Beyond the magnificent Gate of Justice lay the Calm Belt.
The sky was dark and overcast. The Prison Ship came to a stop before an imposing complex of fortress-like buildings.
Impel Down. They had arrived.
The ship docked beside the pier.
Everyone aboard, Marines and prisoners alike, disembarked in orderly fashion.
The highest-ranking officer in charge of escorting the prisoners was Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Momonga.
Storm followed Momonga toward the gates of Impel Down.
A figure stood silently at the entrance. His appearance was a hideous, terrifying mix of pharaoh and demon.
When Storm and Momonga drew closer, the figure finally spoke.
"Welcome to—"
Hannibal said calmly.
"my Impel Down."
Momonga had been about to shake his hand in greeting.
At those words, he couldn't help but pause.
If he remembered correctly, wasn't Magellan the warden of Impel Down?
And who was this big idiot with a potbelly who looked like some kind of monster?
Before Momonga could ask,
Hannibal hurriedly grabbed his right hand and shook it vigorously.
"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I misspoke!
"Calling it 'my prison' might reveal a bit too much ambition.
"I'm Hannibal, the Chief Jailer of Impel Down. Pleased to meet you."
The corner of Momonga's eye twitched. He replied coolly,
"...Momonga."
"I've already heard the news. This must be Vongola Storm, right?"
Hannibal let go of Momonga's hand and turned to Storm, who stood behind him.
"My new subordinate—ah! I've revealed my ambition again!"
Momonga didn't linger. Citing "urgent military business," he took his leave.
Only Storm and Hannibal remained.
"Sir."
Storm took the Transfer Order Aokiji had given him from inside his coat.
"This is the Transfer Order issued by Headquarters. Please take a look."
"Don't call me 'sir.' Call me Lord Chief Jailer!"
Hannibal took the paper Storm handed him and emphasized the point earnestly.
"If you'd rather call me 'Lord Warden,' that's fine too."
"Actually, from the moment I first saw you, Lord Hannibal, I thought you had the makings of Impel Down's warden."
Storm made the suggestion with a perfectly straight face.
"Lord Hannibal, why don't we storm the Warden's Office together and take Magellan's position?"
Huh?
Hannibal couldn't help taking a step back, as if startled.
Kid, I'm just an ambitious man who likes to talk big. You're actually serious?
"I think... you're being a little too aggressive. Ahem."
Hannibal casually stuffed Storm's Transfer Order into his pocket.
"Come with me. I'll show you around my Impel Down first."
Storm followed Hannibal inside Impel Down.
As soon as he stepped through the entrance, he heard a pained scream from nearby.
"Quite a pleasant sound, isn't it?"
Hannibal smiled with satisfaction and gestured toward the iron railings alongside the road.
"Prisoners brought to my Impel Down are first taken to the other side of those railings.
"They have to strip and enter 'Hell's Warm Water,' which is heated to 100 degrees, for disinfection and sterilization.
"This is the 'baptism' Impel Down gives its prisoners."
Storm nodded calmly, then pretended to ask out of curiosity,
"Lord Hannibal, why does Impel Down use boiling water instead of hot oil?"
"H-Hot oil?"
The smile on Hannibal's face instantly froze.
Kid, are you trying to deep-fry all the prisoners?
"Because... it's tradition."
Hannibal wiped the sweat from his forehead, hoping to end the subject there.
But Storm wouldn't let him off so easily.
"Sir, if you become warden someday, could you turn 'Hell's Warm Water' into 'Hell's Warm Oil'?"
Kid, I think you're a little too extreme!
Hannibal roared inwardly.
Now he understood.
Why this kid had been transferred from Marine Headquarters to Impel Down!
Hell is empty; the devils are in the Marines!
"Newbie, not every prisoner in Impel Down is on death row."
"Then why is that?"
This time, Storm was genuinely confused.
"Why doesn't the World Government just kill these scum? Are they deliberately waiting for them to escape?"
"Escape?"
Hannibal looked as though he'd just heard the biggest joke of his life.
"Impel Down is built like an impregnable fortress. It's the world's most secure prison.
"No prisoner could ever escape Impel Down!"
Storm shot Hannibal a sidelong glance and tossed out a name.
"Golden Lion Shiki?"
"Ah, well..."
Hannibal was taken aback again.
A little-known fact about Impel Down:
Hannibal had once witnessed Golden Lion Shiki's escape with his own eyes.
Shiki had even asked Hannibal himself where Impel Down had put his [Sakazuki] and [Karasuma].
Being put on the spot by a newbie again and again was starting to bruise Hannibal's pride.
"Newbie! Impel Down has rules! Subordinates aren't allowed to talk back to their superiors!"
Really? I don't believe it.
Storm pursed his lips.
If Impel Down's subordinates really couldn't talk back to their superiors, Magellan would've thrown Hannibal into Infinite Hell on the very first day his ambitions became apparent.
Still, Storm quite liked his blustering superior.
When Hannibal looked ready to lose his temper, Storm pinched his thumb and forefinger together, then ran them across his lips to mime "sewing his mouth shut."
Only then did Hannibal nod in satisfaction.
The First Sea Level of Impel Down wasn't all that large.
Hannibal showed Storm around.
They visited the Baptism Room first, followed by the Generator Room, Medical Room, Surveillance Room, Jailer Dormitory, and other areas.
As they passed the jailers' mess hall,
Storm saw a large group of blue gorillas hauling enormous cuts of meat toward the kitchen.
Their leader was a woman wearing a pink leather jacket, with long, wavy orange hair.
"My little Sadie."
Hannibal waved to her warmly.
"Is today's food delivery going smoothly?"
"Of course!"
Sadie-chan's orange bangs covered her eyes, but they didn't seem to hinder her vision.
She easily spotted Storm beside Hannibal.
"Hmm?! Is this the newbie who's here to take over my job?"
As she spoke,
Sadie-chan lightly twisted the long-handled pitchfork in her hand.
The forked head came off, revealing a long, thin whip.
Crack!
Sadie-chan flicked the whip through the air, producing a sharp report.
"Newbie, what's your name?"
"Vongola Storm."
Storm stepped forward and looked at Sadie-chan.
"Ma'am?"
"Call me Sadie-chan!"
In a flash, Sadie-chan swung her whip and lashed out at Storm from a distance.
She was far more skilled at wielding a whip than Peacock.
The black whip, made of some unknown material, gleamed with an oily sheen.
Looking closely, one could see the sharp barbs attached along its length.
Being struck by it would have dire consequences.
Yet Storm didn't even raise an eyelid in the face of the attack.
He made no visible movement, yet layers of white ripples rose across his body.
The next instant,
a white snake made of clay shot out from Storm and lunged at the incoming whip.
Crack!
Sadie-chan's whip struck the white snake squarely in the head, and its soft clay burst apart.
But the snake didn't "die."
Instead,
the shattered snake turned into a dense clay net, wrapping tightly around the black whip.
Storm controlled the clay like a white chain, locked in a tug-of-war with Sadie-chan.
"Sadie-chan! Vongola! Stop fighting!"
Hannibal shouted nervously from the side.
"If you keep this up, the Blue Gorillas are going to lose control!"
Sadie-chan jolted in surprise.
She turned her head and saw one of the Blue Gorillas that had been carrying food charging toward them.
The blue gorillas' true name was "Burger."
They were enormous and incredibly strong, with bizarre skull-like markings on their faces. They were known as "Sea Fighters."
The charging blue gorilla had a very clear target—
Storm, who was fighting Sadie-chan!
"Roar! Roar!"
The blue gorilla wielded a massive Double-Bladed Axe and swung it ferociously at Storm.
Storm's expression remained unchanged.
He raised his right hand, and white clay poured out without end, piling up beside him into a small hill.
Then the clay hill began to writhe.
A gigantic White Gorilla, tall enough to nearly break through Impel Down's ceiling, "burst from the ground"!
The blue gorilla swung its giant axe with all its might.
Because of the difference in their height, it only managed to hit the White Gorilla's knee.
The Sea Fighters were no weaklings.
Even the Sea Kings of the Calm Belt could be easily "split in two with a single axe" by a blue gorilla.
The White Gorilla, made of clay, wasn't hard enough to withstand the axe. Its knee was chopped clean through.
But clay creatures didn't fear injury.
Even with its knee severed by the "Sea Fighter," the White Gorilla's upper body remained completely unharmed.
Storm controlled the White Gorilla as it raised its enormous fist and slammed it down at the one below.
Boom!
The Blue Gorilla that had attacked first couldn't dodge the blow. The giant clay fist struck it squarely in the head.
With a deafening crash,
the Blue Gorilla was knocked flat and lost consciousness completely.
[Silver Trophy: Burger] [Trophy Star Rating: ★★★]
One Blue Gorilla was worth an entire Silver Trophy!?
Storm looked at the group of Blue Gorillas charging toward him in the distance.
In his eyes, they weren't Blue Water Monkeys one by one, but Silver Trophies by the dozens!
It was as if a voice rang in Storm's ears.
Main Quest triggered!
Start by conquering Impel Down with the Blue Water Monkeys!
Contract status updated.
In the Grand Line Era 1522, Hannyabal temporarily served as Deputy Warden of Impel Down.
It's now 1518, so Hannyabal is still the Chief Jailer and hasn't been promoted.
Before you continue