Even though the three colossal heads were resting with their eyes closed, Hannyabal couldn't stop his legs from trembling.
Seeing no signs of awakening from the beast, he turned away, suppressing the nausea and fear, and quickly left.
Once he exited the aura suppression zone, he let out a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his brow, glanced once toward Ace's cell, and then left Eternal Hell with his men.
Level Six of Impel Down fell silent once again.
---
Inside a cell not far from the enormous cage, Ace was still drenched in sweat, frozen in the same position Hannyabal had shoved him into.
He hadn't moved an inch.
His entire body was overwhelmed — his heart pounding violently from the sheer pressure that filled the air.
> What kind of monstrous presence is this? It's making the air feel like glue...
Not even Pops — the strongest man in the world — gave off such terrifying pressure!
Staring at the mist-wreathed cage, Ace felt, for the first time in his life, how truly small and powerless he was.
Then, something stirred within his blood — something ancient.
It was as if something buried deep inside him had suddenly been awakened.
Shock gave way to stubbornness.
He clenched his teeth.
> "I'm Portgas D. Ace.
There's no way I'll be scared by some damn aura!"
Like a defiant child challenging a violent parent, his eyes ignited with fire, burning with the will to resist.
He tried to stand, to fight back against the pressure...
But even that was wishful thinking. Under the weight of that invisible force, just standing up was impossible.
He bit down harder. Veins bulged on his forehead as he pushed against the ground with his shackled hands, straining to rise.
"Ugh… ahhh...!"
Suddenly—
> "Heh... an interesting young man."
A voice — deep, hoarse, and inhuman — echoed inside his mind.
> "Who's there?!"
Startled, Ace snapped his head toward the misty cage.
But there was no one. Nothing but drifting fog.
> "Portgas D. Ace...?"
The voice returned. Clearer now. Closer.
This time, Ace was sure — the voice wasn't coming from outside.
It was in his head.
> "Who are you?!"
> "Heh... You dare to ask me that… when you're in my domain?"
The voice let out a cold, almost demonic laugh.
> "W-Where are you?!"
Somehow, Ace's gaze was drawn toward the vague silhouette of the giant cage in the distance — now with a creeping sense of horror.
---
> "Hahaha! Look at this — not even an hour in and the brat's already losing it!"
"Oi, kid! How's the atmosphere over there, huh?"
"Hahahahaha!"
The ruckus exploded.
The silence of Eternal Hell broke once more as prisoners rushed to the front of their cells, laughing and shouting at Ace.
For most of them, this was the first interesting thing to happen in years.
---
But inside his own cell, Douglas Bullet let out a strange chuckle.
> "He already sensed it, huh…"
He glanced at Ace's cell, a flicker of envy in his eyes, then sat down and closed his eyes in deep meditation.
As a former crew member of the Pirate King, he knew things others didn't.
And during his decade in Eternal Hell, he had slowly unraveled certain truths.
He once had the chance — long ago — to approach that power himself…
But fear made him hesitate. And he lost it.
> Maybe that kid will do better. He has... that familiar scent.
---
> "Heh. So you're not a complete idiot after all."
The voice returned, and Ace now had no doubts.
> "You're... one of the prisoners in that cage?"
> "Prisoner...?"
A cold snort echoed in his mind.
With it, the temperature dropped sharply.
The air, already thick, became suffocating — like sinking into a swamp.
---
> "Holy hell..."
"What the hell is that guy doing…?"
"I can't... breathe...!"
"Hahaha... this is what I've missed…"
The entire Level Six erupted like a tidal wave.
Weaker inmates collapsed instantly, eyes rolling back.
Even the stronger ones were drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.
---
Douglas Bullet jolted upright, eyes flashing with shock.
He quickly closed them again, trying to feel out the wave of pressure that radiated like deadly radiation.
> So strong... too strong. It's overwhelming. Even resisting the thought of fighting it... feels impossible.
I want to see... what kind of monster you really are...
---
In this hellhole, Ace was far from the strongest.
And under the full brunt of this pressure, his mind went blank — completely overwhelmed.
But somewhere in his blood, something began to stir again.
Something… awakened.
He regained consciousness — but only barely.
It felt like he was a tiny boat in a hurricane — thrown and battered, barely afloat.
Then...
Boom.
A faint, barely audible sound came from within his body — like a spark being lit.
A subtle aura pulsed outward from him.
But it was nothing compared to the monstrous force pressing down on him.
It was shredded instantly.
Splurt—!
Ace vomited blood.
His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, unconscious.
And just like that — the terrifying pressure vanished.
So too did the overwhelming presence throughout Level Six.
---
> "Ugh… I-I can breathe again..."
"What… what was that?!"
"That was insane…"
The prisoners began to speak again, their voices shaky.
---
Douglas Bullet opened his eyes, scoffed, and glanced at the giant cage before closing his eyes once more.
But another man — one who had been watching quietly all this time — said nothing.
Red the Aloof Patrick Redfield, a contemporary of Bullet, frowned deeply.
Because of his unique Devil Fruit powers, he had sensed something... alien from that monstrous aura.
> Whatever's in that cage — it's not human.
---
From within the fog, the ancient being known as Ghidorah had perceived everything that had occurred in Eternal Hell.
He was not surprised.
He simply reached out with his senses, brushing over Ace's unconscious form… and let out a low, rumbling laugh.
> "Heh… so you've awakened Conqueror's Haki, have you?"
Satisfied, he retracted his presence — and the crushing aura went with it.
---
Now that Ace had been imprisoned here, he knew what would come next.
It wouldn't be long before Luffy — that blockhead — came charging in.
And when that happened…
His time would come.
> I'm not of this world, Ghidorah thought to himself.
Or rather — I'm not a creature of this world.
Like many transmigrators, he had come from Earth.
He still wasn't sure if his soul had possessed Ghidorah's body, or if he'd eaten some kind of Zoan-type Devil Fruit — an Ancient Mythical Beast: Titan-Titan Fruit — that turned him into this three-headed monster.
Either way, he had become King Ghidorah.
---
There were no Ultramen here.
No Godzilla to keep him in check.
So here, he was the apex.
Due to his unnatural biology and powers, they couldn't kill him — so they locked him away.
A giant underwater tower was built in the Calm Belt, powered by the sea and sealed with eternal freezing chains.
They named it: Impel Down.
He remembered asking the escaping Golden Lion Shiki to break his chains once — and the bastard had refused.
So here he stayed, sealed for years more.
---
But now… Ace had arrived.
Which meant Luffy wasn't far behind.
And when that idiot smashed the ice, Ghidorah would return.
> Little Imu...
I wonder if your neck is ready yet…