80: Assault on Impel Down (Part 4)

"Six hundred million?!"

Luffy's eyes widened. "Sabo! That's awesome!"

His own bounty was only 300 million—Sabo's was more than double that.

What Luffy didn't know was that after attacking the Celestial Dragons at Sabaody, his bounty had already jumped to 500 million berries.

Worse, enraged Celestial Dragons had secretly placed a black market bounty on Luffy's head, offering an astronomical sum.

Considering the gap in strength between Sabo and Luffy, the fact that Luffy's bounty was so close to Sabo's was ridiculous.

"Haha, 600 million isn't a big deal." Sabo tipped his hat, trying to sound casual. But since Luffy was the one praising him, he couldn't help feeling a little proud.

Strawberry's second-in-command swallowed hard.

Their opponents were a 300-million-berry pirate and a 600-million-berry revolutionary.

To be honest… he didn't think the Vice Admiral could handle even one of them.

And the most terrifying factor? The World's Most Dangerous Criminal, Dragon, could appear at any moment.

For a brief moment, the officer wanted to suggest retreating until Marine Headquarters sent reinforcements.

"Is it just you, Vice Admiral?" Sabo twirled his metal pipe, grinning. "Too bad. You're too late."

"Hmph! Justice may be late, but it never fails to arrive!"

Strawberry shouted, recalling a quote from Admiral Kizaru.

Of course, he had never heard the part Kizaru muttered to himself afterward:

"Justice that arrives late isn't really justice at all."

"Let's wrap this up quickly, Luffy!"

Even though Sabo wasn't worried about Strawberry, he didn't want any unexpected variables in play.

But before they could attack, the ground suddenly shook violently beneath them.

Rumble…!

"What's going on?"

Sabo's expression darkened.

Strawberry's face lit up with hope. "They haven't completely taken over Impel Down! The prison guards are still resisting! Eliminate these criminals!"

His worst fear had been that Impel Down's guards had already been wiped out.

If that were the case, then his single warship's crew wouldn't stand a chance at stopping the Revolutionary Army and the escaping prisoners.

But the tremors beneath their feet proved that the guards were still fighting back.

If they could hold out just long enough, the guards inside and the Marines outside could launch a pincer attack and crush the revolutionaries.

"Eliminate them!"

"For justice!"

"Open fire!"

The Marines charged toward Sabo and Luffy, weapons ready.

"Dragon's Breath!"

Sabo attacked first, unleashing a massive wave of flames, swallowing the incoming Marines whole!

His fists quickly becoming coated in jet-black Armament Haki as he lightly touched the ground beneath him.

Although it was unlikely, he held back a bit to avoid accidentally breaking through the floor.

Then, with a sudden burst of strength—BOOM!—the ground shattered, sending a violent tremor through the battlefield. The force of the shockwave knocked the surrounding Marines off their feet as dust and debris spread in all directions.

Only Vice Admiral Strawberry managed to leap away in time, dodging the impact. He knew Sabo well enough to shift his focus to Luffy instead.

It wasn't just because Luffy had a lower bounty and was relatively weaker—more importantly, Luffy was the notorious criminal who had assaulted the Celestial Dragons.

Strawberry himself didn't particularly care for the Celestial Dragons, but protecting them was the Navy's duty, as dictated by the World Government. As a Marine, he had no choice but to obey.

"Dual Blade—Decapitation!"

With a flash of silver, Strawberry's twin swords crossed in front of him and slashed toward Luffy's neck.

"Gomu Gomu no Volcano!"

Luffy bent backward, dodging the strike. At the same time, he kicked upward with explosive force, sending Strawberry's swords flying.

"Hey… don't just go after someone's little brother like that! Dragon Claw!"

Before Strawberry could counterattack, Sabo had already appeared behind him. His fingers curled into a claw as he grabbed onto Strawberry's elongated head.

Strawberry let out a pained scream, but Sabo didn't give him a chance to resist—he swung with full force, hurling the Vice Admiral into a prison cell. The impact shattered the iron bars, and Strawberry collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

Compared to Sabo, who had earned his place on the stage of true powerhouses, even a veteran Vice Admiral like Strawberry was no match.

The tremors continued to shake the prison. However, against an opponent like Dragon, backed by high-ranking Revolutionary officers, even the rampaging Magellan was beginning to falter.

Deep beneath the sea, in Impel Down's Level Six—Eternal Hell—the relentless quaking finally caught the attention of the inmates.

"Phew… What the hell is Magellan doing up there?"

Former head jailer Shiryu stepped toward the bars of his cell, trying to catch a glimpse of any movement in the distant corridors.

Technically, Shiryu was supposed to be part of Impel Down's security. However, his habit of murdering prisoners for fun had led Magellan to imprison him in Level Six instead.

"Mururururu… Could it be a prison break?"

Not far from Shiryu's cell, a long-nosed woman in heavy Seastone shackles let out a sharp laugh.

She was Catarina Devon, known as the "Crescent Moon Hunter"—a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user and the most dangerous female pirate ever imprisoned.

"Hey, Shiryu! Can you tell what's happening? This damn prison isn't going to collapse, is it?"

"If it's about to cave in, hurry up and let us out! Isn't Magellan supposed to follow the rules?"

"Hahaha! If someone's really breaking in, I'll make them my new captain!"

The prisoners were getting restless. But Level Six's security was incredibly tight—every inmate, Devil Fruit user or not, was shackled with reinforced Seastone cuffs and chains.

Even former Warlords were reduced to nothing more than ordinary prisoners here.

"Tch. How boring."

In the corner of a cell, a man bound head to toe in chains scoffed. His hands were locked in Seastone cuffs, restricting his every movement.

It was none other than Crocodile, the Sand Crocodile.

As a rare Logia-type Devil Fruit user, his restraints were the most severe.

After all, Logia users were notoriously difficult to kill. If he ever regained his freedom, even Magellan would struggle to recapture him.

BANG!

Suddenly, the massive doors of Level Six were kicked open.

Standing in the doorway was none other than Monkey D. Luffy.

"Ace! I'm here to save you!"

Luffy yelled excitedly, eager to tell Ace that Sabo was still alive.

"That voice…"

Crocodile's eyes snapped open. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"ACE!!!"

Luffy sprinted past row after row of prison cells, completely ignoring the desperate pleas and shouts from the infamous criminals locked inside.

He only stopped when he reached a particular cell—then, stepping back, he peered through the bars.

"Hmph. Never thought I'd see you here, Straw Hat…"

Crocodile sneered. If only he had a cigar—his words would have carried even more weight.

"Eh? You're… uh… that guy, right?"

Luffy's expression grew serious as he wracked his brain. He thought hard for a long moment, then finally scratched his head in confusion.

"Who were you again?"

"YOU DAMN BRAT! MY NAME IS CROCODILE!"

Crocodile snapped.

This little punk had ruined his carefully laid plans, crushed his dreams, and now had the audacity to pretend not to remember him?

If Straw Hat was doing this on purpose, then Crocodile had to admit—he had succeeded in pissing him off.

"Oh! Right! You're that Crocodile bastard!"

Luffy clapped his hands in realization.

"Wait… Why are you here?"

Luffy tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled.

Wasn't this guy working with the Marines? He was something like a "Seven" something, right?

"..."

Crocodile was trembling with rage!

Did this Straw Hat brat have any self-awareness? Did he seriously not understand why he was here?!

Originally, Crocodile had considered exchanging a few words with Luffy, but before he could, a voice—one that haunted his nightmares—reached his ears.

"Straw Hat BOY… Oh? Isn't that Croco-BOY? Let me see where I put the key to this cell…"

With light, almost childlike steps, Emporio Ivankov pranced over to Luffy's side. Upon spotting Crocodile locked behind the bars, his eyes immediately lit up with excitement.

The Revolutionaries had deliberately chosen not to release the Level Six prisoners right away, fearing that they wouldn't be able to control these lawless criminals.

Only after taking down Magellan with everything they had did they finally begin carefully selecting who could be freed.

Crocodile, however, was an exception. Even though he, too, was an unpredictable powerhouse, Ivankov just so happened to hold certain… secrets about him. That meant Crocodile's strength could be leveraged.

"Get lost! I have no interest in getting out of here!"

Crocodile gritted his teeth. Of all things, Straw Hat had teamed up with Ivankov! That was somehow even more infuriating than Whitebeard!

"Hee-haw~ Can you really afford to talk to me like that, Croco-BOY?"

Ivankov grinned wickedly, making Crocodile's breathing grow noticeably heavier.

"Hey, Iva! You know this Crocodile bastard?"

Even someone as dense as Luffy could tell that there was something odd about the way Crocodile and Ivankov interacted.

"A long time ago, back when this guy was still just a rookie—"

Ivankov puffed out his chest proudly, placing his hands on his hips.

But before he could finish, an enraged Crocodile yanked on his chains, making them rattle loudly.

"Shut up! What the hell are you trying to pull?!"

Crocodile sat up, glaring daggers at Ivankov.

"Hee-haw~ Straw Hat BOY, go ahead and let Croco-BOY out. He'll be useful to us."

Ivankov tossed Luffy the key.

The surrounding prisoners erupted in excitement, slamming their shackled hands against the bars.

"Hey! Let us out too!"

"Are you guys pirates? I'll be your underling, just set me free!"

"If you don't let me out, I'll kill you all!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The prisoners pounded against the iron bars, but neither Luffy nor Ivankov paid them any mind.

"What's going on up there? How did you guys even break into Eternal Hell?"

Now free from his chains, Crocodile's expression was complicated. But, under Ivankov's not-so-subtle threat, he had no choice but to begrudgingly cooperate with Straw Hat.

"We beat up all the guards and walked down here through the passage."

Luffy spoke bluntly, without hesitation.

The prisoners were stunned.

They had assumed Luffy and Ivankov had simply found some hidden weakness in Impel Down's security, allowing them to temporarily break out and hide in Eternal Hell.

If they wanted to escape for real, they'd still have to face the prison's elite guards—and that monster of a warden, Magellan.

That's why only the truly desperate prisoners were willing to take the risk and follow them.

But now, that straw hat-wearing brat was claiming that they had defeated all the guards and simply walked down here?!

"You're joking, right, Straw Hat brat?! What about Magellan?!"

Shiryu growled in disbelief.

Of all people, he knew just how terrifying Magellan was inside Impel Down.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that unless a Marine Admiral or one of the Yonko personally stepped in, Shiryu simply couldn't imagine anyone being able to defeat Magellan in this environment.

"You mean that poison-spewing old guy? Yeah, he got taken down."

Luffy adjusted his hat, sounding impatient. He was busy looking for Ace—he didn't have time to chat with these guys.

"Let me out! Please! I'll do anything!"

"Release me! I'm innocent!"

"Give me the key! I can give you treasure—1 billion berries! No—10 billion berries!"

The prisoners went insane.

Freedom was right there.

Unlike common pirates, most of them wouldn't survive just a few years in Impel Down—many had already spent decades rotting away in Eternal Hell.

They were one step away from total madness.

"Consider this a favor, Straw Hat brat."

Now free, Crocodile's emotions were… complicated.

Luffy had destroyed his dreams—shattered years of careful planning.

And yet, it was Luffy who had just pulled him out of this hopeless abyss.

"Oh, do you know where Ace is being held?"

Luffy didn't care about the so-called "favor."

His only focus was finding Ace.

But Eternal Hell was massive.

Impel Down's tower-like structure meant that each lower level was far larger than the one above it.

Level Six was so vast that it could even imprison giants like Sanjuan Wolf.

That meant searching for Ace's cell was going to be an absolute nightmare.

"Fire Fist Ace?"

Crocodile removed his prison uniform, slipping back into his black fur coat. As he did, he casually slicked back his hair.

"You know where Ace is?"

Luffy asked eagerly.

But just as his expectations soared, Crocodile's response crushed them entirely.

°°°

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