"You two! How could you start fighting in front of so many of your fellow prison staff?!"
Magellan's face turned purple—in the literal sense.
"This is outrageous!"
In his fury, Magellan's Venom-Venom Fruit unleashed a terrifying display of power.
Dark purple poison coated his entire body, dripping steadily to the ground.
The moment the poison touched the floor, it sizzled, its deadly potency obvious.
In terms of sheer offensive power, there was no doubt the Venom-Venom Fruit was formidable!
In the face of the enraged Poison Human,
the entire prison cafeteria fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Magellan didn't care whether Storm had beaten Shiryu or Shiryu had beaten Storm.
Either way, the two of them had been fighting in public, and that was wrong!
Magellan swiftly got to the point.
"You're both going to be punished! Solitary confinement!"
The Poison Dragon glared at Storm and Shiryu and delivered the Warden's verdict.
Storm received a "24-Hour Special Forces Tour of Scorching Hell."
Shiryu, meanwhile, got a "Seven-Day Extreme Cold Hell Vacation Package."
Storm hadn't expected to be punished too, and he protested.
"Warden! I was acting in self-defense!"
Little White Dragon, who had somehow returned to Storm's shoulder, joined its master in roaring at the Warden.
"But you still caused a serious disturbance!"
Magellan spoke sternly, his face set.
"Since this is your first offense, you're only being sent to Scorching Hell!"
Impel Down's Fourth Level, Scorching Hell.
The climate in Extreme Cold Hell, on the Fifth Level, was even harsher than on the Fourth.
Magellan's punishment took into account the fact that Shiryu had started the fight.
That was why Shiryu's punishment was more severe!
Perhaps he knew he was in the wrong, or perhaps he didn't want to argue with Magellan.
Shiryu released his Armament Haki, wiped the clay off Rain Shower, and turned to leave without a word.
"Hannyabal! Take Storm down to the Fourth Level!"
Magellan instructed the Chief Jailer, then left alongside Shiryu.
He was going to personally escort Shiryu to Extreme Cold Hell on the Fifth Level!
Only after both wardens had left
did Hannyabal slowly shuffle over to Storm, smiling ingratiatingly.
"My Jailer Chief, you're amazing! Even that bastard Shiryu was no match for you!"
"I've still got a long way to go!"
Storm shook his head and said noncommittally.
In the eyes of anyone watching, he'd been overpowering Shiryu throughout the fight.
And that was...exactly what had happened.
Storm had been putting on an impressive show.
But the damage he'd dealt was only a measly 2.5.
His attacks had merely drawn a little blood from Shiryu. They hadn't truly threatened him.
As a Great Swordsman, Shiryu's physique was terrifyingly strong!
He could take far more punishment than the likes of the Sphinx.
On the other hand, the Clay Fruit's offensive power was severely lacking.
If the Clay Fruit's offensive power could rival that of the Venom-Venom Fruit...
Never mind.
Storm shook his head inwardly.
A Devil Fruit's offensive power was determined by its fundamental nature.
The essence of the Clay Fruit was to create clay.
Even if you could do all sorts of tricks with clay, even turn it into art—
Wait!
Art?
The image of an art-loving young man with four mouths who liked playing with clay flashed through Storm's mind.
Could he imbue the clay with certain properties to increase its basic offensive power?
Hannyabal had no idea what Storm was thinking.
Hearing him, the Chief Jailer cheerfully chimed in.
"Exactly, exactly! That bastard Shiryu is nowhere near your level!"
After saying this, Hannyabal hesitated for a moment.
"Um, Storm, it's time to head to Scorching Hell."
Storm came back to himself and tucked the idea of "Clay Art" away.
"I haven't eaten yet!"
"I'll have someone bring your food down right away!"
Scorching Hell, a single-occupancy cell.
After eating his fill, Storm sat cross-legged on the floor. The terrifying heat around him didn't affect him in the slightest.
His four-star Physique was enough to make him completely impervious to this temperature.
Storm summoned his Big Trophy and looked at the Armament Haki, which had earned a "☆" rating.
"So I really did awaken Armament Haki?"
Storm clenched his fist and somewhat awkwardly tried to draw out that power.
The next moment,
an invisible, transparent energy appeared over his fist, enveloping it.
"It's colorless, unlike the Armament Haki I remember. Is that because its level is too low?"
Storm dispelled the Armament Haki, closed his eyes, and felt how much stamina it had cost him.
"Using Haki takes far more energy than using Rokushiki!
"As for its power..."
Storm focused his thoughts, and a clay statue as tall as a person appeared before him.
Boom!
He threw a punch wrapped in Armament Haki, easily smashing the clay statue to pieces.
"A fist infused with Haki hits much harder than an ordinary one!"
Storm dispelled the Armament Haki and created several Clay Clones.
If Tekkai had helped him awaken Armament Haki,
could Kami-e help him awaken Observation Haki too?
At Storm's command, the Clay Clones attacked together, unleashing a dense flurry of blows like a raging storm.
Facing their assault, Storm held his breath and focused, letting the force flow away as he dodged again and again, his body moving like a sheet of paper.
Who knew how much time had passed?
A new entry appeared among Storm's abilities—
[Observation Haki: ☆]
His time in solitary confinement passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, Storm had gained an initial grasp of Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Not only that, he had also fully absorbed the boost he'd previously gained by adding points to his Rokushiki.
What surprised Storm was that, after mastering all the four-star Rokushiki,
he had gained a new ability—
[Life Return: ☆]
Rokushiki was a martial art that surpassed the limits of ordinary human physical ability.
Life Return showcased its defining trait: the extreme development of the body's abilities.
Now that Storm had mastered Life Return, he could freely control his body, even his internal organs and hair.
As long as he infused them with his consciousness, he could control any part of his body at will.
Storm knew Life Return had plenty of untapped potential.
But his confinement was over, so he couldn't keep working on it in his cell.
His solitary confinement ended, and he left his cell.
Storm was immediately taken to the Warden's Office, also located in Scorching Hell on the Fourth Level.
This time, he finally saw Magellan in the office—instead of the restroom.
"Storm, I'm sorry."
Magellan looked apologetic.
"I shouldn't have put you in solitary confinement."
Storm stared at the Warden without a word.
If apologies fixed everything, what would we need laws for?
"I've thoroughly investigated what happened that day."
Magellan raised both hands and gestured as he spoke.
"Shiryu, Shiryu...Shiryu's just a lunatic!
"Don't stoop to his level."
"Don't stoop to his level?"
Storm gave a disbelieving laugh.
"Warden, are you saying that after he tried to cut me down, I shouldn't get angry and should just forgive him graciously?"
"I know this might be asking a lot."
Magellan tried to continue.
"But—"
"If you know it's asking a lot, then don't ask."
Storm cut him off.
"Warden, if there's nothing else, I'm going back to work.
"It's been days since I last patrolled the prison, and I'm itching for it."
Itching for it?
Magellan watched Storm walk away, and his eyelid suddenly twitched.
He'd been worried that Shiryu might turn into a madman who couldn't tell friend from foe and killed without restraint.
But now, it seemed Storm might have the same potential?
"It must be my imagination! Just my imagination!"
Magellan clenched his buttocks and rushed into the restroom.
In the corridor outside the Warden's Office,
Storm had only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard a voice from the side.
"Vongola!"
Storm turned to look. Sadie-chan, fully recovered, waved her whip at him.
"...Make sure you keep those Prison Beasts in line!"
"I don't have that kind of perverted hobby."
Storm waved at Sadie-chan, boarded the elevator, and headed to the First Sea Level.
After washing up and changing into his uniform, Storm resumed his patrol of Impel Down.
But word of the "Jailer Chief versus Deputy Warden" incident from a few days earlier
had spread from guard to guard, until plenty of prisoners had heard about it too.
Rain's Shiryu was a brutal man who killed without batting an eye.
And Storm had actually managed to overpower someone like that.
The prisoners immediately transferred their fear of Shiryu to Storm.
As a result, his patrol of Impel Down went by in suspiciously peaceful fashion.
How could that do?
With the Big Trophy on his mind, Storm found another excuse.
—Today, he didn't like striped clothes.
Then he went straight to the prisoner in Scorching Hell with the highest bounty.
A 91-million-Beli bounty holder and a Zoan Chameleon Fruit User!
Even in Impel Down, where prisoners were crammed together, Devil Fruit Users were uncommon.
At least on the first four levels, they were quite rare.
Storm had sought him out simply to see whether a pirate with a bounty of over ninety million could provide a Golden Trophy!
But the result disappointed him.
This "Chameleon Person" could likewise only provide a [Silver Trophy].
"A bounty of over one hundred million, corresponding to a Golden Trophy!"
Storm confirmed one of his guesses.
"It seems my hope of hunting down a Golden Trophy lies in Extreme Cold Hell!"
Today, he had obtained a [Silver Trophy].
Considering that his opponent was a Devil Fruit User,
Storm did not use the trophy to add points. Instead, on a whim, he used it to "make a wish."
"Chameleon Person, a Three-Star trophy... Surely it'll give me a Three-Star [Demon Ring], right?"
Storm watched the Silver Trophy melting before him with faint anticipation.
Yet even after the trophy completely vanished, he saw no physical object at all.
"Could it be... a new ability?"
Storm checked his own ability panel and finally saw a new ability.
[Name: Color Change] [Star Rating: ★★★] [Effect: Freely change the color of the body's surface] [Comment: Why did I change color?]
"Color Change—the Chameleon Person's signature ability."
Storm released a lump of clay, and its color kept changing according to his will.
"Is the effect that I can mold more lifelike puppets?"
"This isn't the Clay Art I wanted!"
No recommendations. See you next week.
Fifty thousand words already!
Please comfort me! Please add me to your reading list!
Before you continue