The cold wind howled across the vast, uninhabited ice fields of Freezing Hell.
This was the fifth level of Impel Down. It should have held countless criminals, yet as Tsugikuni Yoriichi flew through it, he could not see a single living soul.
Neither prisoners nor Impel Down guards were anywhere to be found. Occasionally, Tsugikuni Yoriichi could spot the bodies of prisoners buried beneath the ice, but there was no telling how long those corpses had lain entombed within this frozen wasteland.
Stussy was fleeing at tremendous speed. Although Tsugikuni Yoriichi's Observation Haki allowed him to clearly track her location, catching up to her would not happen anytime soon.
During the pursuit, Tsugikuni Yoriichi continued observing the environment of Freezing Hell, and a powerful sense of unease rose within him.
"When the Marines were first established, Impel Down was built alongside them."
"After so many years, the number of criminals imprisoned in Impel Down must have exceeded a hundred thousand. It is probably larger than an ordinary country."
"Even if the fifth and sixth levels do not hold many prisoners, there should still be hundreds or thousands of them."
"Adding the guards, having three or four thousand people in the final three levels of Impel Down should be perfectly normal."
"But why are there so few presences I can sense?"
Ever since entering Impel Down, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's Observation Haki had enveloped the entire island. Earlier, his attention had been focused on Scarlet and Rebecca, mother and daughter. Only now did he have the time to consider the abnormalities within Impel Down.
Thinking back on it now, ever since Stussy and the others had appeared before him, something had felt strange.
There were too few people.
Far too few people had tried to stop him.
Since that CP0 had intended to