[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

Wow. What an unexpected development this is. Blackbeard and his crew showing up at Impel Down is freaking awesome. I'm looking forward to seeing exactly what his intentions are over there.

Laffite having wings certainly explains how he was able to intrude in the Shichibukai replacement meeting at Mariejoia. Mariejoia is located at the very summit of the red line, and with him being a pirate, it's not like he would be granted access at the front entrance since it is heavily fortified. With that being said, him flying up there and sneaking through undetected makes perfect sense.

As for the guardian beasts each getting taken in out in one hit, I totally saw that coming. I knew that besides Magellan and Shiryuu, Impel Down's staff would simply be no match for Luffy's new team. It's exactly like the zombie general incident at Thriller Bark, and I think it's a good thing Oda is accelerating the pace here because there are far more pressing matters at hand right now (i.e. Whitebeard's impending attack and Ace's execution) than having time spent dealing with cannon fodder (crappy guardian beasts).