Silent Slash

Compared to Domino's doubts, Ain had tremendous confidence in Noki. She knew exactly how skilled her man was with a sword. It would not be an exaggeration to say he was already close to Vice Admiral Gion, known as Momousagi.

No matter how skilled or ruthless Shiryu of the Rain was, he could not be much stronger than Gion, the Headquarters' foremost swordsman.

Even if Noki could not defeat Shiryu, he could at least protect himself.

Shiryu slowly drew his sword. The instant the blade was revealed, a crimson gleam flashed before everyone's eyes. Then, the heavy pressure formed by his killing intent made Ain and Domino breathe more rapidly.

Noki pulled off his Marine coat in one motion and tossed it to Ain. His right hand gripped Golden Scale's hilt as he drew the blade and held it horizontally at his side. His exquisitely handsome face now sent chills down one's spine.

The two surges of killing intent seemed to take physical form, colliding again and again in the air and even stirring gusts of wind.

Noki could tell that Shiryu still had the upper hand when it came to killing intent. However, that did not mean he was much weaker than his opponent.

Shiryu narrowed his eyes and suddenly attacked. His sword moved fluidly and swiftly. As he stepped forward with his right leg, a freezing glint swept past Noki's neck, barely missing him.

Ain's heart lurched. If Noki had reacted even a little slower, he would have died for sure!

Domino grew even more nervous. She knew Noki was no match for Shiryu. She wanted to stop them, but once Warden Shiryu drew his sword, he would never stop so easily.

Throughout all of Impel Down, only Deputy Warden Magellan possessed the strength to stop Shiryu. Unfortunately, he was out on patrol and no one knew when he would return.

Seizing the right moment, Noki swung Golden Scale and slashed down with unmatched dominance, aiming straight for Shiryu's abdomen.

Shiryu raised his elbow, and Raindrop instantly shifted direction, blocking the strike. "Interesting!"

Noki was secretly startled.

His Observation Haki had been fully unleashed since the beginning, yet he had not sensed Shiryu's previous attack in the slightest.

The principle of Observation Haki should have been to enhance all of the body's senses. If someone at Noki's level still could not detect it, then Shiryu must have had a way to bypass Observation Haki!

As he pondered this.

Shiryu shifted his footing and silently darted out from another position. His raised cold blade carried sword energy that crackled like lightning as it cleaved toward Noki again.

Although Noki had been distracted, his eyes had never left Shiryu's figure. He reacted immediately, and Golden Scale's faintly gleaming blade collided heavily with Shiryu's Raindrop.

The clash between Armament Haki sent a fierce blast of air rolling outward.

After Shiryu's first attack failed, countless slashes assaulted Noki like a raging storm.

Noki could only defend passively, his eyes fixed tightly on Shiryu's movements.

Ain's heart gradually clenched. Clearly, she had underestimated Shiryu's level before. As expected of the man who had become Impel Down's warden!

Elsewhere.

Inside Impel Down's surveillance room.

A tall man dressed in black, demonic-looking clothing stared unblinkingly at one of the screens. "Why is Shiryu fighting someone? And he's going so hard. No, I need to get up there quickly. Something might happen."

"Deputy Warden, look! That man is actually fighting back!" A guard pointed at the screen and exclaimed.

"Oh?"

Magellan focused his gaze, and it was true!

Noki found an extremely tiny opening in Shiryu's attacks. He struck with his sword, interrupting the other man's offensive, then seized the initiative for himself.

One Sword Style: Slash!

Noki's gaze sharpened. Golden sword energy swept toward Shiryu like a full moon. Crisp clangs of metal rang throughout the entire prison level as Haki surged and flickered without end.

One red and one gold figure flew in completely opposite directions amid their violent collision, then landed.

Shiryu removed the cigar from his mouth, the wicked grin on his face growing wider. "I haven't felt this fired up in years. Let's see just how capable you really are!"

Here it came!

Noki twisted his wrist and slashed horizontally through empty air. In the next instant, his sword repeatedly struck Shiryu's blade, throwing up dazzling sparks.

Shiryu's steps grew faster and faster until Noki's eyes could barely keep up.

This was bad!

Noki had been relying on his sight to judge the other man's movements. Now that even his vision could no longer catch him, was he not just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered?

Noki pushed off the ground with both legs and unleashed one of the Six Powers at full force—Soru—attempting to use speed against speed.

His plan proved effective. He successfully evaded Shiryu's attack.

The two men seemed to turn into two different gusts of wind, darting all throughout the vast prison space.

"Useless!"

Shiryu accelerated in an instant. Crimson sword energy sliced off one corner of Noki's clothes. If Noki had not instinctively tilted his body aside, it would probably have been his head that got cut off.

This madman!

Noki realized that Shiryu was likely being serious. He stopped holding back, twisted around, gripped his sword in his right hand, and threw a punch with his left as thick black mist surged forth and expanded.

Black Hand!

Shiryu stopped in time. Sharp sword energy howled toward the black mist, yet it only stirred layer after layer of ripples.

As the huge hand formed from black mist closed in step by step, Shiryu abruptly changed direction and launched a surprise attack from an angle Noki had never expected!

At this angle, it was too late for Noki to turn his sword back to defend. However, he had prepared in advance. Golden Scale's blade was now covered in darkness, pitch-black from end to end.

Black Slash!

Noki turned and slashed, leaving a black trail in the air.

Shiryu's lethal strike, which had been aimed at Noki's vital point, was suddenly caught by a powerful force of attraction. He had no choice but to alter its direction and slash at Golden Scale instead.

The principle behind this move was to use the black hole-like attraction of the Dark-Dark Fruit.

By coating the blade in darkness, it forced the enemy to face him head-on while effectively restricting their movement.

Disrupted by the pull, Shiryu's speed fell considerably. His strange slashes, which could conceal his tracks, were completely restrained as a result.

After exchanging several more blows with Noki, Shiryu snorted coldly in annoyance. "This was supposed to be a duel between swordsmen. What kind of duel is it if you use your ability? What a letdown!"

Domino's eyes shone as she turned to Ain and whispered, "You little brat, you really found yourself a treasure. Noki's so young, yet he's already this strong. His future is limitless."

Ain hugged Little Black, wrapped in the Marine coat in her arms, and proudly puffed out her chest, as though Domino had praised her instead.

The two women had thought the sparring match was over.

To their surprise, Noki said something astonishing. "The warden is right. I broke the rules. I won't use my ability this time. Let's start over."

Domino tugged at Ain's sleeve. "Isn't your man a little too proud? Anyone can see that in swordsmanship alone, Warden Shiryu is clearly much better. Isn't he just asking for a beating?"

With the results of the previous exchange to bolster her confidence, Ain fixed her beautiful red eyes firmly on Noki. "I believe in him."

Domino suddenly felt a little jealous.

If she had initially felt the slightest bit fond of Noki because of his appearance, then after witnessing his strength, she had been deeply drawn to this man.

Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere of the prison, she had come to admire the strong more and more—especially strong men who were handsome!

Although Noki's handsomeness was somewhat unique, as long as he had the character of a real man, that was not a problem at all, right?!

There were three main things to consider when choosing a partner: looks, personality, and strength.

Noki's looks were flawless. Even if his strength never improved, he was still comparable to Impel Down's warden. His personality was gentle yet carried a touch of dominance. He was practically perfect!

How could anyone dislike someone like that?

"Good!"

Shiryu agreed readily. Noki's words were exactly what he wanted to hear. "Then let's have a proper fight!"

He activated that strange footwork again and disappeared from Noki's sight. Observation Haki also lost its target.

Noki smiled faintly and vanished as well.

Inside the surveillance room.

Magellan watched their battle with great interest and recalled the man's identity. "Cudilia Rogers's son. The new generation really surpasses the old."

"Gurgle..."

Magellan's stomach growled. He clutched it, his face twisting in pain. "Damn it, I forgot to relieve myself after lunch. Move aside! I need the bathroom!"

The guards panicked as well. "Quick, take the Deputy Warden to the bathroom!"

As the user of the Paramecia-type Venom-Venom Fruit, Magellan was undoubtedly extremely powerful. However, its side effects were also a massive headache. His entire body was poisonous. Whether it was sweat, saliva, or even the air he exhaled, it all carried toxic fumes. Ordinary people needed gas masks to come into contact with him, which was terribly inconvenient. Moreover, he inevitably swallowed poison while eating, resulting in him being able to work only four hours out of every twenty-four. He spent twelve hours on the toilet, while the remaining eight were for sleep...

"Where did they go?"

Domino stared blankly ahead.

Noki and Shiryu had seemingly vanished into thin air. They could not be seen, nor could they be sensed through Observation Haki.

Ain was also confused. From the earlier battle, she had seen that Shiryu possessed a strange footwork technique that could almost perfectly conceal sound and movement. Could it be... Noki had learned it too?

He had learned it after watching it only a few times.

That really was Noki's style. He had always been exceptionally talented.

In the end, Shiryu appeared first. Prolonged high-speed movement had drained his stamina. "Kid, how did you do it? You actually learned my Silent Slash!"

Noki came before Shiryu with a smile. "Warden, perhaps I was lucky enough to accidentally discover some of its patterns. Your swordsmanship is extraordinary. I truly admire it."

He finally understood why Shiryu of the Rain had eaten the Invisible-Invisible Fruit in the original story, despite it seemingly being useless against New World powerhouses.

Invisibility combined with Silent Slash attacks that were difficult for Observation Haki to detect...

It was unimaginably terrifying!

Even against opponents stronger than himself, Shiryu of the Rain could catch them off guard and use this move to kill them!

After hearing the compliment, Shiryu would have been fine with it if he had won. But they had tied twice, and he had even been slightly at a disadvantage. Hearing it now was rather grating.

"Humph!" Shiryu could not save face and said in a deep voice, "We'll fight again."

Domino stepped forward and said speechlessly, "Warden, this is Major General Noki's first time at Impel Down. He hasn't even had a sip of water, and you're just making him fight you. Isn't that a little inappropriate?"

Shiryu glanced at Noki. "Do you want to take a look around my Impel Down?"

Noki nodded.

"Heh, fine. I'll show you around personally. Once we're done, we'll continue fighting."

Shiryu of the Rain had spent many years in Impel Down. It was rare for him to find a swordsman who caught his eye, and he truly did not want to let him go so easily.

Domino pulled Ain to her side and lowered her voice. "Trust me, you absolutely don't want to see what the lower prison levels look like. Let those two men look around on their own."

Ain turned her gaze toward Noki, seeking his opinion.

Noki signaled for her to stay with his eyes.

Only then did Ain say, "All right."

The opportunity Noki had been waiting for—to be alone with Shiryu—had finally arrived.

Domino took Ain back to the surface.

Noki, meanwhile, followed Shiryu downward, witnessing the pirates' wails, suffering, and torment.

Shiryu spoke little. He merely led Noki around without offering any commentary.

They continued until they reached the fifth level, Freezing Hell.

Because of the frigid climate, there were no surveillance Den Den Mushi here, nor were there any guards.

Only after confirming that no one was nearby did Noki speak. "Warden Shiryu, your killing intent is so dense. You must have killed quite a few prisoners, haven't you?"

Shiryu immediately stopped and turned back with a cold expression. "What do you mean?"

"You and I are both swordsmen. I can tell that your blade reeks of blood, as though it drinks blood every day. As far as I know, Impel Down rarely has prisoners sentenced to death. That means you seem to be indiscriminately killing prisoners!"

Shiryu remained silent for a long time. "Kid, watch your mouth. Don't spout nonsense without evidence!"

Seeing his expression, Noki took it as an admission. "I indeed have no evidence. But paper cannot wrap up fire. You will be exposed sooner or later. If my guess is correct, you must have hidden the prisoners' corpses. After all, Impel Down lacks places to dispose of bodies. If a large number of prisoners suddenly died, it would arouse suspicion. Hiding them is the best way to deal with it."

Shiryu exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "You aren't telling me this because you want to report me. You must be asking for something else. Otherwise, you could have simply contacted Magellan and had him investigate. Why waste your breath on me?"

Noki smiled. "You're right. I want to make a deal with you. I'll help you dispose of the bodies, and you'll help me kill two people in this prison."

"Who?" Shiryu asked curiously.

"Bondi Waldo and Douglas Bullet!"

Shiryu shook his head. "The two people you want to kill are too important. They are key prisoners under observation. If they die for no reason, the higher-ups will certainly conduct a thorough investigation."

"So what if they investigate? I believe that if you and I work together, we can make it flawless."

Shiryu fell silent again. "Why do you want to kill them?"

"To seize the devil powers within them."

Noki knew Shiryu's personality well. Speaking honestly would instead make him more likely to agree.

"I see. Kid, you're quite ambitious."

Shiryu gave him a meaningful look. "I can help you, but I have another condition."

"Go ahead."

"I know you have powerful backing. Within two years, transfer me out of Impel Down. I don't care where—whether it's under your command or somewhere else. As long as you have the strength to command me, I can accept it. If I keep staying in this sunless place, my life will end here..."