[Level 6: Infinite Hell]
The whole level was silent.
The other prisoners, who now learned that being located within a different cell didn't guarantee their safety from Rowan's assault, decided to shut their mouths and behave accordingly.
"I'm getting impatient here, Rowan-san." Jinbe spoke up as his fists shook in frustration, "There must a big war happening at the Marineford, and yet, I am stuck here, doing nothing at all...!"
On the adjacent cell, Rowan silently sat by with his face covered by the darkness.
The current situation reminded him of the time when he was caught by the marines in the Logue town, shortly after falling into Mad Treasure's scheme.
He used to feel hopeless and powerless. With the mindset of an average human being, he believed that he was doomed, with no way out. He regretted it over and over again, wondering why he fell for a trick as stupid as that, or why he has been naive to stick to an unrealistic ideal.
When Carina arrived to save him, she seemed like an angel to him. His one and only miracle—she was the one who held out her hand to him at the lowest point of his life.
And yet again, he was in a prison of a much larger scale, the Impel Down, and at the most tightly guarded section known as level 6: Infinite Hell.
However, he wasn't filled with hopelessness and powerlessness. He believed in the bonds he had with his friends and his crew. If a miracle happened once,
"Why can't it happen again?"
Rowan chuckled as he stood up from his spot, earning Jinbe's confusion.
*Plop*
The drops of water continued to fall from the ceiling and ripple upon their contacts with the small layer of water on the floor, however, as Rowan took a step forward, such ripples were instantly overwhelmed by a huge ripple formed by Rowan's foot.
"Rowan-san, what's about to happen?" Thinking that Rowan was up to something, Jinbe asked seriously.
"Let me introduce to you, Jinbe," Rowan stated as his excited gleam faced the front, where the individuals, his crew members, were seen to be running towards his cell with similar excitement on their faces, "my crew."
"...Rowan." Upon sighting Rowan behind the bar, Carina finally stopped with a visible glee in her demeanour.
Dan formed a tired grin on his face, "How was your stay here? Did they treat you well, captain?" With keen eyes, he immediately inspected Rowan's body, and found himself surprised to see that the latter managed to make a complete recovery.
"I think... somewhere around two hours passed by since we invaded." Cavendish stated with a hand on his chin, "They call this the world's greatest prison?"
"H-how..." Jinbe opened his mouth in fascination.
Alfred placed his hand into the inner pocket of his suit, and took out a ring full of keys, instantly earning the attention of all prisoners.
"Let's get you out of here fast, captain Rowan." Alfred said as he gazed at Rowan knowingly, "After all, we have someone else to save, don't we?"
Rowan grinned, "You know me well."
*Click*
With a clear sound of the key resounding throughout the area, the entrance to Rowan's cell creaked open.
"Let's get you out of those Seastone cuffs as well." Hopping down from Farul, Nami quickly made her way to Rowan and took out a thin needle from who knows where, before picking through the cuff's key hole. "Thankfully, the purity of this cuff isn't as high, probably because the cell itself contains the Seastone as well."
*Click*
"Didn't expect to see you here." Rowan commented as the cuff fell down onto the ground, finally liberating him. "Thanks Nami."
"Haha... I've been picking throughout my whole piracy, after all." Nami laughed weakly as she backed off.
Immediately after, Rowan found Carina jumping onto him all of a sudden, before enveloping him within a tight hug.
"It's just like the last time, isn't it?" Rowan returned the hug with his eyes closed, reminiscing the event that happened four years ago, "Dejavu, it seems."
"Idiot... I thought I lost you." Carina's body shook as her muffled voice was heard, "Don't... don't leave like that ever again, okay? I'd rather die than have you sacrifice your life for me."
Rowan stayed silent momentarily. He couldn't make a promise like that, for he knew that if a similar situation occurs in the future, he wouldn't hesitate to make the same decision. However, for the sake of Carina, he decided to lie just this once.
"I won't."
After a short-lived moment, Rowan let go of Carina and shifted his attention to Robin.
"You've come." Rowan's expression softened, causing Robin to become slightly embarrassed as she averted her eyes.
Rowan simply smiled, "Thank you, Robin."
"No... problem." The current moment felt awkward to Robin, who rarely engaged in a heartfelt moment like this.
"Neigh~!!!" From the back, Farul stomped and let the steam out of nose.
"I know, I know. Of course you're the best, Farul." Approaching Farul who seemed annoyed, Rowan rubbed Farul's mane gently. The latter's temper died down, and rubbed his head affectionately to Rowan with an eye smile.
Subsequently, he turned to his left to face Jinbe, who was still locked up behind the cell.
"Come with us, Jinbe." Rowan held his hand out with a confident expression, "We got a friend to save, don't we?"
"Rowan-san..." Upon hearing Rowan's words, the light in Jinbe's eyes brightened as he stood up vigorously, although his body was drenched in blood, "Yes, we do."
"Hey Grimheart, how about freeing me as well?" Suddenly, a deep voice interrupted them, which belonged to no one other than Bullet himself.
Rowan's smile died down in an instant moment, and he turned his head impassively, "How about no?"
"O-oh, how about me instead! If you let me out, I will forever serve you!!"
"Please, let me out of this hell!! I've been stuck here for 13 years!!!"
"Hahaha, is it time for another massacre?"
With Bullet's words as a cue, all prisoners in level 6 began to speak up simultaneously, creating a messy situation that caused Rowan to frown.
Naturally, Rowan and his crew are pirates. They killed many. They aren't good at all. And Rowan wasn't trying to justify that. However, regardless of such fact, he is aware that freeing these pirates will cause civilians and impotent individuals to suffer.
Freeing them may provide Rowan and his crew an advantage. In spite of that, knowing that they weren't arrested for a good reason, he wanted nothing to do with them. Freeing them for a temporary advantage, just for them to trample upon the weak just like Arlong did in the past—he would simply be a hypocrite who goes against his own ideals.
And most importantly, he simply didn't want to.
"Y'all," Rowan spoke up as the soul-crushing Haki blasted off of him, "shut up."
The whole surrounding instantly fell silent as nothing but the sounds of those prisoners collapsing unconscious were heard.
Carina and the other members of the Grimheart pirates stared at Rowan with widened eyes.
Alfred whispered in bewilderment, "Conqueror's... Haki?"
Watching Rowan's behaviour, Bullet clicked his tongue in irritation, "Tch, you are just like those fools."
Lifting up his cuffed arms with open palms, Bullet shouted with a wide and ferocious grin, "Don't you understand, Grimheart?!! In this world, power and strength are the only worthwhile traits to seek for!! Friends and companions—they only bring you down!! They are naught but hindrance!! There is nothing worth living for, except for the war itself!!"
Rowan glared at Bullet coldly, "Don't force your ideals onto me. Although power and strength are the 'dictating' traits of this world, sacrificing everything for the sake of them is simply miserable."
*Click*
"You do you, Bullet."
As the sound of Jinbe's cuffs being unlocked was heard, Rowan turned his head away from Bullet. However, within his mind, Rowan somehow felt that this won't be the last time that they will meet.
'Next time I see him again, there will be a gruesome battle.'
Dismissing such thought within his mind, Rowan swept his gazes across his crew members, Nami, and Jinbe.
"Let's hasten ourselves and get out of here." Rowan checked the states of his crew members, and noticed that they seemed quite exhausted, "Afterward, stay on the Prominence. Jinbe and I will go to Marineford to help Ace-"
"We are going with you." Carina retorted with a glare, "Don't think of going off alone again."
Rowan halted his words in a slight surprise, and saw that his crew members' eyes were full of determination.
Alfred nodded seriously, "It's time to show the world, of what happens when they touch the captain of the Grimheart pirates."
"Grimheart pirates, the successful infiltration to the Impel Down, wreaking havoc in the Marineford, and casually escaping from the site without any casualty—what better way is there to ridicule them?" Cavendish said in a low tone.
Robin chuckled darkly, "The official declaration of opposition against the marines... and the World Government as well... I like it."
Watching his crew members' reactions, Rowan found his facial expression morphing into that of a crazed grin.
"Fine." Rowan replied with a hint of appreciation in his tone, "Let us make our official debut to the world, shall we?"
________________
[Level 4: Blazing Hell]
*Cough* *Cough*
Vomiting a sufficient amount of blood painfully, Magellan stood up shakily from his spot.
"C-Chief Warden Magellan!!" The voice of a concerned jailer, who spoke through the Den Den Mushi attached nearby a surveillance Den Den Mushi, was heard throughout the level.
Magellan momentarily looked at the other jailers who were still within the depths of unconsciousness, before speaking up, "Report."
"Grimheart, along with Jinbe, were seen to have successfully broken out from their cells. Currently, they are found in level 5, and are quickly approaching level 4.
Additionally... the Blackbeard pirates were seen to be invading the Impel Down, and he is here with unknown malicious intent. Currently, he and his crew are at level 3, with Chief Guard Saldeath and his units sent out of commission."
"So... the whole pirate crew and a former Warlord are ascending up, and another Warlord and his crew are descending—to here, level 4... do they think Impel Down is a playground to fool around?" Magellan placed his hand on his forehead, trying to ease the headache he was feeling, "What about Vice Warden Hannyabal?"
"Vice Warden, he..." The voice stopped momentarily, before speaking in a somber tone, "...he fought against the Blackbeard pirates until the end."
"...What?" Magellan's eyes widened in horror as his body froze, "What do you mean by that?"
"Vice Warden Hannyabal has passed away!!"
Upon hearing the news, Magellan lowered his head with his eyes shadowed.
The Vice Warden, who was good and hardworking although overly ambitious, was no longer alive.
"Criminal scums..." Magellan growled as the murderous gleam flashed from his eyes, before muttering with a barely contained anger, "They will receive the retribution that they deserve. They will face the same horrific death worse than what Hannyabal suffered."
Lifting his head back up, Magellan commanded in a shaky voice, "I will send up the injured staffs through the elevator. Treat them well, and make sure that no one approaches level 4."
"C-Chief Warden!! Don't tell me-"
"Yes, I am going to use it." Magellan grimaced.
He thought of many ways that can resolve this matter. Traps? Grimheart pirates were able to avoid them with ease. Ask for reinforcement from the marines? They are facing a war of their own. Free Shiryu? It's too late. Magellan, at the current moment, is sandwiched between the Blackbeard pirates on level 3 and the Grimheart pirates on level 5.
"Kinjite... this is the only way."
As the time for Ace's execution continued to tick off, and as the war between the Marine and Whitebeard fleet has officially began, Impel Down was about to face a turmoil of its own.