Chapter 72: The Slave King's Choice!
"Almost there, right?" Dragon pushed open the cabin door and walked out, asking Rear Admiral Aven, who was looking out at the sea on the deck.
By now, the five Headquarters Warships he led had already returned from the South Blue to the First Half of the Grand Line. Judging by the time, they were close.
"Rear Admiral Dorag, you suffered such heavy injuries, you should rest more," Rear Admiral Aven smiled. "Leave the matter of handing over the prisoner to Impel Down to me."
"No, I said before that I would personally escort the Slave King in!"
Dragon walked over to Rear Admiral Aven's side, looked at the Gate of Justice appearing in the distance, and said, "This holds deep significance for me."
"Since you put it that way, alright. Then later, I'll escort Colonel Hansa and Colonel Will to Enies Lobby for trial, and then how about we meet up again in Marineford for a drink?"
After the battle in the Tutmos Kingdom, Rear Admiral Aven's attitude towards Dragon became more respectful and awe-filled.
On one hand, the Strength the latter displayed completely convinced him; on the other hand, he would definitely be promoted to Vice Admiral after returning this time.
"Alright." Dragon didn't mind either; he actually quite liked drinking Alcohol.
Just then, another white-clothed Masked person silently walked out from the cabin. This person just silently stood in a corner after coming onto the deck.
Rear Admiral Aven glanced over and asked in a low voice, "How much longer will these Cipher Pol agents follow you?"
He knew that on another Warship nearby, there was another white-clothed Masked person. These two, one close and one far, were keeping a close eye on Dragon.
"Don't worry about them. When it's time for them to disappear, they naturally will."
Dragon had no interest whatsoever in looking back, because he had already dismissed the idea of defecting from the Marines and was preparing to see the subsequent changes in the World Government and the Marines.
Frankly, this Mission had allowed him to fight to his Heart's content and also allowed him to see a glimmer of hope.
Half an hour later, the Gate of Justice slowly opened. The five Warships immediately went their separate ways. Dragon led one Ship following the Sea Current on the left towards Impel Down, while Rear Admiral Aven took the remaining four Ships, quickly heading towards Enies Lobby following the Sea Current on the right, and then returning to Marineford.
This was the Triangle Current formed by three Gates of Justice connecting a giant whirlpool. Its flow speed was quite fast; Dragon's Warship arrived outside Impel Down's great Gate in less than ten minutes.
Immediately after, two Headquarters Lieutenant Commanders wearing Coats of Justice were seen bringing King Taklamakan out from the Cabin's Prison Cell, escorting him onto the Warship's deck.
This former Slave King of the Underworld, at this time, had his hands bound by Seastone Handcuffs. His steps as he walked looked very weak. After all, the injuries on his Body Size hadn't fully recovered, and his mood was even worse.
"I told you that Justice would definitely triumph over Evil, and I would personally send you into Impel Down. Now, it's all done!" Facing King Taklamakan's fierce gaze, Dragon said calmly while meeting his gaze.
"..." King Taklamakan gritted his teeth but was unable to speak. Therefore, his mood at this time was extremely complex, having the feeling of wanting to say something but not knowing how to open his mouth.
If one had to describe it simply and clearly, it would probably be that he wanted to roar at Dragon: "You motherfucker are cheating!!"
But now, this extremely frustrated Slave King, frustrated to the point his lungs felt like they would explode, could only pant heavily without saying a word. As for cursing loudly or anything like that, he had already cursed plenty on the way here over the past few days.
He was already tired of cursing.
The entire handover process was very smooth. Because the Identity of this Prisoner was special, Warden Magellan personally came out to receive him. And among the Jailer team behind him, the figure of Gecko Moria could also be seen; his enormous Body Size was indeed too obvious.
Speaking of Moria these days, he was truly much more relaxed. Because a few days ago, for some unknown Situation, the Warden stopped him from continuing to cut the Shadows of the Prisoners on the Underground Level 4 and even demanded that he put all the Shadows back.
To be honest, at first, he was very angry and unwilling. That was the result of his hard work for a long time. Now he was being told to release them all; wouldn't all that previous Time be wasted? And he also felt like he had been played.
Therefore, his short temper immediately flared up and he pushed back, not backing down at all because of the other party's Identity as the Warden. He directly adopted the Posture of "if you don't give me an explanation, I'll just start fighting."
Gecko Moria's idea was very simple: he had agreed to be a Jailer here for the World Government, but he hadn't agreed *not* to beat up the Warden, right?
As long as he stayed in Impel Down after beating him up, then he wouldn't be breaking the contract!
Fortunately, Magellan said to him, "Who has the leisure to mess with you?
"It's that the people above have other uses for these Prisoners on the Underground Level 4, so they can't be without their Shadows. Besides, when are you going to finish cutting the Shadows of these hundreds of thousands of Prisoners?
"Don't you get tired?"
Gecko Moria thought about it then and indeed, he felt it made some sense. Although the previous Time was wasted, wouldn't all the future Time be saved?!
So he happily accepted this explanation. His current job changed to cutting the Shadows of Heavy Criminals with Bounties over 100 million in Level 5: Freezing Hell and Level 6: Eternal Hell. However, the cut Shadows needed to be handed over and stored in the Warden's Office on Level 4: Blazing Hell.
This greatly reduced his workload, and he finished in two days. Normally, he only needed to patrol back and forth, occasionally sending some Food to his Colleagues in the Prison Cells and chatting with them.
The reason he came out this time was mainly because this 'Slave King' Taklama would be imprisoned in Level 6: Eternal Hell, so he needed to conveniently cut off his Shadow.
After the person was handed over to Impel Down, Dragon turned and left, heading to Marineford to report. Meanwhile, King Taklamakan was directly thrown into 100-degree boiling water for sterilization and disinfection, which was the so-called Baptism.
However, with his Strength, he could just grit his teeth and get through it.
It was equivalent to an ordinary person taking a rather hot bath, then changing into the uniform Zebra-striped Prison Uniform, and then having a Seastone Legcuffs added to his feet.
After Moria walked over holding the Large Scissors and cut off the Shadow, the basic process was considered complete.
Finally, taking the internal elevator, he was directly escorted to the lowest level, Infinite Hell.
Under the gaze of Warden Magellan and several Jailers behind him, he slowly walked into his own Prison Cell.
Just then, Warden Magellan raised his hand and waved, telling the Jailers to leave on their own.
He then walked into King Taklamakan's Prison Cell himself.
"You?" The latter turned around and became wary.
Warden Magellan chuckled and said, "Don't be nervous, let's chat for a bit."
"Chat about what? I don't recall us knowing each other before, right?" King Taklamakan remained vigilant. The former asked with a smile, "Don't you think the Prisoners here are missing something?"
King Taklamakan was full of questions. He furrowed his brow and lowered his voice, "What exactly do you want to say?"
Inside the dark Prison Cell, the Slave King and the Impel Down Warden were confronting each other, only the atmosphere was somewhat eerie.
"I'll give you two choices."
"One, continue being a Prisoner here. Two, come out with me and become a Jailer. How about it? It shouldn't be a difficult choice, right?" Warden Magellan smiled.
"What?!"
King Taklamakan was stunned and immediately understood what the other party meant by saying the Prisoners here were missing something.
"You're interested in my Pet-Pet Fruit Ability and want me to put Pet Rings on the Prisoners here!"
Warden Magellan nodded. "Correct. What is your decision?"
"This is indeed not a difficult choice." King Taklamakan laughed. Compared to staying in the Prison Cell all the time reading Newspapers, moving around in the Corridor outside would definitely be more comfortable.
"I accept. But shouldn't this Shadow be returned to me?"
Without this Shadow, he always felt something wasn't right. He didn't think Impel Down would cut off people's Shadows for no reason; it must have some use!
Warden Magellan glanced at the empty Ground beneath his feet and smiled. "You'll have to talk about that with your Colleagues, Gecko Moria. After all, he is the Shadow-Shadow Fruit User."
"Gecko Moria..."
This Slave King recalled the tall figure who had cut off his Shadow on the sea surface level. It seems he'll have to find an opportunity to ask.
From now on, the process for Heavy Criminals in Impel Down will have one step added: Baptism, Shadow Cutting, Ringing.
(End of this chapter)