Warden's Office, Impel Down, Level Four, Blazing Hell
"The Third Level needs support! Immediate support!"
The Den Den Mushi on the desk screamed in panic, its shell fitted with a gas mask.
"I don't know why, but the prisoners who were already on the verge of death have escaped! They're completely different now, brave, organized, cooperating with each other. Our forces have already been…"
The voice suddenly rose in terror.
"You, what are you trying to do? Step back! Step back!"
"Ah! Ah! Aahhh—!"
The transmission ended abruptly in a shrill scream.
"Hello? Hello?"
A massive figure stood up violently.
He did not even have time to finish detoxifying before pulling up his trousers, his expression dark as thunder. The strange purple aura lingering in the office was left behind as he strode out.
"What exactly is happening?" the man growled. "A mass riot in Level Three, the Hunger Prison?"
The man was tall, broad, and imposing, his physique monstrous, like a devil given flesh.
He was Magellan, the Warden of Impel Down, the strongest Devil Fruit user in the prison, and the man who commanded an unbeatable, lethal poison.
Before he could advance far, several security officers rushed toward him.
"Report, Warden Magellan!" the guards shouted, visibly relieved upon seeing him. "A riot has erupted in the Third Level. Nearly all ordinary prisoners have been swept into it. All defensive forces stationed there have lost contact."
"I understand," Magellan replied coldly.
He raised his hand.
"Relay my orders. Hannyabal is to seal all passages leading to Level Three immediately. No one is to leave that level."
His eyes sharpened.
"As for the rioters, leave them to me."
Dark purple poison began to seep from his body.
"If they are determined to die, then I will grant them their wish."
The guards paled, saluted hurriedly, and fled. Everyone knew better than to remain near Magellan when he was angry. The poison he leaked unconsciously could kill within seconds.
Magellan lifted his head, inhaling deeply, his senses tracking the air.
"Found them," he muttered. "All gathered in one place."
His lips curled slightly.
"Perfect. Right within Poison Dragon's range."
With a cold snort, he spoke with finality.
"If you refuse to repent, then you can all die here."
Gurgle. Gurgle.
"Hydra."
Dark purple liquid surged from his body, forming a poisonous slide that stretched upward toward Level Three.
Whoosh.
Wrapped in venom, Magellan propelled himself forward, moving through the toxic channel like a swimming serpent.
"Not a single instigator will leave Impel Down alive."
This was the turning point of the coming war against Whitebeard.
No instability could be tolerated.
…
Level Three, Hunger Prison
Bang.
"Shirogai San, your subordinate has returned."
Dunn knelt on one knee.
Golden fur covered his cheeks, thick sideburns hiding the blue oni tattoo on his head. His appearance had changed completely, yet his posture was one of absolute respect.
"Everything has been carried out according to your instructions."
He gestured toward the distance.
A large group of prisoners had been forced together, surrounded by former inmates whose Sea Prism Stone restraints had already been removed. They wielded confiscated jailer weapons, eyes cold and disciplined.
"Don't move."
"Anyone who moves gets cut."
The prisoners enforced the rules mercilessly.
When one captive tried to edge backward, he was immediately slashed and kicked to the ground.
"That cut was a warning," one sneered. "Next one will be your head."
The restrained prisoners trembled.
These were men just as vicious as themselves, yet now they obeyed a single person with terrifying devotion.
"Have they been drugged?" someone muttered nervously. "Why are they listening to some nobody like this?"
The muttering did not go unnoticed.
The offender was beaten down in seconds.
Silence followed.
Fearful gazes shifted toward the man standing calmly at the center.
Broken glasses, unremarkable clothing, hair styled into a neat three-shaped sideburn.
Shirogai.
What kind of existence could make monsters treat his words as law?
"Well done," Shirogai said calmly.
He was using Galdino's appearance.
His gaze swept over the gathered criminals.
Whisper-Whisper Fruit, Awakened State, Abyss Whisperer.
An unseen presence spread through their minds, rewriting instinct itself. Obedience was etched into the core of their thoughts.
One by one, the ouroboros symbol slowly rotated in the depths of their pupils.
Their wills vanished.
Click.
The Sea Prism Stone cuffs fell away.
Freedom returned to their bodies, but their loyalty belonged to one man alone.
Boom.
The ground exploded.
A hidden drainage pipe was torn apart.
"You worthless scum!" a thunderous voice roared. "What do you think you're doing in the prison I guard?"
A towering figure forced his way out, purple poison pouring from his body like mist from hell itself.
In seconds, the air turned lethal.
Prisoners collapsed choking, foam spilling from their mouths as their skin turned green.
More than half fell instantly.
This was power on the level of an Admiral.
Magellan had arrived.
"Heh," Shirogai said softly. "So it's you, Poison Human Magellan."
At the same time, knowledge flowed into his mind, fully understanding the Venom-Venom Fruit.
"Be careful!" Dunn roared, stepping forward.
His body swelled, fur bristling as claws crossed before his chest.
Magellan's gaze fixed on him.
"So it was you, Dunn the Fierce Lion."
He ignored Shirogai entirely, assuming Dunn was the leader.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused at this critical moment?"
Dunn bared his fangs.
"I didn't expect Impel Down's Warden to remember a small pirate like me."
"I know every criminal here," Magellan replied flatly. "Your attacks on Marine bases years ago were memorable. It took Admiral Aokiji personally freezing your ship to bring you in."
Dunn laughed savagely.
"If I hadn't been ambushed by that bastard Aokiji, I would have tasted ice long ago."
His eyes burned.
"Since I missed it, I'll taste your poison instead."
"Foolish," Magellan said.
He raised his hand.
"Poison Dragon."
A torrent of venom erupted, forming a massive dragon that roared through the air.
"Lion's Roar!"
Dunn inhaled deeply and unleashed a deafening shockwave.
The dragon's head shattered, exploding into toxic mist.
But the poison surged again.
Two heads regenerated instantly.
They struck.
Venom spread across Dunn's body, burning through flesh and muscle.
He screamed, collapsing as the poison ravaged him.
"Overconfident," Magellan said coldly.
He turned toward the remaining prisoners.
"Lay down your weapons. Or die."
Three more Poison Dragons coiled behind him.
Roar.
Bang.
A massive lion paw slammed Magellan into the ground.
"Shirogai San, leave now!" Dunn roared, pressing him down.
Magellan's voice echoed calmly from the crater.
"I underestimated Zoan poison resistance."
A dark purple hand shot up, gripping Dunn's paw.
"I will not repeat that mistake."
The lion's limb melted under Magellan's grasp.
Dunn vanished.
Magellan straightened, eyes narrowing.
"So it wasn't you."
He finally looked at Shirogai.
"You are the one who corrupted this level."
Recognition flickered.
"Former Baroque Works officer, Galdino."
"Who knows," Shirogai replied casually.
He snapped his fingers.
"Divine Domain."
An invisible field expanded.
"Hand of God, Repair."
White light surged.
Dunn's severed paw regenerated instantly.
"Hand of God, Strip."
The poison was torn from his body and suspended in the air.
Dunn roared triumphantly.
Magellan stared in disbelief.
"That is not the Wax-Wax Fruit."
His eyes locked onto Shirogai.
"Who exactly are you?"