Was she going to fight to the death with Rosen just to preserve that last bit of face and pride?
Or, in order to survive a while longer, would she bow her head in humility and return obediently to her cell as Rosen demanded?
At this moment, an intense and bitter struggle was erupting within Catarina Devon's heart.
Yet, that struggle didn't last long—not because she had figured it out on her own, but because someone helped her reach the answer.
"What's wrong?"
"I didn't hear your answer—"
"Catarina Devon."
Rosen, who still hadn't turned back, simply moved his pupils slowly toward the corner of his eye. His gaze was calm, indifferent. Yet in the depths of his eyes, a cold, scarlet light began to gleam.
Zzzt—!
With a low rumble like a wild beast growling beneath a thunderstorm, fierce, black-red lightning surged out from Rosen's body, writhing and coiling around him like a monstrous python.
And then—
Centered on his body, a terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki burst forth. Overwhelming pressure swept down like a storm, crashing directly down upon Catarina Devon without warning.
Boom—!
Catarina Devon's expression changed drastically. Her body locked up in an instant, every muscle tensed, unable to stop trembling.
After the battle just now, having already been defeated by Rosen, there had already been a seed of instinctual fear planted deep within her heart.
And even she herself hadn't realized—
The instant Rosen's Conqueror's Haki erupted once again, it arrived like a towering mountain of black lightning, suffocating in its weight. It crashed down upon her spirit and body alike, instantly awakening that hidden fear within.
"No… Impossible!"
"How did your Conqueror's Haki suddenly grow so much stronger?!"
"When you used it against me earlier—it wasn't this powerful!"
Catarina Devon's pupils shrank to pinpricks as she stared at Rosen's back. Her eyes, her face—every feature was full of disbelief and panic.
She remembered it clearly.
Not long ago, Rosen had already unleashed his Conqueror's Haki once upon her.
Yet now, only a short while later, this same man had used the same Haki again—and the pressure was more than 50% stronger than it had been before!
Back when he first descended into the Infinite Hell, his conquerors Haki had already clashed with a legendary monster like Douglas Bullet, and it had still continued to grow stronger after that. That much, she could understand.
But now—this sudden spike, this terrifying leap forward—she truly could not comprehend it.
What kind of King's spirit was this?
In mere minutes—without undergoing any heaven-shaking transformation—his Conqueror's Haki had risen by more than half?
From the moment she became a pirate, to the day she was imprisoned here, and all the way until now—she had never seen such a thing happen to any wielder of a King's spirit.
Haaah… haah… haaah…
Catarina Devon gasped for breath. The more she thought about it, the more confused she became—and the more confused she became, the more horrified she felt.
When she sensed that overwhelming Haki surging like a howling tempest, and began to feel the rising waves of killing intent wrapped within, her entire mind and body trembled uncontrollably.
Then—
Her body moved before her mind could stop it.
Step by step, heavy and halting, her feet began to carry her back toward the cold, dark cage she had once been locked inside.
"What…?"
"Is she insane?"
"The Crescent Crescent Moon Hunter —she's actually walking back to her own cell?!"
"And she wasn't even killed!"
"Isn't she supposed to be the most dangerous female pirate in the world?!"
...
The other prisoners looked on in shock.
After all, Rosen's control over his Conqueror's Haki was razor-sharp.
Aside from Catarina Devon herself, none of them had felt even the slightest ripple of Conqueror's Haki. Naturally, they had no idea that Rosen's Haki had just surged in strength by more than 50%.
"I see…"
"A seed of fear toward her junior has already been planted."
Borsalino, watching as Catarina Devon silently returned to her cell, pinched his chin with two fingers and muttered in contemplation.
This kind of thing—he had seen it many times before. He had even done it himself.
From the time he graduated from the Naval Academy, to when he rose to become a candidate for Admiral, he had defeated countless pirates. And many of them—when they caught sight of him—would show the exact same expression that Catarina Devon wore now.
"This woman… is already finished."
"She's no longer the world's most dangerous female pirate."
"Her body may still be alive—but her spirit is already dead."
Zephyr, too, had seen through everything.
He knew very well that although Catarina Devon had survived—on a deeper level, the true Crescent Crescent Moon Hunter had already perished.
What remained… was only a shell of flesh and bone, devoid of the spirit and ferocity that had once made her a nightmare on the seas.
"He actually beat one of the top five monsters in all of Infinite Hell—until she broke down in body and spirit."
"This man…"
"Truly does grow more terrifying with each passing day."
Shiryu looked at Rosen with solemn eyes.
These past few days, just like Borsalino and Zephyr, he had entered and exited the Infinite Hell alongside Rosen.
He had witnessed Rosen's growth firsthand during this half-month period.
And the only word to describe it—was terrifying.
Forget the drastic leap in strength. More important than that was the transformation of spirit.
In just half a month, Rosen had completely shed the immaturity and innocence of a military cadet.
Now, in this blood-soaked hell, after repeated clashes with infamous prisoners, a true king's presence had taken shape around him. He didn't even need to raise his voice—his very existence was enough to make others tremble.
And more than that, Shiryu saw something else, even more clearly:
The dynamic between Rosen, Zephyr, and Borsalino—was shifting.
The one at the center was no longer Borsalino, with his superior power and rank.
Nor was it Zephyr, the storied legend of an older age.
It was Rosen.
"I see."
"It seems you've understood."
Listening to Catarina Devon's footsteps fading away behind him, Rosen let the scarlet gleam in his eyes slowly fade to black.
He showed no surprise at her decision.
From the beginning, he had already predicted she would make this choice.
"Teacher Zephyr," Rosen turned his head slightly and looked at the older man beside him, "do you happen to have any wine on you?"
After spending half a month together, he already knew—
Borsalino didn't drink. He only liked tea.
But Zephyr—while he had once been the paragon of discipline during his Admiral days, not touching a drop of alcohol—had taken to drinking again after stepping down and becoming an instructor.
"I've got some, yes!"
"But what do you want it for?"
"I remember you're not too fond of alcohol yourself, same as Borsalino."
Though Zephyr said this, he still reached into his coat and produced a green bottle, tossing it over.
"You're just a prisoner—yet you get to drink the wine of a former Admiral."
"Even if I killed you right here, wouldn't you have no regrets?"
"Is that so, Vasco Shot?"
Rosen turned away from Zephyr and looked toward Vasco Shot, who was still frozen like an ice sculpture. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the unopened wine bottle forward.
Clink—
The bottle landed gently in front of the statue of ice.
Zephyr and Borsalino exchanged glances.
They remembered clearly—Rosen had said earlier:
"As long as Vasco Shot can survive today, I'll treat him to a drink."
And now?
Though Vasco Shot hadn't survived on his own strength—only because Rosen had chosen to spare him—the truth remained that he had, in fact, lived through the day.
So even if it meant letting a pirate go free, Rosen still honored his word.
"Captain Shiryu."
"If he comes out of the ice still breathing—give him this bottle."
"If he's dead… pour it over his corpse."
"That's all."
Rosen left these final words to Shiryu, then turned and walked out of the sixth level of Impel Down—beneath the silent, complex gazes of every prisoner left in the Infinite Hell.
...
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