Magellan's consciousness was gradually fading. His injuries required immediate treatment, yet he had endured until now by sheer willpower alone.
A faint movement came from his pocket.
Magellan stiffened. His body trembled as he forced his arm to move. He could not fall. Not yet.
He pulled out a Den Den Mushi. The little creature blinked awake, looking as if it had just finished a comfortable nap.
With shaking fingers, Magellan activated it.
"Bulu bulu…"
"Hello? What's the matter?" The Marine operator on the other end spoke urgently. He recognized the line. Impel Down.
When he saw the image projected by the Den Den Mushi, Magellan's body covered in blood, barely conscious, he froze. Something catastrophic had happened.
Magellan struggled to breathe. "Quick… quick…"
That was all he managed.
His vision went black.
The operator's eyes widened. The surrounding Marines leaned in, their expressions shifting from confusion to alarm.
"Notify Fleet Admiral Sengoku immediately!" the operator shouted. "Something's happened at Impel Down!"
"Hahaha! Interesting. I didn't expect Teach to pull off something this big."
In the newsroom, Morgans threw his head back and laughed.
"This is the biggest upheaval since Impel Down was built! Big news! BIG news!"
On the long table before him lay rows of freshly developed photographs. His feathers trembled with excitement.
These past few days had already marked the climax of the New World's struggle for supremacy.
The great war had fully erupted.
On one front stood the forces of Big Mom and Kaido. On the other, the veteran powers Wang Zhi and Silver Axe, each fighting within their own territory.
Home-field advantage mattered. Their knowledge of terrain and supply routes gave them leverage.
But it wasn't enough.
Even though the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates had left part of their strength behind to guard their territories, their elite officers and captains clearly outclassed their opponents.
The Wang Zhi Pirates and Silver Axe Pirates had already declined. Years ago, they had served as stepping stones for Shiki and Edward Newgate. Since then, their forces had weakened. Affiliates left. Core members defected.
After all, people climb upward. Few remain loyal to a losing banner.
Kaido's Beast Legion rampaged across the battlefield. His powerful executives, including Yamato, Gates the Beast Calamity, and Lemor, displayed terrifying combat power.
Mid-battle, a shocking development unfolded.
A group led by Silver Axe's core executive, "War Hammer" Omen, defected and joined the Beasts Pirates.
The shift crushed morale. Silver Axe's side faltered visibly.
Then came the beasts.
Creatures rAceled through the Kate Kingdom's taming techniques were unleashed. Massive war beasts tore through pirate ranks. Men vanished between jaws. Blood soaked the battlefield.
Though Queen the Plague and "Ghost Fox" Crayel remained behind to guard the Kate Kingdom, their influence reached the front lines.
Queen's poison gas weapons wreaked havoc. Entire squads collapsed before realizing what they had inhaled.
Crayel's strategies were just as lethal. Even before the fighting concluded, he remotely directed forces to begin annexing Silver Axe's territories.
On the other side, the Big Mom Pirates demonstrated overwhelming numbers.
Their Homies legion functioned like an army of Devil Fruit users. Even weaker Homies bolstered their ranks significantly.
Big Mom's children made names for themselves one after another. Nearly all were Devil Fruit users. Many were still young, but combined with Homie support, they showed formidable strength.
The most dazzling among them was Charlotte Katakuri.
He possessed advanced Observation Haki capable of glimpsing the future. He wielded Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki refined to the level of Ryuo.
With two major Homies reinforcing him, Katakuri's strength surged.
Under immense pressure due to the crew's lack of top-tier combatants, he alone held off three veteran executives of the Wang Zhi Pirates.
During the heat of battle, his Mochi-Mochi Fruit awakened.
For the first time, the world witnessed the true terror of a Paramecia awakening. The environment itself bent to his will. The battlefield transformed into his domain.
Across the seas, people watched through live broadcasts.
The war would conclude within days. The final outcome would be decided by the four overlords themselves.
The two duels began almost simultaneously.
Big Mom versus Wang Zhi.
Kaido versus Silver Axe.
By the day before yesterday, the advantage was clear. Big Mom and Kaido stood firmly on top.
Big Mom's body resembled a steel balloon. Her natural monstrous strength combined with three great Homies.
Prometheus fused with her hair and body, flames roaring around her. Napoleon rested in her hand. Zeus carried her across the sky.
Black-red lightning burst continuously from her blade.
Conqueror's Haki coating.
Wang Zhi was suppressed.
This was why she dared claim the title of Emperor.
Strength justified the throne.
Meanwhile, Kaido and Silver Axe clashed violently.
Weapons collided. Black-red lightning erupted with every strike. Shockwaves shattered the earth beneath them.
The sky itself split in two.
Even through Video Den Den Mushi broadcasts, viewers could feel the intensity.
Kaido transformed into his Human-Beast form, blue dragon scales covering his towering frame. A true monster.
Many bought two Video Den Den Mushi and placed them side by side just to watch both battles at once.
It was a world-class war. A clash that would reshape the New World and the global balance.
For days, people barely slept.
And then—
While all eyes focused on the New World…
Impel Down fell.
The breached gates.
The devastated prison.
Vice-Warden Magellan dying.
Warden Acel critically injured and unconscious.
Criminals from the Infinite Hell roaming free.
And at the center of it all—
Marshall D. Teach.
Only three people had invaded.
Teach. Redyat. Nelson.
And when they left, they took Head Guard Shiryu with them.
Photographs captured everything.
The "Long-Lived One" Werewolf Muto.
Byrnndi World
Patrick Redfield.
Monsters nearly erased from history now returned to the sea.
Each one represented shattered interest chains, broken power structures, unfinished grudges.
When they returned, they would reclaim what was once theirs.
The world's balance would tilt.
Morgans had even risked sending Reporter Birds into Impel Down to secure these images. After taking what they needed, they fled quickly. Marine Headquarters had already begun moving.
"Boys!" Morgans shouted. "Pack up! We're relocating!"
The World Government would attempt to suppress this. Delay it. Minimize the impact.
He would not allow it.
This was real-time history.
With a thunderous boom, his airship headquarters lifted into the sky and ascended thousands of meters before disappearing into the clouds.
By the time the Marine warship arrived at Impel Down, it was too late.
Borsalino had arrived first, alone. His speed made him ideal for emergencies.
Even he struggled to process the scene.
Infinite Hell prisoners had staged a mass breakout.
And succeeded.
Magellan lay unconscious, barely alive.
Warden Acel's chest was pierced by a gruesome blood hole.
Several jailers who had regained consciousness were dazed. Most remembered nothing.
One detail stood out.
An overwhelming Conqueror's Haki had swept across Impel Down.
Jailers fainted. Prisoners fainted.
Even the Den Den Mushi lost consciousness.
Marineford received no signal.
Magellan's injuries suggested multiple attackers. He was fortunate to be alive.
Acel had been found near the Extreme Cold Hell. His heart had narrowly been spared. His internal organs were displaced from a devastating impact.
Borsalino knew Acel's strength. He was familiar with the Connect-Connect Fruit and its peculiar properties.
And yet, Acel had suffered such injuries.
No Seastone was found on his body.
Which meant his ability had not been suppressed externally.
A suspicion formed in Borsalino's mind.
Claws.
A single opponent capable of overwhelming Acel despite his ability.
One man fit that profile.
Then there was another matter.
Shiryu.
Gone.
Borsalino exhaled softly.
Those were concerns for Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
He was merely an employee.
Taking out a Den Den Mushi, he calmly began reporting the situation.
He did not mention his suspicion.
When Magellan and Acel awoke, the truth would speak for itself.