On July 2, 1516, six major prisoners died on the fifth and sixth floors of Impel Down.
The cause of death is completely unknown; all of them died in their sleep, inexplicably "passing away in their sleep"!
The Impel Down kills a lot of people every day, ranging from a dozen to hundreds. The number only remains in dynamic balance because a large number of prisoners are also brought in every month.
However, such deaths generally occur in the first three levels. Firstly, the prisoners in the first three levels are usually not very strong. Secondly, the World Government does not want the prisoners in the last three levels to die, but rather wants them to live weakly.
Especially the sixth floor!
At the same time, six high-ranking prisoners from the fifth and sixth floors died, four of whom were prisoners from the sixth floor. It was hard to say that this was a coincidence, and Magellan immediately reported the matter.
After learning about this, Momousagi was initially depressed, but ultimately volunteered to take on the responsibility of investigating.
Afterwards, Momousagi, representing Marine Headquarters, arrived at Impel Down...
Compared to her guilty demeanor six months ago when she Shiryu, Momousagi now appeared serious and cold.
Magellan led her to the sixth floor, where she saw several well-preserved corpses. Just as Momousagi's eyes were about to redden, Magellan suddenly said, "If nothing unexpected happens, Shiryu... should have escaped."
Although Magellan bore far greater responsibility as the warden for a prisoner's escape than for a prisoner's death in prison, he still chose to report the truth!
"A prison break?" Momousagi immediately looked at Magellan, then couldn't help glancing at Shiryu's corpse.
By any standard... they're definitely corpses!
Indeed, if Shiryu hadn't given Magellan a hint beforehand, he might have also suspected that Shiryu had been assassinated by some special ability user.
But Shiryu had just said "thank you for your care during this time" to him, and then he "fell asleep." Magellan did not believe it was a coincidence.
As a reason, Magellan also truthfully reported Shiryu's previous reaction to Momousagi.
After hearing this, Momousagi wore a conflicted expression—it did indeed sound very suspicious!
Even though the body was right in front of me, but...
"He's always wearing those Seastone Handcuffs?" Momousagi asked, looking at the handcuffs on Shiryu's wrists.
"Yes, it has never been taken off," Magellan said with certainty.
That makes even less sense!
Even if Shiryu hiding some special ability of the "Thunder Beast Fruit," he shouldn't have been able to use it with the Seastone Handcuffs on him.
However, now, with this idea that "he might have escaped," upon closer inspection, both Momousagi and Magellan felt that they could see a mocking smile on Shiryu's lips on his body.
"What about the other deceased prisoners?" Momousagi then paid a slight attention to the other dead.
Momousagi originally came only for Shiryu, but now that there are no clues about Shiryu, she has no choice but to start with the others!
"The others didn't show any unusual behavior before..." Magellan thought for a moment, then added, "And they are all registered ability users."
Since they are all known to be Devil Fruit users and their Devil Fruits are all registered, there is no possibility that they "have hidden special abilities"—unless there is an oversight in the Devil Fruit registration information.
Furthermore, if we were to identify the one most likely to have been overlooked, it would definitely be the "Thunder Beast Fruit," because it was only registered after Shiryu ate it.
Another suspicious point is that, in retrospect, Magellan discovered that when Shiryu and the others died, a transport ship happened to be docked!
Upon discovering Shiryu's death immediately, Magellan, realizing the situation, decided to call them back shortly after the escort ships departed. The escort ships did indeed return, and the ships were detained for a whole day and are still in Impel Down to this day.
However, the search of the escort ship naturally yielded nothing...
Thinking back on her six months of contact with Shiryu, Momousagi couldn't help but lean towards believing that Shiryu from prison!
However, Momousagi had no idea what methods were used. The Navy and the World Government could only closely monitor the seas for any news about the deceased prisoner...
If someone appears on the sea, it must be a mass prison break, and the corpse is some kind of illusion. But if their Devil Fruit ability appear on someone else, then they are definitely dead!
However, neither of these two possibilities is likely to occur...
Sig is soaring through the Calm Belt —the kind where he creates his own wind!
Leaving Impel Down was not difficult for Sig. He traveled through Dream Traversal to reach the ground floor, and then entered the dream of the marines resting on the escort ship.
Sig jumped into the sea shortly after the escort ship left the port, and no one noticed.
The escape plan... or rather, the "departure plan," is going smoothly.
However, Sig frowned deeply, because the worms formed from his own flesh and blood had completely lost contact with him.
Following the pause in the performance of the "Priest of Light," the "Flesh Worm" tracking Vegapunk was also killed or restricted. Sig is now almost certain that Vegapunk has discovered something!
Fortunately, judging from the final location of the Flesh Worm, Vegapunk hadn't moved too far before. Perhaps it's a case of "the real is the unreal," as he was still in the Calm Belt, specifically in the East Calm Belt, not far from Impel Down.
Sig arrived at this nameless island in less than a day after Impel Down...
Looking at the guards and arrangements on the island, Sig had some doubts. Sig's worst-case scenario was that he would find the island deserted, which would make finding Vegapunk much more difficult. His best-case scenario was that he would be faster and find the transport fleet that had not yet left. In that case, he would have to prepare to rescue his true identity immediately unless he was protected by Admiral.
However, the current situation is beyond Sig's expectations...
There was no sign of anyone leaving, no transport ships, and it was as if nothing had happened; the secret research institute was still operating smoothly!
Did Vegapunk simply destroy the Flesh Worm by accident and happen to stop drawing energy from Sig?
Sig didn't believe in such a coincidence, but if Vegapunk had discovered something, there was no reason not to transfer it, right?
Did Vegapunk naively believe that his exposed location was still safe, and that he hadn't even notified the Navy?
Filled with doubt, Sig infiltrated the research institute...
This was Sig's first time here, but he found his way around very easily—at this distance, the connection between Sig and the true form was already very strong, and no other force could block it!