Barn kept fanning himself with his collar, grumbling.
"Shut up, if you want to get out of here in one piece."
"Man, in a place this scorching hot, your words sure feel 'refreshing.' You're clearly roasting yourself."
Barn wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead and curled his lip as he thought.
"All right, both of you, quiet. This is Impel Down's fourth level, Blazing Hell. The Warden's office is here, and there are plenty of video Den Den Mushi. It'll be a real pain if we're spotted here!"
Leonard glanced at Barn and World as he spoke.
Golden Lion said nothing, but he fully agreed with Leonard. Leonard had once belonged to CP9, the Navy's most secretive agency. He knew many of the Navy's secrets, so naturally, he knew Impel Down's layout as well.
Barn shut his mouth at Leonard's warning. He had no desire to spend another six months here.
World gave a cold snort and fell silent too.
"Ow, that hurts! Not again!"
A young man sporting small black devil horns clutched his stomach and ran into the bathroom...
"Phew... That's much better!"
"Hey, Magellan! Why do you keep going to the bathroom? You'll poison someone as important as me, the Deputy Warden!"
A young-looking man with a very long face and a Pharaoh Headdress held his nose as he spoke to Magellan.
"Hey! What are you talking about, Hannyabal? I'm the Deputy Warden!"
Magellan angrily pointed at the armband on his left arm as he spoke to Hannyabal. The word "Deputy" was written on it.
"Oh no, did I just say what I was thinking?"
As though suddenly realizing something, Hannyabal hurriedly covered his mouth and muttered.
Just then, a green slash swept between them!
Scared out of his wits, Hannyabal spotted another man in a guard's uniform, holding a sword with a smug look on his face. His teeth turned fanglike as he roared.
"Hey, Shiryu! You were trying to kill me just now, weren't you? I'm the Deputy Warden!"
"Oh no, I said it again!"
"Hmph!"
Shiryu snorted smugly, then turned and walked away with his sword in his arms.
Magellan wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead as he watched Hannyabal crouch on the floor, muttering to himself...
Just then, he noticed what looked like figures up ahead!
He grabbed Hannyabal and ran toward them.
"Huh? What are you doing? Mage-mmph, mmph!"
Before Hannyabal could figure out what was happening, Magellan dragged him along. He tried to speak, but Magellan clamped a hand over his mouth.
But what he saw next left him speechless with shock. He spotted Golden Lion, Barn, and the others, five men in all. He had seen Golden Lion when he was brought into prison, and that distinctive mane of golden hair had left a deep impression on him.
"Th-that... That's... G-Golden Lion!"
"What!"
Magellan had been wondering who those men were, but Hannyabal's words finally gave him the answer.
They're all major criminals from Level Six! This is bad! They're breaking out! I have to tell the Warden right away!
With that thought, Magellan abandoned the petrified Hannyabal and raced toward the Warden's office.
"Huh? Hey! Magellan!"
Seeing Magellan run off without him, Hannyabal immediately followed.
Magellan quickly reached the Warden's office, pushed open the door, and gave a military salute as he announced loudly.
"Warden..."
Just then, Hannyabal ran in too. Before he had even caught his breath, he spoke.
"Warden, we've got trouble! Hah... Golden Lion... Golden Lion has escaped!"
Magellan still held his salute, but his face had darkened. A huge throbbing vein stood out on his forehead as he glared viciously at Hannyabal.
Seeing Magellan's expression, Hannyabal chose to ignore that vicious glare and silently gave himself thirty-two pats on the back!
The figure in the darkness abruptly stood at Hannyabal's words.
"What! This is trouble! Hannyabal, Magellan, find Shiryu immediately and take men to intercept them! You must not let them escape!"
"Yes, sir!"
Hannyabal instantly gave a military salute and ran out.
"Yes, sir..."
Magellan answered listlessly and walked out too.
After Magellan and Hannyabal had left, the figure in the darkness slowly sat down. A bitter smile tugged at his lips as he silently picked up a Den Den Mushi and placed a call.
"Purupurupurupuru..."
"Hello, Sengoku speaking."
The figure gave a bitter smile and spoke into the Den Den Mushi.
"Old friend, that bastard Golden Lion has broken out!"
"What!"
Sengoku sounded even more shocked on the other end, but a moment later, he regained his composure and spoke gravely into the Den Den Mushi.
"Understood."
After hanging up, Sengoku went to his seat as Fleet Admiral and put on his Navy coat, with "Justice" emblazoned across the back. He addressed Garp, who was eating senbei on the nearby sofa.
"Let's go, Garp!"
"Huh? Why do I have to go again?"
"Golden Lion has escaped..."
"The exit is just ahead. There are no video Den Den Mushi here. We'll be entering Level Three soon..."
Before Leonard could finish, an irritating voice suddenly interrupted him.
"Ha! Golden Lion and your accomplices! The great Deputy Warden Hannyabal is here! Don't even think about escaping!"
Just then, a huge green slash flew past his ear!
"Aaaaaah!"
Hannyabal was so terrified that he dropped straight onto the floor. When he opened his eyes, he saw Magellan approaching from the other side with a group of men.
"I'm the Deputy Warden! Poison Dragon!"
Magellan's entire body turned purple, and a gigantic purple dragon of poison lunged toward Barn and the others!
"Wave Explosion!"
Barn stepped forward with a sharp shout. A demon-shaped aura erupted above his head, blasting the oncoming Poison Dragon apart!
Meanwhile, Long Light flashed from its sheath in Oniwood's hand, and his slash intercepted the enormous green slash!
"They spotted us."
World spoke flatly, his face expressionless, as though none of this had anything to do with him. He slowly bent down and dug his fingers into the hard floor, breaking it apart. He picked up four or five small stones and tossed them in his hand.
"We're taking a shortcut, Golden Lion!"
"Right!"
Golden Lion nodded at World's words. At that moment, his left eye snapped open. A powerful current, almost solid enough to form a tangible aura, spread outward from him, engulfing all the jailers who had come to block their escape.
In that instant, the eyes of most of the jailers, including Hannyabal, went blank, and their bodies crumpled to the floor. Only Shiryu, Magellan, and a handful of jailers remained standing.
Conqueror's Haki!
Barn had felt this same sensation from Whitebeard. There was no mistaking it. This was proof of a king's potential, the one-in-ten-thousand Conqueror's Haki!
"Moa Moa! Hundredfold Cannonballs!"
World hurled the stones in his hand at the ceiling!
In an instant, those four or five tiny stones grew a hundredfold into gigantic cannonballs and shot upward at a terrifying speed! They punched straight through the floors above. Looking up from below, they could even see the sky!
He had pierced straight through Impel Down!
"Everyone, hold on!"
Golden Lion grabbed Barn, World, Oniwood, and Leonard, then used his devil fruit ability to lift off the ground and fly!
"World!"
Golden Lion glanced at World and shouted.
"Don't order me around, Golden Lion! Moa Moa Tenfold Speed!"
Golden Lion and the others suddenly accelerated in midair, flying straight out through the passage World had blasted open!
Still on Level Four, Magellan and Shiryu rushed beneath the "passage," but all they could see were the soles of Golden Lion and the others' feet.
"Woohoo! What a rush!"
Although Barn couldn't see, the powerful air currents still felt exhilarating.
"Shut up, brat!"
World snapped coldly once again. Leonard could only shake his head with a wry smile.
With World and Golden Lion's abilities working together, the group finally breathed the fresh air outside Impel Down once more!
But just then, an icy voice rang in their ears...
"I've been waiting for you, gentlemen..."