A/N: New patreon bro @John Wolfy joining! Welcome to the ship!! Happy+1! I hope you enjoy the story!
{Read 30+ chapters ahead on patreon(dot)com/Glivaria }
.
.
.
There was a place nestled deep within the unforgiving stone of Impel Down, existing entirely off the official blueprints. It was a hidden space carved directly into the bedrock between the Freezing Hell of Level 5 and the Eternal Hell of Level 6.
Level 5.5: Newkama Land.
It was a vibrant, sprawling utopia hidden in the darkest corner of the world. Loud, upbeat music echoed through the cavernous halls. Prisoners who had mysteriously vanished from their frozen cages or burning pits over the decades danced freely under glittering disco balls, drinking stolen wine and wearing flamboyant, extravagant clothing.
It was a stark, almost hallucinogenic contrast to the torture and despair occurring just on the other side of the stone walls.
But the party ground to a sudden, screeching halt when the main floor split open.
Inazuma leaped out of the tunnel, unrolling the massive stone carpet onto the checkerboard floor of the grand hall. Emporio Ivankov followed a second later, his massive face completely devoid of its usual jovial energy.
"VITALITY HORMONES! NOW!" Ivankov roared, his voice shattering the music and bringing the entire room to a standstill. "Clear the central tables! I need bandages, coagulants, and every drop of broad-spectrum antivenom we have in the reserves! Move, my candies! We can't lose them!"
"YES!"
The Okamas scrambled into action, the sheer panic in their leader's voice instantly overriding their revelry. Glasses shattered as tables were violently swept clear.
They lifted the twitching, violently convulsing bodies of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji onto the long wooden banquet tables. The three pirates were in critical condition.
The red Kinjite poison had spread across their skin in sickening, luminous crimson webs. They had protected themselves with all the Haki they could muster but there was still damage done. Their breathing was dangerously shallow, their lips stained a deep, unnatural blue, and their eyes rolled back into their skulls.
Buggy and Mr. 3 collapsed onto the floor, kissing the checkerboard tiles and weeping tears of pure relief to simply be alive and away from the Warden. Bon Clay stood frozen, watching the medical team frantically surround the Straw Hats, his hands clasped over his mouth in horror.
"Treat the swordsman and the cook with the standard antivenom and adrenaline!" Ivankov commanded, his fingers shifting into long, sharp syringes. "They took glancing hits. The wax and their Haki mitigated the worst of it. They won't be in danger."
"Straw Boy also protected himself but he's been exposed to it the longest!"
"What are you going to do, Iva-sama?!" Bon Clay cried, tears streaming down his face. "You have to save him!"
"Of course I'll save him!" Ivankov promised, stepping up to Luffy's table and stabbing his syringe-fingers directly into the boy's chest.
It was a lifesaver the rookies knew Armament, otherwise the situation would've been far worse. The boy might have even lost lifespan with what he was about to do!
"Emporio Healing Hormones! I am hyper-accelerating his body's natural immune system! Endure the pain, Straw Boy!"
The moment the hormones entered his bloodstream, Luffy involuntarily screamed.
"GAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Then, he looked at the blurred ceiling and suddenly had an unusual defiance in his eyes.
He bit down hard.
*Silence.*
Ace was right there.
He couldn't be weak.
He would endure.
He would heal.
And he would go back!
His body squirmed in pain against the wood, his skin turning a deep, boiling red as his immune system went into hyper-drive, fighting a brutal, cellular war against Magellan's ultimate poison.
"...What a terrifying will." Ivankov quipped, sweat pouring down his massive face.
To save his brother, this boy... he would endure anything!
On a nearby table, Jewelry Bonney lay on her side, watching Luffy, completely helpless. The heavy Seastone handcuffs locked around her wrists were still locked.
She didn't have the strength to sit up. The sea prism stone drained her energy, making her feel as though she was drowning on dry land. She could only watch, her pink eyes wide with shock, as the trio received treatment.
An hour passed.
Then two.
The festive atmosphere of Newkama Land had completely vanished into a silent, calm, peace.
The only sounds were the distant dripping of water, and the occasional sounds of struggled breathing escaping the trio's lips.
The swordsman and the cook had stabilized slightly, their Haki-trained bodies slowly burning through the diluted venom, but they were still immobile, wrapped head-to-toe in thick bandages.
The Straw Hat was slightly worse, but with Ivankov's close monitoring, he was out of danger now.
Suddenly.
The heavy, reinforced iron doors leading to the secret outer tunnels of Level 5.5 creaked loudly.
The remaining Okamas and revolutionaries turned their heads, raising their stolen weapons.
No one ever used the front door.
The heavy iron door was pushed open.
A pair of black boots stepped onto the checkerboard floor.
A man walked slowly into the disco-lit hall. His dark trousers and black shirt were completely devoid of a single drop of sweat, or poison. The heavy, pitch-black saber rested casually at his hip. He looked completely out of place in the flamboyant, chaotic paradise, projecting an aura of control that instantly put the entire room on edge.
He looked around the massive cavern, taking in the glittering disco balls, the drag queens with their weapons drawn, and the massive banquet tables acting as operating beds.
"A hidden sub-level," the man murmured to himself, his voice calm, but carrying a sharp edge. "I was wondering why the total casualty count on the upper floors didn't match the prison's official registry."
"Trash has a habit of finding the deepest cracks to hide in. I actually had to backtrack to find this place."
"It made me late."
He had brutally scoured Levels 2, 3, 4, and the frozen wastes of Level 5. He had opened every door, checked every hidden torture chamber using his Observation Haki, and executed thousands of the world's most violent criminals. His Karmic wealth had skyrocketed into the tens of millions.
The trash was cleaned; the points were gained.
The operation had been success.
"Who the hell are you?!" one of the Okama guards yelled, aiming a flintlock pistol directly at the man's head. "How did you find this sanctuary?!"
"Light!"
A small, frustrated, and surprisingly desperate voice shouted from one of the medical tables.
Light turned his head. He saw Bonney, trapped in her ten-year-old body, struggling weakly against the massive Seastone handcuffs.
"You took your sweet time," Bonney rasped, her voice uncharacteristically quiet.
Light raised an eyebrow, walking toward her, completely ignoring the guns pointed at him.
"What's this? You let yourself get cuffed? You're getting sloppy, Bonney."
Light drew his saber an inch from the scabbard. Cutting Seastone with Weapons Art Level 5 (Max) and Armament Level 4 was not a problem for him. A small, hyper-condensed flash of Haki easily severed the thick Seastone chain connecting the cuffs. The heavy iron clattered loudly to the floor.
Bonney gasped as the suffocating weight of the sea lifted.
Light expected her to stretch, grab a bottle of wine, and complain about the heat.
He expected her usual boisterous complaining.
Instead, Bonney ran towards Light and when she reached him, her knees buckled.
She collapsed onto the checkerboard floor right in front of him. Her hands shot out, gripping the fabric of Light's black trousers with a desperate, white-knuckled intensity. She neither screamed nor complained.
She just lowered her head and cried.
.
.
.
A/N: If you like it, please leave a review. It helps in ranking I think. I want the story to reach more readers.
Thankyou!