A Strong Man's Standard Gear! Comprehending Zanpakuto: Enzetsu

"Please follow me!"

Though many thoughts ran through Magellan's mind, he remained impassive on the surface.

Unlike how Domino had treated Hancock, he did not search Rosen, Zefa, and Borsalino before allowing them into Impel Down. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he led them to a large elevator.

"Using this, you can go directly to the Warden's office on the Fourth Layer."

"Taking this route will get us to the Sixth Floor faster."

As Magellan spoke, Domino, with her golden hair, military uniform, and red boots, stepped forward and activated the elevator.

"Other than Domino, everyone else, stand down."

Considering that Rosen and the others' purpose involved Marine secrets, he dismissed the accompanying prison staff, leaving only Domino, who was also a Chief Guard.

"Please, everyone."

Once the elevator doors opened, Domino entered first and held down the door-open button.

Rosen and the others said nothing as they followed her inside.

Once the elevator doors closed, it immediately descended straight down toward the Fourth Layer.

With a faint tremor, the descending elevator came to a stop. The doors opened again, revealing a spacious office.

"From the Fourth Layer onward, we can only proceed on foot."

Shiryu explained briefly, stepped out of the elevator, and took the lead.

The moment Rosen and the others stepped out of the Warden's office, a wave of furnace-like heat rushed at them.

"So this is the Burning Hell?"

Rosen felt as though he had been placed inside a gigantic iron pot and slowly boiled.

He would not actually be cooked, but the discomfort was unavoidable. Especially over time, he would inevitably be drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked through.

With that thought, his mind stirred. He poured his consciousness into Armament Haki, channeling it into his blood vessels and transforming it into tangible defensive power.

There was no visible change, but the instant Still Blood Armor activated, Rosen immediately sensed the scorching air around him being blocked off. The feeling of being boiled vanished at once.

Still Blood Armor could defend against more than just Haki. It could block any attack that did not exceed its limits.

"Hm?"

Almost at the same time, Zefa, Borsalino, and Shiryu, who was walking ahead, all glanced at Rosen.

"What is that?"

"It's neither Coating Hardening nor Flowing Emission, yet it can block all external intrusion."

"Armament Haki can be used like that?"

Borsalino and Zefa were fine, since they already knew Rosen had created a fifth Armament Haki technique. Shiryu, however, was different.

Seeing Rosen's Still Blood Armor for the first time, he felt as though he had come to understand Armament Haki all over again.

"Wait! If that's the case, wouldn't a technique like Internal Destruction be completely useless against him?"

"As expected, this guy who hasn't even graduated from the Military Academy yet is no simple matter!"

"Perhaps, like Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan back then, he's also a monster."

After glancing at Rosen, Shiryu withdrew his gaze. Though turbulent waves surged within his heart, he continued walking as though nothing had happened.

"Much better."

After activating Still Blood Armor, Rosen felt refreshed. The oppressive heat no longer bothered him in the slightest, so he looked around. Before him lay a massive pool of boiling blood and raging flames that covered nearly the entire prison level.

The entire level truly lived up to its name.

Burning Hell.

"Flames?"

Rosen slowed to a stop. Looking at the blazing sea of fire surrounding him, something stirred in his mind.

Though the Mera Mera no Mi was said to be so worthless that even dogs would not eat it, there was no denying the power of flames.

Especially in the New World, nearly every strong fighter with a name had some kind of flame ability.

Kaido.

Big Mom.

Shanks.

And so on.

It could be said that flames were practically standard equipment for the strong, even for kings.

Without some flames worth showing off, one would be too embarrassed to call oneself a king.

"If it were me, how would I master the power of flames?"

"Haki doesn't seem capable of creating flames out of thin air."

"Then what about the Weapon-Weapon Fruit?"

Thinking of this, Rosen fell deep into thought. His pace gradually slowed as he stared fixedly at the raging flames all around him, slowly losing himself in thought.

"Stop for now."

Zefa noticed Rosen's abnormality immediately.

He did not explain why, merely telling Shiryu, who was leading the way, to stop.

"Is it because you're old that you start wheezing after walking a few more steps, Teacher Zefa?"

Borsalino teased him, thinking that Zefa might be unable to endure the environment of Burning Hell and had suffered an asthma attack.

His words were unpleasant, but he still stopped walking.

"Hmph!"

"You'd better keep your eyes wide open and don't blink."

"Otherwise, you'll miss something spectacular."

Zefa folded his arms and shot back at Borsalino.

"Oh?"

Hearing This, Borsalino couldn't help but follow Zefa's gaze, which settled on Rosen.

"What's going on?"

Seeing this, Shiryu also looked at Rosen. Yet all he saw was the other man staring intently at the sea of fire and the pool of blood, leaving him secretly puzzled.

Wasn't it just fire?

What was so interesting about it?

Shiryu assumed Rosen had stopped out of youthful curiosity, since it was his first time in Impel Down and he was seeing Burning Hell. But he had no idea that, in Rosen's vision, the Burning Hell before him had already vanished.

As his thoughts deepened, his consciousness arrived at another scene.

It was a modern city.

Night blanketed the sky, and the moonlight was dim.

Directly beneath the crescent moon hanging high in the heavens, a man wearing a haori embroidered with the number "Ten" on its back confronted a figure ahead of him wearing a white horned mask and radiating a murderous aura.

"A black Hollow?"

"Spiritual pressure of this level isn't something an Achuchas can possess."

"Could it be a Vastod?"

Shiba Isshin stared fixedly at the Horned Menos before him, several beads of sweat seeping onto his face.

This was Karakura Town, home to hundreds of thousands of humans.

If a Vastod-class Menos went berserk, destroying the entirety of Karakura Town would take only minutes.

"Roar!"

Suddenly.

The Horned Menos seemed to lose its patience. Its mouth split open, and with a sky-piercing howl, terrifying spiritual pressure erupted outward, surging toward the heavens with overwhelming force.

"Hey."

"Who sent someone like you?"

Shiba Isshin raised a hand and drew his Zanpakuto, not forgetting to probe the Horned Menos for information.

However.

The only response he received was a piercing shriek. Then, the Horned Menos vanished from where it stood and appeared before Shiba Isshin as though it had teleported. Its blade-like hands dragged violent currents of air behind them as they slashed down.

"Not planning to answer?"

Shiba Isshin raised his sword to block the Horned Menos's blade-like hands, brushed past it, and arrived behind it. He stared coldly at the Horned Menos with the gaze of one looking at a corpse.

"Burn, Enzetsu."

With a sharp shout, his Zanpakuto erupted with violent flames that illuminated the night. Then he lunged forward, man, sword, and flames merging into one as he transformed into a flaming blade that tore through the night sky and swept toward the Horned Menos.

Just as the flaming blade was about to engulf the Horned Menos, the scene before Rosen cracked apart like a mirror falling to the ground, then shattered.

The night.

The moonlight.

Shiba Isshin.

The Horned Menos.

And the Zanpakuto spewing flames, nearly dyeing the crescent moon red, all vanished as though they had never existed.

At the same time.

The scorching, oppressive prison, the boiling blood pool below, and the flames surrounding him all returned under Rosen's gaze.

From beginning to end, he had remained on the Fourth Layer of Impel Down.

Burning Hell.

He had never taken a single step away.

Everything he had just seen was merely something he had visualized through his Heaven-Defying Comprehension.

Rosen paid no attention to that.

His focus was entirely absorbed by the information that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

Your comprehension is heaven-defying. Through visualization and personal insight, combined with the Paramecia Weapon Fruit, you have comprehended an Exclusive Skill: Enzetsu.