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"ACE!"
Luffy's voice tore through the heavy, suffocating silence of Level 6, echoing off the damp bedrock. He sprinted down the pitch-black central corridor, his sandals slapping against the cold stone, his eyes frantically darting from one massive, shadowed vault to the next.
"Straw Boy, keep your voice down!" Bon Clay whispered frantically, sprinting right behind him. He looked nervously at the massive, heavily chained figures shifting in the dark cells. "The people down here... they are the worst monsters in history!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Luffy roared, pushing himself faster. "ACE!"
Deep within the darkest cell at the very end of the block, a battered, chained figure slowly raised his head.
Portgas D. Ace was suspended against the cold stone wall, his arms spread wide by thick, heavy cuffs of solid Seastone locking his wrists and ankles. His bare chest was covered in deep, purple bruises, shallow cuts, and dried blood. He was entirely exhausted, his fiery spirit beaten down by days of torture and the crushing, absolute certainty of his impending execution.
Beside him, chained just as heavily to the adjacent wall, the massive blue-skinned Fish-Man, Jinbe, opened his eyes.
"Did you hear that...?" Jinbe rumbled, his deep voice weak and raspy. "Or am I hallucinating in the dark?"
Ace's eyes widened. His heart suddenly hammered violently against his ribs. He recognized that voice. He would recognize that loud, reckless, idiotically brave voice anywhere in the world. But it couldn't be. It was impossible.
A small, chaotic group of silhouettes burst into the dim, flickering torchlight in front of his cell.
Luffy slammed his hands against the thick Seastone bars, his chest heaving, his straw hat casting a long shadow over his flushed face. He looked through the bars, his dark eyes instantly locking onto the chained man on the wall.
"Ace..." Luffy whispered, his breath catching in his throat.
Ace stared back. The silence stretched for an agonizing, surreal second.
"Luffy?!" Ace gasped, his voice cracking with sheer, unadulterated disbelief. He strained against the heavy chains, his eyes wide with a horrific mixture of shock and terror. "Luffy! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I came to save you!" Luffy grinned, tears of relief immediately welling up in his eyes. He gripped the thick bars tighter, his knuckles turning white. "I'm here, Ace! I found you! We're going home!"
"You fool!" Ace screamed, genuine panic flooding his voice. "This is the bottom of Impel Down! You can't be here! Why did you come?!"
"TO SAVE YOU OF COURSE!"
"NO! This is my fault! My own adventure! I got myself caught! Leave! Leave right now!"
Luffy's grin vanished entirely. His face hardened into a mask of absolute, unyielding stubbornness.
"SHUT UP!" Luffy yelled back, his voice echoing loudly in the Eternal Hell. "I don't care! I don't care if it's your fault! I'm your brother! I'm not leaving without you!"
Ace bit his bleeding lip, tears finally spilling from his eyes and running down his dirty cheeks. He hated himself for bringing his little brother into this nightmare. He had sworn to protect him. But seeing Luffy standing there, willing to storm the deepest pit of Hell itself for him... it broke his heart.
"Luffy..." Ace choked out, hanging his head.
"Stand back, Ace," Luffy ordered, taking a step back from the bars. He pulled his right arm back, the invisible, dense black armor of his Armament Haki violently compressing around his fist. "I'm going to smash this door open right now!"
Zoro and Sanji stepped up beside him, ready to assist in shattering the reinforced iron. Bon Clay and Bonney watched the emotional reunion, their guards momentarily lowered. Buggy and Mr. 3 were already trying to find a dark corner to hide in.
Jinbe watched the Straw Hat boy with wide, respectful eyes. So this is the brother he spoke of so fondly, the former Warlord thought. What incredible will.
Luffy brought his fist forward, aiming directly for the heavy iron lock.
Hiss.
A single drop of thick, purple sludge fell from the ceiling, landing just inches behind Luffy's sandals. It immediately melted a deep, bubbling hole into the solid bedrock.
The ambient temperature of the corridor didn't change, but a cold, suffocating dread instantly gripped the hearts of everyone present.
Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed from the darkness directly behind the vanguard.
"I told you," a deep, guttural, bubbling voice rumbled.
Zoro and Sanji spun around instantly, their weapons drawn.
'...this guy again.'
Warden Magellan stepped out of the shadows. He hadn't bothered chasing them down the frozen stairs of Level 5. He had simply taken the high-speed administrative elevator directly to Level 6, waiting for them at the only exit.
Magellan stood in the center of the corridor, completely blocking their path to the surface. The thick, highly toxic venom was pouring from his body in massive quantities, pooling around his boots and slowly eating into the floor of the Eternal Hell.
"You are going nowhere" Magellan stated, his cold eyes locking onto Luffy. "The only way you leave this floor, Straw Hat, is as a corpse."
Inside the cell, Ace's face drained of all color. He strained violently against the chains, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"LUFFY! RUN! GET OUT OF THERE!" Ace roared, sheer panic taking over. He knew what the Warden was capable of.
Luffy slowly lowered his fist from the iron bars. He didn't run. He slowly turned around, facing the colossal, poison-drenched monster blocking his path.
"Mr. 3!" Luffy barked without looking back. "Armor!"
Galdino wanted to run, but the terrifying glare Zoro shot him over his shoulder left him no choice. He didn't want to die to the Warden's poison either. Mr. 3 threw his hands forward, gritting his teeth as he pushed his Devil Fruit to the limit.
Massive amounts of hardened white wax sprayed into the air. It rapidly coiled around Luffy's fists and forearms, forming thick, heavy boxing gloves. It wrapped around Zoro's three swords, dulling the edge but providing a solid sheath. It spiraled up Sanji's legs, creating dense, white greaves.
"We don't have a choice," Zoro muttered, his voice grim as he consciously willed his Armament Haki to flow into the wax-coated steel. The translucent black ink seeped into the white wax, hardening it even further. "If we hold back, we die."
"Let's cook him up," Sanji replied, taking a slow drag of his cigarette.
SWOOSH!
He spun on his heel, and the wax-coated leg burst into a blazing inferno.
Luffy cracked his wax-covered knuckles. Steam violently erupted from his red, flushed skin as he shifted into Gear Second.
"I have to get my brother out of here," Luffy said, his voice completely calm. "So I'm going to kick your ass."
Magellan's eyes narrowed. The purple sludge on his shoulders began to violently bubble, rising into the air behind him like a living entity.
"...Insolent pirates."
"Poison Dragon: Hydra!"
Three massive heads of highly concentrated toxic sludge lunged forward simultaneously, their jaws unhinging to swallow the trio whole.
The Monster Trio blurred into motion, entirely vanishing from their starting positions just as the Hydra slammed into the stone floor, melting a massive crater into the bedrock.
Luffy appeared directly above Magellan, the steam hissing off his body. He pulled both of his wax-and-Haki coated fists back.
"Gomu Gomu no... TWIN JET GATLING!"
A blinding, hyper-fast barrage of heavy punches rained down on the Warden. Magellan crossed his massive arms to block, but the sheer kinetic force of Luffy's awakened strength battered him relentlessly. The purple venom splashed aggressively against Luffy's fists, but the hardened wax barrier, reinforced by the invisible armor of Haki, completely repelled the acid.
"What?!" Magellan grunted, feeling the heavy impacts bruising his arms. "The wax is resisting the toxin!"
"Don't forget about me, you puffer fish bastard!"
Sanji dropped from the ceiling rafters. His flaming, Haki-infused leg cut through the dim air like a meteor.
"Diable Jambe: Flambage Shot!"
Sanji delivered a devastating, fiery axe-kick directly to Magellan's shoulder. The impact cracked like a rifle shot. The flames instantly incinerated the top layer of poison, and the raw Haki drove the massive man to one knee, the stone cracking beneath his boots.
"Now, Moss-head!" Sanji yelled, flipping backward to avoid a splash of retaliatory venom.
Zoro didn't need the prompt. He was already sliding across the floor, coming in low from Magellan's blind spot. His three swords, coated in wax and black Haki, were positioned for a lethal strike.
"Santoryu: Rengoku Oni Giri! (Purgatory Demon Slash!)"
Zoro tore past the kneeling Warden. The three blades slashed across Magellan's chest and abdomen. The thick venom parted under the immense spiritual pressure, and a sudden, shocking spray of real, crimson blood erupted from Magellan's chest.
Magellan roared in genuine pain, clutching his bleeding torso. He staggered backward, his eyes wide with shock.
'Damned pirates!'
"They're doing it!" Bon Clay cheered wildly from the sidelines, jumping up and down. "They're actually fighting him!"
Even Ace stopped struggling against his chains, his jaw dropping in sheer disbelief as he watched his little brother and his crew coordinate a brutal, effective assault on the unbeatable Warden.
Magellan wiped the blood from his mouth. The shock in his eyes rapidly dissolved into an absolute, murderous fury. The purple sludge pouring from his body began to bubble with far greater intensity, flooding the corridor.
"You aren't rookies..." Magellan hissed, the air around him becoming visibly toxic.
"It seems I underestimated you."
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A/N: HEHE, how do u like the story so far? I have never liked how none of the fanfics ever show Luffy really finding Ace in Impel Down. So I'll do it myself!
Bonus chapter for 50 powerstones!
{Read 30 chapters+ ahead at: patreon.com/Glivaria }