This world is not short of fools who become disheartened after defeat and pin their hopes on external objects.
Crocodile is like this, and Moriah is like this.
Besides them, even the powerhouses in Impel Down are the same.
Just as Garp was returning to the East Blue with Ace, a major event occurred in Impel Down.
The underwater great prison, Impel Down, Level 6, Infinite Hell.
Grating sounds, enough to make one's teeth ache, constantly echoed, irritating the criminals imprisoned in Infinite Hell.
"Hey! Golden Lion, what in the world are you doing? Can't you be quiet for a bit?"
Golden Lion Shiki glanced in the direction of the voice, but his vision was blocked by the thick cell walls.
He snorted disdainfully:
"How dare a nobody like you speak to me like that?"
"On the open sea, you wouldn't even be qualified to see me!"
"When I get out, the first person I'm going to kill is you!"
That voice sneered:
"Old man should just honestly dream in prison."
"Has the comb on your head made you stupid?"
"Want to get out? I'll be waiting for you, old man, to come and kill me!"
"If you have the guts, come now!"
Although they were all on Impel Down's sixth level, the circumstances among the prisoners varied.
Some were there because of their inherent strength and great influence, being destabilizing factors on the high seas.
Some were there due to conflicts between their race, crew, and the World Government.
Others were imprisoned for reasons such as massacring nobles of allied nations.
The power gap among these individuals was enormous.
Originally, pirates typically wouldn't deliberately provoke Shiki, who was a top-tier powerhouse.
However, after the Battle of Edd War that year, a ship's rudder was impaled into Golden Lion's head, causing him frequent, splitting headaches.
When Roger was executed, he then went alone to Marineford and fought Sengoku and Garp for three days and three nights, nearly overturning Marineford.
After being defeated by Sengoku and Garp, Golden Lion's condition became increasingly weak.
Due to difficulty concentrating, his Haki also became unreliable, sometimes working, sometimes not.
Especially Conqueror's Haki, which requires willpower to sustain, he was completely unable to release it.
Otherwise, when facing the small pirates who provoked him, Golden Lion would only need one Conqueror's Haki to make them lose consciousness.
Even this was already Golden Lion's peak state in the future.
As he aged, Golden Lion's condition would only worsen.
By the time the original story began, let alone Haki, he even started to lose his mind.
His condition was particularly similar to Murong Fu after going mad, Ouyang Feng practicing the Nine Yin Manual in reverse, or LeBron calling himself the GOAT.
However, now, facing the provocation of the small pirate, Golden Lion stated that he had never seen such a request.
"Crack!"
The grinding sound finally stopped, replaced by a wild burst of laughter:
"Gehahahaha..."
Accompanied by a loud bang, the fragile cell door shattered, and Golden Lion's figure flew out of the cell.
His legs were completely severed at the knees, and his legless body floated in the air, leaving a trail of crimson blood.
"What?"
"How is that possible?"
"This madman!"
The criminals of Infinite Hell instantly erupted into a clamor.
Those masters with Observation Haki were all surprised by Golden Lion's ruthlessness.
Even Red Earl couldn't help but glance at Golden Lion again.
However, Redfield was not yet a Devil Fruit user at this time, so Impel Down's method of detaining him was naturally different, and Golden Lion's escape had little relevance.
Moreover, he was somewhat disheartened after realizing that he couldn't gather a crew of experts like Roger to contend for the Pirate King's position.
That's why he chose to fight Kong head-on.
It could be said that being imprisoned in Impel Down was well within his expectations.
Redfield did not have an urgent desire to leave.
Bullet, on the other hand, looked at his feet, bound by Sea Stone chains, and then shook his head.
Although he could also create a pair of prosthetics for himself with his Merge-Merge Fruit ability.
But Bullet's goal was to be the strongest in the world.
Losing his legs would inevitably have a severe impact on his combat power... Under the gazes of many pirates, some astonished, some indifferent, Golden Lion floated in mid-air.
As one of the world's former top powerhouses, if not for the weakness Devil Fruit users experience when touching Sea Stone, how could a mere cell door have held him?
Now, he had severed the only part of his body in contact with Sea Stone—his legs—and his power was restored, allowing him to continue using his Float-Float Fruit ability.
Seeing this scene, all the criminals instantly became excited.
"Lord Shiki, please take me with you to break out!"
"Admiral, I am willing to follow in your footsteps!"
"Lord Shiki, take me! I can help you block Impel Down's guards!"
"Lord Shiki..."
"Admiral..."
The words of these people did not affect Golden Lion's thoughts; he floated to a cell door.
"It was you who wanted me to kill you just now, right?"
Looking at the trembling figure in the cell, Golden Lion crossed his arms, his long golden hair falling to the ground, his expression playful.
"No... no, no... I was joking, Admiral, I have always admired people like you the most."
"To tell you the truth, before I was captured and brought to Impel Down, I even participated in the Flying Pirates' selection, but unfortunately, I wasn't chosen."
"Oh... is that so?"
Golden Lion stroked his chin.
The man nodded quickly:
"Yes, yes, yes, so Lord Shiki, I would never dare to offend you in any way, please take me with you to plant the flag of the Flying Pirates all over the world!"
Good heavens, not only did he want to trick Golden Lion into sparing him, but he also wanted to trick Golden Lion into taking him out.
However, the current Golden Lion was not the mad old man from the beginning of the original story, who had been tormented by headaches for over twenty years.
With a "boom," Golden Lion smashed through the cell door and appeared before the pirate, gripping his neck with one hand and lifting him up:
"Do you think I'm an idiot? I am Golden Lion!!!"
Crack!
The small pirate's neck instantly shattered, and Golden Lion scanned the other prisoners, who had already fallen silent, a wild smile on his face:
"Gehahahaha... You scums, just wait to die in this hellhole!"
With that, Golden Lion activated his Float-Float Fruit ability and flew directly towards the passage.
"Bastard!"
"Shiki! You stop right there!"
"Golden Lion! You will pay for this! You will never escape!"
"I will kill you!!!"
Realizing they had been tricked, many pirates began to curse Golden Lion vociferously, but he was already far away.
Even though Golden Lion's Haki was difficult to use, he had no suitable weapon, a ship's rudder stuck in his head, and his legs were broken... he was still not someone ordinary jailers could handle.
Flying all the way to the fourth level, Golden Lion encountered no worthy opponent.
He pressed his hands on the heads of two jailers, lifting them up.
"Do you know where my two swords are? They are famous blades, you know."
The jailer tremblingly pointed to the equipment room nearby, unable to utter a single word.
"So they're here."
With that, he exerted force with his hands, and the heads of the two jailers instantly shattered, blood splattering everywhere.
Golden Lion ignored the blood on him and flew directly towards the equipment room.
When he found the two swords, "kogarashi" and "Sakura-ju," in the equipment room, Impel Down's defensive forces had already arrived.
Golden Lion grinned:
"You little brats of the Marine, do you think you can stop me?"
He floated in the air, reversed his grip on the two swords, and plunged their hilts into his severed legs to replace them, his expression unchanged throughout the process.
Having done all this, Golden Lion soared upwards, using his legs as swords, and slashed towards the jailers.
"Wave Slash!"
"Get out of the way!"
In the crowd, a voice rang out, passing everyone and standing at the very front.
It was the future Warden: Magellan.
"Hydra!"
The attacks of both sides collided, and dust rose everywhere.
Magellan just let out a sigh of relief:
"Blocked it!"
Then he heard Golden Lion's voice:
"Boy, where are you looking?"
"What?"
"Lion: Valley Slash!"