BOOM!
BOOM!!
BOOOOOOM!!
The roar of cannon fire thundered across the sea, relentless and unceasing.
Enies Lobby's outer perimeter was ringed by towering walls. And beyond those walls, a fleet of over a dozen Marine battleships waited, their formation as formidable as a Buster Call.
Any prisoner who fought their way out of the prison would naturally face this wall of artillery fire.
And the direct attacks of Marine officers.
Most of the inmates from Impel Down's Level 6 had been locked away for years, decades, some even longer. They weren't exactly in peak condition.
Fighting Magellan had taken its toll.
Breaking out of the prison was one thing. Actually getting away, securing real freedom, meant evading the Marines' relentless pursuit.
Some burst out of Impel Down and immediately used Geppo or their Devil Fruit powers, vanishing across the waves in an instant.
More chose to attack the warships directly, aiming to seize one for their escape.
Impel Down sat in the Calm Belt. To leave, you either stole a Marine ship…
Or you jumped in and tried to swim out… which meant a date with the Sea Kings.
There was a third, far-fetched option. Tame a Sea King and ride it out. In open waters, intimidating one with sheer power might work, they had intelligence, after all, and knew fear.
But here? This was their breeding ground. Trying to bully a Sea King into being your taxi out of the Calm Belt was suicide.
Besides, many of the Level 6 escapees were Devil Fruit users. Swimming wasn't an option.
Whoosh!
Following the tide of Level 6 convicts, Kai finally burst into the sunlight and breathed the air of freedom.
He landed on the deck of a Marine battleship with a tap of Geppo.
Bang Bang Bang!!
The moment his feet touched wood, a hail of gunfire greeted him.
A Marine Vice Admiral, cloak fluttering, lunged forward, his long sword slicing down at Kai's head!
Moving like a ghost, Kai effortlessly dodged the barrage. The crude, nearly shattered katana in his hand flashed up, deflecting bullets and meeting the descending blade with a sharp clang!
Ting!
A clear ring echoed. Kai stood unharmed, his shoddy blade holding firm against the Vice Admiral's weapon without so much as a tremble.
Soru!
The entire ship shuddered slightly as Kai vanished.
A split-second later, a loud *thud* sounded. The Vice Admiral who'd attacked him was already airborne, crashing through a dozen Marines before slamming into the ship's bulkhead like a ragdoll.
Kai's figure paused for a mere heartbeat, then disappeared again.
One by one, bodies began dropping across the deck…
"R-run! We're no match for him!"
Trembling with fear, many Marines chose the sea over the monster on their deck, leaping overboard.
They'd forgotten one thing, this was the Calm Belt. Jumping ship here was just a slower death sentence.
"Hmm… This is a problem," Kai muttered, looking at the now-empty deck. "No crew, no one to sail the ship."
Common sense said you couldn't just raise a sail here. The Calm Belt had no wind. Marine ships had to use other methods of propulsion.
Annoyed, his eyes locked onto another battleship already speeding away in the distance. Another Level 6 escapee had commandeered it.
Might as well hitch a ride.
Just then…
Whoooosh!
A streak of golden light cut across the sky.
It solidified into a man draped in a Marine coat over a yellow-and-white striped suit, sporting tea-colored sunglasses. He hung in the air, glancing at the ruined Impel Down before surveying the surrounding fleet.
Naturally, his gaze landed on Kai, standing alone on the abandoned ship.
"Admiral Kizaru?!"
Kai? The mastermind behind the Impel Down prison break."
As Kai stared at the Admiral, Kizaru identified him in return.
According to the intel from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this was the organizer. The one who'd orchestrated the release of the Level 6 monsters.
Kai: "…"
I'm the mastermind? Seriously?
Well… he had played a pretty big part in this mess.
But the ones who actually smashed their way out were the Level 6 convicts!
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Hanging in the sky, Kizaru looked down at Kai. In the next instant, he was gone. A flash of light, and he materialized right in front of Kai, his right foot transformed into a blinding golden streak aimed straight at Kai's head!
Whoosh!
Kai tilted his head a fraction, letting the kick breeze past his ear. He used *Soru* to instantly put several meters between them, snatching up the long sword the defeated Vice Admiral had left behind in the same motion.
"Yikes! That was scary~!"
Gripping the sword, Kai looked at Kizaru, putting on a show of being shaken.
The problem was, his expression and tone were anything but fearful…
Kizaru felt a twinge of annoyance.
"How unsightly~"
Kizaru's lips twisted in a frown. Golden light gathered in his hands, condensing into countless radiant droplets that rained down toward Kai.
Yasakani no Magatama!
Facing the dense shower of light, Kai raised his stolen blade and flicked it upward!
Swish!
A powerful slash of sword pressure ripped through the air, carving a path through the golden rain. The compressed air, mingled with shattered light, shot straight back at the airborne Admiral.
With a dash, Kai shot toward Kizaru, closing the distance in a flash!
Kai wasn't waiting around. He was taking the fight to the Admiral!