chapter 127 part 1
Chapter 127: Prison Break Preparations! Armament Haki!
In the bustling Okama Plaza, Pirate Ren Arakawa raised his cup to the Okama King, Emporio Ivankov.
"Thank you for taking me in. I can finally consider my seven years of imprisonment to be over."
Ivankov and Ren Arakawa lightly clinked their cups. After downing his drink in one gulp, Ivankov smashed his cup, leaped into the air, spun 360 degrees, and landed in a beautiful gymnastic pose!
"Hee-haw!" Ivankov spread his arms wide with joy as a subordinate handed him a microphone.
"Let us begin a day full of meaning!"
"Starting with this song."
"Beautiful, Newkama~ Hee-haw~"
As Ivankov sang, a group of Okama served as backup dancers while others sang along in chorus. The scene was incredibly lively.
The Revolutionary Army officer Lightning, who is half man and half woman, stood at the edge of the crowd holding a glass of red wine. Seeing this, Ren Arakawa walked over.
Ren Arakawa raised his cup. "To my savior, I toast you."
Lightning waved a hand, and his wine glass clinked against Ren Arakawa's, making a crisp sound.
"Don't worry about it. If we had let you and Shiryu continue your battle, the secret passage might have been exposed to him."
Of course, that was just talk. Without Lightning using his cutting Devil Fruit to maintain the passage, for the Warden of Impel Down to find Level 5.5, he would have had to completely renovate the Freezing Hell and tear down the ceiling of the Eternal Hell just for a chance to find the Newkama Paradise.
Ren Arakawa could take a hint and didn't press the matter. "By the way, do you have any plans to break out of prison?"
"Break out?" Lightning shook his head. "We still need to lay low here and wait until... Forgive me, I can't explain."
Ren Arakawa knew that what Lightning was unwilling to talk about must be related to the Revolutionary Army, so he didn't pursue it further and quickly changed the subject.
"Benefactor, I don't have much to do while staying here in the Newkama Kingdom. I've heard that in the New World, there's a power that can strengthen oneself, and with it, you can even hit Logia-type Devil Fruit users."
"You can forget about attacking Logia users." Lightning immediately threw cold water on his enthusiasm. "You'll almost never see a Logia Devil Fruit user here in Impel Down. As far as I know, there are only four of them high up in the Marines."
Ren Arakawa gave an awkward smile. "Then just strengthening my own defense and power is fine too. Can I learn from you?"
Lightning shook his head. "I have many tasks to attend to in Impel Down. If you truly want to learn Armament Haki"—he glanced at the singing Okama King Ivankov—"I don't know if he'll teach you. You can ask him."
Before the prison break officially began, Pirate Ren Arakawa had ample time to prepare.
To secure a place for himself in the pirate world, learning Armament Haki was an unavoidable step.
Without Armament Haki, no matter how strong he was, he would be completely helpless when facing a Logia user. Therefore, he had to learn it, no matter the cost.
As soon as Ivankov's passionate song and dance routine finished, Ren Arakawa hurried forward to strike while the iron was hot. "Your Majesty, I want to learn Armament Haki!"
"Hee-haw!" The Okama King struck a bizarre pose. "And why do you want to learn Armament Haki?"
Ren Arakawa understood that whether or not he could learn Armament Haki depended entirely on the mood of the Okama King before him.
As a powerhouse capable of fighting on even terms with the poison-man Magellan, Ivankov was leagues beyond those two skeletal inmates of his.
Learning Armament Haki from him should be much faster.
To ensure his plan succeeded, Ren Arakawa suddenly dove headfirst into a pile of food!
With a thud, he fell to his knees. Ren Arakawa's body trembled slightly, his hands gripping his hair tightly, his face a mixture of agony and profound emotion.
Ivankov thought Ren Arakawa was having a drunken fit. "What is it? What's wrong? Have you had too much to drink?"
"Your Majesty!" Ren Arakawa's voice was slightly hoarse but brimming with infinite emotion. "Do you know what my only pillar of support has been in this dark and sunless prison? It's Xiao Qiong! That girl, as beautiful as the moonlight! Before I was locked away here, her smile was deeply etched into my very soul."
Ren Arakawa looked up, tears shimmering in his eyes as if recalling bygone days. "When I was separated from Xiao Qiong, I was just a helpless seven-year-old boy. These seven years of imprisonment have been an agony, every single minute and second. In this endless darkness, the image of Xiao Qiong has been my only comfort. I've met her countless times in my dreams, only to wake up to nothing but a cold prison cell."
His voice grew choked with emotion as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Every day that I can't see her, the yearning grows in my mind like wild weeds, heavier and heavier! I can't go on like this! I must break out of this prison, I must leave this place that confines me! I want to become strong—strong enough to shatter any obstacle and embrace my Xiao Qiong."
Ren Arakawa's emotions grew more intense. He shot to his feet, looking around with a hint of madness in his eyes.
Suddenly, he spotted a durian placed to the side. Without a second thought, he rushed over, snatched it, and raised it high above his head.
Seeing this, Ivankov cried out in astonishment, "What are you doing?!"
However, Ren Arakawa didn't hesitate for a moment. He ruthlessly smashed the durian against his own head.
The impact made a dull thud. Ren Arakawa's forehead instantly became red and swollen, and a trickle of fresh blood slowly ran down his cheek.
But he seemed to feel no pain, his eyes filled only with determination and persistence.
"Your Majesty, can you understand this kind of pain? This longing burns like a fire in my heart, and I feel like it's about to devour me! I have to get out of here. I must marry Xiao Qiong. That is the one and only conviction that keeps me alive!"
After speaking, Ren Arakawa's legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees again, burying his head in his hands and starting to sob painfully.
His cries echoed in the open space, filled with a longing for freedom and love that moved everyone present.
The surrounding Okama were deeply touched by Ren Arakawa's profound emotion and pain. Seeing his tear-streaked face and injured forehead, their emotional defenses instantly crumbled.
Some covered their mouths, tears slipping through their fingers.
Others began to wail openly, their cries rising and falling as if they were collectively lamenting Ren Arakawa's tragic fate and steadfast love.