Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.
After Imu finished playing another game of tennis with Gion, a maid approached silently, holding a Den-Den Mushi.
Imu cast a lazy glance at the device as he lounged on his personal beach chair, soaking in the warm sunlight. Eyes half-closed, he asked: "Speak."
"My lord, CP0 has placed Crocodile in Level 6 of Impel Down."
"Then let him rot there for now."
"Yes, sir."
The Den-Den Mushi closed its eyes and drooped its little head. The maid bowed and quietly withdrew, while Imu thought about Crocodile.
Unlike Moria, Crocodile had no meaningful hostages or emotional ties that could be exploited, so he would require a bit more thought.
…
The world's greatest prison—Impel Down.
"Let me out!"
"Let me witness the power of the world's strongest!"
"Did you hear me? Let me out!!"
In Level 6 of Impel Down—the dark corridor known as Eternal Hell—furious, anxious, and indignant roars rang out, carried by waves of purplish-black Conqueror's Haki that swept unrestrained through the entire space.
Crocodile had just stepped off the massive elevator when he heard that all-too-familiar voice, one he couldn't quite place at first. The oppressive Haki rolling toward him made him frown with irritation.
"That bastard Bullet again. Lately, he's been going off the rails—shouting like a maniac and recklessly unleashing his Conqueror's Haki."
Standing behind him, Vice Warden Magellan grumbled in annoyance. The outburst had made it impossible for the guards to descend—anyone who stepped in would faint instantly.
"Bullet?"
The moment Crocodile heard the name, a flash of the past surfaced. He sneered. "So it really is Douglas Bullet. Never thought we'd run into each other again… in a place like this."
"Come on. Your cell happens to be right next to his. That was intentional on my part. Maybe you can convince that lunatic to shut up for once."
Urged on by Magellan, the two proceeded down the stone corridor, passing massive, solitary cells. Every set of bars was forged from seastone—unbreakable and immune to Devil Fruit powers.
[BOOM—]
Just as Bullet was still ranting, venting his purplish-black Haki, another surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted from a different cell. This time, it was a deep, dark gold—and far more overwhelming.
The sheer pressure made sweat bead on the brows of the two walking the corridor, and even the 'monsters' within the cells shuddered.
"Shut your damn mouth, you brat from Roger's crew!!"
Crocodile instinctively stopped in his tracks, swallowing hard as he asked under his breath, "Who was that?"
Magellan, keeping his voice low and heavy, answered: "Golden Lion Shiki."
Hearing that name, Crocodile immediately understood. So it's that big shot.
"Let's move," Magellan urged. He clearly didn't want to linger any longer, and pushed Crocodile forward again, heading toward Bullet's cell.
"Kahahaha! And here I was wondering who it was—it's the captain's washed-up loser!"
Bullet's voice rang out, arrogant as ever.
"Old man, stuck in here for a few more years and you'll be a cripple!"
Shiki shot back, enraged. "Brat! I lost to the storm, not to Roger! If it weren't for that freak storm, your precious Roger Pirates would've been wiped off the face of the sea!"
"Hmph. A loss is still a loss. Making excuses just makes it pathetic. Sure, you were a big deal out there once… but sooner or later, I'll surpass you."
Lying on the cold floor, Bullet sneered and turned away. But his mood was still as foul as ever—explaining his violent outbursts.
Ever since his conversation with that man, every second spent in this place felt like he was losing potential, decaying slowly. He was desperate to get out, to grow stronger, to surpass Garp, defeat Garp, and prove he was mightier than Roger.
He still wanted to face—face and defeat—the one who truly stood at the pinnacle of the world.
To surpass all with his own strength, to take everything by force.
On the other side of the bars, Shiki sneered at the kid's bravado. "Surpass? You arrogant little punk—if we were out there, I'd have split you in half with one swing. But in this place? You're not getting out. Don't even dream of surpassing me or Roger."
The first half of the sentence didn't faze Bullet. But the last part—that hit a nerve. His expression twisted, breathing growing heavier.
Still, he didn't shout back. Instead, his thoughts drifted again to that mysterious man—who had promised that in a year or two, he would be released. Released… to meet the one who was truly the strongest.
To be honest, that promise alone was already something to look forward to—a glimmer of hope. But he dared not speak of it. He feared tempting fate, worried that something might go wrong.
Even this relatively short wait felt excruciating. He couldn't imagine enduring another two full years. That's why he had been shouting and roaring like a madman—just to draw that mysterious man's attention again, hoping to be released early!
With Bullet finally quiet and Shiki no longer responding, Eternal Hell returned to its usual dead silence.
And with that silence, sounds from outside the corridor became much more distinct.
"Get in."
Magellan's voice—familiar to everyone here—rang out. From the tone alone, they knew: another 'new neighbor' had arrived. The only question was, who?
After all, this place wasn't for just anyone.
Strictly speaking, based on Crocodile's current strength and status, he didn't qualify for imprisonment here.
But he'd been personally captured by Holy Shield, a member of CP0, who specifically requested that Crocodile be held in Eternal Hell. Chief Warden Columbus had no choice but to follow orders.
Crocodile stepped into his cell without resistance. He ignored Magellan closing the door behind him and took a quick look around the space.
He casually sat on the platform, already imagining how dull life here was going to be. Still, at least he had an old acquaintance next door.
"Kuahahahaha—"
Crocodile's laughter was oddly drawn out.
The moment Bullet heard that laugh from the neighboring cell, an irritating face flashed through his mind—that damn sand-manipulating bastard he'd fought two years ago. He couldn't beat him, but he couldn't lose to him either.
It had been a mystery that gnawed at him. He could go toe-to-toe with Rayleigh, Roger's right-hand man, so why was the outcome the same against some random sand-user?
That didn't make sense!
He, Douglas Bullet, was the most gifted warrior alive. Equalling someone like Rayleigh was natural. But why could some punk who'd just entered the Grand Line match the Dark King as well?
Did that mean his strength was on par with Rayleigh… or with that damn crocodile?
"You dumb croc. Can't believe you got caught too. But why does your aura feel so weak now?"
"Ugh—"
Crocodile's long-winded laughter was immediately cut off. His face turned red with rage as he snapped back through gritted teeth, "We were equals, remember? So if I'm weaker now, that means you've gotten weaker too!"
"Huh?!"
Bullet froze. What kind of logic was that? But the more he thought about it, the more it… kind of made sense? He roared in frustration, "I don't know what the hell happened to you, but with the way you feel right now, I could crush you in under a day!"
"Hmph. Then come out and try it. Either way, we've never settled our score. You've got no right to call me weak!" Crocodile snorted dismissively, forcing himself to preserve some dignity.
"..."
Bullet ground his teeth in fury.
...
Mary Geoise—
Imu was in his exclusive residence at Pangaea Castle, earnestly jotting something down in a notebook.
From time to time, he wore an expression of recollection and contemplation.
He was writing down all the technological knowledge from his past life, as well as all the future inventions and improvements that appeared throughout the One Piece series.
He certainly didn't understand highly specialized technical knowledge, so he simply recorded the general ideas.
Because he was preparing to give a subtle push to the Navy's technological development.
The main reason was that he had decided to soon reveal the Dimensional Gate publicly to the Five Elders.
That would most likely involve contact with other civilizations, which made him feel a bit tense.
In the original story, it took a few years after the main plot began for Vegapunk to start researching these things.
But for the current World Government, that would be more than twenty years down the line.
Imu couldn't afford to wait that long.
He believed some things truly required long-term research and experimentation—but others could be fast-tracked.
Modern Marine warships still didn't have Seastone embedded in their hulls, nor did they have steam propulsion, paddle wheels, or propellers.
As a result, they were nearly incapable of navigating the Calm Belt and were much slower overall.
"Cyborg-animal hybrids—they were already developed in the Future Kingdom. After all these years, the technology should be very mature. The question now is how to utilize it."
"And there's also the artificial organism technology based on the Lineage Factor." Imu glanced at the scientific division report submitted by the Five Elders and chuckled. "Oh—just beginning the research?"
This was probably the evolved version of the Germa Kingdom's cloning technology.
"Isn't this the perfect breeding ground for CIPHER POL agents? If this technology matures, we won't even need to train orphans anymore."
At that thought, a gleam flickered in Imu's eyes. He was now interested in the Germa Kingdom and the Vinsmoke family of the North Blue.
"At this point in time, the eldest daughter Reiju should have just been born—or is still in her mother's womb. Three years later, Ichiji, Niji, Sanji, and Yonji are all born on the same day as quadruplets."
"Then let's not make any moves for now. Once the four brothers show up, that's when we'll reap the fruit."
The biggest obstacle with the Germa Kingdom was that it was a member state of the World Government—one of the fifty nations eligible to participate in the World Summit.
So Vinsmoke Judge couldn't be arrested without cause. But all of his research data, experimental equipment, and related personnel could be seized. Reiju and the others could also be taken as contraband.
Because, apart from the scientific division, any research into the Lineage Factor was explicitly banned by the World Government—making such confiscation perfectly legal.
If Judge wanted to continue his research, he'd have only one option: join the scientific division—or rather, the Science Academy, as it was now called.
"But given that guy's ambition, expecting him to obediently join the Science Academy and work as a peaceful scientist? Highly unlikely," Imu chuckled softly.
To him, Vinsmoke Judge was just a hen laying eggs. Once the eggs were laid, they'd be taken away, and the hen locked up.
He then shifted his focus to Queen.
"The Plague Bullets aren't that remarkable, but the Mummy Virus and Ice Demon Virus are interesting. They're quite similar to the future Caesar's Death World. If I get a chance to capture him, I could toss him into the Bio-Research Institute. If not, I can at least send the idea to Caesar—he'd probably figure it out too."
"And then there's that guy's human augmentation tech... If used properly, it could help so many disabled people regain mobility. Looks like I'll need to find a way to invite him over. Having someone like him waste his talent working for Kaidō is such a shame!"
As he recorded his thoughts, Imu grumbled to himself inwardly.
"But the human gigantification experiments over at Punk Hazard need to be shut down. What's the point of that stuff? If you want giant soldiers, you'd be better off just capturing a few from the Giant Tribe and getting them to reproduce. Then you can train the offspring."
He mainly found it hard to accept using the children of regular humans for biochemical experiments. He wasn't exactly a good person, and he certainly valued the power and influence in his hands—but there were still some lines he wouldn't cross.
Unless something seriously threatened his rule, those bottom lines had to be preserved.
And children—that was his bottom line.
"Ah, speaking of which, I really need to deal with Elbaf, the Giant Kingdom. Not only are they blocking access to the high-speed sky routes, but their attitude toward the World Government has always been one of resistance, even hostility. That kind of stubborn defiance... unacceptable!"
At that thought, Imu's gaze turned cold.
Truth be told, as someone from another world, he didn't care about ancient grudges and long-standing feuds. As long as someone was willing to cooperate from now on, obey orders, and act sensibly, he was more than willing to let them continue existing—and even show them some favor.
Fish-Man Island was a prime example of this.
But if they absolutely refused... then he couldn't afford to let a ticking time bomb like that exist right behind his own territory.
Once the Dimensional Gate opened, there was bound to be conflict and war with civilizations from across the multiverse. The last thing he wanted was to be stabbed in the back by some giants.
"Either I find time to wipe them out, or I support a new Giant King who sides with the World Government."
At that moment, Imu realized his thoughts were drifting off track. Today was supposed to be about technological advancements. He pushed the issue of the giants to the back of his mind.
"Vegapunk is someone I absolutely have to secure. Let's see... His lifelong dream was to give the people of the Future Kingdom, Baldimore, a warm place to live. For that, he even developed a massive heating furnace—but was forced to abandon it due to lack of funding and tech support."
"Maybe I can fund it. Help him perfect that furnace. As for the technology, he should be able to figure it out himself."
In truth, Imu thought that making Baldimore—an island of winter—warm and livable didn't have to rely on technology. The power of Devil Fruits could do the job too.
"Come to think of it, the true value of the Magma-Magma Fruit's awakening isn't in combat—it's in the ability to artificially create perpetual volcanoes and geothermal energy. If I remember right, this kind of setup can even generate electricity!"