"Interesting. Really interesting."
Shiryu's tone carried both self-mockery and scorn. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that a prisoner from Level 1 would dare raise a blade against him—even if this one had some skill.
"Hah, don't die too quickly. That would be boring."
A slow exhale of smoke. The moment his words fell, Raikiri left its sheath. A slash, cold as moonlight, flashed without warning—aimed straight at Katie.
"Heh. Is that all?"
Katie's response was even more arrogant. She didn't even spare Shiryu a proper glance.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent a flying slash in return—then vanished.
Shiryu disappeared a second later.
What followed stunned every conscious prisoner watching.
In an instant, razor-sharp sword slashes filled the air, carving deep fissures into the unyielding stone floor.
At the same time, the battle was being broadcast via Den Den Mushi to the Level 4 control room—where an eerie silence had fallen.
"H-How is he this strong?!"
Even without being there, the footage alone was proof enough. The man fighting Katie was none other than Shiryu of the Rain, their former chief jailer and the undisputed strongest swordsman in Impel Down. No one had ever lasted more than a single exchange against him.
Yet here was this kid—Katie—holding his own without faltering. Only now did they realize how badly they'd misjudged him. A prisoner who should've been in Level *6* had been locked up in Level 1.
"W-Warden… shouldn't you intervene?"
As a swordsman himself, Hannyabal understood better than anyone just how monstrous these two were. At this point, the only person in Impel Down capable of stepping into this battle was Magellan.
His question steadied the panicking staff. All eyes turned to the warden.
"No need to worry. I released Shiryu specifically to deal with Katie. This way, I can focus on handling the other levels."
Magellan's answer left them speechless. They bore no small responsibility for this mess. Had they properly assessed Katie's strength and locked him up accordingly, none of this would've happened.
"Enough standing around. Katie isn't our immediate concern. Focus on recapturing Buggy, Mr. 2, and Mr. 3! And why the hell has that Straw Hat brat disappeared from Level 5 already?!"
Magellan's calm shattered. He was furious. How could his subordinates fail so spectacularly at their jobs? Prisoners kept escaping right under their noses. Since when had Impel Down become so weak? It was practically a backyard playground now—come and go as you please.
As warden, he would not tolerate this.
"Hannyabal, you handle the first three levels. I'll take the rest. Don't disappoint me again."
With that, Magellan stormed off. Time was critical—Ace's execution was imminent. The Marines would soon arrive to collect him, and Impel Down had to be back under control by then.
"Yes, Warden!"
No one dared slack off now—even the usually unreliable Hannyabal wore a rare look of determination as he organized the manhunt. Still, he left a few men behind to monitor the Level 6 battle, waiting for its outcome.
Katie deflected a slash, but before she could recover, another—stronger—one followed. No time to counter. She twisted midair, barely dodging the lethal strike.
"What's wrong? Already tired?"
Shiryu, now in control of the fight, wasn't in a hurry to kill her. Doing so now would only backfire.
He knew better. Katie's survival was his ticket to freedom. Until the right moment came, she couldn't die. In fact, he might even need her help to escape.
"Please. That was just a warm-up."
Despite her words, Katie wasn't relaxed. Only by crossing blades with Shiryu did she grasp his true strength.
A few minutes of battle had drained her stamina. The shockwaves from his attacks had numbed her right hand—her grip on Pókong nearly failing.
Her Xuan-level physique meant nothing against him. Shiryu outclassed her in almost every way. She had no doubt—this man had the strength of a Yonko Commander.
Katie had a theory: Master-level was the dividing line.
Vice Admirals likely sat at Master-level, while those who surpassed it stood at the world's peak—Admirals, Yonko, and their right-hand men. Perhaps that was why the system capped skills at Master-level—to keep her within Vice Admiral-tier strength.
But that wasn't the worst part.
To break past Master-level, she'd tried using skill points to upgrade her Armament Haki.
The result? Not enough points.
Breaking through from *Master-level Lv. 10* to *Transcendent-level Lv. 1* required 10 skill points—meaning 100,000 exchange points for just one. The sheer gap made further upgrades impossible.
She didn't have enough resources.
But that didn't mean she was helpless.
The Splitting skill she'd gained from Buggy, though only Proficient-level, wasn't something to underestimate.
Unlike earlier fights, she'd held back from using it—waiting for the perfect opening.
Katie knew Shiryu wouldn't kill her yet. His release was temporary. The moment she was captured, Magellan would turn on him.
So despite appearances, she wasn't in real danger. Shiryu wouldn't go for the kill—not yet.
And that gave her a chance to win.