Within the dark, foreboding entrance of Impel Down, there was complete silence.
Not a single sound stirred, perfectly echoing the corpses scattered across the floor, vividly portraying the terror and despair of this merciless prison that "devours men without leaving bones."
At the sound of Koby's call, Luffy finally pulled his thoughts back.
Some things couldn't be figured out through thin'queen' alone…
You needed strength. Only with immense power could you reach the vast world beyond.
Once the crew had gathered, a new journey would begin.
As for the last crewmate to join…
Luffy didn't know that yet either.
Using his Observation Haki, Luffy immediately sensed a group of figures hidden behind the walls of Impel Down.
"Hey!"
Luffy smiled sharply and said to his companions behind him:
"Let's… go…"
…
Inside Impel Down.
"Do you know them, Lightning?"
Behind the wall, Emporio Ivankov pressed his massive head against it, holding a small makeup mirror aimed toward the harbor. The entire Going Merry and Luffy's group were reflected inside the tiny frame.
Beside Iva stood a figure holding a glass of red wine—an ambiguous mix of man and woman.
Hearing Iva's question, Lightning slowly pulled out a stack of bounty sheets from his chest.
These were taken directly, quite openly, from the Warden's office.
Along with some newspapers and intelligence reports.
So, don't underestimate them just because they live in the deep-sea prison.
Their intelligence network was far superior to Luffy's at this point.
Because once Luffy became too strong, he lost interest in mundane details.
As a result, the Starry Sky Pirates' intelligence work had always been sloppy.
"Ugh!… ugh, ugh!…"
As the two Revolutionary Army officers whispered to each other, a faint sound of struggle suddenly came from behind them.
A group of people wearing strange, flamboyant clothes, with fierce faces but gentle eyes, neither fully male nor female—stood with varying postures.
Among them, Franky was tied up like a pig ready for slaughter, strapped to a long wooden pole. He wore a floral shirt and nothing but a small triangle undergarment.
Two strong man carried him, occasionally rubbing oil onto the steel parts of his body.
"My little cutie, behave now~"
Hearing Franky's muffled voice, Iva quickly turned and batted his massive head at him, win'queen' seductively:
"We'll be free soon! Then you can return with us to the Kamabakka Kingdom, living happily ever after~"
"Ugh ugh!! Ugh ugh!!!"
Franky's eyes widened, struggling desperately even with his mouth stuffed with some unknown object.
He had thought that even if he was captured, as long as he didn't reveal the Pluton warship designs, losing his life was acceptable.
After all, he was manly Franky!
But now…
He wanted nothing more than to hand over Pluton's plans to Iva, just to save himself!
In his heart, Franky's only thoughts were a constant wail:
Someone save me!!!
I don't want to be with these perverts!
They're too perverted!
I was wrong!
I want to go home!!!!
…
Rustle…
The bounty sheets flipped rapidly. Lightning's pupils shrank behind his heterochromatic glasses, scrutinizing every face.
"Got it!!!"
Moments later, when the stack was nearly at the bottom, Lightning exclaimed.
He pulled out the bounty sheets for Luffy and the other two Starry Sky Pirates.
"Starry Sky Pirates… Monkey D. Luffy…"
"Bounty: 1.8 billion Berries…"
"Eigh… 1.8 billion!?"
Iva's massive head expanded even further, nearly exposing him from behind the wall!
Lightning's face was serious as he continued:
"Roronoa Zoro, bounty 550 million Berries…"
"Nico Robin, bounty 890 million Berries…"
He lifted his head again and said:
"The Starry Sky Pirates… must be the Seven Warlords of the Sea…"
"But for some reason, the Marine has now put a bounty on them…"
"Hmm."
Iva replied in a low voice:
"Seems the oceans have seen quite a lot of interesting events lately…"
"Monkey D. Luffy…"
"Monkey…"
Suddenly, Iva's face froze, as if someone had pressed pause.
His usually expressive face began to tremble uncontrollably.
His already huge eyes widened even more, his lips whispering:
"Monkey… D.?… Luffy…"
"Monkey…"
"D…"
"Luffy…"
SWISH!
Iva both turned abruptly, exchanging shocked glances.
They looked down at the bounty sheet.
Then up at each other.
Down at the sheet.
Up at each other…
After repeating this three or four times…
Lightning slammed a hand onto Iva's massive forehead.
"Stop sha'queen'! I'm gonna faint!!!"
"We're not mistaken—his name is Monkey!"
"Same surname as Dragon!!!"
"Uh!"
Iva blinked, stunned, then snapped back to reality. He shook off Lightning's hold and stared incredulously at Luffy's bounty sheet.
"So… he's probably related to Dragon!?"
In the world of pirates, sharing a surname is rare—usually one family, one name. Seeing Luffy's full name, Iva immediately thought of their leader: Monkey D. Dragon.
At that moment, Koby also discovered the Okama hiding within Impel Down.
Luffy and his crew began approaching the main gate.
Iva lifted his gaze, seeing the imposing figure leading them.
Even from a distance, he could feel the overwhelming aura of arrogance.
"Can't be wrong…"
Iva whispered:
This aura—utterly unconcerned with the world, impossible for just anyone to possess!!!
With that, Iva spun around and emerged from Impel Down.
Despite being the ''queen'', facing the Starry Sky Pirates' smiling approach…
His body trembled.
Too… terrifying!!!
This aura was simply…
Too exhilarating!!!
Powerful, commanding, cold…
Truly manly!!!
His eyes glittered like stars, fixated on Luffy and his crew.
Step!
Luffy stopped suddenly.
A shiver ran through the Starry Sky Pirates.
He glanced at Iva standing at the gate.
Even recognizing him as his father's subordinate, Luffy had no desire to "acknowledge" him…
He even felt a strange urge to just turn and walk away!!!