Chapter 19 : Divergence!!!

Buggy's Sleep Was Three Days and Three Nights

When Buggy woke up, he found himself lying on a stone bed, dressed in an elaborate outfit.

Next to him, Mr. 3 was in a coma on another bed, looking quite pale.

"You're finally awake! Wait, I'll get Lord Ivan right away!" 

A caretaker in the room, noticing Buggy's awakening, quickly announced this and hurried out.

Buggy ignored the caretaker, sat up, and got out of bed.

As he twisted his neck and stretched his muscles, Buggy's joints cracked and popped like beans cooking in a pot. 

Though he didn't have exact measurements, Buggy could feel that his body was several times stronger than before. 

It seemed that Saitama's incredible strength was not only due to daily training but also the constant battles with monsters, which accelerated his potential growth. Intense battles could quickly unlock one's potential.

Just as Buggy was getting used to his newfound strength, Ivankov and Inazuma entered the room one after the other.

Buggy looked at them and said sincerely, "Thank you!"

Although Buggy might not have died without Ivankov and Inazuma's help, recovering so quickly would have been nearly impossible. 

Time was crucial for Buggy right now, and he owed Ivankov a debt of gratitude.

Ivankov waved dismissively and said, "No need to be so formal. It's not our doing that you survived; you saved yourself!"

"As for the food, it's a small matter. We've been scraping by on supplies from the warehouse of New Human Paradise, which Ivankov has been pilfering from the Impel Down's reserves over the years."

To avoid detection by the Impel Down guards, they had to take only a small amount at a time.

If Buggy wanted to live as comfortably as before, it would take a long time to rebuild the stockpile.

Buggy was slightly speechless. While Ivankov downplayed the effort, the implication was clear—they had sacrificed a lot to save him.

It was somewhat contradictory, but Buggy wasn't fooled. Ivankov likely wanted him to acknowledge this.

After a moment's thought, Buggy responded, "In any case, I owe you a favor now. If you ever need my help in the future, just ask."

Ivankov grinned, "Hee hee, Buggy boy, you're really generous!"

Inazuma then spoke up, "Actually, we don't need your help, but there are some things I'm still trying to understand."

"Confused questions?" Buggy was momentarily stunned, then pointed at himself and asked, "About me?" 

Inazuma nodded and said, "Yes, for example, what is your purpose in causing such a commotion this time? Shouldn't you be heading towards the jailbreak? Why are you going all the way down?"

Ivankov and the others had previously stolen some playback equipment and secretly connected it to the city's surveillance footage. So, they were able to see what Buggy was doing outside!

Buggy smiled and explained, "You're overthinking this. My purpose is very simple—it's to break out of prison!" He added, "This time, the prison break was accidental, and my hidden abilities were revealed, so I had to carry out the escape unprepared!"

Ivankov asked suspiciously, "Since it's a jailbreak, why are you going down? As far as I know, the prisoners on the underground levels have already reached the ground floor without you. If you were there, you might have been able to escape!"

Buggy shrugged and explained, "Even if we escape from Impel Down, we'd only be moving from one cage to a bigger cage. The sea outside is a vast, windless zone! So, even if we escape from Impel Down, we'd just be trading a small cage for a large one, and we'd be left waiting in vain!"

"And once the guards at Impel Down respond and block us on the ground floor, we'd truly have no way out!"

Hearing this, Inazuma nodded in agreement, "Indeed, escaping without a ship is pointless!"

"And even if you had a regular ship, it would only take you to the Navy Headquarters or Justice Island, following the Navy's designated routes. And that's assuming the Sea Prison's gates are open!"

"To cross the windless zone, you'd need a special warship from the Navy Headquarters!"

Ivankov asked again, "Then why are you going down?"

"To gather enough allies, of course!" Buggy explained, "The prisoners on the lower levels of Impel Down are not strong enough! The prisoners on the second and third levels are demoralized! With Magellan in charge of the fourth basement, he won't make any major moves! The environment on the fifth basement floor is so harsh that we don't even know how many prisoners are still alive!"

"Only by releasing the prisoners from the sixth layer of Infinite Hell will we have a chance to seize Impel Down and escape from here!"

Both Ivankov and Inazuma were taken aback by Buggy's audacious plan. 

You should know that the prisoners held in the six underground levels of Impel Down are some of the most notorious and dangerous pirates from the seas, each with bounties exceeding 100 million berries! 

In fact, the sixth level houses the legendary figures such as the Douglas Bullet, Catarina Devon, Patrick Redfield and others! 

The value of the prisoners confined in these six levels is unmistakable. 

If these individuals were ever to return to the seas, the world would undoubtedly be thrown into turmoil! 

Realizing this, Ivankov's expression turned grave. "Buggy, do you truly understand what you're proposing? Do you have any idea what those prisoners on the sixth level represent?"

Buggy, with a confident smile, nodded. "Of course, I do!"

Seeing Buggy's nonchalant attitude, Ivankov's frown deepened. "You don't understand! The prisoners on the sixth level are agents of chaos and disaster! If they escape, the entire world will face severe consequences!"

"Is this what you really want—to throw the entire world into chaos just so you can escape?"

Ivankov clenched his fists, suddenly regretting having saved Buggy. Despite being a prisoner himself and opposing the World Government, Ivankov had his own moral boundaries. He would never allow the world to suffer due to selfish motives.

Similarly, he could not stand by and watch others cause such chaos. If Buggy insisted on pursuing this reckless path, Ivankov could not guarantee he wouldn't be compelled to intervene.

**********

Support me on my patreon and read upto 15 early chapters.

patreon.com/PirateKing24