At this point, the entirety of Impel Down had effectively fallen.
With Katakuri, Cracker, and the others joining the battlefield, the remaining members of the Blackbeard Pirates, including Lafitte, Shiliew, Van Auger, and the Crescent Moon Hunter, were all transformed into Demons.
On the fifth level, Lucien observed Magellan with clear satisfaction.
Magellan's expression was constantly shifting, filled with anger, humiliation, and deep resentment. Yet without Lucien's command, he could not even take his own life.
Even his thoughts were no longer entirely his own.
"Sixth level… Redfield, Douglas Bullet… are they still there?"
Lucien continued walking toward the path leading to the sixth level.
The true purpose of his visit to Impel Down had always been the monsters imprisoned within that final level.
Redfield was a terrifying existence, a figure once compared to the Pirate King, Whitebeard, and the Golden Lion.
Douglas Bullet was a top-tier powerhouse from the movie, a man whose Conqueror's Haki was said to resemble that of a raging demon.
The World Destroyer was no weakling either.
Lucien was uncertain whether these figures were fully integrated into the main storyline of this world.
But if he could subdue even one of them, combined with his current forces, he would already possess the power to crush a Yonko and the capital to openly challenge the Revolutionary Army, the Marines, and even the World Government itself.
"They have already escaped."
Magellan spoke in a low, restrained voice.
Lucien stopped walking.
Since arriving at Impel Down, he had been carefully monitoring the entire prison. He had not sensed any particularly powerful auras escaping from the first or second levels.
Had they avoided his perception entirely?
"It seems those people truly existed."
Lucien frowned deeply.
These movie characters existed within this world after all.
Missing them like this was a genuine regret.
"Forget it. Let's leave."
Stepping onto Zeus, Lucien flew back toward the fourth level.
He had no intention of going down to the sixth level any longer.
Magellan, now a Demon, could not deceive him.
"Mama… Mama…"
Returning to the fourth level, Blazing Hell, Lucien looked at Lafitte and the others who had already submitted. His mood improved considerably.
This operation had yielded tremendous gains.
Not only had the entire Blackbeard Pirates been brought under his control, but Baroque Works led by Crocodile, the Impel Down Jailer Beasts led by Magellan, and numerous high-level criminals were now his assets.
Among them were thousands of pirates with bounties exceeding fifty million Berries, and hundreds whose bounties surpassed one hundred million.
If all of them were absorbed into Totto Land, its overall power would instantly surpass that of any other Yonko.
"To Marineford."
Zeus expanded massively, carrying tens of thousands of people as it soared toward Marineford.
When this force appeared above Marineford, it would shake the entire world.
At that very moment, the war at Marineford had already reached its most brutal stage.
"Damn Logia."
In the plaza, Ivankov was blasted away by thick smoke.
He rolled across the ground, quickly stood back up, and glared at Smoker, who hovered in midair. His heavily made-up face was twisted in frustration.
"Today, your Revolutionary Army will be buried here."
Smoker held a Seastone weapon, his lower body fully transformed into dense smoke.
"Hmph. That's not necessarily true."
Ivankov's expression turned fierce as his fingernails elongated and plunged into his waist.
"Emporio Healing Hormones."
As the hormones were injected, steam rose from Ivankov's face. His expression became exaggerated, his eyes glowing an unnatural green.
In an instant, he vanished.
Ivankov reappeared directly in front of Smoker, blinking his absurdly long eyelashes.
Half of Smoker's body exploded apart.
"Death Wink."
"Death Wink."
"Death Wink."
Ivankov transformed into afterimages, blinking continuously from all directions.
Dense fog scattered violently, leaving Smoker no opportunity to reform his body.
For the time being, Smoker was completely suppressed.
Across the battlefield, clashes between high-level fighters had emptied a ten-kilometer radius.
Marine Vice Admirals were locked in combat against Revolutionary Army commanders and Whitebeard Pirate captains.
Even the Pacifista units were being pushed back.
Yet despite this, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army still failed to break through the Marine defense lines.
This was Marineford, the Marines' home ground.
In sheer numbers, the combined forces of pirates and revolutionaries were still inferior.
Across many zones, Revolutionary soldiers and pirates were being overwhelmed by groups of four or five Marines at once.
A single lapse in attention meant severed limbs, crushed skulls, and blood soaking the ground.
This was war.
A meat grinder where lives were as fragile as grass.
People were dying every second.
"Ugh…"
Some civilians watching from a distance vomited uncontrollably.
"Is this really war?"
Even hardened pirates had gone pale.
The scale was simply too vast.
Bodies were everywhere.
Intestines, shattered skulls, torn limbs.
It was nearly impossible to find a corpse that was still whole.
At the lowest level of combat, no techniques were needed.
A sword swing was enough.
Bloody, brutal, and merciless.
A true human hell.
"Don't mind me… don't mind me…"
On the execution platform, the fake Ace slammed his forehead into the ground repeatedly.
Pain, guilt, and despair overwhelmed him.
Garp sat beside the platform, staring at the blood-soaked plaza. As he listened to Ace's choking sobs, his eyes gradually turned red.
His heart felt as if it were being torn apart.
"Ace."
Garp looked across the battlefield, his gaze unfocused.
Hearing Garp's voice, Ace raised his head with difficulty.
Nearby, Sengoku merely glanced sideways, his expression unreadable.
"Ace, have you ever resented me?"
Tears fell freely as Garp wept in silence.
"Grandpa."
Ace froze.
Seeing Garp crying so openly caused a deep ache in his chest.
"What should I do? Why didn't you live the life I told you to? Do you really think Grandpa would ever harm you?"
Garp turned toward Ace, crying uncontrollably as memories flooded his mind.
When Ace was ten years old, he had nearly died.
Garp had been exhausted to the brink.
When Ace survived, Garp had laughed and cried like a madman.
"Grandpa…"
Ace bit his lip tightly, unable to meet Garp's tear-filled eyes.
"Why won't you listen to me? I trained you, guided you, raised you… why did you have to become a pirate?"
Tears streamed endlessly as Garp's composure finally began to crack.
"What am I supposed to do?"
His body trembled as if he were asking Ace, Sengoku, and himself all at once.
"Grandpa, thank you."
Ace sniffled, forcing a painful smile.
"Thank you for raising me. Thank you for teaching me. I really am grateful."
His voice broke.
"Now I'm going to die, so… so…"
Ace collapsed completely.
"So I'm sorry."
Garp clutched his chest as if stabbed by invisible blades.
"Garp, you need to step down."
Sengoku spoke solemnly.
Garp's mental state was clearly unstable.
"I'll stay with him."
Garp turned toward the plaza, his hands digging into the stone as he held onto his final shred of sanity.
"The time has come."
Sengoku lifted the Den Den Mushi megaphone.
"Now, the most dangerous bloodline in the world, the pirate Fire Fist Ace, will be executed."
At this moment, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army had already broken through the third defense line.
Straw Hat Luffy and Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff Sabo were pushing forward relentlessly.
With Whitebeard's commanders and Revolutionary captains holding the line, they were on the verge of breaching the fourth defense line.