Impel Down Level 6—Eternal Hell. For these exceptional prisoners, they were allocated "single cells" or "shared cells" based on their level of threat. As one of the three legendary pirates, Golden Lion Shiki, Impel Down had naturally "thoughtfully" arranged a solitary cell for him.
The steel and wrought iron bars, made from high-quality materials, looked as if they had been torn apart by some kind of beast from the inside out, leaving behind a menacing hole. The outer bars were bent outward in an arc, with the bars near the opening broken and twisted toward the direction of the elevator shaft.
Sakazuki and the others stepped out of the elevator, and at a glance, the gaping hole—forming a stark contrast with the surrounding cells—seemed to bare its fangs at them, like a monstrous beast silently issuing a challenge. The now-empty cell contained only a large, semi-congealed pool of blood and a pair of severed legs cut off below the knees.
"...My deepest... deepest apologies, Vice Warden! I couldn't stop Shiki." The voice came from a rather distinctive-looking guard. He wore a headdress reminiscent of an Egyptian Pharaoh, and his belly protruded like a gluttonous demon.
"Who is this?" Borsalino gestured toward the peculiar man dressed in the uniform of a head jailer.
Sakazuki, however, recognized the man immediately—Hannyabal, whose face resembled that of an oni. He was the one who, when faced with an escape group made up of Supernovas and former Warlords, stood his ground and valiantly defended the upper-level passageways despite knowing he was no match for them.
Magellan clasped his hands together and introduced Hannyabal to the three Marine Admirals: "This is Hannyabal, the current Chief Jailer of Impel Down. He was also the first to witness the process of Golden Lion Shiki's escape."
"Oh?"
"You saw how he escaped?"
Magellan's explanation directed all three Admirals' gazes toward Hannyabal.
"...No... I didn't see how it started..." Hannyabal waved his hands frantically in denial.
Sakazuki approached the broken cell and carefully examined the bent iron bars. Without turning his head, he said, "Start from how you discovered Shiki's escape, Hannyabal. I want you to recall every detail of what happened at the time!"
Hannyabal lightly touched the devil-like horns on his forehead and began: "Today was the prison's scheduled feeding day. According to standard protocol, I came down to inspect the records for delivering the cold meals to the Level 6 prisoners."
Kuzan turned his head toward Magellan, who gave a slight nod, confirming that Hannyabal wasn't lying.
"But just as the elevator reached Level 6, I heard a loud crash from within, accompanied by the grating sound of steel breaking apart."
"So, by that time, Golden Lion Shiki had already broken free from his Seastone shackles and begun destroying his cell?" Sakazuki directed his gaze toward the severed legs lying in the pool of blood.
Hannyabal nodded repeatedly. "Yes! I immediately rushed into the Eternal Hell to investigate what had happened, and then I saw that Shiki's cell had been torn open from the inside, leaving a massive hole! But Shiki was nowhere to be found..."
"Wait~ Magellan said you were the first to witness the escape process," Borsalino interjected, catching the discrepancy in Hannyabal's words. "If you didn't see Shiki himself, how could Magellan claim you saw the escape?"
"And then... I saw him..."
"?"
"Where?"
Hannyabal raised his head and pointed a trembling finger toward a high beam. "Right there. Shiki was sitting up there, his legs dripping blood. He laughed maniacally and asked me where his swords, Oto and Kogarashi, were..."
As soon as Hannyabal finished speaking, the Glint-Glint Fruit user had already appeared on the beam he had indicated.
"Oh~ it's true! Sakazuki, I see some bloodstains on the beam," Borsalino crouched on the beam, confirming the details to Sakazuki, who had entered Shiki's cell.
A pair of severed legs, still bound with Seastone shackles, lay quietly on the ground. The legs were severed at the knees, and the cuts were far from clean. Instead, they were covered with countless tiny knife marks, as if they had been sliced apart little by little.
Shiki was known as a Devil Fruit user, a fact well-known to all. Seastone, a material that naturally suppresses Devil Fruit users, combined with its diamond-hard properties, made it the perfect material for restraints.
No Devil Fruit user could exert significant force under the effects of Seastone. As such, Impel Down had been confident in detaining Shiki with Seastone shackles and had left him in this cell.
Sakazuki couldn't wrap his mind around it. How had Shiki managed to sever his own legs and escape Impel Down while under the debilitating effects of Seastone?
Kuzan also slowly entered the crime scene. Squatting down, he picked up one of the severed legs still bound by Seastone shackles. Instantly, he felt a wave of weakness wash over him, making even the simple act of lifting his arm difficult.
Looking at Sakazuki, Kuzan said gravely, "The Seastone shackles haven't been tampered with. This means Shiki severed his own legs and escaped Impel Down while completely weakened and unable to muster any strength?"
"It wasn't done with brute force. Kuzan, Borsalino, Magellan—look here," Sakazuki said as if discovering something. He inserted his fingers into the bloody wound at one end of a severed leg and carefully searched inside before extracting an object.