Marine Detachment at Impel Down

Impel Down, the world's number one prison.

The prison held only hardened criminals, and it was a place of extreme darkness and terror, guarded by monstrous jailers and monitored by visual Den Den Mushi. The seabed outside was patrolled by numerous large Sea Kings, earning Impel Down the reputation of having "walls of bronze and ramparts of iron."

Marine Headquarters, Judicial Island, and Impel Down were the three major strongholds of the World Government on the seas, serving as absolute forbidden zones for pirates.

Compared to Judicial Island and Marine Headquarters, Impel Down possessed its own internal management system, and its positions had little to do with the Marines.

Even regular Marines, unless under special circumstances, were unable to enter or exit Impel Down, only responsible for guarding its exterior.

However, there were always exceptions. In the years since Roger's execution, the number of pirates on the seas had surged.

Impel Down, once a prison for the world's various criminals, had become a so-called "pirate prison" in the past two years.

Because fierce pirates were thrown into Impel Down daily, and because the journey from Marine Headquarters to Impel Down required passing through the Calm Belt, whether bringing people in or capturing them, it always involved a series of procedures.

After a while, Sengoku, who had just taken over as Fleet Admiral, found it too troublesome. He consulted with the Warden of Impel Down.

On the outskirts of Impel Down, a small Marine detachment was established. Its primary function was to facilitate the handling of pirates captured and brought to Impel Down, and to patrol the perimeter.

Sengoku's proposal was beneficial and harmless to Impel Down. Furthermore, Sengoku promised the Warden that the Marines sent to Impel Down would not be too strong or too numerous.

Believing that Sengoku's proposal could indeed simplify many steps without affecting their own authority, the Warden of Impel Down happily accepted.

This so-called Marine liaison point on the outskirts of Impel Down was the post Wood was now heading to.

After bidding farewell to Smoker and the Wild Boar on the back mountain, and after a half-day journey by ship from Marine Headquarters, passing through numerous checkpoints, Wood finally saw the so-called world prison.

Don't misunderstand. With Wood's current standing, the Marines wouldn't specifically dispatch a warship to send him to Impel Down.

He was merely hitching a ride this time. On the same ship with him were a Rear Admiral and a large group of pirates destined for Impel Down.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku had just taken office and was now frantically accumulating achievements to stabilize his position.

And in the past two years, pirates had indeed been rampant and numerous. Vice Admirals like Garp and Rear Admirals always brought back many wanted pirates on each voyage.

Impel Down was a massive, submerged tower-like structure, its foundation on the seabed. The higher the level of the criminal, the deeper they were imprisoned.

Furthermore, the shackles and cells that bound the prisoners were constructed using Sea Prism Stone, truly demonstrating immense wealth.

The reason for this was that many of the prisoners held here were Devil Fruit ability users.

Sea Prism Stone was a mineral that emitted power similar to seawater, capable of nullifying the abilities of users.

As soon as the Marine Headquarters warship docked, Impel Down's Warden, accompanied by several blue orangutan-like creatures wielding axes, approached.

"Although I heard the Marines were bringing more prisoners, I never expected there would be so many.

Can't you Marines just take a break? Impel Down is a prison for the world's criminals, not a private prison for the Marines.

If you keep bringing so many prisoners, not only will we run out of cells, but it also increases our workload!"

Impel Down's Warden was a short man wielding a devil's trident, with a pair of devil wings on his back. He didn't look like a normal human.

However, Wood didn't find this too strange. There were too many races in the pirate world. The jailers and other management personnel in Impel Down generally didn't look like normal humans either.

Strictly speaking, the Warden's military rank was inferior to that of a Marine Rear Admiral. Yet, this Warden showed little respect to the Rear Admiral before him.

Although they both worked for the World Government, their departments were different. Moreover, the Marines had been too active lately, stuffing pirates into Impel Down day and night, forcing them to work overtime and even canceling their holidays.

"The duty of the Marines is to uphold justice. We can't just stand by and watch pirates wreak havoc.

Pirates are criminals, and we are simply acting according to the rules. What's wrong with that?

The commotion from Roger's era is almost over, and things should be better in a while.

Besides, Fleet Admiral Sengoku sent reinforcements here precisely because he worried about your heavy workload."

The Marine Rear Admiral spoke while stepping aside, allowing the Warden to see Wood and the other unlucky individuals.

That's right, they were the reinforcements from Marine Headquarters.

Before arriving, Wood had heard others say this was an easy job. But seeing the attitude of Impel Down's personnel now, Wood felt that the relationship between the Marines and Impel Down wasn't exactly harmonious.

Taking over prisoners from the Marines required a series of procedures, and later, if a pirate was to be executed, retrieving them from Impel Down also involved complicated steps.

Wood and the others were assigned to Impel Down, which was euphemistically called assisting in the custody of criminals. In reality, they were just doing clerical work on the periphery, stamping papers when necessary.

After handing over all the captured pirates to Impel Down's personnel, the Marine Rear Admiral seemed reluctant to interact further with them. After some polite exchanges, he directly set sail and left.

Besides the captured pirates, those left behind were Wood and the other clueless newcomers.

Under the Warden's signal, several Blugori, known as "Sea Fighters," brought out chains. The devil-like Warden then looked at Wood and the others and said, "Now, let's proceed according to the procedures. You know what to do, right?"

Seeing the impatient expression on the Warden's face, Wood was bewildered. He knew what to do? He knew nothing! It was his first day!

"Apologies, Warden. They are new and don't understand the procedures yet. We will cooperate immediately."

Wood and the other newcomers were left dumbfounded. Just as the Impel Down Warden began to show impatience, several Marine personnel stationed at Impel Down finally arrived late and gestured with their eyes for Wood and the others to present the documents they had brought.