Terror Outside Impel Down! A Space Ability User Infiltrates the World's Greatest Prison

Impel Down.

The great undersea prison, one of the World Government's three major institutions, was known as an "impregnable fortress."

It lay beneath the Calm Belt, surrounded by Sea King nests, with dozens of warships patrolling its perimeter day and night. From the day it was built, no one had escaped alive.

Lin Yuan stood on a reef outside Impel Down, gazing at the enormous structure in the distance as it plunged into the sea. The corners of his mouth slowly rose.

"Heh heh heh..." He chuckled softly. "An impregnable fortress?"

Bullet stood behind him with his arms crossed.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing because there's nowhere in this world I can't get into."

Lin Yuan raised a hand and opened a door in the air. Beyond it was Impel Down's outer wall. The wall was five meters thick and cast from Seastone. Even a Devil Fruit User would be drained of strength by touching it.

But Lin Yuan didn't need to touch it.

He opened another door in the wall.

Beyond it was a corridor inside Impel Down.

Bullet's pupils contracted slightly.

"We're in just like that?"

"We're in."

Lin Yuan stepped through, with Bullet close behind.

Two

The air inside Impel Down was damp and chilly. Beads of water seeped through the walls, and the lighting was dim.

Lin Yuan spread out his Spatial Perception. Within a three-hundred-meter radius, the positions of the guards, the locations of the cells, and the surveillance blind spots all appeared in his mind, one by one.

"This way." Lin Yuan pointed to the corridor on the left.

The two moved through the shadows, silent as ghosts.

For the first time, Bullet saw how terrifying Lin Yuan's ability was when it came to infiltration. No keys, no breaking down doors, no dodging guards. Wherever there was a door, Lin Yuan opened one. Where there was no door, Lin Yuan made one.

"There's a corner ahead, with two guards," Lin Yuan said quietly. "The one on the left is yawning, and the one on the right is picking his nose."

"...How do you know?"

"Spatial Perception. Within three hundred meters, I can 'see' everyone's position, posture, even their breathing rate."

Bullet fell silent for a moment.

"You're a real freak."

"Heh heh heh... thanks."

Lin Yuan opened a door at the corner. The other end was two meters behind the guards. He and Bullet stepped silently through it, appearing behind them. Neither guard noticed a thing.

Three

Impel Down, Level 4.

The scorching level. The air was blistering hot, and magma flowed across the floor.

Lin Yuan and Bullet stood at the entrance to Level 4, a wave of heat washing over them.

"Who do they lock up here?" Bullet asked.

"Pirates with bounties of fifty million or more," Lin Yuan said. "And... some people the World Government doesn't want the world to know about."

He walked forward.

Through Spatial Perception, he sensed an extremely powerful presence deep within Level 4.

It wasn't Haki. It was a... very strange sensation. As if something were being deliberately suppressed, but not thoroughly enough, letting a little leak out from time to time.

Lin Yuan followed the presence.

He walked down a long corridor, passing cell after cell. Some of the prisoners inside were shouting curses, some were wailing, and some had already fallen silent.

Lin Yuan paid them no mind. He hadn't come for them.

Finally, he stopped in front of a special cell.

The cell was located in the deepest part of Level 4, surrounded by double Seastone walls, with two CP Agents guarding the entrance.

"Who's locked up in there?" Bullet asked quietly.

Lin Yuan didn't answer.

He closed his eyes, and his Spatial Perception passed through the walls, allowing him to "see" the person in the cell.

A boy. He looked no more than fourteen or fifteen, but he was already nearly as large as an adult, with knotted muscles all over his body and a face covered in scars. His hands were bound with Seastone chains, as were his feet.

His eyes were like those of a beast that had been caged for too long. Angry, violent, and ferocious. But there was also a trace of... weariness.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth slowly rising.

"Found you."

"Who?" Bullet frowned.

"Someone a lot like you," Lin Yuan said. "Someone who survived the battlefield, was betrayed, and wants to destroy the world."

Bullet's frown deepened.

Lin Yuan raised a hand and opened a tiny door in the cell door. It was only the size of a fist. He put his eye to it and peered inside.

Then he pulled back and closed it.

"We can't save him now," Lin Yuan said.

"Why not?"

"Because he isn't ready yet." Lin Yuan turned around. "Neither are we."

Bullet stared at the tightly shut cell door, silent for a moment.

"What's his name?"

Lin Yuan didn't answer. He merely smiled.

"Let's go. Tonight was just to get a look at the place."

Four

Lin Yuan and Bullet left Impel Down silently, just as they had arrived.

By the time they returned to the reef, dawn was near.

Bullet sat on the reef, gazing out at the sea, and suddenly spoke.

"When are you planning to save that man?"

"When he's close to death," Lin Yuan said.

"Why?"

"Because only when people are close to death will they truly let go of all their reservations and follow someone else."

Bullet turned to look at him.

"Are you talking about him, or me?"

"Heh heh heh..." Lin Yuan laughed. "What do you think?"

Bullet didn't answer. He simply turned back and continued gazing at the sea.

After a long silence, he said, "Lin Yuan."

"Hmm?"

"If you ever betray me, I'll kill you."

"You won't."

"Why not?"

"Because I won't betray you."

Bullet said nothing more.

The sea breeze blew, stirring up the waves.

In the distance, the sun rose above the horizon, painting the entire sea gold.

Lin Yuan stood up and brushed the sand and dirt off himself.

"Let's go. There's still a lot to do."

"Where to?"

"First we get some money, then a ship, and then..." Lin Yuan stretched. "We go find more companions."

He raised a hand and opened a door in front of him.

Beyond it was the other side of the Calm Belt. A World Government transport ship was slowly passing by.

"Here comes our first deal."

(End of Chapter 6)