At some point—
The sky had darkened.
The wardens guarding Impel Down looked up in confusion.
Someone sharp-eyed froze in shock.
A figure stood in midair.
He walked upon the sky itself, as though stepping on an invisible platform.
Even from afar, the aura rolling off him was ferocious.
"Who goes there?! Who dares cause trouble at Impel Down?!"
The gates burst open.
A towering man with a demonic appearance strode out, followed by a squad of wardens. The insignia on his shoulders marked him as the Chief Warden of Impel Down—Magellan.
A Marine graduate. Exceptionally gifted.
User of the Doku Doku no Mi.
His combat potential was top-tier, but due to the nature of his Devil Fruit, he had been stationed here.
Magellan raised his head.
The silhouette in the sky made his heart skip.
Why did that figure look familiar?
"State your name!"
Roldy did not answer.
Between two fingers, he flicked a coin into the air.
His temper was already fraying.
The coin rested on his middle finger.
He flicked.
What followed was like a tidal wave.
The coin expanded mid-flight—sixty times its original size in an instant.
Propelled with monstrous force, it screamed through the air.
Magellan's pupils shrank.
This was no warning shot.
He inhaled deeply.
The Doku Doku no Mi activated.
A viscous purple toxin surged up his throat and spewed outward like spit.
The corrosive power was terrifying.
The moment it touched the massive coin—
White smoke erupted.
The hissing of corrosion pierced the air.
Before it even struck the ground—
The enlarged coin was completely dissolved.
Roldy's lips curved faintly.
"Interesting poison."
"You're Magellan, right? The Marine-turned-jailer?"
"You plan to stop me with these underlings?"
It was rare for Roldy to show even this much patience to a stranger.
Magellan stiffened.
He didn't yet fully grasp the intruder's identity—
But duty forbade retreat.
Just as he prepared to move—
A broad back stepped in front of him.
"Stand down, Magellan."
"You're not his opponent."
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
Relief swept through the wardens.
The man in the sky was clearly no ordinary pirate.
Magellan was strong—at least on the level of a standard Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral—but he was still young.
Garp was different.
A veteran.
A legend.
Reliable as a mountain.
"Roldy…"
Garp muttered.
Magellan's breath hitched.
Roldy.
Among Marines, that name needed no introduction.
The strongest prodigy since the Marine's founding.
The man once hailed as the most promising Fleet Admiral candidate.
A natural-born monster of Armament Haki.
One of the "Four Great Monsters."
And now—
A pirate with an astronomical bounty.
Magellan swallowed.
He had nearly died just now.
Without hesitation, he ordered his men back over twenty meters.
Garp stepped forward.
"Oi, brat."
"What are you here for? Roger?"
"He's a criminal now. A man awaiting execution."
The meaning was clear.
Roger would die soon.
Let the grudge end with that.
Roldy tilted his head slightly.
"So he's still alive."
His body dropped from the sky.
He landed heavily, shattering the stone pavement into a crater.
Dust rose.
He stepped forward until only ten meters separated him from Garp.
Ignoring the trembling wardens behind.
"Our grudge can end with death."
"But it ends with his death by my hand."
"If he's not dead yet, I won't stop."
"Hand him over."
"I don't want to fight you, old man."
Garp sighed.
"That won't happen."
"Roger has significance to the World Government."
"Don't interfere."
Roldy's brow furrowed.
"You know me."
He exhaled.
Then—
His eyes sharpened.
A crimson glow flared within them.
Black-red lightning erupted violently around his right fist.
Advanced Conqueror's Haki Coating.
Garp had already anticipated this.
His own fist ignited with equally dense Conqueror's Haki.
The two fists collided—
Without touching.
The air between them exploded.
Shockwaves tore the clouds apart.
Fish surfaced belly-up across the sea.
Behind Magellan, wardens collapsed unconscious.
Deep within Impel Down, prisoners screamed as the pressure flooded inward.
Magellan stared in awe.
"So this… is the pinnacle of the sea…"
Then—
As if by silent agreement—
They withdrew.
Standing calmly.
As though nothing had happened.
"You're serious," Garp muttered, rubbing his head.
After a moment's thought, he sighed.
"Wait here."
He pulled out a Den Den Mushi and stepped aside.
Magellan couldn't hear the voice on the other end—
But Roldy could.
Sengoku.
Garp explained briefly.
Silence followed.
By all logic, Roldy's act was the gravest provocation against the World Government.
The Marines should dispatch forces immediately.
But Sengoku weighed the distance between Marine Headquarters and Impel Down—
And Roldy's strength.
Rationality prevailed.
(And perhaps… old ties played a part.)
"Let them meet."
"With me present, nothing catastrophic will happen."
Sengoku agreed.
Especially after Garp added quietly:
"That brat… I'm not sure I can suppress him anymore."
Sengoku leaned back in his chair.
Inhaled slowly.
"So you've grown that far…"
"Just as I expected of you, Roldy."
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