"Why?"
"Is Miss Domino not pretty enough?"
"Or do you think her figure isn't good enough?"
Borsalino looked genuinely puzzled by Rosen's words.
In his mind, a monster as young and powerful as his junior was at the perfect age to be chasing beautiful women, fast ships, and settling personal scores.
"Neither."
When Rosen answered, scenes from his time in Impel Down flashed unbidden through his mind.
Through the endless stream of newspapers, he had been reminded again and again—both in print and in photographs—of the cruelty of pirates.
Through his visits to Infinite Hell, he had felt their horror firsthand in the Level 6 prisoners.
Through the memories from before he regained the wisdom of his previous life, he had experienced their brutality in person.
Except for a rare few, pirates to ordinary people were like locusts—no, worse than locusts.
Incidents like Arlong's rampage in Cocoyasi Village were not rare exceptions.
They happened constantly, at every moment, across different seas, different countries, different towns.
Some were far worse.
Rosen's own hometown had been wiped from the map by pirates.
Yes, Rosen was a transmigrator. But he hadn't taken over someone else's body—he was reborn into this world, living more than ten years here before his past-life memories returned.
Those memories had not been erased or viewed like some distant movie. He had lived with them.
And that gave him a deep, personal connection to this pirate world.
Unlike other transmigrators who possessed someone else's body and could treat the world like a toy to be overturned—destroying cities, sinking nations, leaving corpses for miles, He had roots here.
Because of that, under Zephyr and Borsalino's guidance, Rosen had gradually formed a sense of identification with the Navy.
And the longer he stayed in Impel Down, the stronger that identification grew.
As for the World Government—he knew it wasn't good. The Celestial Dragons were the worst of the worst.
But the World Government was one thing, the Celestial Dragons another.
He identified with the Navy—Not the Government, and certainly not the Dragons.
"It's simple."
"How can I have a home if the pirates are not yet eliminated?"
The scenes in his head played like a rapid slideshow.
After a moment's silence, Rosen looked at Zephyr and Borsalino and repeated slowly:
"How can we have a home if the pirates are not yet eliminated?"
Hearing that, both men froze. Goosebumps ran down their arms. The teasing smiles vanished from their faces.
Whether it was Black Arm Zephyr of the old era, or Kizaru of the current era, neither had ever said such a thing aloud.
They had imagined it, yes—but only as an impossible fantasy.
Doing it was one thing.
Even saying it was something they never dared.
Because they knew: eliminating all pirates was as hard as destroying the World Government itself and remaking the world order.
But what they had only ever dreamed, Rosen said out loud— And he meant to do it.
"I don't doubt your resolve," Zephyr said at last, "but you can't seriously be saying you'll only start a family after every pirate in the world is gone?"
Zephyr had once had a happy family—until it was destroyed in a single night.
He knew the pain of growing old with no loved ones around.
He didn't want Rosen to walk the same path.
"Then let's lower the difficulty a bit."
"How can I have a family if the Four Emperors are not destroyed?"
Rosen's voice carried no hint of joking.
"That's not an easy thing either, junior."
"From a pirate's perspective, what you're proposing is no different from becoming the Pirate King."
Borsalino shook his head.
Whether it was 'No family until the pirates are gone' or 'No family until the Four Emperors are gone', the difficulty was beyond belief.
Especially the first—it was harder than becoming Pirate King or replacing the Five Elders themselves.
"Yeah?" Rosen replied.
"But senior—if a man doesn't have something to pursue, what's the point of living?"
"Mr. Zephyr, you, Senior… you've both stood at the pinnacle of the Navy in your time. If even you don't dare to dream, then what's the difference between you and a salted fish?"
As he spoke, the entrance to the sixth floor came into view. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
This would be the last time he came here.
It was time to end the prisoners of Infinite Hell.
Borsalino said nothing, but behind his sunglasses, his eyes flickered with something complex and unreadable.
Zephyr remained silent as well, though his heart was no less stirred.
In silence, they stepped once again through the gate to Impel Down's Level 6—
A place where the sun could never reach.
The silence was so deep you could hear a pin drop.
The air was thick with an unbearable stench.
The moment they stepped onto the floor, the darkness, the stillness, and that strange, oppressive smell hit them all at once.
"You're here."
Shiryu of the Rain had been waiting.
His eyes went to Rosen immediately. His expression was still defiant, but the arrogance in his gaze was forcibly restrained.
The Iron Wall of Impel Down.
The second strongest man in the prison.
And he was holding himself back.
For three months, Shiryu had watched Rosen change.
In strength, from a monster surpassing even a Fleet Admiral to a true monster. In spirit, from a student's naivety to a king's dominion over the seas.
Even he wouldn't dare be as careless as before.
Especially after hearing Rosen at the prison gate— 'How can we care about our family when the pirates are not yet eliminated?'
It had shaken him.
Those words weren't idle talk. They carried the weight of an unshakable conviction—like the justice upheld by the three Admirals, Rosen would see it through in action.
"Are you ready, Captain Shiryu?"
Rosen addressed him as politely as ever.
Even knowing Shiryu would one day become Blackbeard's right hand, he still called him Chief Guard.
What hadn't happened yet… hadn't happened.
He refused to judge a man solely on the 'original story' he knew.
"As soon as you pull this lever," Shiryu said, resting his hand on a mechanical handle, "all the cells in Infinite Hell will open—except for the two deepest, where Patrick Redfield and Douglas Bullet are locked away."
"At the same time, the keys to their shackles, cuffs, and chains will drop directly into their cells."
He looked Rosen dead in the eye.
"You understand what will happen if I pull this lever?"
"So—are you sure you want me to do it, Rosen?"
One pull, and the cages of almost every Level 6 prisoner would open.
The shackles and chains binding them would fall away.
Infinite Hell would erupt—monsters unleashed, demons running free.
Rosen knew exactly what would happen.
And yet, he nodded calmly.
"Please pull the handle, Captain Shiryu."
...
If you enjoyed this book, don't forget to vote with a Power Stone and take a few seconds to leave a review
Join my P@treon for advance chapters and special content!
[email protected]/Ren_Saga