The salty wind whipped across the deck of the largest Marine battleship as it cut through the morning waves toward Impel Down.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood tall at the bow, his cape billowing behind him. Beside him were his two most trusted men Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Zephyr.
Sengoku and Zephyr both carried an air of solemn excitement. After years of chaos, betrayal, and war across the seas, the day had finally come. The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, would face his end.
But Garp stood silent.
He wasn't brooding out of anger or doubt it was something far heavier. He had made a promise to Roger, one that defied Marine justice itself: to protect Portgas D. Rouge and the unborn child she carried.
It was a betrayal of the ideals the Marines stood for. But Garp didn't regret it.
In his eyes, a child should never be punished for the sins of their bloodline.
"Hey, Garp, we're almost there!"
Zephyr's voice cut through his thoughts, pulling him back to the present.
"Yeah..." Garp exhaled deeply, his gaze shifting to the distant fortress rising from the sea a black monolith that seemed to swallow light itself.
Impel Down.
The great prison of despair.
The massive gates groaned open, the sound echoing like a death knell across the waves. At the entrance stood Magellan and his guards, waiting to receive the Marine leaders.
All along the prison's tiers, soldiers and jailers stood in formation. Every post, every floor, every bridge was filled with watchful eyes and trembling tension.
After all, today wasn't just another day of confinement.
Today, the Pirate King would be leaving Impel Down for the last time.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Admiral Zephyr! Vice Admiral Garp!"
Magellan saluted crisply, his stern expression betraying the exhaustion beneath.
Sengoku nodded in acknowledgment. "Magellan, you've done well. These past months must have been hell."
That wasn't an exaggeration. For weeks, countless pirate ships had tried to storm Impel Down.
Not to rescue Roger but to find clues about his legendary treasure.
Yet Magellan had held firm, repelling every assault without complaint.
"Please, this way," Magellan said, gesturing toward the descending path.
Led by him, Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and several admirals followed through the winding iron corridors, the air growing colder and heavier with every level they descended.
Finally, they reached Level 6.
The Infinite Hell.
The lowest level of the world's most impregnable prison home to monsters who had shaken the seas.
"It's been two months since I last came down here," Borsalino muttered, his lazy drawl echoing faintly in the silence.
"Borusalino," Akainu growled, "don't talk nonsense here."
The yellow admiral just shrugged with a faint grin. "Sheesh, so serious as always."
Before anyone could retort, a chilling laughter echoed through the darkness.
"Eh? I smell Magellan's poison again!"
"Yeah, you're not wrong, brother. It's that bastard!"
"Not just him! There's more! Oh ho... Sengoku and the others too!"
"HAHAHAHA! Sengoku! You old bastard! Come on, open this cell and fight me like a man!"
The moment they stepped into Infinite Hell, the air filled with taunts and curses from the imprisoned pirates.
The darkness buzzed with madness.
"Silence, you scum!" Magellan roared.
A surge of purple venom burst from his body, rolling through the air like a wave of death.
The pirates screamed.
"No! Not that poison again!"
"Damn you, Magellan!"
"Curse you! Curse you!!"
One by one, their voices faded into silence as the toxic gas filled their cells. Soon, only the sound of their bodies collapsing remained.
Magellan drew the venom back into his body and turned to Sengoku, lowering his head slightly.
"My apologies, Fleet Admiral. You shouldn't have to witness such ugliness."
Sengoku waved dismissively. "It's fine. You did your duty well, Magellan. These men deserve no mercy."
The words had barely left his mouth when a hearty, almost infectious laugh echoed from the farthest cell.
"Gahahaha! Sengoku, you shouldn't say that!"
"That voice…" Zephyr murmured, turning his head.
At the far end of the corridor, beyond the heavy iron bars, sat the man the world once feared and revered in equal measure.
Gol D. Roger.
Even after months of imprisonment, he still wore his tattered red captain's coat, his golden ornaments dull but unmistakable.
Though thinner, though his body bore the toll of hunger and confinement, his eyes burned brighter than ever alive, defiant, unbroken.
Only Garp knew what that look truly meant.
It was the last flare of a dying flame.
Sengoku's face hardened. "Roger… even now, you dare to speak like that?"
Roger's grin widened. "You call them scum, but not all pirates are monsters, old friend. Some are just adventurers chasing freedom."
Sengoku slammed his fist against the bars. "Adventurers?!"
"Do adventurers burn villages? Do they murder innocents and plunder kingdoms? Do they destroy lives just to fill their greed?!"
Roger's expression didn't change. His voice was calm, almost tender.
"That's why I said only some of us, Sengoku. Not all."
"Hmph! And what? You want me to believe you're one of those 'good ones'?"
Roger shrugged, the chains around his wrists clinking softly.
"I used to think I was," he said with a wistful smile. "But when I looked back, I realized something…"
"I'm no adventurer."
"I'm the Pirate King."
He threw his head back and laughed loud, fearless, echoing across the abyss of the prison.
"Gahahahahaha!"
The sound made even the guards tense.
Sengoku clenched his fists, his jaw tight. It took him a moment to regain his composure.
"Magellan," he said finally, his voice steady, "open the gate."
Magellan saluted. "Yes, Fleet Admiral."
The great iron door creaked open.
After months of darkness, the Pirate King stepped out of his cell once more his final walk toward the world that would remember his name forever.
Gol D. Roger, the man who ruled the seas, had left his prison at last.
Tomorrow, the world would witness his end and the beginning of a new era.
_______________________
Enjoying the chaos, action, and wild adventures?
Don't stop here! You can unlock advanced chapters and exclusive content by joining my P@treon! Every powerstone counts if we reach 300 powerstones, a BONUS CHAPTER will be released! ⚡
Be the first to witness the next epic battles, shocking twists, and hidden secrets before anyone else!
Join the crew on P@treon and set sail beyond the horizon!
[email protected]/_sey
Change @ to a