Outside Impel Down, the Marines stationed on guard were thrilled.
They had never expected three legendary figures from Marine Headquarters to arrive in person.
Though puzzled, they told Sengoku everything Impel Down currently knew.
Yet the information made all three of their expressions darken.
"Just as Kuzan said, the Marines guarding the perimeter haven't seen anyone leave Impel Down."
"But if he hasn't left, how did that kid who broke out disappear?"
"Impel Down is only so big. Where could he hide?"
Talking as they went, the three stepped into Level 1 of Impel Down with heavy hearts.
The moment they entered, a thick stench of blood assaulted their noses.
Only a little over a day had passed, and the smell had yet to dissipate completely.
That alone showed just how brutal a battle had taken place here.
The few jailers on duty were delighted to see the three, but their faces remained somber.
"Greetings, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Staff Officer Tsuru, Vice Admiral Garp."
At the sight, all three fell somewhat silent.
This breakout was even more serious than Golden Lion's escape years ago.
Back then, Golden Lion had merely escaped without causing much bloodshed.
This time, however, they had not been so lucky.
Roy had killed indiscriminately, sparing neither the strong nor the weak.
"Alas, on behalf of every Marine, I offer my condolences for your fallen colleagues."
"I promise we will capture Roy and execute him on the spot!"
Sengoku offered his condolences, moving the jailers deeply.
Then he asked where Kuzan was.
"Is Admiral Kuzan still searching for Roy? Has he made any progress?"
"I'm very sorry, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Admiral Kuzan has been searching since yesterday. He's scoured Levels 1 through 6 of Impel Down but hasn't found a single clue."
The news weighed even more heavily on Sengoku's heart.
Kuzan had searched all of Impel Down and still could not find Roy.
That was truly strange.
He motioned for the jailers to withdraw and exchanged a look with Staff Officer Tsuru and Garp. The three took the lift platform to Level 1 of Impel Down.
They were met with ice crystals everywhere and a pungent stench of blood.
When the three saw the marks left by the Cross Slash cutting across the area, their pupils contracted slightly.
After a careful comparison, Garp's expression grew more serious.
"A slash spanning nearly a thousand meters like this is every bit as powerful as a massive slash from a top Great Swordsman. This Roy really is something. No wonder he escaped from Kuzan!"
Staff Officer Tsuru and Sengoku fell silent.
Garp's words carried considerable weight.
After all, Garp's strength was legendary even at Marine Headquarters. He was a man who could chase Pirate King Roger all over the world.
He had discerned the terrifying power of Roy's slash at a glance.
Someone on par with a top Great Swordsman possessed genuine Admiral-level combat strength.
"I'm just curious. Why would someone with the strength of an Admiral hide on Level 1 of Impel Down?"
"What was his purpose in entering Impel Down? And why did he choose this particular moment to break out?"
After a moment of silence, Staff Officer Tsuru asked the most crucial questions.
Garp and Sengoku both sank into thought.
Indeed.
Why had Roy entered Impel Down?
And why had he broken out now?
He clearly possessed Admiral-level strength, yet he had hidden on Level 1 of Impel Down.
Every single detail was a mystery, and all the more unbelievable.
Just then, Kuzan hurried over.
Beside him was Magellan, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, who had insisted on joining the search despite his injuries.
"Greetings, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Staff Officer Tsuru, Vice Admiral Garp."
"These are exceptional circumstances. There's no need for formalities."
After brief greetings, they began analyzing the situation.
According to the information Magellan had gathered, Roy had gotten into an argument with someone on an island half a month ago, and a Marine had arrested him without bothering to establish the facts.
Roy had appeared perfectly ordinary at the time, showing no sign of any combat strength.
Thus, they reached a conclusion: either Roy had concealed his strength extremely well, or he possessed some special ability.
After a moment of silence, Staff Officer Tsuru suggested searching the cells on Level 1 for clues.
But Kuzan brought worse news.
After Roy escaped, he had personally interrogated the criminals on Level 1 of Impel Down, but obtained no useful information.
None of those criminals showed the slightest dejection at being captured. Instead, their faces were filled with excitement and joy.
They firmly believed Roy would return to free them.
Especially the young man named Yake.
Even Kuzan found this troubling.
Roy seemed to command far too much solidarity among these criminals.
With the trail ending there, they reached another impasse.
They were all wondering where in Impel Down Roy was hiding.
Based on the information available, they could conclude that he was definitely still inside Impel Down.
But even brilliant strategists like Staff Officer Tsuru and Sengoku could not guess exactly where Roy was hiding.
One thing was certain, however: Roy was absolutely still in Impel Down.
Otherwise, the moment he left Impel Down, he would encounter the Calm Belt outside and run straight into the Marines guarding the perimeter.
In the end, after discussing the matter, they decided to return to Above Ground Floor One and hold an emergency meeting.
But on their way to Above Ground Floor One, Garp suddenly turned to look in a certain direction.
There was nothing in sight, and he thought he had imagined it.
Unbeknownst to him, after he left, a rabbit emerged from an extremely well-concealed spot.
A humanlike emotion flashed through its red eyes, and it disappeared in an instant.
Meanwhile, at the other end of their shared vision, Roy slowly opened his eyes as he absorbed cursed energy on Level 5.5.
"To think a single breakout would bring two Marine legends like Sengoku and Garp here in person. It looks like this incident really has had a major impact."
"But the show has only just begun. Let's see whether you find me first, or my plan succeeds before you do!"
With that thought, Roy summoned his shikigami, Rabbit Escape, again to deliver information to Emporio Ivankov.
He informed him that the Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters had arrived and urged him to make a decision as soon as possible.
While Roy was giving Emporio Ivankov these instructions, Sengoku was sorting through the newly acquired information in the office of former Vice Warden Domino.
After some thought, they quickly drew up three plans.
First, the Marines guarding Impel Down's perimeter, including two Rear Admirals and over a thousand Marine soldiers, would be temporarily assigned as jailers. They were to immediately search every corner of Levels 1 through 6 of Impel Down and make certain they found Roy's hiding place.
The selected Marines raised no objections and swiftly carried out the order.
After all, they had remained stationed at Impel Down ever since the Golden Lion incident years ago and had long considered themselves part of the prison.
They had merely lacked official status.
After reinforcing their manpower, they assigned a fifty-man squad to conduct a search every hour.
Impel Down entered the tightest state of security in its history.
Second, this breakout would be classified as a high-level Marine secret. No one was to leak any information, and offenders would be severely punished.
Everyone understood Sengoku's intent.
At present, only those within Impel Down knew of the breakout, and Roy had yet to escape the prison.
As long as they found Roy and subdued him, Impel Down could remain as it had been, and rumors of the breakout would not spread.
Then Impel Down's prestige could be preserved.
Third, appropriate punishment would be imposed for the lax security at Impel Down that had allowed Roy to escape his cell.
This was a demand for corrective action from Impel Down, including Magellan.
From then on, jailers were not to show the slightest negligence while on duty, or they would face severe punishment.
At the same time, they had to determine the cause of Impel Down's signal outage as soon as possible and swiftly repair it.
They had to regain control of all signals within Impel Down.
In addition, Chief Warden Magellan received a verbal warning.
After all, he was the Chief Warden of Impel Down. Naturally, he could not escape responsibility for an incident like this.
However, given Magellan's excellent performance in his battle against Roy, the verbal warning was merely a formality.
The emergency meeting finally ended half a day later.
Sengoku and his two companions did not leave. Instead, they decided to remain at Impel Down for three days to guard against another riot.
All the arrangements at Impel Down were swiftly put into motion.
Before you continue