Chiyu had everything planned out. Right on cue, Tashigi showed up at the gates of Impel Down.
But...
If they opened those gates now, every single one of those bloodthirsty criminals would come charging out like a tidal wave.
It wasn't even about whether they could escape—Tashigi and her team simply wouldn't survive the onslaught.
But if they didn't act now, they might never get another chance.
Zephyr turned to Chiyu, looking for answers. Chiyu stayed perfectly calm.
"Simple," he said.
"We kill them all."
Zephyr stared at him, stunned.
"Chiyu… there are hundreds of inmates in there—many of them monsters. You seriously think you can kill them all here?"
"That's insane!"
Even for someone like Chiyu, this was beyond belief. Not even the Admirals, the Four Emperors, or the World Government's top operatives could wipe out Impel Down's entire prisoner population.
But Chiyu didn't waste time arguing.
He simply unleashed his power.
"Ten Thousand Thunderbolts...
Heavenly Flow!"
A torrent of lightning exploded from his body like a sideways meteor shower. It wasn't falling from the sky—it surged across the ground, tearing toward the inmates.
Like threads of divine lightning, the blasts ripped through space, splitting the earth itself, majestic and unstoppable.
It felt like a god had descended—bringing judgment.
BOOM—
BOOM—
CRASH!
Raw power lit up the entire prison. In an instant, lightning tore through wave after wave of inmates—piercing, shattering, vaporizing them.
Level One—the uppermost level and the only exit—was narrow and crowded. All the inmates were crammed into that chokepoint.
And standing in their way… was Chiyu. Alone.
That one attack wiped out an uncountable number.
Zephyr was stunned speechless.
But he knew this wasn't the time to freeze. With a shout, he jumped in beside Chiyu and released his full power.
"Crusher Blaster!"
His mechanical arm unleashed a storm of cannon fire, blowing the frontliners into the walls.
The rest of the team went all-in.
Smoker activated his Smoke-Smoke Fruit:
"White Serpent!"
Clouds of white smoke billowed out, engulfing the area. Countless inmates—those not yet recovered or simply too weak—were overwhelmed and immobilized.
Shuzo, Elephant-Blade Blade, Baby 5, and the others seized the opportunity to go wild. Corpses piled up. Blood flowed everywhere.
But it still wasn't enough.
There were just too many of them.
Then suddenly—
A hoarse, furious roar echoed through the chaos.
Magellan had forced himself back into the fight. His body was wrecked, his voice shaking, but he still radiated pure, commanding rage.
"Everyone in Impel Down—put your lives on the line! Don't let a single prisoner escape!"
The guards and jailers didn't hesitate—they screamed their battle cries and charged in.
Zephyr snarled, furious.
"Magellan! You're the one who freed these maniacs! And now you're trying to stop them?"
"What the hell do you even want?!"
Magellan gasped, voice strained.
"I freed them to stop you…"
"But clearly… I've lost that shot."
"So now, I'll use everything I've got to stop them."
Then he released it—his full power.
Toxic mist surged through the prison, blanketing everything in deadly poison. This was his domain. The Venom-Venom Fruit was built for close quarters.
Poison swept through the inmates. Dozens dropped immediately, their strength drained.
Meanwhile, the guards, beasts, and Sea Prism Stone units surged forward, suppressing Devil Fruit users with brutal efficiency.
More importantly, the prisoners weren't at full power yet.
If they were...
Even with Magellan, Chiyu, and Zephyr combined, they wouldn't have stood a chance.
As the poison spread, most of the remaining criminals collapsed.
Zephyr turned to Chiyu.
"Now! This is it—go, now!"
Chiyu took a deep breath.
He looked around at Zephyr and the others, completely spent.
"Let's go."
He pulled out the key he'd stolen from Hannyabal… and opened the gate.
BOOOOM—
As soon as the doors opened, the prison shook. The surviving prisoners lost their minds, clawing to get out and taste freedom.
Chiyu didn't even flinch.
He led everyone out in a flash, leaving behind dozens of shadow clones to keep the pressure on.
Once outside, he slammed the gates shut.
Inside, the sounds of violence still echoed like a thunderstorm.
Tashigi saw him—and Smoker—and broke into a wide, tearful smile, waving and shouting.
"Chiyu-sama! Smoker-sama!"
Smoker looked back at her with mixed emotions.
Zephyr growled, "No time for reunions—move!"
The crew darted back to the battleship.
Tashigi barked an order, and the ship roared back into the open sea.
It was over.
Chiyu had pulled it off. He rescued Smoker. Shattered the myth that Impel Down was unbreakable after Shiki's legendary escape.
And he left behind a massacre that no one would ever forget.
Tashigi was crying as she held Smoker's arm.
"I thought you were gone forever…"
Smoker lit a fresh cigar, sighing out a long trail of smoke.
"If it weren't for Chiyu… I'd still be in the dark."
Zephyr let out a booming laugh.
"You really did it! I told you I'd raise hell with you, but I didn't think we'd actually pull it off. I was just ready to die a warrior's death."
Chiyu shook his head.
"It wasn't just me. All of us made this happen."
As the prison faded into the distance, a strange silence fell over the crew.
Shuzo spoke first:
"Wonder what'll happen to Impel Down now…"
"Will it hold? Or will the rest of them break out?"
Chiyu answered calmly:
"It'll hold."
"We've got the key. They can't open the gates. And those prisoners still aren't at full strength."
"Magellan and the guards are still there. Breaking out won't be easy."
"Besides… we already thinned their numbers a lot."
Shuzo nodded.
Smoker finally asked the question that had been eating at him:
"Chiyu, wasn't Akainu supposed to deal with this personally?"
"Why didn't he show up?"
"He's obsessed with you. If he wanted to kill you, he'd be the first in."
Chiyu exhaled.
"Something more important came up."
"I wanted to fight him, too—but saving you came first. That fight has to wait."
Smoker frowned.
"Something more important than you…? Unless—"
Zephyr's face tensed.
"A Four Emperor?"
Chiyu nodded.
"Yeah. I pulled a few strings. Which means… I owe someone."
Zephyr and Smoker exchanged glances.
"Someone big enough to make Akainu change course mid-operation..."
"You mean... the strongest man in the world…"
"Whitebeard. Edward Newgate?!"
Chiyu gave a small nod.
Everyone froze.
"Why would he help you?"
Chiyu explained:
"It wasn't me who asked. Jinbe contacted me."
"He knew I was going to Impel Down, knew Akainu would intervene, and wanted to help. But he couldn't leave Fish-Man Island—and even if he did, he couldn't take Akainu."
"So he asked Whitebeard to make some noise. Enough to shake Marineford."
The crew finally understood.
Zephyr let out a long breath.
"If Whitebeard threatens Marineford, no one takes it lightly."
Smoker nodded again.
"Jinbe owes you for what you did on Fish-Man Island. He may be a pirate and a Warlord, but he's a good man. This is just his way of paying you back."
"Honestly, it's a consequence of all the good you've done."
Chiyu shrugged.
"Maybe. But Whitebeard isn't the kind of man who listens to others easily."
Zephyr said:
"Still, you helped protect Fish-Man Island. In a way, you helped him, too."
Smoker exhaled deeply.
"You're the last person I thought would ever owe a pirate a favor… And yet, to save someone like me, you did."
"I don't even have words."
Zephyr understood what he meant.
Now that Chiyu owed Whitebeard, a clean confrontation wouldn't be so simple.
Chiyu, however, didn't care.
"Doesn't matter. I'll repay the debt—then kill them if I have to."
Smoker took a knee.
"I'm done with the Marines. From now on, I follow you."
Tashigi and the others knelt, too.
Chiyu helped Smoker to his feet.
"The Navy's already rotten. If we want to change this world, we've got to do it together."
"This... is only the beginning."
And so—
Chiyu's Uchiha, Zephyr's NEO Marines, and Smoker's faction finally joined forces.
Three rebel groups.
One shared goal.
The beginning of a global revolution.
They left Impel Down behind and headed for the Red Line, ready to rejoin their New World allies.
…
The Impel Down incident exploded across every headline.
Chiyu had broken in. Rescued Smoker. And painted the prison red with blood.
Fear. Chaos. Rage.
Magellan barely held the line—wounded and ashamed, he submitted his resignation.
But the World Government, desperate for capable leaders, rejected it. Instead, they demoted him to deputy and handed the warden role to Hannyabal.
Impel Down was in ruins.
But Marineford couldn't spare the focus.
Because—
Whitebeard had declared war.
Even if it was a bluff, the Navy couldn't afford to take chances.
Even Akainu, who had been on the verge of killing Chiyu himself, was pulled back to prepare for what could be the greatest war the world had ever seen.
In the end, it never happened.
Whitebeard's fleet approached the Red Line, breathing down Marineford's neck like a storm about to hit.
It was enough to fool the Navy.
Enough to buy Chiyu all the time he needed.
And when they realized the war wouldn't break out—
The relief was drowned out by fury.
At Navy HQ, Akainu smashed a desk in rage.
Everyone knew:
Chiyu and Whitebeard had set the perfect trap.
A fake war to mask a prison raid. A feint to blindside the Navy.
They'd been played.
Turned into a global joke.
Akainu roared with rage:
"Uchiha Chiyu! And that bastard Whitebeard!"
"I swear—I'll tear you both to pieces with my own hands!!!"