Gramps

When Rock reached the entrance to the sixth level, he stopped.

He glanced back at Hannyabal.

Impel Down's Vice Warden was still trying to look composed, but his legs trembled despite himself.

Clearly—

The lingering force of that wave of Conqueror's Haki had yet to fade completely.

Rock said evenly, "You don't need to follow me any farther."

"I'll go down to the sixth level alone."

Hannyabal froze for a moment, then immediately straightened up.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Rock!!!"

His voice was a little too loud, but deep down, he understood.

Farther down—

That was Infinite Hell, a place even a Vice Warden like him rarely set foot in.

Besides... the Pirate King was being held there now.

Rock said nothing more and turned toward the stairs leading down.

The stone steps descended into darkness.

The light was dim.

Oil lamps hanging on the walls swayed gently, their orange glow stretching the shadows long.

The farther down he went, the heavier the air became, as though even breathing had slowed.

The atmosphere was suffocating, as if every evil in Impel Down had settled here.

The sixth level—

Infinite Hell.

The prisoners here were no ordinary pirates. They were monsters so vicious they had been erased from history.

The crimes they had committed at sea were so brutal that even the World Government did not want the world to know of them.

So they had been quietly sent to the deepest reaches of Impel Down.

Their names were erased, their deeds covered up, as though they had vanished from history altogether.

Nearly everyone imprisoned on this level was close to legendary.

Only two fates awaited them.

—Execution.

Or.

—Life imprisonment.

Infinite Hell was not as crowded as one might imagine.

In fact, it felt almost empty, because few people qualified to