Arrival at Impel Down

After the battle ended, Luffy was invited into the castle as the Pirate Empress's guest, while Jiang Lin, the "pest," could only stay outside under the watch of Amazon Lily's warriors.

"He's dangerous. If he does anything suspicious, kill him on the spot!"

Recalling the orders the Pirate Empress had given her subordinates, Jiang Lin shook his head with a helpless, wry smile. He hadn't done anything to her, had he? Did she really have to treat him like this?

After a long wait, the Pirate Empress finally let Luffy out. That evening, she held a lavish banquet for Luffy and Jiang Lin. Once it ended, a piece of news sent Luffy plunging into despair!

"Portgas D. Ace is about to be publicly executed!"

Upon hearing the news, Jiang Lin's heart was just as heavy as Luffy's. Like Luffy, he would take action to save Ace. This time, he was determined to change everything through his own strength.

"Akainu! I already have the powers of the Glint-Glint Fruit and the Love-Love Fruit. Once I get Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit power too, there's no way I won't be able to stop you!"

Holding a cup of liquor brewed in Amazon Lily, Jiang Lin stared into the distance, his face full of fury.

That night, at Luffy's request, the Pirate Empress took Jiang Lin along as they set out for Impel Down.

In the Calm Belt, the Snake Ship slowly pulled the Kuja Pirates' vessel toward the warship where Momonga waited.

"You finally showed up!"

After tearing off a large chunk of charcoal-grilled Sea King meat with his teeth, Momonga looked impatiently at the Pirate Empress.

"My conditions are the same as I stated over the Den Den Mushi!"

The Pirate Empress looked at Momonga and spoke calmly.

"The higher-ups have approved your visit to Impel Down. Only you and that snake are coming aboard, right?"

With one hand gripping his sword, Momonga watched the Pirate Empress warily.

"Luffy sure is lucky with women. Too bad I'll have to dash over myself."

Standing at the stern of the Kuja Pirates' ship, Jiang Lin took advantage of a moment when Momonga wasn't looking and slipped into the warship's cabin in a flash. He had already worked things out with the Pirate Empress. He could find his own way aboard the warship, but when they entered Impel Down, he would have to cling to her body just like Luffy.

It wasn't that Jiang Lin wanted to take advantage of the Pirate Empress. He simply had no way to enter Impel Down alone without being discovered. Impel Down was no longer as it had been before. Ever since Ace had been imprisoned there, the Marine guards stationed outside had increased many times over.

Since he could avoid alerting the enemy, Jiang Lin naturally had no desire to waste too much time outside Impel Down.

After several days of travel, the warship finally arrived safely at Impel Down.

Led by Vice Admiral Momonga, Jiang Lin and Luffy squeezed together beneath the Pirate Empress's skirt as they slowly approached Impel Down.

Inside a private room, after the Pirate Empress petrified the Vice Warden and the surveillance Den Den Mushi, Jiang Lin and Luffy emerged from beneath her embrace.

"Let's split up from here!"

After glancing at the Pirate Empress and Luffy, Jiang Lin voiced his plan.

Impel Down held a vast number of prisoners, allowing Jiang Lin to absorb plenty of Devil Fruit powers through his system. To prepare for what lay ahead, he decided to look for suitable Devil Fruits first.

"Got it! Let's split up, then!"

Luffy stretched out both arms and successfully clung to the room's ceiling.

Seeing what Luffy had done, Jiang Lin also climbed up above the Pirate Empress's head.

After the Pirate Empress reversed the petrification and passed the body search, Jiang Lin and Luffy left the private room one after the other, officially entering Impel Down.

Not long after Jiang Lin and Luffy left the private room, alarms suddenly blared throughout Impel Down's first level.

"Is it Buggy? His ability would be a pretty big help to me too."

Jiang Lin stared at the gate to Impel Down's first level and briefly fell into thought. The Impel Down storyline was so complicated that even though he had seen it all, he couldn't remember every detail. At the moment, he only remembered Buggy's jailbreak at the beginning and the Blackbeard Pirates' involvement later on.

"Forget it. Why wear myself out thinking? I might as well fight my way down, one level at a time!"

With a faint smile, Jiang Lin raised his foot and kicked the gate before him with all his might.

Bang!

The thunderous noise instantly drew the surveillance room's attention.

"The Level 1 gate has been destroyed! Attention! The Level 1 gate has been destroyed!"

The shrill alarm echoed throughout the first level of Impel Down.

"Hurry! The gate on the first level has been destroyed!"

A large number of Marines carrying rifles rushed through the wide-open gateway into Impel Down's first level.

Everywhere Jiang Lin went in Crimson Hell, he attracted the attention of countless prisoners. Many set their sights on him, threatening, pleading, or offering rewards to get him to fetch the keys to their cells.

"You're so damn noisy! If you want the keys, why don't you get them yourselves?"

Fed up with the racket, Jiang Lin used the Love-Love Fruit to petrify every prisoner he encountered inside their cells.

"This damn charm of mine!"

After fussing with his hair in front of a mirror, Jiang Lin quickly left the now completely silent cell block.

"B-b-bad news! A large number of prisoners on Level 1 have been petrified! We suspect it was... was the Pirate Empress!"

When the report came in, Vice Chief Warden Hannyabal, who was riding the elevator with the Pirate Empress, immediately began shouting into the Den Den Mushi.

"The Pirate Empress is right beside me! How could she have done it? No! We should report this to the higher-ups immediately. Tell them an unidentified intruder has entered Impel Down."

"Now the Chief Warden's position is as good as mine."

After putting down the Den Den Mushi, Hannyabal immediately reported to the higher-ups with delight.

"An intruder? Do you need my help?"

Momonga looked at Hannyabal gravely. He didn't want to spend too much time at Impel Down, but if something went wrong here and he, a Marine Vice Admiral, failed to offer timely assistance after learning of the problem, he would also be held responsible once Marine Headquarters found out.

Click!

At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was overseeing preparations against Whitebeard's arrival. Just then, a call came in from Impel Down.

"What? Impel Down has been infiltrated? Who's there right now? Understood!"

Sengoku looked gravely at Akainu beside him. He had laid this elaborate trap to lure Whitebeard out. The net was already cast, but now the bait was in danger of being stolen. How could he possibly tolerate that?

"Aokiji! Sorry for the trouble, but I need you to make the trip. Make sure you escort Ace to headquarters."

After putting down the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku ultimately decided to send Aokiji to Impel Down.

"Leave it to me!"

Aokiji said nothing more. After receiving his assignment, he immediately left the room.

"Whitebeard! This battle can no longer be avoided!"

Sengoku leaned back in his chair with a somber expression. In his eyes, Aokiji, Impel Down, and Marine Headquarters had all become part of this grand scheme.