"Ad—Add—"
The word "add" was stammered repeatedly, but the following "oil" never came.
The moment Mr. 2 entered the room, he spotted Magellan unconscious on the floor. The sudden sight nearly scared him to death—he hadn't been prepared for it at all. Only then did he realize something was terribly wrong; Magellan was completely knocked out.
Seeing this, Mr. 2 fell silent. Though he didn't recognize the other three people in the room, he could sense the overwhelming aura radiating from them. Clearly, they were not people he could afford to provoke.
"I'm Katie. Not sure if you've heard of me from Luffy."
"So you're Katie! Straw Hat did mention you. Were you the one looking for me?"
Mr. 2 had indeed heard of Katie from Luffy.
However, according to Luffy, Katie had escaped from Level 1 of Impel Down. Logically, she shouldn't be this strong. He glanced at Ivankov, who gave him a confirming nod, dispelling his doubts.
"Yes, it was me. I need your help."
Katie got straight to the point. From the moment she had broken out, over ten hours had already passed. There were only about twenty hours left before Ace's public execution—less than a day.
At any moment, the Marines from Headquarters could arrive. Before that, she had to ensure everything was prepared flawlessly. If her identity were exposed, she'd be finished in an instant.
"What kind of help could you possibly need from me?"
Mr. 2 was baffled. If even they couldn't solve the problem, he didn't see how he could be of any use.
"This is something only you can do. I need you to use your ability to disguise yourself as Magellan."
Mr. 2 glanced at Magellan again, completely unable to fathom why Katie would ask this of him.
"Can you tell me the reason?"
Even though Magellan was unconscious, impersonating him was still incredibly risky. Mr. 2 naturally wanted a clear explanation.
"I can't explain the details, but I can tell you this—Ace has already been rescued."
A thunderbolt struck everyone's minds. The news was so sudden that it took them a long moment to process it.
"You really saved Young Master Ace? Where is he now?"
Though Ivankov had suspected this after seeing Magellan unconscious, hearing Katie confirm it still left her stunned.
However, Katie's next words were even more shocking.
"Wrong. The person I saved isn't your 'Young Master.' He's the son of the Pirate King."
"What?! That man is Roger's son?!"
The moment Katie finished speaking, Bullet's voice cut in.
His gaze at Katie was complex. To him, Roger was the most unique figure in his life. Though he hadn't agreed with Roger's final choices, he couldn't deny that the time he'd spent following him had been some of the happiest and most fulfilling of his life.
So when he learned that Ace was Roger's son, memories of those days inevitably resurfaced.
"Ace is indeed Roger's son. But he took his mother's surname. He doesn't acknowledge the father he never met."
Bullet didn't react much to this. All he cared about was whether Ace carried Roger's blood. His surname was irrelevant.
"Did Rayleigh send you?"
Now that he knew Ace's identity, Bullet assumed Katie was acting on Rayleigh's orders—perhaps even that Roger's former crewmates had already prepared to make their move.
"Sorry, but I don't know any Rayleigh."
Truthfully, Katie was also puzzled by Rayleigh and the others' behavior during the Summit War.
Their captain's son was about to be executed, yet they remained eerily calm. Even Whitebeard, an outsider, was more proactive than them. She couldn't fathom what they were thinking.
"I see. So they're under surveillance."
Though the statement was vague, Katie understood the implication and roughly grasped why Rayleigh's group hadn't acted.
As Bullet said, they were likely being monitored and couldn't intervene.
The decision to hold the Summit War wasn't just the Navy's—it was the World Government's will, with the Navy merely serving as the front line against the Whitebeard Pirates.
But that didn't mean there weren't other concerns. Every member of the Roger Pirates needed to be watched. If their disbanded crew reunited because of this, the consequences would be disastrous.
The Navy obviously couldn't handle both threats simultaneously, which meant other forces—like CP or even the never-before-seen Marine Army—would have to step in.
With this realization, Katie suddenly felt the World Government was far more complex than she'd thought.
"Um… I'll do what you asked."
Only now did Mr. 2 dare to speak up.
There was no helping it—the moment Katie revealed Ace's identity, a sliver of Bullet's aura had leaked out. Though it lasted only a second, Mr. 2 had been terrified. He'd only just calmed down.
His agreement wasn't because of Katie's strength, but because of Ace. Luffy had stormed Impel Down to save his brother.
After encountering Magellan on Level 4, Mr. 2 understood just how dangerous this mission was—one wrong move meant death.
Now that Ace had been rescued, Luffy no longer needed to take such risks. Out of gratitude, Mr. 2 had no choice but to agree.
"Good. Then let me explain what you need to do."
Katie laid out her plan to the group.
Aside from the already-informed Redfield and Bullet, the others were completely dumbfounded. Some were even scared stiff by her words.
"Are you insane?! Do you realize what this means? You'll be impersonating Ace in front of the Fleet Admiral and the three Admirals! If you fail, you won't even get a chance to beg for mercy!"
After hearing Katie's plan, Ivankov lost all composure, bluntly stating the truth without caring about offending her.
Like Jinbe, Ivankov didn't see the necessity of this. With Magellan already dealt with, wouldn't it be better to just leave?
"Enough. Just do as I say. You don't need to know anything else."
"Mr. 2, it's your turn now."
Katie didn't want to repeat herself. Cutting Ivankov off, she urged Mr. 2 to act quickly.
By now, the guards upstairs were probably getting restless and would soon come looking for Magellan. There was no time to waste.
"Got it."
Though shocked, Mr. 2 didn't argue. He didn't think Katie was suicidal—if she could take down someone as troublesome as Magellan, maybe she really had a chance.
He stepped forward and touched Magellan's face. In the next instant, his appearance began to morph—his body expanding like an inflating balloon.
His facial features shifted until he was Magellan's perfect double.
Without seeing them in action, even Katie couldn't tell who was who.