Deception

More than twenty years ago, there had been a man who went through something similar to him...

Teach's mouth twitched, and his eyelids jumped.

Wasn't Crocodile talking about that great demon king sitting as steady as a mountain on the deck of the warship outside—Douglas Barrett?

Crocodile truly deserved to be an old-school Seven Warlord. His eye for things was razor-sharp.

He was taking a roundabout shot at Teach.

He must have seen through the relationship between Teach and Barrett long ago.

Jinbe, however, froze, unable to make heads or tails of it.

With a curl of his lips, Crocodile laid out his speculation in an undisguisedly mocking tone.

After a brief silence, Jinbe suddenly abandoned his usual composed demeanor. He threw open his fang-filled mouth and burst into booming laughter.

He laughed so heartily that the wounds on his chest split open again, and tears streamed from his eyes.

"Damn it, Jinbe, what are you laughing at?!" Teach snapped in embarrassment and anger. Black currents gradually began to rise from his clenched fist.

Jinbe was completely unafraid. Laughing so hard that he beat his chest and stomped his feet, he pointed at Teach and jeered:

"Retribution! This is retribution, Teach!"

"The old saying that evil men will be punished by even greater evil is absolutely true!"

"You brought this upon yourself, you bastard. You released the beasts of Infinite Hell without permission, and now you're suffering the consequences, aren't you?"

"You never expected that among those beasts, there was a vicious dragon hiding, did you?"

"I'd like to see how your ambition of becoming the strongest man in the new world will ever be realized under the control of Douglas Barrett, the Devil's Heir!"

Jinbe's wild laughter enraged Teach beyond measure.

He badly wanted to rush over and beat Jinbe senseless.

But Crocodile was there too.

Though both of them appeared to be severely injured,

they were still two Seven Warlords. There was no need for him to take that risk.

Teach immediately snorted with a dark expression.

"Go ahead and laugh. Do you think you're any better off?"

Then Teach finally noticed something.

Behind Jinbe, two people lay side by side.

One of them was Straw Hat Luffy, whose Rubber-Rubber Fruit Teach had stolen and who had already died completely.

And the other...

His hair was gray-white, his face aged, and his body shriveled and gaunt.

Yet from that still-alluring face, Teach could still recognize him as the revolutionary Emporio Ivankov.

But after not seeing him for a while, how had that dead queer Ivankov turned into such a ghostly state?

Suddenly, Teach's pupils shrank violently. As if he had seen a ghost, he leaped three feet into the air from where he stood.

Jinbe glanced at Teach's abnormal reaction.

"He's alive! Straw Hat Luffy, who should have been completely dead, has truly come back to life!"

Deep shock filled Teach's eyes.

His senses were extremely sharp.

At such close range,

he could even hear the sound of Straw Hat Luffy's heart beating.

The sound was weak, but perfectly clear.

A dead man's heart could not possibly beat.

Teach's mouth hung open, his mind full of confusion.

How had Straw Hat Luffy come back to life?

After a long while, Teach recalled Ivankov's shriveled, ghostly appearance and seemed to find the answer.

Inside Impel Down, in the warden's office.

Several guards whose necks had been slit by a blade struggled before collapsing to the floor under Shiryu's cold gaze, terror in their eyes.

"Murururururu, Shiryu of the Rain, you really are a cold and heartless man. You don't show even a shred of mercy to your former subordinates."

Crescent Moon Hunter Devon, who had followed him inside, teased him.

Shiryu's expression remained cold. He paid no attention to what she said.

He walked straight to a large desk and picked up a large Transponder Snail from it.

The shell of this Transponder Snail had been painted blue and white, and it wore a Marine soldier's cap on its head, making it look exceptionally cute.

The moment Shiryu picked it up, the Transponder Snail began trembling violently in fear.

Shiryu ignored it.

He directly dialed the number for Marine Headquarters.

Though his bloodlust had kept him imprisoned in Infinite Hell for years,

Shiryu had once been Impel Down's vice warden. It was hardly strange that he knew the contact number for Marine Headquarters.

"Purururu."

"Purururu."

After ringing several times, the call was finally answered.

"This is Sengoku."

An elderly yet authoritative voice came from the other end of the Transponder Snail.

Hearing that familiar voice, a trace of fluctuation appeared in Shiryu's cold eyes.

The resourceful Sengoku, the current Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters!

He was also the superior of both Shiryu and Magellan.

"This is Shiryu."

Shiryu quickly replied in a low voice.

"Shiryu, why are you contacting Marine Headquarters now? How is the riot inside Impel Down being handled?"

Perhaps Magellan had been too busy suppressing the riot earlier and forgotten to report to Sengoku that Shiryu had defected and joined Blackbeard.

Sengoku did not question him from the other end of the Transponder Snail.

As a result, some of the excuses Shiryu had prepared went unused.

In truth, the reason Sengoku at Marine Headquarters did not suspect Shiryu

was because, when the riot at Impel Down had first begun, Magellan had asked him for permission to release Shiryu, who had committed serious offenses, from Infinite Hell.

He had wanted Shiryu to help quell the riot and atone for his crimes through service.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the riot at Impel Down has been suppressed."

"The three masterminds behind this prison break—Straw Hat Luffy, Buggy the Clown, and Teach of the newly appointed Seven Warlords, Blackbeard—have all been captured."

"Later, I'll have the relevant visual records sent over."

Shiryu lied through his teeth without changing expression, leaving Devon, who stood beside him, staring in stunned disbelief.

"Oh? Really? At last, some good news!"

Sengoku's delighted voice came through, as though he had let out a long sigh of relief.

Then Shiryu seemed to hear another elderly voice beside Sengoku cry out in alarm.

"Nani? Luffy!"

Sengoku's voice continued. "How are the prison's losses? You weren't injured, were you?"

"Among the guards, the casualties are severe. Two Jailer Beasts have also died."

"Magellan and I are fine. We only suffered minor injuries."

"You know that Magellan's Venom-Venom Fruit power is invincible within the enclosed confines of Impel Down."

Listening to Shiryu's words, Sengoku pondered for several seconds before saying with relief:

"You've worked hard. Is there anything else?"

"Yes." Shiryu's tone did not change. "Since the riot has been suppressed, there is no need for the warships stationed outside Impel Down to remain in the surrounding waters."

"I request that the Gate of Justice be opened so that the ten warships can return to Marineford."

Before he could finish, Sengoku said, "No. Impel Down also needs sufficient firepower to stand guard."

"In these extraordinary times, every additional bit of strength means fewer Marine casualties at Marineford. The combat strength of eight thousand elite Marines is still extremely considerable. Besides, my injuries aren't serious. I can come over and help as well!"

Shiryu said in a deep voice.