Internship Lesson: Fight Through Impel Down Level 6

This was Rosen.

This was the combination of Heaven-Defying Comprehension and the Weapon Fruit.

In Baby 5's hands, the Weapon Fruit could only transform into ordinary weapons. In his hands, he could casually craft a Zanpakuto from scratch.

Even the most beautiful Zanpakuto in Soul Society.

Sode no Shirayuki.

All he needed was to recall it slightly in his mind, then visualize it once, and he could comprehend it.

Back in Burning Hell, when Rosen crafted Enzetsu from scratch, he had to stop and focus completely on visualizing it. But upon reaching Extreme Cold Hell, perhaps because his strength had increased and he had visualized Zanpakuto so many times that he had become increasingly familiar with the process—

From visualizing Kuchiki Rukia using her Zanpakuto to comprehending Sode no Shirayuki, he had not even stopped, aside from slowing his pace slightly.

He multitasked.

While using his Heaven-Defying Comprehension to visualize Kuchiki Rukia and craft Sode no Shirayuki from scratch—

He continued walking, closely following Zefa and the others all the way to the Sixth Floor.

"Perhaps after visualizing them a few more times, I'll only need to briefly recall something about a Zanpakuto in the Future. Then, depending on the type of enemy, I'll be able to craft different types of Zanpakuto on the spot to deal with them anytime, anywhere."

After crafting Sode no Shirayuki, Rosen found himself becoming increasingly adept at it.

Now, when visualizing, he no longer needed to be as utterly focused as before. Even if he split his attention to do other things, it would not affect his comprehension of a Zanpakuto's unique abilities.

"We're here."

"Pass through here, and you'll reach the Sixth Floor of Impel Down."

"Infinite Hell."

Shiryu stood before a staircase and spoke without turning his head.

"Then what are you standing around here for?"

Zefa's tone was stiff.

Perhaps because of the bad impression Shiryu had left on him during the Domino incident, he no longer spoke with the courtesy he had shown at Impel Down's entrance.

"Instructor Zefa."

"As the Chief Guard of Impel Down, I believe I have the right to know."

"Besides, if you want my full cooperation, you shouldn't keep hiding things from me."

Shiryu did not care about the change in Zefa's tone.

Right now, he was only interested in the purpose of Rosen's group.

As for what Zefa thought of him, he did not care in the slightest.

"Fine."

Zefa glanced at the entrance to Infinite Hell close at hand. Thinking that he would indeed need Shiryu next, he stopped being evasive and pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket.

"Teacher Zefa, what is that?"

Rosen was a little curious.

"The knowledge you need to master in your fifth lesson."

"This lesson will only be over once you have fully absorbed every item listed above."

"Only then can you leave Impel Down and graduate from Navy School."

As Zefa spoke, he turned the paper in his hand so that everyone beside him could see its contents.

"A list?"

Rosen's gaze swept over the white paper in Zefa's hand and found it filled with names.

Some of those names were even very familiar to him.

For instance, the first name on the list.

Byrnndi World.

He recognized it at a glance.

World Destroyer.

A Paramecia user with the Momo Fruit.

"Instructor Zefa, I don't quite understand. What does it mean for you to take out a list of prisoners from Infinite Hell?"

Shiryu clenched his cigar between his teeth, unable to figure out Zefa's intentions for the moment.

Especially after the conversation between Zefa and Rosen.

What fifth lesson?

What mastering those knowledge points?

He was completely confused.

"It means this old man will be teaching his student a lesson in Infinite Hell."

"As Chief Guard, all you need to do is escort the prisoner corresponding to each name on this list before me whenever I read it out."

"You need not concern yourself with anything else."

Zefa's words were astonishing.

"What?"

"Mr. Zefa, you want to release the prisoners in Infinite Hell? That is absolutely unacceptable."

"Any prisoner from the Sixth Floor who gets loose and reaches the sea could cause an unimaginable disaster."

Before Shiryu could say anything, Domino had already reacted emotionally.

"Idiot."

"Why do you think a former Navy Admiral and a current Admiral Candidate came here at the same time?"

"To prevent the prisoners from escaping, of course."

Shiryu barked at Domino, then fixed his gaze on Zefa.

"Interesting."

"I'm starting to see you differently."

"Non-Killing Admiral."

He grinned.

"The Non-Killing Admiral you mentioned is already dead."

"He died alongside his family many years ago."

"The one standing before you is merely the Head Instructor of Navy School, an old man focused on training the strength Marine Headquarters needs to end the Great Pirate Era."

Zefa spoke expressionlessly in the face of Shiryu's mockery.

"Teacher Zefa."

"So, as long as I take care of every name on this list, I'll graduate?"

Rosen looked at the list in Zefa's hand.

He even suspected that these names were all the prisoners in Infinite Hell.

There were several dozen names in total.

Even at one fight a day, it would take at least a month.

Perhaps even longer.

After a glance, Rosen noticed that the last few names on the list belonged to legends of the old era.

"Not Bad."

"This is your internship lesson. As long as you can complete it, you will graduate."

"And the content of this internship is: fight through Impel Down Level 6."

Zefa met Rosen's gaze and spoke in a deep voice.

If Rosen merely possessed the potential of a Navy Admiral, like Sakazuki or Borsalino beside him, Zefa would never have demanded so much of him. But Rosen was different.

In his eyes, Rosen possessed potential that surpassed even Admirals, perhaps even Fleet Admirals.

As the Marines' foremost teacher, Zefa knew very well that a monstrous genius like Rosen, unprecedented even across the history of the world, could not be trained using ordinary teaching methods.

Otherwise, it would be a waste of his talent.

That was precisely why—

After teaching Rosen for two days and realizing he was nearing the point where he had nothing left to teach, Zefa decisively arranged an internship lesson for him.

Fight through the Sixth Floor of Impel Down.

Infinite Hell.

To others, accomplishing such a thing would not be easy even for Borsalino, a Navy Admiral, much less a new student who had yet to graduate from military academy.

But in Zefa's view, fighting through Infinite Hell was just the right level of difficulty for the current Rosen.

It could even be called an internship lesson tailored specifically for him.

"I'm not questioning your teaching ability, nor am I looking down on your student."

"But Instructor Zefa, you should know what kind of place Infinite Hell is."

"There are monsters imprisoned in there whose combat power is no less than that of Navy Admirals. Even you before retirement might not have been able to fight through Infinite Hell."

Shiryu looked at Zefa with great interest, then at Rosen.

"Are you sure you want to personally send your student to hell?"

He wore an amused smile.

"Rosen, what do you think?"

"If you want to turn back, do it now."

"Once this lesson begins, it cannot be stopped."

With his arms folded, Zefa also looked at Rosen.

"Will you fight through this hell and graduate?"

"Or return to military academy, stay for a full year, board an internship ship with the others, and graduate afterward?"

"The choice is yours. This old man will never force you."

Having learned from the previous incident where he and Borsalino had fallen out, Zefa did not force Rosen to take this internship lesson.

He was only fulfilling his duty and responsibility as a teacher, creating the best training plan for his student.

Whether he would become an Admiral within a year, or waste three to five years before becoming one—

The choice was entirely Rosen's.