"Fleet Admiral William—"

  At Marine Headquarters in Marineford, within the imposing and majestic upper offices, the Fleet Admiral’s aide-de-camp rushed in, sweating profusely.

  "What is it?"

  Hammons William, who was diligently reviewing dots, coughed lightly.

  I days, every time his aide entered in such a flustered state, it never boded well.

  "Just now, the personnel monit the vivre cards reported that the vivre cards of ‘Blood Prison’ Tonis Ian, ‘Sharktooth’ Golna Buck, and ‘Ironcd’ Adrian—all three of Impel Down’s anders—have turo ash..."

  "Additionally, we’ve pletely lost tact with Impel Down!"

  "What!?"

  Hammons William’s face ged drastically as he shot to his feet.

  Both shod rage flickered across his expression.

  "Damn it… What about the naval forces stationed around the prison?"

  The thought was almost too much to bear.

  The supposedly imperable Impel Down—the world’s most secure uer prison—had been attacked. Worse still, all three of its formidable leaders, whose birength rivaled that of Marine Admirals, had been sin.

  From start to finish, Marine Headquarters had received ns or indications of trouble.

  The thought of thousands of dangerous, heinous criminals—many with immense power—potentially esg into the world sent a chill down his spine.

  Even as Fleet Admiral, Hammons William found himself breaking into a cold sweat.

  "We are trying to re-establish tact as we speak," the aide stammered, his face pale.

  "I came directly to inform you as soon as I received the report."

  "Brrrr… Brrrr…"

  The Den Den Mushi on the desk began t.

  "This is Hammons William speaking," he answered, his eyelid twitg as he picked up the receiver without hesitation.

  "Fleet Admiral William, this is Vice Admiral Nexsun. I am statio Impel Down’s perimeter—we’ve e utack! Something major has happened in the prison!"

  "I just received the report. What’s the situation? What happened?"

  William quickly pressed for details.

  "Who is audacious enough to attack Impel Down?"

  "It’s the Fallen Angel Pirates! One of them is a giant who … harvest souls from others—"

  Before Vice Admiral Nexsun could finish his sentence, a chilling voice cut through in the background.

  "Life… or Death?"

  "Damn it, no… Aaaaargh—!"

  The unication abruptly ended.

  "Damn it!!!"

  William’s face turned ashen with fury, veins bulging on his forehead.

  His entire body trembled as he bellowed:

  "It’s them again—the Fallen Angel Pirates! That Lunarian brat, El—’t he stay out of trouble for once!?"

  "Summon Kong and Admiral Ross immediately!"

  Due to the depletion of Marine resources and the frequenergewo retired Admirals had been forced to return to active duty.

  However, Kong, a veteran Admiral, had only retly recovered from severe injuries.

  Though fit enough to fight, his actual bat strength remained uain.

  "Brrrr… Brrrr…"

  Just as the new orders were being reyed, another call came in.

  Hammons William answered, but before he could speak, the furious voices of the Five Elders exploded through the Den Den Mushi.

  "Hammons William! How are you managing this disgraceful Marine force!?"

  "How could Impel Down—the world’s most secure uer prison—be infiltrated under your watch?"

  "The Navy is one of the Wover’s three pilrs, a both Marineford and Impel Down have been attacked secutively! Are we to expect that the Holy Land of Mary Geoise will be !?"

  The Five Elders’ rage alpable.

  They could hardly believe that Impel Down—a fortress renowned for holding tless dangerous criminals—had been breached.

  If the likes of Fallen Angel El mao release these criminals, or worse, recruit them, the sequences would be catastrophibsp;

  While most wouldn’t have the strength or charisma to trol such vile and unruly prisoners, El’s terrifying power and ing made the possibility all too real.

  The enemy had clearly phis meticulously, step by step.

  Even without freeing all the prisoners, it was obvious they would recruit a few of the stronger ones.

  "I sincerely apologize, esteemed Elders… This was my ht."

  Hammons William dared nue with the Five Elders. Bowing his head, he tinued, "However, the immediate priority is to dispatch reinforts to Impel Down."

  "The prison holds far too many dangerous criminals. It must not fall."

  "Given the Navy’s current situation, which you are well aware of, we require the Wover’s support to proceed cautiously."

  At this point, William looked visibly troubled. His expression turned grave, den with apprehension.

  "The power of Fallen Angel El is too great. The skies are essentially his domain… If we act recklessly, our fleets could be ambushed at sea. Worse yet, Impel Down may already have fallen. Without opening the Gates of Justice, our ships ot even reach the prison."

  "Even if we rely on Moonwalk or Vice Admiral Bays, who fly, to bypass the Gates, they are likely to be intercepted."

  When Admiral Kained sciousness, he had provided a prehensive report otle. It left even William, the Fleet Admiral, uled.

  El was an unpreted monster—his strength surpassing even Kong’s, who had mastered queror’s Haki infusion and ranked among the stro Admirals in Marine history.

  Adding to his terror, El’s ability to fly, enhanced by his Mythical Zoazalcoatl form and Lunarian racial traits, made him blindingly fast and nearly invincible.

  Even if surrounded, El could escape with ease. Not even the full might of the Wover could guarantee his capture unless a signifit vulnerability was exploited.

  "Kong is still rec, and Admirals Ross and the others are past their prime. Any misstep could lead to devastating losses."

  "I’m especially ed that El might release the most dangerous criminals from Impel Down’s Level 6 Eternal Hell to aid him against the Wover and Navy."

  "We also ot dist the possibility of a direct attaarineford itself. We must leave forces to defend it."

  Hammons William, the Fleet Admiral of the Navy, was visibly stressed. He felt as though he was navigating a minefield.

  The Navy was in an unpretedly weakeate. One Admiral position was vat, and the so-called "Pegasus Admiral" statio Mary Geoise was utterly unreliable—likely incapable of eveing "Vampire" Charlotte Linlin, one of El’s subordinates.

  Moreover, Admiral Kong was still rec from severe injuries.

  Ret pirate activity had further strained resources. Sengoku and Garp, who were at odds due to the situation with Tsuru, had been dispatched to quell pirate uprisings.

  And now, at the worst possible moment, the Fallen Angel Pirates had attacked Impel Down.

  The prison housed tless dangerous criminals, and the Navy could not ighe threat.

  But with the Fallen Angel Pirates being so formidable, and with the possibility of them releasing powerful prisoners, the Navy’s usual advantage of heavily armed warships was rendered moot.

  In the open sea, El—blessed with extraordinary flight speed, invulnerability, and immerength—could render even the mightiest fleet useless.

  Without a strong enough termeasure, these warships were little more than defeargets in his presenbsp;

  Given the risk posed by El’s overwhelming power, the Navy had no choice but to proceed with extreme caution.

  Only by deploying its top forces at their peak could they have a ce of prevailing.

  Thus, William had no choice but to appeal to the Wover for reinforts.

  "Damn it—"

  "Fallen Angel El…"

  "That lunati’t stop!"

  Atop the Red Line, in the resple and opulent Pangaea Castle, within the Chamber of Authority, the Five Elders sat grim-faced. Their expressions were dark with fury.

  Saint Mars, his tone icy, spoke into the Den Den Mushi:

  "We will immediately order the Holy Knights and CP0 to mobilize. They will depart without dey. Your Navy must set out at once as well!"

  "Capture them at all costs. And the prisoners in Impel Down must remain secured!"

  "Uood."

  Bleam