In the main control room of Impel Down, alarms blared as a jailer frantically relayed information to the man in charge.
"Deputy Warden Hannyabal, their identities are confirmed! The red-nosed one is Buggy the Clown, a pirate from East Blue with a bounty of $15,000,000$ Berries. The other is Galdino, a former officer of Baroque Works, bounty $24,000,000$ Berries!"
Hannyabal stood beside the jailer, his expression unusually grim. "How did two small-time criminals like them escape their cells? Are they working with Straw Hat Luffy?"
While Hannyabal often appeared incompetent and preoccupied with his ambition to become Warden, he took his duty seriously when faced with an actual threat. The memory of the recent infiltration, where pirates disguised as CP9 agents had tricked him, was still fresh. Though he had avoided official punishment, the humiliation left him seething. He wasn't about to let another incident happen on his watch.
The reporting jailer scanned the documents, looking uncertain. "We're not sure, sir. It appears Buggy the Clown concealed the fact that he was a Devil Fruit user when he was processed."
"Is that right?" Hannyabal muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Before he could give another order, the entire control room was rocked by a violent tremor. The massive stone structure of Impel Down groaned, and several jailers lost their footing, crashing to the floor. Hannyabal staggered, catching himself on a console.
"What was that? An earthquake?"
As if in answer, a sickening cracking sound echoed from the wall nearby. Spiderweb fractures spread across the stone surface in an instant.
Crack… crack… BOOM!
The wall exploded inwards in a shower of debris and dust. A figure, drenched in blood with his eyes rolled back into his head, was blasted out of the hole and slammed into the far side of the room. The jailers stared in stunned silence.
"Chief Guard… Shiliew!"
Meanwhile, on Level 4, the Blazing Hell had been transformed into a toxic nightmare.
"Aaargh!!!"
Screams of pure agony echoed through the immense, super-heated chamber. The floor was now a swirling sea of Magellan's venom, and at its center, Monkey D. Luffy thrashed and writhed, his body completely coated in a thick, purple poison.
Against the Warden of Impel Down—a man whose power was considered on par with a Marine Admiral—Luffy stood no chance. Magellan's Venom-Venom Fruit was the perfect counter to a close-quarters fighter. A single touch was all it took to incapacitate him, leaving him completely enveloped in a lethal substance that was dissolving him from the outside in. He couldn't even get close enough to land a punch.
"Ace…" Luffy gasped, his voice a hoarse whisper. His body screamed for him to give up, to let the pain end, but his iron will was the only thing keeping him conscious.
Not far away, Mr. 2 Bon Clay was running for his life, snot and tears streaming down his face. The sheer terror he felt was overwhelming. Magellan wasn't just an opponent; he was a force of nature, an insurmountable wall of death.
"I'm sorry, Straw-boy! There's just no way to win! I have to escape!" he wailed to himself, his heart breaking with every step he took away from his friend.
He wasn't the only one. Buggy, Mr. 3, and the other prisoners Luffy had freed saw their chance. With Magellan and most of the high-ranking guards focused on Luffy on Level 4, the path to the upper levels was relatively clear. They scattered, each one scrambling to get as far away from the Warden as possible.
Suddenly, the same violent tremor that shook the control room rumbled up from below, nearly knocking Mr. 2 off his feet. He glanced back and saw that the guards pursuing him were also stunned by the shockwave. Seizing the opportunity, he pushed his legs harder, sprinting toward the exit with renewed desperation.
"I'm sorry, Straw-boy, I'm so sorry!"
Tears blurred his vision, but he finally reached the staircase leading from Level 4 up to Level 3. He stumbled through the entrance, gasping for air. Before he could even wipe his eyes, a hand with incredible strength shot out and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off the ground. Mr. 2's heart leaped into his throat; he was caught.
But the next words he heard were not what he expected.
"Straw Hat… are you talking about Luffy-kun?"
Luffy-kun? That familiar suffix made Mr. 2 realize this couldn't be an enemy. He forced his eyes open and found himself staring at a beautiful, tall young woman with horns protruding from her head. She was looking at him with a desperate, anxious expression, shaking him vigorously. Behind her, the floor was littered with the unconscious bodies of every jailer who had been stationed at the gate. Only Buggy and Mr. 3 were still standing, looking just as stunned as he was.
"W-who are you?" Mr. 2 stammered.
"I'm here to save Ace! Luffy is his younger brother!"
The woman was, of course, Yamato. It was her attack that had sent Shiliew flying through the floor.
Hearing her words, Mr. 2's eyes lit up with a spark of hope. He grabbed onto Yamato's arm, his voice cracking with emotion. "Quick! You have to save Straw-boy! He's down there! Magellan is going to kill him!"
"!!!"
Without another word, Yamato released him and charged down the stairs toward the Blazing Hell. As she disappeared from sight, the last of Mr. 2's strength gave out, and his legs buckled, sending him collapsing to his knees.
Nearby, Buggy, whose face was already bruised and swollen from a previous encounter, suddenly wore a look of cunning realization. A sinister grin spread across his face. He effortlessly activated his Chop-Chop Fruit powers to slip out of the ropes binding him and turned to Mr. 3.
"Hey, Mr. 3, what do you say we go save Straw Hat, too?" he announced with a sudden, uncharacteristic bravado.
"???" Mr. 3 stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Are you crazy? You were running faster than any of us just a minute ago! Why the sudden change of heart?"
Buggy's grin widened, making his swollen face look even more grotesque. "You didn't hear what Hannyabal was yelling about earlier? That woman isn't just some random intruder. She's Kaido's daughter."
The name hit them like a physical blow. Mr. 3's jaw dropped, and even Mr. 2 stopped his sobbing, looking up in disbelief.
"Kai… Kaido? You mean… one of the Four Emperors in the New World?" Mr. 3 whispered.
"Hehehe!" Buggy let out a sinister laugh. "There's no doubt about it. And you saw her power, right? She sent Shiliew flying like he was nothing! If we want to get out of this hellhole alive, our only chance is to stick with her."
More importantly, Buggy had seen something in that single, devastating attack that the others had missed: the unmistakable black lightning of Conqueror's Haki coating. As a former apprentice on the Pirate King's ship, Buggy knew exactly what that power represented.
Realization dawned on Mr. 3's face, and his eyes lit up. "I see… you're actually smart sometimes, Buggy! Quick, we have to catch up to her!"
"Right! Mr. 2, get up! We're going to save Straw-boy!" Buggy shouted.
The three of them turned and scrambled back down towards Level 4, chasing after their new, unbelievably powerful ally.
Back at the ruined gate, buried under a pile of rubble, Shiliew of the Rain stirred. Propping himself up with his famed sword, Nodachi, he struggled to his feet, blood dripping from dozens of wounds.
"Heh… heh… Kaido's daughter, huh?" he wheezed, a grim smile forming on his face. "That power is just ridiculous. And that was Conqueror's Haki coating, wasn't it?"
Every cell in his body screamed in agony. "Looks like the big war they're all preparing for is no longer something I can join. But perhaps…" He coughed, spitting up blood. "Perhaps this is an opportunity for me."
With that thought, Shiliew began dragging his broken body toward the prison's exterior, away from the chaos unfolding within.
On Level 6, the Infinite Hell, the tremors from above had not gone unnoticed. The eternal silence of the lowest level was broken by the murmurs of the world's most dangerous criminals.
"Hehehe, sounds like the little escape attempt failed."
"They've been discovered already."
"Damn it all!!!"
Voices filled with mockery, anger, and despair echoed from the dark cells. In one cell, Ace and Jinbe listened with looks of extreme anxiety. They knew, without a doubt, that the commotion had to be caused by Luffy and Yamato.
"Damn it!" Jinbe slammed a fist against the bars of his cell. He desperately wanted to go up and help, but he was trapped, powerless to even save himself. To make matters worse, the guards had doubled the patrol in front of their cells, anticipating a rescue attempt.
Ace's face was a mask of anguish. He wasn't afraid of his own death, but the thought of Luffy and Yamato getting captured or killed trying to save him was a torture far worse than any prison.
Just as his worry reached its peak, a massive explosion from far above sent another, more violent shockwave down into the depths of hell.
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