As Shiki left to carry out his carnage, searching for his blades, I began releasing a few other prisoners who would be an absolute headache for the World Government. Although the idea might backfire, I was confident in growing strong enough to counter any potential problems.
For now, I did not want the World Government to concentrate all their attention on me. Although the Chief Warden was an admiral-level fighter, he wasn't at the level of Sengoku or Zephyr, and forget about Garp. Garp was in a league of his own. Only Roger and Whitebeard could clash against a monster like Garp, and I didn't want Dressrosa to be sieged by such monsters anytime soon. The more chaotic the sea becomes, the more time I get to grow.
Following the Golden Lion, I sought to release another man who dominated the seas during Roger's era: Patrick Redfield, more famously known as Red the Aloof. He was caught by Garp after the Great Pirate Age started. Rumor had it that Garp and Redfield fought for seven straight days before Garp triumphed.
I very much wanted to kill him and see if my luck held, perhaps even obtaining his mythical Zoan fruit when it recirculates into the sea. Other than saving Senor and Diamante, I had a secondary objective: to release truly dangerous pirates who would cause chaos, diverting attention away from us as much as possible after this event.
There were so many devil fruit users in Level 6 that the World Government wanted to keep them locked away. I even had a vague suspicion that the World Government might have a way to extract devil fruits upon one's natural death, but that was mere speculation. I wanted to let all these devil fruits return to the sea and maybe snatch a few with luck, especially with Shyarly by our side. Her powers became more and more mysterious each day with her new devil fruit abilities.
With the Voice of All Things, reading people's hearts was as easy as reading a book. Despite Redfield's advanced Observation Haki, he had no advantage over me. As I passed by his cell, I didn't stop, but his voice echoed from within.
"What, brat? Think that I'm not as worthy as that yellow cat?" Redfield moved next to the cell door, and, despite it being made of seastone, he held it firmly, showing his resolve. As I expected, the mythical Zoan fruit gave him a certain level of resistance to seastone.
"What do you want, Mr. Redfield?" I questioned him while facing him.
"Oh, you know who I am? For a second there, I wondered if the world had already forgotten about me. Then tell me, Brat, why am I not being offered the same deal as that yellow bastard? Do you think he is superior to me?" Redfield's eyes glowed dangerously, and in the limited light, it was eerie.
"Mr. Redfield, if you wanted me to free you, you should have just asked. Why all this drama? And I'm sure you already heard everything I told Shiki?" I questioned him.
He grunted and nodded. "Then that makes things simple." I placed my hand on the cell door and ripped it apart under Redfield's shocked eyes. Even with his mythical Zoan fruit, he could only casually place his hand on the seastone, not rip the cell door like I did. Patrick was sure that I was a devil fruit user.
"Brat! How?" Redfield questioned.
I simply shrugged and swung Shusui, severing all the seastone chains.
"Fascinating! Truly fascinating. You don't seem to be affected by the seastone, despite being a devil fruit user. I wonder what more secrets you are hiding, brat?" Redfield was now truly curious. He rubbed his wrists to make the blood flow easier.
"Stay alive, Mr. Redfield. Stay alive until the next era comes. You'll see so many things, that you'd regret missing them," I answered cryptically and moved to the next cell.
Next, I turned my attention to Byrnndi World. Known for his monstrous strength and desire to dominate, he was another formidable force. Byrnndi glared at me as I approached, his eyes filled with suspicion.
"What do you want?" he growled.
"I want you to do what you do best. In exchange, I offer you freedom," I answered. "Cause as much chaos as you can for the World Government. In return, your life is yours again."
Byrnndi's expression shifted from suspicion to a feral grin. "You've got yourself a deal."
He didn't even think twice about my offer once I said I needed him to cause problems for the World Government. Following Byrnndi, I chose to release a dozen other pirates who I felt might be a headache for the World Government and stay away from Dressrosa in exchange for their release.
I judged most of their hearts with the Voice of All Things, so it was safe for now at least.
Then I moved to my next target. However, this one was marked for slaughter. This was a devil fruit I was very determined to get my hands on; there was no way I would let such a dangerous fruit fall into the hands of others.
"Well, has my time come, little one?" A seductive female voice echoed from the cell. Chained within the cell was Catarina Devon, dressed in ragged prison clothes. Her long, unkempt hair fell around her shoulders, and her eyes gleamed with a dangerous charm. Despite her confinement, her beauty and allure were undeniable, a testament to her power as the most dangerous woman on the seas.
"So, you're not even going to entertain the idea of giving me the same deal as the others? I'm sure I could even work under you directly if that's what you want," she purred seductively, her charm oozing despite being shackled by seastone. Her devil fruit was one potent fruit, the mythical Zoan, Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Kyubi no Kitsune, a truly dangerous fruit.
"Miss Devon, I would have believed your words if you weren't hiding that shank you're planning to bury into my eye when I step closer," I chuckled and stepped into the cell casually as I sliced the prison cell open. Her face soured, and the smile shifted to a scowl.
"You're a clever one, aren't you?" she hissed, her voice losing its seductive lilt. "But do you think you can kill me that easily?"
"I think it's worth a shot," I replied calmly, drawing Shusui. "Your devil fruit is too dangerous to be left in the hands of someone with your ambitions."
Devon's eyes flashed with rage and desperation. She lunged, but her movements were sluggish, weakened by the seastone shackles. I sidestepped her attack and, with a swift, clean motion, severed her head from her body. Her form slumped to the ground, lifeless.
As her body lay there, I watched intently, waiting for the telltale sign of the legendary vitality of the mythical zoan. I was just curious to know if the mythical zoan could fix a severed head. I waited for a good few seconds, but there was no movement. Devon was truly dead. Maybe the seastone might be the reason I thought to myself , but no matter what, because her devil fruit was too dangerous. The Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Kyubi no Kitsune, would soon be free, ready to be claimed.
I turned to Leo, who had just entered the cell, to inform me that both Senor and Diamante were stable now. "Keep an eye out for the fruit. It should reappear soon. We need to secure it."
Leo nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. The mythical Zoan fruit was too powerful to be left unattended.
"Take them to the upper level. I don't want you guys to witness what's going to happen next, especially Mansherry," I whispered to Leo, who was still shocked by the headless body that lay in front of him.
"Ross, is this really necessary?" Leo couldn't help but ask. Although he showed himself to be brave and fearless, killing was not something he was used to.
I sighed, trying to convey the gravity of the situation. "Listen, Leo. This world isn't simply black and white. Is what I'm doing really necessary? I don't know. But I do know it gives our family a better chance to survive in the coming years. As long as I can keep our family safe, I don't mind burning the whole world."
"And don't worry, most of them here don't deserve to be called humans. For those who still have a shred of humanity left, I've released them. Now go, take the rest to the floor above. The others must have already cleared the guards on the fifth level."
Leo hesitated for a moment, then nodded, understanding the weight of my words. "Alright, Ross. Just... be careful."
As soon as the others left the level, I turned my attention to the other devil fruit users within Level 6. The ominous feeling spread throughout the level known as Eternal Hell, and even the prisoners felt the chill. Many who knew their end was coming tried desperately to break free from their restraints, but the weakness induced by seastone was not something even these hardened criminals could overcome.
I steeled my resolve one last time, holding Shusui firmly. What followed was carnage—a one-sided slaughter. I could have released them, but they would have caused more trouble to regular people than to the World Government. Killing them so their devil fruits could be released back into the wild was the solution I came up with. This would also teach the World Government the consequences of trying to mess with us.
Meanwhile, on Level 2, the clash between Doffy and Magellan had reached its climax. Despite trying his absolute best, Magellan could not hold back the Flame-Flame Fruit user.
"Hydra!" Magellan bellowed with the last ounce of strength he could muster, unleashing his massive poison attack. Doffy was ready, his flames dancing as he roared and formed a miniature sun, hurling it at the massive poison hydra that Magellan had transformed into.
"Entei!" he cried out.
"Boom!" The miniature blue sun collided with the massive poison giant. Despite Magellan's best efforts, he was thrown back as the attack exploded right in front of him. Magellan could no longer hold his giant form, and as he flew through the air, he crashed hundreds of meters away, buried beneath the debris.
Doffy was huffing and puffing. Despite coming out on top, he had to expend quite a bit of energy to best Magellan. Suddenly, a powerful burst of Conqueror's Haki targeted Doffy. He immediately released his own Conqueror's Haki, and the yellow lightning clashed with the red lightning. Doffy narrowed his eyes to see who the attacker was.
Floating in the air was someone he recognized—Golden Lion Shiki. The legendary pirate, once hailed as an Overlord of the New World alongside Roger and Whitebeard, looked down on Doffy with a mix of curiosity and amusement. Shiki's wild, golden mane flowed around him, and his sharp, piercing eyes gleamed with interest.
"Brat! You must be that kid's elder brother," Shiki said, his voice echoing with a mixture of amusement and admiration. "Not bad! Both siblings have the qualities of kings. That's very rare, especially when they are in the same group."
Doffy stood his ground, his flames still flickering around him as he caught his breath. "Golden Lion Shiki, huh? I didn't expect to see you here," he said, his tone calm but wary.
Shiki chuckled, the sound reverberating through the level. "The world is changing, Brat. And it seems you and your brother are right in the middle of it. I must say, it's been a long time since I've felt such potential. Both of you possess the spirit of a true conqueror."
Doffy's eyes narrowed. "And what does that mean for you, Shiki? Are you here to test me, or do you have other plans?"
Shiki's grin widened. "Consider this a greeting, and perhaps a warning. The seas are about to become a lot more interesting. I look forward to seeing how you and your brother shape the new era."
With that, Shiki's form began to fade into the shadows, leaving Doffy standing amidst the aftermath of his battle with Magellan. The legendary pirate's words echoed in his mind, a reminder of the growing stakes in their world.
*******************
Marine HQ, Marineford
A hurried knock echoed on the Fleet Admiral's door. Outside, a Vice Admiral stood, his hands tightly clutching an emergency report.
"Come in," a commanding voice called from inside. It was unmistakably the Fleet Admiral.
The Vice Admiral rushed in, noticing Admiral Zephyr was also in the room, examining a folder.
"What is it?" Fleet Admiral Kong's voice echoed, bringing the Vice Admiral back from his distraction.
"Fleet Admiral, it's an emergency. We have lost all communication with Impel Down. They have not made their regular check-in for the last four hours," the Vice Admiral said urgently.
Kong, who had been reading a folder, shifted his expression to one of fierce intensity. "What did you say? We have had no contact with Impel Down for close to four hours, and you are telling me now?" he roared, standing up and smashing his fist into the table, breaking it into pieces.
"Calm down, Kong-san. We first need to understand what's going on," Zephyr intervened, trying to save the Vice Admiral from Kong's wrath. He turned to the man to explain in detail what exactly was happening.
"Sir! It's not that I didn't want to inform you, but the protocol is to reach out to you only if they have missed the check-in for three hours continuously. Recently, they have had trouble with their communication, so at first, we thought it was a regular occurrence. But then I felt it was better to recheck, so we reached out to the control room for the Gate of Justice, where the communications are always intact. But... but we got no reply from them. We even tried to reach out to the battleships in the vicinity of Impel Down but nothing. It's as if the entirety of Impel Down has gone dark," the Vice Admiral explained, sweat flowing down his brows.
"No... No... No, this cannot be happening. For all we know, Impel Down might be under siege," Kong murmured. Then he turned to Zephyr. "Zephyr, get to Impel Down immediately and assess the situation. We cannot afford any mistakes at this time, especially when we have started a war with Wano. If we lose control of things here in the first half of the Grand Line, then we will have to practically forget about the New World for a few years," he said in a hurry.
Zephyr understood the gravity of the situation and immediately mobilized a token force: himself and five Vice Admirals, a total of three great battleships. As they prepared to depart, the tension in the air was palpable. The stakes were high, and any delay could mean catastrophe. The marines mobilized in haste, and in under twenty minutes, three great battleships were ready to depart.
Onboard his flagship, Zephyr briefed his Vice Admirals. "We have to assume the worst. Impel Down is one of our most secure facilities, and if it's been compromised, we are dealing with an unprecedented threat. Our primary objective is to secure the prison and ensure that none of the high-level prisoners escape. We cannot let this situation spiral out of control."
The Vice Admirals nodded in understanding, their faces grim with determination. They knew the importance of Impel Down and the catastrophic consequences if it fell. As the fleet cut through the waves, the urgency of their mission weighed heavily on their minds.