_________ POV Narration_________
Garp looked a bit confused at first when hearing Francisco's suggestion.
"Are you saying you can break out of here, somehow?" Garp wasn't exactly wrong to question that.
Francisco had been held captive there for around 40 years, give or take. If he was able to leave, why didn't he do so already?
"Of course, you should know already... There is nothing in this world that I can't cut." Francisco's aged voice sounded confident beyond anything else.
"Heh... That might've been true back in the days. But you'd be surprised how much the world has developed." Garp said as he looked around him with a wary gaze.
An entire building of Seastone must have been built after Francisco was captured, and the old man has likely moved there afterwards.
"I know... I've seen the way they managed to bend and manipulate Seastone to their advantage. But... When has that ever stopped me?"
Garp could hear a few clangs, then a few loud metallic thuds... At that point, the old man raised an eyebrow. 'Are you telling me he already freed himself?'
"If you are able to... I wouldn't mind getting out of here myself!" Garp said as he smiled a bit, wondering how the wardens of Impel Down would react when seeing him walking around their lower levels.
Then, a large sound reverberated throughout the seastone prison, as Francisco cut through his own cell bars and stepped out.
Garp didn't react much when seeing his appearance. At least at first, as his view was shrouded by the dark... Then he noticed it.
Overgrown grey hair and beard, both unkept and dirty, the old man in front of him was missing both of his eyes, and the scars on his wrists and calves told Garp that his tendons had been severed.
The World Government truly wanted him to never be able to pick up a sword or to ever fight on the same level as he had used to in the past.
Garp winced a bit, as he realised that Francisco had likely undergone extensive torture in his time as a prisoner.
"How come you're only doing this now?" Garp asked as he studied the old man a bit more.
The rags he was wearing were filled with holes, he had slightly larger than normal nails, and he had probably been biting them to keep them to his preferred length...
They were also likely what he used to cut through the jail bars and his own restraints.
"At first... I was just like you. Able to use my strength, but unable to use Haki at all. Over decades of constant exposure, I've acclimated." Francisco got closer and closer to Garp's seastone cell.
His haki turned his nails completely red, with an odd aura surrounding them, as he swiped at the bars.
Sparks rose up as his nails seemed to cleave through the seastone bars like hot knives through butter.
It was at this point that Garp noticed something else about Francisco's state... The old man was panting.
"My strength and stamina were no longer the same by the time I managed to use Haki in this hellhole... I don't have the confidence to escape by myself... But with you here..."
At this point, Garp understood Francisco's meaning completely. Eventually, he chuckled.
"To think I'd end up helping a pirate escape..." Garp said as he slowly stood up, his bindings still bound closely to his body.
Francisco then proceeded to use his nails to tear apart the seastone that bound Garp. The Vice Admiral could tell that the old pirate was already exhausted by the end.
It was rather obvious why he hadn't escaped by himself already... He simply could not.
Francisco had lived on a diet of a few drops of water and a stale piece of bread every week for a few decades, his tendons were cut and his eyes ruined, he simply didn't have the strength to escape.
Garp finally felt free as soon as the bindings came off. His fists turned black as he looked at the ground and ceiling a bit more.
Everything around him was made out of seastone, but he was still wearing his shoes, so his feet weren't directly touching the ground, which now enabled him to use Haki...
At this point, Garp contemplated killing Francisco then and there, as he remembered the terror he and Xebec had brought to the world... But Francisco's next words made him stop...
"Hehe... Finally, freedom is within grasp... At least I'll be able to feel the sunlight on my skin for one last time..." At this point, Garp simply winced a bit.
He was no longer looking at a legendary pirate. Instead, he was looking at a pitiful and sickly old man on the brink of death.
At that point, Garp shook his head internally, deciding to not take away the old man's last chance at tasting freedom.
'What harm can he even bring at this point? He looks like he barely has a few months left...'
"Let's get going, old man... We have some doors to break down." Garp said as the two of them started walking towards the entrance area.
"Of course..." Francisco was walking a bit slower, trailing behind as he was having a bit of an issue with walking and moving around in general due to his tendons being severed and muscles being atrophied.
Garp noticed that, but there wasn't much he could do in order to help.
The door that led to the upper levels was an extremely thick one, fully made out of Seastone, even down to the hinges.
"So we even have to break this?" Garp asked while cracking his knuckles a bit.
"Well! No point in holding back now!" He then shouted as he punched the door with great strength.
The door shook, cracks appearing on it as Garp simply winced a bit.
"Seastone sure is tough..." Garp said as he looked back at the old man behind him.
"Can't help much with this one... It's too thick for me to cut without a proper weapon..." Francisco said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Heh... Guess I'll have to bring it down myself!"
And just like that, for around 2 minutes, Garp continued to punch away at the seastone doors, as Francisco grabbed a seastone bar from nearby to support himself.
"How fucking thick is this?! I'm telling you, it was easier breaking down mountains!"
Garp shouted as he delivered one last punch to the door, he had basically dug a tunnel with his fists alone, he had already gone 3 meters deep into the seastone door.
With that last punch, the older side of the door was finally opened. Garp simply wiped the sweat from his brow, as he looked at his blackened fists proudly.
Francisco simply shook his head a bit when sensing that. 'I guess we all grow old... Garp in his prime would've demolished that door almost instantly...'
Still, Francisco choose to not say anything about it Garp's age, instead, he spread his senses further.
"It's been a long time since I've been able to sense outside this room... Let's get going, shall we?" Francisco also stepped through the hole Garp had punched out.
"Yep, we probably don't have to fight that many people... I doubt the World Government had the guts to announce my imprisonment..." Garp said as he also started walking up the stairs.
The door leading to the 6th floor was a hidden one.
But Garp didn't bother to look for an opening, he simply pushed it away once more. This one was a lot less thick, so he was able to break it almost instantly.
Francisco didn't say anything, merely sheepishly following Garp as the two of them traversed through the 6th floor.
The floor was deathly silent when seeing Garp. The other old man with him was also rather shocking to them, as he looked a lot like a prisoner...
Then, an older resident of the 6th floor caught a glimpse of the old man's face...
"N-no way... Guzman?" His eyes widened, as the prisoners around him mostly looked confused.
Francisco merely laughed when hearing that.
"I guess old timers still remember me, huh? Ghihihihihi..." Francisco laughed a bit as he covered his mouth with his hand.
Francisco then noticed just how overgrown his hair was. He hadn't paid much attention to it.
'Can't possibly go outside looking like this!' His nails quickly cut out the excess hair, leaving him to only have medium-length hair and a goatee.
His eyes were both scarred over, it looked like an acidic substance had been poured onto them, there were many scars across his face too, either from torture or from old battles.
Garp and Francisco didn't stop at the 6th floor, simply continuing to walk forward until seeing the stairs leading up to the next level.
Garp had to punch out a few more doors, but those were blown away in one punch, as his Haki was no longer hampered in any way.
Francisco also threw away the seastone bar he had been using as a cane, as he didn't like the feeling of seastone anyway.
Instead, he grabbed a piece of wood from one of the doors that Garp had destroyed. It made for a much better crutch.
The two old men were eventually stopped by soldiers.
"What is this?!" "A breakout?!" "Again!?" The soldiers had different reactions to this, thankfully, a higher-ranking figure was also present...
Magellan walked forward, in front of his men with an angry look in his eyes.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Francisco said as he rubbed his long and unkept beard.
"Shut yer trap! It's gonna be fine!" Garp said as he continued walking forwards, Francisco simply sighed and followed him.
Magellan was not in a good mood though.
He had already been demoted to Vice Warden after the breakout that had happened not that long ago, having another one would likely mean he was getting fired.
And he couldn't have that! Impel Down was a place he took great pride in! And it also had the best toilets...
"Who are y-" He stopped himself as the two old men in front of him started to come more and more into the light of their torches.
"Vice Admiral Garp!" Magellan was instantly relieved. He didn't recognize the other old man, but since he was with Garp, there was no need for him to worry.
Although, something did weigh on his mind...
"... Why did you just come out of the 6th floor of our prison?" Magellan said as some thick venom started appearing on his hand.
He was quick to consider the possibility of a prisoner taking on Garp's appearance.
The World Government Agents had already informed him of a prisoner proficient in taking others' appearances being transported into the deepest level of Impel Down, he was warned to not trust anyone that came out of the lower levels...
It was more of a precautionary measure that the World Government took, as they weren't really expecting Garp to break out.
The possibility was still there, though, so the 5 Elders wanted to make sure. This was why now Magellan was having issues believing what he was seeing.
"I was sent here by Sengoku on a small mission..."
Garp said as he raised his hands up a bit. He didn't want to admit that the World Government had imprisoned him, as that would likely raise even more questions.
"... There's no way that's true! Garp was said to have retired to a nice tropical island after the war...
There is no way he would be here, taking out an old pirate from the lowest level of Impel Down and breaking down our doors."
Magellan said as his body started exuding more and more venom.
"I knew this wasn't gonna go smoothly..." Francisco said from the back while shaking his head a bit.
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter!
And yea, seastone is something that can be used to train one's willpower in this fanfic :))
You can build resistance to it, to the point where it doesn't even affect you anymore when it comes to Haki.
This in turn would also make your willpower stronger over time.
This can't really be counted as a change from the original, cuz the original didn't talk much about seastone and its effects.
I'm basically free to do whatever thanks to Oda-sama's vagueness.
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster on Patre_on, you'd also get 10 chapters in advance (or 5 depending on tier)
_________ POV Narration_________
Garp looked a bit confused at first when hearing Francisco's suggestion.
"Are you saying you can break out of here, somehow?" Garp wasn't exactly wrong to question that.
Francisco had been held captive there for around 40 years, give or take. If he was able to leave, why didn't he do so already?
"Of course, you should know already... There is nothing in this world that I can't cut." Francisco's aged voice sounded confident beyond anything else.
"Heh... That might've been true back in the days. But you'd be surprised how much the world has developed." Garp said as he looked around him with a wary gaze.
An entire building of Seastone must have been built after Francisco was captured, and the old man has likely moved there afterwards.
"I know... I've seen the way they managed to bend and manipulate Seastone to their advantage. But... When has that ever stopped me?"
Garp could hear a few clangs, then a few loud metallic thuds... At that point, the old man raised an eyebrow. 'Are you telling me he already freed himself?'
"If you are able to... I wouldn't mind getting out of here myself!" Garp said as he smiled a bit, wondering how the wardens of Impel Down would react when seeing him walking around their lower levels.
Then, a large sound reverberated throughout the seastone prison, as Francisco cut through his own cell bars and stepped out.
Garp didn't react much when seeing his appearance. At least at first, as his view was shrouded by the dark... Then he noticed it.
Overgrown grey hair and beard, both unkept and dirty, the old man in front of him was missing both of his eyes, and the scars on his wrists and calves told Garp that his tendons had been severed.
The World Government truly wanted him to never be able to pick up a sword or to ever fight on the same level as he had used to in the past.
Garp winced a bit, as he realised that Francisco had likely undergone extensive torture in his time as a prisoner.
"How come you're only doing this now?" Garp asked as he studied the old man a bit more.
The rags he was wearing were filled with holes, he had slightly larger than normal nails, and he had probably been biting them to keep them to his preferred length...
They were also likely what he used to cut through the jail bars and his own restraints.
"At first... I was just like you. Able to use my strength, but unable to use Haki at all. Over decades of constant exposure, I've acclimated." Francisco got closer and closer to Garp's seastone cell.
His haki turned his nails completely red, with an odd aura surrounding them, as he swiped at the bars.
Sparks rose up as his nails seemed to cleave through the seastone bars like hot knives through butter.
It was at this point that Garp noticed something else about Francisco's state... The old man was panting.
"My strength and stamina were no longer the same by the time I managed to use Haki in this hellhole... I don't have the confidence to escape by myself... But with you here..."
At this point, Garp understood Francisco's meaning completely. Eventually, he chuckled.
"To think I'd end up helping a pirate escape..." Garp said as he slowly stood up, his bindings still bound closely to his body.
Francisco then proceeded to use his nails to tear apart the seastone that bound Garp. The Vice Admiral could tell that the old pirate was already exhausted by the end.
It was rather obvious why he hadn't escaped by himself already... He simply could not.
Francisco had lived on a diet of a few drops of water and a stale piece of bread every week for a few decades, his tendons were cut and his eyes ruined, he simply didn't have the strength to escape.
Garp finally felt free as soon as the bindings came off. His fists turned black as he looked at the ground and ceiling a bit more.
Everything around him was made out of seastone, but he was still wearing his shoes, so his feet weren't directly touching the ground, which now enabled him to use Haki...
At this point, Garp contemplated killing Francisco then and there, as he remembered the terror he and Xebec had brought to the world... But Francisco's next words made him stop...
"Hehe... Finally, freedom is within grasp... At least I'll be able to feel the sunlight on my skin for one last time..." At this point, Garp simply winced a bit.
He was no longer looking at a legendary pirate. Instead, he was looking at a pitiful and sickly old man on the brink of death.
At that point, Garp shook his head internally, deciding to not take away the old man's last chance at tasting freedom.
'What harm can he even bring at this point? He looks like he barely has a few months left...'
"Let's get going, old man... We have some doors to break down." Garp said as the two of them started walking towards the entrance area.
"Of course..." Francisco was walking a bit slower, trailing behind as he was having a bit of an issue with walking and moving around in general due to his tendons being severed and muscles being atrophied.
Garp noticed that, but there wasn't much he could do in order to help.
The door that led to the upper levels was an extremely thick one, fully made out of Seastone, even down to the hinges.
"So we even have to break this?" Garp asked while cracking his knuckles a bit.
"Well! No point in holding back now!" He then shouted as he punched the door with great strength.
The door shook, cracks appearing on it as Garp simply winced a bit.
"Seastone sure is tough..." Garp said as he looked back at the old man behind him.
"Can't help much with this one... It's too thick for me to cut without a proper weapon..." Francisco said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Heh... Guess I'll have to bring it down myself!"
And just like that, for around 2 minutes, Garp continued to punch away at the seastone doors, as Francisco grabbed a seastone bar from nearby to support himself.
"How fucking thick is this?! I'm telling you, it was easier breaking down mountains!"
Garp shouted as he delivered one last punch to the door, he had basically dug a tunnel with his fists alone, he had already gone 3 meters deep into the seastone door.
With that last punch, the older side of the door was finally opened. Garp simply wiped the sweat from his brow, as he looked at his blackened fists proudly.
Francisco simply shook his head a bit when sensing that. 'I guess we all grow old... Garp in his prime would've demolished that door almost instantly...'
Still, Francisco choose to not say anything about it Garp's age, instead, he spread his senses further.
"It's been a long time since I've been able to sense outside this room... Let's get going, shall we?" Francisco also stepped through the hole Garp had punched out.
"Yep, we probably don't have to fight that many people... I doubt the World Government had the guts to announce my imprisonment..." Garp said as he also started walking up the stairs.
The door leading to the 6th floor was a hidden one.
But Garp didn't bother to look for an opening, he simply pushed it away once more. This one was a lot less thick, so he was able to break it almost instantly.
Francisco didn't say anything, merely sheepishly following Garp as the two of them traversed through the 6th floor.
The floor was deathly silent when seeing Garp. The other old man with him was also rather shocking to them, as he looked a lot like a prisoner...
Then, an older resident of the 6th floor caught a glimpse of the old man's face...
"N-no way... Guzman?" His eyes widened, as the prisoners around him mostly looked confused.
Francisco merely laughed when hearing that.
"I guess old timers still remember me, huh? Ghihihihihi..." Francisco laughed a bit as he covered his mouth with his hand.
Francisco then noticed just how overgrown his hair was. He hadn't paid much attention to it.
'Can't possibly go outside looking like this!' His nails quickly cut out the excess hair, leaving him to only have medium-length hair and a goatee.
His eyes were both scarred over, it looked like an acidic substance had been poured onto them, there were many scars across his face too, either from torture or from old battles.
Garp and Francisco didn't stop at the 6th floor, simply continuing to walk forward until seeing the stairs leading up to the next level.
Garp had to punch out a few more doors, but those were blown away in one punch, as his Haki was no longer hampered in any way.
Francisco also threw away the seastone bar he had been using as a cane, as he didn't like the feeling of seastone anyway.
Instead, he grabbed a piece of wood from one of the doors that Garp had destroyed. It made for a much better crutch.
The two old men were eventually stopped by soldiers.
"What is this?!" "A breakout?!" "Again!?" The soldiers had different reactions to this, thankfully, a higher-ranking figure was also present...
Magellan walked forward, in front of his men with an angry look in his eyes.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Francisco said as he rubbed his long and unkept beard.
"Shut yer trap! It's gonna be fine!" Garp said as he continued walking forwards, Francisco simply sighed and followed him.
Magellan was not in a good mood though.
He had already been demoted to Vice Warden after the breakout that had happened not that long ago, having another one would likely mean he was getting fired.
And he couldn't have that! Impel Down was a place he took great pride in! And it also had the best toilets...
"Who are y-" He stopped himself as the two old men in front of him started to come more and more into the light of their torches.
"Vice Admiral Garp!" Magellan was instantly relieved. He didn't recognize the other old man, but since he was with Garp, there was no need for him to worry.
Although, something did weigh on his mind...
"... Why did you just come out of the 6th floor of our prison?" Magellan said as some thick venom started appearing on his hand.
He was quick to consider the possibility of a prisoner taking on Garp's appearance.
The World Government Agents had already informed him of a prisoner proficient in taking others' appearances being transported into the deepest level of Impel Down, he was warned to not trust anyone that came out of the lower levels...
It was more of a precautionary measure that the World Government took, as they weren't really expecting Garp to break out.
The possibility was still there, though, so the 5 Elders wanted to make sure. This was why now Magellan was having issues believing what he was seeing.
"I was sent here by Sengoku on a small mission..."
Garp said as he raised his hands up a bit. He didn't want to admit that the World Government had imprisoned him, as that would likely raise even more questions.
"... There's no way that's true! Garp was said to have retired to a nice tropical island after the war...
There is no way he would be here, taking out an old pirate from the lowest level of Impel Down and breaking down our doors."
Magellan said as his body started exuding more and more venom.
"I knew this wasn't gonna go smoothly..." Francisco said from the back while shaking his head a bit.
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter!
And yea, seastone is something that can be used to train one's willpower in this fanfic :))
You can build resistance to it, to the point where it doesn't even affect you anymore when it comes to Haki.
This in turn would also make your willpower stronger over time.
This can't really be counted as a change from the original, cuz the original didn't talk much about seastone and its effects.
I'm basically free to do whatever thanks to Oda-sama's vagueness.
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster on Patre_on, you'd also get 10 chapters in advance (or 5 depending on tier)
