Escape from Impel Down

Just as the prisoners were hesitating, a tremendous noise erupted from beneath their feet, and Ivankov's gargantuan head burst forth from below.

"It's Lord Ivankov!"

"Lord Ivankov, you're safe! Thank goodness!"

Seeing Ivankov emerge, the scantily clad, eccentric Okama prisoners cried out in joyful surprise.

"Hey! I said hurry up and get over here!"

On the other side, Chen Qiang, seeing only a few people had made it to the ship, shouted at the prisoners opposite with visible impatience.

"Since you lot are too afraid to jump, then let this old man give you a hand!" Hearing Chen Qiang's urging, and with Magellan closing in fast from behind, Jinbe stepped forward.

With that, he moved to the rear of the prisoners.

"Hey! What's he doing?"

"What's he doing with his fist raised like that?"

"He isn't going to attack us, is he?"

"..."

The prisoners' gazes were drawn to Jinbe as he stood behind them, watching in terror as he assumed a combat stance.

"Fish-Man Karate! 500-Watt Brick Fist!"

"Ah!"

As Jinbe threw his punch, a massive gust of wind erupted from his fist, and the prisoners who had been standing at the prison entrance were all blown away by the sudden gale.

Seeing the prisoners flying toward him, Chen Qiang swung his long blade, manifesting a massive, ring-shaped barrier that caught all of them.

"That's amazing! Let's go too!" At this moment, Luffy, who had been stalling Magellan with the help of Mr. 3, arrived at Jinbe's side and looked at him in astonishment.

"Mm!"

Hearing Luffy, Jinbe nodded calmly, then grabbed Ivankov and Inazuma, leaping across to the warship.

Seeing Jinbe cross, Crocodile naturally didn't stay behind; his legs transformed into sand as he flew toward the warship.

Luffy didn't hesitate either, following right behind him and leaping rapidly toward the ship.

As for the other prisoners who had escaped from the second level with Luffy, the fear of the Calm Belt was nothing compared to facing Magellan, so as Luffy jumped, they followed suit one after another.

"Damn you! I will never let you escape Impel Down!" Magellan, having pursued them out, roared in fury as he saw the group of prisoners leaping onto the ship.

With that, the massive, red-poison-formed Venom Demon behind him reached out toward the warship.

"Magellan, I have no intention of returning to that godforsaken prison!" Chen Qiang, having handed the helm over to Jinbe, stood at the stern and retorted with utter disdain upon hearing Magellan's shout.

"Blood Boiling!"

He drew his long blade and slashed rapidly toward the sea.

Under this strike, the blood that had previously formed a giant tiger was reawakened, surging from all directions to envelop the entire entrance of Impel Down.

Magellan's Venom Demon had its reaching limb severed by this strike.

"Chen Qiang the Undying!"

Within the blood-shrouded Impel Down, Magellan let out another thunderous roar, simultaneously launching an attack against the blood-red sea water enveloping the exterior.

"Hurry! I can't hold him for long!" After doing this, Chen Qiang ignored Magellan's roar and shouted urgently to Jinbe.

After all, even with such a wide-range attack, Chen Qiang could only barely maintain it for about a minute, even after having slaughtered all the Marines on the warship and drained their blood. If they didn't seize this moment to leave, the enemy's attacks might soon rain down upon their ship.

"Understood!"

Clearly, everyone understood their situation; they were still too close to Impel Down and hadn't fully escaped danger yet. Everyone on the ship worked together, setting the vessel in motion and speeding forward.

"Hahaha! We finally made it out!"

"I'm never going back to that hellhole again!"

"It's been so long since I've seen the sun!"

"..."

As they completely left Impel Down and cleared the range of Magellan's attacks, the prisoners began to cheer one after another.

At this time, Chen Qiang found a spot on the deck, leaning back against the wall, and looked up at the bright sky, momentarily lost in thought.

Thinking back, it had been two months since he had transmigrated into this world, and this was the first time he had seen the sky outside; for a moment, he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

In the two months since his arrival, Chen Qiang had transformed from an ordinary young man into someone who could slaughter all the Marines on a warship and feel only slight discomfort.

Whether it was due to the torturous punishments in the prison that nearly drove him mad, or the aftereffects of his transmigration, Chen Qiang could finally let down his guard and take a moment to reflect on everything that had happened since he arrived.

Back then, Chen Qiang knew nothing, possessing only a powerful cheat and a desperate will to survive, which drove him to constantly escape and be constantly dragged back.

Throughout those countless escapes, as his body grew stronger, Chen Qiang learned to control his own blood, and through these repeated battles, he mastered a style of swordsmanship suited to his combat.

Thinking about it this way, Chen Qiang couldn't even tell if his time in prison had been a blessing or a curse, leaving him feeling quite bewildered.

"Hahahaha! Thanks a lot, Chen Qiang!" Without knowing when, Luffy had arrived at Chen Qiang's side, slapped him on the shoulder, and said with a wide grin.

"It's nothing! I just wanted to get out myself," Chen Qiang replied with a calm expression.

"You should come along too, to celebrate our escape from Impel Down." Luffy didn't take Chen Qiang's coldness to heart, simply continuing to smile as he spoke to him.

"Luffy, I've always had a question I wanted to ask you. Can you answer it for me?" Ignoring the invitation, Chen Qiang looked at Luffy with a serious expression and asked.

"Ask me? What do you want to ask?" Luffy looked at Chen Qiang, somewhat puzzled.

"When you go to rescue Ace this time, have you ever thought about the possibility of failure? If you fail, not only will Ace die, but you might die there too!"

"Hahaha, I will definitely save Ace! Even if I die there, it doesn't matter. Ace once said that living itself is about not leaving any regrets; that's what it means to live a good life!"

Hearing Luffy's words, Chen Qiang was visibly stunned. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a very earnest expression as he replied.

"No regrets, huh? Hahahaha! Alright, I understand. I will definitely help you save Ace!"

Although Chen Qiang had almost known what Luffy's answer would be when he asked the question, it was the follow-up that suddenly made everything clear to him.

Since he had transmigrated into this world, he should live this life to the fullest. In his previous life, he had always been burdened by various regrets for one reason or another.

But this time, Chen Qiang possessed the means to grow stronger. As long as he set his mind to it, he could accomplish anything. Since that was the case, he naturally had to ensure his life was free of regrets.

Back when he watched the anime in his past life, Chen Qiang's greatest regret was Ace's death. It had made him curse the manga author fiercely at the time, though back then, it was just venting.

Now that he had arrived in the real world of One Piece and had the chance to change all of that, if he wanted to live without regrets, he absolutely had to save Ace.

"Hahaha! Then thank you! We will definitely be able to save Ace!" Hearing Chen Qiang's words, a smile returned to his face.

"What did you say? This ship is heading toward Marine Headquarters?"

Just as Chen Qiang and Luffy were chatting, Buggy, on the other side, heard the ship's destination from Jinbe and was so shocked that his body literally split into several pieces.

"Of course. The purpose of this prison break is Marine Headquarters!" It wasn't Jinbe who answered him, but Crocodile, who had been sitting to the side smoking.

"It's over! It's over! Everything is over!" Hearing Crocodile's confirmation, Buggy and Mr. 3, who was beside him, collapsed onto the floor.

"Buru! Buru! Buru!~~~"

Just at that moment, the Den Den Mushi on the warship began to ring.