"Using Conqueror's Haki to knock bullets away? You've got to be joking, right?" Vice Warden Hannyabal said in disbelief. "Even the current strongest Haki user on the seas, one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks, probably couldn't do something like that!"
"But in the surveillance just now, we really did see a force that looked like Conqueror's Haki sweep the bullets away," the guard in charge of monitoring said nervously. "At the same time, the Marines were knocked unconscious, and even the surveillance Den Den Mushi fainted!"
"Devil Fruit power. It has to be a Devil Fruit ability," Hannyabal declared. "But it looks like a truly terrifying monster has arrived. Hurry and notify the Warden and the Chief Warden! If the Warden gets defeated... then I'll become the Warden. Ah—damn it, I accidentally revealed my ambition again!"
"Yes, sir!"
No one around him reacted much.
By now, everyone in Impel Down was already used to Hannyabal's nonsense. Even Magellan, the actual Warden, had long stopped caring.
Meanwhile, Rosinante continued walking slowly across the surface of the sea toward Impel Down.
As he drew closer, the waves of Conqueror's Haki rolling off him became stronger and stronger.
Marine soldiers collapsed one after another.
But after all, Marine Headquarters' forces were elite troops to begin with.
And the soldiers specifically chosen to guard Impel Down were elites among elites.
Among them, there were still quite a few Marines with exceptionally strong wills who could barely resist Rosinante's Conqueror's Haki.
"Fire the cannons! Hurry and fire the cannons! Don't let him get any closer to Impel Down!" a determined Marine Rear Admiral shouted.
Several Marine sergeants who were still conscious immediately turned the cannons and opened fire on Rosinante.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The cannonballs came roaring toward him.
Rosinante merely glanced at them.
And in the next instant, those incoming shells became like duds whose fuses had suddenly gone out.
One after another, they dropped harmlessly into the sea.
Only after a long pause did the muffled sounds of explosions rise from deep underwater.
But because the blasts happened far below the surface, they didn't disturb the sea at all.
"Devil Fruit ability!" that Rear Admiral exclaimed in shock.
What truly stunned him, however, was something else.
If Rosinante was a Devil Fruit user...
Then how in the world was he walking on the sea?
Could that also be part of his Devil Fruit ability?
"Charge him! Ram him with the ship! Knock him into the sea!" another Rear Admiral shouted.
But just as the warships began to move, preparing to smash straight into Rosinante—
Rosinante calmly formed a seal.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique."
In the next moment—
An overwhelming torrent of seawater surged upward like the sky itself had overturned.
The gigantic mass of water came crashing down and smashed directly into the Marine warships.
The ships were instantly torn apart, splintered into pieces, and hurled wildly in every direction.
Rosinante didn't spare them another glance.
He simply continued forward, slowly stepping onto the dock bridge before the prison gates.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Three Marine Rear Admirals used Geppo to arrive at the front gate of Impel Down, landing in front of him and blocking his path.
"Who exactly are you?!" one of them shouted, drawing his long sword. "As long as we're here, you're not taking another step forward!"
Rosinante looked at him and smiled.
"People from the Marines have said things like that to me many times before."
He spoke as if he were reminiscing about something amusing.
"Sengoku. Garp. Sakazuki. Kuzan. Borsalino..."
"Oh, right, right."
A grin spread across his face.
"How's Sakazuki been lately? If any of you happen to see him, give him my regards."
His eyes turned cold.
"Ask him how that last sword strike felt."
As he spoke, he didn't seem to move at all.
And yet—
A tyrannical wave of pressure exploded from his body and slammed toward the three Rear Admirals.
His Conqueror's Haki was infused with dense chakra, and in that instant, it struck like the slash of a master swordsman.
The three Rear Admirals felt as if an invisible, violent force carrying an overbearing will had smashed into them head-on.
They were blasted backward on the spot and slammed hard into the massive gates of Impel Down behind them.
But that wasn't all.
The impact alone sent them flying...
Yet the domineering aura hidden within that force also surged straight into their minds, battering their souls.
Still, they were Marine Headquarters Rear Admirals with strong wills.
That Conqueror's Haki wasn't enough to knock them unconscious outright.
But even so, the crushing shock left their heads spinning, their vision blurring, their bodies unsteady.
In that dazed haze, they watched as Rosinante slowly walked toward them.
Then they saw him raise his hand...
And lightly knock twice on the giant gate of Impel Down.
Just twice.
As casually as an ordinary man knocking on someone's front door.
But in the very next moment—
Something horrifying happened.
The air itself cracked like glass.
Fractures spread outward in all directions.
And as the air shattered, the colossal gates of Impel Down also began to fracture like a mirror breaking apart.
The three Rear Admirals could only stare in complete disbelief.
The giant prison gate split apart—
Shattered—
And then collapsed with a thunderous crash.
A terrifying shockwave roared inward, blasting straight into the prison.
"D-Don't go in—!" one of the Rear Admirals raised a hand, still trying to stop him.
But that lifted hand trembled...
Then fell back down helplessly.
Rosinante glanced at him.
"To be honest, I don't dislike Marines like you who take their duty seriously."
Then he smiled faintly.
"Pass along my regards to your Fleet Admiral Sengoku... to Garp... and to Sakazuki."
His voice carried through the broken gate like a declaration.
"Tell them... I'm back."
And with that, Rosinante calmly walked through the shattered entrance.
Inside Impel Down, prison guards lay scattered everywhere, staring at him in terror as he entered.
The moment the prison realized there was an intruder, alarms had already sounded throughout the entire facility.
Because everyone knew one thing—
Under normal circumstances, no one could possibly invade Impel Down.
So if someone did invade...
Then the intruder had to be an existence of the highest level.
Possibly even one of the Four Emperors of the New World.
That was why, by now, the entire prison had already gone on full alert.
At the entrance of Impel Down, countless guards and jailers had assembled, with Vice Warden Hannyabal personally leading them at the front.
"B-Broken..." Hannyabal muttered in disbelief.
Just moments ago, he had still been boasting to the guards about how incredibly sturdy Impel Down's gates were.
He had loudly declared that there was absolutely no way the intruder could ever break through the prison doors.
He'd even been saying that once Marine reinforcements arrived, they wouldn't need to do anything at all—
The intruder outside would be dealt with by the Marines.
And yet in the very next second...
The gate had exploded open.
Several violent shockwaves blasted into the prison, hurling many guards through the air.
"Y-You... who are you?!" Hannyabal shouted, barely managing to stand in place, though his legs were trembling badly. "How dare you invade my Impel Down! Damn it, I revealed my ambition again!"
Rosinante looked at him and deliberately smiled.
"Are you the Warden?"
"I came to Impel Down to take someone with me."
He spoke with perfect calm.
"I hope you'll be kind enough to let me pass."
"That's right, I am the Warden—ah, damn it, my ambition slipped out again! Let me formally introduce myself!"
Hannyabal swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
"I am the Vice Warden of Impel Down! And as long as I'm standing here, I absolutely will not let you pass!"
Rosinante looked at him quietly.
Then he smiled.
"That really puts me in a difficult spot."
His tone was mild, almost casual.
"Maybe by now, the sea has long forgotten my name."
"But a long time ago... the entire sea, including Marine Headquarters, understood one thing."
His eyes narrowed.
"It's best not to make things difficult for me."
"Otherwise..."
His faint smile deepened.
"Impel Down may just cease to exist today."
The moment those words fell, everyone present froze in shock.
Silence.
Complete, stunned silence.
Then—
"I think I just heard someone say... he plans to make Impel Down cease to exist."
A slow, cold voice suddenly sounded from behind the crowd.
"As the Chief Warden of Impel Down... I can't pretend I didn't hear that."
"Chief Warden!!"
The prison guards turned around all at once, their faces erupting with joy.
A man in the Chief Warden's uniform was slowly walking toward them.
He had a cigar in his mouth.
A sword hung at his waist.
And with every step he took, a chilling pressure spread through the hall.
Shiryu of the Rain... had arrived.