Chapter 119: Invasion of Impel Down
As the first rays of sunlight fell upon Impel Down, the Chief Warden, Magellan, appeared on Level Six and walked toward Garp.
"Vice Admiral Garp, the time has come."
Garp grunted a soft "Hm," then stood up silently from the floor.
Several guards opened the cell door and brought out Ace, who was bound in Sea Prism Stone handcuffs.
The group of people slowly made their way out of Level Six.
"Ace."
As Ace passed one of the cells, a shout rang out.
Ace turned his head and saw a stout Fish-Man appearing before him.
"It's you, Jinbe."
Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had been stripped of his title and imprisoned on Level Six because he refused to take up arms against the Whitebeard Pirates.
Jinbe looked at Ace, who had lost all his spirit, and said slowly, "Goodbye, Ace. Forgive me for not being able to see you off."
Ace shook his head. "It's okay. None of it matters anymore. Goodbye, Jinbe."
"Goodbye!"
After that brief parting, Ace left Level Six of Impel Down under the escort of the guards.
Once Ace, Garp, and the others had departed, the originally quiet Level Six suddenly became rowdy.
"I never expected Garp's grandson to turn out to be a pirate, and now he's getting publicly executed. Truly satisfying."
"That's nothing. Didn't you hear earlier? Garp's grandson acknowledged Whitebeard as his father."
"Hold on. Garp is Ace's grandfather, and Ace became Whitebeard's son. Doesn't that mean Whitebeard also became Garp's son?"
"Whoa, that's actually shocking."
"That old bastard Garp... turns out he wanted to be Whitebeard's father all along."
"How hilarious. Whitebeard's been collecting children his whole life, only to end up as Garp's kid in the end."
Jinbe, who had been submerged in sorrow, heard these words and felt his anger flare up instantly.
"Don't you dare insult Pops, you worthless pirates!!!"
However, facing the furious Jinbe, the others paid him no mind.
"Hah, who do you think you are?"
"Is being a Warlord of the Sea really that big of a deal?"
"Just so you know, you aren't the only Warlord in this prison. Right, Crocodile?"
Crocodile, whose name was called, stared around with a flat expression without saying a word.
But at that moment, a cold snort echoed through the level.
"How noisy. A bunch of cowards."
"Douglas Bullet, what did you just say?!!" Someone shouted in rage, glaring at the man who had spoken.
He was a man with a massive, muscular build and eyes like a demon.
He wore a military uniform, and the left side of his body bore extensive scarring from a Buster Call bombardment.
Currently, he looked down on everyone present with a cold, detached gaze.
"I said, you all are truly a bunch of cowards."
"When Garp was here just now, none of you dared to make a sound. Now that Garp is gone, you've suddenly become very vocal."
"A bunch of people who only dare to whisper behind someone's back... if that isn't a pack of cowards, then what is?"
That statement insulted everyone there. Who could just sit and take that?
"You think you're so great, so arrogant. Douglas Bullet, don't get too ahead of yourself."
"Exactly! Weren't you keeping your mouth shut earlier too?"
"You're really looking down on people."
"That's exactly why I said you all are... SO DAMN NOISY!!!!!"
Douglas Bullet, the Demon Heir, widened his eyes and let out a thunderous roar. His wild Conqueror's Haki swept through the area like an avalanche or a tsunami, crashing toward the group of useless prisoners.
Many were suppressed by the Conqueror's Haki, their faces contorting as if they were holding up thousands of kilograms. They couldn't speak and could only curse him in their hearts.
Is having Conqueror's Haki really that impressive? Can you really oppress people just because you have it?
Truly outrageous.
Douglas Bullet saw that the group had finally learned to be quiet under the pressure of his Haki, and he withdrew the aura with satisfaction.
"A bunch of trash."
Someone sneered, "You're so great, you're not trash. Fine then, break out of prison if you're so capable. No matter how much you talk, aren't you just like us—locked in this place that never sees the sun, rotting away bit by bit?"
Douglas Bullet was suddenly silenced.
No matter how great he considered himself to be, in the end, he was just a prisoner in Impel Down.
He could only do exactly what everyone else here was doing: waste his youth in this place, grow old little by little, and eventually turn into a pile of white bones.
This was the fate of the prisoners locked within Impel Down.
In the eight hundred years since Impel Down was built, the number of people who wanted to break this fate was as many as the hairs on a cow, yet only one person had ever succeeded.
Shiki the Golden Lion.
That man had cut off his own legs and managed to escape the prison.
But since then, several high-profile prisoners were not only shackled by their legs, but their hands and even their necks were bound.
Wanting to escape this prison was as difficult as climbing to the heavens.
Even for someone like Douglas Bullet, he could only reside in this place obediently.
Aging bit by bit.
Thinking about this, Bullet fell into silence, losing even the interest to speak.
The others were the same.
Not knowing how much time had passed, one of the locked-up prisoners suddenly spoke up.
"If there was someone who could take me away from this cursed place right now, I'd be willing to be their slave to repay the favor."
However, instead of gaining sympathy, that sentence was met with mockery.
"Wanting to leave this cursed place? How is that possible?"
"Wake up. Dreams are for when you're asleep."
"In this lifetime, it's impossible for us to ever leave this hellhole."
"Exactly. I've already accepted this fate."
"I've accepted it too."
"Eh, wait... look at that. What is that thing?"
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice rang out, catching the attention of everyone present.
Then, the prisoners on Level Six of Impel Down witnessed an impossible sight.
The air itself was pushed open.
That's right—the air, which was originally invisible and untouchable, seemed to become a door that was pushed open by someone.
For a moment, many felt like their eyes were playing tricks on them.
"Is that... a door?"
"How is that possible? No, it really is a door—an air door."
"A Devil Fruit. That's a Devil Fruit power."
The prisoners, who had been on the verge of despair, suddenly fell into an uproar. Even Douglas Bullet, who had been closing his eyes to rest, Crocodile, who looked indifferent, and Jinbe, who was lost in grief, couldn't help but lift their heads and open their eyes.
Then, they saw a door standing open in mid-air.
A man and a woman stepped into Impel Down through that door as if they owned the place.
When Crocodile saw the man, he didn't react, but the moment he saw the woman who followed, his expression shifted into one of extreme shock, even turning violent.
"Nico Robin!!!"
Hearing her name called, Nico Robin was stunned for a moment before looking toward the source of the voice.
"Ara, if it isn't my former boss, Crocodile? I didn't expect us to meet again in a place like this."
Seeing Nico Robin's cheerful smile, Crocodile nearly went insane with rage.
"Whose fault do you think it is that I'm locked in here?! If it weren't for you, how could I have been imprisoned here?"
"You shameless woman!"
Hearing the fiery and hysterical accusations from her former boss, Robin remained unmoved.
Seeing that, Crocodile shifted his gaze toward Yumesaki.
"Hey, even though I don't know who you are, you must be Nico Robin's new boss, right? I should warn you, this woman isn't someone easy to handle."
"In fact, she's a woman who considers betrayal to be second nature."
"If you're useful, she'll follow you. If you become useless, she'll discard you without hesitation and stab you in the heart."
"I know."
Yumesaki nodded, then looked at Crocodile with a smile. "Just why do you think Morgans found out about your actions in the Alabasta Kingdom?"
Crocodile's eyes widened suddenly. "You..."
"Yes, exactly. It was me. I was the one who told Nico Robin to report you."
Yumesaki said calmly, "Mainly because we originally had an important operation and needed someone to draw the World Government's attention. After thinking it over, we could only trouble you."
Crocodile snarled, "You two bastards... you two are truly bastards!!!"
At this moment, Crocodile was so angry that his vision began to darken; he desperately wanted to tear these two people into shreds.
Shameless. Truly, utterly shameless.
In all his life, he had never seen people quite as shameless as this.
Yumesaki ignored Crocodile, who was on the verge of fainting from fury, and walked over to Jinbe with a smile.
"Jinbe, Knight of the Sea, isn't it? Do you want to get out of here? The Whitebeard Pirates are about to go to war with the Marines. If you leave now, you can still join Whitebeard against the Marines."
Jinbe didn't let the sudden surprise blind him; instead, he asked warily:
"Who exactly are you?"
"Just an ordinary person who likes to eat, drink, and have a good time."
Yumesaki flicked his fingers, and a magic that could cut through almost anything was activated.
An invisible slash didn't just cut through the cell door; it also severed the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs on Jinbe's body.
Jinbe couldn't hide his shock. Sea Prism Stone was arguably the hardest material in the world; even the sword stroke of a Great Swordsman couldn't cut it.
Yet, the attack released by the man before him was like a hot knife through butter, splitting the Sea Prism Stone in two.
Simply incredible.
"If you want to, come along. If you don't, then stay inside."
After Yumesaki finished speaking, he stepped over to Douglas Bullet.
"Do you want to get out?"
Douglas Bullet asked, "What are the conditions?"
He didn't believe for a second that someone would just let him go without strings attached.
Yumesaki said, "The same as Jinbe. Help Whitebeard fight the Marines. Make sure to hold back the full combat power of the Marines at Marineford."
Douglas Bullet was silent for a moment, then said, "Fine."
He truly didn't want to spend the rest of his life in this cursed place, so he could only agree to Yumesaki's terms.
Yumesaki released a slash, cutting the shackles on Douglas Bullet's body and granting him his freedom.
After that, Yumesaki walked over to Patrick Redfield, the Red Count.
"The conditions are the same. What's your answer?"
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