Robert's physique was not only immense, but his strength was even more astonishing.
Beneath his seemingly gentle grip, five of Rojen's ribs had shattered, leaving him drenched in sweat from the agony. The unconscious Golden Lion fared even worse, his bones being crushed without him even realizing it.
Robert struggled onward, each step heavy and labored.
Clutching Rojen in his left hand and the Golden Lion in his right, he swayed precariously after every few steps, as if on the verge of collapsing into sleep.
"No, I can't... I promised Garp... I can't fall asleep."
After drifting in and out of consciousness for three minutes, Robert jolted awake and pressed onward.
"Damn it, you might as well just pass out completely!!" Rojen screamed inwardly. "Every time you wake up, you crush another bone!"
He felt like he was being squeezed into pieces. Robert's colossal strength rivaled even that of the Giant Tribe.
It took Robert six full hours to descend from the top floor to the sixth level. He kept dozing off and waking up, each time putting Rojen through excruciating torment.
Every time Robert drifted off, his grip would loosen, only to tighten again when he snapped awake. This cycle repeated countless times, leaving Rojen drenched in sweat, his body nearly crushed by the relentless pressure.
Through this ordeal, Rojen realized just how terrifying Robert's power truly was.
When Robert finally bent down and tossed Rojen and Golden Lion into separate Kong prison cells, both captives let out long sighs of relief.
"Whew, finally time for a nap!"
Robert turned and strode away, vanishing quickly into the shadows.
"Damn it! That carrot-head bastard broke five of my ribs and twenty-three other bones!" Rojen hissed, his pain nearly making him weep as he gritted his teeth.
He forcibly straightened his twisted ankle, then lay flat on his back, palms upward, and began his training.
Time passed, but Rojen was unaware of how much. When he finally opened his eyes, driven by unbearable hunger, he found an eye staring down at him from the shadows.
"Kid, think you can still get out of here?"
The voice belonged to Golden Lion.
Rojen remained silent, too lazy to respond.
He simply needed to wait for his injuries to heal and his condition to improve slightly. Then, summoning the System would give him a high chance of breaking free.
"I can! Just you wait and see!"
Golden Lion burst into laughter, which quickly devolved into coughing before abruptly stopping.
"How many bones have you broken? Still got any strength left?" Rojen asked mockingly, his voice neither loud nor soft.
"Hmph, my power is beyond your imagination, you little brat!" Golden Lion retorted rudely.
Ironically, this world-renowned legendary great pirate, trapped in the pitch-black prison, was acting like a child showing off his accomplishments to an adult.
Rojen found the situation amusing, but he still couldn't be bothered to engage.
If this guy hadn't been so pathetic and managed to hold out for a few more minutes, they would have already escaped through the secret passage.
Over the next while, Rojen continued to circulate his magic power, training his true origin.
The sixth level of the Seabed Great Prison could be considered the most hellish place imaginable.
Here, utter darkness reigned, devoid of any light. The air was damp, and prolonged exposure would cause moisture to seep into the bones, gradually eroding one's life force.
But what drove people to madness above all else was the suffocating darkness.
A silent, lightless abyss could drive anyone insane. It was bearable for a short time, but prolonged confinement in such darkness would warp the mind, slowly twisting it into madness.
Without light, without the cycle of day and night, one would lose all sense of time's passage.
"How long has it been?"
Finally, one day, the gnawing hunger in Rojen's stomach became unbearable, forcing him to break the silence.
By this point, his broken bones had mostly healed, and his magic power had fully recovered.
"Hungry?" Golden Lion asked.
"Don't the Marines bring food?" Rojen frowned.
Even if they were serving life sentences, they still had to feed the prisoners, right?
"Twice a month. The Marines want to starve us into submission, too weak to cause trouble."
In the darkness, a raspy voice echoed:
"Heh heh, fresh meat. Your voice sounds so young... what a pity."
A voice dripping with schadenfreude broke the silence.
"World, Redfield, how long have you been here?" Golden Lion recognized the voice and asked sternly, implying they knew each other.
"Time? I've lost track," World sighed.
"Shiki, discussing this here is pointless. Save your energy and cling to life a little longer!" Redfield sneered.
"I will escape! This wretched place can't hold me!" Golden Lion roared.
"Oh? Planning a breakout? You'd better pick your moment carefully! If that Evil Ghostwarden catches you, you're dead!" Another voice chimed in, dripping with mockery.
"Who are you?" Golden Lion bellowed.
"Golden Lion, don't throw your weight around here. In this sixth level, no one is weaker than you!"
Another voice boomed, full of authority.
"Hmph! Just a bunch of cowards, shackled by the times and too spineless to rise again. I'll show you how I escape this place!" Golden Lion snarled.
Rojen listened quietly to the bickering, occasionally catching a name that made his heart stir.
World, Redfield... These were legendary figures, no less formidable than Golden Lion himself.
Moreover, during his training here, he had discovered that despite the Seabed Great Prison's darkness and dampness, the spiritual energy was far more abundant than outside.
Could this be a spiritual energy pool? Rojen wondered, reluctant to leave.
Training here allowed him to progress at least five times faster than he could outside!
Just as Rojen was feeling a pang of reluctance, the next day, Golden Lion's argument with the others erupted again.
"World, do you think you're stronger than me? Your Conqueror's Haki? Your Devil Fruit abilities? In what way do they surpass mine?"
"Conqueror's Haki?" World scoffed. "You even understand Conqueror's Haki? Which aspect of your Armament Haki or Observation Haki have you truly mastered?"
Redfield joined in, his tone equally mocking. "As for Devil Fruit abilities, what stage have you even reached? If we were outside, I could take both of you on alone!"
Soon, the once-quiet sixth level erupted into chaos.
"None of you truly understand Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, or Conqueror's Haki! How many people in this world have truly mastered these arts? And among them, I stand!"
"Tch, enough bragging! Looking back at your training journeys, each of you relied on a combination of Devil Fruits and Conqueror's Haki. How could you possibly reach the peak?"
Rojen listened as the old-timers erupted into heated argument in the blink of an eye, his eyes darting back and forth.
"Everyone, settle down," he interjected. "Since we're arguing so fiercely, why don't we share our individual understandings of Conqueror's Haki? That way, we can judge whose cultivation runs deeper."
"Devil Fruit users can discuss their understanding of Devil Fruits, and Conqueror's Haki users can discuss their understanding of Conqueror's Haki!"
But his clever scheme was immediately seen through by the seasoned veterans.
"Hahaha, kid, do you think we're fools? You think we'd share our hard-earned training insights so easily? Based on such a flimsy, seemingly clever but ultimately foolish provocation?"
"Still," one of them conceded, "your method does offer a way to assess relative strength."
Hearing this, Rojen's eyes lit up.
(End Of This Chapter)
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