To her surprise, the call actually connected this time.
"Hello, hello, Domino, can you hear me..."
But before she could feel delighted, the signal cut out again.
This meant something had already gone wrong with the Communications lines.
This made her even more worried, and she quickened her steps.
What she failed to notice, however, was that in the shadows of Level 4, a white rabbit had bitten through a wire at the cost of its life.
Still, this rabbit had fulfilled its mission.
It was not the only one. Rabbits lurked in the shadows on the other levels as well, waiting quietly for their prey like wild beasts.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to Above Ground Floor One.
Over a hundred jailers had gathered there.
But by now, their usual arrogance was long gone, and every one of them looked utterly grim.
Domino, who held a Den Den Mushi, was particularly shaken. Even her voice was trembling.
"It's over... someone has sabotaged communications on Level 6 and Level 5 of Impel Down. We've completely lost access to information from those two levels..."
She paused briefly, her voice growing even more bitter.
"Now even the signal from Level 4 has been cut off. Who could possibly have the means to sever all our communications? How are we supposed to defend this place?"
The other jailers fell silent, clenching their fists.
She could hardly be blamed for feeling despair.
In fact, they themselves felt deeply hopeless.
This prison break had come too suddenly, catching them completely off guard.
Who could have imagined that even the most unremarkable Level 1 had been hiding a monster like this?
He had led the criminals straight through the prison on Underwater Floor One, fighting his way out.
Had that been all, the situation would still have been manageable. They would only have needed to join forces to suppress them.
But the severity of the situation had already far exceeded their imagination.
Even amid this chaos, their opponent had managed to remain absolutely calm.
As a result, they had completely lost control of communications.
If not for the earlier broadcast, they would not even have known how far the prisoners had advanced.
Someone like this was truly terrifying!
Boom!
Suddenly, as everyone stood in silence, a violent blast of energy rang out from the stairwell.
It was immediately followed by the furious battle cries of the jailers.
"Those damned criminals really are here! We have to hold Above Ground Floor One, or the entrance to Impel Down will fall!"
"Sob... those bastards killed all my good brothers! I'll avenge them! We can't let them in! Fight to the death, no retreat! Kill them!"
"Don't panic! The jailers from the upper floor are already coming to reinforce us! We just have to hold them back. Once Chief Warden Magellan arrives, they won't be able to stir up any trouble!"
There were also the prisoners' almost crazed roars of excitement.
"Brothers, follow Lord Roy and charge! Once we take the lift platform, we can ride it up and fight our way into Above Ground Floor One!"
"Heh heh heh, hope is right before our eyes! Lord Roy is unstoppable! Wardens, jailers, Blue Gorillas, beasts-they're nothing but ants!"
Domino and the others exchanged glances, then charged toward the lift platform, all resolved to face death.
"I don't know if we'll survive today, but as jailers of Impel Down, we must suppress every escaping prisoner! Follow me into battle!"
As Chief Warden Domino led the last jailers from Underwater Floor One toward the fighting, an even more brutal battle had already erupted around the floor's lift platform and stairwell.
Even Roy had personally joined the fray.
All because an interesting fellow carrying a longsword had rushed to the battlefield at top speed.
"Heh, what an unexpected delight. I only came to slaughter a few jailers, and I happened upon a prison break."
"Boy, you're the one who organized this battle, aren't you?"
Shiryu stood in front of the crowd, a longsword in hand, his voice brimming with excitement.
"Then let me test your mettle and see whether you can let me kill to my heart's content!"
Without waiting for Roy to respond, he pinpointed the unmistakable Roy amid the battling crowd.
Then, without ceremony, he drew his sword and charged.
Anyone who blocked his path, jailer or prisoner, became another soul claimed by his blade.
Both sides recognized the newcomer at this, and fear spread among them.
"Chief Warden Shiryu! You've got it wrong! The Pirates and criminals are over there! We're on your side!"
"Gasp! Has Chief Warden Shiryu lost control again? Get away from him!"
"What? So this is Shiryu, the executioner who kills criminals without blinking? We're done for!"
"Gasp, I'd heard Impel Down had a chief warden who killed jailers and criminals alike... now I see it's true!"
"Nobody panic! We've already reached the lift platform and the stairwell. Freedom is right before us! There's no need to fear a mere Shiryu. Lord Roy is here!"
Seeing the criminals panic, Yake hurriedly spoke up to steady their morale.
He even took the lead, charging into the jailers once more.
With his strength, he slew a Blue Gorilla on the spot.
Seeing this, the criminals gritted their teeth and continued fighting the jailers rushing at them.
"Finally, someone interesting. He's just a little too arrogant."
Roy, standing in the middle of the open space, also curled his lips into a smile.
His plan had succeeded another step.
Five of his Rabbit Escape rabbits had already died, so the signals had most likely been cut off as well.
For something as major as a prison break, naturally, the signals had to be cut off first. That would make what followed easier.
And Shiryu's arrival made things feel a little more interesting to him.
"Very well. A mere chief warden wants to test my mettle? What utter stupidity."
With an arrogant expression, Roy charged at Shiryu as well.
With his current strength, he was already at Admiral level, while Shiryu was, at most, an Elite Vice Admiral.
The gap in their strength was obvious at a glance.
In just an instant, he flashed in front of Shiryu, almost face-to-face.
"That speed... was that Soru, or sheer physical speed?"
Shiryu was immediately shocked, and the longsword in his hand instinctively slashed at Roy.
Sword flashes fell like rain, carrying vicious, invisible sword energy.
"Too slow!"
But before the sword energy could descend, Roy slammed a heavy punch into his chest, sending him flying.
Bang! Bang!
Shiryu's expression changed drastically. Even after he crashed to the ground, disbelief remained on his face.
"Interesting, indeed. Your speed is a little lacking, but that unusual constitution really is powerful."
Roy studied Shiryu, who lay curled up on the ground, intense excitement flashing through his eyes.
As expected of the Pirates' world, physical constitutions here really were formidable.
Even fighting for days and nights on end would probably be no problem.
Besides, the Pirates' world was renowned for physical constitutions, the Three Types of Haki, and Devil Fruits. It truly lived up to its reputation.
It seemed there was still much he needed to learn.
"You bastard... just what kind of strength and speed do you have? You're far too strong."
Shiryu rose from the ground. Sensing Roy's increasingly feverish fighting spirit, his expression turned utterly grave.
"There's no way I saw that wrong just now."
"You dodged my attack without a trace of Haki, and you even injured my body without Armament Haki. Just where did a monster like you come from..."
In that instant, he had sensed that his opponent originally intended to use his fingers. He had even had a faint feeling... that he would die!
But for some unknown reason, his opponent had relaxed his fingers at the last moment and merely punched him.
Yet even so, he had still been injured.
The Roy before him was simply too strange.
Roy raised an eyebrow and spoke with overwhelming arrogance:
"So you're not useless after all. You actually noticed."
"Still, I preferred the way you looked when you were going to test my mettle."
"Now I'm giving you that chance. Don't waste it, ant."
Shiryu's grip on his sword tightened sharply, and he shouted angrily:
"Boy, a couple of compliments and you really think you're something? I merely miscalculated just now. Watch me slaughter you!"
Facing a monster like Roy, Shiryu no longer held anything back.
He activated Armament Haki and Observation Haki simultaneously, then abruptly unleashed a Crimson Slash at Roy.
Before you continue