Freezing Hell

"So... so cold..."

Thanks to Ye Mu's preparations, everyone had put on thick woolen clothes. But when the Air Door to Level 5: Freezing Hell opened and cold air swept in, even Ye Mu felt a chill run through him. Lililu and Ayala had it worse. Kuromu, being a robot, felt nothing.

Fortunately, an air bubble soon appeared around them.

The ice and snow nearby visibly began to melt, and the howling wind could no longer touch them.

Only then did Ayala relax her gloved hands. She breathed out the cold air she had just inhaled and looked around.

A world of pure white met her eyes.

The ground and trees were buried beneath thick layers of ice and snow.

If not for the cold prison cells and the corpses faintly visible beneath the ice underfoot, it would have been a beautiful sight. Now, it felt desolate and hopeless.

Lililu looked around too, then spoke.

"At least we don't have to worry about being watched here. Forget people—even a Den Den Mushi probably couldn't survive this cold."

Ye Mu nodded.

Just then, a wolf's howl came from the distance.

On the horizon, amid the wind and snow, more than a dozen white wolves charged toward them. Their eyes were bloodred, ringed with wavelike patterns.

But that was as far as they got.

"Get lost!"

Ye Mu gave a soft snort and released a trace of Conqueror's Haki.

The wolves instinctively sensed terrible danger. Whimpering, they fled in panic.

At that moment, voices rose from the cells behind them.

"You've got to be kidding. The Army Wolves ran away?"

"They're not guards or prisoners..."

"Who are they?"

"Wait, was that... Conqueror's Haki?"

"That face... Isn't he Ye Mu, captain of the Sky Pirate Crew?"

"Sky Pirate Crew? They're pirates too?"

"Ah,