Infiltrating Impel Down

"Did you hear? The battle at Marineford..."

"Of course. I heard that legendary Great Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki, is being transported here soon."

"Which level are they sending him to?"

"Huh? Are you an idiot? Where else but the Sixth Level—Infinite Hell!"

"Yeah, that figures..."

Behind the Gate of Justice, inside a barrel-shaped building mostly submerged in seawater, two bored gate guards chatted idly. One of them was so drowsy he was about to fall asleep.

Click...

Just then, a soft landing sound rang out, instantly putting one of them on alert.

"What was that?!"

"Hey!!!"

Hearing the shout, the guard who had been dozing off jumped up in panic, nearly dropping his rifle. He fumbled it in the air a few times before finally catching it and aiming behind him.

But when he looked back, there was no one there.

The gate was still tightly shut, completely intact.

"What the hell are you doing, man? Even jokes have limits!"

"No, I swear I heard footsteps just now... How could..." The guard couldn't help doubting himself. Had he really imagined it?

At that moment, Behind the gates of Impel Down, A man with a bare upper body covered in vicious scars, A long sword at his waist and a bag on his back, strolled past at a leisurely pace.

It was Austin, who had bypassed the outer layers of heavy defenses and teleported straight in from the air.

Hard to imagine that inside Impel Down—one of the World Government's three great strongholds, a hell for pirates that struck terror into countless hearts, supposedly impossible to escape—

A vicious pirate who had just invaded Marine Headquarters could wander around so freely.

"I've already broken into Marineford and Impel Down. I guess I won't have to hit Enies Lobby next, huh?"

Even as he said that, the small fry at Enies Lobby—the kind even a rookie Luffy fresh out to sea could steamroll—

Didn't really interest Austin. At most, he'd swing by if he happened to be sightseeing.

But seriously, This Impel Down was huge.

Just the first floor alone nearly exceeded the range of Austin's Observation Haki, almost the size of a small town.

Not that he needed to linger on the first floor anyway.

As he walked, Austin was also scouting the best spot to teleport deeper down.

He couldn't just randomly teleport and end up in the middle of a squad of guards, could he?

Sure, Austin was confident he could take out those grunts in an instant, but if he got exposed, he'd be bogged down.

After all, Impel Down was a sealed space. If he stirred up a wave of fools throwing themselves at death, how was he supposed to meet up with Captain Roger and have a chat?

Not to mention there were tough opponents like Magellan to deal with.

Tap... Tap...

The soft footsteps weren't loud in Impel Down, but this unfamiliar figure inevitably caught the attention of prisoners in nearby cells.

They saw a man wearing neither a guard's uniform nor a warden's coat, swaggering past.

After a moment of stunned disbelief, An overwhelming will to survive erupted!

"Hey! You there, kid! Please, take me with you!"

"I've got treasure buried outside, and I'll do anything! Take me!!!"

"Brat!!! Let me out of here right now, or I'll kill you!!!"

Threats and bribes, desperate pleas—the noise erupted at once, as if it could flip the entire prison upside down.

Austin's face instantly darkened. Grinding his teeth, he glared at the prisoners, black-red lightning crackling from his body.

"Shut up!!!"

Boom—

Thud, thud, thud...

In an instant, silence fell.

The pirates who had been hysterically screaming moments before all rolled their eyes back and collapsed stiffly to the ground.

After all, they're just small fry fit for the first level, not even a single one with a bounty over 100 million.

Worth mentioning, even the Den Den Mushi monitoring the walls had wilted and collapsed under Austin's Conqueror's Haki, saving him the trouble.

An extremely exaggerated sweep of Observation Haki passed through, and Austin saw the scenery of at least three floors below.

With non-stop teleportation, Austin kept heading deeper and deeper.

Even if he occasionally ran into patrolling guards, Austin could use blind spots or his solidified Conqueror's Haki to knock them out instantly.

Perfectly stealthy in Impel Down, Austin moved like a ghost.

Continuing downward, he reached the Fifth Level Hell, where his Observation Haki sensed a familiar figure.

The future warden of Impel Down, the current vice-warden, Magellan.

The moment Austin sensed this guy, he immediately pulled his perception back, his eyelids twitching a few times, his face full of disgust.

Not for any other reason—

Magellan was having diarrhea again...

The image was too vivid.

Austin felt like his Observation Haki had been dirtied.

Fortunately, after some wandering and a few swift strikes, Austin finally reached his destination.

Impel Down's Sixth Level—

Infinite Hell.

Upon reaching this level, Austin chose not to wander around.

After all, those qualified to be locked up here were none other than the great pirates who left their mark on history; a bounty over 100 million was just the basic requirement.

These guys wouldn't be silenced by a simple Conqueror's Haki.

To prevent them from interfering with his meeting with Captain Roger, Austin simply locked onto Roger's cell with his Observation Haki and teleported straight over.

In the deepest part of Infinite Hell, In a dark, solitary cell, not a single ray of light shone.

A burly figure sat cross-legged there.

"You've come, Austin."

Roger, possessing the ability of the Voice of All Things, could recognize this figure in the dark even without Observation Haki.

Fwoosh—

With a scraping sound, a spark of flame appeared in the cell.

The dim yellow light illuminated a strikingly handsome face—it was Austin.

"Is it this torturous here? They don't even give you any light?"

"Hahaha, no helping it. They only give me one meal a day. I should've turned myself in later, hahaha..."

Looking at Captain Roger bound in shackles, still so carefree even now, Austin couldn't help but feel helpless.

"Hey, hey, Austin," Roger said with a smile, a hint of suggestion on his face, "Did you bring any booze? I haven't had a drink in ages..."

"No."

"Huh? You're kidding... No way!!!"

Hearing this, Roger's face fell, and he wailed like a child.

Seeing this, Austin finally revealed a mischievous grin.

"...Alright, I actually did bring some."