"So this is Impel Down..."
iser observed the massive underwater structure from within the ocean depths, his eyes flickering with intrigue.
How had they constructed such an enormous prison beneath the sea?
Had they built it elsewhere and transported it using special abilities? Or perhaps centuries ago, this had still been dry land before rising sea levels subrged it.
Glancing downward at the ocean floor, iser considered the depth. The latter explanation seed more plausible—perhaps this world's sea levels rose unusually fast.
After a mont's observation, iser shifted his gaze toward the Gates of Justice behind him. The massive gates had begun closing slowly after their entry and were now nearly shut.
"Seems we won't be exiting through there later," iser mused silently.
Unless, of course, the gate controls were inside Impel Down itself. Then his Sharingan could simply manipulate soone into opening them. Riding the special currents would allow for a swift escape.
"Guess I'll need to locate the control chanisms once inside."
As these thoughts crossed his mind, iser swam toward Erha's location.
"Next step—infiltration," iser stroked his chin. "I'll try the Transformation Technique first."
If that failed, the Sharingan could always compel so guards to escort them in.
Just then, movent caught iser's attention. A section of Impel Down's wall near the surface slid open, revealing yellow light. Several oversized blue humanoid creatures wielding massive axes erged, scanning the waters for Sea Kings to hunt.
iser's eyes narrowed.
"So there's an underwater entrance after all..."
Observing the illuminated doorway, a grin spread across his face. "How convenient... they've provided the perfect infiltration point."
Watching the blue giants chase their prey, iser ford a Shadow Clone with minimal Chakra. The clone nodded before silently maneuvering to conceal itself among the military warships, keeping watch on Impel Down's entrance. Once Hancock successfully departed, the clone would disperse, relaying its observations.
anwhile, iser's true form activated the Transformation Technique, morphing into a shark before stealthily approaching the Brugeli hunters.
At that mont, several Brugeli cornered a Sea King and struck.
"Thwack!"
"Thwack!"
"Thwack!"
Their massive axes effortlessly cleaved the eel-like creature into thick circular cuts of at. As the Brugeli gathered their quarry, one noticed the approaching shark and froze in confusion.
Brugeli: ???
Are there really fish this small here?
Although he wasn't sure what was happening, grabbing this guy and taking him away shouldn't be a problem.
With that thought, Brugeli quickly charged toward the shark.
However, the mont he got close, Brugeli felt his vision blur before a pair of terrifying eyes appeared right before him!
Brugeli: !!!
"What... what the hell is this?!"
As this thought flashed through his mind, Brugeli was already under iser's control.
Hmm, the plan's going smoothly. Using Brugeli to shield his position, iser glanced at the gap above and thought: Seems these guys aren't as sharp as I imagined—they didn't even notice their companion going missing.
Shaking his head, iser controlled Erha to swim over before grabbing Brugeli and rushing into Erha's mouth.
The instant he returned to Erha's mouth, iser canceled his Ninjutsu.
"iser?"
Seeing iser return, Luffy exclaid excitedly, "How'd it go?"
"No ti to explain now. Co out first."
"Okay."
Though unsure what iser was planning, Luffy obediently stepped out of the storage room.
Without wasting words, iser imdiately sealed the storage room into a Scroll and returned it to his Ninja Tool Pouch.
After finishing this, iser turned to Luffy and said, "Luffy, I'm about to enter the seawater—that's the only way to get into Impel Down. Take a deep breath, and don't make a sound until I tell you to co out, got it?"
"Got it!" Luffy replied.
"Good."
iser nodded, then activated the Transformation Technique, taking on Brugeli's appearance.
After casually picking up Brugeli's axe, iser stuffed Luffy inside his clothes.
"Luffy, I'll count to three before rushing out. Be ready."
"Okay!"
"1... 2... 3!!"
Splash~!
The mont iser finished counting, Erha opened his massive jaws, letting seawater rush in.
The powerful current imdiately swept the unconscious Brugeli in the mouth downward.
But iser remained completely unaffected, darting through the water at top speed until he erged in Impel Down's special water chamber.
Splash~!
iser burst through the surface, hauling a large chunk of at.
"Finally back."
Seeing the last Brugeli return, the jailer sighed in relief before telling his companion, "Close the hatch."
Though unsure why this Brugeli was so late, since he was back, there was no need to keep the hatch open.
Soon, under the jailer's control, the massive hatch gradually closed, completely sealing off the seawater outside.
"Good work. Take the at to the first-floor freezer," the jailer said to iser.
iser didn't respond, instead scanning the room's interior.
Only two people, huh...
With that thought, iser set the at down and said to the two jailers, "Look into my eyes."
Poof~!
As iser spoke, his appearance reverted to normal.
The two jailers instinctively looked into iser's eyes, only to find sothing strange appearing in their vision.
"Submit before these eyes!"
"Clang!"
Mangekyō Sharingan—activated!
The two jailers were instantly controlled.
After they fell under iser's spell, Luffy tumbled off his back and landed on the ground with a thud.
"Phew—" Gasping for air, Luffy felt like he'd narrowly escaped death.
He had been pressed against iser's clothes, unable to move a muscle, and had nearly suffocated. But he didn't bla iser—after all, this was all part of their infiltration plan!
"It's done," iser said. "These two are under my control."
"I see."
Luffy nodded, adjusting his hat as he got up from the ground. He glanced around and asked, "Where are we?"
"Probably a specialized hunting exit for Impel Down," iser replied.
At least, that was the only purpose he could discern for now.
"Let's go save Ace!" Luffy urged.
"Hold on. First, we need to figure out where Ace is being held," iser said.
With that, he turned his gaze to the two jailers and demanded, "Tell —where is Fire Fist Ace imprisoned?"
"Fire Fist Ace is a heinous criminal with a bounty exceeding hundreds of millions... so he's being held on the fifth level!"
"The fifth level?" iser stroked his chin. "How many levels does this place have?"
"Five."
The jailer paused before adding, "Though there are rumors of a sixth level, Warden Magellan has never publicly confird its existence."
Hearing this, iser frowned. "Rumors? As jailers here, you don't even know if it's real?"
"Sorry, I've only heard the rumors. I can't verify their truth," the jailer replied.
iser fell silent, then turned to the other jailer. "What about you?"
"Sa here."
Rubbing his temples, iser muttered, "Guess we'll have to catch a bigger fish to ask."
Since they were under the Mangekyō Sharingan's control, their words were trustworthy. Still, it frustrated iser that ordinary jailers knew so little.
Fine, let's assu there's a sixth level. As for how to get there—that'll have to wait until they caught soone higher up.
Shaking his head, iser asked, "How do we get to the fifth level?"
"Jailers move between levels 1 to 5 using elevators. But the hallways and elevators are monitored by surveillance Den Den Mushi, which transmit real-ti footage to the control room."
"Surveillance Den Den Mushi?"
iser blinked. This world even had Den Den Mushi specialized for surveillance?
Seriously, how many uses did these things have? Communication, eavesdropping, anti-eavesdropping, photography, caras... Was there any type of Den Den Mushi that didn't exist?
"Yes, surveillance Den Den Mushi," the jailer nodded. "Once a prisoner appears on screen, the guards in the monitoring room will sound the alarm and notify the jailers on that floor to deal with the escaping prisoner."
"In that case, we'll have to avoid those surveillance caras," iser mused, stroking his chin.
Otherwise, they might end up confronting the most powerful individual in Impel Down.
But if they failed to rescue Ace, clashing with that person would be aningless.
Thinking this, iser asked, "Is there any way to avoid the hallway surveillance?"
If they could evade the caras, taking the elevator would be the fastest way to descend.
"No," the jailer shook his head. "The caras in the elevators and hallways never change direction. They're monitored 24/7—there's no way to avoid them."
"More importantly, the elevator is currently in use. There's no telling when it'll return."
"In use?"
"Yes," the jailer nodded. "Pirate Empress Boa Hancock ca to visit Impel Down. She took the elevator down."
"I imagine she's probably eting with Warden Magellan by now."
All the jailers on the first floor knew about Boa Hancock's visit to Marine Headquarters.
"Warden Magellan..." iser pondered for a mont. "So he's the strongest in this prison?"
"Yes."
"How strong is he?" iser asked. "How does he compare to an Admiral?"
"Warden Magellan is terrifyingly powerful. As a Venom-Venom Fruit user, he's invincible here!" the jailer said. "We all believe he's no weaker than the Admirals!"
This piqued iser's curiosity. Was the man truly that strong?
Or... was this jailer simply ignorant of how terrifying an Admiral's power really was?
One thing iser could confirm, however, was that this Warden Magellan definitely had the strength to suppress the pirates here.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be called invincible.
"Venom-Venom Fruit..." iser muttered. "A guy covered in poison, huh."
"Yes."
"Warden Magellan is a poison man who ate the Venom-Venom Fruit," the jailer explained. "And his favorite food..."
"...is all kinds of deadly toxins."
"But because of the poison, he suffers from diarrhea every day."
iser: "..."
Was this a side effect of his Devil Fruit Ability?
Diarrhea every day?
A guy who's constantly plagued by diarrhea can still suppress the pirates here... He must be pretty strong!
Still...
'Please don't let run into that guy,' iser thought to himself.
It wasn't that he feared the man's strength—he just didn't want to beat the crap out of him. That'd be disgusting.
"Can we go yet?" Luffy asked.
"You idiot, I told you to stop rushing," iser snapped. "How are we supposed to rescue anyone if I don't figure out how to get to the fifth floor?"
If they didn't even know how to get there, they'd just be running in circles inside Impel Down.
We'll be discovered by the Marines sooner or later this way, so we must figure out the route to the lower levels.
"Alright."
Seeing Luffy obediently sitting down to wait, iser shook his head before turning to the jailer and asking, "Aside from that elevator, are there other ways to reach the lower floors?"
"There are."
The jailer nodded. "Each floor has a large gate. Behind this gate is a spiral staircase that leads to the next level."
"But entering the gate requires a key. Without it, there's no way to open those incredibly heavy doors."
Even with several people working together, opening those massive doors would be a challenge—and that's only if they had the key.
Without the key? Forget about opening them.
"Incredibly heavy doors?" Luffy grinned upon hearing this. "Those won't stop us."
Both he and iser possessed imnse destructive power. Smashing through a door would be child's play.
"Don't oversimplify things, you idiot," iser said. "Sure, we can break the door down, but that would just attract more enemies."
"Then it wouldn't be infiltration—it'd be a full-on assault!"
If a Marine Admiral showed up to reinforce them... rescuing anyone would beco exponentially harder.
Facing a powerful warden like Magellan plus a Marine Admiral? The odds of a successful rescue would plumt.
So... if possible, iser preferred this operation to stay covert. Ideally, they'd slip in and out unnoticed.
"Oh, right." Luffy scratched his head. "Got it."
Thinking about it, that made sense.
"Where are these gates located?" iser asked.
"The one on this floor is in the southwest corner," the jailer replied. "I've seen it there."
"Just this floor?" iser frowned. "What about the others?"
"No idea."
"You?"
"I don't know either."
"How do you know nothing?!" iser groaned.
"We're new here—only arrived a month ago. We've never been to the lower floors, so we don't know where their staircases are."
iser rubbed his temples. Had they been kept in the dark to prevent captured pirates from extracting intel?
That... actually seed plausible.
Guess they'd just have to grab another jailer after reaching the next floor.
Shaking his head, iser pressed on. "Where's the key to open those gates?"
"The key...?" The jailer thought for a mont. "Probably with Warden Magellan."
iser: "..."
Well, that was awkward.
To get the key, they'd have to face Magellan. Facing Magellan risked drawing Marine Admirals. This... was a real headache.
No wonder Granny Nyon had called Impel Down "the impregnable fortress."
With security this tight, rescuing soone unnoticed was nearly impossible for ordinary people.
"Sigh... Looks like we'll have to try cutting an opening with Wind Release," iser said.
If all else fails, we'll just have to fight our way through.
Well, as long as we eliminate all witnesses, it still counts as a perfect infiltration, iser thought to himself.
"So in the end, we're still going to force our way in?" Luffy stood up and said.
If fists were needed to solve the problem, he was the man for the job.
"Not necessarily," iser explained. "If we can silently cut an opening in the door, we can quietly reach the next level."
The question was what material the gate was made of. If it was entirely Sea Stone, cutting through with Wind Release would be difficult.
"Cutting an opening, huh..." Luffy glanced at the Grass Sword at iser's waist and nodded. "When do we leave?"
"Now."
iser glanced toward the gate and said, "I'll have these two go check the situation first. Once we confirm there's no one else around, we'll move out."
With that, iser controlled the two n to walk outside, carefully surveying the surroundings. After confirming no one else was present, they nodded to iser.
"All clear outside."
"Seems this isn't a place people frequent," iser mused, stroking his chin.
Makes sense—this was the fishing port of that big blue spirit. Ordinary people had no reason to co here.
"Let's go, Luffy."
"Coming!"
Following behind iser, Luffy quickly stepped into the corridor and looked around.
"This place is huge..."
"Of course. It's Impel Down, after all—the prison that holds countless pirates," iser said with a laugh.
According to Shakky, Impel Down might have existed for hundreds of years, and the number of pirates imprisoned here was beyond count.
If the space wasn't enough, it would've burst from overcrowding long ago!
"Are we taking these two with us?" Luffy asked, eyeing the two jailers.
Bringing them along would only increase the risk of being discovered.
"They're already under my hypnosis," iser shook his head. "Don't worry about them—they won't leak any information."
Jailers controlled by the Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't break free on their own. If iser wanted, he could even make them kill themselves.
"Alright."
iser considered for a mont before asking, "Do you know where the controls for the Gates of Justice are?"
"Yes," the jailer nodded. "The controls are in this level's power room. We go there often."
Before Fire Fist Ace was imprisoned, a new batch of pirates would arrive every few days, requiring the Gates of Justice to be opened. These two had occasionally been stationed there.
"Talk about... effortless gains," iser grinned. "Tell the location."
With a way to open the Gates of Justice, they could escape this place as quickly as possible.
"South-east corner of the first level," the jailer said, pointing in the direction for iser to confirm.
Glancing in the direction the other person pointed, iser narrowed his eyes and said, "Over there... Alright, I got it."
"You two act like you never saw us. Go about your business as usual."
"Yes, sir!"
The two jailers nodded, then turned and walked down the corridor behind them to continue their unfinished tasks for the day.
After watching them leave, iser turned to Luffy and said, "Luffy, let's go. We need to find that gate."
"Got it!"
"Idiot, don't shout so loud," iser scolded irritably. "We're on enemy territory, got it?"
"Oh..."
Ignoring the fool, iser narrowed his eyes as he gazed down the distant corridor. "Hopefully we can sneak into the fifth level smoothly this ti."
It'd be best if they didn't have to fight—after all... Hancock was here!
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