After exploding, drowning, and beating the Undying, Rowen had now firmly established another title for himself— Poison Undying! As Rowen chatted and laughed face-to-face with Magellan, Hannyabal and the others were in awe!
At this moment, after some casual conversation, Rowen took out the blue parchment that Sengoku had given him and cross-verified it with Magellan. Then, Magellan pointed at the others and said,
"These people are the backbone of Impel Down. Leave the minor tasks to them. Our only responsibility is to ensure that the situation doesn't turn bad, doesn't escalate, and to guarantee the ironclad rule that no one escapes from Impel Down."
"Hmm, understood."
Watching Rowen, who was just a young lad during the Hell Island survival training a few years ago but now an intimidating Marine Vice Admiral, Magellan couldn't help but sigh.
"Perhaps... I am truly getting old!"
Rowen smiled, not picking up on Magellan's reflection, and asked, "Where are you planning to go this time?"
"Let me think... Century City?"
Magellan smiled wryly, then suddenly showed a joyful expression.
"I've never been to a casino in my life, and you probably know the reason."
Originally, he intended to resign after this incident, but the Gorosei disagreed. Hence, he couldn't leave the Grand Line and could only take a break in the First Half. Due to his Poison Human nature, Magellan initially planned to find a quiet place to relax.
However, upon knowing that Rowen was temporarily taking over his position, he instantly came up with a new plan.
"Century City..."
Rowen twitched the corner of his mouth, then sighed, "You've really gotten me into trouble, Warden Magellan."
"Never mind, if you want to go, then go! I'll inform Issho to arrange a room for you separately. After all, I'm a major shareholder."
"Haha, thank you, Vice Admiral Soryu (Azure Dragon)!"
Magellan expressed his gratitude with a joyful smile. As an individual insulated from the general public, Magellan would have no chance of enjoying the casino without Rowen's help. It wasn't a matter of whether the boss would receive him, but whether the other gamblers could survive!
Others gamble for money; he gambles for his life!
Holding the Century City Gold Card given by Rowen, Magellan left satisfied. He had already decided to eat only one meal a day in the future to avoid wasting too much time in the restroom.
Having some rare relaxation time, he would make the most of it, then return and continue his struggle.
This was the true manifestation of a mature man. Even in the face of tremendous setbacks, after venting out, life continued as usual.
He just needed some time to adjust, not to crumble entirely.
Seeing off Magellan, Hannyabal hurriedly stepped forward, saluting with a smile.
"Welcome, new Warden!"
"Welcome, new Warden!"
Sadi-chan and Domino saluted in unison.
"It's an acting Warden... Never mind, suit yourself."
Rowen corrected and then said, "No need for all these formalities. You guys are more familiar with the work. Handle it yourselves... Hannyabal, take me to Level 5."
"Oh! Is Warden planning to make a move on them? I heard new officials usually establish authority like this!"
Hannyabal exclaimed excitedly, his eyes gleaming.
"Get lost!"
Rowen chuckled, looking at him.
"Level 5 needs repairs after the chaos, and I'm here to clean up the mess!"
This was why nobody wanted to take over Magellan's position in Impel Down. The destruction caused by Shiryu's madness had been substantial, and repairing it would take a considerable amount of time.
Furthermore, repairing the prison required isolating the prisoners, and that was the time when chaos was most likely to occur. It was a high-risk, low-reward situation.
Sadi-chan and the nervous one, hearing Rowen's words, sighed in relief. Although Rowen had a fearsome reputation, his personal capabilities were indeed unparalleled in the entire Marine.
Since he spoke, there was nothing more to say!
"Yes, Warden!"
...
Passing through Crimson Hell, Wild Beast Hell, and Starvation Hell, and finding the Warden's office in the giant boiler of Blazing Hell, Hannyabal brought Rowen to an elevator. Pressing a switch, Hannyabal explained as he operated,
"If prisoners want to move from Level 4 to Level 5, they can only use the blood pool passage. But we, as staff, have a staff-exclusive passage that leads directly to Levels 5 and 6."
Hannyabal explained obsequiously as he operated, resembling a sycophantic minion. This guy had ambitions. Despite always being reprimanded by Magellan, he genuinely wanted to become the Warden and manage Impel Down according to his own ideas.
By clinging to Rowen, he felt one step closer to his dream.
A soldier not aspiring to become a General was not a good soldier. Lack of ambition made it difficult to survive in the Marines.
So, Rowen understood why Hannyabal acted this way.
As for Level 6, for most Marines, it was an extremely mysterious place, but once you reached the Vice Admiral position at the Headquarters, it was no longer a secret.
Especially for Rowen, who had personally sent many people there.
"Warden, do you have the elevator key?"
At this moment, Hannyabal turned and asked.
Remembering the bunch of keys Magellan handed over before leaving, Rowen pulled them out and asked, "Which one?"
"The one made of Seastone! Leave it alone, I'll handle..."
"It!"
The words were not finished, and Hannyabal looked at Rowen in horror as he gripped the Seastone key, inserted it into the lock, and calmly activated the elevator.
Only when the elevator started to descend slowly did Hannyabal ask in confusion,
"Warden, aren't you a Devil Fruit Ability user?"
"Oh, it's just a habit..."
Rowen could even undergo prolonged intensive exercises with Seastone shackles on his limbs. Opening a lock wouldn't completely rob him of his ability to resist. However, his indifferent tone widened Hannyabal's pupils, refreshing his worldview.
"Are there many people like you who aren't afraid of Seastone's restraining effects?"
Hannyabal asked with a serious tone.
If there were prisoners in Impel Down who, like Rowen, were not afraid of the restraining effects, it could be dangerous!
"What do you think?!"
Rowen twitched his mouth in response.
Hannyabal was momentarily stunned by his words, then chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
"True, that makes sense! Haha!"
If there were indeed many Ability users not afraid of Seastone's effects, Impel Down would not enjoy its current tranquility.
Moreover, if the World Government dared to make Seastone shackles standard equipment for Ability user prisoners, they must have considered the difficulty of dealing with such situations. Hannyabal didn't need to worry about it.
The elevator quickly reached Level 5, and as the doors opened, a chilling cold rushed in.
Hannyabal decisively took out a thick fur coat from the corner of the elevator and exhaled white smoke.
"What a wickedly bad environment!"
Feeling the biting cold wind in the air, Rowen grinned.
Freezing Hell, indeed a hell! The temperature here was lower than any East Blue island Rowen had seen. White Smoke expelled from breathing would freeze into visible ice crystals at a distance of five centimeters.
Each breath was a life-and-death experience for the capillaries in the lungs. Ordinary people probably couldn't endure for even an hour here.
Only in the One Piece world could so many physically powerful monsters be cultivated and then confined to this icy hell.
Blazing Hell on the third floor of Impel Down had an extremely abnormal temperature, but compared to Level 5, it could be considered heaven.
At least, Den Den Mushi, a tenacious creature, could survive on the upper floors. However, even the surveillance Den Den Mushi couldn't survive here!
But today, in this icy terrain, many discordant things are happening.
Deep ravines tore through the frozen soil, like mischievous children doodling on a butter cake. Large numbers of trees were cut off at the roots, lying haphazardly on the ground.
Shiryu had released prisoners, letting them run in the forest, creating his own hunting game.
At this moment, patches of horrifying red stains mingled with snowflakes, and dismembered bodies were scattered all over the ground.
However, not far from the elevator, Rowen noticed a patch of purple soil. Judging by the marks on top, it seemed that someone had fallen on it.
"That's the mark left by Warden Magellan when he received the notice and came down. Warden Shiryu was standing there at that time..."
Hannyabal explained at the right moment.
Looking in the direction Hannyabal pointed, Rowen found two not very deep drag marks. Comparing the width of the marks and the space between them, he determined that someone who had suffered a heavy blow had dragged themselves out with their feet.
"Shiryu of the Rain, you really went too far!"
Rowen sighed, released his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), and scanned the entire Level 5. Surprisingly, there were not more than a hundred life signatures!
Among them were around fifty military wolves.
If Rowen hadn't researched the data, he wouldn't have believed that this place once held over 500 prisoners!
(End of this chapter)
You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon and I've also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395