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Chapter 1223: I'm the Winner
Chapter 1223: I’m the Winner
“We’re here, Admiral.”
Domino announced as Kuro shook his head and stepped out of the elevator alone.
Domino hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and followed.
The dim, shadowy area was filled with irregularly arranged, differently-sized square prisons. Some cells were already empty.
Years ago, Blackbeard had entered here, released prisoners, and forced them to slaughter each other to select companions. Those who won became allies of Marshall D. Teach, while the losers were ignored. Many who survived eventually escaped.
Some Great Pirates who refused Marshall D. Teach’s selection also took the opportunity to flee.
Thus, the sixth level prison was now partially empty, though still occupied.
“Hahahaha!”
As Kuro and Domino walked side by side, a sudden roar erupted from a nearby cell.
Wolf-like glowing eyes shone from the darkness behind the bars.
“Men! And a woman!”
After the voice sounded, surrounding cells also lit up with eerie glows.
“Not Magellan.”
“Hehe, woman, come play with me!”
“Men are acceptable too. That one looks like Navy! Hey, Navy Brother, come closer! Old Man loves your type!”
Voices rose in a cacophony.
Domino’s steps faltered slightly, sweat trickling down her temple.
She hated this place. The prisoners were all extremely dangerous, and she rarely came here. The air was suffocating, even terrifying.
Bang!
A hand shot out from the bars, wrists shackled, reaching toward Domino.
Inside the shadows, a pair of glowing, mad eyes burned.
“Woman!!”
Hiss!
Before the voice finished, the outstretched wrist was sliced through by a wisp of Black Radiance, cleanly severed. The hand dropped to the ground.
Clack.
Kuro sheathed Autumn Water and turned toward the cell. “Sit in prison and behave. Don’t speak recklessly. I’m not someone from Impel Down who follows those no-killing rules.”
“Gaaaahhhhh!!”
The prisoner finally screamed in pain from the severed hand.
“Navy!!”
“This damned Navy!!”
“Kill him!”
“Got the guts? Let me out and I’ll kill you!!”
The prisoners roared again.
Most of them had been captured by the Navy and harbored deep hatred toward it.
Kuro narrowed his eyes, exhaling smoke from the cigar between his lips. The smoke didn’t dissipate but drifted into the cell of the loudest prisoner.
“Cough, cough cough!”
“What did you do, Navy!!”
Instantly, the prisoner coughed violently, voices gasping as if suffocating.
“Kuro Admiral.” Domino’s voice trembled with concern. “Isn’t this too—”
“Magellan, wrong. Hannyabal can’t control me. These scum deserve punishment.”
Kuro’s lowered hand clenched suddenly, and the air around them seemed to circulate faster.
“No! Can’t breathe!”
“What’s happening? Where’s the air!”
Prisoners in surrounding cells screamed.
Kuro’s lips curled into a faint smirk. He extended a finger from his lowered hand, pointing at one cell.
“I always thought that bastard Shiryu was a shame. If he’d joined the Navy, no one would’ve said a word. Pity he was born in Impel Down, unlike me—”
Bang!
The finger snapped like a gunshot. A burst of blood erupted from a cell where a prisoner had started to reach out. The wailing stopped instantly.
Only after his palm relaxed did the air resume flowing in the cells.
Gasps filled the area as prisoners greedily inhaled the sudden return of air.
The taunts ceased. The prisoners now understood—this man was not to be trifled with.
He had the power to decide their life or death.
Seeing the sudden silence, Kuro nodded in satisfaction. “That’s better. Sit in prison like you should. You don’t even have the strength to escape—so behave.”
He turned and walked on.
“Is that all?”
Domino couldn’t believe it, standing frozen for a moment. Seeing Kuro walk farther, she hurried after him. “Kuro Admiral, you’re amazing! The warden—no, the Deputy Warden—used to come here, but they never feared him. They kept acting the same. But you shut them down instantly!”
“If you can’t control them, how can you expect them to obey?”
Kuro shook his head. “Magellan and I are the same. When we’re here, they’ll behave. When we leave, they’ll return to normal. These mad pirates in this abyss only live for this amusement. They’re hard to kill.”
If not for Magellan’s potential wrath, he’d have slaughtered them all long ago.
Impel Down wasn’t Navy territory. Killing criminals here wouldn’t be punished. The Navy’s side was even worse—Sakazuki’s place was a mess. If he came here, the sixth level would be wiped out, and Impel Down itself might become a hell. A Lava Hell.
But the systems weren’t unified. That wasn’t Kuro’s problem.
They continued deeper. The sixth level grew darker, the cells fewer. After turning a corner, Domino finally stopped. “We’re here.”
Before them stood a massive, isolated prison cell. No other cells surrounded it.
Kuro paused before the bars, then spoke. “Yo, you look comfortable.”
The dim light revealed the cell’s interior.
Inside the vast cell, a single prisoner was bound in thick chains. Chains pierced his shoulders, and heavy shackles bound his feet to the wall. To move, he’d have to destroy the wall itself.
The prisoner had no hands. He sat cross-legged, slowly lifting his head at the sound of Kuro’s voice, revealing a head of red hair under the light.
“Yo, Kuro.” Red-Haired Shanks smiled. “Come to visit me?”
“I didn’t plan to, but I have a message from above.”
Kuro pulled out his cigar box and offered it. “Smoke?”
Shanks shook his head. “I only drink.”
“Sorry, I didn’t bring any.”
Kuro put the box away. “I was ordered to ask you one thing—‘Red’… is she still alive?”
Red.
At the name, Shanks’ pupils narrowed, his smile widening. “Her? Kuro, bring me a bottle of rum instead. Rum’s fine. Haven’t had any in a while. I miss it.”
Kuro clicked his tongue. “You’re such a pain. Only you’d dare speak like this in this hellhole. Domino—go get two bottles of rum.”
“Admiral, that violates the rules—”
“I’ll explain to command. Just bring them.”
Kuro waved his hand, then turned back to Shanks. “By the way, you were right about your premonition. The kid you favored, Luffy, did defeat Kaido. But—”
He bared his teeth, as if trying to provoke Shanks. “I’m the winner.”
(End of Chapter)
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