Though Dragon's mind was overflowing with questions, he ultimately held back and didn't voice any complaints about Ortoren or this utterly surreal situation.
He quietly opened the file and began reading. From time to time his eyes widened in surprise, and after a while, that surprise shifted into understanding… then into reluctant approval.
After a long silence, Rayleigh spoke first. "Gotta say, a plan made by a real professional really is something else. Just by looking at it, you can see how reliable it is. Makes Impel Down feel a lot less unbreakable than the legends claim..."
Magellan's escape plan was extremely feasible. It wasn't some brainless strategy like charging from Level 1 to Level 6 and then fighting a bloody path back out.
Impel Down publicly claimed there was only one entrance and exit, but the prison had actually been designed with two access points into its interior.
The first was the main gate—the one Ortoren had visited the last time he went to Impel Down as a "guest."
The second, known to almost no one, was on Level 4—the floor that housed both the Blazing Hell and Magellan's office.
This floor served more functional purposes. Aside from Blazing Hell's prisoners, it also contained the Director's office, the kitchen, and most importantly, the granary.
And the granary was the key.
Impel Down's food supply partly came from Marine Headquarters, which periodically sent warships carrying provisions. The other portion came from Impel Down's own self-sustaining system—an emergency design meant to ensure the prison wouldn't collapse from starvation if ever besieged.
This self-sufficiency system relied on a hidden opening in the granary that connected directly to the deep sea. From there, special creatures known as Blugori—trained and controlled by Impel Down—would dive into the deep ocean, hunt nearby Sea Kings, butcher them into huge quantities of meat, and transport the supplies back through that hidden passage to feed the prison.
Only internal staff knew about this channel. Ortoren knew it too—after all, in the original story the Blugori had indeed hauled Sea King meat into the prison via this very route.
But Ortoren had almost forgotten about it until Magellan brought it up while writing the plan.
Magellan's proposal was simple: Ortoren's team would infiltrate Impel Down through this deep-sea passage or storm it from there. From the granary entrance, they would seize the elevator, head straight to Level 6, and extract Shiki.
After rescuing him, they would return to Level 4, stage a bit of a performance, and then break out with Shiki through the same route.
The plan was full of details—internal maps, pathing notes, timing windows—Magellan had prepared everything. As long as Ortoren notified him before the operation, Impel Down's side would play their parts accordingly.
"The plan's solid, no doubt about that," Dragon said. "But there's still one big problem. To get in through that route, we need someone with exceptional swimming ability..." As he spoke, he lifted his gaze toward Rayleigh.
Rayleigh's swimming prowess was famous. The man swam for fun—freestyle across the Calm Belt, no less. He'd even swum multiple times from the Sabaody Archipelago straight to Amazon Lily.
His swimming ability really was top-tier.
Of course, he'd also capsized a few times. Years ago, he nearly drowned pulling off one of those stunts. By sheer luck, Hachi from Fish-Man Island rescued him and brought him back to Sabaody.
That incident was the reason Rayleigh and Hachi became close friends.
Seeing Dragon look over, Rayleigh didn't shy away. He nodded and said, "I can handle that part. But if it's just me alone, that's going to be a problem. Which of you two can do it?"
Ortoren and Dragon exchanged an awkward glance. Both were Devil Fruit users—there was no way in hell either of them could swim.
"You Revolutionaries don't have any skilled Fish-Men? Bring a couple over!" Ortoren instantly shifted the responsibility.
Dragon's face twitched slightly. "Right now, we really don't have anyone suitable…"
In the original story, the Revolutionary Army eventually gained Fish-Man experts, like Haku, who appeared in Dressrosa.
But at this point in time, Dragon hadn't developed the Revolutionary Army that far yet, which made things a bit embarrassing.
After a brief pause, Dragon continued, "Honestly, we won't just need Fish-Men for the jailbreak. Even the evacuation after burning Holy Land will require their help. I can't just let the Revolutionary Army's fleet sail openly into the port near Mary Geoise, can I?"
He wasn't wrong. Transporting that many slaves from Holy Land would absolutely require a fleet. In the original story, Fisher Tiger managed with a single ship only because his abilities were limited—he could only help those lucky enough to climb aboard. Most slaves, despite being freed, didn't escape and had to rely on their own luck.
Ginny, Tesoro, and the Boa sisters, for example—none of them left on Tiger's ship.
Dragon's plan was different. He aimed to transport as many slaves as possible, and one ship simply wouldn't cut it. They needed a fleet.
But if the Revolutionary Army tried to sail a fleet anywhere near Mary Geoise, it would be suicide. The World Government wasn't a bunch of bystanders, and Marine Headquarters would never allow such a thing. If the Revolutionaries approached openly, the Marine Grand Fleet could surround them in minutes.
Dragon's meaning was clear: they needed allies among the Fish-Men. Fish-Men could help them with the jailbreak and coat the fleet for underwater travel, allowing the vessels to move unseen through the deep sea to the vicinity of Holy Land's port, emerging only at the right moment.
"Evacuation also requires a lot of Fish-Men," Dragon continued. "If we rely on coating, the fleet can't be exposed on the surface. If the coating breaks when it hits the air, we'd have to recoat everything before diving again—completely impossible when seconds matter. And without deep-sea travel, the Marines will immediately seal off the sea around Mary Geoise once something happens. We wouldn't be able to escape at all.
"So the best solution is to keep our ships waiting underwater. Then have a large number of Fish-Men ferry the freed slaves from the surface straight to the submerged vessels. The coating stays intact, and we can withdraw immediately after completing the operation." Dragon concluded.
Ortoren didn't speak. When it came to choosing someone who could help, he did have a perfect candidate: the original hero of this event, Fisher Tiger.
But this was supposed to be a collaborative operation. If every critical part depended on him, what were these two even here for?
So Ortoren stayed quiet to see whether they could figure out a solution on their own. If not, he'd step in—and look even more capable for it.
After finishing his explanation, Dragon looked at Ortoren and Rayleigh and sighed. "To be honest, I really don't have connections on Fish-Man Island. If either of you has a better plan—or someone who can help—I'd be grateful."
Rayleigh was deep in thought. Combining the jailbreak plan with Dragon's analysis, he could see it was solid. Reliable. Safe.
Looking at the whole plan so far, he realized he hadn't contributed much at all. Aside from being extorted for money by Ortoren, his role had been almost nonexistent. Ortoren, meanwhile, had done everything—devised the plan, secured Impel Down's cooperation, obtained a route map of Holy Land, and even roped in the Revolutionary Army. If this operation succeeded, Ortoren's credit would be enormous.
And Dragon was proving extremely dependable—volunteering to take the blame, assembling a fleet to risk everything. He too was carrying a huge portion of the plan.
As for Rayleigh? He had done practically nothing.
With a faint sigh, Rayleigh finally spoke. "I do have some connections on Fish-Man Island. I know a young fishman. He told me his boss is incredibly influential—known as the Godfather of Fish-Man Island's underworld. He commands tens of thousands, maybe even more, of powerful fishman fighters. If we could persuade him to help, all our problems would be solved."
"Then the question is," Dragon asked, his tone low, "will he agree? What would it take to convince him?"
"According to my friend, his boss cares deeply for his people and is very loyal. There are already many fishman and mermaid slaves in Mary Geoise. What we plan to do would benefit them directly. That reasoning might convince him. But I can't be certain. We'll have to meet him first… Only then will we know whether he's willing to help, and what conditions he might have." Rayleigh said, his eyes reflecting a serious, thoughtful gleam.