"Who?"
Hearing the voice, the pirates quickly stood up and turned to look at the newcomer.
When they saw Mio standing there alone, they were momentarily stunned.
But one of the pirates soon sneered. "Boy, what do you want?"
"Ah, nothing much." Mio scratched his head, spread his hands, and shrugged. "I just want to ask, is there anyone among you with an ability?"
"Why do you want to know that?" another pirate asked warily, his expression changing.
A harmless smile appeared on Mio's face. "I just thought if there are any ability users, I might follow them. It could help me survive here."
The pirates looked at each other before one of them suddenly laughed. "Hahaha! Kid, I'm a Devil Fruit user—Animal-type, Sparrowhawk Fruit!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the pirate's arms stretched, and his form began to change. His body transformed into a humanoid eagle, wings spread wide, exuding a fierce and oppressive aura.
Mio narrowed his eyes, watching with a glint of excitement. "Animal-type… Not bad at all. A sparrowhawk, huh?"
"What are you mumbling about?" the transformed pirate growled, unable to catch Mio's words clearly.
Mio scratched the back of his head again. "Nothing. I just thought, even if Zoan-types aren't as impressive as Paramecia or Logia, they're still valuable harvests."
"Harvest?"
Before the pirate could fully question what Mio meant, his figure vanished.
In the next instant, Mio appeared right beside him.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Buzz…
A scorching heat exploded as flames wrapped around Mio's fist, enhanced by Armament Haki. The heat surged, and his flaming fist crashed down with unstoppable force.
Boom!
The punch connected with the pirate's forehead, driving his head into the icy ground. Blood splattered across the white snow, turning it crimson.
With a single blow, the pirate was killed.
"Congratulations on collecting the 'Pirate (Sparrowhawk Fruit)' gene!"
All of this happened in just a few seconds.
A once-feared ability user now lay dead beneath Mio's bloodstained fist.
"H-Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" a nearby pirate stammered, eyes wide with fear.
That ability user had been their best shot at surviving in this frozen hell. Without strong fighters, survival was nearly impossible in the harsh climate and constant infighting.
"Quiet." Mio flicked the blood off his hand and raised his gaze.
His cold stare sent a shiver through the trembling pirate, silencing him immediately.
Mio casually pointed in one direction. "Head that way. There's a group of old legends waiting for you. If you want to leave Impel Down alive, you better take this opportunity. There won't be another."
With those words, Mio activated his Observation Haki, his senses sweeping out to cover a kilometer radius. His eyes flickered as he turned his head slightly, and with a step, his figure disappeared into the wind.
Whoosh—
The frigid wind howled through the prison.
Minutes later, the remaining pirates finally snapped out of their daze, staring at the body half-buried in the snow, head crushed.
The corpse was cold—but their hearts were colder.
They exchanged looks and then recalled Mio's parting words. A sudden surge of hope ignited in their chests.
"He said… we have a chance to escape from here?"
"Yeah. That's what it sounded like."
"Was he lying?"
"Should we… check it out?"
"Let's go!"
After a brief hesitation, the pirates moved quickly in the direction Mio had indicated.
Similar scenes played out across the Fifth Floor of the Extreme Cold Hell.
Mio kept appearing in different areas. Every time he showed up, either more pirates joined Red Earl's group—or someone died.
But Mio's gains were undeniable.
"Congratulations on collecting the 'Pirate (Tiger Fruit)' gene!"
"Congratulations on collecting the 'Pirate (Buffalo Fruit)' gene!"
"Congratulations on collecting the 'Pirate (Rattlesnake Fruit)' gene!"
"Congratulations on collecting the 'Pirate (Blade Fruit)' gene!"
Four new genes.
It wasn't a large number, but Mio was satisfied.
After all, these represented four Devil Fruits. In Impel Down, while many pirates possessed abilities, finding them was difficult and time-consuming. Mio couldn't afford to waste most of his time searching.
During the actual breakout, he would undoubtedly run into many more ability users—and then, he'd harvest them all with ease.
After acquiring those four genes, Mio returned to the original location.
By this time, hundreds of pirates had already gathered. The area was densely packed. Each of these pirates had bounties exceeding 100 million berries. Many were infamous monsters—commanders, captains, warlords.
A truly terrifying force.
New arrivals glanced toward the center and gasped when they recognized the people seated there.
"That… that's the Red Earl, right? The guy who rivaled Roger and Whitebeard in their prime!"
"And that one—Barrett! He was part of Roger's crew! They say he was as powerful as Dark King Rayleigh!"
"Holy crap… That massive guy—is that San Juan Wolf?! The legendary giant battleship from decades ago?!"
"Insane… All those guys are monsters. I've only heard of them in stories, and now I'm standing in the same room as them."
Excitement filled the air.
They were in the presence of legends.
Not only had they seen them in person, but soon, they'd break out of Impel Down with them. The thought sent adrenaline rushing through their veins.
Then—
Whoosh!
Mio appeared.
Seeing him return, the Red Earl and the others stood up and turned to face him.
Barrett spoke up. "Are we ready?"
"Yeah, just about." Mio glanced over the crowd of elite pirates from the fifth level and gave a satisfied nod. "Let's move. The next step… is the Fourth Layer."
"Hmph, the Fourth Layer…" Red Earl narrowed his eyes slightly. "Once we reach there, Magellan will definitely notice."
"It's fine," a muscular pirate cracked his neck. "We've bought enough time. From here on, it's a straight push upward—freeing every layer along the way."
"True," Mio chuckled. "But we still need to be cautious. The moment we hit the Fourth Floor, the Navy will definitely start sending reinforcements."