A Bountiful Harvest! And the Monsters!

A tray piled high with food was set down across from Naito.

"Hm?"

Naito looked up in surprise.

Because he needed so much food, he usually had a table to himself.

It was Zephyr.

"Teacher Zephyr!"

Ain hurriedly greeted him.

The Marines' chief instructor nodded to Ain, signaling for her to keep eating. He broke off a piece of bread, dipped it in mushroom soup, and glanced at Naito, who was drenched in sweat and looked a mess. "It wouldn't hurt to balance work and rest once in a while."

"I can't help it, Teacher Zephyr. I can't accept it."

Naito spoke indistinctly.

"Can't accept it?"

Zephyr paused. "What can't you accept?"

This kid was among the most outstanding students he had ever taught. Even Sakazuki and the others might not have been as exceptional as him when they graduated.

"To think there are so many guys in the world stronger than me,"

Naito said. "I need to hurry up and show them who the greater man is."

"You little brat!"

Zephyr couldn't help smiling.

Beside them, Ain nearly sprayed out the food in her mouth.

This guy's narcissism was simply unmatched.

"I heard from Binz that you want to go to the New World?"

Zephyr got down to business.

"Yeah."

Naito drawled, "Wouldn't it be a waste to have someone like me dealing with small-fry pirates in Paradise or even the four seas?"

"Mm."

Zephyr nodded. "Given your strength, the New World would indeed be a better fit."

Although his Fruit ability wasn't particularly powerful, Naito had mastered both types of Haki and trained his body to be remarkably strong. His strength was already no less than that of an ordinary Headquarters Vice Admiral.

With a little more experience, he would have no trouble serving as the commander of a G-series base.

As long as he didn't run into the top officers serving those monsters in the New World, he wouldn't be in any danger.

"Which branch do you want to go to?"

Zephyr asked. "If it's a suitable one, I can put in a recommendation for you."

"G-5 Base."

Naito barely hesitated.

It was located near the entrance to the New World, and almost every pirate entering the New World had to pass nearby. It was also far from the territories controlled by the monsters. It was definitely a great place to farm points.

Zephyr clearly understood that too.

He gave a slight nod. "Mm, G-5 Base is indeed a good choice."

This kid might talk big without any restraint, but his actions were solidly grounded.

"Teacher Zephyr, I want to go to the New World too."

At that moment, Ain, seated at the neighboring table, spoke up earnestly.

Zephyr looked at Ain and sighed. "Binz said the same thing. You too? Let me think about it."

Binz and Ain weren't weak, and they were both ability users. Ordinary pirates really were no match for them.

Not all the pirates in the New World were powerful, either.

"Teacher Zephyr,"

Naito had already cleared the food from the table. He leaned lazily against his chair, his lips curling into a grin. "I've made a major contribution this time, haven't I? How about you discuss it with Fleet Admiral Sengoku and have me commissioned as a flag officer or something? Anything less wouldn't suit me."

"A flag officer? You really dare to dream, kid."

Zephyr said irritably, "When I graduated from the Naval Academy, I was only a seaman recruit."

That was why promotions were so slow for the older generation.

Koby was a captain at eighteen, and Hibari was already a commander at sixteen.

Yet Teacher Zephyr was still a chief petty officer at twenty-eight.

He was washed.

"However,"

Zephyr continued, "your contribution is a fact. Headquarters should promote you accordingly. Getting to wear a Justice Coat shouldn't be a problem."

Naito curled his lip.

Even commissioned officers at headquarters were entitled to wear civilian clothes with a Justice Coat.

"All right, kid. Every senior officer in the Marines worked their way up from the bottom."

Zephyr said, "With your ability, there's no need to rush."

You only say that because you don't know that two civilians will become Admirals outright in the future, Teacher Zephyr.

"In any case, Naito,"

Zephyr said solemnly, "whatever happens, never forget your justice."

"You're talking nonsense again, Teacher Zephyr."

Naito smiled. "I've always upheld my own justice."

Zephyr nodded in satisfaction.

After dinner, the recruits returned in twos and threes.

Binz took one look at Naito and knew he had spent the whole afternoon grinding again. Indignant, he called Naito shameless.

Naito acted as though he hadn't heard a thing and went off to take a bath.

As soon as roll call was over, he returned to his dorm, got into bed, and closed his eyes.

His body could rest, but his mind was only just getting started.

Weevil and his mother had already been thrown into cells in Impel Down! And Kizaru was stationed at G-1 Base, so no one could make it in time to provide support!

Tonight was going to be lively.

The Calm Belt, Impel Down.

The fourth level beneath the sea, the Blazing Hell.

This level housed the warden's office, the kitchen, and the provisions storehouse. It was filled with pools of blood and seas of fire, and the temperature was extraordinarily high.

Inside a cell.

"It hurts... It's so hot..."

Buckingham lay on the floor in a prison uniform, panting. She was drenched in sweat and barely lucid. "Bastards... I... I won't let you get away with this-"

As soon as she was brought into Impel Down, Buckingham had been thrown into boiling water for disinfection. That alone had already been more than she could bear.

Not to mention the terrifying heat of the Blazing Hell.

She didn't even dare enter the mental world, afraid that her body would simply die from the heat.

What exactly did that mysterious ability user want?

Surely it was time for them to make a move?

Otherwise, she was going to die here!

The sixth level beneath the sea was known as the Infinite Hell. Outsiders didn't even know this level of the prison existed. The people held here were all major criminals of extraordinary strength.

The sixth level was dark, its rows of cells only dimly visible.

Inside one of those cells.

"Mom! Damn it! Let me go! I have to find Mom!!"

Weevil struggled weakly, tightly bound in seastone shackles.

Several snickers came from the darkness.

"He's calling for his mommy!"

"Hahahaha, kid, haven't you been weaned yet?"

"Tell us, young man, how did you end up in here?"

The prisoners, bored out of their minds, found it rather amusing.

Just then.

The shouting Weevil suddenly fell silent.

In the darkness, his panicked eyes grew languid.

Naito blinked.

He had kicked Weevil's consciousness straight into the dream world and logged into Weevil's account remotely.

Oh, so this is the sixth level of Impel Down.

Chapter 7: A Bountiful Harvest! And the Monsters! (Please keep reading!)

It's so dark. I can barely see much of anything with my eyes alone.

He spread out his Observation Haki and the Dream-Dream Fruit's unique ability to sense living beings. Every sign of life on the prison level immediately registered in Naito's awareness.

Hm, there aren't that many people here. Including Weevil, there are fewer than twenty in total.

Most of their auras are nothing special. At best, they're about as strong as my real body, and quite a few are weaker than me. In other words, they're at the Vice Admiral level.

No surprise there. The guys Blackbeard took from the sixth level were only at the level of the Flying Six, and weren't the other prisoners they killed in the battle royale bound to be at this level?

Still, Vice Admiral-level fighters would count as experts in any corner of the sea. Even under one of the Four Emperors, they'd be officers.

Of course, there are genuine experts too.

Two auras were so powerful that Naito could only look up to them. They were stronger than Teacher Zephyr-true monsters without a doubt.

Two other auras were also stronger than his real body.

Lastly, there was a very strange aura. It was faint, yet it didn't feel weak.