Here is the twelfth chapter in this story released in accordance with my upload schedule for this story. The first ripple of Luffy's actions, the freeing of Rhya by Inazuma, has been felt as Rhya went down to Level 6 to free his Captain and friend Patry which in turn led to the freeing of Patry's friend William, fellow former Warlords Jose and Kai, and the disgraced former Vice Admiral Kaina. All 5 are exceptionally dangerous individuals with strong Devil Fruit powers, as is Rhya, and now they're lose and making their way up through Impel Down to free their friends and anyone else that catches their eye en route to freedom. It's a long trek but they're ready and next up is a return to where this breakout started, Level 5 and the freeing of those still held there. That is all that I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and this time there are 5 questions that need answers as well as a guest review that needs a response so I will do that now starting with the questions. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate.
Will Fana appear? This is a good question because it made me realize that I'd made a mistake in my initial plan and while editing this chapter I rectified that. As for whether or not she'll appear, it's a bit hard to say at the moment but it is likely though there will be off page stuff regarding her.
Will the League of Villains be a pirate group? I can't confirm too much regarding them due to spoilers but the first teases regarding them will appear in this chapter.
Will the White Fang and Salem's faction appear? Yes, both are fair game as adaptions and the first mention of either is in Vivre Card XII which comes out with this chapter. That's all I'll say on them, however.
What are the other Black Clover Squads like? At this point one is all but confirmed as a pirate crew and another is about to be formed (which is where Yuno will end up but he's off doing his own thing at the moment). As for the others, it will depend on the Squad but all will be revealed on that front during the Black Bulls' time skip arc.
Will Blackbeard have more members? As crewmembers no he won't, with two exceptions that I asked about several chapters back I will not have named One Piece characters join new crews nor will new characters join One Piece Crews though unnamed characters that can be used as grunts or canon fodder are fair game. There is another exception to this but that will be revealed in time. That said there will be alliances with One Piece crews including Blackbeard's and in fact he'll be coming in as part of the post Wano stuff in regards to a plan that I'll set in motion during the stuff that is replacing Whole Cake. That's all I'll say on the front and now onto the guest review.
To KGBeastboy (guest), thank you for your review and suggestions, I'll admit I hadn't considered some of them. In terms of Buggy's past, I am not sure when the Vengeance Alliance will learn about it though it will be revealed to the world in the wake of Marineford but that is a fair reaction from Nagant about it as it is rather impressive how well Buggy flew under the radar until another chance meeting with Luffy led to one of his many great moments of failing upwards. In terms of Bullet, he will escape and along with the likes of World and Redford they will be at least mentioned in this story as non-canon characters are fair game though if they have something useful for a new character such as a Devil Fruit (which initially Redford did until your suggestion for Toga's Devil Fruit) then the non-canon character won't be used. In terms of Bullet, remember that Stampede showed that he broke out after Blackbeard's battle royale along with World, Redford, and many others who survived it so that is where it will be. Think of the breakouts as 4 waves with the first being Luffy's and at the moment probably around Level 2 or 1, the second being Rhya's as he's the one who started it, the third being Blackbeard's, and the 4th the wake of Blackbeard's and we will see the 4th wave as there are still new characters in Impel Down who need to breakout but they don't fit with the 2nd wave. As for the suggestions for the MHA characters, I'll admit this is something I didn't think of and is rather interesting. Initially I was just going to use Zoan types for the mutant class animal Quirks like how Tsu has the Frog-Frog Fruit but as is exemplified by Shishido that won't work due to the Lion Zoan having been eaten by Leone so a lion mink works better for him. The one thing I'll point out is that it might not be Cat Viper that he admires as don't forget that Shishilian, the Captain of the Musketeer Squad under Dog Storm is a lion mink but I can see where you're coming from there and it will more than likely be Cat Viper, maybe even with a rivalry with Shishilian that drove Shishido to become a marine. As for him fighting Leone, that is a maybe as I've already set up an opponent for Leone that makes sense in its own way and address something I've hinted at but won't outright acknowledge until then but if it works it might happen though I can't promise it. As for Gang Orca and Selkie, the tricky thing with them is that there are no aquatic mammalian based minks and minks even eat meat of land mammals with no fur like hippos (it's just the fur that is the issue) so it's hard to see them as minks. However, what might work is that an aquatic mink is actually mixed race and the result of a fish-man and a mink reproducing. It's rare and the result is an aquatic mammalian mink so the mink can't breath underwater but the tradeoff there is that they have the strength of a fish-man hence a proficiency in the various fish-man martial arts but at the same time (and due to the lack of fur) they can't use electro or have a Sulong form but are of course stronger than a standard mink. This I feel would work better and the odd hybrid nature is what led Kugo and Selkie to join the marines with Shishido joining for his own reasons but all agree that this furthers the relationship between the Mink Tribe and the World Government. Also I agree with their ranks as Gang Orca does fall out of the top 10 so Rear Admiral works for him while Commodore and Captain work for the other two. As for Sirius, that's a really good idea for her, makes her ears real, and makes her a fair bit more useful than how she comes off in MHA as now she'll have a greater strength and swimming similar to Dellinger. Likewise her rank works for a new hero. All this also helps me avoid even more Devil Fruits so thank you. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.
Anyway, that is enough for this long pre-chapter note so sit back and enjoy the twelfth chapter in The Ultimate Worst Generation.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these great franchises.
Chapter 12: Freezing Breakout
"So, who are you lot prioritizing?" Lady Nagant said as Kai used his power to seal up the hole to ensure that no one else took the path that they'd taken though with what was to come plenty more would escape from Level 6 via another way, providing they survived. "I'm just going to grab whoever wants out that I can recognize or has potential but who I won't have to shoot. You lot have crews, however."
"It is imperative that I free at least 4 others." Patry said once the hole was closed, and Rhya led them on to where there was food and clothes though their options were limited as most were for a queerer and more alternative crowd that none of the Level 6 prisoners fit into. "Most importantly the other senior officer of my crew, Vetto the Despair. Rhya, do you know where he is?"
"Yeah, he's in the 4th level, the Burning Heat Hell." Rhya said without looking back. "His bounty wasn't at 100 million when it was frozen so they dumped him there. The other 3 I presume are Sally, Rades, and Valtos."
"Correct, those four are imperative." Patry said as they reached the food stores and began to quickly eat, drink, and look for clothes that might fit their styles while they formulated their escape plan. "The other three are my junior officers and had bounties between 50 and 75 million before they were frozen."
"They're most likely going to be on Level 3, the Starvation Hell." Rhya said. "We'll need Sally most of all. Rades is useful but not in here and Valtos is loyal but his skills lie in non-combat applications."
"Why?" Nagant said as she ate some of the food that she found not really caring what it was only that it was nourishing and better than what she'd been served in the Eternal Hell. "You lot were wanted pirates before my arrest so I only really knew of Patry because of his reputation. I can see why he was made a Warlord though."
"We need Sally because she's got a strong Devil Fruit power that can likely negate Magellan's poison if it's been spilled anywhere, which given the whole situation it no doubt has been." Rhya said which was true and the sole reason why they needed the crazy scientist of their old crew as only the elves mattered back then but if they were to rebuild they'd need the old crew back. "There are a few others here as well, 8 others who had bounties before Patry became a Warlord. They, along with the late Heath who committed suicide rather than be captured, would be split between Levels 1 and 2."
"Ah so Fluss, Catherine, Geork, Abari, Zarick Zuta, Teuke, and Cidane are here as well, good." Patry said with a smile as he found a simple white, sleeveless tunic and matching ¾ length shorts that he put on and synched with a gaudy gold belt that wasn't really his style but would work for now. "So, all but two of the officers are here. That will make rebuilding the crew easier especially as we can pick up several additional crewmembers from the other prisoners we inadvertently free."
"15 officers under you, that's a fair bit." Jose said as he found an acceptable yellow shirt and red pants with a dark purple cape that actually fit his style. "I only had 7 before I was locked up."
"I have 3 senior officers and 12 juniors to manage the 50 grunts who made up the bulk of the crew." Patry said. "One of my senior officers is unaccounted for and one is dead. The rest were caught."
"Yeah, I don't know what happened to Fana." Rhya admitted. "We all got separated in the final battle and I didn't see her when we came through intake. Plus they said nothing about her being captured and she was a senior officer."
"If I had to guess something happened in the battle that caused her to flee earlier than expected, she was defeated by that water brat if I recall." Patry said. "It would make sense as while she was a senior officer the World Government didn't know about her as I never disclosed her to them when I became a Warlord and she remained in Clover when we took to the seas so she never had a bounty. I left her to aid William while we were away. No doubt she used that to her advantage to avoid capture by returning to our enclave. Don't worry, we'll find her in time."
"Alright so you've got 9 to get but none in the Freezing Hell." Nagant said as she remained in her prison cloths though she did cut the sleeves off as she couldn't fully utilize her Devil Fruit with them. "Jose, you mentioned 7, right?"
"I had 7 executives as I called them." Jose said anger in his tone. "4 with elemental affinities either via Devil Fruits or general skills, a Mythical Zoan user and two others but only 5 are here. As I stated a few moments ago, one of my elementals, and arguably the most prized one due to her unbelievable Devil Fruit, and the Mythical Zoan user defected in the wake of the battle with the Fairy Tail Pirates."
"Defected?" William asked, he too was remaining in his prison garb having not found anything to his liking, not even a mask as he'd grown fond of the one that Julius had given him and nothing else felt right after that and his betrayal of his friend and mentor. "Odd term for a pirate to use."
"Perhaps but that's what happened." Jose said the anger still in his voice. "Juvia was beaten by one of Fairy Tail's officers and then ran off with him, that really hurt as she was my only Logia user and what a Logia it was, while Gajeel was defeated by the same guy who beat me, and he too joined Fairy Tail though how or why I don't know."
"Given your statements and what I recall, I'm guessing this Juvia has the theorized water Logia." Nagant said having been listening as she drank some water to wash down what she'd eaten. "So, it truly exists. Even with the secrets I know I didn't learn if that was true or not."
"Oh, it is very true, the Wave-Wave Fruit is real and does what you'd expect from a Logia type." Jose said. "And I'll make Juvia and Gajeel pay for betraying me. The other 5 should be here though which is good."
"Any idea their levels?" Nagant said. "Their bounties will help. Less than 20 million is Level 1, 20 to 50 million is Level 2, 50 to 75 is Level 3, 75 to 99 is Level 4, 100+ is Level 5 and special cases like us are Level 6. This is rough mind you as some like Crocodile ended up in Level 6 despite not being over 100 million at the time and I've heard of prisoners, especially ones who were subordinates to Warlords, ending up in Levels higher than their bounties would indicate due to how dangerous they actually are."
"Based on that I'd say that Aria is on Level 5, his bounty was 131 million before it was frozen and he was always considered my strongest executive while Sol and Totomaru should be on Level 4 as both were above 80 million." Jose said. "Boze and Sue are likely Level 2. They were junior executives who had low bounties when I became a Warlord."
"Right, that sorts out that though the guards will have a proper list that we should get once we're past Level 5 where there are no guards on that level." Nagant said before she turned to look at Kai who hadn't spoken as he'd donned a black shirt and slacks with green jacket that he attached a gaudy purple fur to the collar of with his power. "What about you Kai, who's here that you need?"
"Most of my crew were grunts loyal to the old ways and the boss not me but I did have a core 10." Kai said without much emotion in his voice as they all began to make their way to the next level following Rhya again as he was the only one who knew the way. "My first mate Chrono, the quartermaster Mimic, and my 8 officers who I call my 8 Bullets. All should be here. If I had to guess, Chrono is on Level 5 while Mimic and one of the Bullets who had a bounty before I recruited him, a death brawler called Kendo, should be Level 4. The others will be split between Levels 2 and 3 I'd say but I can't be certain which levels they are actually on."
"Good to know." Nagant said.
"Also, there are 3 others that we need to free." Kai said surprising them. "They're members of a unit called the Vanguard Action Squad, a supposedly elite unit from the New World though their origins are shrouded in mystery. I have a theory as to who they're associated with and if it is who I think it is then freeing them could give us a strong New World ally but I can't be certain."
"The Vanguard Action Squad?" Nagant asked as they neared the exit to Level 5, and the chill began to be felt though she just ignored it as it was nothing compared to the mental pain that she'd been through when she'd realized the truth of the world. "Never heard of it."
"They're newish, within the last year I'd say, but some of their members are notable criminals wanted or in one case an escapee from around the world." Kai said. "I was approached by someone who was tied to them for a partnership of sorts as having a Warlord as an ally can be useful so I looked into the group. There were 10 members, well 9 as one was some scientific abomination, though only 5 remain active. All 5 have bounties over 200 million."
"Damn so what happened to the one who wasn't captured?" Jose asked as he did the math. "I'm guessing he or she died or went straight."
"The former as I killed him, or her that part is confusing, and I think he or she would have liked what we just passed through." Kai said without emotion. "We had a rather confrontational meeting and I lost a grunt in the process. However, 2 of the 3 captured will be on Level 5 as both were powerful, wanted men with long rap sheets. You'd know them Nagant, their epithets were Muscular and Moonfish."
Nagant didn't show any emotions, she barely had any these days, but she did know the names, and both were bad news. To think that they'd ended up here, that was something else as they weren't easy men to defeat and capture."
"I take it you know who they are." Patry said understanding Nagant's pause for what it was. "Who are they? We are breaking out, right now all intel must be shared."
"Yeah, I know them, and both will be nightmares to deal with but if we free them first and let them carve a path through any remaining resistance we can do well." Nagant said as she recalled what she could on the men. "The one known as Muscular, his real name is Imasuji Goto, is a sadistic, brutal, and bloodthirsty monster who lives to fight and kill strong opponents just for the pleasure of it. He ate the Muscle-Muscle Fruit which made him a Muscle Augmented Human."
"What does that do?" Rhya asked. "Might be a good thing to copy."
"It would be but I advise waiting until we've freed him and made some kind of deal." Nagant said though even with her disgust at the system she wasn't keen on working with a monster like Muscular. "His Devil Fruit allows him to amplify and manipulate his muscle structure to boost his physical abilities to levels beyond any I've heard of. On top of that it can be used for defense as bullets and swords will just bounce off it. Hell, even my rounds wouldn't pierce him unless I imbue them with Haki. Hard to imagine he was beaten; he was a beast with a 259 million berry bounty. If he was more than just a blood mad monster he'd be in Level 6 for sure."
"The same brat who beat me beat him." Kai said simply. "I read it in the papers when it happened as it was big news given how violent Muscular is. His defeat is how Midoriya Izuku became a Super Rookie. The other one, Moonfish, was defeated by his two main lieutenants and that boosted them to that status as well."
"Moonfish is a different kind of evil." Nagant said and like Muscular she wasn't too thrilled to work with him either but did understand the need at the moment. "We don't even know his real name, but we do know that he ate the Tooth-Tooth Fruit which turned his teeth to metal and allowed him to lengthen, sharpen, and manipulate them at will. He's a cannibal with a long rap sheet who was captured in one of the Blues several years ago and set to be quietly executed before he was freed by unknown parties and vanished. No doubt they dumped him in Level 5 to freeze to death though they should have just killed him. His bounty was 243 million if I recall."
"Yup and he was beaten so that meant that two of the strongest members of the Vanguard Action Squad were beaten by rookie pirates, that was what made the Might Pirates a notable rookie crew." Kai said. "There was a 3rd, some kid called Mustard, but he's likely only in Level 2. I'll need to see an inmate roster to find him but freeing him would be a good idea as well. I know he has a Devil Fruit power, every member of that Squad, even the abomination, does or did."
"I've never heard of someone called Mustard." Nagant said. "So either he wasn't important or after my time."
"After your time." Kai said. "He's some brat in his late teens or early 20s if I recall the article about his arrest. I think his bounty was around 38 million berries."
"Very well we'll free him too, there's got to be a good reason for this if you're naming him." Patry said making a note of the name as any contact with New World ties could be really useful. "Speaking of Devil Fruits. Who has them and what are they as we owe Rhya for all this and as payment, he will copy them so long as they're not Zoan types."
"We'll go first." Rhya said as they finally reached the entrance but waited in it as Jose held out his hand and a series of midnight purple shadow things came out of it and began to form into humanoid shapes. "Well after you explain that as I copied your fruit, but I don't get why it's called the Phantom-Phantom Fruit."
"Because I can create phantoms of shadow that do my bidding." Jose said as they were sent out into the cold expanse of Level 5. "I'm sending them to locate Aria as I want to spend as little time as possible in this freezer. By the way he has a Paramecia type Devil Fruit called the Airspace-Airspace Fruit that gives him control over a designated airspace that he can then manipulate. The other Devil Fruit that one of my executives has is Totomaru's Rainbow-Rainbow Fruit which is also a Paramecia type that allows him to generate different colored flames for different purposes. Sol, Boze, and Sue don't have Devil Fruit powers."
"Yeah, not all of my crewmates have them either, only Vetto, Rades and Sally do." Rhya said as he held out his hand and it turned to a pink, gelatinous, material that began to form keys on a key ring out of it before hardening them. "This is Sally's Logia type Gel-Gel Fruit. She's a Gel Woman who can turn her body into gel and create and control it. It's rather useful as you can see."
"Will those work?" Jose asked as he looked at the keys now that his phantoms were out there searching for Aria. "They look like they will but how can you be sure."
"They will as I had the time to study the keys as I came down to Level 6 so I got a good feel for them and don't worry, they won't break as Sally's Devil Fruit also allows her to change the viscosity of her gel." Rhya said. "As for Vetto, he ate the Beast-Beast Fruit which is an atypical Zoan type that gives him the ability to utilize various traits of wild beasts. Rades has the Wraith-Wraith Fruit, it allows him to reanimate any corpses around him and use them as puppets so more direct control and less autonomous zombies than Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit creates. It's likely why Rades is on Level 3 as all corpses there turn to dust from what I've been told."
"Strong powers." Nagant noted as she took a ring of keys that was handed to her. "That leaves Kai. What powers do your men have?"
"Not all ate Devil Fruits but some did." Kai said. "Mimic ate the Merge-Merge Fruit and can merge with any inorganic object and manipulate it though there are limits. Shin ate the Confess-Confess Fruit which allows him to get you to confess to something if he asks a question with his power active. Toya ate the Thief-Thief Fruit which allows him to steal what you're holding. Deidoro ate the Slosh-Slosh Fruit which allows him to induce a feeling of inebriation in anyone he touches. Finally, Kendo ate the Shoulder-Shoulder Fruit which allows him to rotate his shoulders at extreme speeds for a few seconds which is all he needs to kill you with his fists. All are yours in exchange for freeing us and helping me apologize to the boss."
"Works for me." Rhya said as he filed away the new Devil Fruits he was sure to copy. "Then let's head out. Those with people on this level have 10 minutes to get them out. Patry, William, and I will hurry to the exit. Kill any wolves you see."
"I'm actually going to find someone myself." William said as he held out his hand and roots shot from his palms and into the ground before they began to move through it as he began his own search from where he was standing. "Gueldre should be on this level, he was important enough and his crimes extensive, to be here despite never having a bounty due to his anonymity before his exposure and capture. I could use him."
"Fine do that, he will at least cause issues." Rhya said remembering Gueldre and how they'd used him before letting him take the fall as a spy so as to preserve William's role in their plan. "Let's move."
The others nodded, they were all senior to Rhya but he had freed them and so they listened for the moment before they rushed out and into the Freezing Hell. It was time for the first level of allies.
"So, Aria, you ready to bust out of this joint?"
Jose smirked as he looked into the cell that was atop one of the many tower things in the Freezing Hell so it had been spared a breakout during the previous incidents on this level. It hadn't taken long for his phantoms to find who he was looking for and so Jose had hurried here as soon as he got the word that this was where Aria was being held.
Inside there were several prisoners slowly freezing to death but the only one who Jose had eyes for was a tall, deeply tanned man with a rectangular, elongated face, prominent cheekbones, a flat nose, and a line on his chin from his lower lip to the base. His head was covered in a stripped skull cap like his prison outfit but at Jose's words he looked up and blinked his magenta eyes at Jose in surprise.
"Boss?" Aria asked surprised as one of Jose's phantoms unlocked the door and moved into the cell with the key still in hand. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the Eternal Hell?"
"It's boring as shit down there but today we had some excitement, I'm sure you noticed." Jose said as the phantom stopped before Aria while the other prisoners, 8 in total though only 5 were still alive, stared in shock at what was going on. "We've gotten wrapped up in the coattails of that and are going to use that to bust out of here with at best minimal resistance."
"Yeah, we saw but we're too far up to be affected by it." Aria said as the phantom inserted the key into Aria's shackles. "Thanks boss, I thought I'd die in this sorrowful place. I've got a battle with the Fairy Queen to avenge."
"And we will avenge that and all the battles we lost but first we're breaking out of here with our new allies, we owe them that much at least as we wouldn't be able to but for Rhya the Disloyal of the Elf Pirates." Jose said as he nodded and the key was turned so that Aria's shackles were released giving him access to his Devil Fruit again. "We'll work that out after we've busted out of this place."
"Of course." Aria said as the shackles fell to the frozen floor with a clatter. "That is a priority right now."
"But rest assured we will get vengeance on those fairy bastards." Jose said before looking around the cell at the other prisoners in it. "Well, how about the rest of you scum? Want a ticket out of this joint? The price is swearing your allegiance to the Phantom Lord Pirates and joining my newly reformed crew."
"Phantom Lord?" One of the inmates, one of the newer ones, said. "If I recall you were a Warlord."
"I was but now I'm a regular pirate, you in?" Jose asked. "This is a onetime offer."
"Get us out of here and we're your men for life." Another inmate said with a grin. "We thought we'd die in here."
"Good but any funny business and you will die." Jose said as Aria left the cell his tone making it clear that he'd make good on it.
"Yes Captain!" All 5 said in unison.
Jose just smirked as he had his phantom with the key free the others in the cell. This was just the start; he'd end up freeing all 4 stories of this tower block as it hadn't even been touched by Bon Clay or Ivankov's forces. He did have to kill two on the way down and to the door, well two inmates and several of those damned wolves that were around, to make it clear who was in charge. In the end though he'd added 11 new members who had had bounties over 100 million. They'd be a force for sure when they got out and Jose wasn't the only one getting some high value cannon fodder on Level 5.
"Come on Chrono, it's time to get out of here and reclaim what we lost." Kai said as he looked into the cell on the middle level of one of the other towers. "The Yakuza isn't dead, and we have to make amends to the boss."
It had taken Kai a few moments and some questions of other prisoners to find his first mate, but he'd managed it quickly. His Devil Fruit made travel easy and in exchange for the intel he'd freed whoever he came across, even using his Matter-Matter Fruit powers to remove the bonds for non-Devil Fruit users though the one with sea prism stone cuffs had to wait until the entrance to be freed as Kai didn't have any keys right now. Many swore fealty to Kai and the Hassaikai and if they stuck to it Kai would take them as cannon fodder but if not, he didn't care so long as he freed his trusted subordinates.
The most trusted of all of them was now in front of him. The pale man with thin, dark eyes and pale gray hair that fell to his chin wasn't hard to miss especially because the clock needles that he styled his hair into for strands that fell over his face were distinctive. It was how he got his epithet, Chronostasis, though Kai just called him Chrono as it was easier. His real name was Kurono Hari but even the crew called the man Chrono, so it was left at that.
Chrono blinked in surprise, his eyes widening a bit at the sight of his Captain, boss, and trusted friend standing before him and not wearing prison garb. Ever since his defeat at the hands of the Might Pirates' first mate and learning that Kai had lost to Midoriya Izuku he'd resigned himself to this fate. With his pre-frozen bounty being over 100 million and the right hand to the Warlord known as Overhaul he'd known that he'd end up in the 5th level of Impel Down and since being dumped in this raised cell all hope had slowly frozen away. Until now, and only a few months into his life sentence, that is.
"Kai?" Chrono asked as he got up, the normal cuffs at his wrists clinking as he slowly and stiffly made his way to Kai, he was frozen to the bone after all though he was still far from death. "How? I thought we were done when you lost."
"Today's been a different day as you may have noticed." Kai said his tone still pretty flat but there was a little emotion in it now that he was with one of his men. "There was a break in and we're on the tail end of the subsequent breakout."
"We saw the action from here." Chrono said as Kai placed his hand on the bars and broke them down to reform them into a series of weapons and keys that he left where they fell, and Chrono walked out arms up to Kai. "They freed many who were on the ground level but those of us up here weren't as lucky."
"Well one of those who they freed was one of Patry's senior officers in the Elf Pirates." Kai said as he destroyed the cuffs glad that Chrono wasn't a Devil Fruit user. "So he came down to free Patry who wanted to free his ally William and William was in the cell next to me on Level 6. Plus, my power is useful to them, so we're going to form an alliance as part of the deal. We aid them in breaking out, they will make sure we see the boss again."
"Sounds good." Chrono said glancing back at the 6 men he'd been in a cell with. "But, er, what about them?"
"I left weapons and keys; they can do as they please." Kai said turning, the inmates there knew who Kai was thanks to Chrono's stories over the last few months and knew better than to mess with the former Warlord who could kill with a touch if he wanted. "If they wish to join the Hassaikai they can, if they just want a ride out with us and then want to join one of the other crews or go their own way they can do that instead, I really don't care."
"That's fair." Chrono said as Kai placed his hand on the side of the tower and broke the whole top level but the ground down at the molecular level and reformed it into safe stairs for them to walk down as the inmates behind him freed themselves pledging to aid and join the Hassaikai in exchange for this. "Who are the other crews? You mention the Elf Pirates so they're one but are there others."
"Phantom Lord are the only other crew that's already established and had their Captain down in Level 6, across from me in fact." Kai said as they made their way down and walked to the exit to the stairs up were already a good crowd was gathering including the 23 who Kai had freed in the process of freeing Chrono. "But I expect two more crews will form. One will be the Rifle Pirates led by a former Vice Admiral who went rogue and was chucked into Level 6, the other by William, Patry's ally from Clover. Don't really care but if they are of use to us in an alliance then we'll work with them. First, we need to free Mimic and the 8 Bullets."
"Agreed." Chrono said. "Lead the way Kai."
Kai didn't respond as they continued to make their way to the exit to the 4th Level. Things were going well, and they had Straw Hat Luffy and Rhya to thank for that and soon they'd see the latter.
Unlike the others, William didn't immediately rush off, he remained where he was using the roots he could create as part of his Tree-Tree powers to search the area for the man he knew as Poizot Gueldre. He was certain that despite no bounty, the plethora of crimes that the man had committed not just in the Clover Kingdom but across most of Paradise and even into the East and South Blues, that he'd been dumped here when he was arrested following his outing as a notorious smuggler of illicit goods using his cover as a wealthy merchant tycoon and noble in the Clover Kingdom.
There was the slight issue that the outing of Gueldre and his criminal empire had been in part a sacrifice by Patry for their plans as Gueldre was an unwitting pawn of theirs and they needed a scapegoat following their first failure to strike the Capitol of the Clover Kingdom. It helped Gueldre was extremely corrupt so all it took was enough money and rare items along with a new smuggling avenue to get his aid in the plan and so when King Julius became suspicious of a high ranking noble they ensured that Gueldre took the fall as William needed to keep his cover.
It was a good plan and Gueldre had almost escaped but his timing had been when the Black Bull Pirates had been in the Clover Kingdom and were allied with King Julius. As such, between his Devil Fruit and Observation Haki that Yami had taught him, Gueldre had been exposed by the Black Bulls' swordsman, Black Devil Asta, and then captured by another noble who would later take to the sea called Rill.
That was fine with Patry as it ensured that they could continue their plans, William still conflicted over his own role in them, and Gueldre's capture, and interrogation led to the discovery of his independent crimes which were enough to get the Navy involved and he was carted off to Impel Down for further interrogation and detainment. However, he definitely wasn't a big enough fish to dump in Level 6 like William had been, after all unlike William he hadn't actively participated in the near genocide of a country and the attempted regicide of their King, but the crimes were extensive enough to merit Level 5.
At least William thought they did hence why he was searching with his tree roots. Well, that and once his roots were in the ground, he could use his Observation Haki in connection with them to map out the area and attack any wolves that may get in the way to get rid of them while also breaking open cells. The latter was more to add to the chaos and aid the escape attempt, William had no desire to recruit the men and women of Impel Down to the crew he wanted to form but his planned crew was a different kind than the others though as he needed the aid of the other Captains from Level 6, he'd help them this way.
Thankfully, William's strategy paid off and soon he found the cell on the second floor of one of the towers that had Gueldre in it. The man was hard to miss, he was a massive, blocky man who kinda looked like a boneless ham with a spectacularly square head and blond hair. Of course, all William got was an outline from the root he'd wrapped around Gueldre's ankle, but he knew it was him and as such broke fully into the cell with his roots and fully grabbed the shackled Gueldre in it while the others in it busted out. That said he made sure to avoid the sea prism stone shackles that Gueldre had on.
With Gueldre secure, William burst the root connecting him to the other former Clover Kingdom noble out of the ground, disconnected any other roots attached to him, and then reeled himself in so that he sped through the frigid air and was soon standing in the ruined entryway of the cell on the second level of a tower and looking at the bigger man while noting that the purple mask with a metal nose was still over his eyes. Those eyes went wide when Gueldre saw William before him.
"Why if it isn't Lord Vangeance and in Impel Down's finest no less." Gueldre said giving a creepy chuckle despite his predicament. "When I saw these roots I thought that it might be you but I'm surprised you're here and without our mask no less. Man, your face is a mess, no wonder you wear it."
"Yes, this birthmark has caused me great grief throughout my life and the mask Julius gave me helped." William said. "But that's not relevant right now."
"Clearly." Gueldre said. "So, what's the man tipped to be the next Clover King doing in this fine establishment."
"Same as you, treason." William said opting not to go into detail about his crimes. "But I am going to atone for it now that I have a chance to get out of here. You're coming with me, call it my first act as you were kinda thrown to the wolves to protect me from Julius's suspicious eye, but also, I need your network so having you owe me is useful."
"Get these shackles off me and I'm in." Gueldre said though nothing he said could be trusted and this was no different as he fully intended to pay William back for getting him into this situation along with that Black Bull brat who'd seen through his Devil Fruit. "My network is at your disposal; it should still be active even with me locked away down here."
"No, not with that weird Devil Fruit of yours." William said as he turned and sent roots from his other hand out and to the door. "We'll free you once we're sailing away from here and you reestablish your network, you have my word there. I can't trust you to not backstab me."
"Smart." Gueldre admitted. "Fine, I'm a man who knows how to make a deal that benefits me. I'm in, I hate this place so if you do get me out of here and allow me to go free then I'll aid you."
"Who doesn't now let's go." William said as he slammed his root into the ground near where Patry was standing with Rhya and several of the escaped inmates getting the run down on what was going on. "We are a little pressed for time after all."
Before Gueldre could say anything, William reeled them to Patry and caused Gueldre to yell in surprise. This was how it had to be with the man, his Devil Fruit was odd as it made him transparent like the Clear-Clear or Camo-Camo Fruits, but it also made his body intangible to all but one known Devil Fruit power as well as Armament Haki and even standard Observation Haki couldn't find him, only that advanced form from Wano that they called ki could.
To add to that Gueldre was a master with his Devil Fruit and it had played a key role in the establishment of his business and criminal empire. As such Gueldre was a tricky man to deal with and given how corruptible he was he couldn't be trusted. However, he was useful to them and his network would be needed hence why William was bringing Gueldre along and in the process inadvertently adding 21 more escapees to the chaos.
For her part Nagant knew where to go, or at least roughly where to go, and so she headed there as soon as the Level 6 escapees entered Level 5. One of the perks of not only being a former Vice Admiral but being one of the major wetwork operatives for the military and deeper in it than CP9 or CP0, as well as being just as well trained as those agents, was that she'd had access to some highly sensitive information. This included the layout of Impel Down and the breakdown of the levels.
Honestly, it was a surprise to Nagant that she'd not been executed for her crime given what she knew, and who she'd killed for that matter, but after all she'd been through it was deemed a mercy to just dump her in Level 6 and erase her and her crimes from the world. Now that was going to backfire on them as Nagant fully intended to use her knowledge, once she'd built up a crew, to exact revenge on the Navy and World Government but for the moment her plan was to free two utter monsters to wreak havoc in an already chaotic situation.
Said monsters were being held in one of the two special towers on Level 5 that Nagant had read about. For the most part Level 5 was the freezing wasteland filled with wolves, a few of which she'd shot with her Devil Fruit as she moved through the Freezing Hell, a forest for said wolves, and towers with the standard communal cells for inmates but there were two towers that were in different places that were special.
The one that Nagant wasn't going to towards the female tower because even in a shithole like Impel Down they segregated cells by gender and area and as such there was a tower for the worst women other than her and Devon. The other tower was reserved for the single occupancy cells, effectively solitary confinement, and that was the one that Nagant was heading too now.
Those who were locked up in the single cells, a max of 30 as it was a 6 story, narrow, tower with one cell on each face, were highly dangerous inmates who merited Level 5 but for various reasons weren't enough to merit Level 6 so there was no way that Moonfish and Muscular weren't there. As such Nagant made her way there quickly and checked it out.
The first level had no one in it, as did the second save for a frozen corpse. The third had one person chained up but when he opted to flash his dick at Nagant with an evil grin on his face she ignored him and moved to the next level. There she found another person who intrigued, and confused, her, but she didn't show it as she moved up without that inmate noticing her and finally hit paydirt on the 5th story.
Inside the cell was a shaven headed man sitting on a bench in a standard prison outfit with a special straight jacket over his arms, a thick chain around his waist that anchored him to the bench and was no doubt sea prism stone ankle shackles and a muzzle over his mouth that was likely made of sea prism stone as well. There was no doubt that this was Moonfish.
"Hey, you're the cannibal and condemned man that they call Moonfish, right?" Nagant said and the man's head snapped to her his black eyes blazing with insanity as he roared against his muzzle showing that the cold of Level 5 wasn't deterring him at all. "I'll take that as a yes. Look, I'm part of a breakout attempt and apparently, we need you so how about it? I'll offer you freedom and all the guards and beasts that you can sink your teeth into, as well as any inmate not part of the core group that is forming an alliance, and you help clear the path out while not biting anyone in said group."
This got Moonfish's attention and his eyes flickered with a mix of pleasure and other emotions that Nagant didn't want to think about. However, he did not show that he had some form of comprehension beyond his twisted desire for flesh.
"Good then I'll free you." Nagant said as she used the keys that Rhya had provided and unlocked the door and stepped in while turning her left forearm into a short-barreled rifle. "But if you try anything I won't hesitate to gun you down. Do you understand?"
Moonfish nodded and so Nagant quickly and careful not to touch the sea prism stone she unlocked Moonfish's ankle cuffs and waist chain so that she could haul him to his feet with her right hand, noting in the process that he was taller than her. Once he was on his feet she pushed him forward still in the strait jacket that didn't have any sea prism stone in it and the muzzle.
Only once they were out of the cell and Nagant was still behind him did she put away the keys and reach up with right hand to remove the muzzle. She kept her transformed left forearm pressed into his back and right on his spine while making sure that it was ready to fire at a moments notice. Only when she was certain that she had the situation under control did Nagant finally removed his muzzle while noting that Moonfish had a bit missing from his left ear.
"Flesh!" Moonfish roared as the muzzle came free and fell over the edge of the walkway around the cells. "Must have flesh!"
At that his metal teeth shot out and spider webbed so that he could use them to travel and down to the ground where they pierced a wolf and an inmate it was chasing killing both almost instantly. Moonfish let out a cry of joy at that as he moved off the tower and began making his way out using just his teeth to move.
Nagant was deeply disturbed by that and wanted to shoot him then and there, but she refrained herself as they needed his brutal nature to clean a path for them. As such she put it to the back of her mind as she moved up to the final level knowing who she'd likely find there. As expected, in the last cell she checked, she found a blond man who was missing his left eye and had some serious scar tissue around it who was restrained in a full iron maiden leaving only his head exposed and no doubt the whole thing was made of sea prism stone. It was some intense, but needed, restraints given the man it held.
"Imasuji Goto a.k.a. Muscular I presume." Nagant said already knowing this to be true.
"Well, hello there, you here to kill me?" Muscular said grinning despite his situation. "If so then let me out so I can make this fair and fun when you show me your blood."
"While I can kill you as I can infuse my Armament Haki into my Devil Fruit powers." Nagant said holding her right arm up and first turning it to a gun and then hardening it with her Haki to make it clear. "I won't if you behave. I'm from Level 6 and as you can tell I'm breaking out with a few others. One suggested that we break you out and I know your reputation and the power of your Muscle-Muscle Fruit so we could use it. My offer is simple. I'll free you and let you run rampant against the guards and any beasts that are around, including the four demon guards who are all awakened Zoan types and of course Warden Magellan, and in exchange you don't harm any escaping prisoners who are allied with me. Deal?"
"So long as I get to fight and kill then sure I'll take it." Muscular said with a grin. "Plus, there's a kid out there I want to fight again, he gave me best fight of my life and I've been craving it ever since. I need to taste his blood once more."
"Just know that if you renege then either I or one of the others from Level 6 will kill you." Nagant said. "You're strong but we're stronger."
"I know the reputation of those who go down there, I'd love to fight you, but I'll wait until the time is right." Muscular said. "So, get me out of her. I want to see and spill demon guard blood."
Nagant knew this wasn't a good idea but so long as this monster played ball it would be fine. Ideally, he'd go after Magellan and get killed by the man's poison but he could at least occupy those demon guards if they were around so there was a use to him. With a sigh, Nagant unlocked the door and walked in before she used the key, uniform keys were necessary with so many locks and shackles in Impel Down, to unlock the iron maiden.
The device would take a moment to disengage and a little longer for Muscular to break out of it, so Nagant used that time to turn and leave the cell as fast as possible. It was as she was heading down to the fourth level where she'd noted someone that she heard the roar.
"Show me your blood!"
That could only be Muscular fully breaking out of his bonds and a moment later that was confirmed as he launched himself off the tower with enough force to shatter the walkway around the top level and headed towards the door following in Moonfish's wake. This would be bad for the guards and good for them at least so Nagant pushed it out of her mind, she could always kill Muscular and Moonfish another time if they became too much of a global headache, as she reached the cell and stepped in front of it to look in.
What had peaked Nagant's interest was that in this cell was a woman and not a man which Nagant had not expected to find in the solitary tower of Level 5. The woman came off as meek as she huddled on the bench with her back in the corner, knees to her chest and arms around them so that the clearly sea prism stone shackles she had on rested against her legs. Her head down which was likely why she'd not seen Nagant when Nagant had passed by a few moments before despite having her eyes open at the moment.
The woman had medium length black hair, brown eyes, and a pale complexion as she shivered in her thin prison outfit. Even in this position Nagant could tell that the woman was small but there was just something about her that appealed to Nagant and she wasn't sure why. Well, mostly not sure as if the woman was in a cell like this then she'd done something to merit it so she had to be dangerous and that could be useful to Nagant.
"What's your name?" Nagant asked in a soft, friendly, voice as she called out to the woman in the cell who seemed a little startled by the older woman's words and looked towards Nagant.
"Tayaku Dazu." Dazu said her voice as meek as she looked, which Nagant noted as Dazu blinked in surprise at the purple haired woman in the same outfit as her minus the sleeves standing there as if the cold wasn't an issue and looking at her with purple eyes that had clearly seen far too much. "Who, who are you?"
"You can call me Lady Nagant or just Nagant if that's easier." Nagant said. "So, what's a woman doing in this tower block? This is usually reserved for those who need to be held in solitary confinement even in the cold of Level 5. The others here likely could be in Level 6 but aren't."
"I'm the only woman on this floor, as far as I know, so they put me in here." Dazu said and Nagant could believe that as few women ended up in Impel Down to begin with though there were plenty who might one day. "Apparently it made more sense than using the other tower just for me, at least that's what I was told, but it seems that was wrong."
"It is possible that that is why but it could be that they assessed you as meriting solitary confinement." Nagant said. "Though they may be right about you being the only woman as I'm not from Level 5. I'm from below, Level 6 where they send the worst of the worst."
"Level 6?" Dazu asked. "You mentioned that twice now but I know nothing about it."
"It's for those whose crimes are so bad that they have to be forgotten about or who are too dangerous to be held elsewhere in Impel Down and let's just say that my crimes more than qualify." Nagant said. "And I'm more than dangerous enough as well. Level 5 is big time though, what'd you do to get chucked down here?"
"I was one of two ringleaders in a revelation in the Clover Kingdom who wanted to chuck out the corrupt and powerful nobles there and used the wake of the incident that the Elf Pirates caused to try and do so." Dazu said as she moved to face Nagant and sit normally on the bench, placing her manacled arms in her lap with a clink of chains. "I was the leader of the group as well as the only Devil Fruit user."
"I can tell." Nagant said. "A revolution in Clover, I didn't hear about that, but I have been here for a few years so I'm a little out of touch with world events."
"It was after that Warlord guy and his Elf Pirates tried to kill the whole nation a few months ago." Dazu said. "See, Clover has an extreme class system and I'm from the poorest of the poor and looked down upon. It's especially because I have a worthless Devil Fruit and the commoners equate Devil Fruits with oppression so it only added to the scorn I got."
"Even in the Grand Line there are those who view Devil Fruits and their powers as evil." Nagant said. "While they can, and often are, used for evil, they are no less evil than any other tool."
"The ones the nobles have in Clover are used for evil so having one as a commoner made me an outcast and the fact that it's pretty useless only makes things worse." Dazu said unsure why she was telling this woman everything but she did. "During the big attack I almost died, and my husband and in-laws revealed their true colors when I tried to rescue them, so I killed them using the destruction as cover before forming a band of rebels with my best friend in the wake of everything. In the end we had a strong movement going and everything, but we had no strength to face Devil Fruit users and so we had to surrender. They chucked me here for it though why Level 5 I don't know."
"There's bound to be a reason for that, but I know of the Clover Kingdom's reputation so if you were trying to upset the system there then that would piss off the wrong people." Nagant said. "What's your Devil Fruit?"
"The Catalyst-Catalyst Fruit." Dazu said. "I can temporarily borrow the power of another Devil Fruit user but I can't use it unless I borrow another Devil Fruit power. When that happens I can combine them to create new effects however it can only work on a Paramecia type and once I use the power I can't use it again until I borrow the two original powers once more."
"All powers are useful if used right and creatively but I can see why some would look down on it." Nagant said as she raised her right arm and turned it to a gun just as she'd done when talking to muscular and causing Dazu's eyes to go wide in surprise. "But I'm a power user as well, the Rifle-Rifle Fruit and as you can see I can turn my arms or parts of them from my fingers up to my shoulders into firearms. I can even use my hair as special rounds but that requires the use of a special transformation. Let's just say that I'm no strange to killing or Devil Fruits."
"Same, I have no compunction killing those who deserve it, especially those who look down on the weak." Dazu said and there was a fire in her eyes that Nagant liked and in that moment, she made a decision, a decision that was solidified by what Dazu said next. "I don't regret what I did to get here and I'd do it again especially because my surrender ensured that the thousands who were following me at the time were pardoned by King Julius for joining my uprising."
"Well then Dazu, how about you join me and my newly formed crew, I could use someone with leadership skills and patience as a first mate." Nagant said as she unlocked the door and walked in and approached Dazu as the woman once again stared at Nagant in shock. "When I was broken out I said that I'd recruit a few useful people along the way and you're clearly one of them."
"I, I am?" Dazu asked. "N, no one has ever called me useful before. Are, are you sure?"
"I am." Nagant said with a small, hopefully friendly, smile. "I'm trained to spot talent and you've got it. Be it your power, patience in waiting to act until the right moment, use of cover, ability to inspire many people, or your hatred for the powers that be, all are what I need on my crew. See, I'm here because I used to be an assassin for the Navy and World Government, using my cover as a Vice Admiral to kill the enemies of the world. However, I wasn't always doing good, just killing those they didn't like and, in the end, I snapped and shot a Celestial Dragon in the face killing him. Now I'm busting out with some new allies and forming the Rifle Pirates to get revenge. You in?"
At that Nagant held out her right hand to Dazu who looked at it and then up at Nagant in utter shock at the sudden proposal from the woman before her. She didn't know this woman but the look in her eyes told Dazu that she spoke the truth, she'd killed 7 people before her arrest, but this Nagant woman had no doubt killed 10 times that at least. She was the real deal, Dazu sensed it, and so with a slow rise she got off the bench and looked the taller woman in the eye.
"My best friend and co-conspirator Bow is here as well though I don't know where she's being held." Dazu said. "She's a doctor with a gift when it comes to plants and herbs and I won't leave Impel Down without her but if we free her, she'll join us. Promise me that and I'll accept your offer."
"Done, a crew needs a doctor and if she has the same intensity as you, or close enough then she's worth it." Nagant said. "So what do you say Dazu?
"Then I accept your offer." Dazu said taking Nagant's right hand in hers to shake on it while avoiding making contact with her shackles. "Captain."
Nagant just nodded as she unlocked the shackles with her left hand before she let go of Dazu's right hand. With that done she led Dazu out of the cell and into the frozen wasteland of Level 5. They were the last to leave and quickly hurried through the Freezing Hell to rendezvous with the others just as the time limit, they'd been given ran out.
I think this is a good place to leave this chapter off as Level 5 is now done and all but cleared so it is time for the second breakout wave to head up to Level 4 and breakout who they need there as they continue their own progression through Impel Down. For the most part there isn't much to say about this chapter, it's pretty straightforward and I'm sure many of y'all could have guessed who else would be in Impel Down only now you know so there's a reference for the rest of the breakout as the Captains bust out their friends and in the process several other prisoners who will potentially swell their ranks with plenty of grunts and cannon fodder for their goals. The only thing to really mention is that, for those who don't know or have forgotten, Dazu is a non-canon Black Clover character from the filler episodes between that ended season 3 before those who were going to the Heart Kingdom left for it and the 6 month time skip. She is the leader of the Devil Believers who had a small arc in that filler block. As such I used her as an actual Black Clover character, albeit anime exclusive, who is a criminal and adapted her story so that instead of being banished she was instead sent to Impel Down. Now she's Nagant's first recruit to the Rifle Pirates which, as y'all can now tell, will do something I rarely do and mix the various franchises into one crew. The main reason for this is that Nagant needs a crew but there's no way to form it from MHA alone so I felt it would be fun to have a true crew in UWG that featured characters from all 6 franchises and yes the Rifle Pirates will recruit from all 6 during this arc as Nagant makes her way through the great prison and decides who she wants for her crew. This will be a rather interesting and motely group but will have long term ramifications just as the other crews will have so I hope y'all enjoy what is to come as we move up to Level 4 next. 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