Zaraki's voice remained calm, but the five fingers of his left hand tightened.
Raiu let out a strained creak.
A tremendous force surged through the blade, locking Shiryu in place.
His muscles strained and his shoulders trembled.
Veins bulged across his neck, yet the sword trapped in Zaraki's palm refused to shift a single inch.
Zaraki's right hand finally moved. Murasame, hanging slack at his side, rose.
Buzz.
A low cry hummed from the steel. Strands of pitch-black Armament Haki emerged, spiraling along the edge before wrapping and compressing inward.
Dark-gold Reiatsu followed. Instead of spreading outward, it sank into the blade until the surrounding air distorted.
The light around Murasame blurred, thickening the damp air of Level Six.
Zaraki raised his eyes, reflecting Shiryu's twisted face in his golden pupils.
"As the first opponent here to make me bleed…" Zaraki grinned, the expression brilliant and cruel.
"You should feel honored."
Zaraki turned his wrist, shifting the power covering Murasame.
Armament Haki and Reiatsu compressed together, forming countless black-gold threads that spun around the blade before tightening into a single terrifying edge.
The air pulled toward it with a muffled hum.
A primal fear froze Shiryu's limbs. The bloodshot madness drained from his eyes the moment he saw the shift in the blade.
No!
This is completely different from that violent destructive power.
The earlier slash was a giant hammer. This... is a wire against the throat.
The realization exploded in his mind, overwhelming his anger and wounded pride. Shiryu didn't have time to think; his body reacted on pure instinct.
He released Raiu, kicked off the ground, and retreated with everything he had.
Zaraki moved faster.
The instant Shiryu drew back, Murasame swept forward.
The slash lacked earth-shaking momentum or roaring pressure. Zaraki simply swung the compressed blade in one fluid motion.
A black-gold thread flashed through space and vanished.
Shiryu's retreating body froze. Expression stiffening, he looked down at his own torso in a daze.
For a heartbeat, he felt no pain.
The cut had been too fast.
Then, agony erupted from both shoulders. His arms didn't fall, but they hung uselessly, the tendons and muscles slashed deep enough to permanently ruin his grip.
Hot blood burst from the wounds, soaking his prison uniform.
A split second later, the delayed damage across his chest erupted.
A massive X-shaped wound split his torso to the bone. Blood poured down his body like a broken dam.
"Urgh… ah… ah…" Shiryu opened his mouth, managing only a leaking gasp.
His towering body could no longer support itself and collapsed to his knees, blood rapidly pooling beneath him.
Eternal Hell plunged into deathly silence. Everyone stared blankly, forgetting to breathe.
The drunken flush on Vasco Shot's face vanished into pale horror. The hand gripping his wine gourd trembled uncontrollably.
"Run… run! Hurry up and run!" Snapping awake, Vasco let out a shrill, pitchy scream.
He turned and scrambled toward his cell in a pathetic crawl, abandoning every ounce of dignity expected of a legendary pirate.
Pizarro and Devon snapped out of their shock, faces warped with fear.
Without hesitation, they sprinted back into their cells at record speed.
Clang! Clang!
They yanked the heavy iron doors shut from the inside, treating the damp cages as the safest places in the world.
"Hah… hah…" Shiryu knelt in the pool of blood, staring blankly at his trembling arms.
Meaningless noises spilled from his mouth, full of pain and incomprehension. Something inside him had shattered.
He had lost.
Completely.
Cleanly.
Even the single wound he left on Zaraki's hand—the only strike that drew blood—felt less like an achievement and more like the pity of a monster allowing him to prove he existed.
Zaraki's gaze fell on him again.
That cold look made Shiryu's gasp catch in his throat. His body trembled, rendering him mute.
A figure rushed out from the monitoring room corridor: Impel Down's Vice Warden, Hannyabal.
Seizing the opening, he leaped high into the air and smashed the hilt of his naginata, Bloodsucker, hard against the back of Shiryu's neck.
Shiryu didn't even groan.
His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into unconsciousness.
Zaraki raised an eyebrow, looking toward Magellan.
He clearly saw the Chief Warden's massive, tense body relax the moment Hannyabal succeeded.
Trying to keep him alive? Boring.
Zaraki withdrew his gaze and flicked the blood from his blade.
These so-called legends weren't even enough for a proper warm-up.
He swept his eyes over the cells holding the Corrupt King and the Heavy Drinker, finally landing on the man who had remained calm from the start.
Zaraki walked over to Crocodile's cell.
Clamping a cigar in his mouth, the sand crocodile leaned against the bars, watching him with complicated eyes. Amid the curling smoke, his expression was unreadable.
"You're not running?" Zaraki asked.
Crocodile took a deep drag and exhaled a long column of smoke.
"Run with those idiots, just to let you chase us down like rabbits?" He raised his sharp eyes to meet Zaraki's.
"I prefer choosing my own battlefield and opponent."
Zaraki grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. "You're smarter than them."
Zaraki paid him no further attention, turning toward the exit of Level Six.
Crocodile watched his departing back before silently retreating into the shadows of his cell.
In the other cells, the rest watched with relief and indescribable bitterness.
They would rather rot in prison for the rest of their lives than face that monster again.
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Bang!
The door slammed open.
A ghost-like figure cloaked in white and wearing a demon mask appeared in the office.
"Who goes there?!" Tsuru's face darkened, a strange glint flashing deep in her eyes.
"I am CP0. This is an emergency request for aid," the agent stated.
"A riot has broken out in the Great Prison, Impel Down. The prisoners held on Level Six were maliciously released. According to the distress signal, this matter is likely connected to Provisional Headquarters Combat Trainee Zaraki. Chief Warden Magellan is critically injured, and his current status is unknown."
Tsuru's eyes widened.
"Sengoku, the Five Elders order you to provide immediate support to Impel Down," the agent continued.
"Absolutely no prisoner can be allowed to leave. If necessary, initiate emergency sealing protocols and lock down all access routes."