Chapter 48: Pursuit

"Ah! Help me!"

Desperate prisoners rushed out of Impel Down, pursued relentlessly by the spreading poison. Rocks crumbled, and screams filled the air.

"Let's begin," Wilder said, turning to the people on the deck.

The nine nodded solemnly, each taking their assigned positions to operate the warship.

The anchor was raised, and the warship slowly pulled away from the wall.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Stop immediately!"

On the surrounding warships, the Marines noticed the movement and, realizing something was amiss, shouted sternly to halt them.

But the Marines on the ship seemed to hear nothing, remaining motionless.

"Nyehehehe... Increase speed," Wilder said with a low chuckle, standing at the bow of the ship.

"Quick, quick, quick! Check the inside of that warship!" On one of the warships, an officer stood on the railing, shouting anxiously, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

"That guy... If I remember correctly, he's Chief Guard First, right?! Why is that guy there?! And what about the soldiers on the ship?!" A sharp-headed Marine officer was filled with rage.

Seeing the warship pull away completely and sail into the distance, the officer's face turned grim: "Have you found out yet?! What's the situation on that ship!"

"We've checked, Vice Admiral, sir! It's Impel Down's Sixth Warship. It seems... it seems our men on board are all under control. And there are several prisoners in prison uniforms on the ship, undoubtedly from Impel Down," a Marine holding a telescope reported, trembling and sweating.

"Damn it! What the hell is First planning?! Is he rebelling?!"

Although the officer didn't understand how the prisoners, including Chief Guard First, had ended up on that warship, it was now clear that First could no longer be trusted!

"Open fire! Pursue! We can't let that Sixth Warship escape!" the officer commanded furiously.

"But... there are still..."

"No buts!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

Wilder moved from the bow to the stern of the ship, watching the several warships that had detached from the wall and were now in pursuit. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Nyehehehe... Looks like we've run into a vicious wolf."

"Increase speed, full ahead towards the Gates of Justice. Yves, prepare yourself."

"Yes!"

"Whoosh...!" Cannonballs were fired densely from the pursuing warships, heading straight for Wilder.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The sea erupted in towering waves as cannonballs landed near the warship, causing it to rock violently.

"Swish!" A white slash of swordsmanship shot out from the warship, instantly slicing several cannonballs that were about to hit the ship in half. They exploded in mid-air.

"Nyehehehe... Well done, Bica."

A tall, slender figure landed on the deck beside Wilder, silently gripping his sword.

At the gates of Impel Down, the Straw Hat crew had successfully boarded a warship and were, under heavy Marine fire, lurching towards Wilder's location.

Magellan, for some unknown reason, had stopped pursuing the Straw Hats and instead entered Impel Down, as if a greater problem had arisen inside.

But the Marines had launched an all-out assault. More than a dozen warships were chasing in several columns, and Wilder's plan to take the lead was now proving effective. Falling behind meant taking a beating... and the Straw Hat crew naturally became the focus of the Marines' attention.

"Hey, hey... You've got to be kidding me. Isn't that First on the ship ahead?"

On the Straw Hats' ship, at the bow, a man with a slicked-back hairstyle, a horizontal scar across his face, and a golden hook on his left hand looked at the ship ahead, his eyes flickering.

"It's that guy," a blue figure beside him said, stepping forward and also looking at the ship ahead, his expression serious. "That's a man with no small amount of ambition."

"Heh... Regardless, the guy's betrayed them, hasn't he? Gahahahaha! Magellan's judgment is really something!"

...

"Boom!"

Cannonballs rained down around the warship. The Straw Hats fought back fiercely, preventing the ship from being hit.

Wilder's situation wasn't much better. The sheer volume of cannonballs fired from the dozen or so warships created an astonishing area of effect. Although the Straw Hats were drawing most of the fire, as his ship sailed further away from Impel Down, the fire began to shift towards him.

"Boom!" A cannonball struck the side of the warship, sending splinters flying. More than a dozen Marines were blown away, and the ship shook violently.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Before they could regain their footing, more than a dozen cannonballs descended from the sky, targeting Wilder's warship.

"Heh..." A rather fierce-looking prisoner let out a cold laugh. He pushed off the deck with both feet, and with a boom, he leaped into the air, grabbing one of the cannonballs and throwing it away!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Several consecutive explosions rang out. Four of the falling cannonballs were detonated in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, the stoic man named Bica, who had been standing beside Wilder, also made his move.

He drew a straight line with his sword in front of him, and a white slash of swordsmanship shot out, heading straight for the cannonballs in the sky.

"Swish!" Five cannonballs from different directions were instantly sliced into perfectly even halves, exploding one after another.

"Storm Leg!" Claire frowned, her long, straight leg sweeping out, sending a purplish-blue blade of energy that cut through the air and sliced three cannonballs in half.

"Well done, Claire," Wilder said without turning his head, still standing silently at the stern of the ship, his eyes never leaving the increasingly distant Impel Down.

"Ah?! ...! Th-thank you, Boss..." Claire blushed, covering her face with her hands, her legs twisting together, her heart filled with joy.

Over the past few years, Claire had also received some training from Wilder. Initially, Wilder had only taught her the training methods for Moon Walk and Shave. But surprisingly, Claire's talent was quite good. She didn't master Moon Walk, but instead learned Shave and Storm Leg.

All of this happened in an instant. Twelve of the dozen or so cannonballs were dealt with by the three of them, leaving six still falling towards the warship.

Wilder raised his head, his gaze calm.

"Begin, Yves."

As he spoke, Wilder extended his right hand. A massive swamp arm shot up into the sky, opening its palm and firmly grasping the six cannonballs.

"Compress!"

In mid-air, the swamp arm, which was initially about the size of four doors, began to shrink. Gradually, the enormous swamp hand became slender, and the hand holding the six cannonballs shrunk by about ten times.

"Crack..."

A faint, muffled sound came from within the swamp hand. Wilder's expression remained calm as the swamp hand slowly retracted. The palm opened, revealing six cannonballs that had been crushed into scrap metal, not even a wisp of smoke escaping.

"Tsk... If you got caught by the Boss's hand, you'd be dead, wouldn't you?" Bacon, who was controlling the rudder not far away, grimaced.

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