Chapter 144: Re-entering Impel Down

Entering Hina's dream, the scene Buffon expected to see did not materialize. Instead, the sight before him filled him with a faint sense of familiarity.

Buffon recalled carefully; this scene was from years ago when Hina was captured in the Florian Triangle.

Hina and Brook both appeared in the scene.

However, Buffon existed in this dream from a divine perspective, able only to watch everything unfold without any ability to intervene.

The content of this dream was Hina asking Brook about Buffon.

Yet Brook at that time knew little more than the fact that Buffon possessed formidable strength, and truly had no other information to share.

After this scene concluded, it shifted to Buffon's second meeting with her.

Seeing this, Buffon thought things were beginning to get interesting.

"Could it be because I intentionally made her fall asleep that this dream is relatively subjective and closely related to me?"

Since this was Buffon's first time utilizing this ability, he did not know whether this was a normal occurrence or...

Thus, he could only continue acting as a spectator.

These were events he had experienced personally, and he remembered them for the most part, save for some of Hina's personal details which Buffon had not known.

Yet they were all trivial matters anyway. The next scene, however, jumped directly to Alabasta and her argument with Smoker.

The subject was their differing attitudes toward Buffon. Hina, relying purely on her intuition, believed there was a very high probability that Buffon was a Navy double agent!

"Smoker, you've chased Buffon all the way here, and aside from the Celestial Dragons, he hasn't killed a single person. Moreover, he has treated and saved numerous civilians. Would a proper, bona fide pirate act like that?" Hina said, biting on a cigarette with a look of absolute certainty.

Smoker took a couple of deep puffs of his cigar and said with a furious expression, "Buffon is a pirate through and through. With Moria's meager strength and ambition, the Navy wouldn't bother planting a double agent around him!"

Faced with Smoker's flawless explanation, Hina refused to give up. "Have you forgotten? I previously followed a Navy corpse-transport ship onto Moria's vessel to scout once. If he truly is a pirate, with the strength he had at the time to defeat me in an instant, why would he let me go?"

Smoker pressed a hand to his forehead, sighed, and said, "Didn't you discover absolutely nothing during that trip? Do you really think you'd have made it out alive if you had genuinely found something?"

Hina grew exasperated and continued, "Then how do you explain him beating up Spandine on the way to the G-8 fortress?"

"If he really were a Navy double agent, he would show some restraint and couldn't possibly strike Spandine so viciously."

Faced with Smoker's retort, Hina pressed on, "Then how do you explain the fact that he knows the Rokushiki?"

"It's not like there haven't been people who learned the Rokushiki and defected from the Navy. Buffon's origins are a mystery to begin with..."

No matter what Hina said, Smoker always managed to find a corresponding reason to refute her. After watching, Buffon realized a problem: Hina had likely suspected from a very early time that he must be a double agent.

Having finished viewing this segment, an absurd thought arose in Buffon's mind: "Good grief, this woman has believed I was a double agent ever since she was let go that time. It's a good thing her rank isn't any higher..."

At that moment, Hina's dream began to blur. A moment later, Buffon's consciousness returned to his own body. Seeing signs that Hina was about to wake up, Buffon hastily restored the documents on her desk to their original positions and stepped out of the office.

Upon waking, Hina looked around the office, which contained only herself, and muttered under her breath, "It seems I've been paying too much attention to that guy's news lately. Who knows what kind of mission he's actually carrying out."

...

On a certain island in the New World, Whitebeard looked at the bounty poster in his hand and asked Marco, "What do you make of this 567 million beli bounty?"

"According to multiple sources, this guy is already on par with the Admirals, so this bounty is indeed a bit low. However, the World Government probably won't admit to things like him killing a Celestial Dragon, so factoring in just the incident at Water 7, 567 million beli is about right."

Hearing Marco's analysis, Whitebeard smiled. "This brat, it really is a pity he didn't join our crew. Otherwise, under my protection, at least he wouldn't have to run all over the seas being chased."

"Word has it that he's taken over Long Ring Long Land; he must be planning to establish his main base there if nothing goes awry!"

Whitebeard nodded. "He's a fellow with ambition. Doing this is tantamount to openly defying the World Government. See if there's any way we can help out and handle it as you see fit! By the way, how is that fellow Ace doing right now?"

"He's still in pursuit. Judging by the messages he has sent back, he has already obtained Teach's exact whereabouts. This time it should..."

Before Marco could finish, Whitebeard interrupted, "While I support his pursuit of Teach, you should still remind him to be careful. As Red-Haired said, that man Teach is extremely dangerous, and I don't want to lose another son."

Faced with Whitebeard's words, Marco did not know what to say; he nodded and went off to make the arrangements.

...

Upon seeing Buffon's bounty poster over on the Red Hair Pirates' side, Shanks let out a similar exclamation: "The bounty the World Government gave Buffon is quite interesting!"

Hearing Shanks's words, Beckman snatched the bounty poster, looked it over, and said meaningfully, "It seems his several clashes with the Admirals are destined to go unacknowledged!"

"Of course they are. The World Government finds suddenly popping-up characters like this the most troublesome. But you've only seen one aspect of it. At 567 million beli, this bounty is neither too high nor too low. The reason the World Government set it this way is probably to entice all those bounty hunters to test the strength of Buffon's crew.

"That way, they save themselves the trouble of scouting while also creating some trouble for Buffon. After all, those truly heinous villains on the seas determine their opponents' strength based on the bounty amount. For a pirate entering the New World, this bounty can already be considered quite lucrative."

Beckman listened, paused for a second, and then smiled. "Captain, how would you handle it if you were in his shoes?"

"Me? Hard to say, haven't really encountered it!"

...

A day later, Hina's warship arrived at Impel Down on schedule.

Disguised as Navy personnel, the three of them stood on the ship's deck gazing out at the Impel Down platform. Buffon did not detect any anomalies.

Yet he did not dare let down his guard, knowing full well that within Impel Down, strict defensive measures against him were already underway.

Furthermore, the World Government should have long since factored in the news of Absalom and Mr. 2 Bon Kurei being by his side, so they could not possibly afford to leave him unattended.

Once the warship docked at the platform, Hina did not rush to order the prisoners to be escorted up; instead, she waited for Impel Down personnel to board the ship for inspection.

Seeing this, Buffon quietly whispered to Bon Kurei, "Transform into Impel Down guards in a moment."

After Bon Kurei nodded, Absalom's voice echoed in the air: "Once we go in, I'll stick close to you two, and we'll adapt to the situation as it unfolds."

As soon as he finished speaking, Baggio's voice came through as well: "Moria is likely locked away on Level 6. If the situation changes upon entry, we'll meet on Level 5."

Buffon was not overly worried about Baggio. With Shiliew's shadow in tow, entering Impel Down would feel just like coming home for him.

A squad of guards boarded the vessel and split into three groups of three. One group was responsible for escorting the prisoners, the second for inspecting the cargo hold, and the final group cross-referenced information with Hina.

The squad leader, Hannyabal, seemed to have put away his usual lackadaisical attitude as he closely monitored the activity on Hina's warship.

The three of them naturally chose to target the trio inspecting the cargo hold, because one of those guards was female. Although Bon Kurei's transformation ability worked regardless of gender, Buffon felt somewhat uncomfortable having Betty continue posing as a man.

Buffon swiftly knocked the three unconscious and locked them inside a utility room. Having read Hina's military dispatches, Buffon no longer held any illusions about rescuing Moria completely unnoticed.

As long as those three were not discovered before the warship departed, it would suffice. As for the three Navy soldiers they had impersonated, they were practically nonexistent individuals to begin with. Aside from Buffon stepping out once during the voyage, the other two had barely moved around, belonging to that forgettable category of people on board. He trusted that the remaining naval personnel would not notice anything amiss right away.

Once the three of them finished their disguises, they seized an opportunity to rendezvous with the prisoner-escort group, exited the cargo hold together, and escorted the prisoners onto the Impel Down platform.

Crocodile and the other two walked at the very rear of the procession. Upon catching sight of this former Warlord, Hannyabal could not help muttering, "It seems the flaws of the Warlord system are truly manifesting. In just half a month, they've already sent two in."

Hearing this, Crocodile said with a hint of sarcasm, "Which other unfortunate soul got dragged in just like me?"

Hannyabal made no secret of it; they were all heading to Level 6 anyway and would meet sooner or later, so there was no harm in speaking up now: "Moria!"

Upon hearing that name, Crocodile let out a wild, arrogant laugh. "Hahaha! Then it looks like that fellow Buffon will be coming soon. Judging by how nervous you lot look, you're bracing yourselves for him."

Seeing that Crocodile had instantly deduced the current situation inside Impel Down, Hannyabal felt no surprise at all.

Others might not know, but he had heard the true situation in Alabasta directly from Magellan. The outside world believed the Straw Hat kid had defeated Crocodile, but they knew the one who actually threw the punches was Buffon, while the Straw Hat kid merely took the blame.

With that thought in mind, Hannyabal ordered, "Escort these last three directly to Warden Magellan's office!"

Hearing these arrangements, Buffon shot a meaningful look at the two beside him.

Betty, disguised as a female guard, stepped forward, puffed out her chest, and said earnestly, "Understood, sir."

Having little resistance to beauty, Hannyabal swallowed hard and said, "Go on then, don't dawdle!"

"Betty" nodded, gave Crocodile's shackles a rough yank, and led Buffon and the other inside first, while the remaining guards and prisoners began undergoing strict screening on the platform!

As for Absalom and Baggio, Buffon believed the two of them had their own methods and required no worry.

Along the way, Baggio had already drawn out a map of the entire Impel Down facility, and all of them had memorized it diligently.

Right now, "Betty" acted entirely like a veteran Impel Down guard without a trace of unfamiliarity.

She led the group directly via the elevator down to Level 4, the Blazing Hell.

Buffon had been here once before and was not entirely unfamiliar with it, but Betty and Bon Kurei clearly struggled with the temperature here.

Crocodile and the other two, likely accustomed to living in the desert year-round, felt little discomfort.

Before entering the Warden's office, everyone put on gas masks.

Inside the office, Magellan glanced at the three brought before him and asked with a stern expression, "Crocodile, I won't hold you accountable for the crimes you committed in Alabasta, but as for the details of the three of you clashing with Buffon, you'd better tell me everything without holding anything back!"

Hearing this, Crocodile replied with a defiant sneer, "There's no point in telling you. That fellow's strength is on par with an Admiral's. If he really breaks in here, relying on you alone, Magellan, you probably won't be able to stop him."

Magellan slammed his hand onto the desk in fury. "Do you think you're still that lofty Warlord? As a prisoner, you ought to know your place, or else endless torture awaits you down on Level 6."

Far from showing any fear at the threat, Crocodile burst into loud laughter. "You're nothing more than a dog of the World Government anyway. Once you're inside Impel Down, what difference is there between you and us prisoners..."

Crocodile's words clearly incensed Magellan. He stood up expressionlessly and ordered, "Take him down to Level 6 and have Sadi interrogate him thoroughly."

Hearing this, Bon Kurei stepped forward voluntarily to accept the assignment.

Bon Kurei still held affection for his former boss, and if everything went smoothly, he hoped to rescue Crocodile as well after finding Emporio Ivankov.

Leaving the Warden's office, the two did not take the elevator, instead using the stairs down to Level 5, the Freezing Hell.

Free from the surveillance of the Den Den Mushi visual screens, Bon Kurei revealed his identity to Crocodile right away.

"0 Boy, where are the others?"

Hearing a voice he hadn't heard in quite some time, Crocodile was deeply shocked.

He never expected that fellow Bon Kurei would have snuck in, which meant...

"Did Buffon come in too?" Crocodile asked with a grave expression.

Bon Kurei nodded. "To rescue Moria! 0 Boy, if things go smoothly, you're coming with us!"

To Bon Kurei's surprise, Crocodile actually refused. "Although that fellow's strength defies understanding, but..."

Before he could finish, a patrol squad of guards approached from the opposite direction, bringing their conversation to an abrupt halt.

Saruides appeared leading a squad of Blazian Blues. Spotting Crocodile, Saruides asked with a puzzled expression, "What on earth is Warden Magellan thinking, having you escort such a dangerous individual down to Level 6 all by yourself?"

Guided by Baggio along the way, Bon Kurei was well-prepared. Facing Saruides, he replied with utter confidence, "Chief Jailer, with you and the Blazian Blues leading the way, what is there for us to be afraid of?"

At the same time, he felt a private sense of bewilderment. According to Baggio, the Blazian Blues had previously always guarded Level 1; why were they appearing on Level 5 now? Could it be a deliberate deployment targeting Buffon?

The remark clearly pleased Saruides. He waved a hand and said, "Hurry on down then, Sadi and the others are already waiting below."

"Bon Kurei" nodded, and under Saruides's arrangement, two Blazian Blues accompanied the two of them down to Level 6.

Upon reaching Level 6, the sight that greeted Bon Kurei left him completely dumbfounded.

Not only were Blazian Blues filling his field of vision, but the jailer beasts Salome and Basilisk, who were normally stationed to guard Level 2, were also slithering right outside the entrance of Level 6.