"The one to be released today… is Avalo Pizarro."
Zephyr's eyes calmly followed Shiryu as he walked deeper into the depths of Infinite Hell. But after a pause, he turned back toward Rosen, his gaze now complex and layered.
According to the plan he had originally laid out, Rosen wasn't supposed to face Avalo Pizarro—the monster known as the "Corrupt King"—until the twenty-eighth day after entering Impel Down.
But now?
That quick-training blueprint he'd meticulously crafted to mold a future admiral—he had revised it again and again, yet it still couldn't keep up with Rosen's absurd rate of growth.
It had only been half a month.
Yet here they were.
And not only was Rosen about to face Avalo Pizarro—he wouldn't be facing him alone.
No—
Pizarro was just one piece of today's lineup, a mere material in a three-man formation intended to help Rosen continue his monstrous training.
Alongside him—
Was Vasco Shot, who had been frozen just yesterday.
And Catarina Devon, who had retreated to her cell in humiliation after being crushed by Rosen's Conqueror's Haki.
Three monsters.
The Corrupt King.
The Heavy Drinker.
The Crescent Crescent Moon Hunter .
Pick any one of them—and in the era of the New World, they were all legendary pirates, the kind who required the Navy Headquarters to dispatch either an admiral candidate, or at the very least, several elite Vice-Admirals working in tandem just to bring down a single one of them.
Looking across all of Infinite Hell—
These three were the tier just below the Demon's Heir and the Lone Red.
And yet?
Only when all three of them stepped out together—
Would they barely be qualified to stand on the same battlefield as Rosen.
Just qualified.
Zephyr thought of Rosen's progress from yesterday afternoon.
The explosive growth of his Haki in all three colors.
The unheard-of fusion of all six Armament techniques into a singular martial god form that had left both him and Borsalino in stunned silence.
It made him feel like—
Rosen wasn't the one surrounded by Avalo Pizarro, Vasco Shot, and Catarina Devon.
It was Rosen—
Surrounding them.
"You're both looking pretty good…"
Rosen's eyes narrowed slightly as he scanned the trio stepping forth from their unlocked cells, his gaze pausing momentarily on Vasco Shot and Catarina Devon.
He could understand Crescent Moon Hunter 's quick recovery—after all, she was a Mythical Zoan, a Nine-Tailed Fox. It made sense that her wounds would be healed overnight.
But Vasco Shot?
Something was off.
He had eaten a Paramecia-type fruit. He wasn't some unkillable beast like Kaido or Big Mom. Just yesterday, he'd been frozen at absolute zero by Sode no Shirayuki.
Not only had he survived—but now, his aura felt just as strong as it had before the battle.
As if nothing had happened at all.
"That's thanks to your bottle of wine,"
Shiryu suddenly said, as he unlocked the seastone shackles and restraints binding the trio.
It was the first time—
He'd voluntarily explained a prisoner's abilities to Rosen.
"Wine?"
Rosen's eyes sharpened instantly.
The first thing that came to mind was the fruit Vasco Shot had eaten:
The Glug-Glug Fruit.
"…I see."
"So wine is your source of power."
"You not only use alcohol to ignite flame, but also to rapidly regenerate injuries by drinking it."
Rosen's eyes turned toward Vasco Shot, who was standing silently as the puzzle pieces fell into place.
"..."
Vasco Shot didn't say a word.
But his face was dark, his eyes cold as frost.
He was clearly displeased that Shiryu had spilled the details of his ability.
But—
He didn't have time to complain.
Clank. Clatter.
The sound of seastone shackles hitting the ground echoed through the corridor.
In that moment—
Vasco Shot, Catarina Devon, and Avalo Pizarro all felt it—
That unmistakable, skin-prickling chill.
The fetters were off.
And they knew exactly what that meant.
Especially the two who had faced Rosen yesterday.
They had no illusions.
They couldn't count on luck saving them again.
Those other prisoners—the ones they'd seen die before their very eyes—had already made it clear:
Rosen was not like any other Marine officer.
There was no "capture alive."
There was no "unintended casualties."
He did not "accidentally kill."
He killed with intent.
"What's with the hesitation?"
"I'm not the one with the numbers advantage."
"If anyone should be afraid—it's me, right?"
Seeing the three of them standing there, tense and frozen like they were the ones walking into a trap, Rosen actually chuckled aloud.
He'd gone so far as to forge an entirely new Armament Haki technique—Forming of Haki—just to prepare for this inevitable day when he'd face multiple monsters at once.
And now?
The ones who were supposed to besiege him…
Looked like the ones being besieged.
"Come on then…"
"Monsters of Infinite Hell…"
"I'm waiting."
Rosen's breath turned to steel, his words like swords. He raised the Zanpakutō in his hand, its power unreadable, and gently pointed it toward the trio.
"You'd better not get too full of yourself, brat…"
"Just like you said…"
"We're monsters of Infinite Hell!"
At last—it was Avalo Pizarro who moved first.
The most arrogant of the three.
Unbeaten.
Untouched.
Unrepentant.
His eyes widened like a beast going mad.
He slammed his Armament-hardened fists together with a thunderous clang, and the killing intent that exploded from his body made the air itself feel suffocating.
Like a demon walking out from the gates of hell—
He stormed toward Rosen.
"Dammit! Pizarro, don't just rush in like an idiot!"
"This Marine's combat style—his Haki, his physical skills, his devil fruit—there are no openings!"
"Even if it's three-on-one, that doesn't mean we have the advantage!"
Catarina Devon grit her teeth and shouted after him.
But Avalo Pizarro was already charging.
Either he hadn't heard her—
Or he didn't care.
The bow had been drawn—
The arrow had already left the string.
Seeing this, Devon clenched her fists, suppressing her anger.
She glanced at Vasco Shot, signaled with her eyes, and then—
Shff!
Just like yesterday—
Her form twisted, shimmered, and morphed.
The Crescent Moon Hunter had transformed into Garp.
She stamped her foot, activated Shave, and fired forward like a bullet.
Vasco Shot didn't hesitate either.
The signal had been given.
He charged into position, forming a perfect golden triangle around Rosen, just as the three launched their siege.
But before a single attack could land—
Before the first fist could fly—
Rosen's Zanpakutō had already locked onto Pizarro.
"Ikorose…Shinsō."
He spoke casually.
Calmly.
As though he were ordering tea.
In the next instant—
The Zanpakutō shot forth like a silver dragon, piercing the air with a shriek. It extended and shot out, exploding into a silver streak of light, like a rainbow cutting through the clouds, streaking straight for Avalo Pizarro.
At that moment—
Pizarro was still ten meters away.
His Haki-hardened fists clenched tightly, ready to deliver a devastating blow—
But those ten meters—
Suddenly felt both too close and too far.
He had no time to punch.
His Haki had no time to flow.
The spear of silver light had already crossed the gap—
Its terrifying sharpness and velocity broke the sound barrier, dragging a monstrous sonic boom as it pierced through the air and stabbed directly into Pizarro's abdomen.
...
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