"Ding! The Protector will arrive at Marineford in four hours."
Drake glanced at the specialized clock on the dashboard. It was 9:00 AM.
If I remember correctly, this is exactly when the transition to the execution platform begins, Drake thought grimly. Luffy should be reaching Level 6 of Impel Down right about now.
"It's almost time..." Drake's eyes shimmered with hope. He tightened his grip on Rainbow's Remnant. Ace was just over the horizon.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Sabo walked up behind him, his left hand gently adjusting his top hat. His expression was steeled with a gravity befitting the mission. Kenshin followed, his hand resting on his long hilt, standing silently by Drake's side.
They hadn't spent the last two days in leisure. Through a hellish regimen in the training rooms, they had pushed themselves to limits that even Drake found hard to believe.
He pulled up his status panel:
[Host]: Vale D. Drake [Cultivation]: Swordsman Master [Skills]: 1. Mid-Level Armament Haki (4568/10,000) 2. Sword Skill: Eight Desolations Sweep (Basic) 3. Sword Skill: Dance of the Myriad Demons (Basic) [Items]: Rainbow's Remnant (Basic), Senzu Bean, Detector. [Vehicle]: The Protector (Basic) [Crew]: Kenshin (Swordsman Master)
During the clash with Akainu, the system had triggered a hidden mission. The rewards were 3,000 experience points and this new "Detector."
Initially, Drake had cursed the "dog system" for being a stingy merchant. Only 3,000 points for taking on Akainu? That Red Dog might be a thousand-year turtle that's hard to kill, but that's still lowballing me!
However, after discovering the Protector's new "Training Room" feature, his mood had shifted. The room offered specialized environments for different types of cultivation, which is how his experience points had climbed so significantly. He realized that training also generated points—the system was basically an "experience vacuum" that rewarded hard work.
"Heh, I guess Lord System is quite generous after all," Drake muttered.
[Hmph.] The system gave a cold, annoyed snort and vanished.
Drake didn't mind. He was too busy fiddling with the Detector fixed over his right eye. He pointed it at Kenshin.
[Ding. Name: Kenshin. Status: Crew of the Protector Pirates. Cultivation: Swordsman Master. Ability: Goro Goro no Mi User.]
Drake swallowed hard, suppressing his excitement. This was a massive cheat! He immediately turned his gaze toward Sabo.
[Ding. Name: Sabo. Status: Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army. Cultivation: Infinitely approaching Great Swordsman. Power Level: Formidable.]
Then, a specialized sub-signal caught his eye. He clicked it.
[Ding. Mera Mera no Mi User. Haki: Mid-Level Armament, Mid-Level Observation...]
Hiss... Drake took a sharp breath. So this is Sabo's true strength. Based on his knowledge of Sabo from two years later in the original timeline, the current Sabo—even without having mastered the Fruit for years—was already a powerhouse. He could likely stall an Admiral on his own without much trouble.
With this tool, everything was about to get much more interesting. Drake looked toward the direction of Marine Headquarters, a sharp smirk crossing his face.
Impel Down. Level 6: The Eternal Hell.
"Move, move, move!" "Straw Hat" Luffy roared, sprinting down the corridor with Emporio Ivankov and Inazuma hot on his heels.
"Traps are neutralized! The guards are down! Criminals Straw Hat Luffy, Emporio Ivankov, and Inazuma have breached Level 6!" a guard screamed into his transponder snail in the monitoring room.
"Ace!" Luffy gasped for air, his lungs burning.
Ivankov looked at the eerie, silent cells. "This is Level 6. Where they keep the monsters with bounties over a hundred million."
"Where are you, Ace!?" Luffy screamed into the void. "I'm here to save you!"
"Stop shouting," Ivankov said, grabbing a guard by the collar and bringing his massive, terrifying face inches from the man's. "Tell us, where is he?"
"I... I refuse," the guard stammered.
"Oh?" Ivankov's fingernails elongated into needles, pricking the guard's waist. "Be honest with yourself, darling."
ARGH! As the screams faded, the guard's body underwent a radical transformation. His broad shoulders narrowed, his chest swelled, and his waist thinned. The man was reborn as a fair-skinned, beautiful woman. Finding her "true self," the new Newkama gave up Ace's location immediately.
But when they reached the cell, it was empty. Jinbe, who occupied the same cell, told them Ace had just been taken away to the elevator.
The elevators had been sabotaged, and heavy iron gates slammed down, sealing the exits. Sleeping gas began to hiss into the room. Though Inazuma used his Choki Choki no Mi powers to seal the vents, they were effectively trapped in the Eternal Hell.
"It's regrettable, but we can only hold out here," Ivankov said, winking a Death Wink to destroy a surveillance snail. "Judging by common sense, it's too late. Ace-boy is already on the surface. The military transport speed is incredible. Look at your Vivre Card."
"It's not pointing up, is it?"
Luffy stared at the paper in shock. It was pointing away.
"He's been handed over to the Marines," Ivankov said, striking a flamboyant pose. "Switch gears, Straw Hat. I will help you escape this prison, but Ace-boy is headed for Marineford. Give it up."
"No... Whitebeard won't abandon his son. He'll take action," Ivankov muttered, seeing Luffy fall silent.
"I'm going." Luffy turned around, his face set in a mask of absolute conviction. "I'm going to Marine Headquarters."
"Don't be a fool! The world's strongest powers are gathered there! Admirals, Vice Admirals, the Warlords! You nearly died fighting just one Magellan!" Ivankov roared. "How many lives do you think you have!?"
"If I walk away now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life," Luffy said, looking up with eyes that brooked no argument.
"Ugh..." Ivankov recoiled, stunned by the boy's resolve.
"The 'if' doesn't matter yet," Inazuma cut in calmly. "We can't even get out of this floor."
Just as despair began to settle, a distinct, idiosyncratic laugh echoed through the shadows of a nearby cell.
"Heh-heh-heh-heh... Hah-hah-hah..."
"If you want to leave this place, set me free. I can put a hole in that ceiling for you. Heh-heh-heh..."