Buggy's face was red with anger. His body scattered, leaving only his head. "I'm just hiding my power!"
"You'd still be in Level 2," Luffy said.
Buggy had no answer. Luffy was right.
"Don't underestimate Level 1! The guards here are strong!"
He tried to change the subject. "The Blugori are the worst!"
The Blugori wore masks. No one had ever seen their faces.
They were large. They wore armor. They carried huge axes.
The nightmare of Level 1.
He was still talking when Luffy pointed down a hall. "Those?"
The hall was full of unconscious Blugori. Their masks were cracked. Their axes were on the floor. They were covered in foam.
"Good bodies."
Luffy was not impressed. "That's all."
No Haki. No other abilities. Most would call them weak.
"What is your bounty now, anyway?"
Buggy's eyes almost fell out.
He could run from the Blugori. He couldn't hurt them. Luffy had knocked them out in seconds.
If he wasn't already in prison, he would think it was an act.
Where would such a person be held?
"About 600 million."
Luffy thought. "Didn't go up last time."
He hadn't seen new papers. Maybe the World Government was busy with Whitebeard.
"600 MILLION?!"
Buggy was so surprised, he fell apart.
"Those numbers are for New World monsters! What have you been doing?!"
"Nothing. It just happened."
Nothing? Just happened?
The World Government would not be happy to hear that.
Everything had a reason.
But Luffy thought the World Government set bounties randomly.
They had set Robin's bounty high when she was a child.
It was easy. If it was against the World Government, the bounty went up.
He knew that.
But bounties were a way to measure a pirate.
Nika had been angry when she saw hers.
Now Buggy was thinking. Getting out with this monster might be possible.
And there were ten Navy ships outside.
"Straw Hat! There are ten ships! We could escape this place. But then?"
"I think they are there for Whitebeard."
"Whitebeard?"
Buggy laughed. "The Navy is crazy! To fight that old monster, alone."
He had been on Roger's ship. They had fought Whitebeard's crew, many times.
"Whitebeard is a monster. The person who thought of this is an idiot."
Luffy agreed. But the Navy had three Admirals. They were young. Strong. Sengoku had no other choice.
Luffy stopped.
"Don't stop!" Buggy was nervous.
Luffy looked at Ace's paper.
"Hey, Buggy. Level 2. It's below us, yes?"
"Yes. But the floors are hard. We can find stairs."
And then Luffy's arm grew large. Hard Haki on it. Fearful pressure.
"What are you DOING?!"
"Prepare yourself, Buggy. We're going down."
Prepare? For what?
"Gomu Gomu no: HAKU!"
His huge fist hit the floor.
Things were simple for Luffy. Nothing to think about. Break what was in your way.
This was not the Thousand Sunny. Or the Going Merry.
BOOM!
Louder than before. The whole prison shook.
On a ship outside, a Marine's gun went off.
Then another. And another.
More Marines joined.
"Calm down!"
A Vice Admiral spoke. "Whitebeard is not here."
The fear of Whitebeard was real.
"Contact the prison! What is happening?"
"Yes, sir!"
The floor broke. A large hole. Below, heat and noise.
"You idiot!" Buggy's body flew apart.
He felt the power. Like Captain Roger's.
Conqueror's Haki? When did that happen?
"We're going."
"Wait for me!"
The other prisoners stared at the hole. Was that their chance?
...
In the bathroom, Magellan was on the toilet.
The toxic fruit. He had to use it for most of the day. He was here a lot.
The prison shook.
"Mm?!"
He felt something. Almost lost control.
He dressed. And left.
A guard was there. "Warden! Trouble in Level 1! Two escaped. One is strong. He broke the floor! They are in Level 2!"
"What?!"
Someone that strong would be on a lower level.
"What are their names?"
"One is Buggy. His bounty is 15 million. The other... not known. The Blugori fell easily."
Then. The Den Den Mushi.
"Magellan! What is happening?" Sengoku.
"Nothing. Fleet Admiral. Two escapes. I will handle it."
He was confident. It was his prison.
"Nothing? That shaking was not nothing. It is a bad time for mistakes. Send Ace to Headquarters. Now."
"The plan is 23 hours from now..."
"It is an order!"
The Whitebeard Pirates were quiet. Too quiet. He was worried.
Luffy had done that. He had seen what one person could do.
Magellan was quiet. "I will do it."
He was angry. There was a pain in his stomach.
He tapped on another Den Den Mushi. "Sadi-chan."
"Mmm~?"
"Some escaped. Level 1. Level 2. Take the Minorhinoceros."
The Minorhinoceros. Failed awakenings. Half-man, half-beast. Strong.
"New toys~. Yes~. I will~."
Magellan went back to the bathroom.
"Not now."
Level 2. Luffy landed.
It was hot. Smelled of animals. Dark. Eyes in the shadows.
"This is Beast Hell! The monsters are everywhere! The sphinx will eat us!"
The ground shook.
A lion, with wings. Big as a hill. It looked at them.
Buggy ran.
The sphinx did not move.
"Nice," Luffy said. "You can guide us."
Buggy was confused. The sphinx made small sounds. It pushed its head toward Luffy.
Like a cat.
"What did you DO?!"
"We talked. Why don't you try?"
Buggy tried. The sphinx stared at him.
He knew Luffy was a liar.
Animals knew power. They felt it on Luffy.
This one was a monster. But Luffy was a bigger monster.
"Do not fight."
"Guide us."
It did.
"Stop the guards!" Luffy said.
And the sphinx attacked the guards.
"Wait! That's your master!"
"I will be eaten!"
Luffy's fist, in Haki, hit the floor.
BOOM!
"We are going down."
Level 3. Starvation Hell.
The rats in the monitors saw.
Two people. One was Buggy.
The other... "Straw Hat Luffy! He's with Buggy! He broke the floor to Level 2! He is in Level 3! Straw Hat Luffy!"
The guards knew the papers. They knew his name.
He had attacked Enies Lobby. He had killed Celestial Dragons. He had beaten Warlords.
He was a celebrity.
And the sphinx. It was on his side.
"Will he reach Level 4? That's the Warden's office."
"He will. But the Warden is there. It will end."
They had faith.
Level 3. Hot. Dry. The prisoners were thin. Almost dead.
Luffy ran.
Heat from below. His Haki warned him. It was dangerous.
He had planned to break through every floor. But this heat was different.
He looked at the Den Den Mushi.
He didn't care.
If he wanted to find Ace, to get out fast, he would make noise.
More guards came.
"Conqueror's Haki."
The dark red wave washed over them.
***
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