Is the Golden Lion Shiki powerful? That's an indisputable fact!
He was a man who stood alongside Roger and Whitebeard as one of the legendary pirates, and he was also a former member of the Rocks Pirates.
Setting aside his past achievements, the fact that Shiki was able to fight Garp and Sengoku together for several days at Marineford is enough to prove his immense strength.
After being imprisoned in the Level 6 "Eternal Hell" of Impel Down for two years, Shiki has finally calmed down.
His rival, Roger, is dead, but that doesn't mean Shiki has no chance to surpass him.
If Roger could find the One Piece, then Shiki believed that if he could do the same, it would prove that he was no less than Roger.
However, currently imprisoned in Impel Down with sea stone shackles binding his legs, even thinking about leaving, let alone finding the One Piece, seemed like an impossible task.
Nevertheless, after two years of contemplation in prison, Shiki did come up with a plan to escape, although it came at a great cost.
Sea stone chains are exceptionally tough, likely impervious even to a top-tier swordsman.
As a Devil Fruit user, sea stone is like a kryptonite, sapping their strength. Most Devil Fruit users would become completely powerless, like a limp rag, just by touching it.
But Shiki is no ordinary man; he is a legendary figure who once rivaled the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
Though Shiki, as a Devil Fruit user, cannot avoid the weakness caused by sea stone, he is far from being as powerless as lesser users.
If he can't cut through the sea stone shackles, then cutting off the legs they're bound to will have to do.
For most people, losing their legs would render them immobile, and any hope of escaping Impel Down would be lost.
But Shiki is different. He is the user of the Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit, which allows him to make himself and objects float in the air.
Cutting off his own legs would certainly affect his combat ability in the future, but at the moment, it seemed to be his only viable option.
As his sentence drew closer, Shiki was determined not to follow Roger to the grave, so today he finally resolved to take action.
For a master swordsman, cutting something, even without a blade in hand, is a simple matter.
If Zoro can fight without swords, then it goes without saying that the Golden Lion Shiki can as well.
With two swift slashes in the darkness, Shiki severed his own feet at the ankles without so much as a groan of pain. He simply performed a quick and determined stopgap treatment to stem the bleeding and then began to float, defying gravity.
With the sea stone no longer restraining him, the familiar and powerful sensation of his Devil Fruit abilities returned to his body.
With just a flick of his fingers, the heavy iron cell door in front of him flew away like a piece of paper.
Impel Down prides itself on being the world's most secure prison, and for good reason.
In addition to its heavily guarded defenses, the prison is also equipped with numerous monitoring Den Den Mushi (transponder snails) placed throughout its corridors and levels.
As the level housing the most dangerous individuals, Level 6 "Eternal Hell" has the highest concentration of guards and surveillance Den Den Mushi.
Shiki had barely made his escape when the images captured by the surveillance Den Den Mushi were transmitted to the main monitoring room.
At the same time, the small Den Den Mushi that captured Shiki's escape began blaring their alarm.
"Warning! Warning! A prisoner has left their cell in Level 6 'Eternal Hell.' The escaped convict has been identified as Shiki of the Flying Pirates. This individual carries a bounty exceeding..."
Before the alarm could finish, Shiki crushed the transponder snail in his hand.
With Shiki's escape, chaos quickly spread throughout Impel Down.
The prisoners in Level 6 are all incredibly dangerous individuals, but even among them, the Golden Lion Shiki is by far the most dangerous and powerful.
The warden of Impel Down, though unsure how Shiki managed to escape, knew one thing: if Shiki managed to flee the prison, it would be the end of his career.
Almost immediately upon receiving the report, the warden of Impel Down gathered all available forces, including Magellan, Shiryu of the Rain, and other top-level officers, to head to Level 6 "Eternal Hell."
Their opponent was the Golden Lion Shiki, a man who once fought the Marine hero Garp and the current Fleet Admiral Sengoku for days. No amount of caution could be considered excessive.
As the chaos engulfed Impel Down, Wood also began to take action.
The secret mission given to him by Sengoku was one that no other Marine could have completed as effectively as he could.
It's not just about the logistics—releasing prisoners from Impel Down is a task most Marines simply couldn't accomplish.
Why? Because the layout of Impel Down is extremely complex, as seen in the storyline where Luffy attempts to rescue Ace.
They needed a guide for each level. If Zoro were to try and navigate Impel Down, he might never find his way out of the first level.
But for Wood, who had lived in Impel Down for over six months and had extensively studied the best escape routes in anticipation of Shiki's breakout, the complex layout wasn't much of an issue.
Moreover, since Wood was already well-acquainted with most of the personnel at Impel Down, no one thought it was strange to see him wandering the corridors.
Even the Blugori (the prison beasts) and Jailer Beasts didn't find his presence unusual, so they didn't attack him.
What initially started as a simple effort to get along with Magellan and the others had now conveniently turned into a means to facilitate his operation. Wood couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about it.
Aside from others, Sadi who was in charge of Levels 3 and 4, had always been kind to him—though that might be because she thought of Wood as a kindred spirit.
The iron cells of Impel Down are fortified with sea stone, making them almost impossible to break through. However, after working at Impel Down for so long, Wood knew exactly where the keys to the cells were stored.
The keys to Levels 1 and 2 were kept with Chief Guard Saldeath, the keys to Levels 3 and 4 were with Sadi, and the key to Level 5 was held by Deputy Warden Magellan. As for the key to the final Level 6, it was, of course, in the hands of the Warden himself.