After a surge of overwhelming Conqueror's Haki swept through the skies, the Hell Pirates leapt down from the lowered Amazon Lily with unstoppable momentum, descending upon the prison fortress below like a storm.
"Attack Impel Down with everything you've got! Capture it as fast as possible!" Brook's voice thundered over the roar of the wind.
Shiki and Newgate led the charge, their powers tearing through the air.
"Lion King Slash!"
"Airquake!"
The combined assault shattered the fortress gate in a single strike. Director Manuel, standing inside, stared down the invaders with fearless defiance.
"Come then, you monsters! I'll never let a single pirate escape this place!"
His body began to dissolve into glistening droplets that hissed against the ground, releasing white smoke. Within moments, he transformed into a liquid man.
"Director Manuel's fighting! We're saved! No one's ever broken through while he stands guard!" shouted one of the guards, eyes wide with renewed confidence.
To the jailers, Manuel was the fortress itself—Impel Down's iron wall.
"Yohohoho~" Brook chuckled from above, perched on Hera's cloud. "Anyone here care to tell me what our friend's ability is?"
A proud young jailer raised his hand before anyone could stop him. "I do! The director's a Sulfuric Acid Human! He ate the Sulfuric Acid Fruit—no one can survive his attacks!"
A long, stunned silence followed. Even the pirates paused mid-fight to glance at the man. The government officers and other jailers looked at him like he'd just announced the city's password.
"Yohohoho~ thank you for your honesty," Brook said cheerfully. "If you ever tire of this place, come find me. I'll have a job waiting."
By the time the jailer realized what he'd done, the damage was irreversible. The Hell Pirates already knew their enemy's power.
"Damn you!" he shouted, charging at Brook with a mace raised high.
"Worororo! That's not how you swing a mace, boy!"
Kaido stepped forward, bringing his massive club down with a single blow. The force crushed the weapon to splinters and sent the jailer crashing through the wall, buried in rubble.
"Sulfuric Acid Rain!"
Director Manuel unleashed torrents of sizzling acid that poured from the sky, burning through stone, steel, and bone alike. The air filled with the stench of corrosion as the rain fell upon the battlefield.
Even Brook's calm grin faltered. "Yohoho... what a terrifying ability. Its destructive power rivals the Magma Fruit."
The acid hissed as it struck the ground, dissolving everything it touched. Even the strongest fighters avoided contact—deflecting with Haki was possible, but a waste of energy.
Then, a sharp gust cut through the air.
The Kirin Lion flapped its wings, summoning a cyclone that blew the acid rain back toward the sea. The mist scattered under the storm's force, buying the crew precious breathing room.
Screams rose from inside the prison. The redirected acid was now devouring the walls and unlucky jailers who couldn't retreat fast enough.
"The Scroll-Scroll Fruit—Water Scroll!"
Tianmu Lan of the Three-Eyed Tribe unfurled a massive parchment from her back. Seawater poured from its painted surface, flooding the ground floor and neutralizing the sulfuric tide.
Manuel's expression twisted. Two newcomers had already countered his deadly acid—and none of the Four Kings of the Hell Pirates had even stepped in yet.
"Don't stand there gaping, Director!"
Shiki the Golden Lion's laughter echoed as he lunged forward, his blades flashing. In an instant, he snatched Manuel off his feet, hurling him into the air. "Brother Brook said to finish this fast!"
The war to capture Impel Down had begun in earnest.
Newgate and Kaido charged through the breached gates, tearing through layers of resistance. Guards and Navy officers threw themselves into the fray, desperate to defend the prison.
Meanwhile, Warden Almeida rampaged through the lower levels, his uniform soaked red. His blade sang through the cells of Infinite Hell, cutting down prisoners in a brutal massacre.
Ibadombo, chained in his cell, watched in horror as his fellow inmates were slaughtered one after another.
"No! Stop! We can still fight—!"
But Almeida showed no hesitation. His orders were absolute: kill every prisoner before the Hell Pirates could claim them.
Above, Brook frowned as he sensed the sudden surge of dying souls. The air was thick with spiritual energy.
"So they're butchering my bounty," he muttered coldly.
In an instant, his shadow form slipped past Manuel and vanished into the depths below. "Their lives are mine to claim—not his."
He left the battle above to his subordinates. Shiki, Whitebeard, and Kaido would handle the defenses.
Redfield flashed forward, transforming into a streak of lightning to follow him. Charlotte Linlin tried to pursue as well, but a wall of sulfuric acid rose before her, blocking her path.
"Out of my way!" she roared, unleashing a storm of destruction that forced even Shiki to retreat. "No one stops me!"
Shiki groaned. "Why does she always take everything personally? This was supposed to be a clean siege, not a lovers' quarrel!"
Charlotte Linlin's fury was unmatched. Her steel-hard body clashed against Manuel's acid barrier, melting and reforming under the heat, but she refused to yield. Not even Shiki dared to provoke her further.
While chaos erupted above, Brook and Redfield descended deeper into the hell below.
On the surface, Whitebeard and Kaido had already cleared most of the guards and surrounded Manuel. They exchanged a glance—time was short, and every second counted.
"Let's end this."
"Gurararara! Agreed."
Meanwhile, in the sixth level, the scent of blood was overpowering. Brook stepped into a corridor slick with crimson and filled with corpses. Souls shimmered in the air, rising toward his hand as he reaped them one by one.
But amidst the carnage, a single sound still echoed—the desperate clash of metal.
In one cell, Ibadombo struggled against Almeida, seastone chains rattling as he blocked another strike. He wasn't a Devil Fruit user; he could still fight, though barely.
He knew he couldn't win. He just wanted to live long enough to see freedom again.
"No... I can't die here... not now...!"
----------------
As Almeida's blood-soaked blade arced down toward him, Ibadombo squeezed his eyes shut in despair. The steel sang through the air, and he braced for death.
"Yohoho~ Isn't this Ibadombo, one of Rocks' men? My, my—such bloodlust from a naval officer!"
Brook's voice rang out before the strike landed. In the next instant, a flash of icy blue energy swept through the chamber. The ghostly chill of the Underworld froze the blood midair, coating the corpses in frost.
"Brook?!" Ibadombo gasped, the cold seeping into his bones. His heart still beat. He was alive.
"Impossible! How did you get here so fast?" Almeida snarled, retreating a step. "Don't tell me you already killed Director Manuel!"
Brook tilted his head, his empty eye sockets glowing faintly. "If I'd been any slower, you would've butchered all my spoils."
With a flick of his wrist, Brook's Seven-Star Demon Sword crashed into Almeida's blade, sending the warden flying. A burst of thunder followed as Redfield appeared beside them, cutting down the guards who rushed in to protect their chief.
Within moments, chaos engulfed the Infinite Hell. Dozens—no, hundreds—of prisoners shouted from behind their bars, voices echoing through the cavernous pit.
"Get me out of here! I'll join your crew!"
"Captain Brook, save me! I'll pay you a billion berries!"
"I know where treasure's hidden! Free me and it's all yours!"
"Help me! I'll be your loyal dog forever!"
Brook ignored their desperate pleas. His gaze swept across them, his aura shifting. A wave of Conqueror's Haki burst forth, rippling through the level like a tempest. Guards collapsed mid-step, their weapons clattering to the stone floor.
The prisoners fell silent, terror written on their faces. For many, this was their first time feeling such overwhelming will. Those who had been captured years ago had only heard rumors of the overlord who ruled the New World. But the newer captives—the ones who'd seen the fall of Marine admirals—knew that this man was no myth.
"B–Brook… sir," Ibadombo stammered. Once, they'd both been called Rookie Overlord. But Brook now stood among the world's few true monarchs. The title "sir" came easily to his tongue.
Brook smiled faintly. "Ibadombo, Rocks cast you aside like trash. But I'm giving you a choice. Join my crew—leave the Rocks Pirates behind—and no one will ever dare question your loyalty again."
He could tell this man still had potential. Not a top commander, perhaps, but strong enough to bolster the Hell Pirates' growing ranks.
"Captain Brook! Save me!" another voice cried from a nearby cell. "I'll swear eternal loyalty! My bounty's five hundred and thirty million berries!"
The prisoners erupted again, shouting over one another.
"Who is he?" asked an old man with graying hair, his voice trembling. "I've been here ten years—never heard of a pirate this feared!"
"You've been locked up too long!" another inmate snapped. "Brook's the new Overlord of the New World—equal to Rocks himself! Even Navy admirals and Fleet Admiral have fallen to him!"
"W-What?! Admirals? The Fleet Admiral, too?!"
The words spread like wildfire. Excitement and terror mixed in equal measure.
"Long live Captain Brook! We're saved!"
"Master Brook! Free me! I'll serve you for life!"
Brook raised the Seven-Star Demon Sword, its edge glowing with eerie green light. "Yohoho~ I only need two kinds of followers—loyal subordinates, or the dead. Choose wisely."
A suffocating aura filled the level. One by one, spectral figures materialized behind Brook—ghostly soldiers clad in armor, their hollow eyes burning blue.
"Those who swear loyalty will be recognized by this blade and set free," Brook said. "Those who refuse… will join these spirits forever. You have one chance."
A murmur spread among the cells.
"Is that… Admiral Kukulkan's soul?"
"No way—that's Diger Sparrow, the New World Overlord who vanished!"
"And those two… Coss and Hoss Admirals of West Blue!"
The veterans stared, trembling. Legends, marines, and monsters—all turned into wraiths serving Brook. His power was beyond comprehension.
"Ahahaha! Captain Brook!" Ibadombo laughed wildly, eyes burning crimson. "If you save me, my life is yours forever!"
Brook's grin widened. "Yohohoho~ Welcome, my fighter."
He swung the Seven-Star Sword. The seastone shackles binding Ibadombo shattered instantly, fragments scattering across the bloodstained floor. No ordinary seastone could withstand Gungnir steel—the quasi-artifact forged for Brook himself.
"Stop right there!" Almeida's roar cut through the chaos. He fought fiercely against Redfield, his strikes sharp and relentless. Sparks flashed as their blades collided.
"Do you dare ignore me mid-battle?!" Redfield's crimson eyes narrowed. "How insolent."
"Two hundred million volts—Ten Thousand Thunder Prison!"
Lightning erupted from Redfield's body, filling the entire level with blinding light. Thunderbolts tore through the air, vaporizing the walls and shaking the prison to its foundation.
Screams echoed as both guards and prisoners scrambled for cover, pressing themselves against the corners of their cells to avoid the electrified bars.
A grizzled pirate gawked through the smoke. "That's the Thunder Fruit! It hasn't appeared in centuries! And he's just… a subordinate?"
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