At this time—
In Impel Down, within the surveillance control room that monitors the hellish floors of the prison, a bored prison guard set down the newspaper in his hand and looked up lazily at the monitors to check for any disturbances.
After a casual glance—
The guard dropped his gaze again and continued reading the headline story in the newspaper.
But in the very next moment—
His eyes shot back to the monitor with visible shock.
The footage displayed was from the Fourth Floor—the scorching hell. A large group of figures had suddenly appeared there. And these were not just any prisoners.
The guard's face went pale.
"Those… aren't those the monsters from the Sixth Floor?"
How could they possibly be on the fourth floor?!
Quickly, he switched the feed back to the Sixth Floor's surveillance.
"Am I seeing things? The prisoners on the Sixth Floor… they're still there?" the guard muttered, blinking in confusion.
But before he could make sense of it—
The image flickered. The figures of the old monsters who had been lying dormant in their cells suddenly vanished from the feed.
And in an instant—
The Sixth Floor monitor went completely white.
The bugs responsible for surveillance had gone dark. Dead.
Panic washed over the guard.
Then, on the screen showing the Fourth Floor, another terrifying figure appeared—
Kurokawa Mio, the captain of the Black Crow Pirates.
Mio's eyes locked directly onto the surveillance bug. It was as if he knew he was being watched.
In the next instant—he vanished.
And when he reappeared, he was right in front of the surveillance bug.
With a sinister grin aimed directly at the camera, he reached out—
And the feed died.
The surveillance bug was terminated.
"D-Damn it! When did the prisoners on the sixth floor all escape?!" the guard stammered, his body trembling. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and an expression of fear overtook his face.
These were no ordinary criminals.
These were monsters.
If they had all escaped, then Impel Down was in serious danger.
Fumbling with panic, the prison guard quickly reached for the Den Den Mushi.
Bulu Bulu… Bulu Bulu…
Click.
"This is Magellan. What's going on?"
"No—it's bad, Lord Magellan!" the guard reported in a panicked voice. "All the prisoners on the sixth floor have escaped! They're currently on the fourth floor!"
Magellan, who had been squatting in the toilet at the time, froze mid-motion.
In a split second, his expression shifted into one of shock, and disbelief slowly overtook his face.
He stood up instantly—without even pulling up his pants.
Staring at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, he roared, "Damn it! Are you sure about this?!"
"Yes! The monitoring bugs on the sixth floor are all dead!"
"Damn it all!" Magellan growled. "How the hell did those guys manage to break out?!"
This wasn't a minor incident.
When Golden Lion escaped from Impel Down, it was just one man—and he paid the price by severing both legs. The event embarrassed the world government but wasn't catastrophic.
But this?
This was every prisoner on the sixth floor.
If these monsters escaped to the sea, the chaos it would unleash would rock the world.
"Contact Navy Headquarters immediately!" Magellan barked. "Report the situation and request immediate reinforcements! Then tell me the current position of those bastards. Everyone—rendezvous on the third floor!"
As he shouted orders, Magellan pulled up his pants and bolted from the toilet.
Although the escaped prisoners were on the fourth floor now, Magellan knew better than to face them there.
He couldn't fight them alone.
Guards were stationed across every level of Impel Down, and if they hoped to hold these monsters back, Magellan had to rally everyone.
If he went down there alone, he wouldn't last long.
They would kill him. Without hesitation.
Because to them—Magellan was the biggest threat inside this prison.
—
At the same time.
Near the Gate of Justice that led to Impel Down—
A pitch-black pirate ship slowly approached the massive structure.
Lilith stood on the deck of the Black Glory, staring at the enormous gate before them. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and turned toward the mechanism control building in the distance.
"The Gate of Justice should be controlled from that building over there, right?"
Her Observation Haki spread across the sea, locking onto the navy personnel within.
Her expression shifted.
And then—her figure vanished.
She reappeared moments later at the control room, hands lightly resting on the hilt of the weapon at her waist.
A short while later—
The Gate of Justice began to creak open slowly.
Lilith's figure reappeared on the deck of the ship, blood lightly staining her hands and giving off a faint metallic scent.
Robin, looking up from a book and adjusting her glasses, asked with mild curiosity, "Lilith, you killed those marines. But how did the gate open?"
Lilith gave a playful smile.
"By relying on this beautiful face."
Robin chuckled softly. "That's… not inaccurate."
She shrugged and went back to her book. It was true—when Lilith activated her charm abilities, those with weak wills would fall head over heels for her.
In the end, it was indeed her appearance that got them through.
Lilith turned toward the sea and called out, "Hanba, move in!"
Roar—
From beneath the waves, a bestial roar echoed in response.
The Black Glory moved forward, passing through the opened gate with ease.
Impel Down's security had just been compromised from both ends.
—
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters—
They had just received word.
Sengoku was in his office when the call from Impel Down came through.
"What did you say?! The entire sixth floor escaped?!"
Sengoku, who had been calm a second ago, jumped to his feet, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!" came the panicked voice of the prison guard through the Den Den Mushi. "The prisoners have reached the fourth floor. Lord Magellan is planning to intercept them on the third. We need backup immediately or we won't hold them!"
"Tch—got it." Sengoku gritted his teeth and slammed the Den Den Mushi down.
Without wasting another second—
He grabbed a different Den Den Mushi and dialed.
As soon as it connected, his tone turned deadly serious.
"This is an emergency. All Vice Admirals and above stationed at Headquarters—report to the war conference room. I want everyone there in five minutes!"
The storm that would shake the world had begun.