The Eternal Hell trembled.
"If standard venom cannot breach your armor," Magellan hissed. The thick, highly toxic purple sludge pouring from his massive body rapidly darkened, turning a sickening, luminous crimson red.
The sound of the poison hitting the bedrock changed from a soft hiss to a violent, crackling sizzle. "Then you can only die!"
"Kinjite: Venom Demon!"
A colossal, skeletal demon formed entirely of the bright red poison rose ominously from Magellan's back, radiating an apocalyptic heat. Magellan swung a massive, red-coated arm directly at Light, fully intending to melt the False Deity into the bedrock.
Light didn't flinch. His Future Sight flared. He saw the exact trajectory of the red poison, saw the splash radius down to the millimeter. He sidestepped with effortless, terrifying precision, the red venom missing his shoulder by a fraction of an inch and entirely melting the stone wall behind him into bubbling slag.
Light slowly reached for his hip. The dark steel of his saber hissed as it cleared the scabbard.
But before Light could unleash his counterattack, the heavy, crushing sounds of their duel were violently interrupted.
Footsteps. But not just one set. A chaotic, desperate stampede echoed loudly down the dark, spiraling stairwell leading from Level 5.
Light's Future Sight flared again. He saw them seconds before they arrived, and he calmly lowered his blade slightly, letting the events play out.
"Get out of my way!"
Monkey D. Luffy burst into the Eternal Hell. He was panting heavily, his skin still slightly flushed from the severe toll of the healing hormones.
Behind him followed Zoro, Sanji, Emporio Ivankov, and the rest of the exhausted vanguard, burning with desperate adrenaline.
Almost immediately after, descending the stairs directly behind the Straw Hats, radiating an aura of absolute, devouring darkness, was Marshall D. Teach and his crew.
"ZEHAHAHAHA!"
Blackbeard's rumbling, obnoxious laugh filled the massive corridor as the two rival groups spilled onto Level 6.
Teach threw his arms wide, looking at the legendary prisoners locked in their cages, completely ignoring the dueling monsters in the center of the room.
Luffy didn't look at Blackbeard. He didn't look at Magellan or Light. He sprinted past them all, his sandals slapping against the stone as his eyes locked desperately on a particular vault in the hall. He grabbed the thick Seastone bars, his knuckles turning stark white as he peered into the gloom.
He saw the heavy chains bolted to the wall.
They were empty.
'Ace...'
He saw a massive, battered, blue-skinned Fish-Man chained heavily to the adjacent wall.
"ACE!" Luffy screamed into the dark, frantically shaking the iron bars. "ACE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
The Fish-Man slowly raised his tired, bruised face. He looked at the frantic boy, taking in the signature straw hat and the sheer, desperate panic in his dark eyes.
"Monkey D. Luffy... I saw you earlier." the Fish-Man rumbled, his deep voice carrying a profound, heavy sorrow. "Ace's brother?"
Luffy gripped the bars tighter, his eyes wide. "Yeah! I'm Luffy! Who are you?! Where is he?!"
"I am Jinbe," the Fish-Man sighed heavily, closing his eyes as the weight of the moment crushed down on him.
"And you are an hour too late, Luffy-kun. They escorted him to the surface administrative levels... he is already gone."
Luffy's hands slid slowly down the cold iron bars, his knees hitting the stone floor with a hollow thud.
Ace was gone.
He was late.
The silence that fell over Luffy was heavy. It was the crushing weight of failure.
"Listen up, you legends of the abyss!" Blackbeard suddenly roared, stepping forward into the center of the cell block, entirely oblivious to the heartbreak occurring a few yards away.
"I am Blackbeard! And I am here to free the last man standing in each of your cells! Kill your cellmates, and you join my crew!"
A terrifying, bloodthirsty roar erupted from the cages, but they didn't move.
The situation wasn't clear yet.
The legendary pirates, desperate for freedom, immediately adopted a wait-and-see attitude, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent in the dark.
They wouldn't be hasty.
The warden was right here, fighting with some unknown new monster of the sea.
If the fat pirate with the darkness could get them out, they would slaughter whoever they had to.
But could he handle those two monsters?
Light lowered his pitch-black saber, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
He looked at Marshall D. Teach. This fat, hairy pirate was casually inviting the absolute worst scum of the earth to join his crew, attempting to steal the millions of Karma points Light had explicitly marked for his own harvest.
Unacceptable.
Luffy pushed himself off the floor. His head was bowed, the shadow of his straw hat concealing his eyes.
"Ace..."
Luffy didn't care about anyone here.
His mind had already bounced back.
He turned to leave, his mind completely fixed, already racing toward the task of fighting his way back to the surface to find a Marine battleship.
"Hold on, Luffy," Light said, his voice slicing cleanly through the chaotic noise of the cheering prisoners.
Luffy stopped, looking back at the False Deity.
"Your brother is on a ship heading to Marineford," Light stated calmly, stepping between Magellan and the Straw Hats.
"You are surrounded by this Warden, a closed-off prison, and this fat bastard's crew trying to start a riot."
"You really think you can catch up and get to your brother on sea?"
Luffy gritted his teeth, his voice filled with surity.
"I will! I have to!"
"You don't have to try."
"You just have to make a deal," Light said, pointing the tip of his black saber directly at Blackbeard.
"You know I need the prisoners exactly where they are."
"I cannot let that man open those cells."
Light looked directly into Luffy's eyes. There was no arrogance in his gaze now, only a terrifying, absolute certainty.
"Hold off Blackbeard and his crew for me," Light requested. It was a strategic division of labor, born from a newfound respect for the Straw Hats' resilience.
"Stop him from interfering with my work."
"Do that... and I will personally fly you to Marineford so you can save your brother."
Luffy looked at Light. He remembered the strange powers of Light which he had used to literally jump over the Gates of Justice.
If Light said it, he would do it.
Luffy's instincts—honed by desperation and an uncanny, primal ability to read a person's true intent—told him Light was telling the absolute truth.
Light would get him to the war.
"Deal," Luffy growled.
Luffy decided he would save Ace in the war.
The place had never mattered.
Then.
The despair in Luffy's eyes vanished entirely, instantly replaced by a quite, silent look.
He adjusted his Straw Hat and called out.
"Zoro."
"Sanji."
They were already ready.
""Yeah.""
It was time to fight!
He turned toward the Blackbeard Pirates, steam erupting from his flushed skin as he bit his thumb.
Beside him, Zoro drew Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu, his eyes locked onto the swordsman Shiryu who had just joined Teach's side.
Sanji ignited his leg, stepping up beside his captain. Pushed to the absolute brink of death and back, the sheer trauma of the poison and the healing hormones had forced a breakthrough in the Monster Trio. A visible black Armament Haki began to aggressively coat Zoro's blades and Sanji's legs.
"HEEE-HAWWW!" Ivankov knew there was no escaping this fight.
"Get ready, my beautiful candies!!"
"HOOOOO!"
A chorus of shouts followed.
"The okama never shy away from battle! It's the OKAMA-WAYY". Bon-Clay wasn't one to be left behind.
"Huh, why do we have to be dragged in this!" Buggy furiously slammed his foot against the floor.
"Just accept your fate."
Mr. 3 had already accepted his.
They were ready.
"ZEHAHAHA! You think you half-dead rookies can take us?!" Teach laughed, dark energy violently swirling around his massive fists.
The other four Blackbeard pirates got into formation.
"Nothing but a dead man talkiing." Zoro muttered darkly.
.
.
.
A/N: BLACKBEARD PIRATES VS MONSTER TRIO AND FRIENDS! WHO'S UP!
Also, I dearly apologise for the slow pacing in Impel Down arc. But you can rest assured, Marineford War Arc starts on Chapter 82! Coming soon!
Read 30+ advanced chapters on patreon(dot)com/Glivaria!