Chapter 495: Schemes Above the Impel Down Sky

“Heh, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”

“Blackbeard, that was a clever move just now. But who’s really the mantis, and who’s the oriole?”

High up on a drifting white cloud, Karl sat on his golden throne, gazing down at the scene below.

Not long after Luffy and the others snuck into Impel Down, Karl’s fleet arrived in these skies. Seeing what was happening on the ground, Karl ordered the main force to push ahead, making sure the battlefield was set up. He himself paused above the prison, keeping his children by his side.

“Father, are we going to wait here for a while?”

Perospero stepped forward and asked politely.

Their top priority was the World Government, then the Navy. Wasn’t waiting here a bit of a waste of time?

All of Karl’s sons and daughters stood quietly on either side of him, silently awaiting his command.

“Ma ma ma ma, Karl, I sense a huge concentration of powerful people right below us.”

Charlotte Linlin, seated to Karl’s right, had already awakened the power of her Soul-Soul Fruit, allowing her to freely toy with the souls of those weaker than her.

She could alter a person at their very core—implanting foreign memories, or even twisting a human into a half-beast. It was a terrifying ability.

No wonder she could sense the powerful figures deep down on the seventh floor.

“Ah, those old-timers locked up on the seventh floor… They’re probably the last people the World Government wants to see again.”

“If we bring them into the fight, we’ll definitely add some weight to the upcoming war. But… now’s still not the time to make a move.”

Karl waited above like a patient hunter, calm and still, determined to seize the perfect moment. For him, the plan had to be flawless—no room for mistakes.

“Right, those kids who already formed their own pirate crews can go wait outside Marineford. Once the sea starts to freeze over, they’ll attack the Navy under the banner of pirates.”

Karl thought it over, then gave Perospero his instructions.

“Understood, Father!”

Perospero nodded, then passed the order to Lufas-Ye Fan, Lufas-Wang Teng, and the others.

Their strength only matched that of fake admirals—hardly enough for the top-tier battle ahead. Rather than risk mishaps, Karl decided to let them stir things up at the Navy’s side, muddying the waters.

Soon, a dozen or so children, led by Ye Fan, stepped forward and bowed. “Father, we’re heading out now.”

“Be careful. Who knows what backup the Navy’s still hiding.”

Karl had no illusions about the Navy’s resourcefulness. After years under pressure from the World Government and Karl’s Pirate Crew, there was no way they didn’t have some tricks left up their sleeve—especially with Sengoku as their fleet admiral.

“Don’t worry, Father. We’ll watch our backs.”

Karl watched as Ye Fan and the others set off, using a Balloon Octopus to lower their ship to the sea and sail toward Navy Headquarters.

“Dark Vortex!”

With his signature penguin-like swagger, Blackbeard Teach reached the main gate and unleashed his attack, sending the panicked guards flying.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

In a few sharp bursts, the dozen or so guards at the gate all collapsed, dead.

“Zehahaha! Boys, move out!”

Teach stood at the main gate, watching Hannyabal and Usopp battle at sea before bursting out with mad laughter. Then, paying no mind to anyone, he strode confidently into the depths of Impel Down.

High above, Karl wasn’t about to let Teach have all the fun. He patted Charlotte Linlin’s shoulder with his left hand.

“I’m going down—might run into some old friends.”

“Go ahead!”

Karl’s body distorted, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight—as if erased from existence by some mysterious power. This was among the Daoist techniques he’d mastered from the Elder Heavenly Master: Boundless Step.

Wherever his eyes landed, he could follow his will and instantly traverse space itself.

Charlotte Linlin glanced down at Impel Down, then further off toward Navy Headquarters. “A lot of people must be looking forward to this fight. Ma ma ma ma!”

“Rayleigh, is something wrong?”

Nami noticed Rayleigh staring intently at the sky, unable to hold back her curiosity.

They had no clue how strong Rayleigh really was, but even Luffy and Zoro together couldn’t beat him—he was without a doubt the toughest person they’d met since setting out to sea.

Why was someone like him fixated on the heavens? Was there someone up there watching over them?

“Haha, it’s nothing. Just getting old, that’s all.” Rayleigh tore his gaze from the sky and looked over at Usopp at the bow. “Take your time with the fight. Just keep him busy, don’t show off too much. If you go all out, we’ll end up drawing the Navy’s attention.”

“Got it, Uncle Rayleigh.”

Usopp kept firing his sniper rifle at Hannyabal in the distance. Meanwhile, Johnny and Yosaku manned the cannons, trading shots with Hannyabal as their ship circled the fortress.

…

“Who are you? How did you suddenly appear here?”

Karl’s sudden appearance caught Molly off guard.

Molly had been sitting at the edge of a massive round hole, deep in thought about Ye Fan’s background and motives—when, out of nowhere, Karl showed up.

“Think a little harder. There’s no way you’ve forgotten me.”

Karl had met Molly before, and her Devil Fruit was especially valuable. The first time they crossed paths was back on Cake Island in the Sweets Sea.

He’d brought Molly in to help, using the fishmen’s support to lay massive underwater pipelines connecting all fifty-six islands; her Push-Push Fruit had been key to the whole operation.

Thanks to those sprawling tunnels, Karl’s reinforcements always arrived quickly throughout the New World, moving troops to every island in his territory.

It was all part of a greater plan—to hide the existence of Skypiea, and keep the World Government and Navy in the dark. Hence, these contingency measures.

“Hey, boy, lunch time!”

Ivankov strode over with a broad grin, but as he turned the corner and saw Karl—all eight meters of him—goosebumps shot up and his pupils went wide.

“Th-The Emperor Karl?”

There was no way Ivankov could’ve predicted Karl’s arrival. He’d stationed people at every entrance, so how did Karl slip through unnoticed?

So this was the level of secrecy the New World’s Four Emperors operated on.

Still in shock, Ivankov instantly remembered Karl’s other identity: one of the leaders of the Revolutionary Army, the founder of Red Thought, the guiding light of socialism. Most of the era’s radical ideas came from Karl—he was, in every sense, the Revolutionary Army’s political mentor.

“Surprised to see me?”

Ivankov had completely wasted his Devil Fruit’s potential. If he’d dug deeper into biology or genetics, his strength would’ve been leagues ahead by now.