Killing the Chicken to Scare the Monkeys

"This little prison guard is different from ordinary Navy personnel; his attitude towards pirates is rather ambiguous," Mia said straightforwardly.

"Does that mean we have a chance to sway him?" the One-armed Pirate asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Not necessarily. This guy doesn't seem like a 15 or 16-year-old at all. He's very mature, not easy to fool," Mia replied after thinking for a moment.

"Then what should we do?" the Fat-as-a-ball Female Pirate asked.

"This little prison guard just used a piece of meat to instigate a fight among the prisoners, and he's observing from the side. I suspect he's picking an opponent."

"Picking an opponent? Is he trying to establish his authority?" the One-eyed Pirate asked, startled.

"Most likely. If I'm not mistaken, this little prison guard will conduct more tests in the coming days. Once he's decided on an opponent, he'll make his move. This is our chance."

"Mia, do you mean you want us to help him?" the Fat-as-a-ball Female Pirate asked.

"Yes! I've thought about it. The possibility of swaying him is slim, but there's a chance we could pledge allegiance to him.

Putting aside other things, he probably needs some 'dogs' to help him keep an eye on these inmates. After all, you can't install Den Den Mushi on the fifth level of Impel Down," Mia analyzed.

"But if we help him, and he doesn't honor his word later, won't we be completely isolated by the other prisoners?" the One-eyed Pirate said.

"Do you think we aren't already ostracized by the other prisoners? Before you three were captured, one of you made a living by robbing other pirates through black-market deals, another used the name of the Golden Lion Flying Pirates to protect his country, and the most outrageous one, while bearing the title of pirate, did the work of the Navy, protecting civilians. Is that what you should be doing?"

After Mia finished speaking, the three of them felt a bit awkward. None of them were exactly proper pirates.

The One-armed Pirate, named Richard Ian, was forced to go to sea after killing a nobleman in his country who was forcibly taking a woman.

After going to sea, Ian couldn't bring himself to harm ordinary people, so he spent his days engaging in black-market deals. Eventually, he and a group of pirates fought each other to a mutual destruction, and he was captured by the Navy that arrived later.

The One-eyed Pirate was even more outrageous. His name was Michael. He was originally a Navy officer who, while on a mission in Sabaody Archipelago, couldn't stand the behavior of the Celestial Dragons and struck one. He then defected from the Navy.

However, after leaving the Navy, Michael continued to do the work of the Navy. He was captured because he was protecting civilians from a group of pirates. The fight between the two sides was too large, attracting the attention of the Navy, which led to his arrest.

And the Fat-as-a-ball Female Pirate, named Paddy, was part of a pirate crew affiliated with the Golden Lion Flying Pirates. Her sole purpose in joining the Flying Pirates was to use the Golden Lion's name to protect her country.

The reason for her capture was that when the Golden Lion attacked Marineford alone, he was captured by Garp and Sengoku working together. The remaining forces of the Flying Pirates naturally became the primary targets of the Navy.

Paddy was not weak, but she encountered the Navy's monstrous rookie, Kuzan. The two fought to a draw, but unfortunately, the Navy had far more personnel than Paddy's pirate crew, and she was eventually arrested.

"The four of us are already rejected by those prisoners, and after being captured for so long, we shouldn't have much pride left, right? There's nothing wrong with being 'dogs' to survive. Everyone agrees on this, right?" Mia asked the three.

The three pirates exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously.

"Alright then! It's settled. Once that little prison guard decides which prisoner to make a move on, we'll lend him a hand!"

Meanwhile, Mosen was indeed in his room, recalling the scene of the pirates fighting over the piece of meat he had thrown earlier, searching for a target to establish his authority.

Mosen first ruled out the Fat-as-a-ball Female Pirate. Her strength was definitely among the top-tier prisoners in Extreme Cold Hell.

He also didn't consider the female pirate Mia, who had spoken to him today, as a target. Mosen felt that this woman might become his comrade.

"As expected, one test isn't enough! It seems I need to do it a few more times."

In the following days, Mosen used various excuses to throw out food, causing the prisoners to scramble for it, while he quietly observed from the side.

Ultimately, Mosen chose a burly pirate nearly three meters tall as his target.

This pirate was not weak among the prisoners, ranking somewhere in the upper-middle tier. He was significantly stronger than the short pirate Mosen had killed when he first awakened his Frozen Lineage Factor.

The reason for choosing him as a target to establish authority was that Mosen felt his current strength was insufficient to deal with the top-tier prisoners, and killing weaker prisoners would be meaningless. This upper-middle tier pirate was the best choice.

In addition, there was another reason: Mosen observed that this pirate always had a fierce and menacing look, was extremely unfriendly to other inmates, and often physically abused prisoners weaker than him.

Such a disobedient and unruly fellow would be a menace if left around.

After deciding on his target for establishing authority, Mosen didn't act immediately. He continued with his routine as before, showing no outward signs. It wasn't until the afternoon three days later, while Mosen was further developing his Frozen Lineage Factor, that screams suddenly erupted from the prisoners' area.

Mosen rushed over and saw the target he had chosen beating up another prisoner.

"Strike while the iron is hot." Mosen no longer hesitated. He snapped his fingers, and the surrounding ice and snow rapidly condensed into crystal-clear ice arrows, shooting towards the burly pirate.

The burly pirate's Kenbunshoku Haki sensed Mosen's attack, and his expression darkened. He covered his arm with Busoshoku Haki and raised his hand, shattering the incoming ice arrows.

"Are you trying to meddle in my business?" the burly pirate asked coldly.

"A prison has its rules, and you've broken them," Mosen said with a businesslike expression.

"Hmph! You're looking for death! I've had it with you for a long time. These cowards are afraid of the Military Wolf and don't dare to attack you, but today I'll kill you and take your key." With that, the burly pirate stomped his right foot, exerting great force, and charged at Mosen.

Mosen intended to establish his authority, so he needed to kill the burly pirate directly and decisively. Winning by kiting would be meaningless.

Therefore, Mosen didn't dodge. He crossed his arms in front of him and activated Tekkai, one of the Six Powers.

The burly pirate's fist slammed forward.

With a loud "Bang~" and a slight wobble of Mosen's body, he took the burly pirate's blow head-on.

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