"Warden Magellan suffers from diarrhea for 10 hours a day, spending that time in the bathroom. Excluding 8 hours of sleep, plus time for meals and breaks, his daily working hours are around 4 hours."
Domino was accustomed to this and explained to Taro with an unchanging expression.
Taro actually knew this already, so he wasn't surprised.
After the sound of a flush, the sound of "clomp, clomp" footsteps rang out, and the ordinary guards in the room all pulled out gas masks.
Domino explained further, "Warden Magellan has the Paramecia-type Venom-Venom Fruit; he is a Poison Human. Therefore, Rear Admiral Taro, please be extremely careful."
Taro smiled, appearing very casual. "I know all of this; it's fine."
"Thank you for your hard work, Warden!" the guard standing sentry at the bathroom door shouted loudly.
Then, a tall figure emerged from the shadows.
He was massive in stature, looking like a demon from Western legends of his past life, with two horns on his head and wings on his back.
It was indeed the Warden of Impel Down, Magellan!
"I've endured another intense battle!" Magellan said, clutching his stomach with one hand as he slowly walked out, then looked at Taro. "You must be Taro, right? I am Warden Magellan."
Just as Taro was about to speak, Magellan suddenly raised his hand to cover his eyes. "Ah, so blinding. Why is this room so bright? I want to be locked in a darker room. If possible, I'd even like to seal off my heart."
Taro was somewhat speechless. Does this guy say this every time he meets a new guest?
"Warden Magellan, I am Taro, here on orders to inspect Impel Down!"
Taro gave a salute. He had been observing Magellan since he appeared. This Warden with the domineering Devil Fruit Ability was comparable to an Admiral in strength, aside from his working hours and somewhat reclusive symptoms.
Magellan looked down at Taro and suddenly sighed.
"I didn't expect the Special Envoy to be so young. Unlike some of my subordinates who haven't made much progress in 20 years."
[Neurotoxin detected approaching. Dispel?]
The System's sudden prompt caught Taro off guard.
Usually, when he actively inquired, there was no reaction at all. Does it just slack off and play dead unless something happens?
"Dispel."
Chanting silently, the Internal Energy emanating from Taro's body fluctuated.
Soon, the pale purple poisonous gas exhaled by Magellan grew even dimmer. A flow of pure Qi surrounded him, isolating the toxin.
"Magellan, you bastard, you're talking about me, aren't you? You must be talking about me! Once I become the Warden—ah, I misspoke..."
Hannybal, sitting in the Warden's seat, became noisy again.
Taro ignored Hannybal. He stared at Magellan and gave a faint smile.
"Warden Magellan, doing this at our first meeting—are you trying to give me a show of strength?"
Magellan also ignored Hannybal. He had exhaled that poisonous gas precisely to test Taro's depth.
Although he had always been within Impel Down, Magellan knew that a super rookie named Taro had appeared in the Marine. He had long heard various rumors about Taro.
Seeing Taro resist his poisonous gas effortlessly, Magellan's expression became more serious. "Hannybal, Domino, all of you get out!"
Domino and the group of guards quickly obeyed and left. Only Hannybal lingered in the Warden's seat, dawdling for a long time before reluctantly leaving under Magellan's threatening gaze.
"Speak. What is your purpose for coming to my Impel Down?"
Once only Taro and Magellan remained in the Warden's Office, he looked at Taro again and asked in a heavy voice.
"Warden Magellan, don't be so serious. I am simply here on orders to inspect!"
Taro smiled and responded softly.
"Impel Down is not Marineford, Taro. Here, I have the final say. If you still intend to brush me off with such words, I think you can leave."
Magellan didn't believe Taro's nonsense at all. He walked to the desk and picked up a piece of paper from it. "Do you think this thing is useful here?"
As he spoke, under Taro's surprised gaze, he crumpled the order signed by Vice Admiral Tsuru into a ball. Poisonous liquid seeped from his palm, dissolving it instantly.
"Within the entirety of Impel Down, I have the authority to execute anyone, let alone a piece of paper!"
When Magellan said this, his Aura surged, and his Haki was matchless.
Taro's surprised gaze gradually receded. After a long while, he nodded solemnly. "I want to see someone."
"Ace?" Magellan murmured softly, then shook his head firmly and said seriously:
"No. Ace is a key figure right now. Without a personal order from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, no one can see him!"
Taro knew this would be the result.
Even the Empress, as one of the Shichibukai, was only allowed to see Ace once after agreeing to the Marineford's summons. And now, with Vice Admiral Tsuru's signed order destroyed, Taro had even less leverage.
"No, I don't want to see Ace," Taro said in a deep voice after thinking for a moment. "The one I want to see is Crocodile."
Magellan hadn't expected Taro to want to see this person, and he was momentarily taken aback.
Taro's reasoning was simple: asking to see Ace directly was nearly impossible. Looking around, Crocodile was the only old acquaintance on the Sixth Level.
Moreover, he recalled that Old Sand and Ace were neighbors with facing doors in the prison. Seeing Crocodile was effectively the same as seeing Ace.
After a brief moment of shock, Magellan asked in a low voice, "Why do you want to see him?"
"In Alabasta, Crocodile attacked me several times for no reason. Now that he's a prisoner and has been stripped of his Seven Warlords of the Sea title, while I've been promoted to Marine Rear Admiral, how could I not go and catch up?"
As soon as Taro finished speaking, Magellan roared,
"Taro, what kind of place do you think this is?"
"I told you, in Impel Down, executing criminals is my authority!"
Taro waved his hand, looking at the enraged Magellan. "Don't get excited. When I say catching up, I mean it literally. I didn't say I was going to get physical!"
Even with Taro saying so, Magellan still didn't agree. "The Sixth Level isn't a place you can just go to. I cannot accept this reason."
Taro sighed. "Then you tell me, what will it take for you to agree to my request?"
Magellan stared at Taro for a good while, thinking of the various rumors about him and the casual way he had handled his poisonous gas just now. He said in a deep voice:
"We will have a match. If you can defeat me, I can make an exception just this once."
Taro was stunned. Such a simple requirement—why didn't you say so earlier! Holy crap! Then he looked at Magellan with a doubtful gaze.
"That's it?"
"That's it!"
"Right here?"
"Right here!"
"Really nothing else...?"
"Are you going to fight or not?" Magellan slammed the table in anger.
"I'll fight!"
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.