The Great Escape from Impel Down

Of course, Crocodile would never forget the man who had handed him his first true taste of defeat. If it weren't for Moonlight, he wouldn't have fallen so far.

"That man... I've heard of him as well," Ivankov nodded, a flash of curiosity in his eyes. Though he had been confined to Level 5.5, he knew everything that happened in the outside world. He had naturally heard the name "Moonlight."

"He defeated Magellan!" Jinbe was shocked. He knew what kind of man Magellan was, and the terrifying power of his Venom-Venom Fruit. How powerful must a man be to defeat such a character?

"Moonlight is here? Let's go meet up with him!" Luffy grinned, filled with joy. With the people around him now, plus Moonlight, he was sure they could save Ace. Everyone nodded and continued their ascent. Though there were still countless guards, they were no match for this group. Magellan seemed to have disappeared; they didn't encounter him again until the third floor. They then rushed toward the second floor. Just two more levels, and they would be free.

Meanwhile, on the sixth level, just as Luffy and the others left, a cage opened, and a tall man with a black hat and a cigar in his mouth stepped out. It was Shiliew of the Rain, a man once as infamous as Magellan himself, one of the prison's former chief jailers. He had been imprisoned for his bloodthirsty nature but had now been released after Magellan's defeat. After retrieving his sword, Shiliew took a long drag from his cigar. When the smoke cleared, the guards who had released him were all dead, lying in a pool of blood. Shiliew, however, looked as if he had just trampled a group of ants, paying them no mind as he carried his sword and headed for the upper levels.

At the same time, on the third level, Magellan dragged his injured body toward the control room. With a man as terrifying as Moonlight having broken into the prison, no one could match his strength alone. He would have to rely on the prison's own defenses. It was called the world's number one prison for a reason. But on his way, he encountered Blackbeard and his crew. Seeing the group approaching with malicious intent, Magellan attacked without hesitation.

"Poison Dragon!"

Three massive poison dragons shot forward, and the Blackbeard Pirates all fell to the ground, defeated in a flash. After dealing with them, Magellan continued on his way.

"Careless," Blackbeard trembled. He had never expected Magellan to be so terrifyingly powerful. The Venom-Venom Fruit had plunged them directly into an abyss from which there was no return. But the next moment, he smiled again. "Zehahahaha..."

Shiliew of the Rain suddenly appeared before them, holding an antidote in his hand. "You underestimated Magellan," Shiliew said lightly. Magellan was strong enough to suppress even him. Though Blackbeard and his crew were capable and ambitious, underestimating such a man would always come at a price. But unlike Moonlight, who went all out from the start, they had been too arrogant.

"Zehahaha..." Blackbeard laughed loudly, looking at Shiliew with great optimism. "I feel like we're fated to meet, Shiliew."

Shiliew looked back at Blackbeard, a gleam in his eyes. "Really? I've been waiting for a man like you to arrive." The two looked at each other, a feeling of mutual understanding passing between them. They were the same kind of men. The other members of Blackbeard's crew laughed. With Shiliew joining them, their team had grown even stronger.

At that moment, Luffy and the others rushed up. They had crossed the fourth floor, reached the third, and were now heading for the second. There were only five hours left until Ace's execution.

"It's you!" Luffy's pupils shrank as he saw Blackbeard and his crew. He would never forget them, especially Blackbeard. Back on Jaya, he had found the cherry pie to be disgusting, yet this man had eaten it with relish. What kind of man could eat something like that? Moreover, the words he had spoken to them as they were blasted into the sky had made him feel that this man was not to be taken lightly. And later, learning that he was the one who had captured Ace and handed him over to the Marines... this was a deep-seated hatred.

"Well, well, Straw Hat boy. Are you here to save Ace? A pity. I was planning on capturing you," Blackbeard laughed. His original target had not been Ace, but Luffy. He had been blocked by Moonlight and then by Ace himself. In a way, Ace had taken this disaster upon himself for Luffy's sake.

"You bastard!" Luffy seemed to understand everything, especially since Ace had told him he was chasing Blackbeard. Now, face to face with his enemy, he couldn't hold back any longer and threw a punch.

"BOOM!" Blackbeard was sent flying. Luffy's strength was now on a completely different level.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..." Blackbeard rolled on the ground in pain, blood leaking from his mouth. He stood up, his eyes dark. "Straw Hat kid!" A stream of black water suddenly rose from his body, covering the ground. A terrifying gravitational force then erupted, pulling Luffy violently toward him.

"This is!" Luffy was shocked. He felt as if he were being suppressed by Seastone, unable to summon any strength, let alone resist.

"This is Dark-Dark Water, my ability!" Blackbeard said coldly and lunged at Luffy.

But at that moment, the situation changed abruptly. From the sky, twelve half-black longswords suddenly descended, slamming into the ground. Another twelve hovered in the air above, forming a sword field. Within this field, Blackbeard's movements were forcibly halted, and Shiliew and the others were blocked by the sword energy. The next moment, Moonlight's figure fell from the sky, shuttling through the sword formation. When his final slash landed, Blackbeard and his crew all collapsed to the ground, seriously injured.

"Extreme Ghost Swordsmanship: Storm Style," Moonlight said lightly as he landed. The dark gravity was indeed terrifying; he had felt its pull even from the sky. Fortunately, he had acted quickly. Unlike a Devil Fruit user, he was not restrained by the darkness, and he had swiftly set up his sword field, forcibly interrupting Blackbeard's attack. In his domain, no one could resist him. Otherwise, if Blackbeard had been allowed to unleash the full power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, everything would have been swallowed by the darkness.

"Moonlight!" Luffy cried out in surprise.

"The strength of this guy is even more terrifying than before," Crocodile thought, his pupils shrinking as he saw Moonlight. The sandstorm he had been about to conjure dissipated. It was better not to provoke a man like this.

"Is he the Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat crew, Moonlight? What a terrifying slash! I'm afraid only Mihawk could counter him!" Ivankov and Inazuma exchanged a look, both of them seeing the shock in the other's eyes. With a single sword strike, Moonlight had defeated Blackbeard's entire crew, including the newly joined Shiliew, a man who could fight on par with Magellan.

Jinbe said nothing, but his eyes had become serious. The pressure Moonlight exuded was terrifying.

"BOOM!" At that moment, the entrance door to the third floor began to close. If they were trapped, they would be stuck in this Starvation Hell. Magellan was clearly using the prison's defenses against them.

"It's Magellan! He's in the monitoring room! He's trying to trap us here!" Ivankov reacted immediately and looked at Inazuma. Lightning understood. Two jagged, oversized scissors appeared in his hands. He dashed past, and wherever his scissors waved, the wall was cut away. He was a user of the Snip-Snip Fruit and could cut through anything. He quickly carved a path, and Luffy and the others followed, passing through the third level and into the second, the Wild Beast Hell.

As soon as they arrived, they were swarmed by endless beasts. Crocodile and Jinbe were about to act, but Moonlight stepped forward, and a wave of blue, majestic Haki rolled out from him. All the charging beasts stopped in their tracks as if frozen, then collapsed, foaming at the mouth, unconscious.

"Conqueror's Haki!" Jinbe's eyes widened in shock as he looked at Moonlight again.

Crocodile raised an eyebrow. He had seen Moonlight use this power back in Alabasta.

"Th-th-the Vice-Captain has the color of the Supreme King..." Ivankov and Inazuma were completely speechless.

"Go!" Moonlight had no time to talk. He was already heading back the way they came, guided by his Observation Haki. Everyone followed. But soon, the entrance door began to close again. Magellan had acted once more. Lightning went up to cut it, but this time, the gate was made of Seastone. The moment he got close, he lost all his strength.

Moonlight looked at the massive Seastone gate. Its thickness and strength were clearly the result of special treatment. Even he would have trouble blasting through it, and they had no time to waste.

"Damn it!" Luffy and the others rushed forward, but it was useless.

"It's useless," Magellan sneered from the surveillance room. They were too late.

"Little Straw Hat! We meet again!" At that moment, Buggy, Mr. 2, and Mr. 3 appeared, followed by thousands of prisoners. Seeing the closing gate, Mr. 3 immediately used his Wax-Wax Fruit ability to create a massive wall of wax, blocking the gate from closing completely. Though the wax immediately began to melt against the Seastone, it bought them some time.

Moonlight suddenly threw the Pheasant Sword.

"CLANG!" Just as the wax broke and the Seastone gate was about to close, the Pheasant Sword wedged itself between the gate and the ground, holding it open.

"What kind of sword is that?! It can actually block a Seastone gate!" Magellan was shocked. No matter how hard he pressed the switch, the gate wouldn't budge. Not only that, but the part of the gate in contact with the Pheasant Sword was beginning to shatter. The blade was so sharp it was about to cut through the Seastone.

"Luffy, you go first!" Moonlight yelled.

"Moonlight!" Luffy nodded and looked at the others.

"What an incredible sword! Let's go!" After a deep look at Moonlight, Jinbe and the others left immediately. Buggy and his followers followed. Finally, Moonlight grabbed his sword and rushed out just as the gate slammed shut with a resounding clang.

This Pheasant Sword will soon become a black blade, Moonlight thought, looking at the unharmed sword with satisfaction. It was already half-black, half-white. With continued use, it would soon become a true black blade, like Mihawk's Yoru.

"So the Seastone gate couldn't stop you? In that case, order all warships to stay away from the prison. Without a ship, let's see how they leave!" Magellan ordered. Since they couldn't be stopped, this was his last resort.

There were still four hours until Ace's execution.

At Marineford, the Navy was on full alert. Vice-Admirals and Rear Admirals were everywhere. The Seven Warlords were also present: besides Jinbe, Crocodile, and the soon-to-be-promoted Blackbeard, Mihawk, Kuma, Hancock, Moria, and Doflamingo had all arrived. In addition, the three Admirals—Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru—were all sitting in their respective seats. Marineford was ready for war, awaiting the arrival of Whitebeard.

Ace had already been sent to the execution platform. In two hours, he would be executed. Sengoku had moved up the time again.

Back at Impel Down, Buggy and the others had finally escaped, only to find themselves staring at an endless sea. Without a ship, how would they leave?