With a rumble, the elevator reached the ground floor.
Its doors opened, and Aises, the Warden of Impel Down, arrived just in time to see what had happened.
His pupils contracted.
At the same time, he recognized the intruders.
All his fury over Black's death turned toward Rocks.
"Rocks, do you have a death wish?"
Aises gritted his teeth as a terrifying aura erupted from his body.
"Oh? What makes you so confident?" Rocks frowned at the Impel Down powerhouse before him.
It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him like that.
Aises's aura was formidable. He was unquestionably an Admiral-level fighter, a monster who had reached that level through Body Techniques and Haki alone.
But that alone did not qualify him to make such threats.
Was it his ability?
Rocks's strength was common knowledge, and the man before him was no fool.
Only his ability could have given him such confidence.
While Rocks was still thinking, Aises struck. He vanished from where he stood, appeared before Shiki, and sent him flying with a devastating punch.
He was already too late. From the huge hole nearby, he knew powerful Pirates had gone deeper.
He roared, venting the fire in his heart.
He had guarded Impel Down for over forty years, devoting more than half his life to it.
And now disaster had struck. Impel Down was his lifelong faith, his lifelong glory, and the work of his life.
So what if his opponent was Rocks? He had made up his mind: whatever happened, no one would escape.
Whatever the Rocks Pirates intended, he would block their way out.
"You damned Pirates! Do you even know what you're doing?"
After that punch, Aises bent his knees slightly. An instant later, he shot forward like a cannonball, rushing