A/N: Bonus chapter since I got my first subscriber. Happy+1!
A/N: Read 20+ chapters ahead at {patreon.com/Glivaria}
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"FIRE!" Hannyabal roared, his voice cracking with desperate ambition.
The platoon of guards pulled the triggers on their heavy bazookas. A barrage of explosive shells ripped across the scorching white sands of the Starvation Hell, leaving thick trails of gray smoke in the dry, suffocating air.
"I'll handle the left!" Zoro shouted.
The swordsman didn't even draw a third blade. He gripped Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu, his arms bulging as he coated the steel in a faint, invisible sheen of Armament Haki. He swung both swords upward in a massive, cross-shaped arc.
Nitouryu: Nigiri - Toro! (Two-Sword Style: Double Slash - Climbing Tower!)
A pair of compressed, vacuum-sharp wind blades erupted from his swords, colliding directly with the incoming artillery shells. The explosions detonated harmlessly in mid-air, raining fire and shrapnel down onto the dunes.
"Right side is mine!" Sanji yelled.
The cook vaulted off a stone pillar, spinning like a top. His burning leg blurred into a sweeping arc that physically kicked three heavy bazooka shells right back the way they came. The projectiles slammed into the guards' front line, blasting the heavily armored men into the air.
"And the center belongs to the Okama Way!"
Bon Clay spun on his toes, launching himself forward like a human bullet. His makeup-covered face was a mask of absolute joy as he danced through the smoke of the explosions.
Okama Kenpo: Hakucho Arabesque! (Swan Arabesque!)
Bon Clay delivered a flurry of hyper-fast, incredibly precise kicks to the chests and faces of the remaining guards. His heavy ballet shoes, backed by tremendous physical strength, shattered armor and sent men flying into the searing sands.
"You fools!" Hannyabal shrieked, spinning his double-bladed naginata, Kessui. "If you beat me, I'll never get promoted! I'll never be the Chief Warden!"
Hannyabal charged forward, swinging his massive weapon at Bon Clay. The heavy blades ignited, generating a wave of extreme heat.
Before the blades could connect, a shadow fell over the Vice Warden.
Luffy had launched himself high into the air, his fist already pulled back. The invisible, dense spiritual armor of his Haki coiled tightly around his knuckles. He didn't care about the man's ambitions or his weapon.
Gomu Gomu no... BULLET!
Luffy's Haki-infused fist slammed directly into the flat of Hannyabal's naginata. The sheer, overwhelming kinetic impact buckled the thick steel shaft instantly. The shockwave traveled straight through the weapon and into Hannyabal's chest, violently lifting the massive man off his feet.
The Vice Warden crashed into the stone archway, embedding himself deep into the masonry. He slumped forward, completely unconscious, a trail of smoke rising from his pharaoh headdress.
"That was for getting in my way," Luffy said, landing softly in the sand. He didn't gloat. He looked immediately toward the dark, spiraling stairwell that Hannyabal had been guarding.
A wave of heat so intense it actually warped the air was billowing up from the abyss. It smelled like sulfur, burning hair, and boiling copper.
"It's getting worse," Zoro noted, sheathing his blades. He could feel the sweat instantly evaporating off his skin.
"I'm a candle! I'm going to die!" Mr. 3 wept, his striped uniform dripping with melted wax. Buggy was beside him, using a piece of a shattered bazooka to fan himself, his tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dying dog.
"Keep moving," Luffy commanded, marching toward the stairs. "Ace is down there."
The vanguard descended into Level 4.
The Blazing Hell.
The moment they stepped off the final stair, the sheer, apocalyptic scale of the floor hit them like a physical blow. The temperature was astronomical. There was no stone floor here—only a narrow network of precariously hanging iron bridges suspended over a colossal, churning lake of boiling, crimson blood.
Massive geysers of superheated blood erupted from the lake, splashing against the iron grates and the stone walls. The prisoners here weren't in cages; they were tied to massive iron spits, being slowly lowered toward the boiling lake while screaming in absolute, unimaginable agony.
"This is Hell," Bonney whispered, her pink eyes wide with horror. She had seen the cruelty of the South Blue, but the World Government's industrial-scale torture was something entirely different.
"Don't look down," Sanji advised, his jaw clenched so tightly his teeth threatened to crack. "Just focus on the path across."
"INTRUDERS!"
A sharp, shrill voice echoed across the boiling cavern, followed by the terrifying, loud CRACK of a leather whip.
Standing on the central iron bridge, completely blocking their path to the next descent shaft, was a tall, incredibly imposing woman dressed in a tight, demonic leather outfit. She wielded a long, barbed whip that dripped with a strange, acidic liquid.
"Mmm... you've made quite the mess of my precious prison," Sadi-chan purred, a sadistic smile curving her lips. "I am going to enjoy hearing you scream. Minotaurus! Crush them!"
From the shadows behind her, a colossal shadow stepped onto the iron bridge.
It was an Awakened Zoan Demon Guard. A massive, horrifyingly muscular beast with the head of a bull and the body of a giant, wielding a spiked club the size of a small house. Blank, soulless eyes stared down at the Straw Hats as it let out a deafening, guttural bellow.
"A cow-gorilla?" Luffy tilted his head, completely unfazed by the beast's immense size.
Luffy widened his stance. He placed his hands on his knees, his blood pumping at an accelerated, terrifying rate. His skin turned a deep, flushed pink, and a massive cloud of steam erupted from his body, hissing violently as it hit the superheated air of the Blazing Hell.
Gear Second.
"I don't have time to play with cows," Luffy said.
CRACK!
Sadi-chan blinked. The Straw Hat captain had vanished.
"Where—?!" Sadi-chan gasped.
Luffy reappeared directly in the air in front of the colossal Minotaurus. He drew his fist back, completely coating his arm in a dense, invisible sheen of Haki.
Gomu Gomu no... JET PISTOL!
The strike was faster than sound. Luffy's fist buried itself deep into the center of the Demon Guard's chest. The impact sounded like a cannon firing inside a closed vault. The Awakened Zoan, a beast capable of regenerating from almost any wound, coughed up a massive spray of blood. Its ribs shattered instantly under the pressure of the Haki.
The colossal beast was launched backward, sliding across the iron bridge for fifty yards before collapsing into a motionless, broken heap.
Sadi-chan stared at the fallen monster, her jaw dropping. The unbreakable guard of Level 4 had been one-shot.
"W-what are you?!" she stammered, raising her whip in a panic.
Bonney didn't let her finish. The pink-haired pirate vaulted over Sadi-chan's head, tapping her lightly on the shoulder as she passed. In an instant, the sadistic jailer transformed into a crying, helpless three-year-old girl, the heavy leather whip dropping harmlessly to the iron grate.
"Move!" Luffy yelled, his body still steaming.
The vanguard rushed across the bridge, leaving the crying toddler Sadi-chan behind. They were tearing through the prison's elite defenses like wet tissue paper.
But their momentum, and the sheer noise they were making, was finally ringing the fatal dinner bell.
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A/N: Anyway, do you think someone is missing from the scene? *evil laugh * Kekeke!