Moria's Reluctance and Helplessness!

A warship bearing the World Government's emblem.

It lay quietly anchored in the sea between the White Asia Three Islands.

Silently watching East Island, shrouded in wind and snow.

Golden flashes, red fireballs, and purplish-black slashes flickered across the island from time to time.

Deafening roars rang out in rapid succession.

"It's already been five days, hasn't it?"

On the deck, a White-Clad Agent wearing a white mask asked in a deep voice.

Behind him stood over a dozen CP6 members in black suits, each radiating the air of an elite.

Hearing the question, one of them hurriedly replied.

"Reporting, sir, yes, this is the fifth day!"

"It looks like the victor will be decided soon. How are those Oni Tribe members locked in the ship's cells? None of them died, did they?"

The White-Clad Agent continued without turning around.

"The ship's doctors have finished treating them. Their vitality is stronger than ordinary people's to begin with, so they are all alive and well. They have now been injected with anesthetics and remain unconscious."

The White-Clad Agent nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Keep watch over them."

"Yes!"

Ruthless time continued to drift away with the cold wind, and another four hours passed without a sound.

Suddenly, East Island of White Asia seemed to fall quiet.

The flashes and explosions alike had all come to an end.

At some point, the snow filling the sky had stopped.

Only brilliant sunlight remained, blanketing everything around it and making the craters and slash marks of all sizes across the island appear even more conspicuous and grotesque.

Just then.

The CIPHER POL personnel aboard the warship sharply heard a muffled bang.

Immediately afterward, a black shadow shot out from deep within East Island.

The shadow crashed heavily onto the ground and rolled more than a dozen times.

Finally, it lay motionless on a relatively intact stretch of beach.

Then, a cluster of golden light gathered beside the black shadow.

It was Borsalino.

But he looked utterly bedraggled at the moment.

His head was covered in sweat, his breathing was somewhat hurried and heavy, and his bright yellow suit had been torn to tatters.

Only his Coat of Justice remained fairly neat, though a large section of its left sleeve had been cut away.

"Whew—what a troublesome fellow. He really wore me out~"

Borsalino looked down at Moonlight Moria, who had rolled his eyes back and passed out, then shook his head tiredly.

Those five days of fighting had undoubtedly been the most difficult and longest battle he had experienced since joining the Marines.

Moria truly was quite strong.

If not for the powers of the Glint-Glint Fruit, that fellow might really have escaped.

For one thing, if Moonlight Moria had first sent Doppelman flying off alone, then swapped places with it using Shadow Substitute after it had gone a great distance, his chances of escape would have been considerable.

Yet for some reason, the fellow had shown absolutely no intention of running off by himself. Borsalino had guarded against it all this time for nothing!

Ten minutes later, the World Government warship drew closer, and more than a hundred black-clad CP6 agents ran down from it.

They first placed Seastone Handcuffs and shackles on Moonlight Moria.

Then six of them worked together to carry him aboard the warship, where he was finally locked inside a private cell in the hold.

In the cells beside his, two Oni Tribe crew members of the Moonlight Pirates lay in each one.

Though there were only twenty of them.

They were all enormous, with an average height of six meters, and took up a considerable amount of space.

Thus, of the twelve cells in total, only one remained empty.

"You've worked hard, Vice Admiral Kizaru."

On the warship's deck, the White-Clad Agent from CP0 spoke gravely to Borsalino, who had appeared in an instant.

"Don't come looking for me next time there's something like this. Also, I put in so much effort this time, so talk to them about my bonus when you get back~~"

Borsalino curled his lips in complaint.

At the same time, he turned and headed into the hold, preparing to lie down in his room for a while.

"I will, but I can't guarantee anything."

The great underwater prison.

Blazing Hell, the fourth underground level of Impel Down.

Another five days had passed since the Light and Shadow War.

This place was the core of the entire great prison.

The Warden's office and the granary supplying food to everyone in the prison were both located here.

It was called Blazing Hell because it was filled with seas of fire, while the ground was scorching hot like a frying pan.

At the center stood a gigantic iron cauldron fifty meters in diameter, filled with boiling scarlet bloodwater.

As a result, the air throughout the fourth underground level was thick with the stench of blood.

Two days ago, Moonlight Moria had awakened from his coma and immediately learned what unbearable heat truly felt like.

As for the bloody smell, it instead seemed incredibly sweet to him.

But his mood was utterly terrible.

He had never expected that just last year, he had set sail from his hometown in the West Blue with his clan companions in high spirits.

Yet only days after entering the New World, he had been captured and brought here.

I was supposed to become the second One Piece.

"Finally awake? I've been waiting for you here for a long time."

At that moment, an unfamiliar, cold voice came from outside the cell.

Moria, whose hands and feet were bound by Seastone chains, abruptly raised his head and glared furiously at the White-Clad Agent who walked in.

"Who are you?"

"I report directly to the World Nobles."

"Celestial Dragons!"

Moonlight Moria was greatly surprised. "The Celestial Dragons are targeting me? Why?!"

"You could say that. As for the reason, they have taken a liking to you and your Fruit ability."

The White-Clad Agent answered patiently, then continued, "Those crew members from your clan are all still alive."

"What?!"

Moria was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "Where are they?"

"Right above your head, in Starvation Hell on the third underground level. Other than going hungry, they have no major problems. We have also treated their injuries," the White-Clad Agent replied.

Moria breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that, but immediately furrowed his brow.

"You came to see me and said the Celestial Dragons have taken a liking to my ability. What exactly do you want?"

The White-Clad Agent liked Moria's straightforwardness.

After all, the environment in Impel Down was truly dreadful. He did not want to stay even one extra day.

"The higher-ups hope that you will join the World Government and become a Prison Guard in Impel Down. However, you will also have the right to advance normally. If you have the ability to become the Warden, that is not impossible either."

"What—?!"

Moonlight Moria's eyes nearly popped out as he stared in shock at the mask on the White-Clad Agent's face, his voice immediately rising.

"You captured me just to make me work here?"

"You could say that. The higher-ups believe your Fruit ability is highly suited to working in Impel Down, so they had Vice Admiral Kizaru and me invite you here," the White-Clad Agent said with a nod.

"You!"

Moonlight Moria was enraged by the other man's use of the word "invite."

He felt a surge of fury rise from his gut and immediately stood up as though about to erupt.

He stood nearly seven meters tall, and looked terrifying once upright.

Yet the White-Clad Agent remained unmoved.

With both hands tucked into the pockets of his pristine white trousers, his attitude remained cold.

He paid no heed whatsoever to Moria's imposing aura.

"I counted twenty crew members from your clan. According to the promise the higher-ups have made you, as long as you work obediently here, one person can be released each year to work here as a Prison Guard alongside you."

"At the same time, for every rank you advance, one additional person can be released. In other words, if you can become the Warden, you can regain your freedom in at most fifteen years and leave this place with all your companions."

At those words, Moonlight Moria froze.

For nearly twenty minutes afterward, he remained silent.

During that time, struggle, conflict, reluctance, and resentment continually flickered across his face.

In the end, it all turned into a long sigh. "Whew—take me to see them first!"

What else could he do?

The growth rate of favorites has sped up again. Current favorites: 194. Recommendation votes: 176. Monthly votes: 48. Ranked 75th in the light novel category of the contracted authors' new book list. Most importantly, fewer than 20 people are following the latest chapters.