"You heard about it? The Marineford battle…"
"Of course I did! Word is, that legendary pirate, the Golden Lion Shiki, is being transferred here soon."
"Which level are they locking him up in?"
"Hah? Are you stupid? Where else? Level Six—Eternal Hell!"
"Yeah, that tracks…"
Behind the Gates of Justice stood a massive cylindrical fortress—most of it submerged beneath the sea. Two gatekeepers lounged idly at their post, chatting to stave off boredom. One of them was already nodding off.
Clack…
A soft sound of something landing echoed nearby. It was almost imperceptible, but sharp enough to snap one of the guards to full alert.
"What was that sound!?"
"Wha—!!!"
The drowsy guard jolted up with a yelp, fumbling his rifle in a panic. It slipped from his grasp, flipped through the air, and he barely managed to catch it after a few clumsy grabs. He spun toward the source of the noise, eyes wide.
But there was nothing there.
No intruders, no open gates. Everything looked exactly as it had moments ago.
"You idiot, don't mess around like that! Scared the hell out of me."
"I swear I heard footsteps… How could it just be gone?" The guard's doubt lingered, gnawing at him. Had he really imagined it?
Meanwhile, beyond the imposing gates of Impel Down—
A man strolled leisurely through the fortress's outer corridor.
Shirtless, scarred, and carrying a backpack with a long blade slung at his waist, the figure moved with unhurried grace.
It was Ozz—Dotor "Black Gun" Ozz—who had just bypassed the fortress's outer defenses, slipping inside from above using his teleportation ability.
It defied logic.
This was Impel Down, one of the three great fortresses of the World Government. A place where pirates whispered of in dread. A hell from which no one had ever escaped. And yet here he was—one of the most wanted men in the world—wandering the corridors like he owned the place.
"Marineford and Impel Down, checked off the list… At this rate, might as well pay a visit to Enies Lobby too," Ozz mused aloud.
That said, considering how even a fresh rookie like Luffy had managed to break through Enies Lobby, the thought didn't thrill him much. If anything, it'd be more of a sightseeing detour than a challenge.
Still…
This place really was massive.
Even with Ozz's Observation Haki at full range, he could barely survey all of Level One. The place was practically a town unto itself.
But there was no reason for him to linger here.
As he moved forward, he was scanning for the ideal spot to teleport to the lower levels. After all, warping randomly and materializing in the middle of a guards' patrol would be… less than ideal.
Sure, Ozz could wipe out a squad of jailers in seconds. But getting exposed would trigger an endless swarm of enemies. Impel Down was a closed, confined space—if word got out, he could get mobbed by waves of reinforcements.
And that would seriously delay his plans… especially the part where he was supposed to meet up with Captain Roger for a chat.
Let alone the fact that Magellan and other high-level threats were lurking here too.
Tap… tap…
His quiet footsteps barely registered in the cavernous halls, but his presence did not go unnoticed. The prisoners—watchful from within their dark cells—were quick to spot a man who clearly wasn't a jailer or warden, strolling freely through the level.
For a split second, they froze in stunned disbelief.
Then came the outburst—a tidal wave of desperate voices and frenzied pleas.
"Hey! Hey, kid! Please, take me with you!"
"I've got a stash of treasure buried out there—I'll do anything! Just break me out!!"
"You brat! Open this damn door or I'll rip you apart!!!"
Bribes, threats, begging, bargaining—every trick in the book erupted from the cells, the uproar swelling until it threatened to shake the entire prison.
Ozz's face darkened instantly. Jaw tight, eyes flashing.
A black-red electric current crackled into being around him—fierce, oppressive.
"SHUT UP."
Wmmm—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, silence.
The noise died like someone had flipped a switch. The previously howling inmates collapsed one after another, eyes rolled back in their skulls.
They weren't dead. But very much unconscious.
After all, these were Level One grunts—barely worth a bounty. Not a single one of them had even hit the 100 million mark.
Worth noting: even the surveillance Den Den Mushi mounted on the walls keeled over under the pressure of Ozz's Conqueror's Haki, saving him the trouble of disabling them himself.
With an exaggerated sweep of his Observation Haki, Ozz's senses pierced down three layers deep, mapping the prison with precision.
Then—
He vanished.
And reappeared again, deeper within.
Teleporting repeatedly, he made his way through the levels, descending ever closer to his destination.
Even when he occasionally brushed past patrols, Ozz moved with surgical precision—slipping through blind spots, or flattening them in an instant with a focused burst of Conqueror's Haki so dense it was almost tangible.
In this vast, inescapable prison beneath the sea, Dotor Ozz—"Black Gun" and wanted fugitive of the world—was a ghost.
And a ghost cannot be caught.
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