"Three thousand three hundred and six, three thousand three hundred and seven..."
On the deck of the Gale Breaker, Konohamaru was performing push-ups while wearing special training equipment made by Naruto.
Beneath him, sweat had already pooled into a large puddle, and his muscles were trembling incessantly.
Just as Konohamaru was about to collapse onto the deck from exhaustion, Naruto's large hand gently covered his back.
Immediately after, streams of life-filled Chakra were rapidly transmitted into Konohamaru's body, autonomously repairing the injuries caused by overtraining and replenishing his stamina along the way.
With a casual wave, an intangible gravitational force gathered the sweat together, and then Naruto tossed it into the sea.
"That's enough training for today. We're almost there."
After having his stamina replenished, Konohamaru was able to stand up on his own.
After leaving Sabaody Archipelago, Konohamaru seemed further stimulated, increasing the intensity of his physical fitness and combat skills training.
Back in the village, no one truly treated him as an enemy, so even during sparring, they held back.
But after coming to this world, he hadn't achieved any significant results in two battles.
One of the Lead Performers, Jack the Drought, took a direct hit from his Rasengan without breaking his defense.
He couldn't even intervene in the fight between the Supernovas.
But actually, Konohamaru's current strength was already quite impressive.
Kids his age were still learning the Three Basic Techniques at the Ninja Academy, while he had not only long mastered them but could also skillfully walk on water, release the seal-less Jutsu Rasengan, and the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
This was already far beyond Genin-level strength… but considering all four people in this team lacked Chunin qualifications, it was somewhat acceptable.
After experiencing these two real battles, Konohamaru could feel the formidable average physical quality of people in this world full of pirates.
This ignited his competitive spirit.
Thud! Thud!
The seemingly ordinary wrist and leg guards emitted harsh sounds when they hit the ground.
Bonk-
Konohamaru held his head, feeling the large bump formed by the Fist of Love, and accepted the criticism from Naruto.
"You kid, how many times have I told you? Handle these things gently..."
Naruto picked up the ultra-heavy training gear made from further compressed high-density metal with one hand, looking heartbrokenly at the several new dents on the deck.
'Whatever... I'll find a chance to fix it after dealing with Impel Down.'
Naruto stood up again. Sasuke and Karin also came over, looking into the distance along his line of sight.
At the horizon's edge, the massive shape of the [Gates of Justice] was gradually revealing itself.
Impel Down was located in the Calm Belt. Like Amazon Lily, ordinary pirate ships could hardly even approach it.
Only vessels like Amazon Lily's snake-pulled ships or the Marines' steam-powered ships could pass through.
-Of course, this wasn't a problem for a high-tech ship like the Gale Breaker.
If it were only a geographical advantage, Impel Down would have difficulty calling itself an absolute prison 'from which there is no escape'.
Aside from its main structure being the six-level [Hell Prison] hidden deep underwater, the real challenge lay in the layer of protection outside the prison.
Apart from the location of the [Gates of Justice], other directions around Impel Down were filled with reverse currents caused by whirlpools.
These whirlpools were Impel Down's intangible walls, blocking all normal passage of ships.
Only one old guy ignored these and forcefully escaped from Impel Down.
That was the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi user, Golden Lion Shiki.
That old rascal flew straight out.
And now, Naruto and the others could also enter Impel Down by flying.
-If he hadn't mastered another ability.
Sasuke and the other two watched as Naruto gently placed his hand on the ship's hull. Immediately, a bubble coating quickly appeared on the Gale Breaker's surface.
"This time, we'll go underwater..."
The sturdiness of the Gates of Justice was sufficient to withstand a full-power strike from the world's strongest pirates without budging. Ordinary pirates simply couldn't do anything about it.
As for sneaking in underwater using a bubble coating, this method wasn't unheard of.
But the Gates of Justice also extended all the way to the seabed, thoroughly blocking this possibility.
Naruto didn't explain much to the three, simply piloting the Gale Breaker to dive down on his own.
And Sasuke and the other two didn't ask too many questions, after all, Naruto always had a way.
In fact, Sasuke had already guessed Naruto's method.
Sure enough, after reaching the deep sea, the Gates of Justice ahead stood like a mountain wall, blocking the Gale Breaker's path.
And the surrounding whirlpools still swirled even at the seabed.
But Naruto paid no mind to any of this.
He simply closed his eyes and began manipulating the power within his body.
The next moment, a pitch-black 'cavity' opened in front of the Gale Breaker. Simultaneously, an identical cavity appeared on the other side of the wall.
Yomotsu Hirasaka.
The Space-Time Technique belonging to the Otsutsuki Clan.
The user could not only freely travel between the multiple independent dimensions of Amenominaka using this technique but also open two gates at different locations within the same space.
The downside was that opening Yomotsu Hirasaka required some time. Using this move in intense combat could give the enemy an opportunity to counter.
But for the current situation, this move was very suitable.
Naruto hadn't fully digested Kaguya's abilities yet. Among them, the most valuable were [Yomotsu Hirasaka] and [Amenominaka].
After defeating Kaguya last time, just bringing everyone out of the primary dimension had cost Naruto some effort.
Perhaps fully mastering these two Space-Time Abilities would take a bit more time.
But this level was sufficient for now.
Just like that, the Gale Breaker easily bypassed the outer defenses without alerting anyone, arriving at the main structure of Impel Down… the massive tower-like structure.
"Impel Down has six levels from underwater Level 1 to the very bottom, not counting the sea-level floor. Each level corresponds to criminals of varying degrees."
Naruto explained while piloting the Gale Breaker closer to the base of Impel Down.
Sasuke, Karin, and Konohamaru were all riding a 'submarine' for the first time. The scene of observing the deep sea through the bubble made them widen their eyes.
Even Sasuke, who always maintained his cool guy persona, was no exception.
"The guy we're here to save... is most likely there."
Naruto was also aware that Ace being imprisoned in Impel Down might just be a smokescreen released by the World Government, or perhaps they had set up an ambush specifically for him at Marineford.
But he didn't plan to give up. Instead, he intended to turn their scheme against them, infiltrating the prison silently and taking the person away.
Like waiting for me? Then wait slowly.
The ship quickly approached the tower body of Impel Down.
Don't be fooled by Impel Down being just a prison-
Its area increased from top to bottom, with the most dangerous Level 6 covering an area truly comparable to a city.
The walls here were also mixed with Seastone to prevent the powerful pirates imprisoned inside from using their Devil Fruit's Abilities.
It also prevented other pirates from trying to break in from the outside, like Naruto's group.
Of course, Seastone countered Devil Fruit's Abilities but was completely ineffective against the Otsutsuki.
The gate of Yomotsu Hirasaka opened once more without any obstruction.
Naruto stored the Gale Breaker, and the group, floating within the bubble, flew together into the black cavity of Yomotsu Hirasaka.