One piece :Nox ( Before Dawn)

Blackbeard and his companions, temporarily forgotten by both sides, once again brought unbearable pain to Impel Down.

At the gates of the sixth level of Impel Down, former guard Shiryu of the rain escorted Blackbeard and his three allies. Freed by Magellan, he did not deal with the rebellious invaders as promised, but instead rescued three with an antidote.

"Ha-ha-ha, thief," laughed Blackbeard Teach, glancing at the open doors with an open grin. The noise of the prisoners excited him.

Despite all the difficulties, the plan was carried out perfectly. The only flaw was that two of his allies were killed by Sal and his team.

"Shiryu, as a warden, why are you helping me?"

Shiryu, clad in a black military uniform and cloak, appeared cold and ruthless. He indifferently wiped the bloodied blade. It was with this knife that he had just killed several former subordinates who were unaware of his intentions.

"I'm tired of Impel Down and want to see what's beyond the walls."

Seeing this, Blackbeard laughed even more wildly.

"Ha-ha, welcome to my pirate crew, Shiryu!"

"Let's see how strong you are, Captain. Otherwise, don't blame me for taking your life."

The cold gleam of the blade made Blackbeard's heart clench. His current strength might not be enough to subdue the new team members. He could only hope for his father's legacy. Blackbeard and his crew stepped onto the sixth floor, reigniting hope in the hearts of the despondent prisoners. They all urged surrender and joining, but Blackbeard issued a harsh decree:

"Fight, and the survivor of this massacre will become part of my crew!"

For a brief moment, the sixth floor plunged into silence. Once the cell doors were opened, the only rule was — kill. This scene resembled an infernal abyss...

Sal came to his senses and opened his eyes, awakening from a deep sleep. Rayleigh was still at the helm nearby. Seeing that Sal had awakened, he complained:

"Finally, you're awake! I was already thinking of tossing you overboard! What happened to you?"

"Nothing special, just caused a bit of a stir in Impel down and invited a few helpers."

Rayleigh couldn't fathom how Sal could cause any commotion in Impel Down, as his physical body had been with him the entire time.

Sal didn't bother to explain; he just grabbed some food and began devouring it eagerly. He needed to regain strength before the fight. Suddenly, a system notification appeared:

[SS-level character Sengoku is experiencing negative emotions towards the host, moderate hostility, rewarded 20,000 experience points]

[SS-level character Tsuru is experiencing negative emotions towards the host, moderate hostility, rewarded 20,000 experience points]

[SS-level character Akainu is experiencing negative emotions towards the host, moderate hostility, rewarded 20,000 experience points]

[SS-level character Aokiji is experiencing negative emotions towards the host, initial hostility, rewarded 10,000 experience points]

[S-level characters are experiencing negative emotions towards the host, initial and moderate hostility, rewarded 1,000x6, 2,000x5 experience points]

[Level Up: Level 62 24,539/100,000]

— …

The sudden change in mood among the high-ranking naval officers made it clear to Thrall that the information about the fall of Impel Down had been sent to Marineford. Stealing the main Deep Sea Prison on the eve of war was a disgrace for the Navy Headquarters.

Sal would undoubtedly consider Luffy the main culprit. After all, Luffy is Garp's grandson, and his strength is much weaker than Sal's. Having Luffy as the suspect instead of himself minimizes his own presence.

In fact, Sengoku had his own concerns. Now that Ace, Garp's grandson, was about to be executed, if Luffy faced the harshest punishment, Sengoku didn't want to pressure his old friend—he was afraid that his strong ally might break.

As a hero of the Navy Headquarters, Garp was only a Vice Admiral because he didn't want promotion to Admiral and refused to clean up after the Celestial Dragons.

Garp's influence and authority in the Navy were higher than that of the three Admirals and even the Supreme Marshal. Many naval officers were trained by Garp. One of the three Admirals, Aokiji, was actually a student of Garp's and more effectively managed the special SWORD forces outside the Navy Headquarters.

So, any problem with the hero would be a serious blow to the morale of the naval forces.

However, the Navy Headquarters navigator Tsuru could be assessed as an SS-level character. It seems her profession provides many bonuses. However, the importance of the Navy Headquarters navigator surpasses even that of the three Admirals.

Sal thought—since the senior officers of the Navy Headquarters already know, what about the World Government?

And indeed, soon a system message from the World Government appeared:

[SS-level character Five Elders are experiencing negative emotions towards the host, moderate hostility, rewarded 20,000 experience points x5]

[S-level characters are experiencing negative emotions towards the host, initial and moderate hostility, rewarded 1,000x21, 2,000x29 experience points]

[Level Up: Level 63 99,739/110,000]

Thrall was very pleased with the consecutive level-ups. The system occasionally displayed individual experience notifications. As news of the Impel Down incident spread, there should be substantial experience gains in the future.

Unfortunately, he would have to participate in the war at the summit, coinciding with the Impel Down incident, which would prevent him from maximizing experience gains. It would have been great to wait a month for the mood reset.

Although Rayleigh didn't understand why Sal suddenly became so cheerful, he still warned him:

— Be careful, in 15 minutes, we'll be in Marineford. If you get attacked with your current strength, it could be very unpleasant.

— Don't worry, Rayleigh, I'm not afraid of a brawl when you're around, ha-ha.

Sal's soulless smile was so familiar to Rayleigh. Although he hadn't seen that smile for twenty years, he had watched it for decades...

Marineford Navy Headquarters

To deal with Whitebeard's pirate war, the World Government mobilized 40,000 elite naval forces and nearly 60,000 regular naval forces to assist.

These are all the troops the naval forces can mobilize, representing 80% of the elite navy. Other important fortresses are guarded with a minimal number of forces.

As Marineford is the main headquarters of the Navy, the surrounding areas of the island have been turned into inaccessible cliffs.

Fifty large warships are ready for deployment, each guarded by at least one brigadier general. Only the front concave bay of the island is best suited for landing.

As the main battlefield for the execution of Ace, the bay is heavily guarded, with 20,000 elite naval forces quietly waiting, including nearly 1,000 school-level soldiers.

Ordinary branch vice admirals can only hide in the crowd, while only the headquarters vice admirals can wait on the tower.

Being the strongest combat unit below the three Admirals, the headquarters vice admirals are an important and powerful combat force of the Navy Headquarters. Each headquarters vice admiral has the right to lead a fleet to initiate a war.

Eight giant lieutenants at the front of the execution platform are the most noticeable. Most of these giant lieutenants are from the House of Sheep decades ago, an orphanage founded by Sister Carmelo.

Sister Carmelo, the previous user of the Soul-Soul Fruit, was a woman with a stunning appearance in her youth but was in fact a wicked human trafficker.

She was very skilled at disguising herself. Decades ago, she acted together with the World Government to rescue the giants, then gained their friendship and earned the right to build an orphanage in Elbaf.

Under this guise, she adopted giant orphans and then sold them to the World Government.

Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors, was once an orphan of the House of Sheep.

Interestingly, Charlotte Linlin is the current user of the Soul-Soul Fruit. She acquired the Soul-Soul Fruit ability from the day the nun disappeared.

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