The meeting had ended, and Gern had left the command center alone, following the corridors of headquarters downward, into its deeper reaches.
His footsteps echoed through the empty passage, his Fleet Admiral's coat swaying slightly behind him.
Deep within New Marineford lay a special prison.
After verifying his clearance, the heavy alloy door slid open without a sound.
Several individual cells lined both sides, separated by thick seastone bars.
Only three people were currently imprisoned here.
Or rather, that number had now become two.
The innermost cell, which had once held Monkey D. Dragon, was now empty.
In the cell on the left, a man with disheveled hair sat straight-backed against the wall, three of his limbs pinned down with chains and locking spikes.
In the cell on the right was a prisoner captured after exhausting his strength, wrapped in white bandages with seastone restraining his entire body.
His head hung slightly, his presence somewhat subdued. Kuzan had only recently been brought in.
When Kuzan was escorted inside, Red-Haired Shanks had been quite surprised.
He had assumed this lone wolf from the Blackbeard Pirates had been unlucky enough to get caught while on his own.
Kuzan had naturally noticed his confusion.
So, during the brief interval when the guards stepped away, they began talking.
"Ararara... Shanks, looks like you've missed quite a show in here."
Kuzan's voice sounded especially clear in the silent prison. "Egghead... the fighting's over.
"Three of the Five Elders died. Two escaped.
"Blackbeard got swept away by Imu like a lifeline. No one knows whether he's alive or dead, and his pirate crew... is pretty much finished."
Kuzan paused, seeming to register the dull ache from his wounds, then continued.
"Straw Hat Boy went to Elbaf with the Giant Race, and Vegapunk dropped a bombshell on