"Kuta, don't."
Seeing the cold glint in Kuta's eyes, Ivankov reached out to stop him, but he was too late.
At Kuta's flick, a ripple spread silently through the air, rolling outward like a wave across water.
It passed over Ivankov, the Marines, and all of Impel Down without harming anyone, as gentle as a breeze.
But when the ripple passed through the crack behind Ivankov and Inazuma and entered the vast underground cavern of Level 5.5...
A slice, followed by several thuds and the smell of blood, filled the cavern and its countless tunnels in an instant.
"Wh-what...?"
The people of Newkama Land erupted into chaos. Companions who had been fine a moment ago had suddenly been cut in half by something they couldn't see.
As Ivankov had said, truly evil people were rare, but they did exist. Compared with Newkama Land's vast population, Kuta had killed only a few.
Out of respect for Ivankov, Kuta had killed only those he believed deserved to die. He had left the lesser offenders alone.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Ivankov clenched his fists. He looked at Kuta and opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.
He knew he and Inazuma couldn't have kept every evildoer out. Still, the young man's willingness to kill left him resentful and dissatisfied.
After all, Ivankov believed the Newkama he had transformed were no longer the people they had once been.
But what was done was done. He couldn't fall out with Kuta now, especially when Kuta had come all this way to rescue them.
After a moment of silence, Ivankov said grimly, "Give me an hour. I need to deal with matters in Newkama Land."
"Okay."
Kuta nodded. Only after Ivankov and Inazuma turned and disappeared into the crack did he quietly