As the Marine and World Government's great prison at sea for the world's most vicious pirates, the inside of Impel Down could truly be called impregnable. Guards patrolled everywhere, all sorts of strange and ferocious beasts lurked within, and surveillance Den Den Mushi were visible at every turn, making the entire prison as unbreakable as a wall of steel.
Of course, no matter how powerful the mechanisms, traps, and guards were, they were all ultimately made and controlled by people.
The reason Impel Down had earned its reputation as an iron fortress today was entirely because of two people.
They were Magellan, the current Vice Warden, and Shiryu, the Captain of the Guards. By comparison, the prison's actual Director was almost obscure beside them.
But even Shiryu, infamous for his bloodthirsty nature, did not dare let his guard down in front of the current Director of this prison.
Impel Down, Level 4. Outside the Director's office, Magellan, dressed in his brownish-yellow Vice Warden uniform, and Shiryu, wearing the Captain of the Guards uniform, stood at the door for their daily report.
When a voice from inside called for them to enter, the huge wooden door was pushed open, and the two stepped inside.
What they saw was an extremely old-fashioned stone room. Wooden bookshelves filled every side of the walls, packed with all kinds of medical books. Sitting beside the desk on the left was a being that looked human, yet not human.
He was extremely burly, dressed in black guard attire. His lower half was that of a normal human, but his upper half was the head of a billy goat, with a pair of huge, hard, jet-black spiral horns jutting out prominently.
This was the current Director of Impel Down, Nicholas, known as the Black Goat.
Like a gentleman, he held a book in his hand. On its cover were the words Human Anatomy.
When he saw Magellan and Shiryu enter, he gently set the book down and said in a soft voice,
"You're here. You've really had it rough lately."
Though Nicholas, the goat-headed man before them and Director of the prison, looked every bit the gentleman, Magellan did not dare relax in the slightest. Instead, he saluted somewhat tensely and said,
"Director, everything inside Impel Down has been normal today as well. An hour ago, the Marines delivered a group of pirates, 1,300 in total. They're currently being judged on the first floor. Once that's over, they'll be sent to cells on the appropriate levels."
"Oh?"
Nicholas's eyes lit up on his neatly groomed, furry goat-like face.
"Any figures that need special attention?"
Magellan froze for a moment, then took a list from his coat and handed it over.
"There is one. He has a bounty of 150 million Belly. His name is Doug Rice."
As Magellan finished speaking, Nicholas had yet to react, but Shiryu slowly spoke up first.
"That name...?"
Nicholas looked at him curiously.
"You've heard of him, Shiryu?"
"Yeah."
Interest showed in Shiryu's eyes.
"If I remember right, he's a very famous swordsman on the Grand Line. But as far as I know, he isn't a pirate. So why was he arrested...?"
"Well... according to the information the Marines sent over, it was for slaughtering civilians."
"Slaughtering civilians..."
Shiryu seemed to realize something. A trace of disdain flashed through his eyes, but he said nothing more. Nicholas, on the other hand, lit up at once when he heard it.
"A swordsman praised even by Shiryu. His body must be very strong."
Magellan was taken aback. Shiryu, meanwhile, seemed thoughtful, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
As if realizing he had said too much, Nicholas looked at his two subordinates and asked,
"Anything else?"
"That's all on my side. What about you, Shiryu?"
Shiryu thought for a moment before raising one issue.
"More and more pirates are being thrown into Impel Down. We're starting to run short on cells."
"That really is a serious problem."
Magellan nodded in agreement.
But Nicholas only waved a hand and said with a smile,
"No need to worry. That problem will be solved very soon..."
...
Impel Down, ground level.
In a blind corner of the corridor, beyond the range of the Den Den Mushi and with no guards patrolling nearby.
As the Air Door opened, Yemu and the others stepped out from inside.
Unlike the quiet stillness inside the Door-Door space, which shut out all outside noise, the moment they emerged, they heard all kinds of wails and screams echoing throughout Impel Down like the cries of hell itself.
The youngest, Ayala and Kuromu, both swallowed nervously.
"So scary..."
Yemu reached out and rubbed their backs soothingly.
"You two okay?"
"Yeah, Yemu-nii-san / Boss!"
The two nodded, let out a breath, and forced themselves to focus.
"Then I'm leaving the next part to you, Kuromu."
"Leave it to me, Boss!"
As he spoke, Kuromu shifted his dinosaur body and pressed a hand against the ground.
"Earth Open!"
In an instant, a flash of light ran across the ground beneath their feet, and a circular mark appeared.
With a pull of his hand, a pitch-black hole opened beneath them.
"All set, Boss. Just follow me!"
With that, he jumped down first.
"Got it. I'm counting on you, Lillilu."
"Leave it to me!"
Under Lillilu's control, the huge black box, wrapped in swirling white mist, flew into the dark hole. The others followed by jumping down after it, and the ground returned to normal.
In that pitch-black world, a little fire dragon appeared on Yemu's shoulder, lighting up the surroundings.
A dark tunnel like a mine shaft came into view before everyone.
At the very bottom of that black tunnel, Kuromu used his Fruit ability to clear the way ahead, while the others sat on the black box.
Impel Down really was enormous. Its foundation alone was the size of an island, not to mention that it extended directly into the seabed. Excluding the top level above the sea, from Level 1 to Level 5, it stretched down at least several thousand meters.
Even with Kuromu using his Fruit ability to dig a straight path downward, it still took nearly ten minutes before they caught sight of Level 1: Crimson Hell.
But no one stopped. They kept going down.
Then came Level 2: Beast Hell.
Level 3: Starvation Hell.
There was no need to worry about the first three levels. The guards there had no way of detecting Yemu and the others.
Only when they reached Level 4: Blazing Hell did everyone become a little more cautious.
After all, the Director's office was on that level.
Finally, about an hour later.
Level 5: Freezing Hell.
In that white world of ice and snow, frigid winds howled across the land, sweeping through the entire world.
A gigantic circular gate appeared in the sky above...