Chapter 491: Chaos at Impel Down: The Breaking Point

Magellan was crouched in a Fifth Floor bathroom stall when a warden’s call came in. He barely wiped before bursting out the door, still pulling up his pants.

“Attack Impel Down? Come on, what pirate in their right mind would dare assault this place?”

“Navy Headquarters is just next door. It’s probably another bunch trying to make a show of it to boost their bounty.”

That kind of reckless bravado wasn’t exactly rare—if anything, it happened all the time.

Some pirates would do anything outrageous just to see their bounty skyrocket. Nothing surprising there.

And if someone could stir up trouble at Impel Down and walk away in one piece, they’d easily become a legend—and land an even bigger bounty.

In his Sixth Floor cage, Shiryu of the Rain perked up, ears catching the distant rumble. “Ha! Magellan, looks like your headache just arrived.”

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Magellan felt sure—no way would any pirate be crazy enough to really attack the deep-sea prison. So he didn’t bother reporting it.

But as soon as Magellan stepped off the elevator on the first floor, he heard the thunderous pounding at the gates. It was Usopp, relentless, hammering shell after shell at the outer wall, hoping to throw Impel Down into chaos.

“This is nuts!”

“Meteor Shot!”

Magellan was a prodigy, after all. Even with the Poisonous Gas Fruit—a step below the famed Poison-Poison Fruit—he’d awakened its power, able to condense poisonous gases into weapons harder than steel.

A three-meter purple spear hurtled through the air like a shooting star, aimed straight at Usopp and his crew.

“Finishing Move: Star Shower!”

Usopp never meant to drag this out. Quick attack, then run—that was his style.

So the second Magellan appeared, Usopp fired off a shot, grabbed Johnny and the others, and bolted aside.

Boom!

They’d barely gotten clear when the purple spear slammed into the Gate of Justice. The spear shattered and released clouds of violet poison, so corrosive it started melting even that massive steel gate.

“Oh man, that was close!”

“If that thing hit head-on, I’d be dead in a heartbeat.”

“But now it’s your turn—time to test my tricks!”

“Bang!”

A normal bullet might not do much, but with Armament Haki covering it, Usopp’s shot could end anyone.

Magellan had just blocked the split bullets from Star Shower when he felt the threat from his right.

“Haki?”

He could sense Armament Haki wrapped around that bullet. Pirates in the Grand Line weren’t supposed to have that kind of power. Was this some conspiracy?

No time to think. Magellan hurled dozens of poison spears, trading fire with Usopp right at the prison gates.

The road above the Gate of Justice was wide, and with Johnny, Yosaku, and Gin backing him up, Magellan couldn’t touch them for now.

Usopp even found a chance to launch a flaming shot toward the water up top.

“Captain, think someone beat us to it?”

“Zehahahaha! The more chaos, the better. That way, no one pays attention to us.”

Nightfall helped Luffy’s crew, but it wasn’t just them—Blackbeard and his men were hiding near the Gate of Justice too. Their plan was to sneak in when the big war broke out, but they hadn’t expected a surprise like this.

“Straw Hat Luffy, huh?”

“Zehahaha!”

…

Deep below, Franky picked up Usopp’s signal. He sped the submarine forward, finding a drainage outlet fifty meters underwater.

“There’s Luchi!”

“Super awesome!”

Franky, bursting with pride, had found a way inside Impel Down. He struck a pose in the cramped sub, squishing everyone else in the process.

“Franky, you’re crushing us…”

“Wari—Sumimasen!”

Seeing Sanji and Zoro’s tempers flare—almost literally—Franky quickly squeezed himself back down and guided Submarine No. 2 up the waste tunnel.

After following a dark passage, they reached the main waste entrance—the entire prison’s garbage was dumped here, and the stench was unbearable.

The tunnel was a half-circular opening ending in a big platform. Trash and debris poured down from above, and a stream of water flushed it all out to sea—probably part of some filtration system.

“Hurry up! Move!”

Two guards, holding buckets of something foul, dumped their loads on a cart, then left without looking back.

Once the guards were gone, Submarine No. 2 surfaced under Franky’s control and slid up onto clear ground below the opening.

“We don’t have a map, so we’re not sure which level they’re being held on. Still, rumor has it notorious pirates end up on the Fifth or Sixth Floor.”

“So if we can’t find them here, we’ll just keep heading down instead of wasting time going up. If we score some prison uniforms, put them on—it’ll help us avoid looking like intruders.”

“Yohohoho! I’ve never even set foot in Impel Down before. I heard the tortures here are brutal—too bad I’m just a pile of bones now! Yohohoho!”

After camouflaging Submarine No. 2, Franky pulled out a thick rope and tossed it up to the platform above.

“Thud!”

“Who’s going first?”

“Yohohoho! I’ll volunteer!”

Brook was light and fast; in seconds, he’d scrambled to the top.

Balanced on the edge, he scanned the area—no guards in sight, maybe because the smell kept everyone away except for trash duty.

Seeing the coast was clear, Brook waved the others up. One by one, the crew climbed onto the platform.

“First thing we need to do is figure out which level we’re on. Running around like headless chickens isn’t an option.”

Sanji, almost out of habit, reached for a smoke, but back on the ship Nami had snatched all his cigarettes, worried they’d give away their position.

“Eyebrow Boy, you don’t even know which level this is. Pathetic!”

Zoro shot Sanji a scornful look. The two were old rivals. The only time they weren’t arguing was in the middle of a fight.

“What’d you say, moss-head?!”

“Oh? Can you do any better?”

“Look—behind you. Up there.”

Sanji started to snap back, but as he looked up, he saw a big number three painted on the wall in front of them.

“Tch, moss-head, you only knew because you saw it too.”

“At least I noticed before you did, Eyebrow Boy!”

“You wanna go, moss-head?!” Sanji rolled up his sleeves and pressed his forehead to Zoro’s.

“Come at me, Eyebrow!”