As the group left the Blackbeard Pirates behind and prepared to confront Magellan, they pushed forward at full speed toward the staircase leading to the third floor. Sanjuan Wolf, towering above the others, smashed through the obstructions that blocked their way, making their escape faster and more efficient.
Noir followed up by unleashing a devastating impact that collapsed the entire entrance behind them, ensuring Magellan could not simply pursue them from below. The rumble of the stone echoed through the prison, shaking the already chaotic fortress. When they finally reached Level Three, the cold and dim environment gave way to renewed chaos as they freed dozens more prisoners, adding to the swelling numbers of their growing force.
From there, the group pressed on to Level Two. Again, Noir demonstrated his tactical ruthlessness, shattering the staircase after they ascended so that no reinforcements could easily climb after them. By now, their numbers had grown into something resembling a small fleet of cutthroat pirates, the kind of army that could wreak havoc in the battles to come.
Yet when they scanned the cells of Level Two, they found them strangely empty—already plundered of prisoners. Noir immediately recognized who was responsible. Buggy. The clown must have passed through earlier, liberating those unfortunate enough to be stuck here. Noir chuckled bitterly; though weak, Buggy's antics had inadvertently cleared their path.
Still, Noir sensed something far more pressing. A heavy presence, oppressive and suffocating, was drawing near. Magellan. The Warden was chasing them, and he was close. Too close.
Without warning, Noir slowed his pace, then stopped entirely. His sudden halt was noticed by the crew members he had only recently recruited. Some looked confused, others worried, but Bullet immediately understood the meaning behind Noir's grin. He had seen that expression before—it was the smile of a warrior who had chosen to face an enemy head-on. Bullet barked an order to the others, urging them to continue moving. They obeyed, leaving Noir behind to confront the incoming storm.
Noir wasted no time. He tore the massive door off one of the cells, its surface forged from pure seastone. Then he wrenched several more free, collecting more than ten of the heavy slabs. With raw strength and practiced precision, he assembled them into a makeshift cage, leaving only a narrow opening at the front. With the door tied into place, the contraption looked like an impregnable prison of his own making.
Minutes later, Magellan arrived, his enormous form shrouded in toxic fumes. His expression hardened when he saw Noir waiting, standing firm with the bizarre cage in his hands.
"You are courageous, buying time for your allies," Magellan said darkly. "But it matters little. I will crush you here, then hunt the rest down like rats." He summoned forth a massive wave of venom, a black and purple tide that hissed and bubbled as it poured from his body.
Noir smirked. His trap was ready. He hurled the cage past Magellan, ensuring it landed with the opening perfectly aligned. Then he ripped free another seastone wall, holding it in front of himself like a shield. The corrosive venom splashed and hissed against its surface, but Noir didn't flinch—his body had long since built immunity to poison.
With a roar, he charged. Poison clashed against stone, and Noir slammed into Magellan and the guards at his side. Using the seastone shield like the front of a Spartan phalanx, he pushed them backward with raw, unrelenting strength. Despite Magellan's resistance, his power was nullified the moment his body made contact with the seastone. His Devil Fruit was useless here. Step by step, Noir forced him and his lackeys backward until they toppled into the open cage.
Before Magellan could recover, Noir slammed the door shut, binding it tight with his seastone shield like a lock and knot in one. Then, lifting the cage as though it weighed nothing, Noir threw it into a nearby cell and locked it with the original seastone door. The Warden of Impel Down had become its prisoner.
"Goodbye, Warden," Noir said mockingly, before sprinting toward the first floor.
As he ran, his grin faded into thought. Why didn't I just kill Magellan? he asked himself. The answer came swiftly—because despite his bloodlust, he wasn't a monster who saw killing as the only solution. He was still human, and perhaps that restraint would one day become his downfall.
When he finally emerged onto the first floor, the sound of battle greeted him. The group was already at the shoreline, clashing with guards who had gathered for one last desperate defense. Noir sensed Shiryu's presence among them, holding the line.
Rejoining his comrades, Noir quickly took stock. He found Luffy, Ivankov, and several others catching their breath, but noticed immediately that Jimbei, Bullet, Tanya, and Sanjuan Wolf were missing.
"Where are they?" Noir demanded as he approached Shiryu and Hantengu, both wearing grim expressions.
"Wolf, Bullet, and Tanya commandeered a warship," Shiryu explained. "They split off because of Wolf's size. He needed something… special. That ship is already out at sea."
"How was Wolf even able to swim out there? He's a Devil Fruit user," Noir pressed, his curiosity piqued.
Shiryu shrugged. "Even with seastone, his size never diminishes. Honestly, I don't understand it either."
"What about the gates?" Noir asked.
"I handled the guards and opened them. But where were you?" Shiryu countered, raising a brow.
"I trapped Magellan in a seastone cell," Noir replied casually. His words drew stunned silence, followed by relief that spread like wildfire. Smiles broke out across weary faces, Inazuma and Ivankov visibly relaxing at the knowledge that Magellan was no longer a threat.
Moments later, two warships came into view. One was of normal size, but the other was colossal, large enough to comfortably hold Sanjuan Wolf. Tanya's raucous laughter could be heard from the distance, and Bullet stood proudly atop the massive vessel's headgear. The ships docked swiftly, and Noir , Shiryu, and Hantengu boarded the larger one with their chosen crew.
"How did you find a ship this big?" Noir asked, astonished at the scale of the vessel. Its deck rivaled even Whitebeard's legendary ship.
"There wasn't one," Bullet replied with pride. "I fused three warships together with my Devil Fruit. It can even become a submarine if needed. Perfect for this big lump of a giant." He smirked, gesturing at Wolf.
Some freed prisoners boarded Noir's ship as well, while others joined the second vessel with Luffy, Jimbei, Ivankov, Inazuma, Bon Clay, Crocodile and his cadres, and even Buggy's newly loyal followers.
Noir turned to Luffy. "Get ready. From here on, it's war. Rest while you can—the next battle will be at Marineford."
Luffy met his gaze. "Thanks for everything. I'll fight with everything I've got."
The two ships set sail, cutting through the waves. Strangely,Noir's massive warship was faster than Luffy's, its speed unmatched. Noir cast an admiring glance at Bullet.
"Incredible. You'll be our shipwright, Bullet."
Bullet snorted. "I'll be captain once I beat you."
With that, they passed through the gate of Impel Down, their eyes fixed on the horizon. The Summit War awaited them.