Impel Down.
In the cold, gloomy corridor, moisture slowly trickled down the walls.
Dim lights flickered in the damp air, as if the darkness might swallow them at any moment.
From behind the heavy iron doors came the faint clatter of chains.
Low and stifled, like breathing from the depths of hell.
This was the deepest level of Impel Down.
Level 6.
Infinite Hell.
Those imprisoned here had long ceased to be mere criminals.
Their names had been erased, their bounties sealed away.
Even many Marines were not qualified to know of their existence.
Should these people ever see daylight again, they would be enough to plunge an entire sea back into terror.
And at this moment, before one of the cells.
Several Cipher Pol agents in black suits stood silently.
They wore no white masks, nor had they alerted the guards.
Their footsteps were deliberately muted, and they concealed their presence deeply.
Because this time, they were carrying out a secret mission directly ordered by the Five Elders.
The iron door slowly opened.
Inside the cell.
Shiryu leaned against the wall.
He was still wearing the uniform of Impel Down's chief guard, though it had long lost its former neatness.
His collar hung open, his cuffs were stained with dark grime, and Seastone chains on his wrists and ankles restricted his movements.
Yet his eyes remained cold, like a blade that had never truly been sheathed.
"Cipher Pol?"
Shiryu slowly raised his head, a trace of mockery curling across his lips.
"Since when did Impel Down become a place for you people to enter?"
The leading Cipher Pol agent did not answer. He merely walked up to Shiryu and took out a key.
Click.
The chains came undone.
The heavy Seastone shackles hit the ground with a dull thud.