After a wild, sleepless night, Malverick took Hancock to the location of the Golden Bell.
Even he had to admit — the bell was enormous.
Malverick stood over two meters tall, Hancock nearly one-ninety, yet before the Golden Bell they seemed tiny and insignificant.
It was almost unimaginable — just how much gold had gone into forging something this massive.
He had been here once before, years ago — when Roger himself brought him.
Even now, the words Roger had engraved beside the bell were still perfectly visible.
But what truly caught Malverick's attention wasn't the bell itself — it was what lay beneath it: the Poneglyph.
This one recorded information about the location of an ancient weapon — priceless beyond measure.
Without hesitation, Malverick simply stored the stone tablet away.
As for the Golden Bell? To him, it was just a big lump of gold — not worth a second glance.
"Come on," he said, turning toward the sea of clouds, "let's hit the beach. Time to get some sun."
"Mm!" Hancock smiled sweetly.
Five days later, after exploring every corner of Skypiea, the two finally decided to leave.
"Well, that's that," Malverick said. "Time to take you home."
"Oh…"
Hancock looked visibly reluctant, but nodded anyway.
These past weeks had been full of joy — and, admittedly, exhaustion.
"Aunt Shakky! We're back!"
As soon as she saw Shakky, Hancock ran forward and wrapped her in a big hug, her way of expressing gratitude.
After all, it was Shakky who had been managing Amazon Lily's affairs in her absence. Without her, Hancock couldn't have left.
"My, my," Shakky said with mock irritation. "You two finally remembered to come back, huh?"
Her tone carried a hint of jealousy.
More than twenty days of traveling — Malverick took Hancock all over the seas for nearly a month!
Meanwhile, that old man Rayleigh…
Her eyes drifted toward him, sharp and accusing.
"Cough, cough!"
Rayleigh cleared his throat, feigning nonchalance but clearly feeling guilty.
"Well then," he said, "since you two are back, Shakky and I should be heading out."
"We've stayed here long enough — it's not exactly proper anymore."
He wasn't wrong. Rayleigh was, after all, a man — and Shakky a former ruler.
Staying too long on an island that already had a reigning queen wasn't exactly appropriate… unless she intended to live like the elder Gloriosa.
"You're leaving here… back to Sabaody Archipelago?" Malverick asked.
Rayleigh nodded. "It's a good place. The Marines would never think I'd go back there again."
They had already searched it once — which in his mind made it the safest place to hide.
Malverick wasn't convinced, but he didn't argue.
With Rayleigh's strength, danger wasn't really a concern anyway.
After a hearty meal together, the older couple set off.
"Darling… are you leaving too?"
Hancock clung to Malverick's arm, shaking it softly, her expression full of reluctance.
Another farewell — she couldn't stand it.
Malverick smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. It won't be long before we don't have to part again."
He had a new plan. Once he returned, he would set sail.
The Navy would definitely retaliate with full force after his recent actions.
And while Hancock was powerful, in his eyes… she still wasn't strong enough.
Besides — if she left, who would guard Amazon Lily?
Seeing that she couldn't change his mind, Hancock pressed his face against her chest, pulling him into her softness.
The sudden sensation made Malverick freeze for a moment.
"Tomorrow," she whispered, voice soft as silk. "Leave tomorrow, please?"
Faced with such tenderness, he couldn't possibly say no.
"Hancock," he said after a pause, "I remember you've got a rather… spacious bathhouse, don't you?"
"Mm, yes. It's inside my palace."
"Perfect. Then let's go take a bath."
The next morning, with considerable willpower, Malverick finally tore himself away from the intoxicating warmth of Hancock's embrace.
But he had changed his mind — he wouldn't return to Germa just yet.
There was something else he needed to do first.
Plans change — and a few extra steps of preparation never hurt.
His next destination was no ordinary place.
The world's greatest prison.
One of the three central Marine institutions — Impel Down.
There were three Gates of Justice in the world, each one positioned near a key Marine stronghold:
Marine Headquarters — Marineford
The Great Underwater Prison — Impel Down
Enies Lobby, the Judicial Island
Leaving Enies Lobby aside, the other two were the most heavily guarded and critical to the World Government.
Impel Down was said to be the world's greatest prison — home to countless pirates captured over the decades.
That alone spoke volumes about its importance.
At this time, the warden was Magellan, wielder of the Paramecia-type Venom-Venom Fruit — an ability as deadly as it was horrifying.
Once you touched his poison, few in the world could survive.
Under Magellan's iron rule, there had been only one successful escape in decades: Golden Lion Shiki.
Back when Roger was executed, Shiki had stormed Marineford, fought Garp and Sengoku for three days and nights, destroyed half the base, and was finally imprisoned in Impel Down.
Though he eventually escaped, he left both of his legs behind in that hell.
After three days of flight, Malverick finally reached the waters surrounding Impel Down.
Like Amazon Lily, it was located deep within the Calm Belt.
From above, he looked down at the massive, tower-like structure rising from the sea.
"Impressive," he murmured.
Impel Down was divided into seven levels.
The uppermost level, above the surface, housed the prison guards — while the six levels below the sea were known as the Six Hells:
Beast Hell
Crimson Hell
Hunger Hell
Burning Hell
Freezing Hell
and finally — Infinite Hell, the lowest level of all.
It was there that the most dangerous and monstrous pirates in the world were imprisoned — including Shiki himself.
And that was precisely Malverick's destination.
To be exact, he wasn't after the prison — he was after the people in it.
"Let's see," he said quietly, landing with a grin, "just how strong Impel Down's defenses really are."
He descended to the suspension bridge leading to the entrance.
The guards spotted him almost immediately.
"Who goes there?! Hands up!"
Impel Down wasn't the kind of place people just visited.
If someone came who wasn't a Marine — they were an enemy.
In an instant, more than a dozen rifles were trained on him.
"State your identity!" a guard demanded.
Malverick didn't answer.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward the sea on his left — and raised his hand.
The dragon-headed ring on his finger shimmered with light.
Moments later, a colossal water dragon surged up from the ocean, roaring as it crashed toward the bridge.
Whoooosh!
With one strike, the torrent swept across the bridge, sending every guard screaming into the sea below.
~~--------------------------
Patreon Advanced Chapters:
patreon.com/FrostWarden