When Souta Kiryuu's crewmate — the legendary musician Brook — offered his quiet advice, Redfield fell into a long, uneasy silence.
Back in his youth, it was his admiration for Brook that had first planted the seed of adventure in his heart. Brook's song "Binks' Sake" had awakened in him a deep yearning for freedom — a longing for the vast, untamed sea.
Redfield had once been a refined and elegant nobleman, but fate had dealt him a cruel hand. A tragedy beyond his control had driven him from the world of nobility into the life of a pirate.
Yet when he finally set sail, he learned that the so-called "freedom" of pirates was nothing like the dream he had imagined — and certainly nothing like the joyful harmony of the Rumbar Pirates.
He witnessed betrayal after betrayal, corruption and cruelty beyond measure. And with his innate gift — a mind-reading Observation Haki — his disgust for humanity grew deeper. Over time, he turned into a loner, a pirate who trusted no one but himself.
Through countless life-and-death battles, Redfield's strength had evolved far beyond the ordinary. He honed his swordsmanship, his physical prowess, his Armament Haki — and eventually awakened his own Conqueror's Haki.
He fought legends and lived to tell the tale. Against pirate kings like Roger, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion, he had pushed himself to master the very art of Conqueror's Haki infusion. His power had reached the level where he could stand toe-to-toe with the Roger Pirates or the Whitebeard Pirates — even defeating the Navy's former Fleet Admiral, Steel Bone Kong, in a duel.
How could a man like that ever submit to another's command?
The young noble who once idolized Brook was long gone. Redfield had lived through experiences more vivid, more tragic, and more glorious than even Brook himself.
He had his own beliefs — his own will. No simple piece of advice could ever make him surrender his pride.
"Brook… you don't have to worry about me," Redfield said quietly. "But it truly brings me joy to see you again. If there's a chance, I'd love to hear you sing 'Binks' Sake' one more time."
He didn't intend to take Brook's advice. Instead, he hoped to strike a different bargain — one that would make Souta Kiryuu let him go. Joining another's crew, especially that of a brash upstart like Kiryuu, wasn't something he could stomach.
"Yohohoho~ Then I hope you'll have a good chat with Captain Kiryuu," Brook chuckled, raising his violin. "But I can sing for you right now."
With that, the skeletal musician began to play, his haunting melody echoing across the deck of the Ark Testament.
Kiryuu didn't seem particularly concerned about Redfield or the others. To him, having them was a bonus — losing them, no great loss. He had the Seraphim Project as his backup plan, after all.
With their current cloning technology, it would take only a few years to cultivate a new generation of Seraphim warriors — powerful enough to one day overthrow the World Government itself.
For now, his attention was elsewhere. He ordered Violet to use her Gaze Fruit ability to keep watch for the massive celestial bird that had been chasing them. The last thing Kiryuu wanted was for their sky island to become the next target of the Government's investigations.
Still, he knew their secret wouldn't last forever. The World Government already knew about the existence of several sky islands. Back when Vegapunk was under their control, he had conducted extensive research into the "island clouds" — even experimenting with artificial sky islands.
If Kiryuu hadn't snatched Vegapunk away, that genius might have already created a small artificial sky island above Egghead Island to house his massive brain — the Punk Records.
'Looks like establishing a lunar base isn't optional anymore,' Kiryuu thought grimly.
He had already ordered Vegapunk to begin preparations for a laboratory on the moon — a fallback stronghold, just in case their sky base was ever discovered. After all, a clever fox digs three burrows — and only a fool keeps all his eggs in one basket.
Even the Revolutionary Army had multiple bases: their main headquarters in the White Earth Island of Baltigo, and another in the pleasure kingdom of Kamabakka. If trouble ever struck, they could relocate instantly and avoid total destruction.
Meanwhile, back at Impel Down…
The celestial beast — a monstrous bird known as the Yatsuhara Tengu — arrived far ahead of the Navy fleet. In truth, it was the transformed form of Saint Marcus Mars.
When Mars saw the horde of zombies waving the crimson dragon banner of Kiryuu's crew, rage exploded within him. With a furious flap of his wings, he unleashed countless wind blades, slicing the undead to ribbons — even the zombie dressed as a Celestial Dragon wasn't spared.
Circling high above, he searched for Kiryuu's floating fleet — desperate to destroy the ship capable of generating the thunder cage that once blocked his signal. He would never again allow himself to be trapped and isolated like before.
Landing on the ruined prison, Mars reverted to human form, his Observation Haki expanded to its fullest. Before entering, he summoned another of the Five Elders — Saint Peter of the Desert Worm — to join him. Together, they charged inside.
What they found horrified them. Prison guards and beasts lay strewn across the floors. When Peter's sandworm form dove into the lower levels, he discovered that the sixth level — the Eternal Hell — was completely empty.
Even the fifth and fourth levels had been mostly cleared out. His face darkened.
"This is bad," he muttered grimly. "If Souta Kiryuu has recruited those monsters, the Arlong Pirates will become unstoppable."
The inmates of Level 6 alone were stronger than most of the Emperor crews combined. United, they could wage war against Marineford itself.
Right now, Kiryuu's crew already rivaled — no, surpassed — the power of any Yonko fleet. With the addition of these prisoners, they could crush the rest of the New World and reign supreme.
"This… this is catastrophic!" Peter hissed, his voice shaking slightly. For the first time in centuries, a Celestial Dragon felt true fear — the kind that only a lower-world mortal could inspire.
If Lord Im learned that after the destruction of Enies Lobby, even Impel Down had fallen to Souta Kiryuu… the punishment awaiting them would be unimaginable.
Since Kiryuu's rise, the World Government and the Celestial Dragons had suffered blow after blow — losses unseen in over eight hundred years.
Some of them had begun whispering the unthinkable — could Souta Kiryuu be the new Sun God? The new Drum of Liberation?
But no. Souta Kiryuu was no mythical savior. He was merely a man-made experiment who had eaten the Artificial Azure Dragon Fruit — not the Nika Fruit, not a descendant of the D-Clan.
"Report this to Saint Volcuri," Mars ordered coldly. His voice was tight with frustration. Every time Souta Kiryuu acted, he left chaos in his wake — chaos that even the Five Elders could barely contain.
If the news of Impel Down's fall reached Morgans, that vulture of a reporter, the World Government's reputation would be shattered beyond repair.
"Can we still track them?" Peter asked, clutching his Den Den Mushi as he tried to connect with Mariejois. "They took too many prisoners. Their trail shouldn't be hard to follow."
"They're long gone," Mars replied bitterly. "I searched the entire sea on my way here — not a single trace."
Kiryuu's fleet was like smoke — slippery and silent.
He suspected someone among them possessed a Devil Fruit ability that allowed them to sense incoming threats — which would explain why they always managed to flee before being cornered.
Perhaps even the exposure of the Divine-Demon Island had been caused by that very same ability.