him, which was the overflow outlet on the ground. He saw a dazzling light piercing through the extremely deep water, so bright that it almost blinded him.

Kizaru!

He's here! Long's heart tightened.

Its swimming posture suddenly increased its speed.

On the shore, before a group of sailors could react, a figure formed from clusters of light appeared before them. The admiral, dressed in a yellow striped suit, smiled as he looked at the water source before him, extending a finger from which a ball of light burst forth.

Without saying a word, it immediately shot out beams of rainbow light that pierced the bottom of the water.

In just a few seconds, Kizaru fired at least dozens of beams of light.

Moreover, it not only aimed at the underwater area, but also deviated from the trajectory of the light, bombarding the soil and rocks on both sides below the water source, causing the ground beneath everyone's feet to tremble, and the originally clear water immediately became turbid.

He destroyed the underwater foundation, causing a large amount of mud and rocks to fall on the two criminals.

He arrived just in time. Not to mention humans, even Fish-Men couldn't dive to the seabed so quickly. So, the criminal must still be on his way down. Underwater, the space to hide is extremely limited, and he will definitely be buried! There is no way out.

"Hmm... the color hasn't turned red yet..." Kizaru then stopped and squatted down to wait for a while.

Seeing that the water was murky but not red, he couldn't help but purse his lips.

"That's terrifying... Did they escape?"

"It was still eaten..."

He stroked his chin, muttering to himself, "If we can't find the body, we won't be able to explain it to those Celestial Dragons..."

"Admiral Kizaru!"

The navy officers, led by the warrant officer, immediately saluted him.

Kizaru waved his hand dismissively, then stood up and inquired about the situation.

After hearing the whole story, he pushed up his glasses and sighed, "Unless they were Fish-Men, it's unlikely. Even if they dived into the deep sea, they wouldn't be able to swim out of the Sabaody Archipelago during a period of extreme oxygen deprivation... The World Government has already investigated, and it seems there were only the two of them... no other accomplices. In other words, no one was there to meet them in the deep sea... They probably didn't want to be caught again, so they committed suicide."

"Even for the Fish-Men, the water pressure they have to withstand varies depending on the depth of the ocean... it's not absolutely safe. The Sabaody Archipelago has a very large geological structure..."

Kizaru added another comment.

Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi) inside his clothes made a sound.

Kizaru took out his phone and answered it.

"Moo hee moo hee..." he responded lazily.

The Den Den Mushi's expression turned extremely serious, and it opened its mouth to utter a heavy voice.

"How's it going?"

He was a marshal, from the Sengoku.

"Ah... I'm a little late, the person slipped into the water." Kizaru scratched his head and said calmly.

"You!"

The Den Den Mushi immediately blushed.

"However... the person might be dead. We might need to try to salvage the body if the Celestial Dragons accept a corpse." Kizaru then changed the subject.

The soldiers around him suddenly looked excited.

Because...red color appeared on the water.

It's blood.

"What happened?"

The angry tone of the Sengoku softened somewhat.

Kizaru reported on the situation.

On the other side, in the chaotic underwater space, Oboro and Dom seemed to leap out of the sewage like two small fish.

A large number of rocks just fell, which is extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, Oboro's physical abilities had improved to some extent, coupled with his enhanced five senses, which allowed him to barely escape unscathed. However, the reason he survived was because the underwater space had become larger, giving them enough space... If it had been a narrow gap, they would have been buried or crushed.

The sea passage he chose was excellent... it unwittingly saved their lives.

However, Dom's situation is not optimistic.

Long glanced back at Dom, noticing his purple face, multiple abrasions, dilated pupils, and near-breathlessness...

Long opened her mouth and exhaled a bubble.

Amazingly, the bubble didn't rise or burst; instead, it formed a fist-sized dome that hovered in the water.

Oboro placed the bubbles near Dom's mouth and nose so he could breathe.

The Qi Manipulation.

This is not a simple bubble.

It is his own 'qi' (vital energy).

Back in the world of Hunter x Hunter, Oboro could already control the energy outside his body, not just inside... He could do things that people in this world couldn't because he controlled the power of other worlds; that was his advantage.

Moreover, with his mastery of qi manipulation, he could survive for a long time even without breathing.

It means holding your breath.

Having absorbed oxygen, Dom's concentration improved.

Long smiled slightly and continued to descend with him.

Moments later, the aquatic creatures that appeared around them began to grow larger, blood flowed from Dom's wound, and attracted some 'big guys' predators.

However, when these creatures approached them, Oboro often didn't need to make a move; a single glance was enough to send the predators scattering like birds.

Although his soul abilities were suppressed, they were not unusable.

In addition, these aquatic creatures have very weak willpower and can hardly be said to have any resistance.

However, there is another problem... water pressure.

As the depth increased dramatically, Oboro felt his body become incredibly heavy, as if his bones were about to be crushed, making swimming extremely difficult... Dom's condition wasn't much better. But even at a slow pace, the two were still sinking little by little.

Finally, the surrounding underwater rock walls disappeared from sight, replaced by a deep, tranquil expanse of black seawater.

Oboro's soul sensed the fluctuations coming from the vicinity.

His eyes lit up, and he gradually began to examine a certain direction.

A moment later, a Sea Kings came into view.

With a giraffe-like upper body, rabbit ears on its head, and fish fins and a fish tail on its lower body, its appearance is incredibly magical.

The dragon, suspended in the seawater, is as tiny as a sesame seed compared to this Sea Kings.

This isn't even a large Sea Kings, but rather Sea Kings cub.

The creature in front of them seemed to have no interest in the two humans, not even worthy of being a piece of their teeth. The reason it appeared was because there were a large number of small fish in the vicinity attracted by the smell of blood.

This Sea Kings was clearly gentle... but when it swallowed the fish like a whale sucking in water, its open mouth full of sharp teeth was still chilling.

The Sea Kings's enormous eyes noticed the two small black dots that were moving up and down, but paid them no attention.

Until... Oboro gradually moved closer.

It was stuck to its head.

I reached out and touched the Sea Kings's scales.

Immediately, a wave of soul energy spread out from Long as the center.

The Sea Kings's body trembled instantly, and its consciousness was taken into control.

"Open your mouth."

As if he could communicate with Sea Kings, Oboro commanded with his mind.

Then, the Sea Kings opened its vortex-like maw, allowing Oboro and Dom to enter its body along with the surging ocean currents.

The internal space of Sea Kings is large enough that Oboro could not have imagined it before.

This was also his first time experiencing something like this.

His plan was to escape by relying on the Sea Kings and using their soul abilities.

They used the Sea Kings as 'escape ships'.

This is something that the World Government and navy absolutely could not have imagined.

In this world, at least for now, they do not know of anyone who can communicate with or even control Sea Kings... This is a convenience brought by the soul.

As for Shirahoshi... she hasn't 'shown her talent' yet, and hasn't attracted much attention.

Inside the Sea Kings's body, soaking wet, Oboro carried the unconscious Dom, staggering as he crawled onto 'land,' which was the flesh and blood tissue inside the Sea Kings's body. He looked extremely disheveled, and Dom was practically 'dead.'

The limbs and hands were deformed due to the pressure of the water, and the internal organs were also damaged.

But it wouldn't necessarily lead to immediate death.

Oboro found the Sea Kings's lung cavity, punctured an alveolus with his finger, and a large amount of fresh oxygen immediately flowed out.

Each alveolus is the size of a house, densely packed... This damage is nothing to Sea Kings.

But it could save their lives.

Oboro tossed Dom aside, sat on the 'ground', and completely relaxed his tense body.

"Not bad, at least it was a success."

Long raised his hand and saw that his fingers were also twisted, and smiled with relief.

He had gone to the area near the shipyard beforehand to scout it out... so he was quite certain about the chances of the two of them escaping.

"This is just the beginning!"

Long smiled.

Meanwhile, Akainu and Aokiji, who were on missions abroad, both received messages from Navy Headquarters.

Originally, the two of them were in the New World, keeping an eye on the Yonko.

Recently, there have been some signs of discord between the Big Mom Pirates and Whitebeard's side.

This task is very important.

Logically, it shouldn't have been terminated prematurely. After all, the greatest threat to the World Government across the entire ocean comes from the Yonko... The consequences of an uncontrollable situation or event are unimaginable. The Navy had to be fully prepared, but when a phone call came in, both of them were taken aback.

Sengoku ordered them to return immediately and not to worry about the Yonko for the time being.

"The Celestial Dragons have been killed..."

Inside the cabin, Kuzan put down the Den Den Mushi and glanced at Sakazuki, who was sitting opposite him with a cigar in his mouth. "Things are about to change."

Akainu squinted and remained silent.

"In that case, I'll be going now."

After saying that, Kuzan didn't wait for Sakazuki's response and turned to leave.

Although both are high-ranking generals, the atmosphere between the two was noticeably stiff.

You could even say it's 'unfamiliar'.

The two seemed to be at odds.

In the Navy, the relationship between Aokiji and Akainu is common knowledge.

The two are vastly different in both their style of doing things and their personalities, just like their respective Devil Fruit abilities.

Therefore, the two did not get along.

Moreover, within the navy, there are different factions and positions.

If it weren't for the marshal's personal order, it would have been very difficult for the two of them to carry out any mission together.

Subsequently, Aokiji did not ride his beloved bicycle, but instead boarded another warship and returned to port ahead of schedule.

Not only the two admirals, but all naval officers on missions abroad were notified to return to headquarters.

The following day, at Naval Headquarters, in the office of Sengoku Admiral Sengoku.

Many generals have not yet returned, but a few people have already gathered in the room.

"Have you already sent people to search for the body underwater?" Sengoku asked, his fingers interlaced, his face as black as the bottom of a pot, as he looked at Kizaru.

"I've been looking for it..."

Kizaru picked at his ear and nodded.

On the table were a lot of papers, two of which had portraits of Oboro and Dom on them.

There are also clues and information about the two that the World Government and the Navy have found.

Nearby, a lamb from the Sengoku was munching on a wad of scrap paper.

"Even if the bodies are not found, it doesn't guarantee that they escaped. They could have been eaten by underwater creatures or swept away by currents... There are many possibilities."

"In that situation, based on the available information, the chances of survival are less than one percent." On the opposite sofa, Crane, with a full head of silver hair, held a teacup and said calmly, "After all, judging from their resumes, neither of them is very strong."

"Their escape method and route were clearly planned. Their ability to evade our pursuit and encirclement must be closely related to this person's ability..." Tsuru first glanced at Dom's wanted poster, referring to the Devil Fruit ability that allows one to 'traverse space'.

"But that alone isn't enough... Their breakout route was incredibly precise, and their timing was impeccable, as if they had an intimate understanding of our navy's deployment. If we hadn't confirmed this person's identity and background, and the fact that he had always been a slave of the Celestial Dragons, I would have even suspected that there might be a traitor within our ranks. Furthermore, in carrying out the escape plan, they had to be extremely cautious, bold yet meticulous... This kind of ability isn't something everyone possesses. Just based on this performance alone... I really can't connect him with a descendant of a fallen nation. His mind is terrifying."

"So, this kind of person would never seek his own death... He was confident enough that he could leave Sabaody Archipelago after killing the Celestial Dragons. If you hadn't made it in time, perhaps... he really could have done it, although I can't think of any way he could have done it. But considering that you destroyed the underwater strata in time, with their abilities, even if they survived by chance, it would only have prolonged their time to die."

Tsuru glanced at Kizaru.

Then, the topic shifted, "Thinking about these things now is not very meaningful. For you, the most important thing is... how to appease the Celestial Dragons' anger."

"The Navy bears some responsibility for this incident."

The old woman's words plunged the room into silence.

"We also need to consider... how to deal with the subsequent impact of this matter."

"Such a huge commotion, involving so many people and forces, can't possibly be kept secret. Knowing Morgans' personality, I suspect... the news agency is already rushing to print newspapers..."

"..."