Chapter 5: Chapter Five: Some Changes on the Timeline

"I'm on the second level, with Buggy and Mr. 3."

Su Lin sent a message through the private chat interface.

"I'm coming to meet up with you and Jinbe right away!"

What followed was an uneventful journey following Buggy and Mr. 3 to rejoin the Straw Hats.

The number of imprisoned inmates was vast; once freed, the beastly wardens were utterly useless.

Su Lin moved with the crowd, heading toward Buggy and the others ahead.

A magical artifact, automatically hidden and protective, orbited beside him; it had generated the barrier that blocked several pirates attempting to steal his clothes.

Su Lin easily knocked out those foolish pirates—let them stay in Impel Down as punishment.

He wasn’t ready for all this killing and fighting.

"Where’s Magellan?" Su Lin already guessed the answer.

"I knocked him flying," Luffy grinned confidently.

No wonder Ivankov and Scissors are both here.

Judging by Ivankov’s expression, he still hadn’t recovered from Luffy’s power-up—meaning Magellan’s Devil Fruit couldn’t replicate it now.

【Library Series - Ability Log】Most abilities used by those present have now been recorded and stored. Thanks to Old Man Sand for using his ability even while fleeing—at least now I can achieve elementization.

By the way, can the stored books be destroyed?

In his spiritual world, Su Lin abandoned the idea of tearing out Ivankov’s ability. Whatever—it’s not a transgender ability, just someone used it to become transgender. Hmm, the ability itself is innocent, the ability itself is innocent.

That big-headed guy was truly an eyesore.

He picked up the book related to the Sand-Sand Fruit, ready to flip it and switch abilities—why not use it now?

Joke’s on you—he didn’t want to draw Crocodile’s attention.

"Straw Hat Boy, is this strange-looking Boy your friend?"

"Yes, his name is Su Lin—he’s the one who brought me and Jinbe here."

"You and Jinbe?"

"Ivankov-sama, we’ll discuss this later," Jinbe said as he ran, handing Su Lin a pocket watch. "It just fell out and nearly dropped—I was lucky to catch it, haha."

"It just fell out and almost slipped away—thankfully Jinbe caught it, haha!" Luffy laughed.

Su Lin’s hand trembled as he took the watch, suddenly gripped by dread.

"Do you have any idea that without this watch, we can’t go back?!"

"Huh? Really? So it’s that important?!" Luffy’s eyes widened—whether from the Nika Fruit’s aftereffects, who knew.

A bead of sweat formed on Jinbe’s forehead—not from exhaustion, but from being terrified by his own captain.

Just now, when Luffy used Gear Fourth and Armament Haki to leap into the air and knock Magellan flying, this thing fell from midair—if Jinbe hadn’t caught it in time...

Ivankov and the others nearby were utterly bewildered.

"Mr. 2!"

Su Lin quietly stored the pocket watch in his item space. How long had he been in this pirate world? These shocks surpassed everything he’d faced in his entire life: "Mr. 2!"

"You called me~?" Franky spun over to Su Lin’s side.

"We split up: Jinbe joins the main group to seize the warships. I and Luffy will assist Mr. 2 in impersonating Magellan to reach the Level 1 power room and have the prison guards open the Gate of Justice."

"Who the hell are you? You’ve been standing there since the start—I never saw you before. Why should I follow your orders?" Buggy’s head floated forward.

"What do you think of my plan, Lord Buggy?"

"Uhh... yeah, actually, that’s pretty smart. Fine, go open that Justice Gate." Buggy’s body reassembled and floated upward. "Men! Follow me—we’re seizing Marine warships and escaping this place!"

"Yes! Our savior, Buggy!"

So easy to fool. Everyone thought to themselves.

Mr. 2, disguised as Magellan, carried Luffy and Su Lin to the power room and successfully tricked the guards into opening the Power Gate.

"Let’s go then," Luffy clapped his hands.

All surrounding guards had been knocked out. Su Lin hadn’t directly fought—he’d only used Sand Eyes to destroy their communication devices, preventing any leaks.

He then switched to the Surgery Fruit’s ability.

"Room."

The three arrived at the warship via instant teleportation. With no pressure from Magellan, Jinbe didn’t summon his close friend, the Sea King, to help—instead, they boarded like passengers on a cruise liner, orderly and calm.

"Franky—"

After boarding, Luffy hugged Mr. 2, laughing and crying.

"What’s with this? Luffy Boy, I know you’re happy we escaped, but you don’t need to cry like this!"

"Thank you, Franky," Jinbe placed a hand on Mr. 2’s shoulder solemnly. "By the way, Su Lin-sama, thank you as well for giving us this chance—history itself will change now."

"I have my own goals too—no need to thank me," Su Lin smiled, waving his hand. "Change... for different people, is it good or bad?"

In the ruins of Level 3, Magellan’s finger twitched. "Straw Hat... how did he get this strong? Haki..."

"Haki wrapped around his fist—he didn’t even touch me..."

In the ruins, Magellan, slowly recovering, recalled the scene: he’d been fighting Ivankov, when suddenly Straw Hat and former Warlord Jinbe appeared.

His aura and power—he’d become someone entirely different.

Caught off-guard by that form of Straw Hat, he’d briefly passed out. Had he been hiding his strength from the start? No—absolutely not.

He carefully reviewed Straw Hat’s entire behavior—too many mysteries remained, but now wasn’t the time to ponder them.

His senses had mostly returned.

Now was no time to rest—he must stop the criminals from escaping.

"Huh?!" Magellan’s pupils shrank—the sight through the rubble’s cracks made him angrier than being knocked down by Straw Hat: "Shiryu! You bastard!"

The group Blackbeard had knocked out on Level 4 had teamed up with former Chief Warden Shiryu, walking past the ruins.

"Big Barrel, Evil Emperor, Giant Warship, and the Crescent Moon Hunter."

"Heh heh heh. What a mess," Blackbeard stared at the ruins ahead. "Looks like someone had a big fight with Magellan here."

Buggy slammed his fists together, laughing arrogantly. "I’d love to fight that guy!"

"But by now, he’s probably already been taken care of by Magellan," Shiryu drew on his cigarette, exhaling a smoke ring. "Bad timing—I really wanted to slit the warden’s throat myself."

The group chatted and laughed, strolling calmly toward the path to Level 2, utterly unaware that purple-black liquid was slowly seeping from the ruins behind them.