Lakeman left the villa quietly.
Behind him, the warmth of silk, perfume, and soft voices still lingered in the air. The women inside had clearly missed his cock during the three days he had been sleeping away, and their reluctance to let him go had been obvious.
Yet Lakeman's mind was no longer on the comfort waiting behind him.
His thoughts had already sunk into the depths of Impel Down.
More precisely, into the darkness he had encountered three days ago.
That black spark.
That strange, horrifying will, hidden inside Patrick Redfield's mind.
Even now, the memory of it made his expression turn colder.
It had only been a fragment. A tiny trace. Something left behind like a scar or shadow. Yet that tiny trace had been enough to injure him.
Lakeman's eyes narrowed slightly.
For someone like him, who had long since surpassed the level of ordinary monsters on the sea, such a thing was unacceptable.
The elevator descended into silence.
Layer after layer passed.
At last, the gate opened before him.
The sixth floor.
Eternal Hell.
The moment Lakeman stepped out, the entire prison changed.
The prisoners who had been whispering, cursing, laughing, or muttering to themselves all froze at once.
Their voices died in their throats. Chains rattled as bodies instinctively shrank backward into the corners of their cells.
Fear spread faster than sound.
They remembered him.
More importantly, they remembered what had happened three days ago.
Back then, Lakeman's golden Conqueror's Haki had already been terrifying enough to crush their spirits.
But after that, the black lightning had erupted. It had carried something far worse than pressure. It had been like despair itself had opened its eyes.
None of them understood what had happened.
They only knew that Lakeman had come, and then the world had gone black.
Now he had returned.
Lakeman glanced across the cells with calm indifference.
He had no interest in their fear.
He simply released his golden Conqueror's Haki.
This time, he restrained it carefully.
There was no need to destroy their minds. No need to break their bodies. His goal was simple.
Silence.
Golden pressure swept across Eternal Hell like a silent tide.
One prisoner after another stiffened, rolled their eyes, and collapsed unconscious. Even the Den Den Mushi hidden across the floor went limp, their eyes spiraling as they fainted under the overwhelming will.
Only three prisoners remained awake.
Golden Lion Shiki.
Douglas Bullet.
Patrick Redfield.
Lakeman had deliberately spared them.
'Now no one will disturb us.'
His footsteps echoed against the cold stone floor as he walked deeper into the prison.
The air grew heavier with every step.
Eternal Hell had never been a pleasant place, but today it felt different. The darkness seemed to cling to the walls. The silence felt too complete, as if the floor itself was waiting for him to uncover something that should have remained buried.
Soon, Lakeman stopped before a certain cell.
Inside stood a massive block of ice.
Within that ice, a man was frozen in place.
Byrnndi World. The World Destroyer.
His body was sealed, unmoving and silent, trapped inside the frozen prison that had held him for years.
At that moment, the system's notification appeared in Lakeman's mind.
[Genius detected: Byrnndi World.]
[Begin binding? Y/N]
Lakeman did not hesitate.
'Bind.'
The last time he had come to Impel Down, he had ignored Byrnndi World.
At that time, binding him had seemed pointless. Byrnndi was frozen, imprisoned, and unable to train.
Even if he was a powerful genius, a sealed genius could not provide much feedback. He could not grow, fight, improve, or produce meaningful returns.
But things were different now.
Rayleigh's death had changed Lakeman's understanding of the system.
A living genius provided continuous feedback.
A dead bound genius could provide something else.
A final harvest.
The sweetness of taking everything at the moment of death had already been proven.
[Binding Byrnndi World.]
[Progress: 0.78%.]
Lakeman looked at the frozen man for a moment.
His gaze was calm, almost indifferent.
'After the binding is complete, I will kill him. His physique, strength, speed, techniques, Devil Fruit proficiency, combat experience, and everything else that shaped his existence will become mine.'
A faint smile touched his lips.
'Nothing will be wasted.'
With that thought, Lakeman turned away from the ice and continued deeper into Eternal Hell.
It did not take long before he reached the cells of the three legends.
Golden Lion Shiki.
Douglas Bullet.
Patrick Redfield.
Compared to their former arrogance, all three looked miserable now.
The injuries they had suffered three days ago had not fully healed.
Lakeman had given them life essence back then only because he did not want them to die before he understood what had happened.
Even so, the damage caused by the black lightning had been horrifying.
Shiki's breathing was heavy.
Bullet's muscles still twitched from time to time, as if his body remembered the pain even while his mind tried to suppress it.
Both of them flinched when Lakeman appeared.
The movement was small, almost unnoticeable.
But for men of their level, even that tiny reaction said enough.
They feared him.
Or rather, they feared what they believed belonged to him.
Neither Shiki nor Bullet had understood what had truly happened three days ago. To them, Lakeman had released golden Haki first, and then the black lightning had followed. Naturally, they assumed both had come from him.
Only Redfield was different.
He was the most injured of the three. His face was pale, and his aura was weak. He looked like a man who had walked to the edge of death and barely been dragged back.
Yet his eyes did not contain only fear.
There was relief.
There was also gratitude.
Lakeman stopped before Redfield's cell.
"Redfield," he said, his voice calm but solemn. "Explain what happened."
Redfield slowly raised his head.
Lakeman's blood-red eyes remained fixed on him.
"What was that black Conqueror's Haki? Why was it hidden inside your mind?"
Shiki and Bullet immediately looked toward Redfield.
Even through their pain, their attention sharpened.
They had been waiting for this answer as well.
Redfield was silent for several breaths.
Then he gave a bitter smile.
"I do not know everything," he said. "But first, I must thank Saint Lakeman."
Lakeman's gaze did not change.
Redfield lowered his head slightly.
"You got rid of it for me."
The words made Shiki's eyes narrow.
Bullet's expression darkened.
Redfield continued, his voice low and hoarse.
"Before you came here three days ago, I did not even know it was still inside me. I did not know something like that had hidden itself in the depths of my mind."
His fingers tightened around the chains near him.
"Only after experiencing your golden Conqueror's Haki did it fully awaken. It surged up as if your Haki was its natural enemy."
Lakeman's expression turned colder.
"Natural enemy?"
"That is how it felt," Redfield said. "It did not simply react. It hated your Haki. It wanted to destroy it."
The prison fell into a deeper silence.
Redfield's eyes grew distant.
"The first time I saw that black lightning was a few years ago. It happened a few days before my battle with Sengoku and Garp."
Lakeman's eyes sharpened.
"Where?"
Redfield inhaled slowly.
For a man like him, who had once stood at the peak of the sea, fear was not something he would show easily. Yet the memory clearly shook him.
"Near the Florian Triangle."
The moment those words came out, Lakeman's gaze changed.
Shiki and Bullet both noticed it.
Redfield continued.
"I was hungry at the time. I had found a Sea King and was chasing it for meat. I could have killed it easily, but I was in no hurry. It was rare for me to feel relaxed, so I played with it for a while as it fled."
A self-mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Arrogant, was I not?"
No one answered.
Redfield's voice grew quieter.
"The Sea King entered the fog surrounding the Florian Triangle. I did not want to get lost inside, so I released Conqueror's Haki to knock it unconscious before towing it back out."
His expression stiffened.
"Then I heard it."
Lakeman remained still.
"A deep rumbling from beneath the sea," Redfield said. "It was not the sound of a Sea King. It was not an earthquake. It was not the movement of the ocean. I had never heard anything like it in my life."
His pupils trembled slightly.
"It was vast. Ancient. Heavy. As if something below the sea had turned in its sleep."
Shiki's face became serious.
Bullet stopped breathing for a second.
Redfield's voice dropped even lower.
"Then came fear."
He clenched his jaw.
"I was at my peak back then. I was confident I could rival Roger or Whitebeard alone. I had crossed the seas without bowing to anyone. But in that moment, every instinct in my body screamed that death was certain."
He looked down at his hands.
"A pressure descended on me. I could not move. I could barely breathe. I was forced down onto my own boat like a helpless insect."
Lakeman's eyes narrowed.
"And then?"
"Then I saw it."
Redfield's voice became almost a whisper.
"A black lightning bolt."
The air seemed to grow colder.
"It was wrapped in an aura of despair and destruction. It struck the unconscious Sea King. Wherever the lightning touched, that part of the Sea King's body disappeared. No blood. No struggle. No resistance. It was as if existence itself had been erased."
Even Shiki and Bullet felt their scalps go numb.
They had seen countless battles.
They had seen islands destroyed, seas split, and monsters torn apart.
But what Redfield described was different.
That was not ordinary destruction.
Redfield swallowed.
"Before I could see more, I lost consciousness."
The chains around him shifted as he leaned back slightly.
"When I woke up, I was already outside the Florian Triangle. My boat was drifting aimlessly on the sea, half destroyed. I was alive, but I did not understand why."
His expression twisted.
"At first, I convinced myself it had been a hallucination caused by the fog. The Florian Triangle is famous for swallowing ships. I told myself my boat had been damaged by a storm and that hunger had affected my mind."
He gave a dry laugh.
"I wanted to believe that."
Lakeman said, "Because the alternative was too terrifying."
Redfield nodded slowly.
"Yes."
His eyes became heavy.
"I did not want to believe that something like that existed in this world. Something so dreadful. Something capable of making even me feel like a frog at the bottom of a well."
The words made Shiki's expression ugly.
Bullet's fists tightened.
Redfield continued.
"After that, I battled Kong. Then I fought Garp and Sengoku. I was defeated and imprisoned here. But even during those battles, I was not truly at my peak."
He closed his eyes.
"That fear had already entered me."
Lakeman's gaze deepened.
"So that black lightning was not merely something you saw. It left a trace inside your mind."
"I believe so," Redfield said. "But I did not know it until three days ago."
He looked at Lakeman again.
"When I saw your golden Conqueror's Haki, I felt something similar. Not the same, but similar in level. Before I could understand it, negative emotions flooded my mind. Rage. Fear. Despair. Hatred. Madness."
His voice trembled slightly.
"It surfaced only because of you."
Lakeman remained silent.
Redfield continued carefully.
"You called it Conqueror's Haki. I think you were right, but it was not like the Conqueror's Haki used by ordinary kings on the sea."
He looked directly into Lakeman's eyes.
"Your Haki carries domination. Control. Supremacy. It demands surrender."
Lakeman did not deny it.
Redfield's tone became grave.
"But that black Haki was different. It carried killing intent, destruction, despair, and countless negative emotions twisted together. It did not want to rule. It wanted everything to end."
Shiki and Bullet felt a chill crawl over their backs.
Lakeman's eyes lowered slightly.
Redfield hesitated, then asked, "Saint Lakeman, what exactly is that level of Haki? And what is yours? I have lived for many years, but I have never heard of anything like this."
Lakeman did not answer immediately.
His mind was already racing.
'The Florian Triangle.'
'Black lightning.'
'Something beneath the sea.'
'Imu's warning.'
His thoughts connected one after another.
'Was that black Conqueror's Haki released by the monster created from the Davy Jones clan's patriarch? The thing sleeping deep beneath the sea in the Florian Triangle?'
His expression darkened.
'Or is it something else?'
Another thought followed.
'Can I bind it?'
The moment that thought appeared, even Lakeman felt his heart stir.
If such a being could be bound, what kind of feedback would it provide?
Would he gain that black Conqueror's Haki?
Would it merge with his own golden Haki?
Would it strengthen all his attributes?
Could killing it after binding give him enough feedback to step directly into the God Realm?
For a moment, temptation flickered in Lakeman's eyes.
Then he immediately suppressed it.
'No.'
His expression became cold and rational again.
Just a tiny remnant of that thing's will had nearly killed him.
If he truly faced the source now, the result would not be a battle.
It would be suicide.
Lakeman silently made a decision.
'Until I reach the God Realm in every important aspect — physique, strength, agility, endurance, stamina, all three kinds of Haki, swordsmanship, Devil Fruit power, and overall life level — I will not approach any of the dangerous places Imu warned me about.'
Not the Florian Triangle.
Not the other forbidden regions.
Not yet.
"Saint Lakeman."
Redfield's voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Lakeman looked at him.
Redfield's expression was no longer as bitter as before. There was curiosity there now. And longing.
He wanted to know.
A man who had once stood near the peak of the world had seen a higher mountain. Even if he was old and imprisoned, the desire to climb had not fully died.
Lakeman smiled faintly.
"Do you want to learn about it?"
Redfield's eyes sharpened.
Lakeman continued, "I can tell you. I can even teach you how to reach such a level of Haki."
The entire prison seemed to hold its breath.
Shiki's eyes widened slightly.
Bullet stared at Lakeman.
Redfield's breathing became heavier.
Then Lakeman's smile deepened.
"But there is a condition."
Redfield did not speak.
Lakeman said calmly, "You must be forever loyal to me."
The words fell heavily.
For Patrick Redfield, this was not a simple condition.
He was the Lonely Red.
He had never needed a crew.
Roger had tried to recruit him.
Whitebeard had shown interest in him.
Many powerful figures had once extended invitations.
His answer had always been the same.
He belonged to no one.
He walked alone. That was his pride. That was his legend.
But now, he was old.
His body had decayed. His peak had passed.
And three days ago, he had almost died without even understanding what had been hidden inside his own mind.
More importantly, Lakeman had saved him.
He had removed the black trace.
He had shown him a higher level of Haki.
A realm beyond Roger, Whitebeard, Garp, Sengoku, Kong, and perhaps even Rocks.
Redfield lowered his head.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then his eyes became resolute.
"I am willing."
The words were simple.
But for Patrick Redfield, they carried the weight of a lifetime.
Shiki and Bullet stared in disbelief.
Golden Lion Shiki, who had once tried to conquer the world with his own ambitions, could not hide the shock on his face.
Douglas Bullet, who believed strength stood above all things, felt his worldview shake.
Patrick Redfield had bowed.
The Lonely Red had chosen loyalty.
Lakeman looked at him for a moment, then smiled.
"Good."
His voice was calm, but the meaning behind it was absolute.
"Then from this moment onward, Patrick Redfield, your old path ends."
Lakeman's blood-red eyes seemed to burn in the darkness.
"And a new one begins under me."
Redfield lowered his head further.
"Yes, Saint Lakeman."
The words echoed through Eternal Hell.
Shiki's expression shifted again and again.
Bullet's gaze became darker, more complicated.
They had listened to Redfield's story.
They had witnessed his surrender.
And now, for the first time, both of them realized something.
The world they had once fought to conquer was far larger and far more terrifying than they had ever imagined.
Above the emperors, there were monsters.
Above those monsters, there were ancient shadows.
And standing before them was a young Celestial Dragon who intended to climb beyond them all.
Lakeman turned his gaze toward Shiki and Bullet.
Neither of them spoke.
But the silence in their cells was different now.
It was no longer only fear.
There was uncertainty.
There was curiosity.
And beneath it all, there was the first faint crack in their old pride.
Lakeman noticed it.
Naturally, he did.
His smile became colder.
"Interesting."
He turned back toward Redfield.
"Tell me everything you remember about that day. Every sound. Every feeling. Every detail. Do not leave anything out."
Redfield nodded.
"As you command, Saint Lakeman."
Deep inside Eternal Hell, surrounded by unconscious monsters and broken legends, Lakeman listened.
Outside, Impel Down remained silent.
But beneath the silence, the future had already begun to shift.
Because the black spark in Redfield's mind was not the end.
It was a warning.
And somewhere beneath the sea, in the fog-choked darkness of the Florian Triangle, something ancient still slept.
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