'So this is Impel Down.'
Submerged in the seawater, jin studied the enormous structure in the distance, a faint trace of surprise appearing in his eyes.
How had they built such a massive prison underwater?
Had it been constructed somewhere else first, then transported here with some kind of ability? Or had this place still been land several hundred years ago, only to be swallowed by the sea after the water level rose?
Thinking of this, jin lowered his head and glanced at the seabed below.
'Judging from the depth… the second possibility seems more likely…'
Perhaps the sea level in this world was rising at a terrifying speed.
After observing for a while, jin withdrew his gaze.
Then he looked back toward the Gates of Justice behind him.
After they entered, the Gates of Justice had begun to move slowly. By now, they were almost completely closed.
'Looks like we won't be able to leave through the Gates of Justice later.'
Of course, if the switch controlling the Gates of Justice was inside Impel Down, he could use the Sharingan to control someone and make them open the gate.
Then, by riding the special current, they would be able to leave this place quickly.
'After getting inside, I'll need to look for the switch that controls this place.'
As he thought this, jin swam toward Erha.
'Next, I need to find a way to sneak in.'
jin rubbed his chin.
'I'll try using the Transformation Jutsu first.'
If the Transformation Jutsu did not give him a chance to enter, then he could only use the Sharingan to control some people and have them bring him inside.
At that moment, jin noticed a change around Impel Down.
A gate suddenly opened on the wall near the surface of the sea, revealing yellow light from within.
The next moment, several creatures that looked like oversized blue elves rushed out, each holding a giant axe.
Then they began searching the water for Sea Kings they could hunt.
Seeing this, jin narrowed his eyes.
'So there's an underwater entrance too…'
Looking at the gate glowing with yellow light, jin grinned.
'This really is… giving me a pretty good infiltration point.'
Watching the large blue elves quickly chase after the Sea Kings, jin thought for a moment, then created a shadow clone with only a small amount of chakra.
After nodding to jin, the shadow clone silently rushed into the distance. Eventually, it hid among the warship fleet and quietly watched the direction of Impel Down's main gate.
Once Hancock successfully left this place, the shadow clone would disappear on its own and send the information back to jin.
As for jin's main body, he activated the Transformation Jutsu, turned himself into a shark, and quietly rushed toward the distant Bluegori.
At that moment, several Bluegori surrounded a Sea King and launched their attack.
Pfft!
Pfft!
Pfft!
Their sharp giant axes easily sliced open the creature's eel-like body, cutting it into large round chunks of meat.
Afterward, the Bluegori grabbed their targets and turned back in the direction they had come from.
Just then, one Bluegori noticed the shark approaching from the side and froze for a moment.
Bluegori: ???
Would there really be such a small fish here?
Although it did not know what was going on, casually grabbing this thing and taking it back should not be a problem.
With that thought, the Bluegori quickly rushed toward the shark.
However, the moment it got close, the Bluegori felt its vision blur.
Then it saw a pair of terrifying eyes appear before it.
Bluegori: !!!
'W-What the hell is this thing?!'
The moment that thought appeared in its mind, the Bluegori was controlled by jin.
'Good. The plan is going smoothly.'
Using the Bluegori to block his position, jin glanced at the opening above and thought,
'Looks like these guys aren't as sharp as I imagined. They didn't even notice one of their companions falling behind.'
After shaking his head, jin controlled Erha to swim over. Then, grabbing the Bluegori, he rushed into Erha's mouth.
The instant he returned inside Erha's mouth, jin released his ninjutsu.
"jin?"
Seeing jin return, Luffy said in surprise,
"How did it go?"
"There's no time to explain. Come out first."
"Oh."
Although Luffy did not know what jin planned to do, he still obediently walked out of the storage space.
jin wasted no words. He immediately sealed the storage room into a scroll and placed it back inside his ninja tool pouch.
After finishing that, jin looked at Luffy and said,
"Luffy, next I'm going into the seawater. That's the only way to enter Impel Down."
"Take a deep breath. Until I tell you to come out, you absolutely must not make any sound. Understand?"
"I got it!" Luffy said.
"Good."
jin nodded, then activated the Transformation Jutsu and transformed into the Bluegori's appearance.
After casually picking up its axe, jin stuffed Luffy into his clothes.
"Luffy, I'll count to three and rush out. Get ready."
"Okay!"
"One… two… three!"
Splash!
The moment jin finished speaking, Erha opened its huge bloody mouth and let the seawater flood in.
The massive current directly washed the Bluegori in the mouth downward.
But jin was not affected in the slightest. He rushed out through the current at his fastest speed and entered Impel Down's special pool.
Boom!
Water exploded as jin rushed out, carrying a large chunk of meat.
"You're finally back."
Seeing the final Bluegori return, the jailer breathed a sigh of relief. Then he said to his companion,
"Close the hatch."
Although he did not know why this Bluegori had returned so late, since it had come back, there was no need to keep the hatch open any longer.
Soon, under the jailer's operation, the massive hatch gradually closed, completely cutting off the seawater outside.
"Good work. Take the meat to the cold storage room on Level One."
The jailer looked at jin and spoke.
jin did not answer. Instead, he glanced around the room.
'Only two people…'
Thinking of this, jin placed the meat in his hand down. Then he looked at the two jailers and said,
"Look into my eyes."
Poof.
As jin's voice fell, he returned to his original appearance.
The two jailers instinctively looked into jin's eyes.
Then they discovered that something strange seemed to appear in their vision.
"Submit before these eyes!"
Clang!
Mangekyo Sharingan, activate!
The two jailers were directly controlled.
After the two of them were placed under jin's control, Luffy also fell from jin's body and landed on the ground.
Thud.
"Haa… haa…"
Luffy gasped heavily, looking as if he had just survived a disaster.
Just now, jin had pressed him inside his clothes with one hand, leaving him unable to move at all. He had almost suffocated.
However, Luffy did not blame jin.
After all… this was for the great infiltration operation!
"It's fine now," jin said. "These two have been controlled by me."
"I see."
Luffy nodded, supported his straw hat, and climbed up from the ground. Then he looked around and asked,
"What is this place?"
"It should be Impel Down's special hunting exit," jin said.
At least so far, he had not discovered any other use for this place.
"Let's go save Ace!" Luffy said.
"Don't rush. Before that, we need to figure out where Ace is being held."
After saying that, jin turned his gaze toward the two jailers and asked,
"Tell me. Where is Fire Fist Ace imprisoned?"
"Fire Fist Ace is an extremely dangerous criminal. His bounty is also over one hundred million, so… he should be imprisoned on Level Five!"
"Level Five?"
jin rubbed his chin.
"How many levels does this place have?"
"Five."
After answering, the jailer paused, then continued,
"However, there are also rumors that Impel Down has a sixth level. But Warden Magellan has never publicly acknowledged it."
Hearing this, jin froze for a moment, then frowned.
"A rumor…? You are a jailer here, but even you don't know whether this is true?"
"I apologize. I have only heard such rumors. I cannot confirm whether they are true or false," the jailer said.
Listening to him, jin fell silent for a moment before looking at the other jailer.
"What about you?"
"I am the same."
Hearing their words, jin rubbed his brow.
"In that case, we'll have to capture a big fish and ask."
These two were controlled by the Mangekyo Sharingan, so their words were trustworthy.
What made jin feel helpless was that ordinary jailers simply knew very little.
Forget it. For now, he would assume there was a sixth level.
As for how to reach Level Six, once he captured someone important, he would know.
Shaking his head, jin said,
"Tell me how to get to Level Five."
"The jailers of Impel Down usually take the elevator between Levels One and Five. However, both the corridors and the elevator contain special Surveillance Transponder Snails. The images they capture are transmitted to the monitor room in real time."
"Surveillance Transponder Snails?"
jin froze.
This world even had Transponder Snails specifically used for surveillance?
No, just how many uses did those things have?
Calling, eavesdropping, anti-eavesdropping, taking pictures, serving as cameras…
There really were all kinds of Transponder Snails.
"Yes, Surveillance Transponder Snails."
The jailer nodded.
"Once a prisoner appears on the screen, the jailers in the monitor room will trigger the alarm and notify the jailers on that level to deal with the escaping prisoner."
"So that means we also need to avoid the surveillance."
jin rubbed his chin.
Otherwise, they might end up clashing with the strongest person in Impel Down.
But before rescuing Ace, there was no point in fighting that person.
Thinking this, jin asked,
"Is there any way to avoid the surveillance in the corridors?"
If they could avoid the cameras, taking the elevator would allow them to reach the lower levels as quickly as possible.
"No."
The jailer shook his head.
"The Surveillance Snails in the elevator and corridors never change direction. They are watched twenty-four hours a day, so there is no way to avoid them."
"And most importantly, the elevator is currently in use. No one knows how long it will take before it comes back up."
"In use?"
"Yes."
The jailer nodded.
"The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, has come to visit Impel Down. She took the elevator down."
"I think she should be close to meeting Warden Magellan by now."
All the jailers on Level One knew that Boa Hancock was coming to Impel Down for a visit.
"Warden Magellan…"
jin thought for a moment and asked,
"Is that guy the strongest person in this underwater prison?"
"Yes."
"How strong is he?" jin asked. "How does he compare to an Admiral?"
"Warden Magellan's strength is terrifying. As the user of the Venom-Venom Fruit, he is invincible here!"
The jailer said,
"We all believe he is no weaker than the Admirals!"
That made jin somewhat curious.
Was that man really so powerful?
Or was this jailer's experience too shallow, leaving him unaware of just how terrifying the Admirals truly were?
But there was one thing jin could confirm.
That man called Magellan definitely possessed the strength to suppress the pirates in this place.
Otherwise, he would not deserve to be called invincible.
"The Venom-Venom Fruit…"
jin said,
"A guy whose entire body is poison?"
"Yes."
"Lord Magellan is a poison man who ate the Venom-Venom Fruit," the jailer said. "And the thing he enjoys eating most is all kinds of deadly poison."
"But because of the poison, he gets diarrhea every day."
jin: "…"
Was this considered a side effect of a Devil Fruit ability?
Diarrhea every day?
A guy who had diarrhea every single day could still suppress the pirates here… This man was probably quite strong!
But…
'I hope I don't run into that guy.'
jin muttered inwardly.
It was not that he feared the other man's strength. It was just that… if he beat the crap out of Magellan, that would be way too disgusting.
"Can we still not go?" Luffy asked.
"You idiot, I already told you not to rush."
jin said irritably,
"If I don't figure out how to reach Level Five first, how are we supposed to save anyone?"
If they did not even know how to get there, they would only wander around Impel Down aimlessly.
Sooner or later, the Marines would discover them.
So they had to figure out the route downward first.
"Fine…"
Seeing Luffy sit down obediently and wait, jin shook his head. Then he looked at the jailer and asked,
"Other than the elevator, is there any other way to reach the lower levels?"
"Yes."
The jailer nodded.
"Each level has a large gate. Behind that gate is a spiral staircase. Through that spiral staircase, you can reach the next level."
"However, entering the gate requires a key. Without the key, it is impossible to open that extremely heavy gate."
Even if they wanted to open such a heavy gate, several people would have to work together to do it.
Of course, that was under the condition that they had the key.
Without the key, there was no point even thinking about opening it.
"An extremely heavy gate?"
When Luffy heard this, he grinned.
"That kind of thing can't stop us."
Whether it was him or jin, both of them possessed immense destructive power. Smashing a gate would be simple.
"Don't think of things so simply, you idiot."
jin said,
"We can destroy the door, but if we do that, we'll also attract other enemies."
"At that point, it won't be infiltration anymore. It'll be a direct assault!"
If a Marine Admiral came here as reinforcement at that time… then rescuing Ace would become extremely difficult.
A powerful warden, plus a Marine Admiral.
Against that kind of combination, saving someone would be far too difficult.
So… if possible, jin hoped this operation could be carried out secretly. Ideally, they would rescue Ace without anyone noticing.
"I see."
Luffy scratched his head.
"Fine, I get it."
Thinking about it carefully, that did seem to be true.
"Where are those gates located?" jin asked.
"The one on Level One is in the southwest corner," the jailer said. "I've seen the gate there."
"Level One?"
jin frowned.
"What about the other levels?"
"I don't know."
"What about you?"
"I don't know either."
"How do you two know nothing?!"
jin was speechless.
"We only came here a month ago. After that, we have only been active on this level. We have never gone below, so we do not know where the staircases on the lower levels are."
jin felt a headache coming on.
Could it be that they were afraid these guys would be captured by pirates and leak information, so they had never told them too much?
Thinking about it carefully, that really was possible.
Then once they reached the next level, they could just capture another jailer and ask.
Shaking his head, jin continued asking,
"Then where is the key to open that gate?"
"The key…"
The jailer thought for a moment.
"It should be with Warden Magellan."
jin: "…"
Wasn't this awkward?
If they wanted the key, they had to face Magellan.
If they faced Magellan, they might be surrounded by Marine Admirals.
This… was really troublesome.
No wonder Elder Nyon had said that Impel Down was known as a place that could never be breached.
With this level of defensive awareness, ordinary people would never be able to sneak in and rescue someone without being noticed.
"Sigh… Looks like I can only try using Wind Release to cut open a gap."
If that did not work, they could only fight their way down.
'Mm. As long as I kill every witness, it still counts as a perfect infiltration.'
jin thought to himself.
"So in the end, we still have to force our way through?"
Luffy stood up.
If this was a problem that needed to be solved with fists, then he could handle it.
"Not exactly."
jin explained,
"If I can quietly cut open a gap in the gate, then we can still sneak down to the next level."
The only question was what material that gate was made from.
If it was entirely made of Sea-Prism Stone, then cutting it open with Wind Release would be a little difficult.
"Cut open a gap…"
Luffy glanced at the Kusanagi Sword at jin's waist, then nodded.
"Then when do we set out?"
"Now."
jin glanced toward the door and said,
"I'll have these two go out and check the situation. Once we confirm there's no one else outside, we'll leave."
After that, jin controlled the two jailers and had them walk outside. They carefully checked the surroundings. After confirming that there was no one else, they nodded at jin.
"It's fine. The outside is safe."
"Looks like this isn't a place people normally pass through."
jin rubbed his chin.
That made sense. After all, this was the fishing entrance used by those big blue elves. Ordinary people had no reason to come here.
"Let's go, Luffy."
"I'm coming!"
Following behind jin, Luffy quickly entered the corridor and looked around.
"This place looks huge…"
"Of course. It's Impel Down, the underwater prison holding countless pirates."
jin smiled.
According to Sister Shakky, Impel Down had likely existed for hundreds of years. Countless pirates had been imprisoned here during that time.
If there was not enough space, the place would have burst from all the pirates long ago.
"Are we taking those two with us?"
Luffy glanced at the two jailers.
If they brought those two along, wouldn't the chances of being discovered become even higher?
"They've already been hypnotized by me."
jin shook his head.
"Don't worry about them. They won't leak our information."
Jailers controlled by the Mangekyo Sharingan could not possibly break free through their own power.
If jin wanted, he could even control them to kill themselves.
"Fine."
"Hmm…"
Looking at the two jailers, jin thought for a moment before asking,
"Do you two know where the switch for the Gates of Justice is?"
"Yes."
The jailer nodded.
"The switch for the Gates of Justice is in the power room on this level. We often go there."
Before Fire Fist Ace was imprisoned here, a batch of pirates would be sent to this place every few days, so the Gates of Justice had to be opened.
The two of them occasionally stood guard there.
"Well, that really is… effortless."
jin grinned.
"Tell me the location."
With a way to open the Gates of Justice, they would be able to escape from this place at the fastest speed.
"It is in the southeast corner of Level One," the jailer said.
As he spoke, the jailer pointed in a direction, allowing jin to confirm the general location.
Looking at the direction he pointed, jin narrowed his eyes.
"There, huh… All right, I understand."
"You two will act as if you never saw us. Go do whatever you were supposed to do."
"Yes!"
The two jailers nodded. Then, without looking back, they headed down the corridor behind them, continuing the tasks they had not yet finished today.
After watching the two leave, jin looked at Luffy and said,
"Luffy, let's go find that gate."
"Yeah!"
"Idiot, don't shout so loudly."
jin said irritably,
"We're on someone else's territory, understand?"
"Oh…"
Ignoring that fool, jin looked toward the distant corridor and narrowed his eyes.
"I hope we can successfully sneak down to Level Five this time."
If they could avoid fighting, then it was best not to fight.
After all… Hancock was here too.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ZoroTL442