The pillar of lightning stood like a massive column holding up the heavens, giving off a terrifying, blinding glare.
The pure white light lit up the entire prison block as bright as day, leaving absolutely no shadows to hide in under its intense heat.
Deafening thunder roared like beating war drums, shaking the earth violently.
The prison guards charging toward the cell did not even have time to scream before they were instantly roasted to dust by the lightning.
Their bodies turned as black as coal under the blinding light, filling the air with a sharp, disgusting smell of burnt flesh.
"BOOM——!!!"
The lightning pillar struck perfectly on the empty ground right in front of Ace's cell.
The massive impact caused the heavy stone floor to crack apart, kicking up a thick cloud of dust instantly.
As the dust slowly settled, nothing but a massive, blackened crater remained, the edges of the rock still bubbling with melted iron.
Enel landed as lightly as a feather right in front of the cell. His pure white robes were completely spotless despite the chaos and destruction around him, making him stand out sharply against the blackened prison.
Without even giving a second look at the guards he had just turned to charcoal, Enel stepped right over them and walked straight toward the unconscious Ace.
"What a pathetic state you are in, Fire Fist."
Enel shook his head slowly as he took in Ace's brutal injuries.
He casually commanded one of the twitching, charred bodies to bring him the key to the Seastone cuffs, his eyes completely empty of any pity.
After unlocking the heavy cuffs, Enel lazily waved a hand, letting a spark of lightning finish off the dying guard.
Freed from the chains, Ace's body slumped forward.
Enel caught him easily with one hand, feeling his weak, shallow breathing.
He scoffed coldly, "You're lucky to be alive."
Just as Enel prepared to turn into a flash of lightning and fly away—
In that split second before he moved, his eyebrows suddenly shot up.
His pupils shrank slightly as his Mantra picked up a completely unexpected presence nearby.
It was none other than Who's-Who, the Tobi Roppo who had recently won the tournament in the Eternal Divine Kingdom's Colosseum.
Suddenly, his body appeared out of thin air in the very next cell over—stepping out of the shadows like a ghost and totally shattering the quiet air of the prison block.
"Oh? Interesting..." A playful, arrogant smirk slowly curled on Enel's lips, showing a spark of curiosity toward this totally unexpected plot twist.
Carefully holding the unconscious Ace, his body instantly vanished into crackling blue lightning.
Hiding inside the flashing sparks, he silently floated in mid-air near the ceiling like an invisible ghost, calmly watching the scene play out below him.
...
Who's-Who had appeared in the neighboring cell, standing right in front of a very strange-looking creature.
The creature's skin was a creepy shade of green, covered in dry, wrinkly skin.
Its long, sharp beak stuck out like a bird's, making it look both fierce and incredibly weird.
Heavy chains wrapped tightly around its wrists, the Seastone shining with a cold glare under the weak prison lights.
"Who... who are you?" the green creature stuttered with fear and confusion, opening its eyes wide to try and recognize the mysterious visitor.
"Quiet... I'm here to rescue you," Who's-Who answered in a hushed, rough whisper, clearly terrified of alerting the guards outside.
While speaking, he carefully checked his surroundings, his eyes darting around to scan for any threats.
With a quick flick of his fingers, sharp blades shot out from his fingertips, completely wrapped in thick, advanced Armament Haki.
With a gentle swing of his wrist, a sharp snap echoed through the cell—the seemingly unbreakable Seastone chains were sliced apart as easily as wet paper.
The green creature stared in total shock, pure disbelief flooding its eyes.
Finally recognizing who had just saved it, its mind reeled. "You... aren't you an officer for the Beasts Pirates? Why would—"
"Enough!" Who's-Who cut him off harshly, a flash of deep panic and impatience in his eyes. "Yamato sent me. We are both dead meat if we get caught!"
His tone was panicked and rushed—time was running out, and he could not afford to waste a single second.
Enel narrowed his eyes as he floated near the ceiling. His long fingers gently stroked his chin as he dropped into deep thought.
He had briefly learned about the history of the Land of Wano from the others, but the scene playing out right in front of him was way too weird to make sense of.
As a member of the Beasts Pirates, Who's-Who should be totally loyal to the Yonko Kaido, acting like an unbreakable pawn.
So why in the world was he down here helping one of the Nine Red Scabbards escape?
"A traitor? A spy?" Enel mumbled softly, his voice low but full of curiosity.
The crackling lightning around him flickered perfectly in time with his racing thoughts.
Yet, after only a brief second, he quickly put his arrogant smirk back on his face, acting as if he was in total control of the entire world.
"Hmph... Let's see what kind of tricks you can pull," Enel muttered under his breath.
Who's-Who broke through the front of the prison cell with the green creature right behind him.
Carefully dodging the normal patrol routes, they sprinted toward the exit of Udon Prison.
Who's-Who's movements were clean and perfect, clearly showing that he had memorized the entire layout of the prison.
He made absolutely no noise, keeping them as quiet as ghosts.
Enel hovered in mid-air, a flash of pure mockery in his eyes.
He could clearly sense a massive number of guards rushing toward this block from all directions—the explosion caused by his "El Thor" earlier had been way too loud to ignore.
"Hah... This is getting lively," he chuckled, rubbing his chin with total interest as he watched the chaos unfolding below.
Just as Who's-Who and Kawamatsu burst out of the cell block, a fully armed squad of guards happened to round the corner right in front of them.
The lead Guard Captain's eyes widened in pure shock, and the torch in his hand clattered to the stone floor.
"Light Calamity... W-Who's-Who, sir?! What are you... breaking someone out of prison?!" His voice twisted with total disbelief.
To make things infinitely worse, right behind the two escapees sat Ace's empty cell.
The heavy Seastone chains had been sliced clean through, still swinging gently on the floor and clinking loudly in the quiet hall.
"..." Who's-Who's face darkened instantly, but it was already way too late.
"Report to Queen, right now!" the Guard Captain screamed like a madman. "Who's-Who has taken Kawamatsu! And... and he freed Fire Fist Ace! Could it be... could it be that you brought the Whitebeard Pirates here today?!"
A group of lower-ranking guards stared at Who's-Who in absolute terror, cautiously asking:
"Light Calamity, sir... have you really turned traitor???"