A/N: Bonus chapter since the fanfic is finally rated! Thank you everyone! Also, pacing will be slow in this arc :P .
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Light paused at the end of the first cell block. He didn't even turn his head, but his Level 3 Observation Haki easily pierced the stone pillar, locking onto the trembling aura hiding behind it. A panel materialized in his vision.
[ Name: Buggy the Clown ][ Green: 890 | Bad: 23044 ]
Twenty-three thousand, Light noted mentally.
Without breaking his stride, Light casually drew his pitch-black saber a fraction of an inch from its scabbard. With a lightning-fast motion, he unleashed a sharp, crescent-shaped flying slash of dark Haki directly at the pillar.
Whoever was hiding... it didn't matter.
He would pick up the trash.
He would clean the world.
The stone pillar exploded into dust. The dark blade of energy ripped straight through Buggy the Clown, instantly bisecting the pirate into two horizontal slices.
"GYAAAAAAAAAH!"
Instead of a spray of blood, the severed pieces of the clown hovered in the air. Buggy's head, separated from his neck, screamed in absolute, mind-shattering terror. His Bara Bara no Mi (Chop-Chop Fruit) had reflexively split his body the moment the blade made contact, saving his life by a fraction of a millimeter.
"HE'S GOING TO KILL ME! THE REAPER IS GOING TO KILL MEEE!" Buggy wailed.
The assorted, floating pieces of the clown frantically scrambled through the air like a flock of panicked birds. Buggy didn't run toward the exit; he turned and dove straight down the massive, dark hole leading to Level 2, fleeing as deep into the earth as possible to escape the monster on Level 1.
Light slowly sheathed his saber, a slight look of mild amusement crossing his face. A Devil Fruit that made the user immune to cutting. Fascinating.
He didn't chase the screaming clown down the hole. His methodology was absolute. Level 1 was not completely clean yet. He would find the clown later. The prison was a closed box; there was nowhere to run.
Light turned toward the next row of cells, the cold, unhinged smile returning to his face.
⬛ ⬛ ⬛
[ LEVEL 2 — THE WILD BEAST HELL ]
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Bonney hit the stone floor of Level 2 with a heavy, echoing thud.
The air down here was entirely different from the Crimson Hell. The sharp scent of iron and blood was gone, replaced by an overwhelming, suffocating stench of wet fur, rotting meat, and potent ammonia. The corridors were much wider, the stone walls deeply scarred with massive claw marks. The cell blocks were reinforced with iron bars twice as thick as the floor above.
"Ugh, it smells like a wet dog died in a sewer down here!" Bonney complained loudly, pinching her nose.
Sanji instantly materialized beside her, holding out a pristine white handkerchief with a dramatic bow. "Please, use this to block the scent, Bonney-chan! I couldn't bear to see your delicate nose offended!"
Bonney snatched the handkerchief, glaring at him suspiciously. "You just had this in your pocket? You're definitely a creep, Curly-brows."
"It's called being a gentleman!" Sanji cried, an imaginary arrow piercing his heart.
"Stop flirting and keep your guard up," Zoro grunted, his hand resting on Sandai Kitetsu. His lone eye scanned the dark, flickering shadows of the corridor. "There's something massive moving up ahead. A lot of somethings."
Huge shadows stalked through the gloom. They were Manticores—terrifying, muscular lions with the grotesque, overly expressive faces of human men. They prowled forward, their teeth bared, drool dripping from their chins.
"Panties..." one of the Manticores growled, its human face contorting into a creepy smile. "Strawberries... noodles..."
Luffy blinked. "Whoa! The lions can talk! That's so cool!"
"They aren't really talking, Luffy!" Sanji yelled, igniting his leg and kicking a Manticore directly in the jaw as it lunged for him. "They just mimic the words they hear from the prisoners! And considering the trash locked up here, their vocabulary is completely useless!"
Zoro drew two blades, instantly cutting down three leaping Manticores with a swift, brutal cross-slash. "Don't waste time on the fodder! Keep moving!"
They broke into a sprint again, tearing down the main corridor. The Manticores were fast, but the Monster Trio was leagues above them. Luffy simply bulldozed through the center, his rubber fists sending the beasts crashing into the stone walls. Bonney laughed, having the time of her life as she vaulted off the back of a Manticore, kicking it straight into Zoro's path.
Suddenly, the stone floor began to violently tremble.
A heavy, rhythmic BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. echoed through the Wild Beast Hell, completely drowning out the wailing sirens.
"Somennnn..." a massive, incredibly deep voice rumbled from the shadows ahead. "Yakisobaaaa..."
A colossal Sphinx stepped into the corridor, completely blocking their path. The beast was the size of a small galleon, its massive, feathered wings tucked tightly against its muscular, feline body. It possessed a giant, human-like face that stared down at the tiny pirates with blank, hungry eyes.
"It's a giant lion-bird!" Luffy's eyes turned into massive, shining stars. "I want to ride it! No, wait... I want to eat it!"
"We don't have time to ride or eat the wildlife, Luffy!" Sanji yelled, already bursting forward.
The Sphinx raised a massive, clawed paw, aiming to crush the cook into a bloody paste.
Sanji didn't dodge. He spun in mid-air, the friction instantly igniting his right leg into a blinding, hyper-heated blaze. He channeled his willpower down into his burning limb, creating an invisible, dense sheen of Armament Haki layered over the flames.
Diable Jambe: Flambage Shot!
Sanji delivered a blazing, Haki-infused kick directly to the underside of the Sphinx's massive chin.
The impact was monumental. The sheer kinetic force lifted the multi-ton beast completely off its feet. The Sphinx roared in shock and pain, staggering backward through the air and crashing violently into a row of cell doors along the right wall.
The massive iron bars, designed to hold off monsters, completely buckled and shattered under the immense weight of the falling Sphinx. The stone wall caved in, sending up a massive cloud of dust and debris.
"Nice kick, Curly," Zoro smirked, running past him. "For a chef."
"Shut up, Marimo!" Sanji snapped, landing gracefully.
From the rubble of the shattered cell block, a tall, incredibly thin man with a bizarre, '3' shaped topknot emerged from the dust, aggressively wiping dirt from his striped prisoner uniform.
"My beautiful, dignified cell! Completely ruined!" Galdino, formerly Mr. 3 of Baroque Works, complained. He adjusted his cracked glasses, blinking away the dust as he looked at the intruders who had just smashed a giant lion into his room.
His eyes bugged out of his skull.
"YOU?!" Mr. 3 shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at the Straw Hats. "The ones who ruined my perfect wax trap on Little Garden! The ones who destroyed Baroque Works!"
Luffy stopped running, tilting his head as he looked at the man. "Oh! It's the '3' guy! From the giant island!"
Before Mr. 3 could generate a shield of wax, Luffy's arm stretched out, his hand wrapping tightly around Mr. 3's collar.
"Do you know where the stairs are?!" Luffy asked brightly.
"Of course I know where the stairs are! But I'm not helping you!" Mr. 3 screamed.
"Great! You're the navigator!" Luffy's arm snapped back, yanking Mr. 3 entirely off his feet. He started sprinting again, dragging the screaming former officer of Baroque Works behind him like a balloon on a string.
Before they could take another step—
"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
A horrifying scream echoed from the ceiling.
A shower of disembodied legs, arms, and a screaming head rained down from the massive stone shaft leading up to Level 1. The pieces hit the stone floor with wet slaps, frantically clicking and snapping back together until Buggy the Clown was sitting on the ground, pale as a ghost and shivering violently.
"Buggy?!" Luffy cheered, dropping Mr. 3. "You came down after all! You're coming with us!"
Buggy scrambled backward, clutching his own face in sheer, unadulterated terror. He looked up at the dark hole he had just fallen through, entirely convinced that the Reaper was about to drop down and finish the job.
"I WAS RUNNING FOR MY LIFE, YOU RUBBER IDIOT!" Buggy shrieked, tears flying from his eyes. "THERE'S A MONSTER UP THERE! HE'S KILLING EVERYONE! HE CUT ME INTO PIECES WITH ONE SWING!"
Zoro frowned, resting his hand on his swords. "A monster?"
Sanji lit a cigarette, a grim shadow passing over his visible eye. "He means Yagami. He's started cleaning house."
Luffy's expression hardened. He didn't care about the prisoners on Level 1. He only cared about the man waiting in chains at the bottom of the abyss.
"Then we need to move faster," Luffy said, turning his back on the stairs and facing the dark, monster-infested corridors of Level 2. "Let's go!"
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A/N: Read 20+ chapters ahead at {patreon.com/Glivaria}