Extreme Cold Hell, where the wind cut to the bone.
Storm sat cross-legged in his single-person cell, his breath quickly turning into clouds of white vapor.
"Just as cold as the rumors said."
Storm raised his right hand and flexed his fingers a few times. He didn't feel the slightest stiffness.
"Good thing I'd raised my [Endurance] attribute to five stars earlier.
"Otherwise, my four-star Physique wouldn't have been able to withstand the cold of Extreme Cold Hell."
Storm looked outside.
His gaze passed through the frost-covered bars and reached the single-person cell opposite his.
The prisoner inside had a bounty of over a hundred million, and ice covered his entire body. There wasn't the slightest sign of life.
This prisoner had been frozen to death by the extreme conditions of Extreme Cold Hell!
"What a waste of a Golden Trophy..."
The regret in Storm's heart vanished in an instant.
He extended his Observation Haki, probing the world beyond his immediate surroundings.
Within Storm's perception,
the shivering Hannyabal had already left Extreme Cold Hell with a group of jailers in protective suits.
Well, according to the rumors, Lord Chief Jailer was "unafraid of heat or cold"...
It seemed that really was just a "rumor."
"Anyway, Hannyabal's finally gone!"
Storm breathed a sigh of relief.
He hadn't come to Extreme Cold Hell because he actually wanted to be imprisoned!
He was here for the [Big Trophy]!
Compared with the levels above,
Extreme Cold Hell not only held more powerful prisoners, but it also had no Surveillance Den Den Mushi.
Den Den Mushi weren't as hardy as people might imagine. They couldn't withstand the terrifying temperatures of Extreme Cold Hell.
Setting aside the undiscovered Level 5.5—Newkama Land—
Extreme Cold Hell was one of the few "blind spots" in Impel Down!
Which meant—
Storm's time to move freely had finally arrived!
A little preparation went a long way.
Storm didn't immediately begin hunting for trophies. Instead, he first summoned his own [Big Trophies].
Of the Platinum Trophies he'd earned by defeating the four Prison Beasts,
Storm had used only one. He still had three left!
Now was the perfect time to upgrade his stats!
Storm took a deep breath and fed one [Platinum Trophy] into his [Clay Fruit].
[Clay Fruit: ★★★★★★]
He had two Platinum Trophies left.
Storm had originally planned to use them on his [Physique] attribute.
But supplies were scarce in Extreme Cold Hell.
If he upgraded his [Physique] now, he'd probably have to go hungry for several days.
"I'll upgrade my [Endurance] attribute when my solitary confinement is over!"
Storm put away the two [Platinum Trophies] and turned his attention to the [Clay Fruit], which had now reached six stars.
It was as if endless inspiration erupted in his mind.
In an instant,
Storm understood the difference between "five and a half stars" and "six stars"!
He stretched out his right hand, pressed it against the cell floor, and suddenly activated the power of the [Clay Fruit].
Under the influence of the Devil Fruit's power,
the solid frozen earth of Extreme Cold Hell, which had been locked in ice for who knew how many years, softened in an instant.
Storm's right arm sank down with it, pressing straight into the ground beneath Extreme Cold Hell.
From the gap where his arm met the ground, a steady stream of white clay gushed out like a fountain.
"Six stars!"
With a mere thought, the power of the [Clay Fruit] spread throughout the entire cell, and the frozen ground instantly softened into pliable clay.
"Awakening level!"
The sign of a Zoan Devil Fruit Awakening was that its user gained astonishing recovery and vitality.
A Paramecia Devil Fruit Awakening, on the other hand, allowed its user to affect things beyond themselves!
The instant Storm raised the [Clay Fruit] to six stars,
the [Clay Fruit] awakened!
Storm unleashed the power of the [Clay Fruit], transforming the cell floor into a soft clay bed.
He bounced and rolled across it, his face so excited that he looked as if he'd caught the "Nika Virus."
Once he'd gotten used to the awakened power of the [Clay Fruit],
Storm wasted no time and sprang into action.
"Golden Big Trophies, here I come!"
Since he was under "solitary confinement," not "imprisonment,"
Storm hadn't been shackled with Seastone cuffs, the symbol of a prisoner.
But even if they had shackled him, he still wouldn't have worried.
Storm could use the power of the [Clay Fruit] thanks to the [Demon Ring].
Seastone countered Devil Fruit Users. What did that have to do with him, a non-user?
Storm had tested it himself long ago.
When he'd first received that [Seastone Tonfa] from the Navy Equipment Department,
he'd tested how well Seastone countered him.
The conclusion was—
Seastone was just a lousy rock. It was completely useless.
Even back then, a rather vague "prison plan" had begun to form in Storm's mind.
Now that he'd been sent to Extreme Cold Hell, Seastone couldn't stop him from moving.
Storm stood before the cell door and strode steadily toward the bars in front of him, which had been reinforced with Seastone.
The moment his body touched the Seastone bars, they softened into clumps of white clay.
A Seastone prison couldn't restrict Storm's movements!
A cold wind blew past.
Storm calmly stepped out of his cell.
His plan from here was, of course—to collect the Golden Trophies in Extreme Cold Hell!
The quality of a [Big Trophy] depended mainly on the strength of the opponent.
And among pirates, a bounty was undoubtedly the best measure of strength.
Just as Storm had previously guessed,
every pirate with a bounty over a hundred million could earn him a [Golden Trophy]!
Starting from his own cell, Storm swept through the prisoners held nearby, collecting their Big Trophies.
One [Golden Trophy] after another fell into his hands.
By the time Storm had cleared out the section of cells where he was staying,
he had amassed a two-digit number of [Golden Trophies]!
Fifteen Golden Big Trophies in total!
"That's a decent amount."
Storm finally stopped in front of a snow-covered forest.
"But it doesn't matter. Extreme Cold Hell has wardens as well as prisoners.
"Army Wolves!"
Before going after the Army Wolves,
Storm first summoned his own [Big Trophies], intending to make another round of upgrades.
One Golden Trophy after another vanished like bubbles.
One five-star ability after another appeared in Storm's ability panel.
[Armament Haki/Observation Haki: ★★★★★] [Tekkai/Kami-e/Soru/Shigan: ★★★★★]
In the blink of an eye,
Storm had used up twelve [Golden Trophies].
Since he still wasn't sure how strong the Army Wolves were, Storm deliberately kept three Golden Trophies in reserve.
He'd already raised his [Endurance] attribute to five stars, but his other two [Physique] attributes were still only four stars.
Those three Golden Trophies were set aside for his [Strength] and [Speed] attributes.
Everything was ready. All that remained was—
"Army Wolves!"
A sharp red glint flashed in Storm's eyes as his [Observation Haki] swept through the forest before him like the wind.
"Found them!"
Storm raised his right hand and created a towering [Clay Clone], directing it into the forest.
The forest's inhabitants soon noticed the commotion as well.
Amid a rustle of leaves,
an Army Wolf wrapped in snowy-white fur appeared before the [Clay Clone].
The Army Wolves weren't as huge as the beast wardens in Beast Hell.
But each one's eyes glowed bloodred, making them look anything but harmless.
"Awooo—"
At the sound of a chilling howl,
the seven or eight Army Wolves that had gathered around seemed to receive a command and charged at the [Clay Clone] together.
The Army Wolves moved incredibly fast, almost as fast as Mino Zebra.
But no matter how fast a wolf could run,
it couldn't outrun the clay of a [Clay Clone].
Under Storm's control, the [Clay Clone] swung its fist forward.
Its huge arm burst apart like a cannonball, splitting into seven clay tendrils of equal size and thickness.
Each tendril ended in a carefully shaped fist, which struck the Army Wolves in front of it with pinpoint accuracy.
"Clay Rain!"
The Army Wolves' speed was no match for the awakened [Clay Fruit].
They charged forward with the force of thunder.
Then the onslaught of giant clay fists knocked them flat on the spot.
Thud! Thud! Thud!—
With eight crisp knocks to the head,
all eight Army Wolves that had charged at them were knocked unconscious.
[Golden Trophy: Army Wolf] ×8
"Just as I thought—Golden Trophies!"
A faint hint of delight flashed through Storm's eyes.
But just then,
a figure hidden in the shadows suddenly appeared.
A flash of orange and yellow streaked through the air.
The [Clay Clone], which had just been showing off its might, was beheaded in an instant.
Thump!
The headless [Clay Clone] toppled forward and crashed face-first into the forest floor.
"Did I get him?!"
The orange-and-yellow figure stopped and revealed himself.
The left half of his hair and clothes was orange, the right half white, and a huge lightning-shaped scar ran from his forehead to his right eye.
What stood out most was that his arms weren't human arms, but two enormous pairs of scissors.
Lightning, a senior officer of the Revolutionary Army.
Before Lightning could step forward to check, the "corpse" of the [Clay Clone] suddenly made a strange sound.
Squish... squish...
The clay seemed to be acted upon by some force and suddenly softened.
The [Clay Clone]'s body and its severed head flowed back together before Lightning's astonished eyes.
"Hey..."
The [Clay Clone]'s emotionless white eyes stared straight at Lightning, the corner of its mouth curling into a mocking smile.
"That hurt..."
Finally made it onto the new books chart!
Even if it was only the light novel subcategory.
Even if it was near the bottom, in the nineties.
Still, it made the chart!!
Please keep reading!
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