Impel Down, the world's top prison.
This prison incarcerates only the most dangerous criminals. It is a terrifying place, with monstrous jailers and surveillance by Den Den Mushi. The surrounding seas are filled with massive Sea Kings, earning Impel Down the reputation of being an "impregnable fortress."
The Navy Headquarters, Enies Lobby, and Impel Down are the three major strongholds of the World Government on the seas, known as the forbidden zones for pirates.
Compared to Enies Lobby and the Navy Headquarters, Impel Down has its own internal management system, and the positions within Impel Down are largely independent of the Navy.
In fact, regular Navy personnel typically cannot enter Impel Down unless under special circumstances; they are only responsible for guarding the perimeter of the prison.
However, there are always exceptions. In the years following the execution of Pirate King Roger, the number of pirates on the seas has surged.
What used to be a prison for all kinds of global criminals has, over the past few years, almost become known as a "pirate prison."
With so many dangerous pirates being thrown into Impel Down daily, and since the journey from Navy Headquarters to Impel Down passes through the Calm Belt, every prisoner transfer or capture requires numerous procedures.
Over time, the newly appointed Fleet Admiral Sengoku found this process to be overly cumbersome, so he negotiated with the warden of Impel Down.
They agreed to establish a small Navy detachment at the outskirts of Impel Down, whose primary function would be to facilitate the processing of captured pirates entering the prison and to assist with perimeter patrols.
Sengoku's proposal was advantageous for Impel Down, and he also assured the warden that the Navy personnel assigned to Impel Down would not be too strong, nor would there be too many of them.
Seeing that Sengoku's proposal could simplify many steps without affecting his authority, the warden of Impel Down happily accepted the suggestion.
And this so-called Navy liaison point at the outskirts of Impel Down is the post to which Wood has now been assigned.
After bidding farewell to Smoker and the wild boars on the hill, Wood spent half a day aboard a Navy ship, passing through multiple checkpoints, before finally arriving at the so-called world prison.
Don't misunderstand; given Wood's current rank, the Navy certainly wouldn't dispatch a special warship just to take him to Impel Down.
He was merely a tag-along this time. Along with him on the ship were a Navy Rear Admiral and a shipload of pirates destined for Impel Down.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, having just taken office, was eagerly accumulating achievements to stabilize his position. Moreover, with the number of pirates on the seas being rampant and numerous, every mission by Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals like Garp resulted in the capture of many bounty-bearing pirates.
Impel Down is a massive, tower-like structure submerged in the sea, with its base located underwater. The higher the criminal's threat level, the deeper they are imprisoned.
Furthermore, the shackles and cells used to restrain the prisoners are made of Seastone, a testament to the immense wealth and resources of the World Government.
This precaution is due to the fact that many of the inmates are Devil Fruit users.
Seastone is a rare mineral that emits the same energy as the sea, nullifying the powers of Devil Fruit users.
As soon as the Navy's warship docked, Impel Down's Chief Jailer approached, accompanied by several blue, gorilla-like creatures wielding axes.
"We were told that the Navy would be bringing in more prisoners this time, but I didn't expect there would be so many. Can't you Navy folks ever take it easy? Impel Down is a prison for global criminals, not the Navy's private jail. If you keep bringing in so many prisoners, not only will we run out of cells, but you're also increasing our workload!"
The Chief Jailer of Impel Down is a short figure wielding a trident and sporting a pair of demon wings on his back, clearly not a normal human.
But Wood wasn't too surprised by this. The world of pirates is filled with various species, and many of the jailers and other staff at Impel Down don't appear to be human either.
Although the Chief Jailer's rank doesn't technically match up to that of a Rear Admiral in the Navy, he showed little respect for the Rear Admiral standing before him.
Although they all work for the World Government, they belong to different departments. Besides, the Navy had indeed been very busy lately, constantly sending pirates to Impel Down, causing the staff there to work overtime and even lose their holidays.
"The Navy's duty is to enforce justice. We can't just turn a blind eye to pirates wreaking havoc. Pirates are criminals too. We're just following the rules. What's wrong with that? The turmoil caused by Pirate King Roger is nearly over. Things should calm down in a little while. Moreover, Fleet Admiral Sengoku is concerned about your heavy workload, which is why he's sending reinforcements this time."
As the Rear Admiral spoke, he stepped aside to reveal Wood and the other unfortunate newcomers.
Indeed, they were the reinforcements sent by the Navy Headquarters.
Although Wood had heard that this assignment was supposed to be an easy one, seeing the attitude of the people at Impel Down made him realize that relations between the Navy and Impel Down staff might not be as harmonious as he had thought.
Taking custody of the prisoners from the Navy involves a series of procedures, and if a pirate is to be executed in the future, another round of complicated procedures will be required to transfer them from Impel Down.
Wood and the others assigned to Impel Down were officially there to assist with guarding the prisoners, but in reality, they were just there to handle paperwork and stamp documents at the perimeter.
After the pirates were handed over to the Impel Down staff, the Rear Admiral, seemingly uninterested in further interaction, exchanged a few pleasantries before departing with his ship.
Left behind were Wood and a few other bewildered newcomers.
The Brugly, known as "Great Sea Fighters," brought in chains at the Chief Jailer's signal, and the demon-like Chief Jailer turned to Wood and the others, saying, "Now, let's follow the procedures. You know what to do, right?"
Seeing the impatience on the Chief Jailer's face, Wood was dumbfounded. How would he know what to do? It was his first day on the job!
"Apologies, Chief Jailer. They're new and not yet familiar with the procedures, but we'll cooperate immediately."
As Wood and the other rookies stood there, clueless, some Navy personnel stationed at Impel Down finally arrived, signaling to Wood and the others to present the documents they had brought.
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 95 at patreon.com/Betek.