SCREEEEECH!
The heavy iron door creaked open with a long, mournful sound, and Luffy walked out of the washroom with casual steps, his marine cloak fluttering lightly behind him. His mask had already been stowed away, his face returning to the boyishly handsome visage.
His eyes flickered around, and immediately locked onto Domino standing stiffly by the wall.
Her beautiful face was clouded with anxiety, lips pressed into a thin line, brows tightly furrowed. She was gripping the hilt of her baton so tightly her knuckles had turned pale.
Curiously, Sadi was missing. She had disappeared—probably summoned for something urgent.
Luffy's mind raced.
Something's wrong. Very wrong.
Without missing a beat, he approached Domino quickly, putting on an expression of worry and confusion so perfect it could've won him an Oscar ten times over.
"Domino! What's wrong?" Luffy said urgently, his tone thick with tension, his wide eyes full of innocent alarm. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"
Domino straightened up and saluted stiffly.
"Rear Admiral Luffy... something... happened..." She said, her voice tight.
Luffy grabbed her shoulders dramatically, shaking her lightly, almost making her armor clink.
"What happened?!" He shouted, voice pitching just enough to sound desperate. "Did someone escape?!"
His voice cracked slightly, a masterpiece of acting.
Heh. Grandpa would be proud of this performance, Luffy mused inwardly with a smirk buried deep in his heart.
"If a prisoner escaped under my watch, where would I even show my face?!" He cried dramatically, shaking her shoulders slightly harder. "Grandpa would skin me alive and throw me into the sea! Take me there quickly!"
Domino's mouth opened and closed a few times, completely disarmed by Luffy's wild energy. His words poured down like a tidal wave, not giving her a chance to even breathe.
"N-no!" She stammered, finally managing to break through the storm. "No prisoners escaped! It's not that—"
Luffy leaned in closer, his wide, earnest eyes inches from hers.
"Then what?!"
Domino took a deep breath and finally managed to get the words out.
"...Someone was killed," she said quietly.
BOOM!
It felt like a cannonball had dropped between them.
Luffy staggered back two steps, his mouth hanging open in exaggerated disbelief.
"W-What...?!" He gasped. "Killed?!"
His expression was so vivid—eyes wide, jaw slack, trembling slightly—that Domino almost felt bad for him.
Before she could explain further, a dark, rumbling voice echoed down the stairwell behind them.
"I also want to know how that happened."
Thud... Thud... Thud...
Each heavy footstep reverberated through the steel corridor, sending vibrations up their legs.
They turned sharply to see Magellan, Chief Warden of Impel Down, approaching with a terrifying aura hanging over him like a black storm cloud.
Magellan was an enormous man, easily dwarfing both Luffy and Domino with his towering 18-foot frame. His skin was a sickly purple, a testament to the venom flowing through his veins. His face was sharp and stern, framed by a pair of twisted black horns jutting from his forehead like a demon lord.
A massive, double-breasted crimson coat hung from his shoulders, emblazoned with the insignia of Impel Down in jet-black threads. Chains clinked and rattled around his arms, while thick black gloves covered his toxin-dripping hands. His boots were polished, but faint fumes seemed to rise from wherever he stepped, the ground subtly corroding.
Despite his monstrous appearance, there was a dark dignity about him—a creature of duty shackled by his own cursed body.
His blood-red eyes narrowed dangerously as they locked onto Luffy and Domino.
Domino straightened into a salute immediately.
"Chief Warden Magellan!" She barked.
Meanwhile, Luffy had other priorities.
Pointing dramatically at Magellan, Luffy almost shouted, his face contorted into an expression of sheer disgust:
"You!! You should be more careful when you go to the washroom!" He said with righteous indignation.
Even Domino froze.
The hallway fell into stunned silence.
Luffy continued, ignoring the way Magellan's face twitched.
"It was like a battlefield in there! I almost DIED from breathing!" he wailed, hands dramatically flying up. "If not for my Long Breathing Skill that I trained for months, I'd have been poisoned to death inside your 'toxic zone'!"
Magellan's massive shoulders slumped slightly, a heavy sigh leaving his mouth like a leaking steam engine.
"...I apologize," He rumbled, bowing his massive frame slightly. "I can't help it. It's... my only weakness. I can't control it..."
Luffy waved a hand dismissively, looking like a noble hero overlooking a grave insult.
"Fine, fine, just... be careful next time! I can't afford to lose my life in a bathroom of all places," He said, arms crossed dramatically.
Inside, he was laughing so hard he almost lost his composure.
Poor guy... even his farts are lethal.
But quickly, Luffy's face darkened again.
"More importantly, we have pressing issues," He said seriously.
Magellan nodded gravely.
"I agree. Rear Admiral Luffy," Magellan said, stepping closer, his voice dropping to a low growl, "You went to Level 6 earlier. Did you see anything strange?"
The tension grew thick, almost suffocating.
Luffy raised an eyebrow, his mouth twitching into a faint scowl.
"Hey, don't look at me like that," He said, half-laughing, half-annoyed. "You think after surviving your bathroom apocalypse, I'd have the strength to kill someone?!"
Domino made a noise dangerously close to a snort but masked it by coughing into her fist.
Magellan's eyes narrowed.
Luffy put a hand to his chest dramatically, looking scandalized.
"Have a little faith!" He said indignantly. "Anyway, lead the way. I want to see which idiot dared to cause trouble under MY watch!"
The three of them moved, the floor shaking slightly under Magellan's heavy boots.
As they descended deeper, Luffy's heart beat calmly, not even a flicker of guilt tainted his mind.
Everything's going according to plan.
One corpse. One less future problem.
------
Clank... Clank... Clank...
The sound of heavy boots and rattling chains echoed ominously down the twisted, cavernous stairwell as Magellan, Luffy, and Domino descended into the abyss known as Eternal Hell — Level 6 of Impel Down.
The air grew thicker, colder, and more oppressive with every step, like invisible hands tightening around their throats.
Luffy sauntered along like he was heading to a festival, hands stuffed in his pockets, whistling a cheerful tune under his breath.
As they reached the final gate, it screeched open slowly.
Inside, the vast prison space was dimly lit by flickering, dying torches along the massive walls. Rows of reinforced Sea Stone cells stretched into the darkness, each cell containing monsters in human form.
And standing at attention near the entrance was none other than Hannyabal, Vice Warden of Impel Down, accompanied by a handful of nervous guards.
Hannyabal was pretending to look grim, but the gleam in his beady eyes betrayed him.
This is it! He thought giddily, rubbing his gloved hands together mentally. If I play this right, I can finally replace that farting demon and become Chief Warden! I'll make Impel Down great again... and install a golden throne! With dancing girls! Maybe even daily feasts!
He barely restrained the goofy grin threatening to spread across his face.
When Magellan and Luffy entered, Hannyabal bowed deeply, hiding his scheming face.
"Chief Warden Magellan, Rear Admiral Luffy," He said gravely, voice laced with false solemnity. "We have been waiting for your arrival."
Magellan grunted noncommittally, a rumbling noise like distant thunder.
Luffy, meanwhile, leaned toward Domino and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear:
"Hey, is it just me, or does this guy look a little too happy for someone who's standing next to a dead body?"
Domino coughed violently, trying to stifle her laughter. Even a few guards twitched.
Hannyabal's face turned a delightful shade of red as he glared at Luffy.
"This is a serious matter, Rear Admiral Luffy!" He barked, puffing up his chest.
Luffy simply raised an eyebrow and grinned lazily, "Yeah, yeah, serious faces all around. Got it, Vice Warden."
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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