Calm Before the Storm

"As Shichibukai, your primary task will be to hold off the division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates! As for the other enemies, we will arrange for other powerful fighters to deal with them!" Vice Admiral Tsuru began explaining the important details of the war to the Shichibukai present. Almost all of them looked half-asleep and utterly unconcerned, but Teach listened with exceptional attention!

"All right, that is everything you need to remember! You may return and rest for now, but do not leave Marineford during this period, lest any unnecessary conflicts arise!" Vice Admiral Tsuru gave Teach a meaningful look before pushing open the door and leaving.

"Fuffuffuffu! A war on such a massive scale? How exciting!" Doflamingo chuckled strangely, then looked at Moria seated across from him, his head still wrapped in bandages.

"Fuffuffu, Gecko Moria, I heard you were defeated by some brat who had just set sail? Heh heh, how pathetic! It is truly irritating to be fellow Shichibukai with someone like you!"

Seeing the mockery and contempt in Doflamingo's eyes, Moria immediately recalled those unpleasant memories. Feeling waves of pain from the wound on his head, Moria finally snapped!

"What did you say?! You bastard, Doflamingo! Are you looking for a fight? I'll turn you into a zombie!" Furious from humiliation, Moria slammed both hands onto the table and roared at Doflamingo. But with that force, the table shook, and the mountain of food piled atop it spilled onto Teach.

"Bastard, are you looking to die?!" Already in a gloomy mood, Teach was like a powder keg ignited by a spark. He instantly rose to his feet, drew the pistol at his waist, and aimed it at Moria's forehead. The killing intent in his eyes made Moria's heart tremble.

"What a bunch of crude men!" Boa Hancock said arrogantly from the side. Perhaps because the Straw Hat Crew had not been sent flying by Kuma, Hancock still did not know Luffy at this point!

Meanwhile, the Straw Hat Crew was much the same as in the original story. They had stopped sailing and were currently training under Rayleigh's guidance!

Seeing that Teach and Moria were about to come to blows, the Marines responsible for receiving them hurriedly tried to smooth things over. After all, if fighters at the Shichibukai level started fighting at Marine HQ, Marine HQ would be the one to suffer the losses.

"Hmph!" Teach snorted coldly. He refused the following banquet among the Shichibukai. Naturally, how could he possibly have any appetite at a time like this?

"Marine, I'm going to Impel Down!" As soon as Teach stepped outside, he spoke to the Marine assigned to receive him. The Marine looked troubled and cautiously asked, "May I ask why you wish to go there? The environment there is extremely harsh!"

"Do I need to explain myself to you? No matter what, we Shichibukai are allies of the Marines. What, does Marine HQ intend to refuse such a small request from one of its own allies?"

"Th-Then I'll need to ask my superiors for permission!"

"Then go!"

"Yes, please wait a moment!"

Impel Down

Known as the world's greatest prison, it was located in the Calm Belt of the first half of the Grand Line, with exceptionally tight security.

The prison held only serious criminals. It was dark and terrifying inside, monitored by all kinds of beastly jailers and large numbers of visual Den Den Mushi. Beneath the sea outside the prison were countless giant Sea Kings, earning Impel Down the title of an "impregnable fortress"!

Impel Down Entrance

"Hello, Mr. Blackbeard! I am Hannibal, the warden of this Impel Down!" A man with two horns growing from his head, looking like a combination of a demon and a pharaoh, appeared before Teach.

"Hannibal!" A man with a Satan-like face but an obese body appeared behind Hannibal. That imposing voice made Hannibal shudder!

"Get out of my way! I am the boss of this prison! You are merely the deputy warden!" The newcomer was Magellan, warden of the world's greatest prison! He looked at Teach and was just about to say something when a bout of stomach cramps struck him!

"Hiss! Mr. Blackbeard, I'm terribly sorry! My stomach hurts again! I can only have my subordinate, Deputy Warden Hannibal, show you around the prison! Ah! I'll take my leave first!" Magellan's huge body looked comical as he hurried away on tiptoe.

"Hmph, he's like this every day! Magellan should hand the warden's position over to me!" Hannibal said without a care, then added, "Oh dear, I accidentally revealed my ambitions again!"

After undergoing a series of inspections to enter Impel Down, Teach finally got to tour this so-called world's greatest prison!

The floors where prisoners were held were generally assigned according to the size of their bounties. Besides the various cells holding prisoners, every floor had a unique form of torture. Thus, each level was given the title of Hell!

Level 1, Crimson Hell. The prisoners confined on this floor were generally rather weak! They could not even defeat the Blue Gorillas on this level! (Buggy: I feel offended!)

Level 2, Beast Hell. This floor housed all kinds of beastly monsters, including basilisk chickens, manticore lions, venomous scorpions, and more. Their leader was a beast named Sphinx!

Level 3, Starvation Hell. This floor mainly held vicious criminals with bounties exceeding 50 million Beli. Here, they were punished through deprivation of food and water, while the rising heat from the Blazing Hell beneath them made their suffering unbearable!

Level 4, Blazing Hell. Magellan's office was located on this floor, along with the kitchen and granary. The entire level was extremely hot, like a gigantic iron pot filled with boiling blood pools and seas of fire! One could imagine the lives of the prisoners here!

Level 5 was Freezing Hell. This level imprisoned pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million Beli. Prisoners held here lived in temperatures even colder than a massive freezer! As time passed, they would freeze to death alive!

Level 6 was the legendary Level Infinite Hell! Its inmates were either death-row prisoners or serving life sentences! The prisoners on this level were near-legendary figures. Because they had committed so many evils, some of their exceptionally cruel crimes had been covered up by the Government and deliberately omitted from the newspapers! At the very least, they were pirates worth several hundred million Beli, while some could reach over a billion!

Teach and his group rode the elevator down to Level 6. As an important execution prisoner, Thatch was held here!

"Mr. Blackbeard, we've arrived!" Hannibal led the way. The moment they stepped out of the elevator, Teach sensed the vicious aura saturating the air!

"Hahaha, another greenhorn?" "Hey, you fat bastard! How did your mother give birth to you? How did you grow into such a disgusting sight!"...

"Hey, you bastards! Do not be rude to our honored guest!" Hannibal flew into a rage. The behavior of these criminals was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Impel Down's guards!

"Zehahaha! Don't mind those people! They're just trash waiting to die of old age!" Teach waved a hand at Hannibal. In his eyes, most of the people here were merely remnants of a bygone era!

Ignoring everyone's curses, Teach hurriedly searched for Thatch. Finally, in a dark cell, Teach saw Thatch, his entire body bound in iron chains!

"Hey! Bastard..."