Nighttime, welcome banquet.
The staff of Impel Down gathered together in celebration.
From Warden Chief Magellan down to the ordinary wardens, everyone assembled to enjoy a feast.
The guest of honor at this welcome banquet was, of course, the soon-to-be-appointed Warden Chief of Crimson Hell! After a brief introduction.
Storm had begun to integrate into the Impel Down workforce.
"Storm, the work here at Impel Down can be quite demanding."
Magellan, as the Warden Chief, raised his glass to the newcomer.
"Your arrival is most welcome!"
Magellan's first impression of Storm was quite favorable.
After all, he knew that Storm had voluntarily applied to work at Impel Down! What a fine young man! Far superior to the likes of Hannyabal.
However, before Magellan could take a sip from his glass.
Hannyabal abruptly stood up, pointing at the Warden Chief and launching into a tirade.
"Magellan! You shouldn't be sitting here! Go sit at another table!"
"Huh?"
Magellan held his glass, bewildered as he stared at Hannyabal.
"This is a banquet! A banquet! How can you tell the Warden Chief to sit elsewhere?!"
"Then hurry up and step down from your position as Warden Chief!"
Hannyabal "accidentally" revealed his ambitions once again.
"I misspoke—what I meant was—
"Get lost already!"
"Hannyabal, you're truly beyond the pale."
Magellan closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
"How did I end up with such an ungrateful subordinate…"
Pale purple mist began to seep from Magellan's mouth, quickly spreading through the air.
Storm suddenly felt someone grab his arm, forcibly pulling him away from the dining table.
Turning his head, he saw that it was a woman with golden, wavy hair—
Domino, the current Deputy Warden of Impel Down.
"Warden Chief Magellan is a Poison Man, the user of the Venom-Venom Fruit."
Noticing Storm's gaze, Domino quietly warned him.
"You must be careful when interacting with him.
"Even the air he exhales is genuine poison gas."
As Domino cautioned Storm.
Hannyabal beside them also hastily covered his nose and mouth to avoid inhaling the toxic fumes.
"Magellan! You're poisoning us again!"
"Hahaha!"
Magellan paid no heed, laughing as he pointed at Hannyabal.
"You got that right! Serves you right, you idiot subordinate!"
Veins bulged on Hannyabal's forehead, making his already fearsome appearance even more terrifying.
"You bastard! Damn you!"
Storm watched with great amusement as Magellan and Hannyabal engaged in their fierce "workplace rivalry."
False workplace warfare: Strategizing, planning before acting.
True workplace warfare: Openly poisoning colleagues! Breaking a comrade's leg for a promotion! At this moment, a certain famous saying seemed to materialize in Storm's mind—
(At Impel Down) Everyone's so talented, and they speak so pleasantly!
Just then, a cold voice cut through the air.
"What a pointless farce."
Shiryu stood up and walked away without a second glance, ignoring everyone else present.
Magellan and Hannyabal, still bickering, paused as they watched Shiryu leave.
"Shiryu!"
Magellan's expression instantly turned grave.
"Where are you going?"
Shiryu stopped walking but didn't turn around.
"Going down for some exercise."
"Don't you dare harm—"
Magellan began to say something.
But Shiryu cut him off directly.
"Magellan!"
Shiryu turned around, placing his hand on the hilt of his Named Sword [Thunderclap Rain], his gaze cold as he stared at Magellan.
"I am the Deputy Warden of Impel Down!
"My actions don't require your orders."
Magellan and Shiryu's eyes locked, sparks seeming to crackle in the air between them.
Even the usually boisterous Hannyabal kept his mouth tightly shut, afraid to make the slightest sound.
Magellan stared at Shiryu but ultimately did nothing.
Shiryu left.
Magellan slumped back into his seat.
"Sorry about that, Storm."
The Warden forced a smile at the new Warden Chief.
"Not the best first impression.
"Everyone, keep eating and drinking."
But after such an incident.
The welcoming banquet's atmosphere was ruined, ending hastily soon after.
Once the banquet concluded.
Storm bid farewell to the others and returned to his private room—Warden Chiefs were entitled to their own quarters.
Alone, Storm reflected on the earlier conflict.
"When exactly was Shiryu of the Rain thrown into Infinite Hell by Magellan?"
After some thought, Storm couldn't recall any useful information.
He only remembered that by the time Luffy wreaked havoc in Impel Down, Shiryu of the Rain was already a prisoner in Infinite Hell.
And back then, Hannyabal wasn't the "Chief Warden" but the "Deputy Warden."
This indicated Shiryu's imprisonment in Infinite Hell must have happened within the last few years!
"Infinite Hell... I'd like to go there too..."
Storm shook his head, dismissing the thought.
He summoned the Silver Trophy he had obtained earlier.
Due to the banquet.
Storm hadn't used this three-star trophy earned from defeating the Blue Gorilla.
But now that the event was over, he naturally turned his attention to this Grand Prize Trophy. He already understood the stat-boosting effects of the [Grand Prize Trophy].
Its wish-granting function remained untested.
But Storm wasn't inclined to use the [Grand Prize Trophy] for wishes right now.
Zephyr's teachings surfaced in his mind.
Only physique is the foundation.
Then came Kaido of the Beasts' words.
Only Haki stands above all.
At this stage.
Storm's need for [Haki] wasn't pressing.
And he reasonably suspected—[Haki] required sufficient physical conditioning to unleash its full potential.
"As expected, I should keep allocating points! Physique boost!"
Storm summoned his personal [Grand Prize Trophy].
[Strength: ★★☆]
[Speed: ★★☆]
[Endurance: ★★★]
A three-star [Silver Trophy].
Could help Storm elevate either [Strength] or [Speed] to three stars.
Or, it could help his [Endurance] attribute break through its current bottleneck!
After brief consideration, Storm made his decision.
He smashed the [Silver Trophy] directly into his [Endurance] attribute.
Under Storm's watchful gaze.
The stars behind the [Endurance] attribute fluctuated and changed, transforming into—
[Endurance: ★★★☆]
Upgraded from its original "three stars" to now "three and a half stars."
"Just one more Silver Trophy, and I can push [Endurance] to four stars!"
Storm clenched his fist, a thought flashing through his mind.
"I need more Blue Gorillas!"
The next moment.
Storm was suddenly hit by an overwhelming sense of hunger.
It was as if every cell in his body was sending out desperate "hunger" signals.
Hungry! So hungry!
Storm stood up, his eyes gleaming green.
He quickly scavenged around the room.
But in a room he had just moved into, where would he find any food stock? Unable to suppress this intense hunger, Storm dashed out the door, retracing his steps back to the Warden cafeteria in Impel Down.
The welcome banquet had ended abruptly, leaving plenty of food behind in the cafeteria.
Storm immediately grabbed a plate of roasted meat.
Then a second plate, a third, a fourth…
After a whirlwind of devouring.
Storm let out a loud belch.
Only then did he realize he had just eaten several times more food than usual in one go!
"Is this the effect of boosting [Endurance]? Or is it from increasing the [Physique] attribute?"
Storm rubbed his bloated belly.
"First, it turns me into a bottomless pit?"
The next day.
Storm confirmed his suspicion.
Because he hunted another Blue Gorilla, earning another [Silver Trophy].
And he poured it into the [Strength] attribute.
The familiar hunger struck again.
Storm stormed into the warden cafeteria, ravenously devouring everything in sight.
After increasing the [Physique] attribute.
Storm's body would immediately grow stronger.
But for a period afterward, his appetite would also become unprecedentedly large.
It seemed his body needed to compensate for the sudden "growth" by consuming more from the outside.
It was similar to using the Grand Prize Trophy to boost ability levels.
The "upgrade" from the Grand Prize Trophy increased the upper limits of [Physique] and [Abilities].
But the actual strength improvements still required Storm to train and develop himself.
There was a faint beauty to this "fantasy-based science."
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Storm's life in Impel Down was fulfilling and busy.
His daily routine consisted of—upgrading, eating, sleeping, and beating up Blue Gorillas.
A very healthy cycle.
Thanks to the blood and tears of the Blue Gorillas.
Storm quickly amassed a large number of Silver Trophies.
With these Silver Trophies.
Not only did Storm raise his [Physique] attribute to ★★★★.
He also upgraded the [Clay-Clay Fruit] to four stars!
Without exaggeration.
Storm felt like he could now take on ten versions of himself from a week ago!
That day.
Storm was about to summon another Blue Gorilla squad for his daily training.
But as he knocked out one Blue Gorilla, he unexpectedly noticed the quality of its Grand Prize Trophy had dropped!
[Bronze Trophy: Brugri]
[Trophy Stars: ★★]
"Why is this changing now?"
Storm was puzzled, so he went to find another Blue Gorilla.
But this one provided only a two-star [Grand Prize Trophy] as well.
Storm attempted to communicate with the true [Grand Prize Trophy] and received a response—repeatedly farming the same target for [Grand Prize Trophies] in a short period would result in a negative effect of quality degradation.
Only then did Storm realize the problem.
Every member of the Blue Gorilla squad had been beaten up by him—some more than once! It was time to find a new source of [Grand Prize Trophies]!