Eventually, Arlong and the rest were brought out of the cells and onto the deck of the Marine ship. Arlong looked ahead to see a colossal stone structure, akin to a castle growing out of the sea's surface. The tops of the walls were even covered with battlements to provide cover to defenders against enemy fire. Docked around the structure's perimeter were over a dozen Marine ships.
Long time no see… Impel Down.
"This is where you used to be, Arlong…" Kuroobi said quietly.
"I'll admit, choo, it looks like a tough clam to crack," Chew said.
"You were in this place for years, nyoo?" Hatchan said, looking dismayed.
"Doesn't look like it's changed since I left," Arlong said.
Arlong glanced at the Straw Hats present with him. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji looked unfazed by the sight of the world's most infamous prison. Usopp was trembling with fear, so much so that the Marines had to pull on his chains to get him to move.
"Nonono, this can't be real!" the long-nosed human kept muttering to himself.
Then Arlong saw the captain of the ship approaching.
"Your last chance to see the sun and taste fresh air," Frederick said. "I'd suggest you enjoy it while you still can, prisoners. Once you enter Impel Down's gates, you'll never get out." He glared at Arlong. "Not even you, fish-man. That disgrace to the Seven Warlords who had you freed before no longer holds that power."
Arlong was tempted to retort with some biting remark, but he decided to stay silent for now. If he talked about Jinbe now, someone might suspect he was here to free Jinbe.
Frederick looked slightly disappointed at not being able to get a rise out of Arlong. He walked past and down the ship's gangway.
A group of humans walked out from the entrance of Impel Down. They all wore pale brown clothes and dark brown caps with black peaks; the uniform of this prison. At the front of the group were a man and a woman, both middle-aged and with slightly more decorated uniforms. Though if Arlong was remembering right, the uniforms of these two showed an intermediate rank at best.
Frederick and the Impel Down staff met and started talking. Arlong listened in while keeping his eyes on the prison.
"Welcome to Impel Down, Captain Frederick," the male jailer said.
"We thank you for bringing in these criminals," the female jailer said.
"Yes, yes…" Frederick said, looking awkward. "Have the warden or vice warden been notified of these prisoners? They include a criminal as notorious as 'Straw Hat' Luffy…"
"They have, but I'm afraid we in Impel Down are a little short-staffed," the male jailer admitted. "Due to… some of the prisoners we now hold, our superiors are working around the clock to maintain the security of our prison. Warden Magellan and Vice Warden Hannyabal are currently unavailable to receive you."
Frederick deflated, and Arlong quietly laughed at him. The Marine captain must have been hoping to meet people more important than these two.
"Please rest assured, we can ensure the prisoners are admitted without any problems," the female jailer said.
"Very well…"
The Marines around Arlong's group brought them down the gangway and onto Impel Down's dock, one by one due to the narrow width of the gangway.
When it was Usopp's turn, he suddenly shouted, "I'm never going to Impel Down!"
KABOOM!
There was a deafening explosion that scattered smoke everywhere. The Marines who'd been escorting Usopp yelled and fell off the gangway.
"USOOOOPP!" Luffy screamed. He pulled away from his Marine escorts and ran forward.
When the smoke cleared, Usopp was covered in soot and red fluid, and swaying on the spot. A moment later, he fell off the gangway and landed in the sea with a splash.
"You idiot!" Zoro shouted.
"Why the hell would you—dammit!" Sanji cursed.
Luffy ran to the edge of the dock, still screaming Usopp's name. Marines piled onto him and eventually dragged him back, though it seemed as difficult as restraining a furious bull, even with Luffy's Seastone shackles.
The Marines who'd fallen off the gangway clambered up onto the dock. Usopp's seemingly dead body was left to slowly sink. Arlong and countless others watched it disappear beneath the waves.
Frederick had been watching as well, just as dumbfounded as the rest—well, most of the rest. Then he approached the three remaining Straw Hats and demanded, "Where was he hiding that bomb!?"
"You think we know!?" Zoro retorted, not even looking at the Marine. "Usopp—that idiot!"
Arlong was sensing some genuine emotion in there, even though Usopp's bomb—a flexible device sewn into his clothing—had been designed to just look and sound impressive, not to deal serious damage. There was similar emotion from the other two Straw Hats as well.
Is this because of that time they thought Nami killed him, all the way back at Conomi? Or is this from something else?
Frederick kicked each of the Straw Hats and repeated his question, but the three pirates didn't react. They kept staring dumbly at the water where Usopp had vanished.
The jailers moved up to the edge of the dock as well and peered into the water. None of them looked terribly surprised.
"Don't blame yourself, Captain Frederick," the male jailer said. "This isn't the first time someone has taken their life to avoid Impel Down."
"Some did it while being transported here," the female jailer elaborated. "Others when they caught sight of Impel Down, and realised they were truly bound for the world's ultimate prison."
"I understand that," Frederick said irritably. "But as one who upholds justice, it's galling for me to fail to bring all my captives alive."
"You still managed to bring the three most notorious Straw Hat Pirates," the male jailer said reassuringly. "Though, come to think of it, do you know where the rest are?"
"Before departing from Sabaody, my troops scoured the archipelago for them," Frederick replied. He kept glancing at where Usopp's body had sunk. "We found no hide or hair of them. It appears that after the capture of their strongest members, the rest have gone into hiding. I doubt they'll show their faces again anytime soon. And…" he turned towards the three Straw Hats on the dock, all of whom had collapsed to their knees, "it appears these ones have lost their will to resist."
On hearing this, Arlong forced himself to keep a straight face.
Just as planned.
This plan involved some of the Straw Hats getting captured and sent to Impel Down as prisoners. However, the Straw Hats had just gained notoriety by openly defying the World Government. This would normally put the Impel Down staff on high alert—they might not know of Luffy's connection to Ace, but they might think the Straw Hats would try to cause a mass breakout, further throwing mud on the World Government's face.
To allay such fears, Usopp had volunteered to act as the sacrifice. By seemingly performing suicide in this horrific manner, he "broke" the wills of the other Straw Hats. This meant the Impel Down staff would be less suspicious of them. Not enough to guarantee success, but every little advantage would help.
Returning to the present, the jailers began leading their prisoners away from the dock and towards the gates of Impel Down.
As Arlong approached the gates, he looked back at the Marine ship one last time. He'd just heard the faintest splashes of water, sounds that most would have dismissed as natural. However, Arlong had lived around water long enough to recognise the sounds of people entering it.
With all attention focused on this side, the stealth team can get off the ship from the other side without being noticed. And with those breathing devices the cyborg rigged up, they can stay under for a while, even if the Devil Fruit users have to be carried by the others.
The stealth team wouldn't be able to enter through the front gates as Arlong's team was doing. They'd have to find their own way into Impel Down. Arlong could only trust in them to succeed.
Trusting in humans… and an actual animal.
Hmph. I really have changed.
-ooo-
The admissions process to Impel Down was just as Arlong remembered it.
First, they walked down a corridor filled with metal spikes and other fearsome-looking implements—a preliminary show of Impel Down's horrors.
Next, they were brought before an enormous iron cauldron filled with steaming water. Even from a distance, Arlong could feel the heat emanating from it.
"Welcome to Hell's Hot Tub—a bath that only devils could enjoy," the male jailer said with a smile.
"Here, you'll undergo your baptism, making you ready to join the ranks of our prisoners," the female jailer added, also smiling.
The lower-ranked jailers behind these two were chatting with each other, making bets on how these latest prisoners would scream.
Arlong didn't have any fear of undergoing Impel Down's "baptism" again. He did, however, regret bringing his friends here.
But when Arlong exchanged glances with his friends, they responded with reassuring looks, as if saying, "Don't worry, we're ready for this!"
"Then we'll start with the highest bounty first and work our way downwards," the male jailer said. "String up Monkey D. Luffy!"
The jailers grabbed Luffy and secured his feet to the end of a long chain hanging from a rail on the ceiling. Then a nearby winch was turned, causing the chain to pull Luffy up so he now hung upside down.
"What do you think happens to rubber that gets hot?" one jailer asked his fellow.
"Does it melt, or does it burn?" the other jailer giggled.
Impel Down: only sadists are allowed to work here, Arlong thought.
The chain moved along the rail, bringing Luffy over the cauldron. Finally, the chain lowered rapidly.
"GAAAAAHHHHBLUBLUBLUB!" Luffy screamed. He wriggled around, causing the water to splash everywhere. "HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!"
The jailers broke out into hoots of laughter, saying they'd expected more from someone worth three hundred million.
"Pull him up!"
Luffy was hoisted out of the boiling water again, covered in scalds and still wriggling in apparent pain.
After that came the other two Straw Hats. Zoro remained silent and still at first, but he screamed loudly upon removal from the water. Sanji swore constantly before and after his baptism.
"Put him down and string up Arlong!"
Now it was Arlong's turn to be hung by the chain over the cauldron. He listened to the jailers making jokes about boiling fish.
Arlong entered the water. The ferocious heat burned his skin… but it was still less painful than the beating he'd gotten from Luffy, or either of his beatings from Jinbe.
After a few seconds, Arlong was hoisted out of the water. He was sorely tempted to show no reaction, or to boast that he wasn't going to scream like last time. But it would draw attention if he endured the Hell's Hot Tub while the Straw Hats couldn't. Thus…
"GRAAAAAAGGHHHH!" Arlong roared, gnashing his teeth. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, WORTHLESS HUMANS!"
Once again, there was mocking laughter from the jailers. Arlong let it all slide over him. He simply memorised their faces and voices.
If we get the chance, I'll kill these bastards on our way out…
Arlong was released from the chain and, one by one, his friends underwent their baptisms.
"Release me!" Kuroobi shouted. "You'll regret angering a superior being—GYAAAAHHH!"
"I've been near undersea volcanos before, choo!" Chew said. "This is nothing—ARRRGGHHHH!"
"Waitwaitwait, I'm the one who makes the takoyaki!" Hatchan said, struggling more energetically than any of the others. "This isn't how it's meant to happen—NYOOOOO!"
When he saw his friends being dunked into the boiling water, Arlong felt a crushing sense of guilt despite knowing their reactions were exaggerated. He now knew exactly why the Straw Hats had reacted so much to Usopp's fake suicide.
The jailers exchanged money to settle their bets, then the two in charge clapped their hands.
"The baptisms are finished, so the prisoners can be moved on!" the male jailer said.
"It's time for them to change into their uniforms!" the female jailer said.
There were two doors leading on from the Hell's Hot Tub room. Arlong's group were led into the one marked with a symbol of a man.
Behind this door was another room with a long bench. On the bench were eight sets of black and white striped clothes.
Time to put on the local fashion…
Impel Down clearly had an impressive clothes supplier. Its uniforms came in all shapes and sizes, to fit everyone from giants all the way down to dwarves.
Once Arlong and the others were in their prisoners' uniforms, they were brought deeper into the prison. This involved walking down a corridor, during which Arlong noticed a Surveillance Transponder Snail in a corner of the ceiling. Impel Down was filled with these snails, allowing the jailers to observe almost everything going on.
At the end of a corridor was a desk where a human woman sat. This one had untidy blonde hair that fell over one eye, and her uniform was more decorated than the others Arlong had seen today.
The jailers all saluted the one behind the desk. Their two leaders both declared, "Vice Head Jailer Domino, here are the prisoners brought by Marine Captain Frederick!"
Domino nodded. "Thank you for your hard work. The levels for these prisoners have already been decided. Bring Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro to Level 5, Sanji and Arlong to Level 4, the rest to Level 3." She handed over a piece of paper with maps on it. "Here are the locations of their cells."
Zoro looked at Sanji and snickered a little—his bounty exceeded the hundred million mark while Sanji's did not, resulting in them going to different levels. Sanji might have retorted violently had he not been staring shamelessly at the woman behind the desk.
This guy is actually as bad with women as the others said? Arlong thought. Maybe we shouldn't have brought him here, no matter how good of a fighter he is… There's female jailers and prisoners who'd be beautiful by human standards. We can't have him stopping to ogle all the time. Maybe we should slap a blindfold on him.
Arlong's group was then led towards a large elevator. This was the official way to move people and goods between floors of Impel Down. Arlong had heard of other ways, but these were invariably difficult and dangerous to use.
The elevator spent over a minute cranking its way down—Impel Down was enormous, extending from the sea's surface all the way to the seabed.
During that time, Arlong heard pained screams and agonised yells. The jailers casually talked about how Arlong's group would be joining them, but Arlong didn't bother paying attention.
Towards the second half of the descent, Arlong felt the air become warmer and drier. It was a gradual change, but soon enough he began to sweat.
The elevator came to a stop and the door—a massive set of iron bars—rose up. The jailers brought Kuroobi, Chew, Hatchan and Usopp out into a dry and dusty landscape, the likes of which Arlong had only seen once before on a desert island.
Level 3… the Starvation Hell…
Arlong exchanged glances with his officers.
Don't you dare die in there, before the stealth team gets you out…
A couple of jailers on Level 3 approached and passed over some folded-up clothing. Then the door of the elevator slid back down. The elevator resumed its descent, causing Kuroobi, Chew and Hatchan to disappear from view.
During this leg of the descent, the jailers in the elevator put on thick clothing over their existing uniforms. That thick clothing appeared to be for protecting against extreme temperatures.
The elevator stopped again. Arlong and Sanji were brought out by four jailers into a world of pure, scorching, mind-numbing heat.
Guh… so this is Level 4… the Inferno Hell!
The heat here wasn't as intense as the boiling water of the "baptism". However, it was omnipresent. There was no escape here, no return to graciously cool air.
Arlong and Sanji walked across a stone path that stretched through the air. Below, far below this path was a sea of glowing red.
All that is boiling blood… Arlong thought, recalling the stories from his previous stay in Impel Down. They go to stupid amounts of effort to make this place as torturous as they can…
They came to a four-way intersection. Two jailers led Sanji on the left path, while the other two jailers kept Arlong going straight.
Scattered around the edges of the paths were countless cells, each a stone-walled box with iron bars at the front. The prisoners inside were dressed similarly to Arlong. Many looked up at the prisoner and jailers passing by. Others made no move at all, seeming more like corpses than living people. Some of the latter were corpses, just ones that had yet to be found and disposed of.
Finally, Arlong reached his cell. There was no one already occupying it. The only feature inside was a hole in the floor for relieving oneself in. There was no bed of any kind. Prisoners being expected to sleep on stone floor was one of Impel Down's less extreme tortures.
Arlong stepped inside and the door of bars slammed shut behind him.
"You get food and water once per day," one of the jailers said brusquely. "Start any trouble, and your reward is a dip in the blood pool."
"What if I want to go for a dip?" Arlong asked calmly. "It's the only place to swim around here. Say…" he bared his teeth, "does killing puny humans like you count as starting trouble?"
The jailers flinched and hurried away as fast as their legs could move. They weren't so brave now that there were just two of them.
Arlong sat down in the cell and rested his back against a wall. He closed his eyes.
Despite the tough front he'd put up earlier, and despite his recent growth in strength, he still had limits. He was still flesh and blood. Even humans could and had died in the Inferno Hell… and Arlong was a fish-man, a being adapted to the cool and watery depths.
Can't move around too much… or I'll overheat…
What am I thinking…? I'm already… overheated… grilled shark…
Thinking about it rationally, this whole plan had been ridiculous. Jinbe had landed himself in Impel Down out of his own stupid honour, and he certainly didn't expect anyone to try rescuing him. Arlong going back into Impel Down for Jinbe was ridiculous, a plan more likely to get him killed or imprisoned for life than to succeed.
Have to keep still… have to just stay put…
If I move… I'll die… before they can break me out…
Wait… who's going to try breaking me out?
Arlong racked his brains trying to find the answer. It wasn't easy. Even though he should've been sitting still against a wall, he felt as if he was being spun around at high speed.
Hachi… Hatchan? Chew? Kuroobi? Someone else from the crew?
No, wait, they're locked up too… It can't be them.
But who else… would want to save a scumbag like me?
Arlong felt sweat trickling across his closed eyes. The feeling was irritating, so he tried raising one hand to wipe it away. But it took so much effort just to lift his hand by a few finger-breadths.
So… tired…
Can't give up yet… gotta pull myself… together!
I came here to rescue… to rescue…
Another mystery plagued Arlong now. Just who was he here for? Who had made him dive back into the hellhole that was Impel Down?
Someone I respect… got to be… but who the hell is it!?
Brother Tiger… yes, that's it! I'd go to hell and back for him!
An image of a smiling sea bream fish-man entered Arlong's mind. Then he was replaced by a bloody corpse. Then that was replaced by a towering figure of golden light.
N-No… that can't be it! Fisher Tiger would never end up in a place like this!
But… who? Why did I end up back here?
Arlong tried to open his eyes, hoping that seeing his surroundings would shed some light on these mysteries. Yet it felt like his eyelids had turned to lead.
Or… did I never… get out of Impel Down at all…?
That… makes sense… It's the prison… no one ever… escapes…
Everything… Jinbe letting me out… going to those islands… losing to humans… must've all… been a dream…
Nobody… escapes… Impel… Down…
"—long!"
"Capt—, wake up!"
"Arl—!"
This… is… just… another… dream…
Something wet was pressed on his forehead. The spinning sensation began to fade.
"Arlong! You can't die like this!"
A cool liquid flowed across Arlong's lips. He coughed and retched and opened his eyes.
"Wha… What the hell is…?"
"ARLONG!"
Filling Arlong's vision were the faces of his three officers, his three friends: Hatchan, Chew and Kuroobi. They were looking at him with worried expressions. Also, for some reason, they were all wearing jailers' uniforms.
"Don't drink too fast, nyoo!" Hatchan cried.
"I… I won't…" Arlong said. He reached up and felt the damp rag on his forehead. "Th-Thanks…"
After a few more moments of recovery, Arlong got back on his feet with his friends' help. It was then that he realised who was standing outside the cell. One of them was the strange skeleton, and the other was someone who Arlong had difficulty looking at. Both were also in jailers' uniforms.
"Glad to see you made it… Arlong," Nami said.
"It'd take more than this to kill me," Arlong retorted. "How long… has it been?"
"Just over two hours, since the ship arrived," Nami said. Her tone became regretful. "It… took our team longer than expected to get down here unseen."
"Impel Down's security is truly tight," Brook said. He lightly twirled his cane, one that Arlong knew to contain a sword. "Particularly at this time, with our captain's brother and your former captain being kept here."
As his mind cleared, Arlong remembered the plan. One of the stealth team's roles had been to steal Impel Down uniforms for them and the prisoner teams to wear. This didn't guarantee safety, but it would at least let them move around without alerting the prisoners in the cells. That would have caused a commotion and drawn the real jailers' attention.
Arlong grabbed the bottle Hatchan was holding and drank the rest of the water. He changed into a jailer uniform that Chew handed him.
"Alright, let's move."
"Arlong, are you sure you don't need more time?" Kuroobi asked. "When we found you, you were in even worse shape than we were up on Level 3!"
All the way back in the planning stage, several had objected to this step of the plan: the prisoner team actually entering Impel Down and suffering its ordeals for a time. Yet there had been no other realistic option. True, Arlong's group could have been rescued—or broken free—earlier, but no matter how that was done, the Impel Down staff would notice. Any fights, any jailers going missing, any prisoners not going to their intended cells would have been noticed.
If any of us had a Devil Fruit to change people's memories, we wouldn't have had to go this far, Arlong thought. Or maybe a Devil Fruit for copying other people's appearances, to imitate the jailers… But in the end, we had to work with what we've got.
"I'll be fine as long as we don't get into any fights right away," Arlong insisted. "And if we do get into fights now, then the mission is a bust anyway. Let's move."
The four fish-men, the skeleton and the human woman departed from the cell. With Nami in the lead, they took a circuitous path through the inferno of Level 4, often taking turns when a straight path would have been quicker. This allowed them to slip through the gaps in the surveillance network of Transponder Snails—they couldn't count on the real jailers being fooled by the uniforms. It was also different from the path Arlong had taken when being brought to his cell.
"It's surprising we can run through here at all, and not get seen," Arlong commented.
"The tortures of this place are a double-edged sword," Nami said, her face dripping with sweat. "It means their Surveillance Transponder Snails can only survive in a few places. Here, that means the relatively cold spots."
And, as all the Arlong Pirates knew quite well, Nami was good at finding such things. Their former scheme had used her skills as a major component.
"How much of the layout could you find maps for?" Arlong asked.
Looking for such information had been a role of the stealth team, those that had stowed away in the ship's hold and then snuck into Impel Down.
"For all six levels," Nami replied in a whisper.
Arlong slowed down for a brief moment. "Six? But there should only be five…"
"We're not claiming you lied to us," Brook said gravely. "But we clearly found documents for six different levels of Impel Down. And the map for the sixth… was kept under the tightest security by far."
Arlong thought about the hazards of the five levels he knew about, and the prisoners kept on some of those levels. If this Level 6 truly existed, then it would be worse than all the levels above it, a true hell on earth.
AN: I decided to minimise the roles of the Impel Down staff who are shown in canon. It's because this drop-off of prisoners isn't as big of an event as Hancock visiting in canon was, so the high-ranking staff have less reason to appear.
The original version of this chapter had the pretend-prisoners enduring the baptism (also, Usopp didn't escape early on). I changed my mind on this since it would be counterproductive for the rescue plan, but I'll post the original text below:
Luffy entered the water and made no noise. He did not struggle.
The watching jailers looked more and more uncertain with each passing second. Eventually, the female jailer ordered, "Pull him up!"
Luffy was hoisted out of the boiling water again. Despite the scalds all over his body, he showed no pain on his face, just an unrelenting determination.
"P-Put him down and string up Roronoa Zoro…"
The baptisms continued. After each one, the jailers became increasingly stunned.
"Thanks for that," Zoro said, casually crossing his arms. "I hadn't had a bath in a while."
"You think a chef is afraid of a little boiling water?" Sanji declared contemptuously.
"I screamed the last time," Arlong said after his turn. "Not giving you that satisfaction again, you worthless pieces of shit."
Kuroobi said nothing during or after his baptism. He simply bore it stoically, like an ideal martial artist.
"I've been to underwater volcanoes hotter than this, choo," Chew said.
"Nyoo!" Hatchan said. "Now I know what it's like being all those takoyaki I make…"
By the time Usopp's turn arrived, the jailers looked despondent. On the other hand, Arlong now felt a little worried.
This guy might be dangerous, but he's not ridiculously tough like the other three. Is he going to be alright?
Usopp was clenching his teeth as he was brought over the Hell's Hot Tub. Before he entered the water, he closed his eyes and lips—no use getting scalded in more places than necessary, after all.
Arlong watched the human stay in the boiling water for a good five seconds. Throughout that time, he twitched slightly. But he didn't struggle wildly in an attempt to escape.
When Usopp was reeled back up, there was an expression of agony on his face. Even then, he did not scream.