Chapter 164: Intermission
"Alright, I'm convinced...that winged friend of yours definitely isn't from this world..." remarked Rayleigh, a bead of sweat trickling down the left side of his face as he felt the reverberations of Grayfia's attack through his Observation Haki, accrediting it to Vahn. As the former First Mate of Gol D. Roger, he was well-acquainted with the pinnacles of power in his world, so he understood on a fundamental level there wasn't anything he or anyone else could do against such might.
"Vahn is pretty amazing..." asserted Nami, nodding affirmingly with her arms crossed under her breasts. "But there's only so much assistance he can provide us without some serious consequences. That means it's up to us to raid Impel Down and rescue Luffy's brother."
"Right! Just hold on a little longer, Ace! We're coming to rescue you...!" exclaimed Luffy, throwing his fists into the air and shouting at the top of his lungs. He had briefly fallen into a stupor after feeling Grayfia's attack resonate with something deep within him, but Nami's words brought him back to reality.
"Has the plan changed any...?" asked Zoro, similarly shaken by Grayfia's attack but doing his best to appear unaffected.
Shaking her head, Nami explained, "We're still going to invade through the moon pool on Level Two, but instead of having the Sunny reveal itself and distract the Marines for however long it takes us to rescue Ace, it will lie in wait on the seabed until we're prepared to make our escape."
"Alright. I was looking forward to showing off Sunny's capabilities in front of the Marines, but I guess we'll have plenty of opportunities to do that as we make a run for it across the Calm Belt," said Franky.
"Sounds good—" started Nami, her words abruptly cutting off as she and everyone present shifted their gazes to a golden Magic Circle bearing the seven-winged crest that was increasingly becoming associated with Vahn and the Dragon's Pavilion.
Appearing from the Magic Circle in a stylish, incredibly low-cut white and black-trimmed kimono that nearly exhibited as much cleavage as Yasaka, Venelana, sporting an alluring smile with her hands folded neatly over her lap, stated, "Greetings, Straw Hats, and associates. I am Venelana Bael, a representative of the Intertwining Dragon's Palace. This isn't our first time meeting, but allow—"
Before Venelana could finish her introduction, Sanji, who had initially been on high alert, abruptly performed a sliding spin into a one-legged kneeling posture with his left hand extended and his right atop his left breast, his eyes full of hearts as he exclaimed, "Venelana-swaaaan! That dress looks even more amazing on you than your previous one!"
"Thank you for the compliment..." responded Venelana, offering a slight nod before turning her attention to the rest of the crew, producing eight bronze keys, and revealing, "These are typically reserved for Ascendees, but Vahn-sama has made an exception. They will crumble to dust after a single use, but if you encounter especially dire circumstances during the raid and feel you have no choice but to retreat, we have medical staff and relief personnel waiting to receive you back at the palace."
"Allow me, Venelana-swan~!" exclaimed Sanji, accepting the keys from Venelana and passing them out to everyone but Nami and Robin as they possessed golden keys of their own.