Leaving

Borsalino, engulfed by pitch-black space, vanished completely from Impel Down. Banished into spatial turbulence, no one knew which corner of the world he would appear in.

"Cough, cough... I did it..."

Ye Qiong's face was pale and bloodless. His steps staggered as his strength was completely drained, and his body fell backward in the shape of a spread-eagle, collapsing onto the ground.

From the beginning, he had known that defeating Borsalino would be extremely difficult. That was why he had used forced Space Banishment, effectively stripping Borsalino of his ability to fight.

"Vice Admiral Borsalino disappeared?" Seeing this, Magellan spoke in an icy tone. "You truly are too dangerous. You must die here!"

The surging tide of venom he unleashed forced Crow King and White Snow back. Purple venom spread across the ground, forming a Poison Passage beneath his feet as he slid rapidly toward Ye Qiong, who lay on the ground.

"Stop!" Crow King and White Snow cried out, but the venom hindered them, leaving them no time to intervene.

Magellan was about to reach Ye Qiong, while Ye Qiong could barely move.

Life and death would be decided in this instant.

Tap!

The Night Emperor leaped out from the side. His seemingly frail body was as agile as a dragon as he kicked Magellan away. Venom burst outward in all directions, yet it was all blocked by sword qi radiating from his body, unable to touch him.

He landed beside Ye Qiong. His black robe fluttered without wind, and his entire body resembled a famous sword freshly wiped clean of dust. The sword had left its sheath, its sharp edge radiating outward, its undisguised cold gleam sending chills through the heart.

The surging presence of a World's Greatest Swordsman instantly swept across the battlefield.

"Master! You..."

Though saved, Ye Qiong felt no joy. Instead, he stared at him with wide eyes, his face filled with unwillingness.

"You've already worked very hard. Live well."

The Night Emperor glanced at him with relief, scooped up his badly injured body with his left hand, and threw him toward White Snow.

White Snow hurriedly caught Ye Qiong on her wolf back. The black flames on her body still burned, yet they gently avoided his body.

"White Snow, Crow King, take Ye Qiong and leave as quickly as possible!"

The Night Emperor picked up the longsword from the ground. His decayed, aged body was revitalized, his essence, qi, and spirit continuously gathering as he rose like a crimson sun, his momentum soaring skyward.

"Master! Let's leave together!" Ye Qiong roared unwillingly, but his entire body was limp and powerless. Exhausted, he could not muster any strength.

"Leave! Do you want everything I've done to be in vain?" the Night Emperor shouted fiercely. His eyes shone brightly as his remaining essence, qi, and spirit continued to burn.

He did not have much life left.

Ye Qiong gritted his teeth and patted White Snow's broad back. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Go! Get us out of here!"

White Snow nodded. Black flames emerged around her paws as she stepped through the air and charged toward the open sea.

Crow King transformed into human form, leaped onto the wolf's back, and left with them.

"Don't even think about leaving!"

Magellan's face twisted viciously as venom poured from his entire body. The purple venom transformed into dragons that surged through the air, lunging to block White Snow.

"Could you not disturb my disciple?" the Night Emperor said with a soft laugh. "Disciple, today I shall see you off with Dark Night Style at its peak!"

Dark Night Radiance!

The Night Emperor soared into the air. His black robe snapped in the wind as his essence, qi, and spirit gathered around him. Before he even struck, he inspired dread. Sword in hand, he shot upward like a god of war.

Then he swung his sword downward, splitting the void.

That sword sent an ink-black sword light sweeping across heaven and earth.

In an instant, day turned into night, as even the light in the sky was severed in two!

This was the ultimate Night Radiance Strike: sword radiance became night, cutting through all things!

The Night Radiance instantly shattered the Poison Dragons. The night-like sword light did not pause, tearing through the sky and striking Magellan's massive body.

Sshhk!

Layers of venom covered Magellan's body as he used his strongest defense to block it. Yet venom and blood burst from his shoulder together, and more than half the flesh there was cleanly carved away, nearly crippling his entire arm.

"Cough, cough..."

The Night Emperor landed on the ground and began coughing violently. After using only one strike, his aged body could already barely endure it, and the hand gripping his sword trembled slightly.

"Grr!"

Magellan's gaze was cold as he clutched the grievous wound on his shoulder. Venom surged forth and lunged toward the Night Emperor.

The Night Emperor tightened his grip on his sword and staggered forward to meet him.

"Master!"

Ye Qiong shouted from White Snow's back. Over the past five years, the Night Emperor had been the most important person in his life, the mentor he wished to thank most in this world.

White Snow ran through the air and departed. Dense mist obscured Magellan and the Night Emperor from view.

After entering the skies above the sea and traveling farther and farther away, Impel Down soon became nothing more than a vague outline within the mist, impossible to see clearly again.

"For those few prisoners, was staying behind worth it?"

Magellan looked coldly at the Night Emperor.

"It was! The most worthwhile thing I've ever done in my life," the Night Emperor said with a hearty laugh, without the slightest hesitation.

His essence gradually faded, but his footsteps remained firm. Sword in hand, he continued fighting, buying time for Ye Qiong.

Several miles away from Impel Down, a massive warship sailed toward the prison along the current.

"Report! A monster has appeared in the sky not far off our port side!" a scout aboard the ship reported.

"A monster in the sky?"

Sakazuki frowned and snatched the binoculars.

He looked into the sky to the side and indeed saw a white wolf-like monster flying high in the air several miles away.

"A magical beast?"

Sakazuki casually put away the binoculars, then suddenly paused and raised them again for a closer look.

Wasn't the direction the white wolf was leaving from Impel Down?

A suspicion flashed through Sakazuki's mind. He raised his head, and his eyes gradually turned cold.

"Better kill the wrong one than let the right one escape!"

He raised his hands and clenched both fists as his magma power rapidly gathered.

Meteor Volcano!

Sakazuki generated a mass of enormous magma fists with both fists. Like a rain of fiery meteors, lava continuously shot into that stretch of sky.

For a time, magma fists more powerful than cannonballs filled the sky before plunging into the sea, sending up enormous waves.

The Marines aboard the ship stared in dumbfounded shock at the scene before them, one capable of altering the natural environment itself. None of them could speak.

By the time Sakazuki lowered his fists, that entire stretch of sea had been scorched crimson. There was no trace of the monster left in the sky.

"Enough. Advance at full speed and get to Impel Down!" Sakazuki ordered sternly.

"Yes!"

The steel warship rode the wind and cleaved through the waves, swiftly crossing the remaining distance. Impel Down was close at hand.

Sakazuki frowned, stepped on the deck, and leaped into the air. Using Geppo in midair, he kicked off several times, crossed the coast, and landed directly in the plaza before Impel Down's gates.

"Has everything been dealt with? Why is it so quiet?"

A powerful unease rose within Sakazuki as he strode forward.

What appeared before him was the front plaza of Impel Down, utterly ruined like a wasteland. The uneven ground was covered in sword marks of varying depths, craters as though it had been ravaged by artillery fire, and shattered concrete everywhere. All of it revealed the intensity of the battle that had just taken place, a horrifying sight.

"Were the prisoners really this powerful?"

Sakazuki's face was full of shock.

Impel Down had powerful people such as Magellan and Shiryu of the Rain. Why had it become like this?

He continued forward and saw Magellan kneeling on one knee.

Several sword wounds deep enough to reveal bone covered Magellan's body. Blood flowed freely, and he had clearly suffered severe injuries.

Before him, an elderly swordsman lying on the ground had been covered head to toe in venom and was barely clinging to life.

"Admiral Sakazuki, you're here..." Magellan slightly raised his head. Upon seeing Sakazuki, he sighed. "Unfortunately, you're too late."

"What did you say? Too late? Could it be..." Sakazuki demanded in quick succession.

"That's right. The three prisoners have already escaped. They had an ability user and fled through the sky."

Magellan's eyes were dim.

"What did you say?!"

Sakazuki was utterly shocked.

They had truly escaped?

Only a little over five years after Golden Lion's successful prison break, prisoners had escaped again—and this time, there were three of them!

"How... how could you let the prisoners escape!"

Sakazuki glared sharply at Magellan, furious.

"My fault. I am willing to bear all responsibility," Magellan said.

"How can you bear responsibility for such a grave mistake?" Sakazuki said angrily.

Magellan sighed and said nothing more. He forced himself upright and walked toward Impel Down.

Sakazuki looked at his battered body and the enormous hole blasted through Impel Down's gates, while stormy waves rose within his heart.

Just what kind of monster-level prisoners had escaped from Impel Down?