https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-191-I-Stand-at-the-Prison-Gates-/12610994/
Chapter 192: Cellmate
Chapter 192: Cellmate
In the gloomy sixth level, only those sentenced to death or indefinite imprisonment were held. Before reaching this level, prisoners had to undergo a 'baptism' on the first five levels, leaving everyone in a state of weakness. However, there were also powerful individuals who remained unfazed, not even furrowing their brows.
The punishments didn't end with incarceration, as jailer beasts would periodically open the cages to strike inmates, and Magellan would make routine visits to execute those causing a ruckus.
As the warden, he possessed both the authority and the strength to execute prisoners at will.
In special cases, when the 'baptism' couldn't be administered, prisoners would be directly confined to the sixth level.
Like the current situation, where they were frozen in ice.
This ice was not only hard as rock but also served as a restraint. Combined with the unique environment of the sixth level, as long as there was no external interference, the prisoners would remain in this state indefinitely.
Ice never melted on the sixth level.
Once entombed in ice, the prisoners became perfectly docile, neither crying nor making a sound.
Just like the two icebergs in the massive prison cell, one of which had been frozen for thirty years, forgotten by the world and almost by Impel Down itself.
If it weren't for the arrival of a new iceberg, Magellan might not have even remembered its existence.
But now, this iceberg was a little different.
Cracks began to appear in the icy sculpture within, gradually spreading over time. On the second day of incarceration, the massive iceberg was covered in cracks, which eventually gave way, quickly widening and causing the iceberg to start shrinking as chunks of ice fell to the floor of the cell.
Bang...
Bang bang...
The falling ice blocks echoed softly in the dim sixth level, drawing no particular attention. After all, while it wasn't usually this noisy, the sixth level was never completely silent.
The cells were positioned close to each other, with some directly facing or adjacent to one another. And with pirates from various seas of the Grand Line gathered here, there was always something to talk about.
In one group of cells, there were those who had challenged the Yonko and ended up captured by the marines.
In another group, there were those who had caused great destruction and were deemed a threat to the world.
Arguments often broke out between those who loved to rob and those who loved treasure, each espousing their beliefs—one side insisting that robbery was the way of pirates, while the other countered that the romance of piracy lay in seeking treasure.
There was also a group uninterested in either, who simply loved adventure and nothing else.
They were less like traditional pirates and more like those who had been labeled 'pirates' by the World Government for illegally venturing out to sea.
Those who longed for order and those who reveled in chaos would clash, with one side arguing that order was necessary to establish territory, while the other countered that as pirates, they should be free to do as they pleased.
Ability users and those specializing in physical techniques or swordsmanship would also butt heads.
The ability users boasted about their powerful abilities, while the physical and swordsmanship-focused pirates countered that they possessed Haki, which made them superior!
There were also disputes over strength...
"I think Akainu is more powerful!"
In a cell housing three inmates, one of them stood by the cell bars, his shirt lifted to reveal burn scars covering half his body. "Look at these scars—a memento from Akainu. His power is unmatched in the vast seas!"
"Whitebeard is stronger!"
In the cell across from them, a burly man, nearly four meters tall, pointed to the twisted half of his face. "This disfigurement was caused by Whitebeard! Akainu is no match for Whitebeard! He would definitely be defeated!"
"The Magma-Magma Fruit is the most destructive fruit in the world! Whitebeard can't compare to Akainu!"
"You scum! Whitebeard is the strongest man in the world! He would definitely beat Akainu!"
The argument escalated between the two cells.
Of course, there were dissenting opinions as well.
"I think that old fool, Garp, is pretty strong."
A man in the neighboring cell stepped forward, extending his hand through the cell bars. "His punches really pack a wallop. I thought he would be weak because of his age, but he's still got it. If he were younger, he might've even been able to defeat Kaido!"
"Hah! You're talking about Kaido!"
A mocking laugh echoed from the cell across from him. "Kaido, the strongest creature in a one-on-one battle on land, at sea, or in the air! None of them—not Garp, Akainu, or Whitebeard—can beat him! Kaido is the strongest!"
"Garp is a hero of the Navy. Even though he's our enemy, I admire him. He's the one who captured Roger! Compared to him, Kaido is weaker."
"In my opinion, Big Mom is the strongest. You guys don't understand how terrifying that woman is!"
"Pfft, so what if she's impervious to swords and guns? Kaido's body is just as tough!"
"Shut up! Whitebeard is the strongest in the vast seas!"
"I still think Akainu has the most offensive power!"
"Kaido!"
"Big Mom!"
"I stand by Garp!"
Bang!
Amidst the cacophony, a prisoner in a cell not far from these bickering groups slammed his manacles against the cell bars and interjected, "I think Roger was the strongest. All the people you're talking about were still newbies when Roger made his name!"
This prisoner had been incarcerated for at least twenty years.
"Well, in that case, I'd say it's Rocks."
There were quite a few prisoners who had been incarcerated for at least twenty years in this sixth level.
Some knew about Roger, who was in his prime twenty years ago, and others knew about Rox, the true overlord of the pirates during that period.
"Hey? If you're going to talk about them, then the current topic should be the new era! The Great Pirate Era!"
"You're right, it's not that they're old, but they've passed away, and I have no idea how many years I've been locked up here. It's quite nostalgic, and the Big Mom when she was young was quite a looker. I heard she went crazy looking for her husband later on; I wanted to be her husband too."
A sigh echoed within the cell.
Following that sigh, the noisy cells fell silent, perhaps reminiscing about their past freedoms and feeling desperate about their current imprisoned lives?
"You're right, the younger Big Mom was quite a beauty."
"The young Gorosei was also very beautiful, and she was the Empress of the Kuja tribe. I've seen her; she was a bewitching woman."
"So have I, but I think the younger Basil Hawkins was even more attractive."
"Hawkins? How long have you been locked up here, still pining for that old hag? Anyway, let's talk about the present; I heard the current Empress of the Kuja tribe, Boa Hancock, is an absolute stunner."
"You're right."
"Agreed."
"I heard the veiled Mermaid Princess, Shirahoshi, is also incredibly beautiful."
"Makes sense."
"I think you're absolutely right, and I concur."
The noisy cells suddenly became harmonious, with no signs of the previous heated arguments.
However, this harmony didn't last long, and as someone steered the conversation in a different direction, they returned to their bickering.
Strength, treasure, territory, women, men, secrets of the nobles, scandals of the government—in these eternal cells of the sixth level, only their life experiences were worth discussing.
It didn't matter if it was noisy or not.
And amidst these voices, the gentle falling sounds were completely masked, escaping the notice of the jailer beasts that periodically checked on the prisoners.
Until the third day.
Boom!!
Just as an unknown prisoner sparked another round of bickering among these groups, the persistent gentle falling sounds suddenly intensified, resembling an explosion.
In the two icebergs within the cell, the newly arrived iceberg began to break apart, and as half of it shattered, the remaining half of the iceberg suddenly burst, sending ice chunks flying across the cell and crashing into the walls.
Boom... Boom...
The falling ice blocks produced a soft echo in the dim sixth level, drawing no particular attention. After all, while it was usually quieter, the sixth level was never completely silent.
The cells were positioned close to each other, with some directly facing or adjacent to one another. And with pirates from various seas of the Grand Line gathered here, there was always something to discuss.
"That's not some armored creature, but a man, a white-haired man."
There was a stiff creak as the man twisted his neck as if it had been broken, his vertebrae popping. Slowly, he raised his hand, his fingers curling inward until they formed a fist.
A series of cracks echoed from his body as if switches were being flipped, sending wisps of white vapor into the air and bringing life back to his frame.
"Huff!"
Sag exhaled a frosty breath, like an icy mist, that spread throughout the cell, even frosting the bars of the cage in front of him.
The freezing energy within him was completely expelled at this moment.
"That was a brutal freeze, mercilessly sealing even my will. Fortunately, I was in the process of recovering my Haki, so I retained some strength."
Sag rolled his shoulders, his face looking a bit haggard.
The cost had been immense.
He was aware of the passage of time, as he hadn't been completely frozen; some consciousness remained, and with it, his will. But this iceberg was more than just ice—the relentless extreme cold that permeated from it was the real threat.
By relying on his Haki, he had resisted the freezing energy, gradually chipping away at the ice around him. It had taken him about three days to break free and finally regain the ability to move freely.
However, the cost had been significant.
When he had been encased in ice, his entire state had been sealed, so he hadn't been able to sense anything. But by then, his stamina had been nearly depleted.
The 100% in 100% technique was a secret art that traded stamina for a burst of power, and now that moment had come. Aside from returning to his normal state, Sag's biggest feeling was...
He picked up a piece of ice from the ground, put it in his mouth, and chomped down on a large chunk, crunching noisily.
Hungry!
Incredibly hungry!
Ice was water, after all, and eating it was like drinking.
After moistening his throat, Sag finally looked at the barred cage and the dim space beyond it.
"So, I've been locked up?"
Sag paused, then realized where he was. This place...
A place capable of imprisoning him, so gloomy and filled with powerful auras...
"Impel Down?"
Sag clicked his tongue. "I actually ended up in a place like this."
It wasn't that he thought he'd never be captured.
Being a pirate meant accepting that there would be failures along the way—at most, they were career setbacks.
He had experienced major failures in every profession he'd tried, even failing to the point where he couldn't start anew.
This was already a good outcome.
He had merely been locked up.
Such a minor setback was nothing; it didn't signal the end of his career.
After all, he was still alive, and his strength remained. Moreover...
Crack!
Sag clenched his fist tightly, and in the vast space, his action created a loud sound. "Feels pretty good."
Boom!
Just then, another loud noise reverberated, causing Sag's eyebrows to furrow. Without even looking, his body subtly shifted, creating a series of lingering afterimages as he dodged the flying object.
"Ice chunk?"
He glanced at the ice block that had struck the wall and turned his head to the left. There, he saw a massive iceberg with a small opening at its front.
It seemed that the iceberg had been cracked by the impact of the ice block that had just flown toward him. From this opening, a larger crack emerged, and a huge hand reached out, shattering large chunks of ice.
Crash!
More ice chunks fell from the ice mountain, continuously breaking apart from the opening. Eventually, the entire structure collapsed, revealing a small giant, about five meters tall.
This man wore only a captain's coat and a helmet with a broken horn. He had green hair and a bushy mustache that curled upward at the ends. His eyes were closed, but one could sense the anger and malevolence emanating from him.
Even this long-lasting, unmelting ice hadn't been able to freeze his fury.
"Grrr..."
The burly man slowly opened his eyes, the whites prominent and the irises small, reflecting his intense anger.
"Alive again!"
He clenched his hand, and his body trembled, emitting a series of crackling sounds. Then he looked at Sag, who stood before him.
"Kid, who are you?"
"What a coincidence, I was about to ask you the same thing."
A smile played at the corners of Sag's mouth. "As cellmates, we should introduce ourselves."
(End of Chapter)
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