Sensing the atmosphere suddenly turn heavy, Hannyabal let out a shrill yelp.
"Oops! I think my ambition slipped out a little! Deputy Warden—
no, I mean Warden—don't misunderstand, I—"
"Enough!"
Yalvis's thunderous roar exploded through the room, and the spray of saliva drenched Hannyabal like rainfall.
"I'm doomed… This time he's really going to strip me down to the bone!"
Standing before the giant-sized Yalvis, Hannyabal felt as helpless as a newborn chick.
What position will he throw me into? Will Magellan take revenge and make me scrub the toilets for him?
Because Longinus was an outsider, Yalvis refrained from settling scores on the spot.
He forcibly suppressed his fury, mentally jotting another mark into his little black notebook for future punishment.
"Jin. What about you? What's your proposal?"
"How about I arrange a rotating exhibition?"
Jin spoke with barely contained excitement.
"I will demonstrate my perfect interrogation techniques before all prisoners… using the bodies of those escaped pirates as examples."
"If those prisoners were given to you, who knows what would happen?"
Magellan couldn't help letting out a cold snort.
"Magellan… Are you doubting—"
Jin paused, eyes narrowing with hidden sharpness.
"—my interrogation skills?"
A chill ran down Magellan's spine.
Damn! Did he notice?
Seeing Magellan's momentary panic, Shiryu's eyes also narrowed.
"These two… something's off with both of them."
Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, Longinus spoke at the perfect moment.
"Chief Warden Yalvis, allow me to interrupt."
"Oh? Major Longinus, do you have a suggestion?"
"My idea is to identify every pirate who has concealed their true abilities."
"Heh."
Jin let out a scornful laugh.
"And here I thought you had something impressive to say. That is your suggestion? Absurd."
Magellan, who now regarded Longinus as a close friend, was instantly enraged and ready to slam the table.
But Longinus raised a hand to stop him.
"Patience. Let the Head Jailer finish."
"Magellan, since when does the Deputy Warden of Impel Down take orders from a mere Marine Major?"
Jin mocked, then continued,
"If we could identify those hiding their abilities, we would've done it already. Do you even know how many inmates this prison holds?"
"Let me tell you—153,672."
"With that many prisoners, examining them one by one would not only take years, it would create more chaos than it prevents."
"So yes—your suggestion is meaningless.
Of course, if Major Longinus is willing to spend a few years helping us inspect them personally, then I might take back what I said."
Jin's sharp gaze stabbed toward Longinus, but Longinus remained perfectly calm.
"It seems you misunderstood me, Head Jailer Jin. I never said I would use the same method you described."
He looked toward the Chief Warden.
"If Chief Yalvis is willing to trust me, give me two weeks.
I will identify every pirate hiding their true abilities."
"Two weeks?"
Yalvis blinked in shock.
"Isn't that too tight? If you believe you have the ability, then forget two weeks—even two months would be reasonable. After all, this is our prison's responsibility."
"Two weeks is enough."
"…Very well. Then Major Longinus will temporarily assume the position of Chief Guard Captain.
This will make it easier for you to proceed with your investigation."
Yalvis nodded in satisfaction.
After the meeting ended, Magellan found Longinus privately, speaking with embarrassment.
"It's all my fault. My acting was too sloppy… Jin must've noticed.
You had to jump in with that proposal just to divert his suspicion."
Longinus took a deep breath.
Acting? You call that acting?
Still—this wasn't bad.
Since Jin was already suspicious, a little more pressure would force both him and his hidden ally to act sooner.
Longinus said calmly,
"Don't worry. For me, identifying the targets among the prisoners isn't that difficult."
Seeing Magellan's puzzled expression, Longinus smiled.
"My Observation Haki can listen to the hearts of others."
"H-Hiss! That's impossible!"
Magellan's eyes widened.
"I know top-level Observation Haki can seem like mind-reading, but that's just predicting behavior from subtle cues. You can't literally hear someone's inner voice!"
Magellan then suddenly gasped.
"Don't tell me—this is the legendary ability the Pirate King Roger had!
The Voice of All Things?!"
Seeing Magellan's horrified admiration grow out of control, Longinus hurried to clarify.
"I can only hear someone's thoughts when they're completely unguarded.
At best, it's a special form of Observation Haki—not remotely comparable to the Pirate King's ability to communicate with all things."
"Besides, from what I know, the mermaid Princess Otohime from Fish-Man Island also has a similar ability."
"Is… that so?"
Magellan nodded slowly, then sighed in admiration.
"Even so, Brother Longinus, that's incredible.
Actually—wait, this reminds me! On Level Six—Infinite Hell—there's a pirate with the same Observation skill as you!"
Longinus asked with feigned curiosity,
"Someone who can be called a 'great pirate'… Who is he?"
"Some say he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Whitebeard and Roger alone.
That may be exaggerated, but it proves his strength is absolutely top-tier."
Magellan spoke solemnly.
"He is—Redfield the Red Count, Baroric Redfield!"
"A monster who can be compared with Whitebeard and Roger…
He certainly deserves the title of 'great pirate.'"
Longinus nodded.
Then Magellan suddenly gasped.
"Wait—so when you saw through that Mimesis Fruit user at a glance,
it was because of this special Observation Haki?
No wonder!
No wonder you said you saw confusion in his eyes! I only saw eye gunk!"
Longinus's mouth twitched.
Your reaction time is something else…
Magellan grew excited again.
"So does that mean—you just need to walk through the prison once, and you'll find the pirate cooperating with Jin?"
Longinus shook his head.
"It won't be that easy. If that pirate can silently control so many prisoners, then his Devil Fruit must operate on the soul level. It may interfere with my perception."
"But don't worry.
As long as I eliminate his puppets one by one…
he'll eventually be forced to show himself."
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