The Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Inside the Hall of Authority, the air felt thick enough to cut.
The five supreme rulers of the World Government sat around the center of the room.
Before them, a visual Den Den Mushi played encrypted footage transmitted from Marineford—Garp's overwhelming punch and Sengoku's grim intervention.
"The Monkey family bloodline is full of madmen," the bald Elder said, breaking the silence.
"Garp's reaction was expected, but his strength seems to have grown," the Elder with the large birthmark and flat hat noted, interlacing his fingers.
"Sengoku wants to keep this matter confined within the Marines. That is troublesome."
"The plan is already in motion. CP0 has set out with the Marines, at their speed, they will arrive at the prison shortly."
"I would very much like to see how Sengoku begs us for that brat's sake."
"Indeed. We have even abandoned Magellan. As long as they pacify Impel Down, we will use the riot as an excuse to force that brat to replace Magellan as Chief Warden so he will never leave the underwater prison."
The Elder with the crescent-shaped mustache nodded in agreement.
He had proposed the plan himself.
Its entire purpose was to prevent the Marines' rising, uncontrollable star from slipping their leash.
...
Impel Down, Eternal Hell.
The smell of blood mingled with seawater, spreading a metallic stench through the damp air.
Magellan stood over Shiryu of the Rain, his face dark as a storm front.
The Senzu bean had pulled him back from the edge of death, but the betrayal still burned in his chest.
"Shiryu," Magellan's voice was a low rumble. "What exactly is going on?"
Collapsed in a pool of his own blood, Shiryu laughed.
The pain from his ruined shoulders left his face pale, yet the hoarse, ugly sound bubbled up anyway.
"What's going on? You're asking me?" He raised his murky eyes toward Magellan, then looked past him to where Zaraki was wiping down Murasame.
"You should ask those important people above your head, Magellan. The ones who make the rules."
Magellan's pupils shrank. "You tried to escape on your own!"
"Did I?" Shiryu's smile dripped with mockery. "If no one had shut off the surveillance network in advance, if no one had tacitly allowed me to open the cell doors, do you really think I could have walked out so easily to stage a riot?"
The words made Magellan's heart sink.
His mind raced, connecting the clues.
A seemingly coincidental riot.
A Headquarters special envoy arriving at the exact right moment.
It pointed to one truth.
This was a trap.
A cage built for Zaraki, using Impel Down as the bait.
"Why?" Magellan demanded.
Shiryu looked at Zaraki, his eyes a mix of fear and twisted pleasure. "Because some people are afraid. Afraid of a monster they can't leash!" He gasped for air, forcing his last bit of strength into a roar.
"Brat! So what if you're strong?! You are facing the sky of this world! If they want you dead, you die! Hahaha... cough, cough..."
A coughing fit brought up a mouthful of blood, silencing him.
Magellan turned stiffly to look at Zaraki.
The young man sheathed his blade, his expression completely blank.
"What... do you plan to do?" Magellan realized his own voice was trembling.
Zaraki raised his eyelids, a cold smirk touching the corner of his mouth.
"What do I plan to do?" he repeated.
His tone was casual, but it carried a chilling certainty. "They want to kill me, so I'll kill them, it is that simple."
Ignoring the stunned Chief Warden, Zaraki walked toward the elevator.
"Come with me, Warden. There's a good show to watch."
Before Magellan could process the declaration, a jailer tumbled down from Level Five, his face pale with terror.
"W-Warden Magellan! Bad news!" The man pointed upward, his voice distorting. "Outside the Gates of Justice! At least twenty Marine Headquarters-class warships have appeared! There are World Government flags too! They... they look like—"
"So noisy." Zaraki frowned.
He reached out and snatched the clicking Den Den Mushi from the jailer's belt.
Crack.
He crushed the snail in his grip and the line went dead.
Level Six fell quiet once more.
The jailer stared at his empty belt, then at the broken shell dropping from Zaraki's hand, before collapsing to the floor in sheer terror.
Zaraki dusted his hands off as if he had just swatted a bug. He turned to Magellan, his amused grin returning.
"Looks like the guests have arrived." He rolled his neck, popping the joints. "They want to lock me up here? That script is boring. Let's change the rules of the game."
He licked his dry lips, excitement burning in his golden eyes.
"Let's see how many teeth they break trying to bite me."
Magellan's heart clenched.
He knew he should stop this madman.
But watching the battle intent radiating from Zaraki, a strange, terrible anticipation rose in his own chest.
Right then, the system panel flickered in Zaraki's mind.
[Ding! Detected that the host successfully suppressed the riot in Eternal Hell and defeated the legendary pirate Shiryu of the Rain head-on. S-rank hidden achievement unlocked: Hell's Requiem!]
[Calculating achievement reward...]
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained a new auxiliary template fragment: Zenitsu Agatsuma!]
[Template traits: Thunder Breathing, Initial Stage, Godspeed, powerful explosive acceleration.]
[Fuse immediately?]
Zenitsu Agatsuma? That crybaby who only knows one move?
The thought surfaced but was quickly replaced by the memory of the blinding lightning that tore through the night sky whenever the boy fell asleep.
Speed and explosive power... exactly what I need right now.
"Fuse."
A violent current erupted from his heart, flooding his limbs and bones.
Bzzt... crackle!
Magellan's eyes widened.
Tiny arcs of blue-white electricity leaped across Zaraki's body.
The static danced through his hair, sparked across his fingertips, and coiled around the sheath of Murasame with a crisp snap.
The sharp scent of ozone—the smell of a looming thunderstorm—filled the corridor.
Zaraki's entire aura shifted.
Before, he radiated pure, crushing destruction.
Now, that power condensed inward, the leaping lightning carried a sharper, far deadlier threat.
Magellan took a step back, a chill shooting from his boots to his skull.
The previous Zaraki was violent enough to redefine the Chief Warden's understanding of monsters.
But this new, crackling energy made it feel as though that same destructive force had just learned how to move faster than thought itself.
How many more trump cards is he hiding?
Is he even human?
...
Meanwhile, outside the Gates of Justice.
The sea was dead calm and not a single breeze stirred the air.
Twenty top-class warships from Marine Headquarters formed an iron blockade around the surrounding waters.
The tension was so heavy that even the Sea Kings remained hidden deep beneath the surface.
Every cannon was aimed directly at the tightly shut massive gates—the ultimate symbol of the World Government's absolute authority.