Taro's entire body surged with blue-white Internal Energy. The previously faint Falcon form almost solidified as he streaked across the sky at extreme speeds.
Just as Taro prepared to climb higher to clear the towering Gate of Justice, the massive gate that reached into the clouds swung open.
Five Marine warships rode the ocean currents and entered the waters of Marineford.
It was the fleet led by Onigumo escorting Ace.
After a brief hesitation, Taro decided to go down and take a look.
Taro's appearance in the distant sky immediately caused a commotion in the fleet. It wasn't until he landed on the deck that the Marine Soldiers standing ready finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Taro, why have you come here? Has something happened?" Onigumo asked in a heavy voice.
"Straw Hat Luffy has incited a massive riot in Impel Down. I am going to support Magellan!"
Taro saw Ace shackled to a chair on the deck and spoke loudly on purpose.
"Furthermore, a warship of unknown origin is heading toward Impel Down. Headquarters was worried you might encounter them, so I came by to check on Ace's situation!"
Hearing this, Onigumo said proudly, "We have five Vice Admirals and five warships. What is there to worry about?"
Taro walked toward Ace while saying, "It's better to be safe than sorry; we can't be careless."
"You should know that it was precisely because of carelessness that two Warlord of the Sea were defeated by Straw Hat one after another."
Then Taro looked at Ace and said with a smile, "That kid is your younger brother, right?"
"Since you're going to die soon anyway, there's no harm in telling you: your brother is still alive."
As he spoke, Taro winked at Ace and grabbed his own left arm twice. "You understand what I mean, right?"
Ace looked at Taro in confusion, not reacting for a moment.
Taro felt somewhat helpless and rubbed his left arm a few more times as a final effort.
Then he turned around and spoke to Onigumo, who was already frowning with a look of suspicion.
"I must be crazy, wasting so much breath on a dead man. I'm off, Vice Admiral!"
Taro raised his left hand in farewell, then soared into the sky, continuing toward Impel Down.
'Ace, this is all I can do. If you still can't control your emotions in the end and die, you can't blame me!'
On the deck, Ace twisted his head as far as he could to look into the distance, where Taro was flying over the slowly closing Gate of Justice.
If Ace hadn't caught on to Taro's first hint, then after the rubbing of the left arm and the final arm raise before leaving, he would have to be a pig not to understand.
Ace withdrew his gaze and looked down at his own arm. The 'ASCE' tattoo was still there, with the'S' crossed out; it wasn't part of his name.
"Your brother is still alive!" Thinking of Taro's words and his frantic hints, Ace's eyes gradually widened, his face full of disbelief.
'Is he... still alive?'
'That's wonderful!'
Ace lowered his head, his eyes gradually moistening as old memories flooded his heart. Finally, tears streamed down his face... Looking down at Impel Down from the air, twenty Marine warships were anchored in the waters far from the prison, hidden in a light mist.
It seemed Straw Hat hadn't managed to escape yet. Taro didn't hesitate any longer and dove toward the Great Prison's ventilation tower.
"Straw Hat...!"
As Taro was descending into the prison through the ventilation tower, he suddenly heard a soul-shaking roar.
It was Magellan's voice!
It seemed Magellan was conducting a final pursuit of the Straw Hat Pirates crew.
Magellan was chasing them upward from the fourth floor, while Taro's target was the Blackbeard Pirates, who were heading to the Sixth Level.
The ventilation tower ended at the Boiling Blood Pond on the fourth floor. Taro landed on the walkway above the pond and then rushed toward the stairs.
"Zehahahaha! Kill to your heart's content! Only those who survive are qualified to become my companions. This is the choice of fate!"
Blackbeard laughed loudly. He had released the criminals imprisoned on the sixth floor, letting them attack each other to select his partners.
Burgess, Lafitte, Doc Q, and the Impel Down Warden Shiryu stood to the side, wearing grim sneers.
"Zehahahaha! We will eventually reach the Peak of the world and become the kings of this world. Don't you agree?"
"Zehahaha... hic!"
The laughing Blackbeard saw the figure that had suddenly appeared, and his laughter was choked back.
Taro slowly walked out from the shadows and said calmly, "I... don't think that's going to happen!"
"It's you?"
Blackbeard's face darkened. Burgess and the others were both shocked and furious, while Shiryu bit his cigar, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
Ignoring Blackbeard and the others, Taro stared at Shiryu and gave a light laugh. "Warden Shiryu, have you joined the Blackbeard Pirates?"
Wearing his Impel Down Warden uniform and a flight cap, Shiryu gazed at Taro. "The Marine's rising star. I know you."
His tone was low and cold. "After that fellow Magellan let me out to suppress the riot, he still intended to keep me imprisoned. In that case, he can't blame me."
Taro nodded. "Hm, very well. Since that's the case, things are much simpler. How did that saying of yours go again?"
Looking past Blackbeard's group at the death row prisoners who, despite wearing Sea Stone handcuffs, were engaged in a brutal slaughter using only their Physical Body...
Taro's killing intent spiked. "I remember now. That saying was..."
"Summary execution!"
As soon as Taro finished speaking, Shiryu gripped his blade with both hands and lunged forward with a horizontal slash.
Clang!
Taro drew his saber and blocked the strike. Armament Haki enveloped the blade, and Internal Energy filled his limbs as he immediately pushed Shiryu back.
"Rankyaku: Katori!"
"Wave Slash!"
"Lions Share!"
"Mihawk Slash!"
"Ittoryu: Iaido - Lions Song!"
The moment Shiryu was forced back, Taro took the opportunity to leap into the air, his legs kicking out continuous slashes. Upon landing, he immediately followed up with sword Moves.
Taro knew very well that he was alone while the enemy had five people. If he couldn't reduce their numbers quickly, the enemy's strength would only grow once the prisoners' slaughter ended.
As for his side, there was no telling when Magellan would arrive.
Blackbeard and his crew had never seen such a battle style where Moves were spammed so frantically; they were all stunned on the spot for a moment.
Shiryu, at the center of Taro's assault, saw his expression change repeatedly as he dodged Taro's attacks in a somewhat disheveled manner.
"Ugh...!"
Finally, one of the strikes from Taro's continuous assault slashed Shiryu's shoulder, causing him to let out a low groan.
"Sand Blade!"
After the slash, Taro, who had appeared behind Shiryu, did not stop. He raised his arm, and a blade of blue-white Internal Energy erupted from the ground, slashing toward Shiryu once more.
Taro also pursued closely, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to Shiryu.
"Dark Water!"
Finally, after Taro's string of attack Moves, Blackbeard reacted.
He threw his left hand wide open, and a black vortex appeared. A massive gravitational force pulled at Taro's body, sucking him toward Blackbeard.
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