The Crimson Lotus Hell

"Hey! Lord Fifth Emperor! You can't go that way!"

Buggy snapped back to reality just in time to see Roya heading straight toward the Blade Forest—a deadly region infamous within the prison.

He screamed, racing forward to catch up.

"My lord, that place is full of razor-sharp flora! One wrong step and you'll be sliced to ribbons!"

"That's why they call this level the Crimson Lotus Hell!"

But before Buggy even finished shouting, Squard had already accelerated forward, charging directly into the blood-red blade forest without hesitation.

Raising his massive greatsword, Squard unleashed a brutal horizontal slash—

A massive crescent-shaped sword wave exploded forth from the weapon!

Everything in its path was annihilated.

The blade-leaf trees were cleaved clean through at their roots, and the needlegrass below was reduced to powder.

Toxic insects hiding within the plants were startled from their nests, scattering into the air in panic.

But no matter how fast they moved, they were still no match for the sweeping sword energy.

They were instantly shredded mid-air, bursting into clouds of toxic mist, which were then dispersed by the sharp winds stirred up by the slash—leaving no trace behind.

Buggy, wide-eyed with horror, stuffed both hands into his mouth and gnawed on his fingernails.

"Th-that sword energy… terrifying!"

"Is this the power you're relying on to break into the prison? I'm… I'm honestly moved to tears!"

"If only the whole world could see what's happening here!"

Squard's first slash destroyed nearly a third of the Crimson Lotus Hell.

With barely a pause, he swung again—twice in succession, wiping out every last plant and venomous creature in the zone.

Buggy stood in awe, nearly speechless.

"This kind of sword energy… doesn't it cost any stamina at all? He's just spamming it!"

Squard merely smirked and didn't bother explaining.

The sword energy may appear wildly destructive, but it consumed very little energy—

Because of the refined control behind every strike, designed to maximize damage with minimum effort.

This efficiency was the direct result of Roya's elevation of Life Return techniques to their peak.

"Compared to the master, I've only just scratched the surface of this technique," Squard thought to himself.

Just as he turned to ask Roya for further orders, a sudden commotion erupted from the passage at the far end of the hell zone.

A pack of over a dozen grotesque-looking creatures came rushing out.

"It's the guards of this level—Blue Gorillas! Very strong ones…"

Buggy's frantic commentary was abruptly cut short.

Because all of the Blue Gorillas were already twitching on the ground, collapsing in spasms.

Their bodies crackled with brilliant platinum-colored lightning.

"He knocked them all out with a single Thunder Slash?"

"That's… That has to be Thunderblade McGuy, right?"

"Since when did he get this strong?!"

McGuy sheathed his blade with a smug glance at Squard, then dashed forward and leapt into the deep pit in the center of Crimson Lotus Hell.

Squard snorted in irritation and followed close behind.

Roya turned to Boa Hancock with a calm smile:

"Crimson Lotus Hell, first level—cleared. Not bad, right?"

And with that, he stepped forward and walked straight into the pit.

Hancock, of course, clung to him like an elevator companion, descending gently with him as if on an invisible platform.

Only Salome and Buggy were left behind, staring blankly at each other.

Buggy leaned over the edge of the pit and swallowed hard.

"Hey, are you sure your master knows where he's going?" he asked the giant snake.

"Who charges deeper into a prison instead of trying to escape upward?!"

Salome simply flicked her head and slithered straight down into the abyss.

Buggy glanced one last time at the corridor they came from, clenched his jaw, and made his decision.

"Alright, screw it! Following a boss is the only way to survive anyway!"

He tossed aside his giant battle axe and leapt blindly into the pit.

---

Meanwhile, Domino had arrived on Level 4 via the elevator.

She didn't even bother knocking—she stormed straight into Chief Warden Magellan's office.

"Warden! Intruders! They've likely already reached Level 1 by now!"

The only response was the echo of explosive bathroom sounds…

…and an indescribably foul stench.

Gasping for breath, Domino instinctively held her nose but couldn't bring herself to turn and flee.

The awkward tension was unbearable.

"Urrrrgh!"

After a few disturbing noises, Magellan finally sighed in satisfaction from inside the toilet stall.

"Ahhh… yet another victorious battle!"

"Domino, your Observation Haki is still pathetic."

"The intruders have already pushed down to Level 2! Why haven't you organized the beast forces to stop them?!"

"If you're so incompetent that you let them reach Level 3, I'll make sure you're promoted… to janitor in charge of my toilet!"

With a sharp salute and a bitter sense of fate, Domino sprinted back to the elevator.

With Warden Shiryu missing in action, she—as Vice Warden—had to step up.

"Even if I die in battle, it's better than spending my life scrubbing Magellan's toxic toilets…"

The sheer horror of that vision filled her with resolve.

Magellan eventually emerged from the restroom, massaging his gut as he strolled back to his desk.

He muttered to himself the entire way:

"No one's ever dared attack this prison… and no one's ever succeeded at breaking in."

"These intruders must be elite from Whitebeard's crew."

"Those damn Navy bastards… They must've deliberately leaked false intel to lure Whitebeard's men into attacking here—to ease pressure on themselves!"

"Honestly, I'd love to unleash all the prisoners and send them to raise hell at Marineford…"

---

Plop. A soft sound echoed as Buggy finally landed safely on Level 2.

"Huh? Why's the floor on Level 2 so soft?"

"And what's with all the feathers?"

Just as he puzzled over it, he noticed Roya and Hancock had already disappeared around the next corner.

He rushed after them, only to glance back and realize what he'd landed on.

"Huge size… covered in feathers… Was that a Basilisk, the giant bird-warden from legend?!"

"There wasn't even a sound—it's just dead?!"

Buggy froze briefly, but didn't dare look back to confirm.

No matter what, staying close to Roa was the safest path forward!

As he ran, he left behind his left hand, which casually fumbled through the Basilisk's corpse until it retrieved a ring of cell keys.

The hand proceeded to unlock every prison door on the floor, freeing all the inmates.

Naturally, Roya sensed everything Buggy was doing through his Observation Haki.

But he just smiled and let it go.

After all, the prisoners on this level were merely fodder for the beast wardens.

Now that Squard and McGuy had wiped out the beasts, freeing the inmates really didn't make much difference.