Here is the thirteenth chapter in this story released in accordance with my upload schedule for this story. Level 5 has been cleared and so it's time for the second wave of escapees to head up to Level 4 where a few more of the ringleaders' subordinates are being held. That means that it is time to head on up another level and free them, along with whoever they're being housed with, and swell the number of escapees in this wave. That's not all that is on Level 4 and a few others might find some gems on this floor, if they know where to look that is. That is all that I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and while there are no questions to answer there as a guest review that needs a response so I will do that now. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate.
To KGBeastboy (guest), thank you for your review, suggestions, and clarifications. There is a chance that I bring in Coco and her team as a small 4 person crew in the New World known as the Coffee Pirates (4 is the smallest known pirate crew in the New World with the Ideo Pirates so it works) and there is a spot for them so I will consider them. In terms of their jolly roger, I like the idea of a steaming skull with her style though the coffee mug is a bit much, I'll probably change it to a brown rather than black flag background making them the second crew after the Black Bulls to not use a black background. There is also Coco's Devil Fruit which would be the Hype-Hype Fruit and allow her to increase the acceleration of anything she released from her hands and this would apply to bullets or fired cannons as well. In regards to the rest of her crew, Velvet would of course be a faunus but that is a good one for her, plays into something that I'll reveal in Marineford, and differentiate her from Mirko's Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit while also allowing Velvet to claim, if she wants, that she's always in her hybrid form like Mirko is. I have listened to all 3 RWBY novels and so I know that Fox is blind and this certainly works for him and fits within One Piece canon. Plus, as they'll be a New World crew him growing up there would explain why he learned Observation Haki so quickly. I like the Foxy tie and the annoyance at that, certainly if Luffy ever meets him and sees the tattoo and name he'd make that assumption much to Fox's annoyance so that could be there as well. With Yatsuhashi, it's fine that he's of Wano heritage but it should be so far removed that he's got no desire to go back and as such has no desire to aid it out, and frankly can't if things go according to plan. Skillful Grade works for his sword as well. I like the descriptions of Moonfish and Muscular's Devil Fruits so look out for them in the next wave of Devil Fruit entries in that side piece which is currently set to come out after chapter 17 (I added one final one) which will be the end of this arc. Good point on the fish-man traits that are fish based, that could be part of the weird genetic mix of mink and fish-man and a replacement for the electro that minks have. Whether we see them or not in Marineford is to be seen, they may end up getting taken out early as part of an underwater recon unit to try and spot Whitebeard and manage it but can't relay it in time though they won't be dead. I have seen 4 of the One Piece films (annoyingly some of the ones I want to see were never dubbed and I lack the focus to watch subs) so I know Z, Gold, Stampede, and Red so I recall how Tanaka's fruit works. Vanish-Vanish is better for Gueldre as it still provides the invisibility he's known for though I will stick to it being unique and different from Clear-Clear and Camo-Camo in the sense that it allows any Devil Fruit attack to pass through it, with two notable exceptions (Asta and Blackbeard) and can only be observed by high level Observation Haki. There will of course be the typical Devil Fruit extension to objects ability with it and the name fits well. My only concern with working out Gueldre's Devil Fruit, and why it won't be seen during the Impel Down arc, is how similar it could be to Togata's, which itself would differ from Tanaka's in that rather than passing through things and extending his power to them, things pass through him including light and sound, so there are still some details to work out for Gueldre but Vanish-Vanish as a name works well. In terms of awakening Devil Fruits, like with Conqueror's Haki and in keeping with my desire to remained balanced in this story I am going to limit the awakenings to the same number of controlled awakenings in One Piece be they canon or like Bullet and Tesoro non-canon. At last count that is 10 as I don't count the 5 Demon Guards (yes I include Minochihuahua in that) as they don't have control over them. Now that number can, and almost certainly will increase as I expect the other 4 Elders to have awakened Devil Fruits and I'm sure that at least one of the other Straw Hat Devil Fruit users will awaken his or her Devil Fruit along with one Logia type awakening so the number is bound to increase in time. Regardless, right now, of the 10 slots that I have for awakened Devil Fruits, 6 are filled with a 7th penciled in depending on what I do with the character so there are only 3 slots at the moment and Gueldre isn't exactly one who might fit it. However, having that as his awakened power does fit well and so even if I don't awaken it in the series I may one day do a hypothetical awakening list for the new Devil Fruits so it's good to know on that front. I hope you understand on this front. Lastly, I have tried to watch Strong World but it just didn't do it for me so I never managed to finish it. It is non-canon though but Shiki is one of two movie characters who is canon confirmed so I will listen to the idea as the film can play no role in this story due to it occurring before the events of Sabaody. I will use non-canon film characters (and mention game characters), at least when applicable, but films would be their own story as so far none of the New World films but Z can neatly fit in canon. Z is a bit of an exception thanks to an earlier suggestion of yours that will be worked in if possible so stay tuned there. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.
Anyway, that is enough for this long pre-chapter note so sit back and enjoy the thirteenth chapter in The Ultimate Worst Generation.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these great franchises.
Chapter 13: Blazing Breakout
"Ah Nagant, there you are." Patry said as Nagant and Dazu reached the now decently sized group that had amassed by the open doors to the stairs up to Level 4. "I see that you've found someone."
"Yes, this is Dazu, my first recruit and officer." Nagant said simply. "Consider her in the same standing as your senior officers."
As Nagant spoke she looked around at the others who'd gathered at the doorway. The other 4 from Level 6 all had one person by their sides indicating that they'd either found who they'd said they would in Kai and Jose's cases, already had them in Patry's, or were whatever the still cuffed large man was who was grumbling next to William while tree roots that extended from William's palm held him in place.
In all honesty, Nagant didn't really care for any of them, but it was interesting to see the senior officers of the other crews. After all, she'd likely be working with their Captains in the wake of this escape so it was good to know who they were.
In addition to the 3 new faces, there was a mass of about 50, it was actually 52 so Nagant's estimation wasn't far off, were off to the side and waiting on them as they tried to warm up now that they were out of their cells. Clearly these were those who'd been freed, either deliberately or inadvertently, by Jose, Kai, and William as they found who they wanted and had opted to escape with them. Notably Muscular and Moonfish weren't there.
"I take it the two I freed have already headed on." Nagant said as they all began to make their way to the stairs up now that she was here so they could move on up. "If you noticed that is."
"Yes, it was hard to miss them so we gave them a wide birth as they moved." William said as mercifully they exited the Freezing Hell and closed the doors behind them so that any still living wolves couldn't follow them though they didn't lock them so that any other prisoners might be able to break out if they wanted. "They aren't exactly stable, are they?"
"No, they're not." Nagant said as they began to run up the stairs with herself, William, Patry, and Rhya taking the front and Jose, Kai, Aria, and Chrono the back to ensure the mass of escapees made their way to the next level. "They deserve to be here but they have their uses to us as they will be of use clearing a path. From the reports that I've seen you need Armament Haki to bypass Muscular's defense and Moonfish has range."
"Well, I don't think there will be that much resistance given the wave before us." Rhya said. "We'll probably have to deal with the Demon Guards and Magellan at some point but with the numbers of the earlier escape it's a good shot that most of the guards are likely out and any left will be dealt with by those two."
"Power to power I'd say that Muscular can handle the Demon Guards with ease while the high ranking guards like Sadie and Saldeath, and even the Vice Warden, are no match for either of them." Nagant said unaware that the Vice Warden was already out of commission while Sadie had just been skewered, but not killed, by Moonfish and was being dragged to safety by Saldeath so that she could be treated removing them from the battlefield as well while Moonfish carried on through Impel Down. "My concern is Magellan. His poison is a nuisance and can defeat both of our charging meat shields."
"I agree so we still need to be ready for any resistance but it's not like we can't defeat Magellan if it comes to it." Patry said. "My light constructs won't be affected by his poison, and I bet you can shoot him without him noticing."
"So long as I have the time for the shot I can manage that but that's going to be hard as the focus is on escape and despite his constant diarrhea Magellan is still one of the strongest employees of the World Government and shouldn't be underestimated." Nagant said as they neared the entrance to Level 4 and the heat began to hit them. "But we can deal with that if it comes to it. Focus on the escape and the first thing we need to find are inmate manifests. You lot will need them to locate your officers and I may recognize a few who'd make good recruits for me."
"Agreed, we may know where Vetto and a few others are level wise but that is it." Patry said as they rounded the last spiral and slowed down to cautiously walk through the doorway, the door itself seemed to be gone, with Patry and Rhya forming light swords while Nagant changed her forearms to guns and roots burst from William's free hand. "Right be on guard now."
The others nodded as they moved through the hole where the doors had been as someone in the first wave of escapees had destroyed them and looked around while the others joined them in this area of Level 4. What greeted the second wave of escapees was a scene of complete destruction.
All over the area before them were downed guards that were either unconscious or in a fair few cases dead with their weapons, mainly rifles and swords but a few special sea prism stone weapons, strewn around them. In addition, there were several craters on the walls and floor. Clearly there had been an attempt to hold the earlier wave here that had failed though there were a few downed inmates and what looked like perverts as well so not all had made it through.
"Right, those of you who we've freed, grab anything that is useful so keys, swords, guns, or whatever, and move through Level 4." Patry said as the escaped inmates reached them. "Meet at the other side where the stairs to Level 3 are but don't go up as we don't know where Magellan is and only a few of us are equipped to face his so wait for the Level 6 prisoners. If any of you find any prisoner manifests, hand them to us and if you want to free cells on the way feel free to do so just remind them who is behind this escape wave."
There was a cheer to this as the inmates flooded forward and began to grab what was useful as they started to run through Level 4. All knew who they owed and who they couldn't betray, a few had seen the Level 6 inmates kill Level 5 inmates who'd not cooperated, so they knew that they were no match for them thus left them to it. Pus these guys, and gal, were clearly strong so sticking with them could be good in the long run, especially if Magellan made an appearance.
"Here boss, we found a few manifests." One of the inmates said handing them to Kai who'd been the ringleader that had freed him. "The pointed ear dude with blond hair said you needed them."
"Thanks." Kai said taking them not caring for the grunt who'd handed him the list. "This will be useful in finding where Mimic and Kendo are."
The grunt nodded and hurried off while Kai passed out the lists to the other 4 Captains and they looked at them for a moment. Nagant was the first to notice a name on the Level 4 page that she recognized and turned to head off to the far flung area that housed the handful of women on Level 4.
"See someone you want?" Patry asked as he found Vetto's name and cell number noting that while it was one of the many communal ones on Level 4 it was in an area as far from the doors as possible.
"Yes." Nagant said as she moved, not divulging who it was. "Come Dazu. You need to stick with me."
"Right." Dazu said sweating bullets and very uncomfortable but listening to the woman who'd just freed her and who she was now on a crew with.
"I'll see you boys at the stairs to Level 3." Nagant said.
With that Nagant headed off with her new recruit, who none of them had any idea about but if that woman had been held on Level 5 then she had to be dangerous despite her apparent meekness, leaving the boys to it. Nagant knew that they would sort things out on their end as they had men to free on Level 4 and so she could focus on her own plan of action.
"This is worse than Level 5." Dazu complained, her breath labored as they walked. "I never thought I'd miss the cold."
"This is called the Burning Heat Hell for a reason." Nagant said unfazed by the heat despite the sweat that was dripping off her body suggesting otherwise but she'd likewise not been affected by the cold as trivial tortures like this were nothing to a woman like her. "Each level of this shithole is a different kind of hell. Here there's a burning pool of blood and they keep it hot. It also cooks the level above which is like a desert though the hell up there is starvation."
"This is utterly sadistic." Dazu said disgust in her voice. "And they have the gall to call this justice. It's just what I'd expect from tyrants and oppressors."
"It's certainly not humane and extremely hypocritical but we don't live in a humane world." Nagant said. "What you experienced is just scratching the surface of the criminality of the elites and how they use the concept of absolute justice to justify their oppression and the atrocities they commit. The safety that they project and claim to protect is just a façade and some of the worst people are those who run it."
"So the Clover Kingdom is just a small version then." Dazu said. "And seeing this level it makes me think that it's nowhere near as bad back home as it is elsewhere."
"Pretty much." Nagant admitted. "The Clover Kingdom is a microcosm of the world, one of many and while alone we can't change that, we can at least further the descent of this world to chaos. Best to wash away the hypocritical and corrupt system and see if something better can replace it than to fight for it. Just look at the current situation, the Navy has provoked a war with Whitebeard in an effort to end him with their combined might but all they'll do is cause more issues if they kill him."
"I know who Whitebeard is but that's about it." Dazu admitted. "I'm, er, a rather sheltered girl really. I never left my hometown until my revolution and never left Clover until they shipped me off here."
"I can tell and yet you have an innate leadership to you, one that could be nurtured it's why I decided to recruit you and appoint you first mate." Nagant said. "Well, that and the fact that you know how bad the system is and want it destroyed so we share the same goal in that regard."
"I never set out like this but yeah I had hundreds, probably thousands, following me in the end." Dazu admitted. "And we still couldn't change our homeland. In the end me, Bow, and 5 other original members, 2 had already been captured, exchanged our freedom for pardons for our followers and a promise of change because they saw how deadly we could be. I don't believe that they'll honor that promise but I had to save my followers and this was the only way to do so. I never thought that I'd get a chance to see Clover again, let alone return with the strength to enforce that change."
"A wise strategy, it makes you a martyr of sorts and gives those who you saved a point to rally behind should the elites fail to live up to their promise." Nagant said. "Stick with me and you'll grow so that one day you can see your homeland again and then you can actually make it better."
"I will." Dazu said, she'd gotten a good feeling from the older woman and if nothing else this allowed her to see the world and grow as a person for when she returned and made Clover pay for the no doubt broken promises. "I take it there's someone here who you want as well. Someone who can help us."
"Yes, someone a bit like you in a sense only with a wider understanding of the world and who was once on my hit list back in the day." Nagant said. "I recognized her name and was surprised she ended up here and not in the ground as she was a bit of a thorn in the side of a notable elite in the West Blue who aspired to be a World Noble."
"Er I don't get that." Dazu admitted.
"No, you wouldn't, sorry." Nagant said knowing that there were going to be things she'd have to educate Dazu on but given the girl's potential Nagant was fine with that. "Basically, I was a Navy Vice Admiral back in the day but that was just a cover for my real job as a covert assassin for the Navy and the World Government."
"Yeah, you mentioned." Dazu said. "I'm not surprised that the World Government did that, seems like par for the course with them at this point."
"Pretty much but the assassinations I carried out, and I wasn't the only one I was just the best at range and could pick someone off alone and then they'd disappear, weren't always bad pirates or other criminals worthy of Level 6 of Impel Down." Nagant explained. "Some were corrupt officials who had to be made to disappear rather have their corruption exposed, some were personal enemies of the powers that be, and some were just those who stood in the way of the hegemony of the World Government, and by extension the power of the Navy. The woman I saw on the prisoner manifest is one such person and so she was added to my long list of enemies to kill."
"And she's the one here." Dazu said. "On this level that is."
"Correct." Nagant replied.
"So, who is she?" Dazu asked. "She must be skilled to end up this deep in Impel Down."
"She is as she's a talented fighter who passed the officer training course in the Navy with flying colors after being personally recruited to the Navy 15 years ago by a Vice Admiral who hailed from the same island in the New World as she did." Nagant explained. "He's very popular there so he's a good recruiter but of all his recruits from his homeland, she's in the top 5 for skill from what I heard back at Navy HQ. Hard to doubt that as she was top of her officer training class but as I was still a Commodore then, so I never met her. I would have though, like all top female recruits she was going to be assigned to Vice Admiral Tsuru's command which I was under at the time, but I didn't."
"Why?" Dazu asked. "She sounds like someone the Navy would really want."
"She was but she rejected her commission and returned to her homeland with the skills she'd learned instead in a major blow for the Navy and to the honor of Vice Admiral who recruited her." Nagant said. "The reason for it was unclear at the time but if I had to guess she realized that there were issues with the Navy and it's role in the World Government's system and opted not to continue. Regardless, she put that to good use returning to the only city on her homeland and began to do good there. Alas, like Clover, where she comes from is another microcosm for the world."
"Corruption and elitism then." Dazu said. "Along with oppression and other forms of tyranny and exploitation."
"Yup, one of the worst that I know of." Nagant admitted. "See, that island isn't actually part of the World Government, they are a vassal of another island that is a member of the World Government and just so happens to be one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. The only odd thing about it is that that nation is located in the West Blue."
"Come again?" Dazu asked. "I don't really know geography well but that sounds a bit off."
"They aren't as far as you'd expect, the West Blue borders the New World half of the Grand Line, but it is one of the stranger territories out there." Nagant said. "There are theories that the two islands were once one but the wealthy and more advance part moved to the West Blue in the distant past. Hard to blame them, the island in the New World is a winter island and a bad one at that, though there is no proof to the theories. Regardless, the island is poor with one city on it that encircles the only hospitable part but the land itself is rich in minerals and those are owned by their overlords in the West Blue with one family owning almost all of the mineral rights."
"I see where this is going." Dazu said. "Let me guess, they use the people there to mine and line their pockets on the backs of the poor."
"Pretty much and it's even worse as they use slave labor, mainly faunus and fish-man as those are physically strong and hardy races, to do so." Nagant said disgust in her voice. "The head of the family who basically owns the island is a cold bastard who cares only for money and power and so greedily exploits it with no regard for sentient life."
"That's horrible." Dazu said. "Clover is bad but this sounds worse."
"It is but Clover is lucky as while it is wealthy it doesn't have the resources that breed extreme greed." Nagant said. "Anyway, back to the potential recruit. After this woman rejected her commission she returned to her homeland and quickly became known as it's hero she began to clean up the rampant crime that had grown up in the wake of the poverty there and worked hard to make it a better place for the people who called it home. She amassed a strong following and did all she could to defy and fight against their overlords and the World Government and they didn't like that."
"I bet." Dazu said darkly. "They don't like those who threaten their power."
"They never do, it's why about 5 years ago as it was shortly before I snapped, I was told by the Celestial Dragon who handled me that I was to go and make sure that she was taken care of." Nagant said. "The family that owned the rights there were as wealthy as some of the Celestial Dragons so that bought them a lot of influence. The head of the family was very grateful to the Celestial Dragons and wanted to be one, so the head called in a favor to eliminate her and get things back on track as the Celestial Dragons benefited well from their business together."
"That family had that much influence?" Dazu asked amazed. "I may have grown up in the sticks but even I know the stories of the Celestial Dragons."
"If you have money, power, and something to offer then you can leverage that at times, especially if you know how the game works and can play to the interests of the Celestial Dragons." Nagant said. "In this case that family did so the Celestial Dragons agreed but as she wasn't a valid target I declined. I had some say on that front but it came with backlash."
"Was that what made you snap?" Dazu asked.
"No but I was already disillusioned by then." Nagant said. "I was in too deep however and the more jobs I tried to refuse the worse it would get. My breaking point came a year later and shortly after some kids who looked up to the Navy wanted my autograph as I was a well-known Vice Admiral at the time. I realized that my hands were covered in blood from my assassinations, killing in combat is one thing but killing in cold blood is another though you're also a killer so you know, and the walls I had erected in my mind finally cracked."
"That's what caused it?" Dazu asked.
"It was the sharp contrast that got me." Nagant said. "There were kids who'd been brainwashed into thinking that the Navy and World Government were good and recognized me as one such member because I'd saved their hometown from a pirate but I knew the true state of the world. A few days after that I was ordered to kill people who had offended the Celestial Dragon that I reported to. I refused as they weren't fair targets, just irritants to him, and he got angry and threatened to make me his slave wife if I didn't go through with it. I knew his proclivities and that was the final straw that broke me and I killed who really needed to be killed, him."
"I see, well I commend that." Dazu said as they neared the cell that was tucked away in a back corner. "So, you don't know what happened to this woman then."
"I heard through the dark circles that I was a part of that someone from the Group of Terror, one of the various slave assassin squads used by the Celestial Dragons for things even I couldn't be used for, was dispatched to kill her instead but failed and was either killed or captured." Nagant said. "That would discourage any more attempts for sure as it's leverage that makes the World Government look bad. However they seemed to have found a way to capture her and we can find out how as where here."
As she finished speaking, Nagant and Dazu came to a stop in front of the cell that was in the far corner of Level 4 so too far from the earlier wave to be affected and looked into the only communal cell for women held in the Blazing Heat Hell. Inside were 13 women who'd been sent here were standing or sitting around the standard Impel Down communal cell all with manacles on their wrists.
The moment the two women came to a stop the Level 4 women looked at them and Dazu shied away a bit from the sudden attention, but Nagant stood strong. Her eyes were only focused on one of them, a tall, well-built, and slightly tanned, woman sitting on the bench at the back of the cell not talking to the others her hands on her knees and thick sea prism stone shackles on her wrists connected by a chain.
The woman had long, light blonde, hair that fell past her shoulders and hung loose around her head which swayed a bit as she looked up the moment that Nagant and Dazu got there. She had piercing violet eyes not dissimilar to Nagant's purple eyes and two beauty marks, one under her right eye and the other on the left side of her mouth.
"Hello ladies, today's your lucky day as you're getting out of here." Nagant said to them as she pulled out the hard gel keys that she'd been given by Rhya back on Level 5 and slotted one into the lock though the entire time, she was meeting the other set of purple colored eyes. "Head to the exit to Level 3 and grab any weapons from fallen guards or inmates you find as there seems to have been a battle here before."
"We heard." One of the women said though she wasn't anyone Nagant would call memorable. "Unfortunately, we're kept far away from the men, so no one passed us during any of the confrontations here."
"Given the people who are held here I'd say that's a good thing." Nagant said as she opened the lock. "Now you will get a choice of crews to join, or just a place to be dropped off if you so choose, but there is strength in numbers so anyone in a cell with one of the ringleader's crew members or one of my potential recruits is getting a free ticket out of here. I only ask that Hill Robyn remains behind as I want a word with her."
"Who are you to demand that of me?" Robyn, the woman with the violet eyes Dazu noted, asked glaring at Nagant her voice defiant despite the heat and what she'd no doubt been through while in Impel Down. "And why do you want to talk to me?"
"I can demand that because in this shithole I'm considered the second most dangerous woman and the only one other than Catarina Devon to be held in Level 6 but I assure you that I'm more dangerous than she is." Nagant said as she opened the door. "Meanwhile my crewmember here was held on Level 5, so that's all the credentials she needs. As for why I want to talk to you, well, I know all about your skills and background Robyn which is why I want to make you an offer."
"She's all your lady, we want nothing to do with this truth seeing politician." One of the other women whose face had noticeable scars said. "She's no pirate or criminal so not one of us. I just want out of this place."
"Then go." Nagant said as she stepped back and tossed the keys to the woman who spoke. "These will work. Drop them on your way out."
The woman thanked Nagant and unlocked her shackles before doing the same for the other women in the cell. After that she dropped them on the floor and moved out of the cell with the others joining her.
Robyn however remained where she was sitting in the cell as she got a sense from the purple and pink haired woman that she was someone not to be messed with. After all, her eyes were dark and hollow, and Robyn knew the look of a true killer when she saw one. Plus this woman had come from the mysterious Level 6 so there had to be a very good reason why she was locked away in the Eternal Hell that was not publicly recognized and Robyn wanted to know why. That and she looked kinda familiar.
"So, you know me, but I don't know you." Robyn said. "Which means that you have me at a disadvantage. So, who are you?"
"I was almost one of your commanding officers back when you were a top recruit in your officer training class." Nagant said surprising Robyn as that alone indicated that the woman was ex-Navy. "Back then I was known as Commadore Tsutsumi Kaina, one of the top officers under Vice Admiral Tsuru but as you can see things have rather changed for me."
"Tsutsumi Kaina?" Robyn asked as the name clicked and she recognized it and thus the woman before her which caused her eyes to go wide in shock. "Yeah, I recall the name, you were a legend even in the academy. The best sniper not just in the Navy but the world. Even the likes of Rear Admiral Snipe or that infamous pirate Yasopp weren't on your level. What the hell are you doing in Impel Down? For that matter how'd a Level 6 inmate get up here? I thought that place was just a myth though I have heard rumors about the Eternal Hell since getting here."
"Oh, it's real all right, and as for how I ended up there, well, the short of it is that the Navy and World Government is a corrupt, hypocritical façade that I served as a murderer for assassinating their enemies." Nagant said darkly her tone chilling the Robyn despite the blazing heat all around her. "Including you I might add as you were on my list at one point because you were an irritant to the World Government but as you'd not actually committed a crime I refused to assassinate you. Shortly afterwards I snapped, killed a Celestial Dragon, and got sent here to be forgotten about. They even declared me dead to ensure it."
"I'm not surprised by any of that." Robyn said as she got up and walked towards Nagant, the chain on her manacles clinking as she held her arms out. "Mind if I prove your story though. My Devil Fruit can manage that, and it's got no offensive capabilities so I'm no threat."
"Dazu, unlock her cuffs." Nagant said without hesitation showing a good degree of trust in Robyn, not that she couldn't take the younger and taller woman if it came to it, and Dazu quickly complied by going over to the dropped keys, picking them up as Robyn walked up to here while turning her left forearm into a short barreled rifle and held it low ready to gut shot Robyn if it came to it. "Apologies for the gun but you're a trained marine who no doubt has strong hand to hand and might even have mastered some of the 6 powers like I have so even if you didn't accept the commission so I can't be too careful."
"Like you I mainly fight at range, but I understand and respect your caution." Robyn said not commenting or asking about Nagant's Devil Fruit as Dazu reached her and quickly removed the other woman's shackles while careful not to touch the sea prism stone before she backed away fast to stand behind Nagant. "Interesting recruit there. If you'd not shown up with her I'd never have guessed that she'd come from the Freezing Hell."
"Any woman who has no bounty but gets sent straight to Level 5 has serious potential." Nagant said as Robyn held out her right hand to the older woman. "I'm a good judge of that thanks to my Navy days and Tsuru's mentorship so I freed her as soon as I was done with my main mission downstairs."
"Well let's see if all that is true." Robyn said. "Take my hand Kaina."
"My alias when I was an assassin was Lady Nagant so that's the name that I'm using from now on though just Nagant is fine." Nagant said as she grasped Robyn's right hand in hers. "The Navy isn't wrong in saying that Tsutsumi Kaina is dead."
"Very well." Robyn said understanding to some extent what Nagant was saying as a yellow glow appeared between their hands. "Now let's see if you speak the truth. Repeat what you said to me along with anything else about your past that you feel like I should know."
Nagant did and added a brief overview of her history as an assassin for the World Government. As she did the glow turned from yellow to green and remained that color while Nagant spoke. Robyn didn't show any surprise at that as she nodded but didn't remove her hand.
"Thank you." Robyn said. "So, you are telling the truth about how you got here and the crimes you committed for the World Government. Now why are you here for me?"
"First my question." Nagant said as the glow returned to yellow also not breaking the contact as she'd deduced how Robyn's power worked and needed to test to see if it worked on the user as well as the target. "What's you're Devil Fruit?"
"I ate the True-True Fruit and became a Human Lie Detector." Robyn said the glow shifting back to green. "It allows me to create this glow if I make skin to skin contact with another person. Anything either of us says can cause it to glow red for a lie or green for the truth. Handy Devil Fruit for a politician, especially because it works on the user as well so I'm not exempt from it, hence why I ate it after I returned to Mantle. I don't need combat skills; I got those already thanks to the Navy."
"It is useful, especially so for what I am doing on my way out of Impel Down." Nagant said noting that the glow remained green as Robyn spoke. "Very well, I want you to be on my crew that I'm forming as part of this mass breakout. For various reasons I'm going to ally our crew with at least 3 former Warlords who were locked up in Level 6 as we all have vengeance in our hearts, but this alliance, which will be worked out after we escape, is simply one of mutual aid. We all have our own agendas and mine is to work to destroy this corrupt façade of a world. To do so I need a crew so I'm forming the Rifle Pirates and recruiting the senior officers on my way out of Impel Down. I want you, Hill Robyn, to be my quartermaster."
"Interesting." Robyn said noting the green glow over their connected hands so Nagant was telling the truth. "Why me? I'm not a pirate, outlaw sure but no pirate, so why not someone else?"
"Because I know that you don't like the way the world is either and know the true nature of it thanks to being from Solitas and seeing at least a glimpse of the Navy." Nagant said. "Dazu's the same as she is from the Clover Kingdom which has a similar structure to the World Government. She's my first mate but as you know quartermaster is an equal rank and I will be seeing both of you as joint second in command of my crew. Your skills and leadership are valuable, Robyn, that is why I want you. To sweeten this, I will do all I can to help you with Mantle when the time comes."
"Well, you are telling the truth and the offer is a good one." Robyn said. "Plus I do owe you for not killing me as your sniping reputation does mean that I'd have been dead before I realized."
"You wouldn't have even heard the shot." Nagant said without emotion. "And no one would have found your body as well."
"Very well, I know the importance of working with people so I'll join and accept this position under you on two conditions." Robyn said the glow still green. "The first is that you free my captured comrades. I ran a unit in Mantle known as the Happy Huntresses who aided me in making it a better place through legal and illegal means."
"How many are in your group?" Nagant asked.
"There were 5 of us, all girls, in my merry band." Robyn said. "Alongside me, 3 others were nabbed when the Navy came for us. We, er, were forced to turn to crime and became bandits when Atlas took more direct control 3 years ago and the exploitation worsened."
"That doesn't surprise me." Nagant said. "How long ago was that? It would appear that I've been here for a little more than 4 years so it's no wonder that I never heard that you'd turned to crime."
"We were forced to do that but I don't regret it because all I care about is the betterment of Mantle and her people." Robyn said and the green glow, and Nagant's own knowledge of the woman, confirmed it. "We worked for 18 months before Admiral Ironwood himself came as he felt it was his duty as a fellow Solitas native to personally stop our activities. We tried to fight but he and his special unit, the Ace Ops, were too much for us. We lost and were arrested for our crimes against a World Government country and its protectorate. Only Crimson, our silent member, wasn't caught but she's out there gathering intel. Free us all and not only will my comrades join but I'll give you any intel we have."
"I'm more than happy with that, Dazu's co-conspirators are joining as well, and I need capable crewmembers to fill the lower officer ranks." Nagant said. "They will have to fill roles on the crew and work but I agree to this condition."
"Don't worry, my girls will more than pull their weight." Robyn said the glow still green. "You have my word there."
"I can tell." Nagant said. "What's the other condition?"
"That when the time comes and trust me it will come within the next few years, I'm sure of it, that you agree to lend your aid to the liberation of Solitas." Robyn said. "We could use someone of your considerable talents."
"You have my word that I will do all I can to help even if I physically can't be there for some reason." Nagant said and the green glow remained. "More so, as a member of the soon to be formalize pirate alliance, I will do what I can to get the other crews on board as well if need be."
Again, the glow remained green, and Robyn was satisfied with Nagant's answer. She'd never actually expected to get out of this shithole once after she'd been thrown into it, but now she had a shot at freedom. If it meant becoming a pirate and serving under Lady Nagant then so be it as the woman was truthful about the other things and frankly Robyn was already a criminal so piracy was no big step for her. Plus she couldn't deny that Lady Nagant was a fearsome woman and a natural leader beyond even what Robyn could manage so she'd learn a lot from her.
"Then my skills, Devil Fruit, and comrades are at your disposal." Robyn said the green glow still intact. "Captain."
"Good then we must be moving, I expect the others have sorted out their own stuff here and are heading to the stairs to Level 3 by now." Nagant said breaking the contact, their hands were getting really sweaty thanks to the heat and prolonged contact, and turning to leave. "On the way tell me who your comrades are and I'll check the manifest. Same for you Dazu."
"Of course." Robyn said as they exited the cell and began to walk along the path that led around Level 4 and which would thus take them to the exit. "The three who are here are Marigold May, Thyme Fiona, and Greenleaf Joanna."
"And Bow's family name is Nokude." Dazu added. "The others are likely on Level 1 if they are here at all as they weren't as senior as me and Bow, we were the founders of our rebellion so she will be here for certain."
"Right let's see." Nagant said as she flipped through the list starting with the names on Level 3, but they weren't there, though there was one that caught Nagant's eye, so she moved to Level 2 and that was where she hit paydirt though as she began to speak her brows furrowed. "Got them, well, I think. Three, Bow, Fiona, and Joanna are all on level 2 and as all are women they will be in the same area far from the center of the level so it won't be hard to get all of them at once but, um, there's no Marigold May. There is someone with the family name of Marigold who's also on Level 2 and listed as being held in a special cell there but the name is clearly male, as is the gender marker, and his name is crossed out."
"Right, you're just looking at records and here it's separated on biological sex." Robyn said understanding the mistake and while she wasn't going to make a big deal of it she had to explain it to Nagant. "I apologize for not explaining it as it's not an issue to us but technically May is male, but she is a woman at heart."
"Oh, ok that explains the name then." Nagant said not really caring about that stuff. "Not why it's crossed out though. She's still on the list so she's not dead, they'll remove your name if that's the case, but you don't get out of Impel Down, excluding today of course, so this is odd."
"We can ask the other girls when we get them as I don't know what that means either." Robyn said glad to hear that Nagant was still treating May as the woman she was though. "So, we should hurry."
"Agreed." Nagant said as she put away the list. "Alright let's get moving. We're ahead of the boys, I think, but we shouldn't take too much time to get out of hell."
With that Nagant broke out into a run that caused Robyn and Dazu to do the same but as they did Dazu had a question. She knew it was because of her ignorance but if she was going to be part of this crew and more importantly be a senior officer who was one of the two who were second in command she needed to know.
"Um, Captain, what's a quartermaster?" Dazu asked surprising both ladies. "Sorry, I never left the Clover Kingdom until I was sent here so I don't know terminology. I've only ever seen a few ships in fact as I didn't live on the coast."
"She's your first mate?" Robyn asked looking at Nagant surprised that the older woman was placing so much faith in someone with so little knowledge.
"You can confirm with your Devil Fruit later if you want, and I can see how part of Dazu's Devil Fruit works at the same time, but yes she is." Nagant said. "Anyone who can inspire hundreds, if not thousands, to rise up in revolt of a corrupt and unjust system has serious leadership potential. She was such a threat that when she did negotiate a pardon for her followers in exchange for her freedom they sent her to Level 5. That's hard to achieve without a bounty. It will be some time before we can truly act so I want to use that to really train up Dazu."
"Impressive but I'll confirm for myself later." Robyn said looking at the meek woman. "I will take it at face value but forgive me for my skepticism."
"I understand." Dazu said. "I'd be the same in your shoes. The last few months have been rather overwhelming for me what with the attack on Clover, my rebellion, and then ending up in that arctic hellscape for what I thought would be the rest of my life. It's a lot for a poor country girl who'd never been 10 miles outside of her hometown until her rebellion kicked off."
"That must be a lot, I'm sorry to hear that." Robyn said. "Me and my girls will do all we can to help."
"Thank you." Dazu said, she wasn't very trusting but Robyn had been truthful with Nagant and something in her tone reassured the sheltered woman.
"Dazu, to answer your question, a ship's quartermaster is basically in charge of the running and maintenance of the ship." Nagant explained. "In the Navy it's a bit different given the rigid structure and crew sizes but for a pirate crew, based off what I know, the quartermaster basically run the ship, oversees supplies, food, inventory, finances, etc. and serve as a right hand to the Captain. A good quartermaster ensures that the ship operates smoothly and allows the Captain to focus on more important things. It's a position of authority and trust."
"I see so what does my role entail?" Dazu asked. "Because from what little I do know, the first mate is the second in command."
"That is true though as I've stated, for our crew I'll be considering you and Robyn equal to each other." Nagant said. "But basically, should I be unable to carry out my duties or am away you are in charge and speak with my voice. Your ability to inspire hundreds to follow you makes you suited for this role but there is more to a ship than just leadership, there is management and other things which is why I need a quartermaster and Robyn is better suited for that role."
"Given that Fiona ate the Store-Store Fruit and that I've always been better at support and organization than frontline combat this is actually a really got position for me to be in." Robyn said. "And don't worry Dazu, you will learn, and we will help you. I know of the Captain's reputation from her Navy days, if she can see potential then it's there."
"I do but there is more to this." Nagant said. "I specialize in ranged combat, so it is critical that I have a first mate who can lead from the front when we are in combat while I protect from where I am best though I can of course fight on the frontlines if need be."
"But I don't really know how to fight." Dazu said. "I can lead sure, I realized that in Clover, but my brief conflicts were surprise attacks that used trickery and deception. I won't lie, I am probably better suited for close combat, but I really know nothing about it."
"That's a fair way to fight and with your general first impression we will use that to our advantage at times as guile and subterfuge can be really useful." Nagant said though she did really need a proper seductress as neither herself nor her two recruits gave off that but she'd seen a potential recruit for that role on the manifest. "And don't worry, you will be trained in combat so that you can fight not just for the crew but your people when the time comes. Between me and Robyn you will be at a Navy officer's level within a year, probably less."
"Oh, th, thanks." Dazu said quietly. "I appreciate it."
"First though let's get out of here." Nagant said as they neared the exit to Level 3 and noticed even more destruction and bodies that littered the area while escapees from Levels 4 and 5 were gathering as they tooled up for the next level though only William was present from the 5 ringleaders that Rhya had released. "We're there. Oh, and as a price for freeing us you two, along with anyone else we free who has a Devil Fruit power, have to let Rhya the Disloyal touch your skin."
"That sounds really creepy." Robyn said and Dazu nodded. "And I recognize the name, he's a senior officer to the Warlord and Captain of the Elf Pirates, Patry."
"Former Warlord, he's one of 4 who I know from my time in Level 6 that has been stripped of his status but I admit that that phrasing could be seen as creepy." Nagant said. "I didn't mean it like that. Rhya ate the Copy-Copy Fruit so he can copy any Paramecia or Logia type power and as he was on Level 5 and freed during the first mass breakout, he was the one who came down to free us hence why we owe him it as none of this would be possible without him. It's the payment to the Elf Pirates, which are being reformed in the wake of this escape."
"Very well, not like mine is combat based anyway." Robyn said not realizing that with Rhya's unique Observation Haki her Devil Fruit was useless to him though Dazu's might have some use to him. "I can accept that and will tell Fiona to do the same as she's the only other Happy Huntress with a Devil Fruit power."
"I was the only one of the rebels with a Devil Fruit power." Dazu said as they reached William, the still vine wrapped Gueldre, and the other inmates. "So, it doesn't matter."
"Good." Nagant said as she looked at the scarred man, scars which Robyn nor Dazu made mention of though Dazu had already noticed them back on Level 5. "So, where are the others?"
"Coming, Rhya noticed something and rushed off while they're getting their officers that are all in the same area of this level." William said. "I see you have another recruit."
"Yup and time is a wasting." Nagant said. "Thankfully the Navy is busy with Fire Fist's execution, but we need to get out as soon as possible before they send in reinforcements or the forces here can recover."
"And we will." William said.
Nagant just grunted at that as she turned to Robyn to get her to check and confirm that Dazu was true in her intentions to join and her past, which as Nagant had expected she was, while they waited as it was something to do. It wouldn't be long as the others were just wrapping up what they were doing as well.
"William, Rhya, head to the exit as well." Patry had said once Nagant was away. "She'll no doubt free the other women here so best to have someone who can prevent any issues and maintain order in this escape. You never know what crimes people committed to end up here and it will take us some time to get Vetto and the others as they're not in a nearby part of the level."
"Agreed." William said as he and Rhya began to head forward and onto one of the many walkways that crossed above the boiling pool of blood and began to make their way to the stairs to Level 3. "Gueldre, come with us."
Gueldre, who'd been on his feet and was looking for a key so that he could get his cuffs off and use his Devil Fruit to slip out of William's power and book it to the exit, grumbled but he didn't have a say in the matter as William lifted him into the air and towed Gueldre along in his wake. This was fine though as Gueldre was an opportunist and right now he didn't have an opportunity, so he decided to bide his time and play along until he could.
"Get Vetto out of there." Rhya called out as they left. "We'll be waiting at the stairs for him."
Patry gave an acknowledgement, but they couldn't hear his words as they were now too far away and moving through the oppressive heat of the fourth level. It was bad and sapped energy in a different way to Level 5, but they pushed on through it without any real issues.
"Makes me wish for below." Gueldre grumbled from behind them. "It's too hot here."
"We are in hell." Rhya pointed out. "Though I've seen Level 6, honestly that might be the best place as there's no torture there."
"Occasionally Minotaurus would come and hit us with his club but other than that, being locked down with nothing to do is it's own kind of hell." William said as they walked. "Plus, you know the kind of people locked up down there, do you think mundane torture like this would bother them?"
"No, it wouldn't." Rhya admitted. "Patry wouldn't be fazed by anything that Impel Down has to offer, and I've seen the looks in Nagant and Kai's eyes, this is nothing to them. Jose, well he's a bit different in general and not someone I want to mess with though his power will be useful."
"See, so the only place to put people like that is in the bottom where they are forgotten about." William said. "It's also why Level 6 is a myth to many as the people there are too dangerous to be let out. It's why we all owe you for this."
"In all honestly we owe Straw Hat Luffy, his decision to break in and then out again led to all this, I was just fortunate enough to be on a first level cell in Level 5, so I got swept up in things." Rhya said. "But as this means that I can copy more powers I…"
Rhya suddenly trailed off as his Observation Haki picked up something odd on a walkway that was parallel to their own and which no one had gone near as there was clear signs of Magellan's poison on it, as well as on jail cells, so there was absolutely no need to be on it. However, there was something there that could be of use to them.
"What?" William asked not breaking stride as he looked over to Rhya while Gueldre continued to complain about the heat. "Is something up?"
"Maybe nothing, maybe something, I'm not sure." Rhya said trying to figure out what he was sensing as they neared a walkway connecting to the one that Rhya had noticed. "But I need to check it out as it could be something important. Stay the course and get to the exit but pick up the pace."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you." William said leaving it to Rhya and with that he began to jog and really drag Gueldre along in the air behind him. "See you at the stairs."
For his part Rhya just nodded before he slowed down to a walk. He wasn't much of a runner and given that the cell where Vetto was, and it would seem the other necessary people their new allies needed to release, was a fair bit off he had time to be leisurely as he moved onto a walkway that had several pools of poison on it.
The presence of the poison was annoying but Rhya just used Sally's Gel-Gel powers to turn his arms to gel and blast the sticky pink substance at the poison to cover it in the viscous gel before he hardened the gel. It wasn't as good as something like wax would be, or as good as Sally could make it, but it did manage to hold it in place and provide a cushion between Rhya and the poison as he walked. Still, he picked his way through it as he reached the walkway and turned to find a short distance the forms of 6 people laying in a large pool of poison. Well, 5 people and for some inexplicable reason a horse.
That was unexpected but what was more unexpected was that none of them were wearing prison stripes or guard uniforms and given the direction they'd fallen it looked like they'd been making their way down to the lower levels. This was really off but worth checking out as Rhya created more gel and made a ring around the figures before he hardened the gel so that he could stand on it. It wouldn't last forever but it would last for a good bit of time and that's what Rhya needed it to do as he reached the people and stepped up onto the gel as he returned his body to its normal state so as to actually use his Copy-Copy powers.
"So, what do we have here?" Rhya asked as he looked down at the figure in the middle of the fallen formation who was unconscious but breathing, albeit barely. "You're clearly the leader and still alive so how did a fat bastard like you wind up down here."
The man was totally unfamiliar to Rhya, but he studied him regardless as clearly the man broken into Impel Down for a reason and made it this far down before falling. That meant that he had to be notable, or at least somewhat powerful, even if he'd fallen to Magellan and was on the brink of death.
The man in question was a deeply tanned man who Rhya could tell was well above normal height for a human and wearing an opened red shirt showing off his great and hairy belly, green skintight pants, black shoes, a yellow sash belt and a black cloak with gold edging and epaulets. He had jet black hair held back by a green headband and a scruffy chinstrap black beard with a beaded necklace, rings adorning all his fingers, and three pistols in his belt and a bottle of rum.
There was no doubt that this man was a pirate and one with gaudy and expensive tastes, though clearly he was one who'd risen after Rhya's imprisonment and if he'd made it here, he had to be competent to some degree. That meant that he, as the leader of this group, likely had a Devil Fruit and Rhya was always one to take an opportunity like this.
"Let's see what you got then." Rhya said as he walked around so that he could safely lean over and touch the man on an exposed part of his skin, which for Rhya was the man's cheek, and the moment that he activated his powers upon the physical contact Rhya's eyes went wide in a rare sign of shock for him. "Well, I'll say, damn that's going to be really useful to me and my Captain. Thanks buddy, I've got no clue how you found a Logia type let alone the Dark-Dark Fruit but now its powers are mine as well. A man who can get his hands on this Logia must have some skills; your men might help as well."
With that Rhya checked the others but the man in the long coat with blood running from his mouth who'd been on the horse, which Rhya checked as well, the wrestler looking dude in a black shirt, stupid mask, and white pants with a gold belt, and the fancy dressed man in a black cloak holding a long gun with a monocle were all busts, and that included the horse. Only the creepy looking pale dude in a white and black shirt with a deep V, black pants that had inbuilt suspenders and a hat wasn't a complete bust as he had a Devil Fruit but it was a Zoan type so Rhya couldn't copy it.
"Well normally that might have been a bit of a bust with only one power but the power more than makes up for it." Rhya said with a small grin as he switched to Sally's Gel-Gel Fruit again and turned his lower half to gel so that he could fly off the protective gel that was slowly dissolving because of Magellan's poison and over to another, safer walkway leaving no trace of his presence in his wake. "This will be really useful and pair nicely with Yami's Void-Void powers that I managed to snag when we first faced him in Clover."
Rhya was still grinning as he landed on the walkway and turned his legs back to normal so that he could walk along it and to the exit to Level 3. As he did a black mist enveloped his right hand and roiled up and off it though his hand didn't become darkness the way all other Logias worked.
That didn't matter though, the Dark-Dark Fruit's powers were legendary to those who knew about it, and he'd put them to good use for Patry and the Elf Pirates. They were wasted on whoever that fool back there was, but that man and his comrades would die soon enough so Rhya ignored the insignificant morons who'd broken into Impel Down only to underestimate Magellan and made his way to rejoin the others arriving a few moments after Nagant, Dazu and Nagant's new recruit Robyn did.
Little did Rhya know that the man he'd just copied the powers of the Dark-Dark Fruit from was about to shake the foundations of the world when he was saved by the first of his 5 recruits from Impel Down, nor that he was as responsible as Straw Hat Luffy was in clearing their path to freedom. That would come, though, for Shiryu wouldn't arrive for another few more moments and via a path known only to employees so he wouldn't see the second escape wave thus this would be the only interaction between said wave and the Blackbeard Pirates as the second wave soldiered on to freedom.
"Right, we got this sorted then." Patry said a few moments after William, Rhya, and Gueldre had left as he finished comparing the cell numbers and locations of their subordinates with Jose and Kai while Aria and Chrono looked on from near their respective Captains. "Convenient this time."
"Level 4 isn't as spread out as Level 5 and there is actual work done here." Chrono said knowing a bit more than the Level 6 inmates. "So, the cells tend to be on the main part of it for ease and close together. I noticed when they led me through here to Level 5 as there is no elevator in Level 5."
"I see, well then that explains why all our people are in neighboring cells though they are in the furthest possible cells it seems." Patry said as they began to walk in the opposite direction to Nagant and skirted along the edge looking for the cells that had been too far from the path of destruction carved by Luffy's breakout to be reached in time to aid said breakout. "This is easier though we won't add more grunts than whoever is in the cells with them, or the same corridor at least."
"Too many could be an issue, and these aren't as notorious as the ones below." Jose noted. "But any grunts we do get are still useful. Our men are in three different cells in the same corridor, I say we claim the others as our own if they want to join."
"Works for me." Patry said. "Though Vetto is in a cell with one of your men Kai."
"I don't care, if they want to join me or not that's on them." Kai said in response. "I'm fine with low grade grunts, you can always use cannon fodder or as a distraction, but only the 8 Bullets, Chrono, and Mimic matter to me."
"Whatever, we'll properly sort this shit out once we're clear and can get a headcount for our reborn crews." Jose said. "First we need to make it out of here."
The others nodded at Jose's words and picked up their pace, though none ran as there was still the first wave, along with Muscular and Moonfish, ahead of them taking care of the remaining forces. Still they did move as quickly as they could while being wary for guards, blugori, Demon Guards, and jailers but thankfully finding none, or at least none living, along the way.
This was mainly because the ones that not already beaten were currently being hunted down by Muscular and Moonfish on an upper level causing those who could flee to safety while dealing with the mass amount wounded, which include Hannyabal and Sadie. It was not a great day for Impel Down as Luffy's lot were already on the brink of breaking free and soon it would get a hell of a lot worse as the second wave's Warlords reached the cells housing their subordinates.
The three they needed were all next to each other in a far tunnel of cells that had been set into the outer wall of the prisoner part of the level. Instantly they split up there with Kai being the first one to stop as he turned and looked into the first of the three cells that they'd come to.
Inside was half a dozen men, there were more cells then men who qualified for this level so they were spread out a bit more, but the only one who Kai and Chrono cared about was a tall, muscular man sitting on the bench at the back growling a little as he seemed to stare into space. He had spikey blonde hair, a matching goatee that needed some serious trimming, and a large mouth but the moment Kai and Chrono stopped he looked up.
"Boss!" Mimic, who like Chrono preferred his epithet over his real name of Irinaka Joi, said his eyes wide with shock at seeing the man he was fanatically loyal to before him. "You're free! The yakuza will return!"
"That's the plan." Kai said as he placed his hand on the bars and broke them down to dust before reforming them into crude weapons for the people in the cell. "The others here can join us if they want or just take part in our escape and decide their own fate, I don't care just go to the exit and get ready."
"Hey man you're freeing us, we're with you for that." One of the guys said as Chrono tossed a set of keys that he'd taken from a dead guard into the cell as well. "You can count on that. We're your men for life."
The others all cried in agreement as they freed themselves, dropped the keys, grabbed the crude weapons, and hurried off towards the exit to Level 3 while Mimic just got up and walked over to them. His cuffs were sea prism stone but that wasn't a problem as he picked up the discarded keys and unlocked them.
"It's good to be back boss." Mimic said with a grin as the cuffs fell away. "What are your orders?"
"Use your power to move swiftly to the next level and find what's the status on Level 3 and which of our men are there." Kai said handing the keys to Mimic. "Kendo is in the third of the three cells we're busting open here some of the others, based on bounties Shin and Deidoro for sure, should be on Level 3 so we can grab them there. I want you to move on ahead and bust open the cells there that have them so that they're already free when we get there."
"That's simple enough and I'm sure that those two are there." Mimic said. "And after I free them?"
"Return with them to the entrance to Level 4 and wait at the top of the stairs as we owe Rhya of the Elf Pirates for all this." Kai said. "The payment for that is that he can copy our Devil Fruits with his own Devil Fruit power, so we'll sort that out there. After that you'll be scouting ahead and if it's feasible free any others who might be on Level 2, I can't recall what all your bounties were."
"Be careful though as you can tell there've been a few fights and given that we're all the way down here we don't know the status on the higher levels." Chrono said. "Also Magellan has spread poison over the area which would affect you if you end up in a contaminated area."
"Yeah, we heard the fights but were too far away to be freed so I presumed that Magellan was involved especially as his office is on this level." Mimic said as he began to sink into the ground. "Don't worry it will be done and the 8 Bullets, well 2 of them at least, will be waiting for you on the next level."
Kai nodded at that knowing that Mimic would get the job done and turned with Chrono to see how the others were doing as Mimic left. This would speed some things up a bit as they kept moving but with all the chaos, both known and unknown, things were going well for the second breakout.
"They're both here just as the manifest said they would be." Jose said as he and Aria stopped in front of a the second of the three cells and looked in while Kai was freeing Mimic. "It really does make this a lot easier."
Inside the cell, like the one that had housed Mimic, there was a half dozen men in manacles. However, Jose and Aria only had eyes for two of them who were next to each other as they sat on the floor off to the side.
One was very pale man with two toned white and black hair split in the middle so that the white was on the right and the black the left that hung lose because he was in prison with a pointed chin and three black bars tattooed in a line across his face with one on each cheek and the other across the bridge of his nose under. The other was a slightly tanner and thinner man with spiky green hair and a fancy mustache that needed a lot grooming to restore it to glory.
At Jose's words and familiar voice, the men looked over and blinked at the sight before them. They'd never expected to get out of here and yet their boss and one of the other senior executives of their crew were there grinning at them, well Jose was as Aria was just slightly smiling. The whole crew was almost back together, they just needed Juvia to complete the set.
"Master?" The two-toned man, Totomaru, said. "How?"
"Long story I'll explain when I have the time but for now all you need to know is that we're busting out of here to reform the crew and get revenge on those damned fairies." Jose said as he tossed the keys at the men. "So, get out of those things and get your powers back Totomaru. You need to let Rhya the Disloyal copy them, he was the one who freed me thanks to all that commotion earlier so we have to allow him to copy any Devil Fruit powers that we have. We're going to use this to form an alliance with the Elf Pirates and a few other equally wronged people and their crews, but I'll fully brief you once we're away."
"Sounds good to moi." The other man, Sol, said in his rather fancy accent. "Now we just need mademoiselle Juvia, and zen ze senior executives will be reunited."
"That bitch isn't here." Jose spat his anger and language regarding Juvia surprising them. "She turned traitor and defected to Fairy Tail before the Navy could catch her, same with that bastard Gajeel. They're both going to die for that treason."
"I see." Totomaru said as Sol freed him before Totomaru returned the favor. "Very well. It's a shame but Captain's orders are final."
"Non, non, non." Sol said in dismay. "This is tragique. How could zey do zat to us!"
"Apparently loyalty meant jack shit to them." Jose said. "But that's fine, they're with our sworn enemy now and will pay the price for their treason in time. First we need to get out of here so that we can ensure they pay up."
"Hey, what about us?" One of the other prisoners asked. "We recognize you, you're Porla Jose, the Phantom King. You're a Warlord."
"Former, I lost it after those fairies defied me by daring to rescue their crewmate from my clutches and then beating me for simply doing my job." Jose said anger in his voice and eyes. "But yes, that's me and now you four now have a good opportunity. I'll free you but in exchange you join my crew as members, I'm going to need strong soldiers and you lot are worth over 70 million if you're being held down here."
"Hell, yeah we'll join." Another said. "Get us out of here and we're with you Captain."
"We know your reputation and we're all for it." A third said. "You've got men for life with us."
"Yeah thanks Captain, we're with you to the end." The final one said. "We're Phantoms Lord Pirates now."
Jose just smirked at that, these four would make good cannon fodder indeed. As such he nodded at Aria who held out his hand and manipulated the airspace around the cell's lock to change the pressure and blow it apart as Sol quickly freed the others. The four new grunts almost instantly streamed out and rushed to the exit while Jose's other two senior officers joined him as they waited for the others to move out.
The furthest away cell of the three was the one that Patry was going to, but it had two people on the must free list, so he made his way there quickly and reached it as Jose began to chat to Sol and Totomaru. He personally didn't care for Kai's man, but it was part of the agreement, and he had a Devil Fruit that Rhya could use so it was worth it to free the man. However, as he came to a stop at the cell, there was one man in particular that Patry did care about and with only 3 in the cell for some reason he was easy to spot.
Sitting cross legged on the floor was a large, very muscular man with long blond hair and a beard that was growing in from his time in prison. He was shirtless and had a massive amount of hair on his chest, belly, and calves that looked like fur. The most striking things though were that he had an intricate tattoo running across his face below his eyes and over the bridge of his nose that was red with two small loops on either side done so that one was over and one under the line but still symmetrical, and that his skin was yellow.
The face tattoo was part of elf culture similar to Rhya's and Patry's tattoos but the yellow skin wasn't. That, Patry knew, was a permanent change to man's body that he'd gained when he ate the Beast-Beast Fruit. The odd Zoan type did that, but it was a small thing to live with given the powers that the Devil Fruit bestowed upon the user.
"Hello old friend." Patry said with a smile at the man as he created a light sword that he used to cut through the bars and lock so that they fell away and what was left of the door swung open. "It's time to go. We have Rhya to thank for all of this."
At the familiar voice the cross-legged man, who was indeed Patry's other senior officer that had been sent to Impel Down with him, Vetto, looked up and grinned. The despair in Impel Down had fueled the massive elf and ensured that the tortures here were nothing to him but now that he was breaking out he knew that he'd get more despair to taste as he rose to his full height.
"Patry, so good to see you." Vetto said in his deep voice as he walked forward. "We heard the commotion earlier, shame they didn't lose as that despair would have been delicious, though someone almost did and man was that a good dose of the stuff, but they do seem to have been of use to us."
"That they were." Patry said a little perplexed by Vetto's statement as his fellow elf reached him and held out his arms so that Patry could unlock the heavy sea prism stone manacles on them but he decided to ignore Vetto's words. "And now we can escape and seek our revenge against the Black Bulls. This time you will truly taste their despair my friend."
"I can't wait." Vetto said his grin broadening as Patry inserted the key careful to avoid the sea prism stone manacles. "I'm already salivating at the thought."
Off to the side there was a chuckle at that and as Patry got the key in and turned it, he turned his head as well to look at the source of the sound. Standing there with his back to the wall and arms folded across his chest was a man as equally large and buff as Vetto was with shaggy light brown hair that hid most of his face from view leaving only his mouth exposed. Like Vetto, he was shirtless and seemed to not be bothered by the heat or where he was at all. The final man was in the other corner and who Patry noted out of the corner of his eye looked like a brute as well, but Patry didn't care for him.
"You and your despair beast boy, I just wanted the thrill of the fight, the life-or-death battle really gets the blood pumping." The man leaning on the wall said as he stopped chuckling and the shackles fell off Vetto and immediately his form rippled and while his bulk remained his body was now taking on traits of an animal that had evolved to live in the heat thus allowing him to stand the Blazing Heat Hell without any issues at all. "That's how a real man lives and with the Demon Guards it would have been fun."
"I take it you're Rappa Kendo." Patry said looking at the man as Vetto stepped out of the cell still grinning at the idea of finally tasting the Black Bull Pirate's despair. "Unless the other man is."
"Nah that's me but who told ya." Kendo said turning his head his eyes covered by his bangs. "You look scrawny and not one to fight with his fists like a real man should. That beasty, now he's a real man and we're going to go at it one day so free me and I can sort it out already."
"I can't allow that fight now but I will free you because your Captain and I will soon be part of a special alliance along with the others my friend Rhya freed from level 6 though you have to let Rhya copy your Devil Fruit power." Patry said as he walked over to the man, light swords appearing in the air just in case. "Got it?"
"Sure, I don't care so long as I can fight someone strong." Kendo said. "I joined the Hassaikai Pirates because Kai is the only person I've ever faced who managed to beat me and he did so 5 times a row. I don't care for their goals or whatever, I just want to fight."
"I see well you're very direct at least." Patry said unsure what to think of Kendo as he freed him freeing and stepping back from the now grinning brute. "Well, he's out there so let's move."
"Ah it's good to have my power back." Kendo said as he turned and unleashed a flurry of punches into the wall of the cell that were delivered at a speed too fast for the eye to see and which blasted a crater into, and then through, the wall as he laughed. "Oh yeah that's the stuff. Now to deal with that man who stood up to me, I can't wait for round two against that hard dude."
Patry just ignored that as he turned and tossed the keys to the last man to free him while Kendo was punching the wall because the more the merrier for the escape and he might serve well as cannon fodder for one of them if he decided to join one of the reformed or newly formed crews. They had who they needed from the 4th level, so it was time to move on.
That was clear when Patry stepped out and saw the others waiting. Almost as soon as Patry was out, Kendo followed and walked past him and over to Kai and Chrono though none of them exchanged any words. Clearly, he was pure muscle for Kai which was fine, the man had strength and power which was why he'd ended up down here so he was useful in that way.
"Let's move." Patry said and the others nodded before they set off.
This time they did run as they were the last to free their subordinates and thus would be the last to reach the exit. That meant that it was time to move on up so they ran swiftly through the level and in a few moments were at the entrance to it from the stairs to the 3rd level. Everyone else was already there while ignoring the damage and bodies as they reached those waiting for them.
"Onwards to the next level!" Patry shouted as he approached and a cheer rose up and everyone turned and rushed out of the Burning Heat Hell and onto the stairs up to the Starvation Hell ignoring a large crater in the wall.
With that the second wave pushed through Level 4 of Impel Down and continued on their way out with 25 more people having been freed in the process. Now their group numbered 88 in total, and they were about to add even more as the second massive wave pushed on.
I think that's a good place to end this chapter on what with Level 4 now cleared and the second wave moving on up to Level 3. As you can tell a lot has happened in Level 4, several subordinates have been released and on top of that Nagant has gained her second recruit, and by extension up to 3 more members bringing her overall total thanks to Robyn and Dazu's subordinates to 11, well if all are still in Impel Down that is. As you can see, the events of RWBY have been drastically altered so that Robyn is already in custody and so too are 3 of her 4 Huntresses but don't worry there will be plenty of stuff influenced by the events of Volumes 7 and 8 still to come, this just worked a lot better for the story and my plans with Nagant and her crew which are coming together nicely. I am sure many of you can already guess what has happened to May and why it happened to her so I won't get into that. Other than that there's not really much to address with this chapter, it's long but straightforward as will be the case for most of this arc and next up is the Starvation Hell so I wonder who is up there waiting to be freed as the second wave plows on. That is all that I have for y'all, however, so I will leave this chapter off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and if there are any questions will posed in reviews and PMs I will try to answer them as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog