The Sixth Level

At Dock 40 of the Sabaody Archipelago, Sal looked speechlessly at an eighteen-meter sailboat, then asked Rayleigh, who was loading bags of supplies aboard.

"Rayleigh, you really never changed. Can you even finish all that booze? And I gave you twenty million Beli, yet you bought a piece of junk like this?"

"Be satisfied, Sal. Getting this fast ship for twenty million was already a bargain. Do you know how much prices have soared these past few days? It won't even take a day to sail it to Marineford. And don't tell me you don't drink."

"..."

Fine, Sal had been left speechless. Watching others drink while being unable to drink himself was pure torture.

The two smoothly worked together to steer the sailboat out to sea, their division of labor practiced and seamless. Once they caught the current, they drank and chatted, just like in Sal's memories.

Roger and Rayleigh had been the same when they first set sail—just two men and one shabby little boat. The difference was that Sal was not Roger, and Rayleigh had already grown old.

Suddenly, a massive shadow appeared upon the sea. A medium-sized Sea King then leaped from the water. Disturbed, the two men looked toward the giant fish, their sharp gazes erupting with Conqueror's Haki at the same time.

"Whoosh..."

The two waves of Conqueror's Haki swept over the Sea King suspended in midair. Its vicious fish eyes instantly rolled back, and its enormous body, hundreds of meters long, lost consciousness and crashed back into the sea. Waves dozens of meters high erupted across the surface before the Sea King floated there like a corpse.

How could a mere medium-sized Sea King withstand their Haki? This was the Conqueror's Haki of the Pirate King and his right-hand man.

The great deep-sea prison, Impel Down. Level Six.

Hancock was seeing the spark that had ignited the war, Fire Fist Ace, with her own eyes for the first time. This once spirited young man now carried nothing but an air of dejection.

Ace raised his head to glance at the unfamiliar woman who had come to visit, then lowered it again without any concern.

His dejected state displeased Hancock. This was the brother Luffy was trying so desperately to save? Why was he so pathetic?

"Fire Fist Ace, I was asked to deliver a message to you. Your younger brother, Luffy, has already infiltrated Impel Down and intends to rescue you from here."

"Clank... jingle..."

The moment he heard Luffy's name, Ace became agitated.

"Absolutely not. He can't do it. Tell him to give up..."

With Magellan waiting in the distance, Ace did not dare say Luffy's name openly. But he was frantic now. That troublesome little brother of his had actually been this reckless. Then again, would he still be Luffy if he were not reckless?

"I have delivered my message. What happens next depends on Luffy himself."

After saying that, Hancock lifted her foot to leave, but Ace suddenly asked another question.

"Why are you helping him?"

"Because my man asked me to help him."

"..."

The sound of high heels gradually faded away.

As Hancock passed the other cells, she once again stirred up the prisoners on Level Six. These men had been imprisoned for a long time and had not seen a woman in ages, much less the world's most beautiful woman standing before them.

As for the only woman imprisoned on Level Six, she was known as the most vicious female pirate in history: Catarina Devon.

Her appearance was simply too ugly, and she was exceptionally vicious as well. The pirates of Level Six had no interest in such a monster.

A stream of unbearable comments rang out.

"Hey, woman, come over here and let me touch you."

"Little sister, hurry over here. Big brother will make you beg for more."

"Hahaha, the Pirate Empress really has some flavor."

"Hahaha!"

"..."

Hancock frowned in displeasure. Just as she was about to lose patience and attack, Magellan beside her had already made his move. He would not tolerate this trash acting out.

"You damned scum, you talk far too much. Poison Dragon."

A Poison Dragon of purple liquid rose from Magellan's body and lunged directly at the prisoners who had spoken. Already severely weakened, they had no way to dodge it and fell to the ground one after another after being poisoned.

"Ah... Magellan, we were only joking!"

"Help! Hurry and detoxify me! I'm about to die!"

Among the dozen or so poisoned people, very few could withstand the poison with their bodies alone. These former powerhouses who had once dominated the New World died as humbly as rats on Level Six.

Having shown off a little in front of a beauty, Magellan returned to Hancock's side and claimed credit.

"Pirate Empress, I've taught those foul-mouthed scum a lesson for you."

Hancock thanked him indifferently.

"Thank you, Chief Warden Magellan."

Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi in Magellan's pocket rang. The voice that came through after he answered made his expression turn ugly.

"Chief Warden Magellan, the intruders vanished on Level Four and may have already entered Level Five. They are Monkey D. Luffy, with a bounty of three hundred million Beli; former Baroque Works members Bon Kurei, with a bounty of thirty-two million, Galdino, with a bounty of twenty-four million, and Buggy the Clown, with a bounty of fifteen million. Also, they appear to have the ability to turn invisible."

Magellan hung up. This was no time to curry favor with a beauty. He instructed Domino, the vice chief warden beside him.

"Take the Pirate Empress away. As for those intruders, I'll stop them on Level Five. No one gets to cause trouble in Impel Down."

Hancock's gaze shifted slightly. She had not expected Luffy, with his ability to turn invisible, to be discovered so quickly. But she had already delivered her message. What came next could only be handled by Luffy himself.

The most important thing now was getting to Marineford. She was looking forward to meeting her beloved Sal again.

Hancock's group took the elevator from Level Five and left, while Magellan alone blocked the entrance to Level Six, his powerful Observation Haki continuously spreading out to search.

At that moment, four people were hiding behind a cell in the distance. The small Invisibility Cloak barely covered their bodies, allowing the passing Snow Wolf guards to overlook them.

The four secretly spotted Magellan. Buggy the Clown hurriedly said,

"Magellan is blocking the way. We can't possibly charge through him. Why don't we go back to Level Four first? I'm freezing to death here. Achoo!"

Mr. 3, shivering all over, immediately agreed. If this continued, he would freeze to death too.

Unlike the original story, the four-man group had made it to Level Five very smoothly because they possessed the Invisibility Cloak.

Luffy's expression was hesitant. He was not always a reckless fool. Since entering, he had heard the other three repeatedly mention how powerful Magellan was. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to fight Magellan, so he planned to wait for him to leave first.

"Then we'll hide to the side and wait until he leaves before going over."

"..."

Since the cloak belonged to someone else, Bon Kurei mindlessly agreed again. The four could only begin moving toward a more secluded area.

The cloak shifted, and Magellan suddenly turned and cast his gaze toward them. His deep voice rang out.

"I found you little bugs. Poison Dragon."

Being discovered by a powerful enemy threw the four into chaos.

"How did he know we were here?"

The well-informed Buggy immediately thought of a certain ability.

"He found us using Observation Haki."

The massive Poison Dragon rushed toward them, terrifying the two cowardly men out of their wits. Fortunately, Luffy shoved them aside in time, allowing them to escape disaster.

Seeing that they really did possess invisibility, Magellan became somewhat curious whether it was a Devil Fruit ability or the function of some treasure. In any case, once he defeated them, his curiosity would be satisfied.

His four-meter-tall body advanced toward the four with slow steps, deadly venom constantly separating from it. Three Poison Dragons bared their fangs and claws overhead, creating immense pressure.

Gear Second.

Luffy activated Gear Second, steam rising from his body as he rushed toward Magellan. He nimbly dodged the incoming Poison Dragon, then threw a punch.

"Gum-Gum... Jet Pistol!"

His fist struck Magellan's body, but it only splashed purple venom everywhere and failed to injure him in the slightest. Instead, his fist was poisoned the moment it touched the venom.

The abnormal sensation in his body darkened Luffy's expression. He quickly dodged another Poison Dragon, but he no longer dared throw another punch.

Without even Armament Haki, Luffy was helpless against Magellan.

A minute later, even the snow-covered Level Five had become a domain of poison gas. Luffy, standing at the center, barely remained upright. Without realizing it, he had already been deeply poisoned, while Bon Kurei, who had wanted to help, had long since collapsed from the poison.

Poison Dragon.

The enormous Poison Dragon swallowed Luffy, and the battle ended. Magellan stepped directly over the two people lying on the ground and headed for Level Four. Poisoned, they had only one path ahead on Level Five: death. There was no need for him to waste time finishing them off.

What mattered now was dealing with the two who had escaped. The Invisibility Cloak was truly a troublesome thing. Through his Observation Haki search, he discovered Buggy and Mr. 3 fleeing upward while wearing the cloak.

After everyone had left, Bon Kurei, who had fallen to the ground, suddenly stood back up. Relying on his willpower to keep moving, he used all his strength to carry the barely breathing Luffy onto his back. At the same time, several Snow Wolves that had caught their scent pounced toward them.

"You beasts, I will never let you hurt Little Luffy! Okama Kenpo!"

Bon Kurei fought the wolves despite his injuries, but he was already at his limit and was no match for the pack. His wounds gradually worsened.

Not long afterward, a burst of Conqueror's Haki flashed across Level Five.

More than ten hours later, Sal and Rayleigh encountered a troublesome person on their way to Mary Geoise.