Ignoring the jeers that echoed around him, Magellan sealed Ashveil's cell with heavy iron locks. The warden's expression remained grim, though his shoulders sagged with faint relief. Vice Admiral Yamakaji stood beside him, quietly taking in the atmosphere of Level Six.
"You've seen me embarrass myself, Vice Admiral Yamakaji," Magellan muttered, scratching the back of his head.
Yamakaji shook his head slowly, cigar smoldering at his lips. "It's nothing. After all, this place houses the most dangerous criminals the seas have ever produced." His tone carried both gravity and unease.
Though Yamakaji had served as a Vice Admiral for years, this was his first visit to the underwater prison. The suffocating aura of legendary pirates, bound yet unbroken, was overwhelming. Even locked away for decades, their will remained sharp as blades. It was no wonder they had once terrorized the seas.
Once Magellan and Yamakaji left the floor behind, Ashveil closed his eyes briefly. He began calculating the timing. According to how events were meant to unfold, the Whitebeard Pirates would only appear after Ace was placed upon the execution platform at Marineford. For now, it wasn't yet the moment to act. He had to wait until Vice Admiral Doberman escorted Ace to the scaffold—only then could he coordinate with Whitebeard's forces.
But his thoughts were cut short. The noise of the prison rose around him as the criminals on Level Six grew restless at the sight of a new arrival.
"Hey, brat!" a voice rang out mockingly. It was Avalo Pizarro, the so-called Corrupt King. "What did you do? Don't tell me you robbed a Celestial Dragon to land yourself on this floor?" His grin was sharp, curiosity mingled with scorn.
Others joined in.
"What else could he have done besides stealing?" Catarina Devon sneered, still bitter that the boy had been given Shiki's old cell.
"Hahaha, look at him!" Vasco Shot let out a booming laugh. "Scrawny and weak, yet locked down here among legends. What a joke!"
Ashveil finally opened his eyes, calm and indifferent. "Me? I didn't do much," he said lightly. "I was just caught by the Two Admirals while trying to rescue Ace."
The reaction was immediate. The prison erupted into laughter, the walls vibrating with the sound.
"Ha ha ha! You? Caught by Admirals?" Crocodile's cruel chuckle carried above the rest. "You've no talent but boasting."
Catarina Devon held her stomach, laughing so hard tears nearly fell.
"This is the funniest thing I've heard in all my years down here!" Vasco Shot bellowed.
"Kid, with those twig arms of yours, you expect us to believe two Admirals bothered with you?" Bullet scoffed, folding his massive arms. His contempt was sharp, every word dripping disdain.
But while the others mocked, a pair of eyes inside one of the cells widened in shock.
Ace.
Fire Fist Ace pressed his hands against the bars of his prison, staring intently. This stranger… was he really here to rescue him? The only people Ace could imagine risking such a thing were Luffy, or Pops' crew. But he knew every Whitebeard captain. And this young man wasn't among them.
Could he be a small-time pirate who somehow got mixed in? No, impossible. A weakling could never be thrown into Impel Down's deepest hell.
Confused, Ace spoke. "Are you with the Whitebeard Pirates? Or maybe a friend of Luffy's?"
Ignoring the laughter around them, Ashveil turned toward Ace. His lips curved into the faintest smile. "I am Thorne Ashveil, Zero Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. Pops must have mentioned me."
A hush followed.
Ace froze, his heart pounding. The Zero Division Captain. He had heard rumors, fragments of conversation from Pops himself. A hidden blade of the Whitebeard Pirates, training away from the seas. But… he had imagined someone far older, weathered with age. Not this youth who didn't look more than twenty.
"You… you're that Zero Division Captain who's been in secluded training all these years?" Ace asked in disbelief.
His hands trembled. If Pops' words were true, then the man standing here wasn't a fraud—he was family.
Ashveil gave a quiet nod. "You've been caught because of me, Ace. But don't worry. I came here deliberately." His voice lowered, steady as stone. "Endure a little longer. When the moment comes, I will be the one to free you."
The cell block broke again into raucous laughter.
"Hahahaha! You never quit boasting, brat!" Crocodile spat, his eyes glinting with mockery.
"You can't even save yourself, and yet you talk of saving others?" Vasco Shot sneered.
"You dare call yourself a division captain? What a joke," Catarina Devon added.
Bullet snorted. "Don't be fooled. Do you think this weakling could ever stand as Whitebeard's Zero Division Captain? Ridiculous. Whitebeard once rivaled Roger himself. His crew was filled with monsters, not children pretending at strength."
Yet while the laughter rolled, Redfield—the solitary Red Count—stirred within his shadows. His gaze cut like a blade toward Ashveil, and unlike the others, his eyes carried neither disdain nor disbelief. Instead, there was curiosity.
"Boy," Redfield finally spoke, his voice low and deliberate. "Is what you claim true? If so, tell me… what method do you have to get Ace out of here?"
The jeers faded slightly, replaced by silence and the weight of his question.
Ashveil's answer would decide whether they dismissed him as a fool… or began to watch him closely.
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