Impel Down, Level Three Underground.

Hunger Hell.

The air was scorching, so hot it felt suffocating. Every breath burned like inhaling embers straight into the lungs, each one a stab of discomfort.

Hunger Hell was located on the third underground level, directly above the blazing inferno that was Level Four. The heat rising from below made this entire floor unbearably stifling.

As Daren walked through the dim prison corridors of Impel Down, he studied his surroundings with genuine curiosity. Behind him, Magellan was already drenched in sweat.

What Daren had told Sengoku earlier wasn't entirely a fabrication. During his time as a Marine, he had indeed never held any position in Impel Down—nor had he ever set foot inside this deep-sea prison.

The reason was simple.

Impel Down existed to hold criminals.

And as for pirates who ended up in Daren's sights—well, they only had two possible fates: either they were killed on the spot or recruited into his ranks. There was never a third option.

So, naturally, the process of capturing pirates alive and escorting them to Impel Down had never been necessary for him.

It saved quite a bit of effort, really.

"Damn it..."

"Let me out! I'll tear Garp's head off myself..."

"Where's Zephyr? That bastard can't be dead yet... Damn it, he beat me but didn't have the guts to finish me off..."

"Hey, kid, nice outfit you've got there. Why don't you come in and play with me for a bit?"

"Hahahaha! Kid, just let me out, and all the treasure I buried in the South Blue is yours! You'll have more gold and silver than you can count!"

"..."

Raspy curses and crazed laughter echoed from every direction, swirling through the darkness like a chorus of ghosts. The dim cells were shrouded in shadow, shapes twisting faintly within.

But despite how sinister those voices sounded, a closer look revealed the truth: most of the prisoners were withered and skeletal, little more than mummified husks lying half-dead in their cells.

After days of starvation and dehydration—and with the unbearable heat draining what little strength remained—they could barely lift a finger. None of them posed even the slightest threat.

"Warden... um, Warden Wayne, what brings you to Impel Down this time?"

Magellan wiped the sweat from his forehead, shaking it off casually.

Unfortunately, a few drops splattered onto a nearby prisoner. The moment the sweat touched him, the man convulsed violently, his face turning purple-black as foam spilled from his mouth.

The sight made Daren's mouth twitch uncontrollably.

It was clear that Magellan's Doku Doku no Mi abilities had grown considerably stronger since their last meeting.

"I'm here to challenge the ones imprisoned on the sixth level."

Lighting a cigar, Daren descended the staircase leading toward the fourth underground level.

"The sixth level?"

Magellan froze. Then realization struck him, and his eyes went wide with shock.

"There really is a sixth underground level in Impel Down!?"

According to official records, Impel Down—known as the "Great Undersea Prison"—had only five underground levels beneath its sea-level entrance.

As for the so-called "Sixth Level – Eternal Hell," it had always been dismissed as nothing more than rumor.

"Yes, it exists."

Daren smiled and nodded.

The moment they stepped onto the fourth underground level—Scorching Hell—a suffocating wave of heat slammed into them.

The entire landscape glowed a deep crimson, and tongues of flame licked through the cracks in the stone floor. The air temperature easily reached seventy degrees Celsius, but Daren remained calm and composed as he spoke:

"The Sixth Level—Eternal Hell—is where the world's most heinous criminals are imprisoned. For example, 'Red the Aloof' Patrick Redfield, who was defeated by Fleet Admiral Kong and Vice Admiral Garp, is currently confined there."

Magellan couldn't help but inhale sharply. For a brief moment, it felt as if the ground beneath his feet had become far more dangerous.

A legendary Great Pirate—locked up in the same prison as him!?

"So, to put it another way, if I were captured by the Government or the Marines, logically speaking, I should be imprisoned in Eternal Hell too..."

Daren chuckled.

"Of course, the more likely outcome would be a public execution."

Magellan: "..."

You think you're funny?

He fell silent for a moment, then cautiously asked,

"How exactly do you plan to challenge them? If Eternal Hell truly exists, the world-class criminals held there must each be confined to isolated cells. You could challenge them one by one. If necessary, I can request the keys from the Chief Warden."

"—No need."

Daren waved his hand dismissively, catching Magellan off guard.

As they spoke, the two had already passed through the scorching inferno of the fourth underground level and entered the fifth—Frozen Hell.

The air grew frigid at an alarming rate.

An endless expanse of white stretched before them, the entire prison seemingly buried beneath layers of frost and snow. The extreme temperature difference had turned Magellan's face bright red and cracked from the cold.

Daren quickened his pace. In less than two minutes, they reached the end of the Frozen Hell, where his figure came to a halt before a massive, reinforced door.

"It actually exists..."

Magellan stared at the gate, awe and disbelief flickering across his face.

Under the influence of his Observation Haki, he could faintly sense waves of terrifying, violent, and feral energy emanating from behind the door. It felt like the entrance to a true hell, where countless monstrous demons lay imprisoned.

Meanwhile, an unmistakable spark of excitement appeared on Daren's face.

For as long as he could remember, he had been deeply intrigued by this so-called "world's greatest prison." Back during his days stationed in the North Blue, he had even considered applying for a transfer to Impel Down after stepping down as North Blue Admiral.

After all, at that time, Daren's strength was still in its rapid growth phase. He had imagined that if he could come to Impel Down to "train," starting from the first underground level and battling his way down to the sixth, by the time he cleared the final level—the "Eternal Hell"—he would officially "graduate" from the prison.

A real man conquers all six levels!

By the time he reached the bottom, attaining Admiral-level combat power would be inevitable... And if there happened to be some ancient, reclusive powerhouse locked away in the sixth level, perhaps that encounter could even bring him an unexpected opportunity—a leap straight into legendary-level strength.

Of course, that had just been his old ambition.

Even Daren hadn't expected that a single transfer order from Marine Headquarters would place him directly into the officer training camp at Marineford.

Then one event had followed another, and before he knew it, he was already knee-deep in blood on the island of Philseque.

Now, at last, he had found his chance—entering Impel Down under the pretense of attending the World Government's inauguration ceremony for the leader of the God's Knights.

But for the man he was now, conquering anything short of the Eternal Hell held no meaning.

"Not a single one will be spared..."

His eyes gleamed as he raised his hand.

Blue arcs of lightning crackled across his fingertips, the door's massive lock shattering in an instant. The reinforced gate groaned loudly... and began to open, inch by inch!

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