The prisoners of the World Government had long since surrendered their hearts to despair, believing their lives would be spent entirely within the dark, damp depths of Impel Down.
Only when the Marines or the World Government demanded it would they be released—either to reveal a secret history, to serve as experimental subjects…
Justice? Such a thing never existed in their eyes.
In the eyes of those confined here, the Marines' "justice" was nothing but another form of power.
When I am strong enough, I am justice.
You prisoners, captured and locked away in this underwater prison, are despicable and filthy.
To hell with the World Government's so-called justice! I want out.
"Truly… a living hell."
Shirogai listened to the wails echoing throughout the prison, a faint smile playing across his face.
"Shh. Quiet."
Buzz.
The soft command resonated within every prisoner's heart like a massive bell.
"Ah…"
"It… it hurts…"
Many clutched their chests in agony, groaning at the overwhelming presence.
Only the few pirates with exceptionally strong willpower could withstand the mental pressure and remain standing.
"Not bad…"
Shirogai smiled faintly, noting the prisoners who had scored high on this invisible test of spirit.
"He can make all of us feel suffocated with just one sentence? This isn't Conqueror's Haki…"
Shirogai had seamlessly integrated the Silent Roar of the Abyss Whisperer, awakened by the Whisper-Whisper Fruit, into his voice.
One sentence could shatter all the built-up desires and negative emotions of the prisoners, leaving them frozen in awe.
If he wished, a single sentence imbued with lethal intent could have killed most of the prisoners on this floor instantly.
With mastery over multiple awakened Devil Fruits, Shirogai had long transcended human limits.
The world should be grateful he had retained his humanity, instead of turning fully into a god.
"I know the history of every one of you," Shirogai said softly, pacing between the cages, eyes scanning the prisoners confined within.
"I know some of you resisted the world's injustices, only to be captured and bound here, waiting to wither away."
His deep black eyes, unfathomable and sharp, forced even the bravest prisoners to avert their gaze.
Only a few, who had accepted their fates, met his scrutiny without fear.
"I know your anger… your resentment… your…"
He stopped at the blue-skinned Fishman kneeling calmly in his cage.
His hands were bound, yet he radiated quiet strength.
"…your unwillingness."
Jinbe the Sea Knight met Shirogai's gaze, calm but awed.
This is… the Fifth Emperor, the Arrogant Emperor?
A dragon among men. Exceptional.
Jinbe sighed inwardly.
If Ace had even half of Shirogai's shrewdness, perhaps the Whitebeard Pirates would not have been cornered.
"You have been branded as scum, villains, and destabilizers by the Marines, by the World Government, by this world," Shirogai said, moving slowly past the cages.
His eyes pierced those imprisoned within, some of whom were undeniably inhuman in nature.
But when had the world ever treated them fairly?
In a chaotic world, the merciful died long ago.
Survival belonged to those who clawed their way through the corpses.
"I am giving you a chance at rebirth."
Shirogai closed his eyes and whispered, "Follow me, and together, we can make this chaotic world more humane."
One prisoner's eyes gleamed with a sinister hunger.
"Emperor-sama! We will follow you and annihilate all the damned Marines!"
Crack!
A head exploded, spewing white and red matter across the cell.
The next one followed. Crack! Crack! Crack!
Terror swept through the remaining prisoners.
"Don't worry…"
Shirogai's voice resonated in their hearts.
"You deserve sympathy, you deserve a second chance. But some monsters, addicted to slaughter, do not deserve life again."
Snap!
Several of the prisoners, known for heinous crimes, were incinerated by black flames.
Their ashes were sucked into a small black hole, leaving no trace.
"You, come with me."
Shirogai extended a hand glowing with gray light, whispering softly, "Hand of God: Disintegration."
In an instant, Sea Stone-infused chains dissolved into black particles.
Iron bars crumbled, drifting like dust.
"Free? Free!"
The prisoners stared at their unobstructed cells, disbelief and excitement lighting their faces.
Most knelt before Shirogai, acknowledging him as their leader.
"…Only a few remained standing, proud and unyielding."
"It's time to move," Shirogai murmured, a playful smile gracing his lips.
"The grand drama at Marine Headquarters begins. I can't miss it."
---
Elsewhere, after clashes with Luffy, Ivankov, and others at Level Six's entrance, Rain Shiryu evaded Crocodile's ambush.
Using a Den Den Mushi, he observed Blackbeard's crew, poisoned by Warden Magellan and awaiting death.
Shiryu, preferring to join a rising pirate crew over an Emperor of the Sea, had rescued them.
"Phew! Reckless as always," he muttered, dropping a glass vial.
"That poison isn't easy to handle."
Blackbeard grinned, rising to his feet.
"Zehahahahaha! Life and death are fated, and wealth is in the heavens! Worrying achieves nothing!"
Shiryu smirked.
"Quite ambitious for Blackbeard Teach. Seems you're joining us."
"Follow me," he said, leading the crew through a secret passage.
"Oh, by the way," Shiryu added casually, "the Fifth Emperor, Arrogant Emperor Shirogai, has also arrived in Impel Down."
Blackbeard froze mid-step.
"Zehahaha! That guy is here too?"
Teach's expression darkened.
"He is the monster we cannot afford to make an enemy of right now," he said gravely.
Even the escaped core members of Blackbeard's crew looked fearful.
"That monster… he is omnipotent."
Shiryu led them to a medical lab inside Impel Down.
Crack!
He sliced through a steel door.
Inside, a massive figure was bound to a medical bed.
"San Juan Wolf?" Blackbeard grinned.
One was at least left for him.
Six other prisoners were confined in cages, gagged, some mentally broken from experiments.
"Zehahahahaha! In a prison of 'justice,' there are still remnants of great pirates!" Teach laughed, recognizing faces like George Decaprio, Barry Pell, and Nina Hill.
Shiryu assessed the deranged prisoners.
"Lunatics who've lost reason cannot be companions."
Lafitte, the Demon Sheriff, smirked, stepping forward.
"Not all lunatics are useless. Some can still obey… and entertain."
The insane prisoners shook violently, restrained, as Lafitte held a patterned pocket watch, drawing their attention.
"Good children… look here."
Their eyes gradually softened, pulled by the hypnotic movement of the watch.
"Who… who are you?"
"Followers of Blackbeard…"