Hi guys Azza here!
So I'm gonna push through the rest of the descent into Impel Down this Chapter because I think its starting to drag a little. I wanted to have a chapter dedicated to each Hell but to be honest 5.5 doesn't really deserve it so I figured I'd just combine the two and push things forward.
Anyway onto the reviews!
Basically my answer to both reviews is that Big Boom doesn't even begin to describe what's about to go down haha!
Anyway on with the story!
I do not own Fairy Tail, One Piece or the Nasuverse.
The Eternal Hell
/Impel Down – Somewhere Safe?/
The sound of cheering slowly began to rouse Bon Clay as he returned to his senses, a dull ache spreading quickly across his body to remind him of what had occurred before he'd passed out. The man shot up quickly, wincing as he pulled at his numerous injuries but didn't relent as he leapt to his feet.
"What …"
Bon Clay was in shock. He'd expected to be either captured by the guards once again or by some prisoners who wanted to help them. But where he was now, he simply couldn't even begin to describe it.
"Am I still in Impel Down …"
"Oi look, the Okama is awake!"
"Let's all have another round to celebrate!"
The crowd that was seemingly all around him roared in approval as Bon Clay continued to look around like he was lost. Two girls who were seated at the table he was at giggled at his predicament with one tapping their mug on his leg to draw his attention to them.
"You lost?"
"Uh …"
"You're still in Impel Down sweetie, but its no surprise you're all in a tizzy after what you've been through."
"Wait … THIS is Impel Down," Bon Clay asked sceptically as he motioned to the seemingly endless party going on all around him.
"Well of course it is darling, a man wearing drag on the opposite side of the table purred as he nursed his own mug. "Though one could say we're in 'Hell's Paradise' or just Paradise for short, eh?"
"There is no need to panic Mister Two, or Bon Clay, if you would prefer to be called by your actual name. You are among friends here."
Turning back around again, Bon Clay quickly realized that this was the person who saved both himself and Luffy on Level Five. The person wore clothes that were half orange and half white, split fairly down the middle with hair to match. In their right hand was a glass of wine that was twirled around elegantly before being brought up to their lips, the glass seemingly not even drained despite the person clearly consuming it.
"Y-you, you're the woman who saved us!"
"Indeed, I am," the woman smiled as she used two fingers to wave in his general direction. "It was most fortunate that we saved you when we did, Bon Clay, else both you and your friend Luffy would surely have perished in the Freezing Hell."
"Luffy," Bon Clay gasped as he leapt off of the table and landed before the woman. "Tell me, is Luffy alright!?"
"Luffy is … I can say he's currently recovering, though saying that isn't really accurate. To put it simply, you've been unconscious for ten hours and during that time, Luffy has been screaming his lungs out as his body tries to fight off Magellan's poison."
"What … I've been out for ten hours and yet Luffy's been suffering this whole time!?"
"Your wounds were quite severe as well; I assure you that you earned that rest. Besides, Luffy actually asked us to tend to you first before aiding him in a rather noble act of selflessness."
"Luffy," Bon Clay said through grit teeth as he imagined the half dead Luffy begging the person before them to treat him first. "I'm such a terrible friend-!"
"BON CLAY!"
The entire room fell silent as the lights went out; the main ones being directed toward a large stage at the front as the loud voice continued to speak.
"YOU RAN FROM LUFFY WHEN HE FACED DOWN MAGELLAN, THAT MUCH IS TRUE … BUT TELL ME, WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN A HELP OR A HINDERANCE!?"
"Who's there!?"
"WHO YOU ASK? WHY, I AM THE ONE ALL OKAMA SEEK," the voice boomed in reply as smoke suddenly clouded the stage. "I AM THE ONE AND ONLY QUEEN OF ALL OKAMA!"
Emerging onto the stage was a large man with an indigo-coloured afro so large it could probably be used to store things inside of it. His face was oddly proportioned in the shape of an arrowhead and he wore reddish purple lingerie complete with fishnet stockings and a matching fishnet cape. Atop his head was a golden crown and upon his chest was a Jolly Roger Bon Clay had known about since he was a young man.
"No way …"
The Greatest Okama In The World
King Of The Hellish Paradise
Queen Of The Kamabakka Kingdom
A Commander Of The Revolutionary Army
Hormone Hormone Fruit User
Emporio Ivankov
Bounty – 1,027,600,000 Berries
"Emporio Ivankov," Bon Clay gasped as the Okama Queen leapt from the stage and landed before him. "I can't believe it!"
"Believe it Bon Bon, for it truly is I!"
Bon Clay quickly snapped out of his fanboying for a moment and entered a bowing stance, surprising everyone with even Ivankov taking a step back in surprise.
"Ivankov, I have to make a request!"
"Uh …"
"Please! PLEASE SAVE MY FRIEND LUFFY," Bon pleaded as he dropped down to his knees. "I heard that you could perform great miracles, please save Luffy!"
"Well," Ivankov sniffed as he seemingly ignored Bon in favour of examining his nails. "I certainly accept the praise, but I'm quite annoyed that you'd think I'd just let him suffer for ten hours Bon Bon. What kind of Queen do you take me for!?"
"Wh-wha-!?"
"To clarify, Ivankov has already administered what is probably the only means of saving Luffy's life to him," the dual palette woman behind him replied calmly. "You see, Ivankov has the power to basically 'remodel' a Human however he desires. More specifically, through the use of Hormones, Ivankov can perform any number of miracles from altering ones Gender, accelerating the healing process of the body, boosting adrenaline, manipulate emotions and much more."
"S-so what you're saying is-!"
"I injected Luffy boy with my signature Emporio Healing Synthesis which injects Hormones designed to target the immune system of someone's body and force it to its absolute maximum potential. Unfortunately, because its not me, a price must be paid in the form of lifespan …"
"Lifespan!"
"Because Luffy boy only has about a day at most, I'd wager he would lose about ten years of his life in order to counter Magellan's poison," Ivankov replied grimly as Bon Clay dropped to his knees once more. "It is grim, but it is better than dying."
"Th-that is true but-!"
"All in all, Luffy boy will live, however the road to it is going to be rough for him," Ivankov said as he cut off Bon Clay's counter argument. "For now, I want to know exactly why you two charged all the way down from Level One?"
"Indeed, it isn't every day that prisoners try to go deeper into Impel Down," the woman added as Bon Clay slowly moved into a sitting position.
"Well, I was looking for you," Bon Clay replied as he gestured toward Ivankov himself who seemed to nod in understanding. "As an Okama, I always wanted to meet you so I joined Luffy in the hopes of doing so."
"I see, and what about Luffy boy? From what I've heard he wasn't even a prisoner here?"
"Yeah, he broke in thanks to the help of Boa Hancock and another one of his friends who was willing to be bait. They came here to try and break Ace out of here-."
"Ace? As in Portgas D Ace," Ivankov asked curiously prompting Bon Clay to swiftly nod. "I see, it all makes sense now."
"That would mean that the latest prisoner Magellan was seen escorting alongside Boa Hancock would have been Luffy's friend."
"Yes, and they must be extraordinarily powerful or have committed heinous crimes to be placed where Magellan put them."
"Well, that's the thing, I tried to find him on Level Five but couldn't seem to spot him anywhere. Luffy told me all about him and-!"
"You wouldn't have found the man you were searching for, nor Ace for that matter, on Level Five," Ivankov replied bluntly which surprised Bon Clay. "Where do you think we are?"
"I know we're in Impel Down but beyond that …"
"You were picked up on Level Five and brought here, to Level Five Point Five, for lack of a better name."
"Huh?"
"Yes, this floor was constructed by an ally of the Revolutionary Army long ago before he escaped. It was designed to be a safe haven for us prisoners so we call it Newkama Land."
"So, if this is Floor Five Point Five …"
"Yes, there is a Floor directly below us. Floor Six, the Floor that the World Government wants forgotten. The Eternal Hell."
"Eternal Hell …"
"It is the Floor where the most heinous criminals are housed, ones that could easily endure the harshness of all the other floors above combined. There are people down there who have wiped out countries, killed Celestial Dragons, and even former legends have been housed down there."
"What!?"
"Some bigshots who are down there right now include Catarina Devon The Crescent Moon Hunter, the most dangerous female prisoner in the entire prison, the Colossal Battleship San Juan Wolf, the largest giant in history whose crimes were so atrocious they had to be erased from history itself! The Heaviest Drinker, Vasco Shot, said to be one of the most vicious men in history if he can't get alcohol. Even your former boss, the former Warlord Of The Sea Sir Crocodile is down there, his crimes discovered to be so great that after recalculating what his true bounty would be they tossed him down there to rot."
"No way!"
"And down there you'll find Ace and the friend who Luffy came here with, though I have to say I'm shocked that someone like him ended up down there-."
"Boss Ivankov! Boss Ivankov!"
"What," Ivankov asked in an annoyed tone, clearly wanting to continue his explanation.
"Its Straw Hat Luffy, he's awake!"
Everyone seemed shocked by the man's statement with Bon Clay immediately leaping to his feet. The entire group charged out of the hall after the man who had just shouted the news at them and were stunned to hear one thing coming from the sealed doors.
"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!"
"Impossible," Ivankov gasped, seemingly unable to believe what he was hearing. "I've never heard of someone recovering so quickly!"
"W-what should we do," one of the Okama asked shakily only for Ivankov to slap his cheeks to snap back to reality.
"Isn't it obvious, get Straw Hat boy as much food as he needs! NOW!"
The Okama quickly jumped into action as an entire cart's worth of food was hauled to the door by six of them with Ivankov slowly prying the door open. To all their shock, a rubbery hand grabbed the cart and yanked it inside effortlessly as bones and bits of skin, apple cores and anything inedible came flying back out of the room into a sizeable pile.
"I don't believe it," Ivankov continued to stutter as more and more food was dragged into the void of darkness housing the Straw Hat Captain. "His will to live is nothing short of extraordinary!"
After ten minutes, a loud burp echoed around the cave followed by the sound of footsteps. The Okama, Bon Clay and Ivankov waited with baited breath as Luffy emerged looking perfectly fine, a wide grin on his face.
"I'm all better!"
The surrounding Okama broke out into thunderous applause, praising him for having survived Magellan's poison as Luffy walked over to Bon Clay and Ivankov.
"Hey Bon, looks like they patched you up too!"
"Y-yeah," Bon Clay sniffed in reply. "Listen Luffy, I'm sorry for abandoning you to Magellan, I-!"
"Don't worry about it Bon, I get it," Luffy replied softly as he gently pat the man on the arm. "He was really tough; you wouldn't have been able to do anything to him anyway."
"Quite right Straw Hat boy, quite right," Ivankov nodded as Luffy turned his attention toward him. "Now then, I'd recommend that you get a few days rest after what you've been through but there's a bit of a problem."
"Problem?"
"You came here for Ace, right?"
"Yeah, do you know where he is!?"
"As of this moment, Portgas D Ace is down on Level Six," Ivankov replied as Luffy seemed to prepare himself to go. "But the problem is that he's about to be taken out of the prison for his execution."
"WHAT!?"
"You've been out for ten hours and much has happened in that time."
"I've gotta get down to Level Six," Luffy shouted in a panicked voice. "Oi, are you planning on breaking out of here too? Bon said he wanted to bust you out of here and you seem strong so we should team up!"
"Under most circumstances I would, however, there are certain circumstances that prevent me from making my move. Right now, the forces of Justice and the Whitebeard Pirates are trying to shift the balance of power into their favour. But 'that man' has yet to make his move," Ivankov said as many of the Okama around him nodded in understanding. "The man that oversees all the Revolutionaries in the world, and my companion …!"
"Who?"
"The Leader Of The Revolutionary Army, Dragon!"
"Ah, you mean my Dad," Luffy replied as everyone in the crowd except for Ivankov froze in shock.
"That's right. As soon as your Dad rallies his troops and makes his move, I shall once again return to the surface and throw myself head first into the flow of the world! Even if I were to escape right now, I would be hunted down like …"
Ivankov paused, blinking several times as his mind processed Luffy's earlier response. His eyes slowly began to widen as he realized just what Luffy had said, his entire body beginning to shake.
"Y-your D-D-D-DAAAAAD," Ivankov roared as his entire body seemed to fly backward, embedding itself several metres into the wall as all the Okama openly broke out into shock on cue with their leader.
"Huh?"
"D-D-D-Dragon is your Dad," Ivankov gasped as he fell out of the hole in the wall, flat on his face before suddenly warping right into Luffy's face. "You've got to be shitting me!? Since when the hell did he even have a Son!?"
"Ah … I wasn't meant to tell anyone," Luffy said after several moments. "But whatever. I've never actually met him myself but Gramps told me that his name was Monkey D Dragon and that he was some bigshot Revolutionary."
'If he doesn't even know what he looks like, then that just makes it all the more convincing,' Ivankov thought as he reigned in his shock to try and process this new information. 'He clearly isn't good at lying, and just like Dragon he seems to have made a large impact on the world! Not only that, he just demonstrated a will to live beyond anything I've ever seen! He's clearly not normal, it makes sense!'
"Tell me," Ivankov said in a much calmer tone. "Where is your hometown, where were you born?"
"I'm not sure if I was born there, but I grew up in Fuschia Village in the East Blue," Luffy replied as Ivankov seemed to pale rapidly.
"Of course … I see, it all makes sense," Ivankov murmured as he took a closer look at Luffy, the image of a man he'd fought alongside numerous times momentarily popping up beside him. "Yes, the resemblance is there for sure."
"Ivankov," the woman from earlier cut in as she gently tugged on his arm. "If we are to help Luffy save Ace then we must move now."
"I see," Ivankov muttered as he looked back toward Luffy before sighing. "There is no way this was a mere coincidence that Dragon's Son ends up down here with us. Inazuma! Gather up everyone who wants to bust out of here and get the path to Level Six open!"
Deputy Commander Of The G Army
Right Hand Of Ivankov
Snip Snip Fruit User
Inazuma
Bounty – 620,000,000 Berries
"Of course Ivankov, give me three minutes," the woman said before darting off to do as the man requested.
"Very well Straw Hat, I'm convinced. I shall aid you in saving Ace and escaping from Impel Down! No doubt Dragon would skin me alive if I left his own Son to flounder here!"
"Alright, thanks," Luffy grinned cheerfully, seemingly unaware of just how crucial the man's help actually was.
/Level Six Eternal Hell – Ten Minutes Later/
Having quickly mobilized a small force, Ivankov, Luffy, Bon Clay and Inazuma charged down toward Level Six having smashed through the wholly unprepared guard force with ease.
"Ace, I'm coming," Luffy shouted as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Where the hell are you, Ace!?"
"This should be his cell just up ahead," Inazuma said as the group rounded a corner and came upon what appeared to be an empty cell.
"Ace, you in there!?"
"You, you're Straw Hat Luffy, aren't you," a voice within the cell called out as all eyes locked onto a figure hidden in the back corner of the cell. "Don't waste time here, Magellan just took Ace up the elevator, GO!"
"Right, thanks," Luffy replied quickly with the group quickly charging off toward the elevator.
Just as they were about to reach it, a massive crashing sound alerted them to the fact that something was flying down toward them at high speed. Everyone jumped back as the elevator smashed into the ground, having been cut from the top by the guards as a loud cackling could be heard all around them.
"You thought we'd just let you win!? I don't know how you survived Magellan's poison Straw Hat, but you're not gonna win in Impel Down!"
"That was Hannyabal's voice," Ivankov muttered to himself as he looked at the elevator. "We need to move quickly; Ace is no doubt already being handed over as we speak!"
"Wait, we still need to find Natsu and get him out of here," Luffy replied as they turned around to begin searching only for hollow laughter to greet them from one of the cells.
"Kuhahahaha. Well now, what a surprise. To think that of all people I'd end up seeing again it'd be you, Straw Hat."
"Huh?"
"You're looking for the newest prisoner Magellan brought down here, aren't you? The one who looked like he was more meat than man?"
"Yeah, that's who we're looking for!"
"Tell you what, let me out," the man said as a golden hook emerged through the bars as the shadowy face of a familiar figure appeared. "And I'll help you all escape."
"I-I-It's you!"
Former Ally Of The World Government
Former Leader Of Baroque Works
Former Enemy Of The Straw Hats
Former Warlord Of The Sea
Sir Crocodile
Bounty – 665,000,000 Berries (Recalculated)
"Crocodile," Luffy snapped in response. "There's no way in hell we're gonna let someone like you out!"
"But don't you see Straw Hat that if you don't get me out of here then you'll have a harder time breaking out? I can easily make us a path to the upper levels with my power, plus I know the secret area they locked up that friend of yours so …"
"As much as I don't trust Croco boy, I do know of a weakness of his," Ivankov said as the grin faded off of the former Warlord's face. "If he tries to backstab us, I'll use 'that' against him. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Tch-!"
"So what's it gonna be Croco boy?"
"I wasn't planning on betraying any of you anyway," Crocodile snarled as he banged his hook against the bars of his cell. "Impel Down is a hard place to break out of, we all need to work together if we plan on escaping."
"Quite right," Inazuma nodded as he tossed the key to the cell at Luffy. "Your choice, Luffy."
"Hmm."
"If you plan on going after Ace, then let me out as well," the voice that informed them of the elevator earlier called out across the hall as everyone turned to see a Fishman standing there with his hands clinging to the bars. "You must let me join you!"
"You can trust this man Luffy, that Jimbei," Ivankov said as Luffy handed Crocodile's cell key to Ivankov and walked over to Jimbei's cell.
"Why do you want to save Ace?"
"I've got a long history with Ace; I knew him before he even joined the Whitebeard Pirates! I want to go and help you save him and stop this horrible war that's about to shake the world!"
Luffy locked eyes with the Fishman, seemingly judging his intentions before nodding and looking toward Inazuma.
"Let him out."
"Are you certain …?"
"Yeah, let him out."
With a slight nod, Inazuma moved and opened Jimbei's cell and quickly removed the Sea Stone Cuffs he was shackled with. The Fishman sighed and gave a grateful nod to the both of them before walking past them and toward the now released Crocodile.
"Crocodile …"
"Jimbei …"
"I know what you plan on doing," the Fishman snarled as the two stood mere inches apart, towering over everyone except for Ivankov. "Don't think for one moment I'll let you hurt the old man!"
"Don't worry Jimbei, I'll make sure your long dead before I go for Whitebeard," Crocodile responded as the two snarled at one another.
"Enough of that," Ivankov snapped. "Croco boy, where did they take Natsu!?"
"Right, this way," Crocodile sighed as they walked deeper into Level Six.
As they went, the prisoners grew more and more restless with many smashing themselves against the bars in order to be let out. The group ignored them however and soon found themselves at the end of a long hallway that seemed to be a dead end.
"We're here."
"Huh?"
"What is this Croco boy?"
"Turns out they've got hidden cells down here," Crocodile replied as he started tapping his hand along the wall. "Ah, found it. Take out this wall here."
Inazuma stepped forward, left arm turning into a pair of scissors as she sliced apart the wall like a piece of paper to reveal an entirely closed off, dimly lit area. Once a big enough portion of the wall was cut down, the group stepped inside to find four individuals already out of their cells seemingly waiting for them.
"About time you lot got here," a familiar voice said as Luffy jumped down into the pit. "We don't have much time as it is."
"Natsu," Luffy asked cautiously as Natsu stepped into the light, surprising them all with his appearance. "Why do you look like that?"
"Turns out if I stay up for over a month, drain my power reserves repeatedly and get forced to regenerate hundreds of times it eventually forces me back into my true form. Sorry if this is a bit rough for you."
Fully stepping into the light revealed Natsu with two horns sprouting out of his jet-black hair. Both horns were Pitch Black and were just large enough to be seen through his once again long fluffy hair. He was dressed in an all-black suit with a red undershirt and matching red tie, Nobu's coat draped over it with the Blue portions of it faded out and the Red ones seemingly glowing for some reason.
Looking at him more closely, Luffy noticed that there was something sinister about him that usually wasn't present, a silent pressure that seemed to be oozing from him that made him shiver internally.
"I'll explain the specifics later Luffy when we have time. Where's Fou?"
"The little fox creature is back on Level Five Point Five unconscious," Ivankov cut in as everyone moved to look up at him. "I must say, you certainly are worth putting down here."
Natsu grinned devilishly at Ivankov's comment as everyone in the pit became coated in a purplish Aura. Slowly, he lifted the small group out of the pit with the other group moving back out into the hallway to allow them space.
Natsu was the first to exit, eyes immediately locking with Crocodile's own as the two seemed to have a silent conversation. Next, the old man exited with Luffy's group seemingly paling at his mere presence. The large blonde-haired man exited with a sadistic grin on his face and Ivankov nearly fainted on the spot. Next was the largest man which Jimbei seemed to recognize, a noticeable frown on his face as Luffy finally emerged.
"Right then," Natsu said as he stretched himself. "Prison break."
"Hold on a second! Do you have any idea who these guys are," Ivankov snapped as he pointed to the other three who came out with Natsu? "Any idea at ALL!?"
"I know exactly who they are, they told me pretty much every dirty detail," Natsu replied in an uncaring manner. "I just don't really care."
"What!?"
"This prison is going down and with the firepower we have right here we can easily accomplish that," Natsu continued as he motioned toward the entire assembled group. "The only thing is that we need to confront Magellan to get the keys for these guys, otherwise they won't be able to fight to their full potential."
"Are you sure releasing these three is a good idea," Jimbei asked as he stepped up to Natsu, seemingly unfazed by the malevolent Aura being exuded by him. "These three are some of the worst criminals in history!"
"And? Aren't we all criminals here?"
Jimbei couldn't argue that point however he knew that the three men behind Natsu were absolute monsters who would be more trouble than they were worth later on down the line. However, the fact was that they did need all the help that they can get to break out if they wanted to go after Ace.
"We should probably get moving if we want to get out of here and up to the higher levels," Crocodile cut in as he motioned back the way they came. "No doubt Magellan is heading back this way so we should make as much progress as we can."
"He's right," Natsu agreed as the group started walking back toward the way they came in.
"We've got to stop back on Five Point Five to pick up the rest of the forces who want to escape," Ivankov cut in quickly. "With them, we can overwhelm the guards and even Magellan!"
"Magellan will probably crush most of you, leave him to me," Natsu replied as they reached the sealed entrance to Five Point Five. "Until these three get out of those Sea Stone Cuffs I'll have to keep him occupied."
"Are we certain he has the keys," Inazuma asked as he looked back toward the three newcomers to the group. "Are you sure they'd even keep them around?"
"I doubt Magellan would be the type to toss them away," Crocodile replied in amusement as they all filed down the narrow passage to reach Newkama Land. "He's not a heartless bastard like the old Warden."
"Heh, that bastard would kill ya just for lookin at him funny," the blonde man grinned as they reached the end of the narrow passage.
"Right then, we're back," Ivankov sighed. "Everyone get ready because once we start this we can't go back!"
As the group started to disperse, Natsu's eyes wandered over toward Luffy. He could tell that whilst he hadn't been paying attention, something had happened to him. He would make sure to ask later what went down during the time they were separated but for now he had to prepare himself.
His reserves were actually alarmingly low and he wouldn't be able to beat Magellan through sheer force. He also couldn't eat the Gravity around them since it would risk destabilizing the prison and so there was only one choice left.
Scavenge bits of fire as he went and wait until the prison was in total chaos. At that point, he would start consuming the Apocalypse around them and use it to break everyone out. It was a decent plan, one that didn't require him to do something completely reckless.
Plus, he had 'those' three with him. Each of them could cover what he couldn't for the time being. He knew full well none of them could be trusted but they were all allies of circumstance, united under the common goal of getting free.
He only hoped he could control his darker half long enough to recuperate otherwise he'd have to resort to drastic measures in order to regain his lost power and if that happened, he couldn't guarantee anyone's safety.
"Relax. So you've lost your Balance a bit, it'll return to centre in due time."
"Ahnk, losing control of my Aura isn't a good thing," Natsu snapped in response. "Name one time it ever benefited you?"
"Look, Hybrid's Aura isn't all OP with no drawbacks Natsu," Ahnk sighed as he manifested right next to Natsu though no one else could see him. "Sometimes under extreme stress, we tend to flip one way or the other and given your treatment the last month or so I'm not surprised that your Devil half has gained dominance."
"It still isn't good enough; I should have better control than this by now."
"The fact that it only happened to you once before now is actually a sign that you've got excellent control, you just need to deal with it and move on!"
"How long before I regain balance?"
"Get your reserves back in order enough to cover your true self and you should be able to revert back to normal," Ahnk replied with a shrug. "It was a little different for me but I can only tell you what I've observed from the one other time you lost control."
"So, what was it like for you?"
"I'm not talking about it."
"Why not?"
"I just don't feel comfortable talking about it right now, alright," the First Hybrid sighed. "There is much I still have to teach you about what you are, and so little time since we always keep finding ourselves in situations just like this. One day, I'll sit down with you and run you through these things since I'm the only one who can but for now just trust me and know that aside from being inclined to be evil, you're still all you."
"Fine, I'll trust you on this Ahnk," Natsu sighed as the man vanished right as Ivankov re-entered the room.
"Alright, we're good to go," the Okama Queen said as he motioned toward the other end of the room. "We've got the passage to Level Five ready to go!"
"Alright, let's get moving," Luffy said through grit teeth. "I'm not letting them kill Ace after all this!"
"Agreed. We'll stop the World Government in its tracks," replied Jimbei as the sizeable group charged down one of the corridors, pouring out into the Freezing Hell and charging right for the stairs to the Burning Hell.
Natsu remained at the rear, taking his time as he let his Devil's Aura wash over the entire prison. This served a dual purpose to both scan the layout and find any powerful entities they needed to avoid like Magellan.
Reaching the stairs to Level Four, he could already hear the first sounds of combat and couldn't help but chuckle darkly. His eyes entered a permanently Blood Red glow as he slowly ascended the stairs, inwardly relishing the payback he was going to enact upon the World Government for his treatment.
/Impel Down – Level Two Starvation Hell/
"Wh-what the hell is another Warlord doing here!?"
"Someone call MagellAAARGH!"
"WEEHAHAHA! For guards of the impenetrable prison, these guys sure are scrubs!"
"Indeed. They clearly over rely on Magellan's strength."
"Still, that just mean's that the Captain's plan has a much higher chance of working!"
"Don't jinx it."
"You believe in that crap!?"
"Can both of you shut up, I have a headache …"
"OI!"
"Enough," the leading man grinned as he held out his right hand. "No use fighting when we're so close to getting what we want. All we've gotta do is reach Level Six and our victory will be assured."
"Of course it will, with your power we can't lose Captain!"
"ZEHAHAHAHAHA! Of course not, there's not another power in this world stronger than my Darkness. Not a single one …"
So I know I skimmed over some stuff but the next Chapter will be the breakout since Marineford is going to be pretty long. I kind of figured combining 5.5 and Level 6 together was for the best since all the main plot points necessary in them could be put together into one Chapter.
The next Chapter I'm debating if it'll be the full breakout or if I need to split it into two parts. To be honest I'm leaning toward the former just because the only threat here is Magellan but there is still Eden stuff that needs to be looked over so I don't know.
Anyway that's for next time! Hope you all enjoyed this Chapter and I'll see you in the next one!