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After Impel Down's senior managers came to their senses, they were all trembling with excitement.
As for what Graeme said, they weren't concerned about catching all the prisoners within a week.
Don't you see the Fleet Admiral here?
As long as they were willing to assist, it wouldn't be a big issue by then.
The most crucial thing was that if the Five Elders and the rest of the world remained unaware of today's events, Impel Down's reputation would be preserved.
No one would ever know that a pirate had escaped from it.
Impel Down is recognized globally as an "iron fortress," and the jailers who work there hold equal standing with other members of the institution.
Seeing their reactions, Graeme couldn't help but frown.
Magellan, who had been grinning foolishly, felt his heart skip a beat when he noticed this.
Bang bang bang!
Without a word, he stepped forward and smacked each of his men on the back of the head.
"Senior Graeme is waiting for a response. Are you all idiots?"
Magellan was furious. He had finally gotten the other party to agree, and if something went wrong now, he'd be livid.
The wardens snapped out of it, quickly nodding and pounding their chests as they promised:
"Don't worry, sir! No one outside of us will know about this."
"I'm the most tight-lipped person alive. Even if I'm drunk or asleep, I won't spill a word."
"Don't worry, sir. If anyone dares to leak anything, you won't have to lift a finger. I'll be the first to take care of him!"
"..."
Satisfied with this answer, Graeme nodded.
As for how long this matter would remain a secret, Graeme didn't really care, as long as it wasn't exposed immediately.
After all, in two or three years, if nothing unexpected happened, he would have to leave this world and truly become a dead man.
Even if the Five Elders found out the truth and wanted to come after him, they'd have to search for him in the underworld.
The only thing that mattered was making sure there were no problems within these three years.
"Fleet Admiral Akira, don't forget what you promised me," Graeme finally said to Akira, a clear flash of greed visible in his eyes.
Without further delay, he led his group toward the exit and quickly disappeared.
His parting words had their effect. At least, all the senior Impel Down managers present, including Magellan, realized that they must have paid a hefty price to get the CP0 to cover this up.
A price so high that even the CP0 captain was tempted.
At this moment, everyone looked at Akira with deep gratitude, as if he were their savior.
With a light smile, Akira spoke up:
"Alright, CP has agreed. Now, how will the Marines assist you next?"
He deliberately phrased it as "you" instead of just addressing Magellan, emphasizing the involvement of the entire Impel Down team.
Sometimes, the smallest details can make a huge difference.
"Fleet Admiral Akira, please come inside to discuss further," Magellan immediately responded, stepping forward to lead the way.
The wardens quickly made room and followed the two into the office.
The door closed behind them, sealing off the conversation.
"Please take a seat, Fleet Admiral Akira," Magellan said, now acting more like a junior.
He dutifully pulled out a chair for Akira, and once Akira sat down, Magellan eagerly fetched a fine bottle of wine from his collection.
After pouring a large glass for Akira, Magellan finally dared to sit across from him.
"Fleet Admiral Akira, Sakazuki should have already briefed you on the details, so I won't waste time repeating them... sigh..." Magellan began.
"Although most of the prisoners who escaped this morning were recaptured during our operation, over twenty still managed to get away.
"And those twenty or so are all notorious pirates from Eternal Hell."
At this point, Magellan looked visibly uncomfortable.
It had taken the Marines a tremendous amount of time and effort to capture these powerful pirates.
Now, they had slipped through their fingers.
If it weren't for the urgency of the situation, Magellan would have been too embarrassed to face Akira.
"More than twenty notorious pirates escaped?" Akira frowned, surprised by the number.
In the original story, he recalled that Shiki was the only one who successfully broke out of prison.
He hadn't expected the situation to escalate like this.
"Do you know who they are?" Akira asked.
"We've completed the inventory and recorded the details of the escaped pirates," Magellan replied without hesitation, nodding as he signaled to the side.
A warden stepped forward, carrying a stack of documents in his arms.
Magellan took the papers and handed them over to Akira.
Akira immediately began reading.
The office fell silent, with only the sound of pages turning.
After a while, Akira finally finished reviewing the document and took a deep breath.
"This is going to be difficult to deal with," he said to everyone in the room.
Aside from Shiki and some prisoners whose names he didn't recognize, the most notable escapees included Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, and other remnants of the Roger Pirates who had recently been imprisoned.
These were not people to be taken lightly.
If they made a name for themselves again on the seas, Graeme wouldn't be able to keep the incident under wraps, no matter how hard he tried.
"Forgive me, Fleet Admiral Akira..." Magellan apologized, lowering his head in shame.
Magellan immediately stood up after hearing Akira's words, bent down, and bowed deeply, saying with great sincerity: "I know this is a heavy burden for you, but we have no choice but to ask for your help."
He bent at a full 90-degree angle.
Behind him, Hannyabal and the wardens quickly followed suit, bowing together.
Akira's fingers twitched slightly, but he didn't hesitate.
He quickly stepped forward and helped them up: "Don't worry too much. Although this is a tough situation, it's not impossible to handle."
"They likely haven't escaped too far yet. We just need to focus on capturing the most notorious and recognizable pirates first.
"As for the others, even if they cause some trouble, they won't be immediately linked back to Impel Down."
For anyone else, or even a major organization, capturing all the escaped pirates in such a short time, and without causing a huge stir, would be impossible.
But Akira knew he could handle it.
First off, his strength was at an emperor's level.
If he took action personally, he could capture even someone like Rayleigh within half a day—none of this ten-day-long battle nonsense.
An emperor-level figure could easily overpower a pirate of Rayleigh's rank.
Secondly, Akira's Devil Fruit ability gave him the speed to quickly track down the scattered pirates.
For example, if he deployed a clone of Bartholomew Kuma, he could warp straight to Shiki's location with a simple "push" and catch up with him the same day.
So while it would take effort and time, Akira was fully capable of getting the job done.
Now, the only question was:
"Where exactly are all the escaped pirates now?" Akira muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Are they scattering in different directions, or sticking together?"