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Chapter 120is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
"Tsuno-Tokage!"
Baishui watched as the light in front of him suddenly dimmed. A black phantom expanded rapidly in his field of vision.
His pupils contracted. Gecko Moria is still Gecko Moria, he thought. Even if his strength only puts him in the middle of the pack among the Shichibukai, he's still more than capable of striking fear into the hearts of most pirates.
"Kami-e!"
Baishui's body suddenly became ethereal. Swaying like paper in the wind, he effortlessly drifted past Moria's lethal strike.
"Soru."
With a blur of motion, Baishui vanished from his spot, reappearing instantly right in front of Moria. His fist cracked as particles of light converged around it, and he threw a devastating punch straight at the giant pirate.
"Kagemusha!"
Facing the incoming blow, Moria resorted to his old trick, instantly swapping places with his shadowy double.
Bang!
This time, however, Baishui was ready. Coating his fist in Busoshoku Haki, he slammed straight into the shadow double, sending it flying. Without missing a beat, he raised the twin pistols in his hands and pulled the triggers.
A concentrated beam of light blasted toward Moria's true body, while a scattershot of light projectiles rained down on the shadow double.
"Kage—!"
Seeing the incoming barrage of light, Moria instinctively moved to use Kagemusha again. But a sudden, terrifying sense of imminent danger washed over him. He abandoned the swap immediately, opting instead to summon his Doppelman to his side.
Boom!
The Doppelman proved to be Moria's ultimate bodyguard, crossing its arms to absorb the full brunt of Baishui's attack. Though the shadow sustained heavy damage, it successfully shielded its master.
"Kishishishi! Impressive as expected!" Moria laughed, watching Baishui from a distance. However, the urge to fight had completely vanished from his face.
Through this brief clash, Baishui had proven his strength. Even Moria himself wasn't confident he could win a drawn-out fight.
"Gecko Moria, the World Government formally invites you to join the Shichibukai. You would become one of the seven pirates legally permitted to pillage under the government's banner. What do you say?"
Seeing that Moria had lost his will to fight, Baishui casually sat down on the ground and smiled up at him.
"Kishishishi, and what's the catch?" Moria asked.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If the World Government was handing out such massive authority, they definitely expected an equivalent price in return.
"Heh, you'll simply be required to answer the Marines' summons when necessary and attend the Shichibukai meetings," Baishui replied with a light chuckle. "The rest of the time, you're free to do as you please. The Marines won't interfere."
"Is that so? And who exactly are the other six members? I'm quite curious!" Moria pressed. Despite his probing questions, the grin on his face betrayed his true thoughts. He was incredibly tempted.
The Marines had released news of the system earlier, but now that the moment was actually here, Moria couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The fact that the Marines hadn't publicly announced the roster yet, however, was a point of deep annoyance for him.
"Hawk-Eyes, Dracule Mihawk."
"Heavenly Yaksha, Donquixote Doflamingo."
"Tyrant, Bartholomew Kuma."
"Knight of the Sea, Jinbe."
"Desert King, Sir Crocodile."
"Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock."
Baishui rattled off the names one by one—each a notoriously powerful pirate who had shaken the seas.
"So that's the lineup. Interesting. I accept!" Moria said, his eyes narrowing into a smirk.
"In that case, leave a thumbprint so I can go back and report my mission," Baishui said, letting out a subtle sigh of relief. He waved a Marine Commander over, retrieved a document from him, and tossed it to Moria.
"Ah, what is it, Admiral Borsalino? Isn't this just business as usual?" Baishui replied, his tone perfectly flat.
"If there's nothing else, Admiral, I'll be taking my leave. I have matters to attend to," Baishui added, turning back toward his warship.
"My, my~ the younger generation just isn't any fun these days, are they?" Kizaru shook his head in mock disappointment before turning and strolling away.
"Set course for Impel Down!"
Seeing Baishui's newly minted rank on his coat, the Commander was momentarily startled, but quickly composed himself and relayed the order to head toward the great prison.
Meanwhile, Baishui was already holding a Den Den Mushi, dialing the Chief Warden of Impel Down, Magellan.
"Chief Warden Magellan? This is Major Baishui. I have two prisoners en route for transfer. Yes, I'll be troubling you. Great, thank you!"
Hanging up the receiver, Baishui reverted to his usual lazy demeanor, pillowing his head on his arms and humming a little tune with his eyes closed.
Impel Down wasn't exactly close to Marineford; the voyage would take several hours.
Built deep into the ocean floor, Impel Down was famously known as the Great Underwater Prison. Together with Marineford and Enies Lobby, it formed a massive triangle connected by the Tarai Current—a colossal, swirling whirlpool.
The only way to safely navigate these waters and enter any of the three facilities was by opening and closing the colossal Gates of Justice, which allowed the current to flow inward. If the Gates remained shut, ordinary pirate ships would simply get caught in the whirlpool, spinning endlessly until they were forced to turn back.
As the ultimate holding facility for the worst criminals to ever sail the seas, Impel Down's defense forces were staggeringly powerful.
Chief Warden Magellan, user of the Doku Doku no Mi, was an absolute powerhouse hailed as the strongest man in Impel Down. He could force the most vicious inmates to bow before him. Aside from Golden Lion Shiki and Monkey D. Luffy, no one had ever successfully escaped his grasp. He spent four hours a day working, ten hours suffering from explosive diarrhea, and eight hours sleeping.
Vice Warden Hannyabal wasn't exceptionally strong. He was inherently cowardly, loved to shirk responsibility, and his absolute biggest dream was to steal Magellan's job and sit in the Chief Warden's chair. However, when push came to shove, he was surprisingly reliable and possessed a genuine sense of duty. In the original timeline, he stood his ground against Luffy with the resolve to die, only to be utterly crushed by Blackbeard later.
Deputy Head Jailer Domino was a beauty with her right eye hidden beneath a fringe of blonde hair. She wore sunglasses and sported long, flowing locks.
Chief Guard Saldeath, commander of the Blugori, was a diminutive man wielding a trident, wearing a hat adorned with two small horns.
Chief Guard Sadi was a highly provocative yet utterly ruthless woman with long, curly blonde hair that cascaded like a field of wheat. Her eyes were completely obscured by her bangs. She adored torture, affectionately referring to herself as "Little Sadi who loves to torture people," and wielded a demonic whip. She commanded the five mighty Demon Guards and harbored an intense infatuation with Magellan.
By the time Baishui arrived at Impel Down, three hours had passed.
Led by the prison staff, Baishui entered the massive structure and met with Magellan and Hannyabal.
Every prisoner brought to Impel Down was first taken to a room resembling a massive bathhouse, where they were forcibly stripped naked. Then, they were hurled into a gigantic iron cauldron filled with boiling blood hitting temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius—a brutal baptism and sterilization process wrapped into one.
Every single inmate who walked through those doors had to endure it. Female prisoners were no exception, though their baptism was carried out exclusively by female guards.
"Thank you for your hard work, Chief Warden Magellan," Baishui said humbly, shaking the massive man's hand.
"Think nothing of it," Magellan replied stoically. He waved a hand at two female guards, and the two prisoners—Mailina and Fendi—were dragged away.
"Here, Major Baishui. Sign this."
Magellan slid a massive ledger across the desk. Baishui took a feathered quill dipped in ink, signed his name, and took his leave.
According to Impel Down's protocol, while Mailina and Fendi both had bounties exceeding 100 million Berries, they hadn't yet reached a level of infamy that threatened the balance of the world. Therefore, they were condemned to Level 5: Freezing Hell.
It was a realm of extreme, biting cold designed to freeze inmates to death. Moreover, the floor was populated by packs of vicious Army Wolves bred specifically to hunt down the pirates. If an inmate didn't freeze to death and become wolf chow, they were mauled to death by the pack and then became wolf chow.
Baishui figured the two of them wouldn't meet a very pleasant end, but that was no longer his concern.
Meanwhile, back at the Marine Hospital...
"Here, let me feed you. Look at you, you've wasted away to skin and bones. Did you stop eating properly while I was gone? I'm going to have to punish you by making you eat extra today!"
Baishui held a bowl of porridge, spoon-feeding a girl named Aqi one bite at a time. After just a short time apart, she looked as though she'd undergone drastic surgery—she was shockingly emaciated, and it broke Baishui's heart.
Watching Aqi rest contentedly against his chest, swallowing the porridge bite by bite, a soft smile graced Baishui's face.
It wasn't that Aqi hadn't been eating well; she had simply been physically sick with longing.
Baishui made a decision then and there: he wasn't taking any assignments for a while. Staying by Aqi's side and nursing her back to health was his top priority.
Nesting in his embrace like a devoted young bride, Aqi's face radiated pure bliss. She wanted nothing more than to heal instantly so she could stick by Baishui's side every single day. Unfortunately, reality dictated that she needed several more months of recuperation in the hospital until her body was fully cleared for discharge.
"Alright, rest up for a bit. I'm going to go buy you some fruit to get some nutrients back into you," Baishui said. He gently lifted Aqi, laid her back down on the hospital bed, and pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning to leave the room.
Elsewhere in the world...
The sudden implementation of the Shichibukai system had sent the pirates of the first half of the Grand Line into an absolute frenzy. Every crew scrambled, setting their sights on the targets they believed they could overthrow to claim a seat.
A bloody, cutthroat war among pirates had officially begun.
There were only seven Warlord seats. To defeat a current holder meant taking their place and inheriting all the absolute rights and immunities that came with the title.
History would prove that Fleet Admiral Sengoku's foresight was brutally sharp.
The seven individuals selected for the positions relentlessly crushed any pirates foolish enough to challenge them. The seas turned red with blood, and corpses littered the waves.
The overall pirate population took a massive hit, inadvertently making the Marines' jobs significantly easier. The World Government's strategy of letting the dogs bite the dogs was a resounding success.
For three consecutive months, Baishui didn't take a single mission. He stayed at the hospital, keeping Aqi company.
With Baishui by her side, Aqi's injuries healed at a blistering pace. Even her attending physician called it nothing short of a miracle. The power of love, it seemed, was truly formidable.
After nearly half a year of lying in a hospital bed, Aqi had fully recovered and was finally cleared for discharge. Thanks to the tireless efforts of her doctors, her body suffered no lingering trauma or hidden injuries. This completely erased the remaining anxiety in Baishui's heart, leaving him cheering like an overjoyed child.
Hand in hand with Aqi, his face beaming with joy, he finally took her home.