Rhett's figure moved silently through the ruins of Marineford. Only the three Admirals remained inside. Blood mist wrapped around his feet, completely concealing his presence. A faint white mist drifted into every room of Marineford.
In the distance, Navy soldiers were busy tending to the wounded and clearing the battlefield. No one noticed a crimson shadow quietly slipping into the depths of Navy Headquarters.
Thanks to young Rhett's habit of spreading thick mist during battles, the fog hadn't fully dissipated yet. It saved the older Rhett a lot of trouble.
His target was clear: find the two soldiers who would execute Roger.
"I remember your faces..." Rhett's pupils contracted in the shadows. The image of Roger kneeling on the execution platform flashed through his mind—those two soldiers holding spears.
He would never forget their faces until the day he died. It was pure anger. Not finding a way to kill them was already a mercy. Don't tell him that those soldiers had no choice. They were the ones who killed him, weren't they?
The blood mist churned around his fingertips, as if sensing its master's killing intent.
......
In the logistics area of Navy Headquarters, two soldiers were leaning against a wall, smoking.
"Hey, did you hear? The execution of the 'Pirate King' is coming up. I wonder who will get the job. That's the Pirate King we're talking about." One of the soldiers was lying on a stretcher, having just been brought back after participating in the battle of Marineford.
"Heh, that's a huge achievement!" The other rubbed his hands together. "But what happened this time was interesting. I was injured by the shockwave of their fight. A bit embarrassing, but then again, if we got to execute the Pirate King, maybe we'd get promoted..."
"Promoted? Hah, I'm afraid you won't get that chance."
A cold voice suddenly came from the shadows. They spun around, but only saw a crimson mist spreading silently. In the next instant, their throats felt like they were being gripped by invisible hands. Their pupils contracted, but they couldn't make a sound.
Rhett slowly emerged from the mist, his blood-red eyes looking down at them.
"Don't be afraid. I won't kill you—at least not now." His voice was soft, but it chilled them to the bone. "You're still useful."
The blood mist entered their mouths and noses. Their eyes gradually became vacant, but then returned to clarity in an instant. Only a faint red tint remained deep in their pupils.
"Remember, on the day of the execution..." Rhett leaned close to their ears and whispered a few words.
The two soldiers nodded mechanically, like puppets being controlled.
Rhett withdrew the blood mist with satisfaction and melted back into the shadows.
"Captain Roger, this time..." His voice faded into the wind.
......
Rhett's figure slowly faded among the ruins of Marineford. The blood mist receded like the tide. He took one last look at the two soldiers he had manipulated, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile.
"Time to see the captain."
His body completely turned to mist, merging into the lingering smoke of the battlefield. The Navy's blockades, the surveillance Den Den Mushi, the patrolling soldiers—none of them meant anything against the cover of the blood mist.
......
Impel Down.
The supposedly impenetrable prison was nothing but a joke in Rhett's eyes. He stood outside the Gate of Justice and turned into mist, passing right through. In simple terms, as long as Impel Down wasn't completely airtight, Rhett had plenty of ways to get inside.
"Level 6... I'm coming."
Rhett's mist floated silently through the dark corridors of Impel Down like a crimson ghost.
Magellan was standing at the entrance to Level 6, giving instructions to Vice Warden Hannyabal. Venom dripped slowly from his feet.
"Tomorrow at noon, Shiki the Golden Lion will be brought here." Magellan's voice echoed through the empty prison. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku personally ordered him to be locked in the deepest part of Level 6—together with those legendary monsters."
Hannyabal rubbed his hands together, ambition sparkling in his eyes. "Don't worry, Warden! I'll make sure to 'properly receive' this legendary pirate!"
Magellan sighed. "Hannyabal, you again..."
"Sorry, Warden! I always speak without thinking..." Hannyabal waved his hands in panic, not noticing a wisp of blood mist passing by his feet.
"I am the Warden."
"Yes! Warden!"
Rhett smiled silently. These two were still the same. One always thinking about getting promoted, the other unable to even control his own poison. While they were talking, the blood mist spread through the ventilation ducts toward the deepest part of Level 6.
Magellan suddenly frowned and turned to look at the shadow where Rhett was hiding. "Strange... I feel like something is watching us."
Hannyabal immediately looked around nervously. "D-Did a Level 6 prisoner escape?!"
Shiryu's hand was already on his sword, his Observation Haki quietly spreading.
Rhett sneered silently. The mist quietly retreated through the ventilation ducts.
Magellan's intuition is sharp. Too bad...
His figure reformed in the darkness of Level 6, standing in front of a certain cell.
Rhett waited for them to leave.
The mist spread silently through the darkness of Level 6. A transparent haze quietly covered the lenses of the surveillance Den Den Mushi. In the monitoring room, the soldiers saw Roger still with his head lowered, like an empty shell. They didn't know that the real Roger was now looking up, his eyes shining with surprise.
"You can speak."
Rhett waved his hand to reassure Roger.
"We meet again, little Rhett!"
"This presence..." The corners of Roger's mouth curled up. "Kid, you finally came?"
The blood mist condensed inside the cell. Rhett's figure slowly appeared. He knelt on one knee, his voice low and restrained.
"Captain..."
Roger laughed and patted his knee. "Kuhahaha! That face doesn't suit you! What, did I die an ugly death in the future?"
Rhett didn't answer. He just clenched his fists tightly. The blood mist churned around him uneasily, as if it might lose control at any moment.
Even though Rhett had experienced it once, seeing his captain like this still made him feel terrible.
Roger's smile slowly faded.
"Hey, hey, don't make that face... I did this willingly. You know that."
"I know!" Rhett looked up sharply. The red in his eyes was almost overflowing. "But those Marines—those idiots don't understand anything! They think executing you will end this era?"