An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth! (Seeking Follow-ups!)

Five-star Platinum Trophy!

Storm stared at the magnificent [Big Trophy] floating in the void, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Truly the strongest Prison Guard in Impel Down.

"The quality of the Prison Beast's trophy, I acknowledge it!"

Storm stowed away the [Platinum Trophy] and commanded the Clay Giants to withdraw from the already unconscious Mino Zebra.

One Prison Beast, defeated, yielded a five-star Big Trophy.

Based on Storm's prior experience fighting the Blue Water Monkeys.

Mino Zebra could at least provide another four-star Golden Trophy!

All he had to do was beat it again!

Storm reiterated—this was absolutely not personal revenge.

Everything for the sake of a higher-grade [Big Trophy]!

Before long.

Mino Zebra slowly stirred awake.

The greatest advantage of a Zoan Devil Fruit was its durability.

Prison Beasts were originally failed awakenings of Zoan Devil Fruit users.

Though they had lost their human intelligence.

They had gained far greater Endurance and recovery.

Sit-ups were no trouble at all.

Mino Zebra shook its still-dazed head.

It looked around and saw none of those white giants that couldn't be beaten no matter how hard it struck.

Only the same unfamiliar human it had easily sent flying earlier.

A mere human!

Mino Zebra snorted, regaining its confidence.

It picked up the spiked ball club that had fallen to the ground, scraped its hooves against the floor a few times, and charged at Storm once more.

Storm, who had rested a full half hour, had also recovered to his peak condition.

With the experience from the previous fight.

Storm no longer used [Haki] recklessly.

He mainly relied on [Rokushiki] to spar with Mino Zebra, only using [Haki] when necessary.

With the tireless help of Mino Zebra, the Prison Beast.

Storm continuously honed his [Armament Haki] and [Observation Haki].

The roar of battle rang out without end.

Inside the Warden's Office on the same fourth level, Scorching Hell.

Magellan sat on the toilet, his purple-red face suddenly twisting with a subtle hint of relief.

He had just felt a sharp cramp in his gut and was about to enjoy a satisfying purge.

But then a deafening explosion erupted right beside him.

Boom!

Magellan felt his sphincter clench, and the urge to defecate vanished without a trace.

Who the hell was that, and did they have no sense of decency?

Making noise and causing trouble in broad daylight—couldn't they just sit in prison quietly?

Couldn't they let a man have a proper bout of diarrhea?

Furious beyond measure, Magellan pulled up his pants and strode out of the washroom in three quick steps.

"Who is it!"

Magellan stormed into the Scorching Hell monitoring room, determined to find the culprit who had disrupted his detox work.

"Who the hell is causing trouble in the prison!?"

If the troublemaker was an Impel Down inmate.

Magellan swore he would shove that bastard straight up the "Poison Giant Soldier's" rear!

The prison guards in the monitoring room hadn't noticed the Warden's arrival; they were all fixated on the monitors.

"Incredible! The Chief Jailer is truly incredible!"

"Neither the Deputy Warden nor the Prison Beasts stand a chance against him!"

"The Giant Army! The invincible Giant Army has appeared again!"

Even though they were supposed to be watching surveillance, the jailers suddenly erupted into a fervent cheer, as if they were watching an exciting action blockbuster.

Jailer chief? Jailer beast?

Magellan's eyes bulged wide. He had roughly figured out the suspect's identity!

But what was this "giant army" the jailers were talking about?

Magellan fixed his gaze on the real-time surveillance footage transmitted by the Den Den Mushi.

He happened to catch sight of Storm, who was running low on stamina, summoning a group of clay giants to launch a brutal beating on Minorhinoceros.

This was Storm?

Magellan rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

How had Minorhinoceros become as weak as a plush zebra toy in his hands?

What was happening in the surveillance room.

Storm was temporarily unaware of it.

He only knew that Minorhinoceros had quickly provided another [Gold Trophy].

"Defeating the same target repeatedly in a short time will cause the trophy's quality to decline."

Storm sat cross-legged on the ground, recovering his stamina, waiting for Minorhinoceros to wake up again.

"Does this mean [Big Trophy] also has a cooldown period?

"And one more thing... just how far will Minorhinoceros's trophy quality drop?"

Not long after.

Storm's doubts were answered.

[Silver Trophy: Minorhinoceros]

[Trophy Stars: ★★★]

"Alright, no need to keep fighting."

Storm put away the Silver Trophy, planning to find the next victim (strikethrough)—the next jailer beast.

"One jailer beast can provide one five-star trophy and one four-star trophy.

"Minorhinoceros, Minorcow, Minokoala, Minorrhino—that's four five-star trophies!

"I absolutely can't miss this!"

Before heading off to find the next jailer beast.

Storm first tossed the [Silver Trophy] he had just obtained into [Swordsmanship].

[Swordsmanship: ★★★]

"The only one-star ability right now is [Spearmanship]. It looks a bit off..."

Storm thought it over and decided to find an opportunity later to push both [Swordsmanship] and [Spearmanship] to four stars.

It wouldn't take too much effort anyway.

"The focus is still on [Gold Trophy] and [Platinum Trophy]!"

Storm's gaze locked onto [Clay Fruit].

Earlier, through continuous point allocation, [Clay Fruit]'s level had reached "★★★★☆".

Storm immediately invested one [Gold Trophy] into it.

[Clay Fruit] became his first five-star ability!

Right after.

The only five-star [Platinum Trophy] was also invested into [Clay Fruit].

[Clay Fruit: ★★★★★★☆]

"Just one step away from six stars!"

"Second jailer beast, get in my bowl!"

A sharp red glint flashed in Storm's eyes as he activated his [Observation Haki].

The "voices" from the outside were all captured one by one by his [Observation Haki].

Just then, Storm sensed an exceptionally powerful target approaching him.

The aura it emitted was even stronger than Minorhinoceros's!

"Warden?"

Storm used [Soru] to rush over at high speed, seeing Magellan slowly walking this way.

"Ah, Storm—"

As he greeted him, Magellan's face twisted strangely, and a sharp pain suddenly struck his abdomen.

"What were you just doing?"

"Managing the prison guards."

Storm replied calmly.

"Blue Gorillas, Sphinxes, and the Prison Beasts—none of them are creatures of high intelligence.

"It takes a lot of effort to keep these prison guards in line."

"I knooow~"

Magellan nodded, about to say something more.

But as he spoke the last word, his tone suddenly pitched upward, and his legs couldn't help but squeeze together.

Storm could faintly see wisps of pale purple poison mist drifting from the corners of Magellan's mouth.

"Warden."

Storm instinctively took a step back, dodging the toxic fumes.

"You... don't have a habit of relieving yourself wherever you please, do you?

"Though it's a normal biological function for animals, I'd still recommend seeing a doctor."

"Ha! Ha!"

Magellan let out two dry laughs, then reminded him word by word.

"Managing the prison guards, fine! Just don't, cause, too much trouble!

"Absolutely! Do not! Become! Shiryu!"

After dropping those words, Magellan immediately clamped his rear and scurried off.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Storm thought he saw purple smoke seeping from behind the Warden's backside.

"Absolutely do not become Shiryu?"

Storm gazed after Magellan's retreating figure and shook his head.

"Who would want to become a destined failure?"

Storm cast Magellan's advice aside.

His [Observation Haki] didn't pick up the presence of a second Prison Beast.

But that was fine—Impel Down was crawling with surveillance Den Den Mushi!

Storm headed to the monitoring room in Scorching Hell. With the powerful surveillance system, he instantly locked onto the second Prison Beast's location.

The Platinum Trophy hunt had begun...

Over the next few days, Storm kept seeking out Prison Beasts for sparring matches, honing his skills.

With the help of several Prison Beasts, Storm trained [Armament Haki] in the mornings, [Observation Haki] in the afternoons, and practiced [Life Return] during meals.

These four-star abilities were all thoroughly mastered by him.

Storm could now wield both colors of Haki with great ease in battle, wasting not a single ounce of power.

His combat endurance had improved dramatically.

Beyond his own growth, Storm's greatest gain came from the [Big Trophies] provided by the four Prison Beasts.

Setting aside Mino Zebra's [Big Trophy], Mino Cow, Mino Koala, and Mino Rhinoceros had given Storm a total of three Platinum Trophies and three Golden Trophies.

Storm didn't touch those three Platinum Trophies for now.

He only used up the three Golden Trophies.

Storm invested two Golden Trophies into [Endurance] and one into [Speed].

Those two stats became—

[Endurance: ★★★★★]

[Speed: ★★★★☆]

By the time Storm had fully grasped his surging [Physique] and [Clay Fruit] abilities, the day had come for Shiryu to finish his confinement and leave Extreme Cold Hell.

Scorching Hell, Warden's Office.

The "big shots" of Impel Down had gathered together.

Everyone had come here under the Warden's orders.

Magellan's idea was simple—he wanted to take this opportunity to ease the tension between Storm and Shiryu.

No matter how the conflict between the two had erupted before.

Now they set aside past grievances and governed Impel Down together!

Bang!

The door to the Warden's Office was pushed open from outside.

Shiryu, still carrying a trace of chill on him, stepped into the office.

At a look from Magellan.

Storm walked up, stopping before Shiryu.

"Deputy Warden."

Storm looked at Shiryu, who was Close At Hand, a bright, sunny smile spreading across his face.

"The Warden wants us to set aside past grievances, but I think..."

In the blink of an eye.

Storm suddenly raised his right fist, gathering all his strength into it, and slammed it viciously toward Shiryu of the Rain's face.

A deep, pitch-black [Armament Haki] coated the surface of his fist, adding even more power.

Shiryu never expected that Storm would attack him right in front of Magellan!

Caught off guard, Shiryu took the blow directly to his left cheek.

Workplace—Face Breaking Fist!

Storm's fist, wrapped in [Armament Haki], smashed heavily into Shiryu's face.

The latter's jaw shook violently, twisting into a horrifying deformation.

Thick blood mixed with a few white teeth traced an elegant arc through the air of the Warden's Office.

Under that immense force, Shiryu's body flew backward, crashing straight into the wall of the Warden's Office.

The entire room fell into dead silence.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!

"That's my style!"

Storm shook his fist, then turned his head to look at the stunned Magellan.

"Warden, give me a ticket to Extreme Cold Hell!"