"What?!"
"An intruder broke into Impel Down Impel Down and took Douglas Bullet, Shiryu, and Crocodile?!"
The previously quiet Fleet Admiral's office was now filled with Sengoku's voice, laced with disbelief.
"He wields the power of ice, and a massive section of the sea outside Impel Down has been completely frozen!"
"A power like Kuzan's?"
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku remained unsettled for a long time. He was alone in his office, struggling to process the information.
But soon, after issuing an urgent summons, the three Admirals—Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji—along with Vice Admirals Tsuru and Garp, arrived.
"Oi, Sengoku, what's this emergency meeting about?"
Garp, growing increasingly irritable as Ace's execution drew closer, questioned him impatiently.
"Is it about the execution? Or the Whitebeard Pirates?"
Kizaru asked, intrigued.
"No, it's something else..."
Sengoku's expression turned extremely serious.
"Earlier today, despite Impel Down's tight security, there was a prison break!"
Ignoring their immediate shock, Sengoku proceeded to explain the details of the situation.
The room fell into a heavy silence. No one had expected something like this to happen.
"What the hell happened?! How could something this serious occur now?"
Akainu was furious. With the public execution so close, a prison break at Impel Down was a disastrous development. This was even worse than the Golden Lion's escape!
Four criminals had broken out, including Shiryu and, most terrifying of all, Douglas Bullet.
And then there was the mysterious newcomer—a man who controlled ice, a man strong enough to overwhelm Magellan.
This wasn't just some random escape—it was a planned operation.
And it couldn't have come at a worse time — It had happened less than two weeks before Ace's execution.
"An ice ability? What's going on here?"
The one most shocked was Aokiji himself.
Sengoku shook his head. "We don't know, but Magellan reported that the intruder was extremely powerful—perhaps even at an Admiral's level!"
"An Admiral-level kid?"
Everyone was stunned.
Akainu, still seething, growled, "We need to issue a bounty on them immediately!"
But after a moment of thought, Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke up.
"No. If we reveal this now, it'll damage more than just the World Government and Marine Headquarters' reputation. With the execution so close, this news would devastate Marine morale."
"Tsuru's right… Dammit."
Sengoku rubbed his temples, feeling completely helpless. Why now, of all times? This was even worse than the Golden Lion's escape!
"They didn't take Ace, though…"
Garp's thoughts were different from the others.
Though he didn't want Impel Down to fall into chaos, a part of him hated the idea of seeing Ace executed.
And so, Garp found himself caught in a storm of conflicting emotions.
Once the meeting ended, Aokiji left Marineford. He wanted to see the frozen waters around Impel Down for himself.
The world now had a second person capable of controlling ice, and Aokiji couldn't ignore that.
....
One Day Later – Aboard a Pirate Ship Near Sabaody Archipelago
Elior and his crew were now aboard a newly stolen pirate ship. After coming across an unfortunate crew, they had simply taken it for themselves.
Crocodile flipped through the latest newspaper delivered by a News Coo.
"Not a single word about us."
He sounded almost… disappointed.
"This is yesterday's edition. It talks about the movements in the New World, especially the Whitebeard Pirates, but nothing about us escaping from Impel Down."
Crocodile wasn't the only one who found this odd. Bullet and Shiryu were similarly intrigued.
But Elior smirked.
"With the execution so close, if they announce our escape now, it'll crush Marine morale. That's why they're keeping it a secret."
"That makes sense."
"So, Elior, are we joining this war?"
"Of course! Why else would I have broken you out?"
"From now on, call me Captain."
"Bullet is my first mate. Shiryu and Crocodile are my commanders."
"Our crew will be called the Elior Pirates. That's it — positions will be determined by strength. Any objections?"
One Hour Later – Sabaody Archipelago
Elior's crew docked at one of the coating ports, specifically the one where the legendary Dark King Rayleigh resided.
Unfortunately, Rayleigh wasn't around.
"Bullet, did you know Rayleigh's been living here, working as a regular ship coater?"
"Seriously?"
Bullet looked genuinely surprised.
Though they had once been comrades aboard the Oro Jackson, that didn't mean Bullet and Rayleigh were friends.
"Hah. That's interesting… I'd like to see him again. Heh."