There was no helping it. In Sanjuan Wolf's eyes, Roy was a man-eating demon now.
He truly did not dare disobey.
Otherwise, he would undoubtedly die.
Meanwhile, Roy had slowly walked up in front of Garp, and the two met each other's eyes.
"Roy, was it?"
"You killed Magellan and countless Marine soldiers of mine, and you think that means you can challenge me?"
Garp faced Roy and spoke bluntly.
"Or do you really think the strength of us old-timers is all just hype?"
But Roy first turned his gaze toward Bullet, who was struggling to his feet and still wanted to fight.
"Bullet, a loss is a loss."
"Stand down for now. It's my turn to test this so-called Navy Hero."
Though filled with resentment, Bullet still left the battlefield after throwing out a threat.
"Damn it... I won't lose again next time!"
Only after that did Roy return his gaze to Garp.
"Garp, as far as I'm concerned, you're a real hypocrite."
"You take the World Government's money and authority while betraying both the World Government and the Marines. It's disgusting."
Crack!
As his words fell, the black-and-blue power flowing around Roy's fist instantly condensed, and he punched at Garp.
Garp showed no weakness and struck back in kind.
Bang! Bang!
The two clashed again, but unlike their previous stalemate, this time it was Garp who retreated.
He stumbled back several steps. Even with ordinary Conqueror's Coating, Roy had still driven him back in this exchange.
"Roy, enough talk! If you want to fight, fight! What right do you have to judge me?"
"Heh, then what right do you have to call me a Calamity, Vice Admiral Garp? Could you stop with the double standards?"
Their words clashed, and just a few exchanges were enough to stir their mutual disgust.
A situation like this was bound to end in a fierce battle.
Soon, their clashes of hand-to-hand combat became collisions of Haki, before Roy's two great Shikigami also joined the battle to surround and attack Garp.
Garp fell onto the back foot as well and was injured again.
But just then, the Den Den Mushi on Kuzan, who was outside the battle, began to ring.
His face lit up, and he wanted to answer, but Red kept him pinned under his stare.
"Kuzan, you'd better not make any moves, or I won't mind killing you!"
Perhaps Red would not kill Kuzan, but that did not mean he could tolerate him answering the call.
Who else but Marine Headquarters would call at a time like this?
And so, a bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield.
Roy and his two great Shikigami clashed furiously with Garp, making Impel Down shake incessantly.
Yet Kuzan could only watch helplessly, listening to the Den Den Mushi ring over and over without daring to answer.
Filled with helplessness, his eyes bloodshot, he looked every bit a man powerless to act.
What they did not know was that beyond this bizarre scene, a vast fleet was approaching at full speed through the waters of Marineford.
Three massive warships, thirty small warships, and thirty thousand elite Marines advanced in a mighty procession.
Five in the morning.
On a warship's deck, Sengoku, Staff Officer Tsuru, Zephyr, and Admiral candidate Chaton stood facing the wind.
Marine Vice Admirals stood aboard the other warships as well, cutting through the waves with the fleet in the darkness.
Yamakaji, Giant Vice Admirals, Dalmatian, and others-dozens of Vice Admirals had all come.
Normally, they would almost never rashly set sail at night.
The risks were enormous.
But they could no longer worry about that. They had to reach Impel Down before daybreak.
"The moment the news from Impel Down arrived last night, the communications officer did report it.
"But who could have known that the Five Elders would call at that very moment, saying that Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, had attacked the World Government and asking me to send reinforcements?"
Sengoku looked at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, which had been ringing for a long time without an answer, his expression as grim as could be.
"Sakazuki was already preparing to head to Impel Down, but as soon as he heard the news, he immediately took his Hawk Faction forces to the World Government, even though it was already late at night."
He paused, his gaze utterly cold.
"Leaving aside Sakazuki's insubordination for now, Impel Down's signal has been cut off. Something major must have happened."
"But the World Government and the Affiliated Nations were attacked by the Revolutionary Army at the same time. What plot lies behind all this? That's what I can't figure out."
Staff Officer Tsuru and Zephyr both fell silent.
They had noticed the moment Impel Down's signal was cut off last night.
But the World Government had been attacked by Dragon, the Revolutionary Army's leader, making Sakazuki, who had originally been heading to reinforce Impel Down, turn straight around and rush to the World Government.
Sengoku had been so furious at the time that he had nearly coughed up blood.
He had even gotten into a heated argument with Sakazuki over the Den Den Mushi.
As he saw it, the World Government itself possessed considerable strength.
Didn't the Five Elders always boast about how damn powerful the Holy Knights were?
In that case, simply sending Chaton or a Vice Admiral would have been enough to handle this crisis.
Besides, Kizaru and Momousagi were already fighting bloody battles against the Revolutionary Army in the Affiliated Nations.
Kizaru, in particular, was fighting one officer and two army commanders alone.
According to Momousagi's report, that blond officer was quite strong and had managed to keep Admiral Kizaru occupied.
Well, Sengoku had nearly started swearing at the time.
Wasn't this fucking putting on an act?!
But with their fighting strength stretched thin, Impel Down was the highest priority.
Yet Sakazuki refused to follow orders and insisted on heading to the World Government.
That was precisely why Sengoku was furious.
He had even disregarded the darkness and set out directly from Marine Headquarters, leading his forces toward Impel Down.
But sailing at night was dangerous to begin with.
If they struck a reef and damaged a warship, the consequences would be even more unthinkable.
Thus, the entire fleet could only proceed slowly.
"Leaving the Affiliated Nations and the World Government aside for now, I believe Kizaru and Sakazuki can handle things."
"It's just that Impel Down has most likely already fallen."
"I only hope Kuzan, Garp, and the others are all right."
Staff Officer Tsuru tried hard to maintain her gentle manner as she comforted Sengoku.
They had never imagined that, shortly after they had warned Kuzan and the others that Impel Down might contain a Seventh Level or a Rift, Impel Down would fall again.
"Yes, Tsuru's right. Don't worry too much, Sengoku."
"We have to trust that old fellow Garp and that kid Kuzan."
Zephyr flexed his mechanical arm, not appearing overly worried.
Though he was no longer the Admiral Who Never Killed, and he had grown somewhat disappointed in the Marines.
He still had complete confidence in Garp's and Kuzan's fighting strength.
Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "Ah, that kid Roy really is something."
"If it were only him, with Garp, Kuzan, and Magellan there, he couldn't stir up any trouble at all."
"What I'm really worried about is those monsters in Impel Down's Level 6..."
But however worried Sengoku was, they could only wait until the sky grew light before the warships could travel at full speed.
Since some things had already happened, however anxious he was, he could not gamble with the lives of everyone aboard.
Fortunately, two hours later, a ray of sunlight pierced the darkness and spilled over the sea.
Dawn had finally come.
Sengoku swiftly gave the order, and the fleet sailed toward Impel Down at full speed.
But in those two hours, Impel Down had already fallen completely.
Especially Above Ground Floor One.
"Haha, brothers, it's daylight! Once we take out Deputy Chief Warden Hannyabal and that Vice Warden, we can seize a warship and leave!"
"Hahaha, kill them! We're almost free! Kill them all!"
Over those two hours, Crescent Moon Hunter, Emporio Ivankov, and the others had fought their way all the way to Above Ground Floor One.
Before you continue