The moment the system spoke, Liam Ross felt a flicker of shock mixed with delight.
So the upgrade had finally begun.
Thinking back to all the system novels he had read in his past life, an upgrade usually meant one thing. New functions. Stronger, crazier, more unpredictable features. The thought alone filled him with anticipation.
Meanwhile, in Impel Down.
The enormous iron gate creaked open, grinding slowly like the growl of a giant beast.
At the front of the group, Vice Admiral Garp strolled inside while munching casually on a doughnut.
Beside Liam's clone walked Admiral Sakazuki, silent and stern, tasked with guarding him in case of any unexpected trouble. Behind them marched a full squad of Marine soldiers.
Magellan, still only the Deputy Warden at this point, approached quickly with several jailers in tow after receiving a call from his men.
His body was shrouded in poisonous vapor, yet his posture was respectful.
"Welcome to Impel Down, Vice Admiral Garp."
Magellan's voice was loud and formal. After all, Garp was one of the few people in the world he genuinely admired.
Garp nodded, then casually used the same doughnut-holding hand to dig into his nose.
"So where did your Warden run off to?"
Magellan replied, "The Warden had urgent matters to attend to. He instructed me to greet you on his behalf."
(This detail is fictional. Some fans insist the Warden should be Shiryu, but there is no official confirmation.)
Their short exchange ended.
Magellan then turned his gaze toward Liam's clone. The eerie grin mask caught him off guard for a moment.
He had heard of the masked criminal known as "Emperor Sky," the Logia user with earth-based powers, someone rumored to have near-Admiral-level strength.
Not long after his rise, he had already fallen into Marine hands.
The group boarded the massive elevator and descended to Level Six, the infamous Eternal Hell.
This was where legends were buried.
Here lived criminals whose names were kept from the world, not because they lacked infamy, but because their deeds were too monstrous to allow public knowledge.
Most awaited execution or permanent imprisonment, their existence erased to prevent mass panic.
The silence was oppressive.
Liam's clone walked with heavy restraints around his ankles. Every step dragged the sea-stone chains against the ground, producing sharp metallic clinks that echoed through the corridor and disrupted the stillness of Eternal Hell.
He passed row after row of dark, oppressive cells.
"Put him inside."
Magellan ordered the guards to open the sixth cell in the center row, then personally escorted Liam's clone inside.
He removed the clone's handcuffs only to replace them with thick, sea-stone shackles built into the cell.
"Emperor Sky, this is where you will spend the rest of your life."
Sakazuki stood outside, his voice cold and mocking as he looked at the silent figure sitting in the shadows.
He still felt furious every time he remembered being knocked out during that embarrassing incident.
Humiliation was not something Sakazuki ever forgave.
Liam chuckled lazily.
"I think this place is actually kind of nice. Warm in winter, cool in summer, and three meals a day. What more could a man ask for."
Garp suddenly chimed in.
"Kid, once Vegapunk arrives, I doubt you'll be saying that. Good luck."
With that, the group left.
Silence swallowed the corridor again.
Liam's clone leaned against the wall, staring at the sea-stone shackles around his wrists.
Beneath the mask, the corner of his lips curled upward.
These restraints were only effective against Devil Fruit abilities, not against his invisibility technique.
He decided to test it.
With a thought, he vanished instantly.
Oddly enough, the chains remained visible.
Liam frowned slightly.
So escaping would require removing the shackles first.
Even with invisibility, he would still drag the chains around, exposing himself.
He sighed.
"Looks like getting out of here in a short time might be a bit troublesome."
His muttering had barely ended when a mocking laugh echoed from a nearby cell.
"Hilarious. What do you think this place is, your backyard? Come and go as you please?"
Another voice followed with a sneer.
"Stop dreaming, kid. This is Level Six. No one escapes from here. Just wait for your fate."
Then came more voices, one after another, turning the silent hell into a noisy marketplace.
"Finally, a newcomer."
"Hey, kid, tell us what the outside world is like."
"How did someone like you end up here?"
The questions piled in from different cells, each voice stranger than the last.
Liam glanced toward the walls, then responded with a casual tone.
"It's nothing big. I recruited a few people, formed a small organization, and the World Government labeled me as someone plotting to disrupt world peace.
Then I fought a bunch of Marine Vice Admirals. They ganged up on me, which is why I'm here."
Silence.
A long, deep silence.
Liam blinked behind his mask.
Did he overdo the bragging?
He tapped the wall with his sea-stone shackles.
"Hello? Anyone still alive over there?"
A loud, imposing voice rumbled from the cell next to him.
"Who are you calling 'bro'? I am Douglas Barrett."
Liam's expression froze for a moment.
So his neighbor happened to be that Barrett.
Former crew member of the Pirate King Roger.
A monster whose own allies once called him inhuman.
And if he could recruit someone like that for his future empire, it would be a massive boost.
Of course Barrett was notoriously stubborn and uncontrollable, but raw power shaped empires.
After thinking it through, Liam shook the chains again, knocking the wall.
"Quit knocking the wall, kid. Speak your mind."
Barrett sounded impatient.
"Ahem."
Liam cleared his throat.
"First of all, when I said 'bro,' it's just a friendly term in my hometown. It's not literal."
"What do you want?"
Barrett's tone sharpened.
Liam's smile widened beneath the mask.
"Barrett, have you ever heard of a little group called the Skybreaker Crew?"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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