The Buddha had three bodies, known as Bodhisattva, Heavenly Being, and Asura. Among them, Bodhisattva was the benevolent self, Heavenly Being was the true self, and Asura was the evil self. These three bodies represented the three forms of Sengoku's Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu.
In terms of Zoan Devil Fruits, these three forms corresponded to the beast form, human form, and hybrid form.
Until now, whenever Sengoku used his Devil Fruit ability, he had always maintained the Three Bodies of the Buddha: Bodhisattva form, which was the complete giant Buddha form.
It was just like the "no killing" principle of Zephyr, who was also an Admiral.
Sengoku had always tried to show mercy toward pirates as much as possible by avoiding killing them. But when the power of goodness could no longer support his justice, Sengoku finally used the second form of his Devil Fruit.
Heavenly Being.
From the outside, the golden light around Sengoku's giant Buddha body began to fade. In its place appeared a body closer to human form, though his size barely changed at all, and his entire body still shone with a metallic luster.
As for his fighting style, he abandoned shockwaves and began using direct, flesh-crushing blows.
Boom.
A sound like the ringing of a temple bell echoed out.
Facing the small sun rushing toward him, Sengoku swung his iron fist wrapped in Conqueror's Haki.
Mahavairocana versus Conqueror's Haki coating.
It was like two planets colliding.
Dazzling golden light crashed against pitch-black Conqueror's Haki.
Scorching currents of air erupted from the two of them and swept wildly in every direction, destroying everything in their path.
The ice field beneath their feet began to crack and churn layer by layer, while the prison cells not far away collapsed one after another.
Even the half-burned forest of Level 5 was uprooted in that instant.
The light from the collision was so blinding that no one could keep their eyes open.
At that moment, the whole of Level 5, Freezing Hell, was visibly swallowed by their attack.
Crack.
Crack.
It was as if space itself were shattering. Cracks spread like a spiderweb, and dazzling golden light burst from within them.
Boom.
A light like the detonation of a nuclear bomb surged outward in every direction. After being blocked by Impel Down's surrounding walls, it shot straight upward, piercing through the entire prison.
A massive roar instantly echoed throughout Impel Down.
Only after more than ten minutes did everything finally return to calm.
But Level 5, Freezing Hell, which appeared before them now, looked as if it had gone through Shinra Tensei in Konoha Village. Centered on the place where the two had fought, a gigantic crater had formed.
All the broken walls, corpses, and cages had been pushed by the blast to the edges of the surrounding walls, piling up into towering layers of rubble. Everything seemed to fall silent again.
...
No one knew how much time had passed.
As something fell from the rubble, an arm stretched out from among the debris. Then an entire body struggled out, coughing nonstop.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
When he saw the scene before him, now completely transformed into a giant crater with the bedrock beneath exposed, his pupils widened. His body began to tremble, and he nervously swallowed.
Before long, more and more people crawled out.
Nicholas, Magellan, and Shiryu also jumped out, all of them looking battered and disheveled.
Shiki and Borsalino, on the other hand, had used their Devil Fruit abilities to avoid the impact of the explosion.
However…
Through Observation Haki, the two combatants could no longer be sensed.
Just then, violent rumbling came from the world above.
A solemn look flashed across Shiki's face, and he controlled his body, flying upward.
Seeing this, Borsalino turned into golden light and flew up after him.
As for Nicholas's side…
"Leave Shiki and Yemu to the Marines. Magellan, Shiryu, mobilize the guards and jailers. Don't let these prisoners escape Impel Down. I still have something to do, so I'll leave this place to you."
After saying that, he hurried away.
At this point, even if Magellan were a fool, he would know that something was wrong with his superior.
He wanted to do something, but Shiryu beside him said coldly, "Our mission is to guard the prisoners. The rest has nothing to do with us, Magellan."
After speaking, Shiryu looked up at the deep world above with reluctance in his eyes.
"With luck, we might still make it in time for the final curtain."
...
Woooo.
Across the calm sea, a sharp, piercing alarm rang nonstop.
Twelve massive warships were anchored around Impel Down, surrounding it completely.
At Impel Down's exit, a battle was also taking place.
Shiki the Golden Lion had caused chaos in Impel Down. Although he had never intended to release those weak prisoners from their cells, under his reckless rampage, many prisoners still took advantage of the confusion and escaped.
Their plan was simple. Seize a warship and leave.
But that was clearly not easy.
Most of the pirates locked in Impel Down were vicious criminals from the sea, but after being imprisoned for so long, their bodies had long since grown terribly weak. On top of that, the four Marine warships that had arrived with Sengoku were filled with elite Marines, and the prisoners were being forced back again and again.
Still, with the hope of escape before them, those prisoners unleashed an astonishing amount of strength.
Just as the battle reached its fiercest point, everyone suddenly felt a violent tremor beneath their feet.
No one paid much attention to it, because this was not the first time it had happened.
But while everyone was completely unprepared, the doors of Impel Down's elevator shaft, the passage connecting the above-sea level to the six hells below, exploded apart in an instant.
As the stone doors shattered, energy impacts erupted in every direction and sent everything flying.
The lucky ones slammed into Impel Down's walls and fainted on the spot. The unlucky ones were swept into the sea by the air currents, their fate unknown.
Only the Marines on the surrounding warships avoided the impact because they were far enough away.
Even so, as Impel Down shook, waves surged across the sea, causing the warships to sway.
That made everyone realize that this impact seemed different from the previous ones.
"What exactly is happening down there?"
As everyone stared nervously at Impel Down with that question in mind, two figures flew out from within the prison.
One of them was someone the Marines knew very well.
Their Admiral, Sengoku.
As for the other, they knew him too.
"That's… Yemu, captain of the Sky Pirates. Why is he here?"
Before their confusion and fear could fade, they saw the two collide again, like a planet crashing into the earth.