"Hmm?"
Perhaps noticing Jimbei's gaze, Meiser turned to look at the blue-skinned man.
This guy shared a cell with Ace—he should know when Ace left.
With that thought, Meiser prepared to question Jimbei.
But before he could speak, Jimbei volunteered: "You're too late."
"Ace and the others left at least half an hour ago."
"Half an hour..."
Ivankov's expression darkened. "Then Ace must already be aboard a Marine warship."
"Ninja boy, you understand what this means, right?"
"Yeah, I do."
Magellan had acted decisively, completely severing their hopes of rescuing Ace here.
As expected of Impel Down's warden...
"Seems we'll have to bet everything on Whitebeard now," Ivankov said. "That old man will definitely make his move."
Knowing the old pirate as he did, Whitebeard would never tolerate the Marines publicly executing one of his family.
So... he'd most likely lead his forces to Marine Headquarters on the day of Fire Fist Ace's execution to reclaim his son!
Given that man's power, the chances of retrieving Ace remained high.
"Whether Whitebeard acts or not, I'm going to Marine Headquarters," Meiser declared. "And I'm sure Luffy will choose the same."
"Whaaat?!"
Ivankov stared at Meiser in shock. "Hey, ninja boy! Do you even understand what Marine Headquarters is?"
Sure, the kid's undying-body-like ability was impressive, but Marine Headquarters wasn't some pushover!
They had three Admiral-level monsters stationed there!
How could they possibly rescue anyone?
Unless they teamed up with Whitebeard... but where would they even find the Whitebeard Pirates?
As for storming the place with just their group?
Don't make me laugh—two Admirals could wipe the floor with them.
"I get your point, but I'm going regardless," Meiser insisted.
He'd promised Luffy he'd help save Ace—he wouldn't break that vow.
Besides... he wanted to see how Kuma was doing at Marine Headquarters.
Ivankov frowned, wanting to call this naive, but Meiser's resolute expression silenced him.
The kid was dead serious.
"How much time do we have left?" Meiser suddenly asked.
"You mean until Ace-boy's execution?" Ivankov calculated. "About 24 hours."
"And how long to reach Marine Headquarters from here?"
Ivankov didn't answer immediately but carefully considered before saying, "I've heard there's a special Basin Current between the three major institutions of the World Government. If we can ride this current, we'll reach our destination at the fastest possible speed."
After a pause, he continued, "If we can commandeer a warship, we could probably get there in about an hour."
As for whether it could be faster, he didn't know—after all, he'd never used that current before.
"An hour, huh..." Meiser said. "So Luffy needs to wake up within 20 hours, otherwise he might miss this war, right?"
"Leaving just four hours as a buffer isn't enough," Ivankov shook his head. "Don't forget, when we leave, we'll still have to face the formidable enemies within Impel Down."
Even if the Ninja Boy could hold off Magellan, the Jailer Beasts and the Vice Wardens wouldn't be pushovers either.
So... they had to allow several extra hours just to be safe!
Meiser fell silent for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I understand. Let's head back for now."
"If Luffy doesn't recover in time, I'll have to ask you to stay here and look after him for me."
"Once I finish dealing with things over there, I'll sneak back in to rescue you both."
This time, Ivankov didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.
No matter what, he couldn't just abandon the Straw Hat Boy.
Then, he said seriously, "Ninja Boy, are you really determined to charge into Marine Headquarters?"
"Of course."
"Fine. In that case, I'll find you some help."
With that, Ivankov placed his hands on his hips and walked toward a nearby cell.
"What do you mean?"
Watching Ivankov's towering figure, Meiser's eyes flickered with confusion.
But Ivankov didn't explain. He simply stopped in front of a cell and stared silently at the man inside.
After a moment, Ivankov grinned. "Long time no see, Croco-boy~"
Crocodile, who had been keeping his eyes shut, opened them and glared at Ivankov irritably. "I'm not exactly thrilled to see you either."
Meiser, meanwhile, looked surprised—he hadn't expected Ivankov's so-called "help" to be this guy.
Hadn't this bastard nearly been beaten to death by Luffy before? Wasn't it ridiculous to ask for his help now?
Thinking this, Meiser said, "Hey, Miss Ivan, are you serious about this?"
"Don't worry, Ninja Boy," Ivankov chuckled. "I'm confident I can make this guy cooperate."
"After all... I happen to know one of his weaknesses~"
Hearing this, veins bulged on Crocodile's forehead, his eyes burning with fury as if he wanted to kill Ivankov on the spot.
Unfortunately, Ivankov wasn't the least bit intimidated.
"You'll behave, won't you, Croco-boy~"
Ivankov crossed his arms, looking utterly smug.
"You bastard, Ivankov, you—"
"Oh? You dare speak to me in that tone?" Ivankov tilted his head, staring at Crocodile. "Don't think I won't spill all your dirty little secrets right now!"
His expression practically screamed: I'll hold this over you for life!
You'd better behave!
Crocodile: "..."
Crocodile was silenced.
No matter how furious he was, he couldn't bare his fangs at Ivankov—because the man had indeed seized his weakness.
"What could possibly make a former Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea act like this?" Meiser remarked, eyeing Crocodile curiously.
"Ahaha, it's something very amusing~"
"Hey!"
Crocodile quickly cut Ivankov off. "Shut your damn mouth, you bastard!"
If his secret got out, he might as well slit his own throat—there'd be no point in living anymore.
"Hmph, keeping quiet is simple," Ivankov said. "Assist the Ninja boy in infiltrating Marine Headquarters, and I'll keep your secret safe."
"No problem, right, Croco-boy~?"
"Shihahaha!"
Watching Ivankov laugh with his hands on his hips, Crocodile's rage spiked, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Fine. Understood."
"But aren't you afraid I'll just kill this brat halfway?"
As he spoke, Crocodile shot Meiser a cold glare—the kind reserved for the dead.
Meiser merely chuckled, too lazy to bother with him.
Crocodile: "???"
Was this punk looking down on him?
"Brat, what's that supposed to mean?" Crocodile snapped.
"Even if you wanted to, Croco-boy, you couldn't," Ivankov interjected.
"What do you mean?"
"Because the Ninja boy has an Undying Body!"
"Impossible!" Crocodile retorted. "There's no such thing as an Undying Body in this world!"
At most, it was some special Devil Fruit Ability User—but every Devil Fruit user had a weakness.
Find that weakness, and they could be crushed.
He knew that all too well.
"Believe what you want," Ivankov said, his expression turning serious. "I've already told you the truth."
"If I find out you've laid a hand on him, I won't hesitate to expose your past."
Crocodile's face darkened, his body trembling with suppressed fury.
But in the end, he took another deep breath and steadied himself. "As long as this brat doesn't provoke me, I won't touch him."
"Deal~"
"Shihahaha!"
Ivankov burst into laughter again, then motioned for Inazuma to enter the cell and release Crocodile.
"Finally free of these damned Seastone Handcuffs," Crocodile muttered.
The feeling of his strength returning was intoxicating.
"Fine then. Time to head to Marine Headquarters and claim Whitebeard's head!"
The thought made him grin.
Meiser ignored him, his gaze fixed on the Seastone Handcuffs left in the cell.
After a moment's thought, he stepped inside, intending to take them with him.
"Going to a place like Marine Headquarters, this might come in handy," Meiser thought to himself.
Glancing at Meiser as he entered the cell, Crocodile turned to Ivankov and asked, "You called this kid 'Ninja Boy'... Is he really a ninja?"
"Yes."
Hearing the confirmation, Crocodile's body stiffened slightly before he forced himself to calm down.
"First time seeing a living ninja."
At that moment, intense curiosity surged within Crocodile. He wanted to ask Ivankov about this ninja's background, but he felt it would be beneath him. So, he dismissed the thought.
"Hey, you actually released Crocodile?!"
The surrounding pirates went wild at the sight.
"Quick, release me too!"
"That's right, I can help you as well!"
"Hurry up, let me out!"
"I want to kill Whitebeard!"
Unfortunately, neither Meiser nor Ivankov paid them any attention.
"Let's go," Meiser said.
"Then—"
Before Ivankov could finish, Jimbei's voice rang out from a nearby cell.
"I beg you, take me with you!" Jimbei pleaded. "I can definitely be of assistance!"
"Since when does someone like you lower themselves to beg?" Ivankov said, eyeing Jimbei with surprise.
If he recalled correctly, this man was one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea!
"Because I want to save Ace!"
Hearing this, Meiser approached Jimbei's cell and stared into his eyes. "Are you close to Ace?"
"I met Ace when he joined the Whitebeard Pirates. You could say we're very close," Jimbei nodded. "That's why I want to contribute to saving him."
"Please!"
Seeing Jimbei's earnest expression, Meiser paused before asking, "How strong are you?"
"I was once a Royal Seven Warlord. I should be able to help."
"Once a Royal Seven Warlord?"
Meiser blinked in surprise. "Were you defeated too?"
Crocodile: "..."
Standing behind Meiser, Crocodile wore an irritated expression. Was this brat subtly mocking him?
But after a sharp glance from Ivankov, Crocodile merely snorted and turned away.
Ivankov was quite satisfied with this.
"I wasn't defeated," Jimbei shook his head. "I was imprisoned for opposing this war."
"The World Government wanted me to join them against Whitebeard. I refused, so they threw me in here."
"So that's why."
Ivankov looked surprised, clearly not expecting such a reason.
"Opposing the war, huh?" Meiser mused silently. "That means he was arrested for refusing the Royal Seven Warlords' summons."
Nodding, Meiser said, "Inazuma, release him too."
"Are you sure?"
Inazuma didn't act immediately, instead turning to Meiser and Ivankov to say, "Although he's quite strong, we don't really know him."
"His eyes don't seem to be lying," Meiser replied. "It should be fine."
"Go ahead, Inazuma," Ivankov also nodded in agreement.
"Very well."
Seeing both of them say so, Inazuma couldn't argue further and activated his Devil Fruit ability to rescue Jimbei.
"My name is Jimbei," Jimbei said earnestly, looking at Meiser. "I can definitely be of help to you."
Observing Jimbei's extremely serious expression, Meiser nodded and then said, "Let me be clear upfront—our goal is to go to Marine Headquarters together. But if anyone causes trouble along the way, don't blame me for being ruthless."
As he spoke, Meiser glanced at Crocodile, making his meaning abundantly clear.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything unnecessary," Jimbei nodded.
Crocodile, however, said nothing, merely letting out a cold snort.
"Let's go. We should leave this place first," Ivankov suggested.
"Right!"
"Whew~"
"Finally relieved."
Magellan emerged from the restroom, clutching his stomach as he exhaled deeply.
To prepare for the upcoming battle, he had to take care of this issue in advance.
"Warden, will you be having poison today?"
"No."
Magellan waved his hand. "Prepare some normal food for me."
For the next few days, he would refrain from eating his favorite deadly toxins to reduce the likelihood of stomach troubles.
"Yes!"
After seeing the attendant off, Magellan returned to his seat.
"Have those guys who went to Level 5 shown up yet?" Magellan asked.
"No, they haven't."
"What about Level 6?"
"Level 6..." Domino hesitated before answering. "The surveillance feed still hasn't been restored, so I don't know."
"Still not restored?"
Magellan frowned. "I ordered someone to deal with the Surveillance Den Den Mushi on Level 6."
An antidote injection should have immediately revived the Den Den Mushi—so why hadn't the feed been restored yet?
Unless...
Perhaps considering a certain possibility, Magellan's brow furrowed.
"Could something have happened on Level 6?" Domino's expression changed.
Magellan remained silent for a moment before replying, "Not sure, but the Blood-Eyed Ninja must have already been to Level 6."
Thankfully, he had transferred Fire Fist Ace beforehand—otherwise, that guy might have succeeded!
At this moment, Magellan felt immensely grateful for his decision.
"The question is whether the Blood-Eyed Ninja will release the other prisoners."
With that thought, Magellan stood up and headed outside.
"Warden, where are you going?" Domino asked.
Magellan paused mid-step before answering, "I'm going to check Level 6—to make sure none of those guys have been freed!"
Level 6 was filled with the most heinous criminals. If they were released, it would spell disaster.
So he had to go and see for himself.
"Understood!"