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Impel Down, Level 6.
Once Ivankov and Lightning made their decision, they moved quickly.
Lightning used the Scissors Fruit to cut a path through the wall, and the two of them slipped out of Level 5.5 and made their way down to where Jinbe was held.
"Who's there!"
Jinbe was bound and injured, but his senses were as sharp as ever. He caught their presence the instant they stepped into range.
"Easy. We mean you no harm, Jinbe the Knight of the Sea."
Ivankov stepped out of the shadows with a broad smile.
"We're fellow prisoners, that's all. There are a few things we'd like to know, and we were hoping you could tell us about the outside world. Specifically about Ikki."
"In return, we can get you out of those chains."
He didn't wait for a response. He produced the key he had taken from a guard and undid the chains before Jinbe could refuse.
It was a gamble. If Jinbe cooperated, good. If not, Ivankov had already prepared for that possibility.
Jinbe looked down at the chains on the ground. He looked at Ivankov. He thought of Ace, waiting somewhere above for an execution that was already decided.
He hesitated several times. Then he stood up and nodded.
Ivankov turned and led him back through the passage to Level 5.5.
"There's a place like this in here?!"
Jinbe looked around him with open surprise when they arrived. Ivankov didn't bother explaining. He got straight to the point.
"Jinbe, we saw what happened with Sadi-chan earlier. The power that woman showed us was remarkable. But what we're really curious about is Ikki."
"We've been stuck in here too long. Our picture of the outside world has a lot of gaps in it. The fight between Bullet and the others, and then Magellan and Sadi-chan, made it clear that things out there have been moving faster than we realized."
"We were hoping you could fill us in."
Jinbe gave Ivankov a long, measuring look. He didn't refuse.
He had something to ask of Ivankov as well.
"Ikki," he said, and paused for a moment before continuing.
"He is a remarkable man. Not a pirate. A pirate hunter, and a famous sword hunter. Anyone who carries a notable blade, pirate or otherwise, becomes his target sooner or later. His method is always the same: a duel. He takes the sword from whoever holds it."
"Even the Golden Lion lost his swords to Ikki. And his life along with them."
Ivankov wasn't surprised to hear that part. The Golden Lion's death had made enough noise to reach even inside Impel Down, through the video Den Den Mushi.
Jinbe continued from there, telling them everything he knew about Ikki, large and small alike.
By the time he finished, both Ivankov and Lightning were staring at him with expressions they couldn't quite contain.
They had thought they held a reasonably high opinion of Ikki already. Hearing Jinbe lay it all out, they understood they had been far too conservative.
The entire world seemed to be turning around Ikki right now. The Marines and several major pirate crews were all watching him. Many were trying to get close to him. His ability to train swordsmen had made him something that powerful people across the board wanted access to.
'His ability to train swordsmen is genuinely extraordinary,' Ivankov thought. 'The Marines want it. The great pirate crews want it.'
And if that was the case...
'Would Dragon really overlook someone like that?'
It seemed unlikely. The Revolutionary Army had been building its strength in the shadows for years, working toward the day it could move against the Celestial Dragons. A man like Ikki, neutral, extraordinarily capable, not bound to any flag, was exactly the kind of person Dragon would want to make contact with.
Ivankov was fairly certain that contact had already been attempted, if not made.
"That's everything I know about Ikki," Jinbe said, watching the two of them think. "Is there anything else?"
"Not for now." Ivankov shook his head and looked at him. "What about you, Jinbe? What are your plans from here? If you have nowhere particular to go, you're welcome to stay with us."
He still hadn't revealed that he was a revolutionary. A degree of caution remained.
"I appreciate it, but I have no interest in becoming a transvestite."
Jinbe said it without hesitation.
"A shame." Ivankov studied him for a moment with an expression of exaggerated regret.
"That said," Jinbe continued, "if you could do something for me, I would consider you friends. And if you ever needed my help after that, you would have it."
"Oh?" Ivankov raised an eyebrow. "And what would you want from us?"
"I want to get out of Impel Down. Ace is going to be executed, and I intend to stop it."
"You were able to bring me here. That means you have a way out. I want to use it."
He said it with complete seriousness. For a fish-man like Jinbe, escaping the prison itself was the only real obstacle. Once he reached open water, he could swim to wherever he needed to go without a ship.
"You want to save Ace."
Ivankov was quiet for a moment.
"That's not a small thing to ask. And as you may have heard, Ikki himself is going to be involved in the execution. If you go, the odds of failure are considerable. You could easily be killed."
He looked at Jinbe steadily as he said it.