Chapter 178: The Storm of the World
Impel Down — Level 6
The deepest level of the world's most secure prison was never truly silent. Even now, with every other prisoner on the floor transferred to secondary facilities, the darkness seemed to breathe. Water dripped from unseen cracks. Distant screams echoed through stone corridors that hadn't known sunlight in decades.
Magellan, the Deputy Warden of Impel Down, had his Den Den Mushi pressed so close to his face that the snail was visibly recoiling.
"I understand perfectly that all prisoners have been transferred! Every last one! Even the Level 6 inmates have been relocated! What I DON'T understand is WHY!"
The snail's expression shifted nervously.
"First, I receive direct orders to personally oversee the detention of THAT bastard. And now—NOW—I'm told to leave him unguarded?! Whose orders are these?! Are they from the World Government?! The Navy?! WHICH AUTHORITY AM I SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW?!"
The snail attempted to respond. Magellan crushed the receiver before it could.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Magellan spun. "WHO'S THERE?! This area is under absolute quarantine! No one is authorized to—"
The figure emerged from the shadows. Magellan's words died in his throat.
"Sakazuki?!"
Fleet Admiral Akainu stood before the cell, his massive frame blocking the corridor's dim light. The cherry of his cigar glowed in the darkness like a single malevolent eye.
"How could YOU be here?!"
From within the cell, Doflamingo's laugh slithered through the bars.
"Oh? I wondered who might come to visit me. Fuhehehe."
He tilted his head, his sunglasses catching the faint light.
"I never expected the Fleet Admiral himself. How unexpected."
Magellan's massive body trembled with confusion and barely suppressed anger. "Sakazuki—is this some kind of mistake?! Why would the Fleet Admiral of the Navy personally—"
"There's no mistake." Akainu lit a fresh cigar with a flick of his magma-heated thumb. "I'm here to confirm something."
"Then what exactly is—"
"Magellan." Akainu's voice dropped. "I want you to understand something clearly. The Navy and the World Government... are not the same thing. And I have no intention of letting them become the same thing."
He exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Understand?"
Magellan stared at the Fleet Admiral. Then, slowly, he began to laugh—a deep, rumbling sound that seemed to come from somewhere around his stomach.
"Understood."
He clutched his midsection. "My stomach still hurts. And I really don't enjoy being in this part of the prison."
"Remember. It was Vice Admiral Tsuru who came here."
"I understand completely." Magellan turned and walked back into the darkness from which he had come. His footsteps faded. The iron door at the end of the corridor clanged shut.
Akainu stood alone before Doflamingo's cell.
"Now. It's just you and me."
Doflamingo's smile stretched wider. "Fuhehehe. So? What do you want to ask me?"
"That depends entirely on whether I'm interested in talking about it."
Akainu drew on his cigar. "You've misunderstood something, Doflamingo."
"Oh?"
"I didn't come here to ask you anything."
The smile faltered. Just slightly. Just for a moment.
"Then why ARE you here? To check on my accommodations?"
"I have no interest in your wellbeing." Akainu's voice was ice. "I'm here to confirm one thing. One thing that you mentioned... to a pirate."
Beneath his sunglasses, Doflamingo's eyes went wide. The chains binding him rattled as his body tensed.
"How... do you know about that?"
"People do things. The heavens watch. Isn't that right?" Akainu smiled—a cold, knowing expression that held no warmth. "That's what you Celestial Dragons are so proud of, isn't it?"
The Thousand Sunny — Galley
"Alright! Let me see what we've got on this ship!"
Luffy had already donned a chef's hat. His sleeves were rolled up to his shoulders. His expression was the picture of culinary determination.
"Oh! And I brought tons of ingredients from Zou! This is gonna be GREAT!"
Carrot followed him in, her ears bouncing. "Is Luffy really going to cook?! That's amazing!"
"Ah..." Brook scratched his skull. "While we have a moment, perhaps I should give you a proper tour of the ship."
But Carrot had already pressed her face against the aquarium glass. "THERE ARE SO MANY PRETTY FISH!"
"This is our aquarium," Brook explained. "Though it also serves as storage for keeping freshly caught fish alive until Sanji-san is ready to cook them."
Sanji's name hung in the air for a moment. No one commented on it.
"And this is the dining table, and this is the kitchen. Sanji-san always prepared our meals here. We'd gather around and talk and laugh while he cooked..."
Brook trailed off. Carrot was gone.
He looked around. The rabbit mink had relocated to the far side of the dining table, where she was crouched behind a chair, peering around its edge with intense focus.
Her gaze was fixed on Itachi.
"It seems Itachi is more interesting than the ship tour," Brook sighed.
Itachi had approached the cutting board, where Luffy was brandishing a knife with considerably more enthusiasm than skill.
"Ugh! Cooking with this many ingredients is such a pain! Wouldn't it be faster to just throw everything in one pot?!"
"Luffy." Itachi's voice was carefully neutral. "Do you actually know how to cook?"
"You've gotta TRUST me, Itachi!" Luffy shoved him toward the galley door. "Get out! Don't distract the chef while he's preparing your delicious meal!"
"Luffy—"
The door slammed in Itachi's face.
"LEAVE IT TO ME!"
"...Good luck."
The Thousand Sunny — Main Deck
Pekoms was drawing a rough map of Big Mom's territory on a sheet of parchment. His clawed hands were clumsy with the pen, and his tiny eyes squinted with concentration.
Itachi had briefly considered using Tsukuyomi to extract the information directly. But when he'd simply asked, Pekoms had proven surprisingly cooperative.
"You people are terrifying, gawu!" Pekoms' heart rate had finally returned to normal after their jump from Zou. "To leap from that height... you're lunatics. Complete lunatics."
"But still," he added, his voice softening, "you're my benefactors. I owe you."
Pedro stood on the sail mast, watching the horizon. "Stop rambling and focus on your drawing, Pekoms. Give Itachi-san the information he needs."
"Brother Pedro, you KNOW I can't draw! My art skills are TERRIBLE, gawu!"
"It doesn't matter how bad it is. I'll recognize what you're trying to draw." Pedro's voice was quiet, but there was something heavy beneath it. The scars on his face seemed deeper in the afternoon light. The eye he had lost—the eye that had been taken from him—seemed to ache with old memory.
A newspaper gull swooped overhead. Pedro raised his arm, and the bird dropped a rolled paper into his waiting paw.
He unfurled it.
His one good eye went wide.
"REVOLUTIONARY ARMY HEADQUARTERS DESTROYED!"
The headline screamed across the front page in bold, block letters.
"'Blackbeard Pirates Launch Surprise Attack — Total Annihilation!' 'World's Most Wanted Criminal and Revolutionary Leaders on the Run!' 'Any Information to be Reported Immediately to the World Government!'"
Pedro's voice was grim. "This is unprecedented."
Itachi looked up from the deck. "What's happened?"
"See for yourself, Itachi-san." Pedro dropped to the deck and handed over the paper. "The Revolutionary Army's headquarters has been attacked. Completely destroyed."
"Revolutionary Army?"
Itachi's mind flashed back to Dressrosa. The submarine. The war room. Monkey D. Dragon's grave expression as he spoke of ancient weapons and hidden histories. Sabo's easy grin as he promised to meet again.
He took the newspaper.
Beneath the headline, two bounty photos dominated the page. Dragon's intense, tattooed face stared out at the world. Beside him, Sabo's familiar features—so like Luffy's—had been captured mid-battle, flames from the Mera-Mera Fruit flickering at his fingertips.
The article detailed the attack. The Blackbeard Pirates had found the Revolutionary Army's hidden base. The raid had been swift. Brutal. Total. The survivors—including Dragon and Sabo—had fled. Their current whereabouts were unknown.
Itachi's hands tightened on the paper.
Burgess. He must have survived after all. And he led them straight to—
"Itachi?" Nami had emerged from the galley. "What's wrong? You've got that look on your face."
Wordlessly, Itachi handed her the newspaper.
(End of Chapter)
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