"Load up! We're shipping out within the hour!" Cried out a Marine Captain.
"Why are we loading up to leave again?" One Marine asked another.
"Haaa... Don't you EVER pay attention?" The other Marine asked him with undisguised exasperation. "We are being sent to Mary Geoise in order to help fight back against the Dragon Emperor and his forces when he invades the holy city."
"But...is it really ok for us to go?" The first Marine asked worriedly, while glancing back at the massive fortress behind them.
"Well...not really. No." The second Marine admitted, with similar concerns on his mind considering what their typical duties were. "BUT, orders are orders! And vice warden Hannyabal is going to remain behind to watch the prisoners."
Despite how strong and dependable their vice warden could be, when he wanted to be, both Marines still couldn't help but to worry considering some of the people they were holding here at the world's greatest prison, Impel Down.
It was the most secure place for the most dangerous prisoners in the world, with six levels extending down from the fort behind them to the sea floor, making escape impossible. Officially there were only five, but they were five levels of various types of hell and torture for anyone imprisoned there, depending on their crimes.
The first level was known as the Crimson Hell, where everything was made of blades and needles that would cut and stab those present as they were made to run through forests stained red from blood. The second level was known as the Beasts Hell, where prisoners were allowed to run free as they were chased by terrifying and vicious beasts, like Manticores, a Basilisk, and a Sphinx.
The third level was known as the Starving Hell, where the prisoners were given the barest amount of food and water to keep them in a constant state of near death. The forth level meanwhile was the Blazing Hell, where a massive cauldron of blood was kept boiling at all times to make the heat on the entire level unbearable, which would also rise up through the floor to make the third level even worse.
The fifth and last 'official' level was the Freezing Hell, where the temperatures were so cold that people regularly froze to death, their food was frozen solid, and numerous wolves too vicious for the Beasts Hell roamed. And beneath that was the Eternal Hell, where prisoners who were the biggest threat towards the World Government were kept while they were officially 'erased' from history. No one would ever be released from this Hell once sentenced.
With the dangerous inmates especially on levels five and six, the Marines couldn't help but to worry with the vast majority of their guards and the warden himself being sent away. What if there was an escape attempt in the time they were away?
Unfortunately for them though, they wouldn't need to have such a worry for much longer.
"Sea King!" A lookout suddenly cried, drawing attention to a fin racing towards them in the water.
Sea Kings were nothing new to Impel Down, since it was located in the Calm Belt. But this one was obviously heading straight towards them.
Every man rushed towards their battle stations while the few Vice Admirals present also stepped forward to deal with the beast.
"I don't get what the fuss is about. It's just an overgrown fish." One remarked while drawing the saber at his side.
"To us, perhaps. But remember these men don't even know how to use Haki yet." Stated another beside him that was adorned in a Dalmatian hood.
"..."
"That isn't a sea King!" A third declared as they too readied themselves.
Just before the fin reached them it disappeared under the calm surface, before an explosion of water splashed over all three of them as whatever had been approaching erupted out of it. And every eye focused on the source as they stood before them.
At first glance it appeared to be one of the fish-men, one with the heritage of a great white shark. But then they all watched as, like a Zoan Devil Fruit user, the fish-like features began to disappear to reveal a muscular figure, wild black hair, and a....monkey tail?
Though confused by the tail, none of the Vice Admirals were any less alert as they all recognized the man before them, even as a set of robes appeared to adorn his naked body.
"The Dragon Emperor!" The Dalmatian hooded man declared with hostility, already making the transition for his transformation to do battle.
"Everyone! Retreat within the prison!" Another Vice Admiral declared, directing his orders to the rest of the lower ranking Marines around them, as they'd all be useless against this foe.
"Alert Warden Magellan, and send word to the World Government!" The third declared.
"There's no need for that." Alex said as he casually strutted up to the trio of Vice Admirals. "I'm just here to handle some business, and then I'll be on my way. No need to worry yourselves about me."
"Are you kidding!?"
"We will stop you here and now, and then throw you into the deepest pit here at Impel Down!"
Two of them declared before rushing Alex suddenly.
"Haaa.... The hard way it is then..." Alex said as if it were unfortunate.
...
"EVERYBODY INSIDE!"
"DROP THE PORTCULLIS!"
"SEAL THE GATE!"
"DO NOT LET HIM IN HERE!"
Shouts echoed and hundreds of Marines and guards hurried too and fro as they tried to fortify Impel Down against the Dragon Emperor.
"Where is warden Magellan!?!"
"He's in the bathroom again!"
"Call the Vice Warden!"
Every defensive line was drawn, every Marine and guard armed, and all available forces throughout Impel Down were brought to the upper levels in order to fight. No one knew what the Dragon Emperor was actually capable of, but he commanded people who were able to take down several of the most powerful factions in the world with minimal forces.
They were NOT going to take any chances.
"What is the situation?" Magellan, a tall demon-looking man demanded as he finally emerged from the bathroom, holding his stomach as he did so due to it being upset after him eating poison for lunch again.
"Damn... And I thought this would be my chance to show off by defeating the Dragon Emperor while the useless Magellan was in the bathroom, and claim the seat of the Warden for myself!" Declared a man wearing a fox styled headdress reminiscent of an Egyptian Pharaoh.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
Despite the duo's banter they both prepared for battle, as both of their necks would be on the line if they were unable to stop a single intruder. Just as the last of the guards got into place though...
*BOOM!*
The entire fortress shuddered fro the force that hit the front gates, and dust rained down onto them from above.
*BOOM!*
The entire fortress shuddered again as numerous cracks spiderwebbed throughout the walls and ceiling.
*BOOM!*
*CRASH!*
This time the entire gate fell forward and crashed to the floor, startling all of the Marines and guards since the entire prison was made with seastone, which was supposed to be as hard as diamond.
And in through the wreckage walked a single person who looked around awkwardly, and said,
"Sorry. I only meant to knock on it 'gently'."
"FIRE!"
At Magellan's command, hundreds of guns and cannons that were being aimed at the entrance were fired all at once.
Hundreds of seastone bullets, dozens of iron cannonballs, and tens of seastone nets were all fired at the intruder, Alexander D. Morningstar, as he just casually stood there.
To the disbelief of everyone present though, the bullets and canons all just bounced harmlessly off of his skin. Thankfully however all of the Nets successfully managed to wrap around his body, entangling his limbs and trapping him.
"Now! While he's unable to move!" Cried one of the Marines, raising his sword up high as he rushed the trapped Dragon Emperor, along with over a hundred fellow Marines.
"Everyone remain on your guard!" Magellan ordered without moving, not daring to risk showing an opening against such an opponent, even if it appeared like he was already defeated.
"Good call man. This guy is REALLY tricky after all."
"I am not 'man', I am WARDEN to you." Magellan stated firmly.
"Eh... Debatable when I'm done with you." The voice from before said, making Magellan look to him irritably before whatever he was going to say died in his throat.
Leaning against one of the walls casually, munching on a carrot and evidently NOT being skewered by a hundred or swords while trapped in a bunch of nets, was the Dragon Emperor.
"Eh, what's up doc?" He asked playfully to the prison Warden.
...
"🎶🎶🎶"
A lighthearted tone echoed throughout the now quiet halls of the prison as a certain figure sauntered down them, whistling while swirling a ring of keys around his finger as he did so.
"Well, I'd say that was productive. You think so you two?" Alex asked the two following him as he finished his whistling. Both were naked women, tied up in turtle shell bondage style, with ball gags in their mouths.
They were the former vice head jailer and head guard, Domino and Sadi, who Alex decided to take as his sex slaves under Akeno after they both tried to whip him into submission. And while one would think they were being forced against their wills, Alex knew otherwise when he'd seen how wet the ropes wedging into their crotches were after he tied them up, and whipped THEM into submission.
That's what they got for trying to subdue the 'Super Sadist'.
As for why he considered his infiltration of Impel Down productive, it was because he'd harvested numerous Devil Fruits from Magellan and the rest of the Marines and guards present after he'd defeated all of them. The former of which possessed the Doku Doku no MI, making him a poison human that was able to create and control all types of poison, while also rendering him immune to them.
Surprisingly, thanks to Magellan, Alex's own 'Poison Resistance' skill went up by a level when he fought the Warden, before removing the Devil Fruit from his body.
But that one was just the most powerful amongst the numerous Devil Fruits Alex had obtained from the Marines, before sending them all to Mary Geoise to prepare for his attack. Now, Alex planned to make his way through the numerous levels of Impel Down to obtain any that the prisoners here had, before either killing them all or releasing some of them. It would depend on his mood.
The first notable person Alex discovered was none other than Buggy the Clown, a recurring antagonist/gag character throughout the One Piece series with the power to separate his body into numerous sections. And from what Alex recalled, he would escape Impel Down alongside Luffy in the original timeline and go on to become one of the Warlords due to his reputation increasing so much.
Since he hadn't done anything to warrant killing him though, Alex settled for stripping him of his Devil Fruit and letting him out of his cell to escape Impel Down.
Alex then continued on his way collecting more Devil Fruits from the prisoners until he made his way down to the second level, the Beast Hell. There he encountered another former antagonist, Number 3 from the Alabasta arc.
Alex then repeated his earlier actions of collecting his Devil Fruit, which had turned him into a candle man, before sending him up to join Buggy if he so wished.
It was only when he reached level three, the Starving Hell, that Alex encountered someone he more than considered capable of redemption.
"Hey hey~! Who are you~!?" A man asked who was wearing heavy makeup and performing ballet despite being severely starved and the sweltering heat coming up from the floor below.
"Nice to meet you Bon Clay. My name is Alex, and I'm a friend of Luffy." Alex said as he introduced himself to the man, a former ally of Number 3 from the Alabasta arc, who turned into an ally of the Straw Hats after Sanji said they MIGHT have been able to be friends.
But not only that. Bon Clay went above and beyond what any friend, especially one who was just made, would be asked as he and his entire crew disguised themselves as the Straw Hat Pirates in order to let Luffy and the others escape the Marines swarming them at the time. Then, when Luffy infiltrated Impel Down in the original timeline, Bon Clay became his greatest ally by risking his life for Luffy's time and again, before sacrificing himself once more in order to ensure the Gates of Justice would open and they could escape.
His Devil Fruit also allowed him to take the physical body of anyone he had touched with his hand, making him one of the best infiltrators in the world. But Alex had no intention of taking it from him.
"You're a friend of Straw-Chan!?!" Bon Clay exclaimed the moment Alex told him that, before spinning excitedly on his toes.
"Yep~" Alex said while popping the p, before adding, "I have an offer for you though."
"Oh~? And what do YOU want to offer ME~?" Bon Clay asked in his dramatic voice, continuing to spin on his toes as he did so.
"How about escape from this prison, and a chance to join the Straw Hat Pirates?" Alex asked him.
"!!!"
"Really!?!?" He asked as he stopped spinning in surprise.
"Of course. I can't make any promises on their behalf, but I think they wouldn't mind letting you join them after you sacrificed yourself for them before." Alex told him sincerely, which made Bon Clay's face light up at the idea.
But then his expression darkened as he stated, "thank you! But I must refuse for the moment since there is someone within the prison I intend to free!"
"The revolutionary, Emperio Ivankov. Right?" Alex asked him.
"That is RIGHT~!" Bon Clay declared as he began to spin once more.
"Well I'm planning to free him as well anyways, so you can come along if you want." Alex said, making him even more excited as he agreed.
With Bon Clay joining Alex along with his two newest sex slaves, he went around collecting even more Devil Fruits from this level before going down to the fourth level, the Blazing Hell.
Alex had no problem with this particular level, as he could even swim in magma and meditate within the heard of a star without issue, but he did create a cooling barrier around Bon Clay, Sadi, and Domino.
He then repeated his earlier actions of collecting Devil Fruits, with the most notable one he collected being the Supa Supa no Mi, which would turn the eater into a blade human, before journeying down to the fifth level, the Freezing Hell.
Doing the same thing as on the previous levels, Alex then went somewhere else entirely before heading down to the sixth level, level 5.5, Newkama land.
It was a secret level between five and six where many prisoners had disappeared to from level five, and was ran by none other than the person Bon Clay wanted to meet, Emperio Ivankov.
"Oho~! So you ave made your way ere, Dragon-boy!" Ivankov declared as Alex stepped into Newkama land.
Ivankov was a massive man who's head took up more than half his size, dressed in drag with a massive purple Afro and copious amounts of makeup applied to his face.
"Yo, I'm here to send you back to the Revolutionaries." Alex said to him, making the overly large man blink his exaggeratedly large eyelashes in surprise.
"Really? You are not going to strip me of my power like all the others?" Ivankov asked curiously, as they had watched Alex make his way down there through their own surveillance network.
"Nah, I don't have a reason to. But, I figure there's a good chance that the Revolutionaries would make an appearance when I slaughter the Celestial Dragons in a few days, so they'd want all of their comrades present as well." Alex said casually.
*CRASH!*
Ivankov jumped when he heard Alex casually mention slaughtering the Celestial Dragons, smashing a hole in the ceiling above them with his head as he did so, before pulling himself out of it as he declared dramatically,
"Y-y-y-you really mean to!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"
"Yep~!" Alex said while popping the p again, making the overly large man gape at him in disbelief.
"Oh yeah! I've also got some people to introduce you to afterwards as well. Their not 'Okama' per say, but they are men who dream of becoming magical maidens that fight in the name of peace, love, friendship, and Justice." Alex added, while inwardly shuddering at what might happen when he introduced these two groups.
"I vill look forward to it! But for now ve should depart, to make it in time for the coming battle!" Ivankov declared, ordering every one of his followers to prepare for departure.
"I'll handle that. But while you guys are getting ready I'll go and deal with the prisoners on level six, and then I can send you directly to Dragon." Alex told him.
"Oh? You know vhere Dragon is?" Ivankov asked curiously.
"No, not exactly. But you'll see how when you leave." Alex said before turning to leave. He then paused momentarily though to add, "I'll also send you to the Straw Hats at the same time Bon Clay."
"THANK YOU!" He cried while spinning, before turning to both his hero and idol, Ivankov.
Alex then made his way down to the lowest level of Impel Down, the Eternal Hell. And once there he did something quite different than what he'd done on the other levels.
He still collected all of the Devil Fruits that had been eaten by the prisoners, which included the Suna Suna no Mi that had been eaten by Crocodile, but afterwards Alex removed his Death Scythe from its dimensional storage.
"..."
The scythe hummed from being held in his hand, eager to reap the lives of those around them. And Alex did just that.
Level six was comprised of the most powerful, heinous, and dangerous criminals in the world today, so Alex had no problem reaping their souls to add to his army that was stored within the jewel in his scythe.
Once he had finished with that, Alex proceeded to punch a small hole through one of the walls so that water could flood into the prison from outside, slowly filling it to render the entire complex unusable.
It would also drown all of those within the prison, but Alex didn't care. He had personally confirmed that none of those he had seen here, outside of the few he'd released aside from Buggy and Number 3, were worthy of salvation.
If they were released upon the world, they would only cause as much mayhem and carnage as possible.
With the water level rising, Alex returned to level 5.5 where the Okama had finished their preparations to leave.
"Now then! Shall ve journey upwards~?!" Ivankov declared as Alex returned.
"Not necessary." Alex said as he retrieved the magic compass and skeleton key, using the former to locate the secret base of the Revolutionary Army, and the latter to open a portal to it.
"Vat in the world!?!" Ivankov exclaimed in shock at the portal.
"Go through here, and it'll take you straight to Dragon." Alex explained to him, surprising the Okama even more.
"Very vell, I vill take you word for it!" Declaring such, Ivankov was the first to step through the portal before all of his followers followed suit, leaving Alex alone with Bon Clay and his two sex slaves.
When the last of the Okama had departed, Alex closed the portal before opening another one that led directly into the space-time orb Luffy was training with Zoro, Chopper, and Usopp inside of.
"This portal will take you to Luffy and the others. The entire crew isn't there right now, but they're all training so that they can take on the strong people of the New World." Alex explained to him.
"Thank you soooooooo much~! I will never forget this~!" Bon Clay declared as he too went through the portal, leaving Alex alone with Sadi and Domino.
As for them, well Alex couldn't really take them with him to his next destination. So he sent them directly to Akeno to begin their training.
With that done, and the water level continuously rising within Impel Down, Alex made his way back to the surface before transforming into a shark once more and taking off.
He had one more stop before heading to Fishman Island, but thankfully that stop was directly above it, and was the place that all of those who were journeying to the New World needed to stop at on the way. The Sabaody Archipelago.
The Archipelago was a grove of massive mangrove trees that grew directly beneath Mary Geoise, which was situated on the Red Line. It was exactly the halfway point for anyone traversing the Grand Line.
And upon arriving there, Alex was surprised to learn that the rest of the eleven Super Rookies aside from Luffy and Zoro were present.
The eleven Super Rookies were all rookie pirates that had accumulated bounties over a hundred million, though several would have a few times that by this point. Luffy and Zoro would also be counted amongst their number, if Alex hadn't interfered in their battle with Cp9.
Amongst them there was only one or two that Alex was actually interested in meeting with, like Law. Other than him though, the one Alex was most curious about was the only girl amongst the group(not for the typical reasons), Jewelry Bonney.
Though he couldn't recall the details, Alex did know she had a relationship with Bartholomew Kuma, and the upper ranks of the Marines were interested in her for some reason.
Figuring he'd see if there was anything interesting to know about her, which there undoubtedly was knowing this world, Alex decided to have a little chat with Bonney before he went to Fishman island. Instead of going to her directly though, he decided to try a different approach.
One he arrived at the archipelago, Alex quickly made himself comfortable atop the branch of one of the massive mangroves. Once there, he produced one of his fishing poles alongside a chunk of what people would commonly refer to a 'manga meat'.
This wasn't just any manga meat though, it was specially prepared by Mikan and Haruna, and gave off an aroma that Alex himself almost couldn't resist.
Steeling himself against the alluring smell of the roasted meat, Alex tied the end of his fishing line on the bone in it before casting it further into the grove as bait.
For a moment nothing happened, as the line sat still. But then, Alex felt a jerk on it before something pulled on the line hard enough that his pole bent, and the line started getting dragged out at high speed.
"Woah there!" He exclaimed while grabbing the reel, and trying to bring whatever he had 'hooked' in.
Then began a battle between Alex and his catch as he tried to reel in his quarry without snapping the line or breaking the pole. And surprisingly, despite them being reeled in, whatever he had hooked didn't let go of the bait.
The minutes slowly ticked by, and then finally Alex caught a glimpse of his quarry as a flash of pink hair appeared. He then hurried reeling it in, before he held his line up to see a beautiful and bodacious woman who appeared to be in her early twenties dangling from the line, even as she growled like a dog.
"Jewelry Bonney I presume." Alex asked as he set her on the branch in front of him.
"Who's asking?" She growled while taking another gluttonous bite of the meat as if she were starving.
"The Dragon Emperor, Alexander D. Morningstar." Alex replied, making her pause slightly.
"Really?" She asked while narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Really."
"I thought your hair was white and stuff." She pointed out, referring to his wanted poster since they used the image of when he had transformed.
"It was at the time they took the picture. But that's the appearance I get when I use the awakened formed of my Devil Fruit, the Hito Hito no Mi- model Nika."
"!!!"
The moment she heard that Bonney's entire demeanor changed as she looked at Alex incredulously.
"You're Nika!?!"
"???"
"Yeah? I dint expect anyone else in the world to know that though, since the World Government has been trying to keep that information hidden for eight hundred years." Alex said, confused on how Bonney would know about Nika.
"Well of course I know about Nika! My dad told me all about him!" Bonney exclaimed, even as she looked Alex up and down, her eyes shining like he was some kind of idol.
"Really?"
"Yeah! He told me about how Nika dances and brings smiles to everyone around him as he sets them free from oppression! That was you too right!?! The one who set all of the slaves free the other day!"
"Well... The only ones I actively had freed were the slaves of Mary Geoise. The rest just made use of the opening I created with my Haki." Alex explained, but then Bonney surprised him as she grabbed the robes he had donned upon his arrival desperately, and pleaded,
"Pease, save my father!"