Meeting Golden Lion

Carlos waited and waited at Impel Down until he grew a little impatient. He went into the Kamui Space for two or three hours, came back out, then waited another half hour before four warships slowly appeared over the horizon.

"Isn't this way too slow? Is it that I'm too fast, or are the warships too slow..."

Still, the man he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Carlos calmed down and waited for Garp to send Golden Lion into Level 6, the Infinite Hell. As for spying on them, forget it. No need to get reckless—hold steady!

Bored out of his mind, he went back into the Kamui Space, leisurely finished a meal, drank a bottle of wine, smoked a cigarette, then came back out to find that the dog-headed warship from earlier had already vanished.

Only then did he activate his Mangekyo Sharingan and enter Impel Down, heading straight for the Infinite Hell.

Level 6 of Impel Down, the Infinite Hell. Within the abyss-like darkness, a spatial vortex appeared. Carlos's figure twisted and rotated as he stepped out of it without a sound...

One Mangekyo Sharingan transformed into a Byakugan. The darkness receded, and with a casual sweep of his gaze, he took in everything around him.

Square prison cells lined both sides of the corridor. The cells and their doors were made of Seastone mixed with a special alloy. Each bar was as thick as a baby's arm and gleamed with an icy metallic luster. Inside the cells were super criminals in all sorts of positions—lying down, standing, curled up—completely motionless.

Within the black-and-white vision of the Byakugan, Carlos could easily see that these people were still alive. They remained like this only to conserve their strength, and every prisoner had varying amounts of toxins lodged among their internal organs.

In the Infinite Hell of Level 6, darkness was as deep as an abyss. Only the corridor leading from Level 6 to Level 5 had a faint glimmer of light. The farther in one went, the darker it became. Every prisoner wore alloy handcuffs and shackles mixed with Seastone. Their so-called food merely sustained their basic vital functions, and it contained toxins that left their entire bodies weak and unable to muster any strength.

The difficulty of escaping from here was obvious. For Golden Lion to cut off both his legs and break out alone was enough to prove that he truly deserved his title as a legendary Pirate!

Tap, tap, tap...

Footsteps rang out, crisp and loud in the dark, silent Infinite Hell. Within the cells, the super criminals, who had been in a state much like hibernating snakes, awakened one after another. Pairs of blood-red eyes emerged from the darkness and curiously looked toward the corridor.

Whenever someone came, no matter who it was—even a guard delivering food—it was entertainment for these super criminals. The Infinite Hell was simply too dull, dull enough to drive people mad. There was only endless darkness here, making it impossible to feel the passage of time!

"Yo, someone's here."

"Tsk tsk... those footsteps... not a guard..."

"If he's not a guard, then who is he? Some big shot from this place?"

"Hey, kid, who are you?"

"Ahahaha... whoever you are, as long as you help me escape, all the treasure I've hidden is yours!"

"Escape? What wishful thinking. I just want to drink and eat meat to my heart's content. Fulfill that request, and I'll give you anything!"

"Keep dreaming. Once you fall asleep, you can have anything..."

"What did you say, bastard? Believe it or not, I'll kill you!"

"Come kill me, then. Please kill me, hehehe..."

"..."

As Carlos walked forward, the sound of his footsteps immediately stirred these super criminals into excitement and agitation. The Infinite Hell instantly became lively.

Carlos had no time to deal with them. His target was Golden Lion, and there was no need to save these people. Every one of them was an utterly lawless super criminal, a vicious and evil Pirate. Still, they did have some value. When the time came in the future, he could harvest them like crops.

Ignoring the temptations, orders, pleas, and even curses ringing in his ears, Carlos searched directly for Golden Lion. Before long, he found Golden Lion's cell in a prison at the deepest part of the Infinite Hell.

Sure enough, Golden Lion was still Golden Lion. Pirates of his caliber received different treatment. His cell was somewhat roomier, and the Seastone alloy bars making up the iron fence were thicker as well.

Golden Lion was unlike the other super criminals. He had only just arrived. Though his body was weak, he was far better off than those motionless people conserving their strength. At the very least, he still had enough stamina and energy to use Observation Haki.

Carlos's general appearance immediately appeared in Golden Lion's mind.

"Who are you?" Golden Lion leaned against the wall and looked at the figure in the darkness, his voice full of strength. Even reduced to this state, he remained proud and still retained some of a lion's imposing majesty.

Carlos merely smiled without speaking. Spatial vortices appeared both inside and outside the cell, and Carlos's figure materialized within it.

Golden Lion was startled. With his broad experience, he naturally recognized this as an exceedingly rare spatial ability. Looking at the figure so close before him, those strange eyes radiating a faint red glow, he spoke again. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"This isn't a convenient place to talk. Come with me."

Carlos spoke softly and reached his right hand toward Golden Lion's head. Golden Lion instinctively leaned back to avoid it, but there was a wall behind him. With a thud, he hit his head against it, leaving his skull a little dazed.

Kamui!

Hahaha... there probably weren't many people in this world who could pull off a head-pat kill on Golden Lion. Though thinking that way was a little disgusting, it was quite a twisted bit of amusement...

A spatial vortex appeared again, but this time it was larger. Their figures distorted and shifted as they were sucked into the vortex, arriving in the subsidiary dimensional space created by Kamui.

"This is?" Golden Lion was shocked as he curiously looked around the space. Square pillars stood everywhere, seeming to stretch endlessly as far as the eye could see. Not far away were piles of wine, food, and weapons.

"This is my dimensional space, attached to the real world. It's called the Kamui Space."

Carlos approached with two bottles of wine and tossed one to Golden Lion. Golden Lion was weak, and his hands were shackled, but catching a bottle of wine was no problem. His hands instinctively held it.

"What do you want? Just say it. I hate men who beat around the bush like women..."

"Gulp, gulp... how about we make a deal?"

"What deal?" Golden Lion bit off the cap in one bite and greedily chugged from the bottle.

"I'll get you out of Impel Down. In exchange, you'll teach me everything you know about Haki, its training methods, and form a cooperative relationship with me afterward."

"Hahaha... it sounds tempting, but do you think I'll never escape Impel Down, that I'll be trapped here to die like those pieces of trash?" Golden Lion drained the entire bottle in one go. His gaze sharpened as he spoke with immense confidence and pressure.

Golden Lion thought highly of himself. Even after being locked in this prison that was said to be impossible to escape, he still had confidence that he could break out. If Carlos thought he could control him so easily, then he was underestimating him far too much!

He was not afraid of death, either!

From an unknown rookie Pirate to a legendary great Pirate, Golden Lion had weathered countless dangers. He had long since come to terms with death. He was not the sort to fear death more as he grew older and his status rose!

Wanted to make a deal with him?

Fine—show some sincerity. Threatening him or trying to bind him with favors was impossible. He was Golden Lion!

Golden Lion, who had yet to endure the torment of the Infinite Hell, cut off his own legs, and suffered a massive decline in strength, still possessed the spirit he once had!