Meanwhile, in Impel Down's Level 2, Beast Hell.
This place had originally held the prisoners of Level 2.
After discovering the uprising among the criminals on the upper levels, Kuzan had swiftly transferred the Level 2 prisoners to the Ice Cell on Level 1.
Now, a full four thousand marines and jailers had assembled on Level 2.
When the battle on Level 4 first broke out, Kuzan had not rushed up immediately like Magellan.
He had first ordered the passage connecting Impel Down's Level 6 to the sea sealed, then swiftly notified the two vice admiral-level fighters above ground, along with Garp's aide, Bogard.
At the same time, he had mobilized nearly four thousand people to reinforce Impel Down.
That was already the limit of what his authority allowed him to mobilize.
After all, the remaining three thousand had to guard their respective posts in case anything else happened at Impel Down.
There was another reason: if even Kuzan and Garp, two top-tier fighters, failed, there would be no point in bringing in the marines guarding the outside.
They were better off remaining on guard around the perimeter.
"Phew... Level 4 has fallen. Even Magellan nearly got left there."
"Roy really is as terrifyingly strong as you said."
Garp glanced back at the grim-faced marine soldiers behind him, then looked toward the quiet stairwell from Level 3, which seemed like a beast lying in wait. A rare trace of tension entered his voice.
Even a seasoned powerhouse like him felt pressure today that he had not experienced in a long time.
There was no denying that three monster-level fighters were even more terrifying than going to war with the Four Emperors.
"Fortunately, Magellan didn't act rashly. Thanks to those two rear admirals' sacrifice, he endured his injuries and retreated. That's a silver lining in this disaster."
Kuzan's expression remained calm, but a chill was already radiating from his body.
"What really surprised me was that, according to Magellan's hurried report, only Roy and those notorious pirates and criminals from Impel Down defeated them. As for Bullet, and that man..."
He paused here, then slowly continued:
"The monster who once defeated the former fleet admiral, Fleet Admiral Kong... Redfield."
Garp tilted his neck and flexed his arms.
"That fellow really is a monster."
"Even after he's been locked up for decades, I'm still extremely wary of him."
"But since they haven't appeared, they're probably hiding in the rear and letting Roy lead the charge."
"At the end of the day, they're no saints."
Kuzan said nothing, but a faint unease stirred within him.
Was that really all there was to it?
He kept feeling that Roy was not the sort of person who would readily submit to someone else.
Suddenly, Garp asked gravely, "The signal disappeared again just now. Communications throughout Impel Down have been cut off once more."
"From the looks of it, Roy or some other criminal is probably behind it again."
"That means our attempt to contact Mr. Sengoku and Marine Headquarters has failed too. We can only wait for headquarters to notice something wrong and contact us."
A note of wonder entered his voice. "Heh, young people these days really are terrifying."
"Not only is he powerful, but his mind is frightening too. A shame he had to be a pirate."
"He certainly is terrifying. That's also why I want to find out as soon as possible..."
Kuzan had just begun to respond when his gaze suddenly sharpened.
At the same moment, Garp also looked toward the stairwell connecting Level 3 to Level 2.
Magellan came fleeing down in a sorry state with over a hundred marine soldiers, as though a devil were pursuing them.
At the sight, tears glistened in the surviving marines' eyes.
"We made it back alive... We made it back alive! Those monsters nearly killed us!"
It was not hard to imagine that quite a few marines and jailers had been killed on the spot during that retreat.
Even Magellan wore an expression of grief.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't bring them out safely."
"That Roy has grown stronger. I'm no match for him."
Everyone's feelings were complicated at his words.
That single statement conveyed all the helplessness and bitterness of a powerhouse like Magellan.
Garp drew a deep breath and patted Magellan's shoulder.
"Magellan, this isn't your fault."
"We've all seen what kind of man you are. Those marines who died would never want to see you like this."
As he spoke, his gaze gradually turned cold. "Now, let's execute that inherently evil Roy right here and avenge our fallen comrades!"
Kuzan said nothing.
It was not that he was heartless. He simply was not good at comforting people.
Right now, he only wanted to kill Roy, the one responsible for all this.
If not for Roy, Impel Down would not have suffered one jailbreak after another, and those innocent jailers and marines would not have died.
Nor would a devoted, iron-blooded man like Magellan have been left so helpless.
"All right. I won't let them down."
"I want that scourge Roy dead!"
After composing himself, Magellan joined the main force with his hundred-odd surviving soldiers,
waiting alongside everyone else for Roy to arrive.
No one grew impatient, and no one was afraid.
From the moment they decided to hold Level 2, everyone had understood that Roy would release the criminals on Levels 4 and 3.
They were powerless to stop him. They could only wait.
But even if the criminals above were released, could they really confront several thousand marines in peak condition head-on?
Kuzan's plan seemed thorough: trap Roy, Bullet, and the others on Level 2 and surround them.
But he had not considered that sometimes cleverness could backfire.
While they waited for Roy to arrive from Level 3, over a hundred unexpected figures appeared on Level 5.5.
Among them were none other than Bullet and Red.
"Heh, I never expected another level to be hidden here. No wonder the marines couldn't find Roy anywhere after his first failed escape.
"You can tell this space between the levels wasn't built in a short time. It's probably been here for decades."
"Hmph, doesn't that give us just what we need to escape? I'm just curious. It's only Garp and that brat Kuzan down below. We could simply swarm down there and kill them. I don't believe Garp and the others could stop the three of us!"
The two conversed as they surveyed Level 5.5.
Red marveled at Impel Down's structure, while Bullet was filled with impatience.
In his eyes, Roy, Red, and he himself were three top-tier fighters. Overthrowing Impel Down would be effortless.
Roy's approach was far too cautious.
None of the other criminals spoke.
They had realized that offending either Roy or Bullet would do them no good.
Since that was the case, they might as well take neither side.
Emporio Ivankov and Inazuma surveyed the two formidable men and the many criminals, inwardly stunned.
They had not expected Roy to have them turn back from Level 5 and take Bullet and the others straight to Level 1.
Roy had also told them that Kuzan had set up an encirclement on Impel Down's Level 2, preparing to surround and kill them.
Emporio Ivankov had badly wanted to ask how Roy knew, but ultimately said nothing.
This made Roy seem even more mysterious, as though he possessed intelligence from every side.
What impressed Emporio Ivankov even more was Roy's strategic mind, such as sending Bullet and the others to Level 1 to encircle Kuzan's group instead.
After the two men spoke in turn, Emporio Ivankov took a deep breath and explained.
"You guessed correctly, Red. A Giant friend of mine built this place a hundred years ago using his ability."
"I only learned about it when I was imprisoned here."
He paused briefly, then continued solemnly:
"Mr. Bullet, Roy is doing this to guard against Kuzan and the others' plan."
"We can go straight from here to Impel Down's Level 1, then surround them instead."
"Only then can we truly escape Impel Down safely."
"Hmph!"
Bullet snorted coldly and said nothing more, tacitly accepting it.
"So it was a Giant. That makes sense."
Red, meanwhile, was as gentle as an old grandfather:
"Haha, enough idle chatter. Let's head to Impel Down's Level 1 as fast as we can."
"I really want to see the look on that old fellow Garp's face when he realizes that instead of trapping us, he's been trapped by us to be slaughtered."
At those words, a flicker of excitement flashed through everyone's eyes, Bullet included.
One reversal after another-that was what made things interesting.
Especially when it meant plunging an old fellow like Garp, who had a grudge with them, into despair. That was even more satisfying.
Thus, Emporio Ivankov and Inazuma led the group into the tunnel and headed toward Impel Down's Level 1.
In less than half an hour, they reached Level 1.
Fortunately, not a single jailer was here. The forces were all concentrated on Level 2, the first level above ground, and the overseas area.
On top of that, Impel Down's signal had been disrupted again earlier, and communications still had not been restored, making their movements even easier.
After finding the Level 1 Key, Emporio Ivankov headed toward the cell block.
The Level 1 criminals imprisoned here, along with the Level 2 criminals temporarily transferred here, were all dumbfounded.
Wait, what was going on?
Weren't they supposed to be blocking off the people above?
How had these people come out from below instead?
Once they recovered, some wanted to shout.
But...
Bullet stepped forward.
His icy eyes, coupled with fists capable of crushing anything, struck fear into every criminal who had wanted to yell.
They were touched that Bullet had come to save them.
But right now, they truly did not dare move a muscle.
Especially with that smiling old man there.
For some reason, he felt even more dangerous.
Fortunately, after Emporio Ivankov explained, the pirates from Levels 1 and 2 understood and gladly joined them.
Yake in particular readily agreed after learning that it was Roy's plan.
Fighting marines was what they loved most.
A short while later, all the cell doors had been opened, and around fifteen hundred criminals gathered there.
Keeping their noise down, they followed Bullet and Redfield, wearing wicked grins as they carefully crept toward Impel Down's Level 2.
This time, they would make those marines feel despair-icy despair.
And as they headed toward Level 2, movement also came from Level 2.
Before you continue