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"One Piece." – Speaking

'One Piece.' – Thinking

One Piece. – Flashbacks

One Piece. – Devil Fruits and Techniques

Deadly Drinking Pirate

Out of Hell and Into War!

Previously on Deadly Drunken Pirate,

It was a good call to rally as much help as possible, for how there was extra security than usual. Even the secret entrances/exits were no longer completely safe. Nevertheless, Luffy found a break in the rotations and soon reached the elevator that will take them to the true bottommost level of the prison.

However, "ACE!" Luffy shouted upon seeing the sixth floor to be not like the others. It was composed of several prison cells littered across the vast floor along with a massive cell in the far back of the room made only for giants and the like to be contained in. All the pirate captain was interested in was Ace's cell, too bad that his brother was nowhere to be seen! "I had hoped we will make it in time…" Luffy spoke with such a rare tone of defeat that made him loose strength in his legs to stand at the sight.

While his 'girlfriends' try to comfort him, Ivankov spoke to Luffy. "They must have gotten recent orders to move Ace to headquarters ahead of schedule. If we move now, we can still catch up and maybe steal one of their ships to tail to wherever they are taking him…"

"I know where, long before I even asked Hancock to sneak us in." Luffy spoke, his soft tone still heard loud and clear. "They are going to make a spectacle of him just like the Pirate King over twenty years ago. Only they hope to deliver their message for real this time. So instead of Logue Town in the East Blue, they are going to the 'heart' of the Navy Force."

"MARINEFORD!" Everyone shouted out, ignoring the complaints from the other prisoners about all the noise and/or the sad scene that made them supposedly sick to the stomach. Ivankov made sure they shut up with a Death Wink for each one.

"Yeah, and it's going to be even more difficult to get in and out with your life. They will be bringing everyone and I mean everyone they can to get ready for Shirohige-sama (Whitebeard) to come. Because he will." Luffy added. "That not just means hundreds of Marines but dozens of Vice Admirals with all three of the Monsters of the Marine, not to mention the remaining Shichibuki (Seven Warlords of the Sea) that want a piece of Shirohige-sama." With a pause to let it all sink in, Luffy practically punched the cell bars of the cell, ignoring the weakening feeling of the Kairōseki (Seastone) that makes up the bars.

"That was why I was hoping to get here earlier, so Ace can help us plow our way out of this prison from hell and eventually rejoin with our crew." Nobody, not even the prisoners in their own cells, had anything to say to that. "That was the only plan I can come up with that would've worked. Now we can try to get everyone out but I got nothing on how to sail away from Impel Down. Our ride here had to leave ages ago so she won't blow our cover. As we speak, any and all ships could be far away from the prison docks to strand us here! I got nothing on how to fix that!" His companions can see the desperation in the eyes that used to be full of boundless confidence and wished they had an answer. That was when,

"Wait…!" A small, tired voice that seemed to be awakened by the comminution was heard in the same cell. "Are you…Luffy…?"

Said pirate took a close look with squinted eyes, trying to pierce the darkness of the cell and then widened them with surprise. This was the first time he had seen this certain prisoner but Luffy knew immediately who this was. "You are…!?"

"You are…Jinbei?" Luffy found his voice again and, on cue, a light from who knows where shun on the other half of the cell that escaped everyone's sight upon their arrival at the bottommost level: a large blue whale shark fish-man in a red coat.

"Jinbei? As in 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbei?" Ivankov spoke up. "But last I heard he is still one of the Shichibuki! Why is he doing here!?" This time, Luffy did not answer. He simply gave a soft look that clearly asked the Fishman himself to respond.

"Because I refused to answer the call of the Navy. It was a demand that I will not bring myself to even think of accepting. Shirohige-sama (Whitebeard) is still a beloved friend of Fishman and Merfolk after what he did to protect us from slave traders." Jinbei explained with his heart more broken than his flesh. How is he still conscious with bruises and blood scabs all over just proves he is above the average Grandline Pirate. "That was why they locked me down here, so I won't interfere with the war they are preparing with Shirohige-sama. Now I just await to hear what is to happen to my home after the end of the war…"

"No." Luffy spoke again which nearly spooked everyone. "You still have a lot of good you can do with your strong heart, strong soul and strong fists, Jinbei. I am not going to let you rot down here. With your powers, we might just have a chance to stop the war in its tracks." He turned to Ivankov with his accomplice Inazuma, ready to ask for the means to open the cell open when another voice was heard.

"And who are you to escape from this hell without my help, Mugiwara (Strawhat)?" Luffy and Nami shivered when they heard that voice. It has been forever but they could never forget it. Everyone else were wondering who it was until they all turned to their left to a whole other cell. It was a bit dark and the figure was mostly a silhouette but the massive hook on his left arm was hard to miss.

"And why would we do that…Crocodile!?"

Nami scowled at the sight of the former Shichibuki from her favorite spot, behind her captain's back while Perona only looked with disinterest. She knew who Crocodile was, from when she served under Moria. Her old boss loved to complain about the other Shichibuki a lot. But this was a new look for him; purely a prison outfit that was tattered and filthy like the others with only his signature large golden hook still attached.

"Why, Straw Hat. I could be of a big assistance if you insist on getting out of this hellhole alive. After all I…ARRGH!" Crocodile had his usual smug attitude until he was immediately slammed into the bars of his cell block, made entirely out of Kairōseki.

"First of all, does this feel familiar to you?" Luffy was in no mood for jokes or prisoners who think they are can ask their hated enemies to let them out. Crocodile growled with his blood dripping down his face as he does remember when the roles were reversed; only in that time, Luffy somehow swapped places with a clone that dissolved his own cage made of Kairōseki. He spotted Nami with the ghost of a smile from her hiding spot, she still feared Crocodile for his deadly power in spite of his new circumstances. "Second, I am perfectly aware that you can get us out of here. But what is stopping you from making your own way out all on your own?"

Crocodile was still annoyed with both the talk down from Luffy and the blood still itching at his face, but he still cracked a grin. "You are young and reckless, boy, but never was a fool. Of course, I have every intention on heading out on my own after leaving this prison.

XXXXX

Later,

Ivankov was making a speech to convince his fellow prisoner followers, or 'candies' as he puts it, to escape Impel Down with him now that he has a good reason to be a fugitive from the World Government again. It was until his second-in-command, Inazuma, that the stars of this breakout had already left. True to be told, Luffy had already got a head start of the escape with both Jinbei and Crocodile, the latter somehow had gotten his signature clothes from back in Alabastra which included a fur coat to tie it all together. Heavens knows where it came from while inside a prison. As for Nami and Perona, they were both riding along with their captain and two other former prisoners of Level 6 onboard Nola the Snake. Thankfully, they were not going through the frozen hell of Level 5 this time.

There was just a large door at the top of the stairway and Crocodile rocked forward in an impressive show of his sand fruit. "Doors mean nothing to me. My right hand holds the power of thirst itself!" He never noticed that his 'companions' rolled their eyes at him being dramatic. Nevertheless, the wood crumbled once Crocodile placed his palm on the massive door. Too bad that there were prison guards on the other side.

"There they are! The escapees!" Aiming their rifles, confident in their number, the guards started to fire on Crocodile. They must have either forgotten who Crocodile was or just assumed he was just a well-dressed escapee because those bullets left only holes leaking sand, not blood. "Fools! He has Logia powers, use the special bullets!" Too bad that they never got the chance,

"Barján (Desert Cutlass)!" Crocodile surged forward with his sands forming a curved blade at the side of his right arm that cut right through those unfortunate guards. Instantly, they all shivered up and became lifeless husk with uniforms on. The true deadly power of the Suna-Suna no Mi (Sand-Sand Fruit). And Crocodile has a lot more where that came from.

"Focus men, Crocodile is not alone!" One guard from further into the corridor called out. Crocodile smirked at more cannon fodder to slaughter, may make all this worth it. "Its Jinbei, of the Shichibuki! He has decided to rebel against us!" Indeed, the massive Fishman was in this fight too. And already he strikes forward with a punch and a stance,

Only for nothing to happen. "What? What was that…supposed…to be…?" One guard asked before he lost his voice. The rocks started to rocket off, one guard had his face stretched, another with his stomach caved in, yet another with his face carving inward and a fourth one was shifting on the ground until they all were sent flying. "Karakusagawara Seiken (Arabesque Tile True Punch)."

Now it was Luffy's turn. He wanted to conserve his energy for the real fight to escape up ahead. He only toyed with Magellan as a distraction with the help of his Ēruabatā (Ale Avatar). "Gum-Gum…" Luffy compressed his right arm into itself for some loaded action. "…Supuringushotto (Spring Shot)!" The guards screamed as the punch rocketed right through their numbers, the shockwave dividing the army and paving a path for the escapees.

"We will help too, Luffy-kun~!" Crocodile gritted his teeth, Jinbei looked in fasciation while Luffy chuckled as his girlfriends also contributed to thinning the crowd ahead. "Always wanted to try this one, El Thor!" Nami screamed, but the guards screamed louder as most were toasted and some vapored by a terrifying beam of pure lightning that made the previous three attacks lot like chump change. The two Shichibuki, one former and one considering resigning. were in both awe and shock at the magnitude, and from the captain's girlfriend and navigator of all people. Even Perona was still in shock while surrounded by a large handful of guards on the ground muttering negative things.

And yet, a lot like the Hydra their warden was known for, more and more guards keep coming as the two powerful fighters continue to fight their way through the fourth floor with its boiling temperatures. It did help to release the prisoners burning alive in their cells including one such prisoner, ironically speaking, named Mr. 1 aka Daz Bones. Crocodile himself was the one who went to his block and asked the man in person to join them. His Supe-Supe no Mi (Dice-Dice Fruit) aided in the fight against the guards.

"Woo-hoo~!" A new player entered the fray and resembled Ivankov very much except for the fact that this figure looks like a well-shaped woman. Before anyone asked, "I just felt like being a woman right now, Mugiwara (Strawhat)!" Apparently, this silly person ate an Akuma no mi (Devil Fruit) that pushed the envelope by allowing full control over the user's hormones. Which include things like genders and moods. With only a few hundred more guards to plow through, nobody had the energy to ask. Only feel a little relived that now they had an army of their own, dressed in the silliest of garbs and armor anyone has ever seen.

They had just made it through Level 4 and had reached Level 3 when they encountered another blockade of guards but more than that. "That is as far as any of you wicked killers and vile scumbags go!" It was the Vice-Warden of Impel Down, Hannyabal, standing strong with his unique weapon. It is best described as a naginata (a type of Japanese halberd) with a matching, second curved blade on the opposite end. "I am here to see that you won't scare and terrorize anymore civilians with your evil deeds! I won't let you escape and ruin the sanctuary of this place that is the only thing holding you murderers and thieves from the good people who have to live in fear of you! Prepare to-!"

Hannyabal was interrupted when Luffy appeared before him in an instant before slamming his sandal on the blunt side of the blade, seeing it deep into the ground below; practically burying the weapon in the rock. "If not for our circumstances, we would have been flattered, that for a chance of pace, you worry about the consequences of our 'evil deeds'. Too bad for you, the Marines you idolize couldn't care less what we do, only that we are pirates and criminals and thus wild animals to put down, for sport." Luffy spoke in one breath with a cold tone despite the intense temperatures of Level 4.

Just as Hannyabal was about to say something in protest, another voice cut the tension like a filthy knife. "Look in the whole world and you will never find this weak take on the justice you obviously care too much about!" The Vice-Warden was no fool and yet was too slow to stop a boot from smashing his head into the ground when he turned to see who spoke up. The guards nearby screamed with terror as dark substances overwhelmed them. And amongst the anguish and screams were laughter as a certain small and familiar gang appeared safely behind the blackness attacking the guards.

On the other side of the standoff, most of the witnesses to this scene from a nightmare did not know what to think of this. Even Nami and Perona had no idea what was going on but there was this nagging feeling of dread creeping up their spines. That only happens when something terrifying is about to happen that even their captain and lover is wary of; perhaps a bonus from their bond.

As for the captain in question, he glared like he had never did before. Once he first learned of this peculiar piece of scum and how he had the audacity to violate every scared code among the pirates even to that very day, he resolved to never greet this 'man' with nothing less. "Hello, Teach." All of his resentfulness and utter hatred was shown in those two words.

"Ze-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! What a colorful crowd you made for yourself, Mugiwara! Falling up downwards, eh?" Marshell D. Teach, calling himself Blackbeard, showed his disgusting wide smile while taunting the escapees. Crocodile and Jinbe already knew enough about this 'pirate' to know that he is more of an arrogant pest than a threat. "Yet I am not going to even bother ask what you know about me or why I am here in this stinking hellhole. You probably read my mind already, eh?"

"I am not going to dignify that with a response, Teach. Just show it off why don't you?" Luffy was not in a laughing mood for sure. Teach still had the nerve to try and look dumb anyways. "I mean your shadow, show us what you can do with it now. Show everyone what you did, to Moria." Teach's vile grin only grew to a greater size what made everyone feel shivers up their spine, even with the present extreme temperatures. Then the realization came to Luffy's lovers like a ton of bricks; the after party at Thriller Bark that led to a shocking call to the Gorosei (Five Elders).

"Ze-ha-ha-ha-ha! Have your way, Mugiwara!" With the light of the fires around them, everyone saw Teach's shadow start to shake and shift before slithering along the walls and the floor, terrifying the escapees from Floor 5.5. Crocodile, Jinbe and Ivankov, on the other hand, were more shocked than scared because they recognize this power and realized the only way this newcomer can have it. Marshell Teach truly had slain Gecko Moria and somehow had obtained the Kage-Kage no Mi (Shadow-Shadow Fruit) despite already having an Akuma no Mi. They just watched as the black image of Teach assumed a much larger and even more deformed state than the original. "Aren't you scared?"

"No." If there ever was a flat 'NO', than Luffy had delivered it. "Moria was a disgrace, not even half the legend he made when he fought Kaido evenly before losing the battle and everything else in it. And yet, he was not shameless in the use of his power, just relied on it too much. You, on the other hand, can't even use your new power to its fullest here or anywhere for that matter." True to his bold if not fearless nature, Luffy had both mocked his former idol and placed Teach below that in terms of contempt at the same time. "Besides, this is not even a showdown anymore. Guess who is coming to join…" Luffy backed off a few feet not in fear and in preparation for something to happen.

And what came next were more screams when the pathway behind Blackbeard was demolished and suddenly, the most revolting stench filled the burning air. The pirates named such were shocked and quickly backed off at the sight of a literal devil glaring through the darkness and shown a pair of hand made with some pink substance that rotted the air and melted the walls on either side of the pathway. "I…" A truly demonic voice made its way to the witnesses to its terrible glory, "…cannot believe that I was summoned here like a mongrel minion, and by a pirate nonetheless!"

To the average pirate, this was an actual devil but the escaped inmates including Crocodile and Jimbe know who this. "You summoned Magellan, right to us!" The former was actually considering the idea of killing Luffy for this. The rest were either too shocked or scared to say anything else.

"I don't like you any more than you like me, Crocodile. I needed something, or someone to deal with Teach and his gang who are in our way." Luffy responded before turning to Magellan like an old college buddy, "Trust me. You will thank me for this one of these days. Right now, just deal with the other break in while we will be on our way."

"I don't care that I have to destroy this entire level, none of you scumbags are getting past me! And if you could, I sent every guard and staff down here to put you all down. You can't through all of us, Mugiwara!" Magellan growled out, truly pissed off with how his prison was hit with two break-ins in just one day in its long history. Luffy's permeant grin and calm demeanor did not help his growing anger.

"I agree." It was anyone guess as what this pirate captain had in mind and behind that smug smile. "Which was why I sent her, ahead of the game." Right on cue, the ceiling above Level 4 shook something terrible before something broke right through. Everyone waited with baited breath before a familiar sight, to some, emerged.

A massive serpent with the largest whiskers and a gaping jaw that roared at the witnesses below her. Both parties stared at the giant snake, somehow knowing that this monster did not come from Level 2 which is composed of dangerous animals. Nami and Perona felt a feeling of déjà vu while Luffy's smirk never left his face. "Good timing girl, can you please?" Luffy used his right thumb to point to the party of escapees behind him.

Before any of them could even make a peep, Nola cobbled them all up in one massive gulp. She leaned her head back to swallow her new 'passengers', with several muffled voices of discomfort and fright moving past her mouth. She didn't mind, and even gave Luffy a tickle of her snake tongue. Said Captain turned to see the Blackbeard Pirates and Magellan were still frozen in fright.

"You bastards have you fun down here in this hellhole and take your time, we will be on our way out of here." Luffy spoke before Nola also swallowed him and ascended back through the floor she appeared from.

"MUGIWARA!" That finally snapped the Blackbeard Pirates and Magellan out of their shock and could only cry out for their common enemy who had made fools of them once again. All they could do is face each other for a rematch. Too bad nobody was left awake to witness it.

XXXXX

Elsewhere on Level 2,

"Warden Magellan, come in!" A guard shouted into his personal Den-Den Mushi (Transponder Snail) while a few more were watching the hallways and blocking the passageways. "Where is he? We actually caught these prisoners and their so-called ringleaders in the act but nobody is answering our calls."

Sad but true. Buggy and his new partner though the coast were clear to break out the Level 2 prisoners and start a riot on their way out of prison. That was until hordes of guards were summoned from all levels down to where the Warden demanded. That was how the facility had found out about the riot before it can even begin. With numbers and arms in spades, the prisoners were all apprehended in no time much to Buggy and Mr. Three's disappointment. But not as much as the prisoners who really thought the clown and the guy with his hair making a '3' were getting them out.

Before the guard could try the line again, the prison level shook terribly. The prisoners panicked, calling it either an earthquake or the warden on a rampage. What made them scream was the wall facing behind them bursting open to reveal some kind of a mouth which gobbled them all alive. It not only got to Buggy and Mr. Three's cell but all cells that housed prisoners, all screaming before disappearing into the mouth of the monster that came from the walls.

The prison guards couldn't believe what they just saw and almost forgot about calling the warden for an update when the Den-Den Mushi ran. The guard holding it answered and was greeted with a booming voice belonging to Magellan. "LOCKDOWN THE PRISON!" Never before had any of those hapless prison guards move so fast in their entire lives. Too bad that it was all for naught.

At the front gate,

"Alright. That was the last one." One guard let out a sigh of relief after confirming with the guards stationed at the lower levels that they had sealed every entrance and exit. With that fact in the back of his mind, said guard was about to move on to the second most pressing matter; the whereabouts of the rioters from Level 2 and the escapees last seen on Level 4. That was before he heard a low hissing sound, like a snake nearby.

Alarmed, the guard took out his rifle and frantically searched for the source of the hissing. And he found it, coming from the walls! Nervously, the guard walked up to where the sound was emerging and pressed his ear against the stone when it gave away in an instant. The poor guard was flattened before he could even respond, or hear the metal gates launched by a mighty tail.

Outside, several ships stationed to monitor the waters around Impel Down, witnessed a giant snake emerge from the prison, roaring at the skies. Marines and sailors were alarmed and took up their weapons against the beast who didn't even spare a passing glance; she only had eyes on one of the ships. The one sitting the furthest from the prison.

Even if the witnesses noticed, they couldn't have warned that ship of the massive snake as the monster moved at incredible speeds towards her target. Hopping along the ships like stones on a pond, not like a frog but like an actual snake would leap then slither and leap again to the next ship. The poor sailors on that ship the snake targeted were scared stiff. They wondered how they can kill this monster before it eats them.

The snake took one good look at the Marines and sailors on the ship she had finally landed on and opened her mouth nice and wide. The poor souls were expecting to swallowed whole until they heard voices. Screams, not of terror like in Impel Down, but of rage and battle thirst. Sure enough, what came out were the prisoners that were swallowed alive by the massive snake. With the scary and shocking scene and this ambush, the Marines never stood a chance. They were mobbed, overwhelmed, thrown overboard and/or brutalized in ways too many and too grizzly to describe.

While all that was happening, the last of the people inside the giant snake came out; a young but infamous pirate captain, his two lovers, a hardened Fishman and a crossdresser with an oversized head. Once they landed on the ship's deck, the snake started to shrink into the size of a garden snake, climbing up the pirate captain's leg all the way to his neck. "Thank you, Nola, you did a lot today. Rest up." Luffy said as Nola got comfy in the collar of his captain's cardigan. Nami and Perona couldn't help but coo a little at the sight of the little serpent that got them all out of hell.

"I must admit, Mugiwara…" Buggy forced himself to say, even though he got some stress out of his system after beating some of the Marines. "You always have been hard to predict, at least being swallowed by your pet snake sure beats being in a jail cell all over again." He ignored several passing glares from the prisoners including Mr. Three. "But now what do we do?" That got the attention of most of the escapees; the likes of Crocodile and Mr. One just huffed into their own direction.

"Yes, Straw-Boy. Where are we going now?" Ivankov chimed in with Luffy's new nickname. Jimbe was silent out of respect for his savior who clearly has his answer with a look of pure determination and grim anticipation in his eyes. Everyone else waited with baited breath before Luffy finally answered.

"…to war, friends. To the War that will change the World, for better or for worse." Luffy said while causally and slowly walking to the side of the stolen ship. Only a handful of the escapees knew what was in the direction of Luffy's gaze. "Ready yourselves, everybody. We set sail…for Marineford."

End of Chapter 68.

*Hello everyone, I appreciated your patience with the previous chapter and with this one too! Great news, I got a whole new job that pays more than Dunkin Donuts and will make sure that I am not working any Holidays all by myself again. I am also working to get over my addiction to Tears of the Kingdom and get ready for my favorite Paper Mario Game to come to the Switch; The Thousand Year Door! See you guys later!*