Level 6 — Eternal Hell.
Inside the chief jailer's office, a burly man over three meters tall sat behind a desk with a cigar clenched between his teeth, carefully reading through a prisoner's file.
This man was Shiryu of the Rain, chief jailer of Impel Down's sixth level, Eternal Hell. Together with Magellan, he was known as one of the two great pillars of Impel Down.
Cruel. Bloodthirsty. The kind of man who treated life as something laughably cheap.
And the file in his hand contained nothing less than the Red Rabbit's crimes and background.
"The Marines really are useless."
After skimming the section on Da Hong's criminal record, Shiryu took a deep drag from his cigar and exhaled slowly.
"A criminal who killed a Celestial Dragon ought to be sliced into a thousand pieces."
"So why send him to the deep-sea prison instead?"
A savage smile flickered across his face.
"But it doesn't matter."
"I'll handle it myself."
With that, Shiryu rose to his feet, took his beloved sword from where it rested nearby, and strode out of the office.
It did not take long for him to arrive at Level 6.
Because Eternal Hell housed only the most vicious criminals—monsters who had once drenched the Grand Line in blood—the sixth floor was lined everywhere with surveillance Den Den Mushi so the prison could respond immediately if anything went wrong.
There were not many inmates on this level, but any one of them, if released, would be a nightmare from a previous era of the seas.
That was also why every prisoner here was held alone.
Each cell had been specially reinforced. The bars were made of overbuilt Seastone, and every inmate inside was bound with Seastone chains.
Shiryu stopped outside one of the cells and looked coldly at the prisoner inside, his gaze empty of all emotion, as if he were looking at a slab of meat.
The prisoner in that cell was a female pirate with heavy makeup, bizarre clothing, and a long nose, looking almost like some sinister witch.
"Shiryu of the Rain."
The moment Shiryu stopped outside her cell, the pirate woman lifted her head. In the darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes fixed on him as she bared her teeth in a savage grin.
"I hear you've nearly killed off everyone in Level 6 already. Keep going like that, and sooner or later Magellan's going to lock you in here too. Hehehehe…"
"Who would care about trash like you?"
A cruel curve tugged at Shiryu's lips.
"You're all people who deserved death in the first place. I'm only helping you arrive there a little sooner."
"Besides, the moment you were thrown in here, your existence was already erased."
"Don't worry. Your turn will come too."
The woman said nothing more. She only stared back at him coldly.
She was Catarina Devon.
The most vicious female criminal in history.
A user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nine-Tailed Fox Model.
Just then, the huge iron gate behind Shiryu opened.
A group of jailers walked in.
At the front was Domino, the assistant warden tasked by Magellan with escorting the Red Rabbit down to Level 6.
Domino wore reddish-brown sunglasses, with her cap tilted to hide one eye. She had long, curling golden hair, a brown jacket and shorts over a white shirt and black tie, along with dark red long gloves and high boots. She cut a sharp, striking figure.
"Chief Jailer Shiryu."
Domino quickly stepped up and reported,
"The Red Rabbit has arrived."
As soon as she said that, Da Hong was carried in before Shiryu by a full "eight-man palanquin" of jailers.
Perhaps because the lighting on Level 6 was too dim, Da Hong—who had been calmly reading his magazine—suddenly frowned the moment he was set down.
Seeing that, one jailer reacted with astonishing speed and sprinted to the wall to switch on every light on the entire sixth floor.
At once, the once-dim Eternal Hell became bright as day.
The prisoners in their cells, their eyes stimulated by the sudden light, began waking one after another.
Then, naturally, they all got up and crowded toward their bars to peer out into the corridor.
"What, did they send down some monster this time?"
"Looks like a rabbit."
"Don't be ridiculous. Since when does a rabbit qualify for Eternal Hell? Are they insulting us?"
"Wait… is that really a rabbit?"
"It doesn't look strong."
"Why the hell isn't it wearing shackles? Damn it, they're even feeding it carrots!"
As more voices rose from the cells, nearly every criminal in Eternal Hell turned into a shameless spectator.
At the same time, seeing how harmless Da Hong looked—and noticing he wore neither shackles nor cuffs—Shiryu blinked in confusion, then turned toward Domino.
"What is this?"
"A prisoner sent to Eternal Hell without restraints?"
"This…"
Domino glanced around at the now-awake prisoners watching from their cells, then lowered her voice.
"Please don't be angry, Chief Jailer. It's not that we refused to put restraints on him. Admiral Kizaru specifically warned us that we must not provoke the Red Rabbit."
"And not only that," she added quickly, "we also have to prepare him a new cell with canvas sneakers, carrots, and multiple magazines."
Before Shiryu could react, she hurried on,
"Oh—and we must not dirty his sneakers. And under no circumstances can we damage his magazines."
Shiryu's mouth twitched.
This couldn't be done, that couldn't be done—then what exactly was the point of sending him to Eternal Hell at all?
They might as well have just let him walk free.
"You're certain those were Admiral Kizaru's exact instructions?"
Shiryu looked at Da Hong again. Since being carried in, the rabbit had not spared him a single glance. He sat there with one leg crossed over the other, utterly focused on his magazine.
For a moment, Shiryu genuinely felt the urge to snatch the thing away and tear it to pieces.
"Yes."
Domino nodded and then gave Shiryu a brief summary of what had happened in Loguetown.
By the time she finished explaining how Da Hong had survived every execution attempt, injured Vice Admiral Momonga, and even sent Admiral Kizaru flying, Shiryu's expression had turned wonderfully strange.
A Marine Admiral. One of the strongest combat forces in the entire Navy.
And they had needed a carrot to stop Da Hong from rampaging further?
If Kizaru had been standing in front of him right now, Shiryu would absolutely have mocked him to his face.
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