"Make sure he eats his meals on time. We just need to keep weakening him."
The meals Raleigh prepared for Redfield were lavish, containing all the meat, vegetables, and fruits necessary to sustain the body.
Except each one was laced with a specialized sedative developed by Dr. Vegapunk.
A poison that continuously weakens the physical strength of powerful individuals. The side effect was 4-8 hours of forced sleep.
So Redfield on Raleigh's ship would just eat, sleep, wake up, and eat again.
It left Redfield frustrated.
He realized that if he fell into anyone else's hands, he might still be treated like a human.
But in Raleigh's hands, being allowed to breathe and stay alive was already a mercy.
Under these circumstances, he gave up any thought of escaping, only hoping to reach Impel Down sooner to escape the sedative cycle.
...
A News Coo flew overhead.
Enel waved, and it landed on the warship's railing.
After paying one hundred Berries, Enel took a newspaper from the News Coo's bag.
"Raleigh-sama, why isn't there any photo of you?"
"This news was propaganda about Kong and Sengoku joining forces to subdue Redfield."
Raleigh glanced at it and curled his lip. "Essentially, this has nothing to do with me. They just want to ease the tension between me and Garp. The most important thing was to convey to the world that Sengoku will soon take over as Fleet Admiral of the Navy."
"I'm not even a supporting character here, so of course there is no photo of me."
Enel took the newspaper and read it before asking, "I see. So when will you become a Fleet Admiral, Raleigh-sama?"
Raleigh didn't answer.
He was still considering whether to accept the position of Admiral.
As everyone knew, although Admirals held great power, their freedom would be significantly reduced, and they'd have to be stationed at Marineford or Mary Geoise.
But he thought about it—if he became an Admiral, it would be a morale boost for the Navy soldiers who supported him.
Including Momonga and Cleveland, the reason they were willing to follow Raleigh was that they saw true, uncompromising justice in him.
If Raleigh didn't become an Admiral, some of them might waver in their convictions.
This wasn't an exaggeration.
In this semi-feudal world, a leader's rank influenced people's perspectives.
Raleigh couldn't replace all the Marine soldiers with his own people—even in twenty years, it would be nearly impossible.
But if he became an Admiral, he could use his influence to attract neutral Navy members to his side.
Even Borsalino, who upheld "Ambiguous Justice," and Kuzan, with his "Lazy Justice," had large groups of supporters within the Navy.
The Navy was divided into factions, but they ultimately fell into three main categories.
Regardless of whether the hawks, doves, and centrists agreed with the individual occupying the Admiral position, they had to support the leader of their faction.
Fortunately, thanks to Raleigh's efforts over the years, he had been branded as a strict hawk.
As long as Sengoku was promoted to Fleet Admiral, Raleigh would automatically become the new representative figure of the hawk faction upon becoming an Admiral.
Although Sakazuki would split away some supporters, they would still unite as one when facing pirates.
The current leader of the hawk faction was Sengoku.
The Fleet Admiral of the Navy did not belong to any faction, holding the position of an arbiter.
After pondering for a while, Raleigh said, "Why overthink it? Admiral Sengoku will remain as Fleet Admiral for a long time after his promotion. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe Sakazuki will become the Fleet Admiral."
Enel thought of the iron-willed Sakazuki and stuck out his tongue.
As Raleigh's right-hand man, he had crossed paths with Sakazuki a few times.
Enel was still somewhat afraid of him.
The reason was that Enel had heard from Miles that Sakazuki's ship enforced strict rules, and everyone had to follow military orders to the letter.
Someone as unpredictable as Enel would be targeted for punishment on Sakazuki's ship.
However, this didn't affect Enel's respect for the magma user.
From rumors and personal interactions, Sakazuki was always strict.
Apart from disliking deserters, he would do his utmost to protect his soldiers during battles against pirates.
Of course, when faced with potential casualties, he wouldn't bat an eye at soldiers' deaths and would instead send more troops to tackle tough challenges.
Such a commander didn't align with Enel's personality but shared a resemblance to Bullet.
"By the way, Raleigh-sama, I haven't seen Bullet in a long time. What has he been up to?" Enel realized he hadn't seen Bullet for months.
"Hmm, I gave him a special mission. He's carrying it out now." Raleigh didn't elaborate further.
Before the task was completed, the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
After rolling his eyes, Enel said, "Raleigh-sama, after we deliver Redfield to Impel Down, can we go somewhere else to have fun for a couple of days?"
Enel was at an age full of energy and wanted to vent his excess vigor.
Raleigh thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go to Alabasta. There happens to be an acquaintance there."
Yes, it was the territory of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, whose left hand had been severed by Raleigh.
Having not seen Crocodile for a long time, Raleigh needed to check if he had developed any unwarranted ambitions.
Raleigh always regarded the Seven Warlords as enemies.
Every one of them, except for Hancock, Jinbe, and Kuma, harbored aspirations of becoming overlords.
They all possessed Conqueror's Haki—how could they endure being subordinate to others for long?
...
Time flew by, and after a long journey, Raleigh's naval ship, covered in sea dust, appeared at Impel Down located in the Calm Belt.
Staring at the prison emerging from the sea, Enel muttered, "It's not as big as I imagined."
In Enel's mind, an impenetrable fortress should have elite troops visible, extensive fortifications, and numerous cannons on the walls.
But the sight of Impel Down left Enel somewhat disappointed.
"The main body of Impel Down lies beneath the sea. The structures above the surface are merely Marine offices and the first prison level," Raleigh explained.
Curiously, Enel asked, "Raleigh-sama, I don't see what makes Impel Down so formidable. Why is it called an impenetrable fortress?"
Raleigh waved his hand, and Enel approached.
Pointing at the sail, Raleigh said, "First, this is the Calm Belt."
"Very few forces can navigate the Calm Belt. Before Dr. Vegapunk developed Seastone-lined warships, the Navy often relied on manual propulsion. Only the Fish-Man Tribe and some ships from the Amazon Kingdom can traverse these waters, along with certain special Ability Users. The threat of the Calm Belt alone is enough to render standard pirates helpless."
Raleigh truly wondered how Impel Down had been constructed.
Had the Fish-Man Tribe been involved in building the prison back then?
Moreover, Raleigh knew just how massive the sixth level of Impel Down was—capable of holding even someone as large as Sanjuan Wolf.
Raleigh couldn't help but feel anticipation for this journey into the depths of Impel Down.
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