I'm Luffy's Crewmate

Silence, deathly silence, hung over Level 6, as though no prisoners were held there at all.

But the occasional rustle from the cells made it clear that plenty of prisoners were locked inside.

Infinite Hell was the sixth level of Impel Down. Every prisoner there was a legendary pirate with a bounty exceeding a hundred million Beli.

"Where are you... Ace! I'm here to save you, Ace!"

Luffy's voice echoed through the empty cell block. In the silence, no one answered him.

"Quit shouting blindly. Can you tell us where he is?"

Ivankov smiled as he lifted the Prison Guard slung over his shoulder.

"I... I refuse!"

The guard was terrified, but he still refused to give them the answer they wanted.

"Leave it to me!"

Jiang Lin snatched the Prison Guard from Ivankov and slapped a hand against his cheek.

"Talk. If you don't, your brain's about to stop working."

Hard stone formed beneath Jiang Lin's palm, then spread across the Prison Guard's body.

As his limbs and mind began to stiffen, the Prison Guard finally broke and told Jiang Lin and the others where Ace was.

"Thanks."

Jiang Lin thanked him quietly and sprinted in the direction the Prison Guard had pointed.

"Ace!"

Luffy's voice echoed down the corridor until they reached a dark cell. Only then did he fall silent.

"Damn it! We're still too late?"

The cell block ahead was noticeably emptier. Jiang Lin angrily raised a hand and slapped it against a cell door.

"Straw Hat Luffy! And that mysterious man! Are you the two Boa Hancock mentioned? Hurry after them! They only just took Ace to the Elevator. You can still catch them!"

Inside one of the cells, a Fish-Man with two pointed tusks stared at Luffy's straw hat. Seastone shackles bound him, but he spoke with excitement.

"Knight of the Sea Jinbe! Thanks!"

The moment Jiang Lin learned from the Fish-Man that Ace had only just been moved, he raced toward the Elevator.

"Already gone?"

At the Elevator, Jiang Lin stared at the empty entrance, then turned angrily toward the upper part of the wall to his left.

"Beep..."

A Surveillance Den Den Mushi on the wall slowly turned its eyes toward Jiang Lin and the others.

"Whoosh!"

Facing the Den Den Mushi's surveillance, Jiang Lin formed an Ice Spear in one hand and hurled it. The Den Den Mushi froze instantly.

"Do it! Seal off the Elevator!"

In the surveillance room, Hannyabal saw the feed go dead and immediately ordered the Prison Guard beside him to activate the mechanism in the Elevator.

"Can we get up through here?"

Luffy stepped past Jiang Lin and approached the elevator shaft. He had barely stuck his head through the doors when, with a whoosh, a platform studded with thick spikes plunged from above.

"Watch out!"

Jiang Lin spun at the sound and yanked Luffy out of the shaft.

"That was close!"

Shaken, Luffy felt around his neck with both hands. If Jiang Lin had been any slower, his neck would have been crushed.

After saving Luffy, Jiang Lin stepped up to the shaft and looked inside. Its walls were smooth and bare, with nothing left to climb.

Clang!

Not long after the Elevator became unusable, a harsh impact rang out nearby.

"Oh no!"

Jiang Lin let out a shout and was just about to investigate when pale green fog surged toward them from the distance.

"No choice! Luffy, we're going up through here!"

Jiang Lin had just turned to call Luffy and the others back into the Elevator when Luffy charged straight toward the fog with a shout.

Luffy had taken only a few steps into the fog when the Knockout Gas poisoned him and sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Miss Ivankov, take care of Luffy! I'm going to save Ace!"

As the Knockout Gas spread toward him, Jiang Lin didn't hesitate. He pressed both hands against the inner wall of the elevator shaft, and brilliant white ice burst from his palms, rapidly spreading around him and beneath his feet.

Ice Elevator!

Jiang Lin used a thick slab of ice as a base, and it carried him rapidly upward.

"Ace! Hold on!"

Anxiety filled Jiang Lin's face. He wanted to save Ace here, because he knew what kind of enemies awaited him if he was taken to Marineford.

The Fleet Admiral, the Three Admirals, the Hero, and the Shichibukai—none of them would be easy to face.

Saving Ace here was clearly their best chance.

The ice platform rose swiftly and soon reached the top floor of Impel Down.

Harsh clanking sounded above Jiang Lin as a dark iron gate descended, driven by its machinery.

Screech!

The shrill sound of sliding ice echoed through the shaft.

Jiang Lin accelerated again and made it onto Impel Down's top floor just before the first-floor elevator doors closed completely.

"Give up this futile resistance!"

Magellan's voice came through the elevator doors. Before they shut, Jiang Lin burst through them and into Ace's hopeful gaze.

"You!"

"D!"

Aokiji and Magellan stared at the figure that had shot out of the Elevator, their eyes widening.

Jiang Lin's arrival posed a grave threat to the escort mission. No one knew the limits of his power, or whether he could take Ace away.

"Luffy!"

Pinned firmly to the floor beneath Magellan, Ace stared at the elevator doors through the cold mist and shouted in excitement. How desperately he hoped it was Luffy. But when he saw Marine Admiral Aokiji standing nearby, he wished just as desperately that it wasn't.

"Chief Warden Magellan! Treating Ace like that is... downright rude!"

Jiang Lin's furious voice rang out from the cold mist. Then he shot out along an Ice Path, seized Chief Warden Magellan by the neck, and drove forward until he pinned him high against a wall.

"Do you want to die?"

Endless fury burned in Jiang Lin's eyes. Where his right hand gripped Magellan's neck, gray-white patches of stone were spreading rapidly across Magellan's body.

"D!"

Held aloft in Jiang Lin's powerful right arm, Magellan could barely move. He looked down into Jiang Lin's eyes, his shock mingled with deep fear.

"I'll be your opponent!"

Aokiji moved in to help Magellan. Four Ice Spears formed beside him and shot toward Jiang Lin's back.

"Stay right there!"

Jiang Lin's furious voice rang out. An invisible wave burst from his body, knocking every guard nearby unconscious.

"Conqueror's Haki!"

Magellan stared at Jiang Lin, his wariness deepening.

"That won't work on me!"

As a Marine Admiral, Aokiji would not be taken down by a single burst of Conqueror's Haki. He planted both hands on the floor, sending a blast of cold air toward Jiang Lin.

"You... really... piss me off, Aokiji!"

Jiang Lin turned angrily and swung Magellan in front of himself as a shield.

"Whoosh!"

Seeing Magellan in the blast's path, Aokiji split the cold air into two streams. They swept around Magellan and Jiang Lin before striking the wall behind them.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Ice formed behind Jiang Lin with a harsh crackle. Even Magellan, held in front of him, shivered at the biting cold.

"Who... who are you?"

Ace rose from the floor and stayed on one knee, staring in confusion at Jiang Lin through the cold mist.

"D. Jiang Lin! I'm Luffy's crewmate!"

Jiang Lin walked out of the mist with Magellan in his grip and smiled at Ace.