Ten days later.
Sean arrived at Impel Down, located within the Calm Belt.
The surface portion of Impel Down was somewhat similar to the 16th Branch or Branch G8, though it was significantly smaller. It was likewise enclosed by a defensive wall, with a circular building at the center serving as the entrance to the prison.
"Vice Admiral Sean, welcome to Impel Down!"
"Hello, Warden Magellan. I hope I'm not causing you any trouble," Sean replied politely.
He actually felt a slight sense of guilt toward Magellan. After all, once this was over, Magellan would inevitably be the one left holding the bag.
Ten Devil Fruit users vanishing from the prison...
'Sigh, old Maggy, I'll find a way to make it up to you later!'
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku has already informed me. He told me to cooperate with you as much as possible, but you are only permitted to move within Levels 1 through 3. There are no prisoners from the East Blue in the lower levels."
"That old geezer... is it really necessary to be this guarded around me?" Sean muttered under his breath.
Magellan's eyes widened.
'Old... old geezer?'
Was he talking about Fleet Admiral Sengoku?
"Tell me, Warden Magellan, could you provide me with the pirate dossiers for Levels 1 to 3? I need to determine exactly who I'm looking for."
"Of course. Please, follow me."
'''
Inside Magellan's office.
A mountain of files had been delivered, and Sean was flipping through them with focused attention. The records were incredibly detailed: every prisoner's reason for capture, their strength, whether they were ability users, and their specific cell assignment. Everything was laid bare.
Across those three levels alone, over 20,000 pirates were imprisoned, 87 of whom were Devil Fruit users.
After reviewing all the ability users, Sean pinpointed ten targets—all Zoan types. In that category, aside from the Mythical Zoans, ninety-nine percent of them were garbage.
Once he had committed the data of those ten people to memory, Sean casually picked a few other pirates who had been sent from the East Blue and prepared to ask Magellan to arrange the meetings.
But when he turned around, Magellan was gone.
"Where is Warden Magellan?"
"Vice Admiral Sean, the Warden is feeling unwell and has gone to the restroom!"
"The restroom..."
'Right. He's got the runs again,' Sean realized. He remembered that due to the side effects of his Devil Fruit, Magellan suffered from frequent stomach issues.
"Yes, the restroom! The Warden is simply unacceptable. Aside from sleeping, he spends more than half his time in the toilet. This state of affairs makes him unfit to hold the position of Warden," Hannibal added.
"Oh? And who would be fit?" Sean asked with a smile, watching Hannibal's performance.
"That depends on the wishes of the higher-ups. But if the Warden were to be removed, I believe the government would make a suitable choice and pick the right person to manage 'my' Impel Down!"
"Ah, I accidentally let my ambition slip!"
'Good grief, it's "my Impel Down" this and that.'
This guy's personality was exactly like in the original story. Still, Sean didn't mind.
"Well then, Future Warden Hannibal, could you bring these few people to the interrogation room so I can question them?"
"Future... Warden of Impel Down!!! Yes, sir! I'll arrange it immediately!!"
Hearing this, Hannibal was instantly electrified. He felt that the Vice Admiral was the only one who truly understood him! He immediately rushed off to handle the task with utmost zeal.
An hour later.
Eight pirates were brought into the interrogation room one by one to be questioned by Sean. Unfortunately, he managed to extract absolutely no useful information, and he left the room looking thoroughly disappointed.
As he was leaving, Magellan reappeared. Hearing that Sean hadn't found the intel he wanted, Magellan came over to offer some words of consolation.
What he didn't know was that while Sean looked disappointed on the surface, he was secretly overjoyed.
Things were going far too smoothly!
'''
Three days later.
Impel Down, Level 2: Blazing Hell.
Cell 78.
A pirate in prison garb, his wrists locked in Seastone handcuffs, was leaning against the wall in utter boredom. Suddenly, a semi-transparent energy portal opened in front of him.
In the next instant, a hand reached out. Before the pirate could even react, he was yanked violently into the portal.
Then, the energy door vanished.
The entire process was silent, failing to alert a single patrolling guard. As for the surveillance Den Den Mushi...
Unfortunately, the Marines weren't wealthy enough to install one in every single cell. Surveillance in Impel Down was limited to the hallways outside the cells and a few other key areas.
Without drawing any attention, the same scene played out repeatedly across Blazing Hell, Beast Hell, and Hungry Hell.
The following day, Magellan was stunned to learn that ten prisoners had vanished.
This was a catastrophic failure of duty!
He immediately ordered all guards to conduct a thorough search of the entire prison and personally investigated the cells of the missing prisoners. However, there were no signs of forced entry or damage. The surveillance footage proved that the prisoners had never left their cells since they were last placed inside.
How on earth did they vanish?
It was like they'd seen a ghost!
A day later, all investigations hit a dead end. Left with no choice, Magellan reported the incident to Sengoku.
Upon hearing the news, Sengoku's first suspicion fell on Sean. After all, the missing prisoners were all from Levels 1 to 3—the very floors he had permitted Sean to access. Most importantly, this eerie occurrence happened shortly after Sean's departure.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, it couldn't possibly be Vice Admiral Sean. He was only in Impel Down for less than two hours, and most of that time was spent interrogating pirates under our constant supervision..."
"I know, but I just have a feeling this kid is involved. I'll ask him myself!"
After listening to Magellan's report, Sengoku knew perfectly well that Sean had no apparent window of opportunity. Yet, for some reason, his gut told him this was Sean's doing.
Hanging up, he called Sean immediately.
"Sean, where are you right now?"
"I'm on my way back to the East Blue. I'll be crossing the Calm Belt in two days. You need something, old man?"
"The ten prisoners who vanished from Impel Down yesterday—do you have anything to do with that?"
"Prisoners? Old man, what are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean!"
"Keep playing dumb. Ten Devil Fruit users suddenly vanished from Levels 1 through 3 of Impel Down yesterday. You dare tell me you didn't do it?"
"I didn't! Old man, this is unfair. Why are you trying to pin this crap on me?"
As Sean spoke, Sengoku analyzed the tone of his voice and the facial expressions simulated by the Den Den Mushi.
He still couldn't find any sign that the man was lying.
'Could it be...'
'Was I just overthinking things?'
"By the way, old man, remember that batch of Revolutionary Army members I captured? Aside from Belo Betty, I'm still holding the others. One of them is the Vice Commander of the East Army—you remember her, right?"
"I remember. You mean Ashiru? What about her?"
"What's the rush? It's just that when you mentioned Impel Down, it reminded me of something else. There might be a connection."
"Hmm? Spit it out!"
The moment he heard the word 'connection,' Sengoku pricked up his ears. Any lead was a good lead; otherwise, Impel Down's reputation was going to hit rock bottom again!
"It's like this: because of the strategy I used on the Revolutionary Army, Ashiru gradually saw through their true nature. She eventually told me a few things, one of which concerns Impel Down."
"However, she only heard about this through rumors, so I can't say for sure if it's true. But right now, I think you could use it as a lead to verify."
"According to Ashiru, Morley, the Commander of the Revolutionary Army's West Army, once sneaked into Impel Down. Using the Push-Push Fruit, he carved out a new space between the fifth and sixth levels—a place the Revolutionary Army calls Level 5.5!"
"Currently, the Commander of the Revolutionary Army's Grand Line forces, Emporio Ivankov, and Vice Commander Inazuma are stationed there!"
"After all, the most dangerous place is often the safest, right?"
"And beyond using it as a hidden base, they seem to be collecting powerful fighters within Impel Down. It's said that the prisoners who mysteriously vanished over the last few years are actually being held in that so-called Level 5.5!"
What?
Sengoku was utterly stunned.
Inside the Marine's own Impel Down, this Morley guy had carved out a Level 5.5? And it had become a stronghold for the Revolutionary Army's Grand Line forces?
Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous!!
Yet, no matter how absurd the news sounded, he couldn't ignore it. What if it were true?
Moreover, Sean had a point. Over the years, people had indeed vanished from Impel Down from time to time, yet it was certain they hadn't escaped. No matter how hard they searched, those missing persons simply couldn't be found.
But if the information Sean provided was true, everything finally made sense.
Furthermore, when the prisoners first started disappearing, Sean was still living the life of a noble... so this matter likely had nothing to do with him.
Come to think of it, why was it that the moment something went wrong, he immediately suspected Sean, a fellow Marine?
'Have I really become this paranoid?' Sengoku felt a wave of guilt.
After confirming a few more details about Ashiru's claims with Sean, Sengoku hung up and immediately began deploying his forces. He was determined to drag that "Okama King" out into the light.
As for Sean...
He remained perfectly calm.
It was true that Ashiru was in his hands. It was also true that she was disappointed in the Revolutionary Army.
However, she actually knew nothing about a "Level 5.5" in Impel Down.
But since the girl was his prisoner and her identity was perfect, she would "say" whatever Sean wanted her to say. Not taking advantage of this situation would simply be a waste.
'''
Three days later.
Sean received an update from Gion.
Under Sengoku's deployment, Akainu and Gion had been secretly sent into Impel Down. Together with Magellan and his team, they had destroyed the so-called Level 5.5, killing or capturing a total of 69 people, including Ivankov and his crew.
As for how they discovered the location of Level 5.5?
It was simple: they used Observation Haki.
Normally, Magellan never imagined that someone could create an entirely new hidden floor between two existing levels, so he never thought to use Observation Haki to scan that specific void.
But now...
Whether it was Akainu, Gion, or Magellan, their Observation Haki range far exceeded the distance between two floors. They could easily detect where a large group of people was active.
The most interesting part was that Akainu's attacks were so devastating that over twenty people were burned beyond recognition. Because of this, Sengoku assumed the ten prisoners who had vanished days prior were among those unrecognizable charred remains.
Checking the archives to match the headcount was useless, since many of the people there were Revolutionary Army members, not prisoners.
Unintentionally, Akainu had filled the final small loophole in Sean's plan, rendering the "fix" Sean had prepared completely unnecessary.
If he hadn't been on the phone with Gion, Sean probably would have shouted that Akainu was a total legend!
This operation allowed Sengoku to show off significantly in front of the Five Elders. 'Look, the "strongest intelligence network" under your command couldn't find this, but we in the Marine did. And we didn't miss a single one—they were all either killed or captured.'
Most importantly, with the fall of Ivankov and Inazuma, the Revolutionary Army's strength in the Grand Line had been effectively severed. This was a devastating blow to them!
Consequently, in a rare occurrence, the Five Elders actually praised Sengoku.
"Well done!!"
To prevent similar incidents from happening again, Impel Down established a new regulation: all guards capable of using Observation Haki would be gathered periodically to perform a comprehensive scan of every corner of the prison.
Through this incident, Sengoku also noticed something else.
The two warships used by Akainu and Gion were incredibly fast. From the moment he gave the order to leave until they arrived at Impel Down, it had taken less than an hour.
That speed...
Sengoku decided he needed to buy a batch of those ships. He immediately had someone contact the Galley-La Company in Water 7 to inquire about the price.
Iceburg provided the quote exactly as Sean had instructed: one billion Belly per ship!
However, there was a waiting list; deliveries would only begin in three months.
This price made even Sengoku wince. Budgeting was tight...
Fortunately, the Five Elders were in a great mood because of the operation. To encourage the Marine to maintain the momentum and further strike the Revolutionary Army, they granted Sengoku an additional 5 billion Belly in military funds.
Only then did Sengoku grit his teeth and order three ships.
As for why only three... it was because the Marine's finances were always strained. Even with an extra 5 billion, he couldn't spend it all on warships; there were many other urgent needs.
Sengoku couldn't help but feel a bit envious of Gion. Given her relationship with Sean, it was natural for him to give her a ship. But why did Akainu get the same treatment?
Thinking back, whenever someone at Headquarters targeted Sean, Akainu was always the first to step up and support the kid. Perhaps that was why Sean gave him a ship?
But Sean was truly too wealthy—and not just wealthy, but incredibly generous with his money. Two warships cost two billion Belly, and the kid just gave them away!
Meanwhile, here he was, the Fleet Admiral of the entire Marine, and he had to hesitate for half a day just to buy three ships.
There was simply no comparison!!
'Right...'
Since Akainu owed Sean a debt of gratitude, Sean was being gifted a warship.
Which got the Fleet Admiral thinking...
If Garp played the part of the shameless old man and asked for one as well, would they give him one too?
Sure, they could only squeeze out a single ship, but going from three ships to four was a full one-third increase in their strength.
'Wait, is that actually sound logic?'
'Yes, it is! Let's do it!'
"Messenger!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
"Go and tell Garp to report to me immediately!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"