The moment Magellan finished speaking—
Three voices of utter disbelief erupted from the Den Den Mushi.
"Nani?!"
"Impossible!"
"Leno escaped?!"
They belonged to Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru.
None of them could believe it.
Leno had actually escaped from the ironclad fortress that was Impel Down?!
Since its establishment, only one person had ever successfully broken out—
Shiki the Golden Lion.
How could Leno possibly compare to Golden Lion?
Their strength wasn't even on the same level!
Sengoku's voice trembled with shock and accusation.
"Magellan! Explain yourself clearly! How exactly did Leno escape?!"
"With his strength, breaking through Impel Down's defenses is absolutely impossible!"
Garp also barked in agreement.
"That's right! I personally trained Leno!"
"I know exactly how capable he is! He does not have the strength to leave Impel Down!"
Magellan's voice was thick with helpless bitterness.
"We… we were all deceived by him!"
After a pause, he continued:
"Leno hid himself too deeply! He possesses a Devil Fruit ability—and… his ability seems completely unaffected by Seastone or seawater!"
"Nani?!"
"Magellan! Do you even know what you're saying?!"
Sengoku and Garp roared almost simultaneously.
They absolutely refused to admit that the man they had discarded—
Possessed such terrifying potential.
Sengoku's voice turned sharp.
"What powerful Devil Fruit could Leno possibly have?"
"The Navy never assigned him any strong Devil Fruit! And unaffected by Seastone and seawater? That's pure fantasy!"
"My own disciple—do I not know him? Magellan, have you lost your mind?!" Garp shouted.
Faced with the barrage of doubt from two top figures of the Navy,
Magellan felt utterly wronged.
He was stating facts!
Why wouldn't they believe him?
Truthfully, if he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes—
He wouldn't have believed it either!
Just as he was about to continue explaining—
Tsuru's calm voice cut through the chaos from the other end of the line.
"Stop arguing about whether he has a Devil Fruit ability."
"Magellan, recount the entire sequence of events. In detail."
"Yes, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru."
Magellan complied and began from the riot in Eternal Hell.
He carefully described how Leno destroyed Seastone shackles and walls—
How he tore open the ceiling—
And how he plunged into the sea without hesitation, moving freely within it.
Before he could even finish—
A thunderous, out-of-control roar erupted again from Fleet Admiral Sengoku!
"NANI?!!!"
His voice shook the Den Den Mushi itself.
"Who did you say?! Shiki the Golden Lion?! Patrick Redfield?! And Douglas Bullet?!"
"They all escaped?!!!"
Magellan braced himself and replied, "Y-Yes… Fleet Admiral Sengoku…"
"However… most of the other Eternal Hell prisoners were stopped…"
"What's the use of that?!!!"
"The most vicious and troublesome monsters of Eternal Hell are the ones who escaped!!"
"Magellan! You cannot evade responsibility for this!!"
Magellan did not argue.
This incident was indeed a grave dereliction of duty on his part.
"…Understood."
"I will immediately request reinforcements and begin pursuit."
"Until then, you will guard Impel Down. If anything else goes wrong, I will hold you personally accountable!"
Click.
The Den Den Mushi was hung up in fury.
Magellan let out a bitter laugh and shook his head.
Looking at the devastation around him, he muttered softly,
"What a disaster out of nowhere…"
"I really don't understand what those people above were thinking… forcing someone like Leno into rebellion…"
—
Meanwhile, not far from Impel Down—
Splash!
Four heads emerged from the sea.
Leno. Domino. Shiki the Golden Lion. Patrick Redfield.
"Hahahahaha! I, Leno, am out!"
Feeling the long-lost sunlight on his face, Leno couldn't help but laugh loudly.
Anyone who had entered Impel Down knew—
That place was no environment for a human being.
Especially Eternal Hell, where no daylight ever reached.
Not a single ray of sunlight.
Now, bathed in warmth—
Even Redfield and Golden Lion wore rare, genuine smiles.
"Zehahahahaha! Brat!"
Golden Lion shook his dripping hair.
"I owe you this one! If you ever need anything, come find me!"
Redfield glanced at Leno and smiled faintly.
"If you encounter a problem you cannot resolve, I will help you once."
"No problem." Leno accepted without hesitation.
More friends meant more paths forward—
Especially friends at this level.
"You really are thick-skinned," Redfield said with a chuckle.
Then he exchanged a glance with Golden Lion.
The two swam swiftly in another direction, soon disappearing over the sea's surface.
Left near Leno was only Domino—
Soaked, slightly disheveled, and visibly nervous.
He looked at her, tone indifferent.
"Let's go. And don't try anything clever."
Domino felt both a little wronged—and a little happy.
Wronged, because he still didn't trust her.
Happy, because…
At least he allowed her to stay.
She understood.
After being betrayed by the teacher he respected most—
Leno's heart had turned cold.
He would not trust anyone easily again.
In her heart, she quietly cheered herself on:
"Ganbare, Domino! You can do this!"
"I'll warm Lord Leno's cold heart with my actions!"
Leno turned his head slightly.
His gaze landed on the girl behind him, her small face filled with determination and resolve.
"Why are you standing there? Planning to feed the fish?"
"O-Oh! I'm coming!"
Domino snapped back to attention and quickly followed.
The two swam toward the nearest island.
—
—
At that very moment,
A Navy warship was speeding toward Impel Down at full throttle.
The one aboard was none other than the Navy's tireless workhorse—
Admiral Kizaru, Borsalino.
After all, no one was faster than him.
Sengoku and Garp had not merely sent him to assess the damage at Impel Down.
They hoped that with his speed advantage, he could search the surrounding seas for traces of Leno.
Kizaru stood lazily at the bow of the warship, Justice coat draped over his shoulders, gazing in the direction of Impel Down.
Behind his sunglasses, his expression was unreadable.
In his signature drawl, he muttered,
"Oooh~ how scary…"
"The younger generation these days is truly frightening."
He paused, his tone carrying the faintest hint of regret.
"Leno-san… you really shouldn't have betrayed the Navy."
At the same time, a trace of annoyance surfaced in his heart.
More overtime.
And such troublesome work at that…
He recalled Sengoku's final order before departure—and the complicated look in Garp's eyes.
Clicking his tongue softly, he murmured,
"Dead or alive… preferably captured alive and handed to Vegapunk for research…"
"Tsk tsk, Leno… your teacher really does 'care' about you."