"It's all thanks to your care, Admiral," Robin said with a light chuckle. Her mood was genuinely excellent.
Garp chimed in as well, "Alright, alright, why are we just standing here? Look, Magellan is coming..."
Turning around, they saw Magellan leading his subordinates toward them. Diarmuid nodded to Garp, glanced at the wide-eyed, curious Luffy, and followed the others toward the approaching group.
Soon, the two parties met.
"Admiral! Vice Admiral Garp!" Magellan led with a formal greeting.
Technically, Magellan's status was nearly on par with a Marine Admiral since he was the Warden of the Great Prison. More precisely, however, he was equivalent to an Admiral Candidate, a head taller than a Vice Admiral, but not quite at the level of the "Great Three."
Against Diarmuid, he was naturally subordinate. Against Garp, the Navy's legendary "rogue" and Hero whom even the Fleet Admiral couldn't handle for years, Magellan obviously had to show immense respect. As for Vergo and Nico Robin, they were secondary concerns.
"Long time no see, Magellan," Diarmuid smiled.
"How come you're not spitting poison?" Garp asked, sounding surprised. It seemed he and Magellan were actually quite well-acquainted.
Magellan's face twitched. Garp, do you ever think before you speak?
"I can control it for short periods," Magellan replied with an awkward smile.
He was a Paramecia-type Venom-Venom Fruit user. Within the enclosed confines of Impel Down, he could turn the entire fortress into a poison jar in minutes. In this environment, Magellan was essentially invincible. Because Impel Down's intelligence was strictly classified, only a handful of qualified individuals knew the true secrets of his power.
To the outside world, Magellan's abilities were largely unknown. Encountering him for the first time without preparation meant a near-certain instant kill. That poison was terrifyingly potent.
In the original timeline, Teach and his crew had arrogantly stormed Impel Down, only to be wiped out by Magellan before they could even finish their sentence. If not for the traitor Shiryu, that ambitious pirate would have likely met his end right here.
However, while the Venom-Venom Fruit was powerful, it seemed its strength prevented Magellan from fully mastering it even after years of training. One could call it a side effect: his daily life was saturated with toxins—his breath, his sweat, everything. Consequently, most of his subordinates had to wear gas masks when meeting him. If Magellan couldn't hold back a single fart, half the staff might drop dead.
After a few pleasantries, Magellan began leading the group into the prison, asking about the purpose of their visit.
"What brings you all here this time?" Magellan inquired.
"Hahaha, don't worry, we won't make things difficult for you. I have an official order from Headquarters," Garp said boisterously, pulling a document from his suit pocket.
Impel Down was a place where even ordinary Vice Admirals rarely had the authority to set foot; Diarmuid himself hadn't entered formally during his years as a Vice Admiral at G-7. Only an order from the Fleet Admiral or the presence of an Admiral allowed entry.
Magellan waved the document away without looking. "Vice Admiral Garp, you misunderstand. With the Admiral here, Impel Down will naturally cooperate with your actions. I was simply curious about your business."
If Diarmuid hadn't been there, he might have checked the papers. But with a "big shot" present, why bother with the extra paperwork?
Diarmuid smiled and said, "First, we're here to see two 'old friends.' Vice Admiral Robin, you have the pardon, right?"
Robin nodded. "I do."
She was slightly puzzled, however. Two old friends? Her mother, Olvia, certainly qualified. Diarmuid had suppressed her years ago after she escaped Marineford with Saul. She was a key reason for this trip, as she was finally being released. As a core member of the Admiral's faction, it was time to welcome her mother back.
But who was the other one?
As Robin wondered, Garp's expression turned somewhat sentimental. "How is Rosinante doing?"
Indeed, besides Olvia, another special individual was held here: Donquixote Rosinante. The main reason Garp had secured the order from Sengoku was that the Fleet Admiral had specifically asked him to check on Rosinante. Sengoku had been worried that if Garp arrived ahead of Diarmuid, he wouldn't be able to get in, which would be awkward.
Ever since the Minion Island incident, which led to then-Admiral Sengoku's mission failure and the World Government's loss of the Ope Ope no Mi, Doflamingo had been left frustrated. Fortunately, Diarmuid arrived in time to save Rosinante's life. Ultimately, Rosinante was sentenced to life imprisonment in Impel Down.
Of course, he was a "Silver Spoon" second-generation official. His foster father, Sengoku, treated him like a real son. Now that his "dad" was the Fleet Admiral, far more influential than when Rosinante was first imprisoned, he was naturally protected from above.
Thus, despite being a prisoner, his life in Impel Down was no worse than Olvia's. Since Sengoku became Fleet Admiral, he had repeatedly worked behind the scenes to reduce Rosinante's sentence. It had already been commuted from life to a ten-year fixed term. It proved that even in a relatively upright organization like the Marines, "connections" were a reality that couldn't be changed.
Hearing Garp's question, Robin finally realized. Rosinante... I've heard of him.
Magellan certainly knew who Rosinante was; otherwise, he wouldn't have looked after him so well. In fact, Magellan and Rosinante had become good friends. While Rosinante could be a bit over-idealistic, he was a gentle, kind, and positive person. Magellan, stuck in the gloomy atmosphere of the prison all day, often sought Rosinante out for a chat when he was feeling down. Rosinante's "chicken soup for the soul" was surprisingly effective!
Even Magellan's deputy, Hannyabal, was quite fond of the guy.
"He's doing great," Magellan said with a smile. "Rest assured, Vice Admiral Garp, young Rosinante is very popular here..."
Garp didn't overthink it. Reassured, he said, "He's a good lad. He was just a bit too reckless back then..." Garp knew that once Sengoku officially moved against Mariejois, Rosinante would definitely be released. The imprisonment was mostly a show for the World Government.
Diarmuid, however, felt a sudden chill. It wasn't that he had a dirty mind, but hearing that a man was "very popular" in a prison... he couldn't help but think of the "dropping the soap" stereotypes. [1]
After talking a bit more, they officially entered the depths of the prison. Diarmuid realized that although he had visited often, this was effectively his first time entering through the front door in such a formal capacity.
Once the topic of Olvia and Rosinante settled, Diarmuid turned to Magellan. "By the way, Magellan, the prison isn't very crowded these days, is it? Most of the remaining prisoners are Ability Users?"
Magellan nodded. "Correct. Ability Users are difficult to manage and prone to causing trouble in the Calm Belt mines, so we've kept them all locked up here."
"How many are there?" Diarmuid asked.
Magellan paused. Admiral, even as the Warden, I can't give you an exact headcount off the top of my head. Who memorizes that?
Seeing his predicament, Diarmuid chuckled. "I've put you on the spot. How about this: while we go see Olvia and Rosinante, have someone compile a roster of all the Ability Users for me. Be sure to note their specific powers, alright?"
Diarmuid spoke in a conversational tone, but Magellan wouldn't dream of "negotiating" with his superior. Though he didn't know why the Admiral wanted to study the prisoners' powers, he quickly replied, "Understood. I will have it prepared."
Impel Down did maintain such a roster; it was essential for management.
"Good. Much appreciated," Diarmuid said with a nod of satisfaction.
After giving Magellan his instructions, Diarmuid added, "One more thing. I heard Impel Down has an expert named Shiryu? Known as part of the 'Twin Walls of Impel Down' alongside you?"
At the mention of Shiryu, Magellan's face darkened with embarrassment. "We do. Does the Admiral wish to see him?"
"No need, just curious. What happened? Is something wrong?"
"You could say that," Magellan said with a sigh. "Shiryu was our Head Jailer, but not long ago, I had him arrested and imprisoned. He has been relieved of his duties."
"Oh? What for?" Garp asked, sounding interested. Since Impel Down was so secretive, everyone enjoyed a bit of prison gossip, Robin included.
"The man is brutal. He kept slaughtering prisoners without cause, creating a terrible atmosphere. Given the current 'special' environment of Impel Down, I couldn't let him run wild," Magellan explained.
Magellan clearly didn't want to dwell on the prison's internal embarrassments, but Diarmuid already understood the gist. Shiryu was a bloodthirsty sadist. Normally, that wouldn't be a huge issue, Impel Down was full of bastards, after all, and Diarmuid wasn't one to fuss over humanitarianism for criminals.
The problem was that Impel Down was now largely devoid of "ordinary" people; it was mostly filled with Ability Users. Shiryu couldn't just go to Level 6 and start a slaughter, so when he got the itch, he would secretly kill off the Ability Users.
One of Impel Down's functions was to keep these abilities locked away so they wouldn't circulate back into the world and cause chaos. Magellan had tolerated it once or twice, cleaning up after him, but as Shiryu became more brazen, Magellan snapped. As the Warden, Magellan held absolute authority within the prison's closed system. He could even order the execution of every prisoner if he chose.
Frustrated by the trouble Shiryu was causing, Magellan simply turned Shiryu into a prisoner himself. Oh, you love killing prisoners? Why don't you try being one and see if you feel like killing yourself!
[1] "Dropping a soap" is a meme/joke referring to a well-known prison rape stereotype — the idea that if someone drops soap in the shower, they might get sexually assaulted from behind.