Magellan was shivering.

After using every ounce of strength to slam shut the massive door leading to the fifth underground level, he pressed himself flat against the wall, his eyes darting nervously around the prison shrouded in darkness.

In the shadows, something seemed to be awakening. One by one, pairs of ghostly green eyes flickered to life like the eyes of hungry wolves.

Heavy, ragged breathing echoed through the damp, suffocating space, growing louder and more distinct with every passing second.

He felt his legs trembling uncontrollably, every pore on his body standing on end.

Dar... Daren-sensei, are you serious?

He really intended to take on every hardened criminal in this Eternal Hell by himself?

This had to be a joke.

These were not just any prisoners—they were all monsters, the worst of the worst.

Even after years of imprisonment in Impel Down, with their bodies weakened from neglect and malnutrition, they were still a pack of bloodthirsty demons who had once struck fear across the seas.

"In this situation, even Admiral Sengoku or Vice Admiral Garp wouldn't be able to hold them back," Magellan muttered, his teeth chattering as waves of killing intent rolled through the air.

His stomach churned with dread. But when his gaze shifted toward the dark-haired youth standing before him, an inexplicable sense of security welled up from deep within his chest.

...

Eternal Hell fell into a chilling silence.

The world itself felt like a tomb, burying all traces of human emotion.

Redfield smiled.

His thin, bony fingers slowly rotated the blood-red umbrella in his grasp, and the long-dormant fire within his heart flared to life once more.

"You've got more guts than that bastard Garp," he said with a faint smile.

Daren shrugged, about to respond, when a deafening explosion suddenly ripped through the silence.

With a thunderous "BOOM," an iron door on the left was violently kicked off its hinges, hurtling toward Daren with tremendous force.

But before the twisted metal could touch him, it abruptly split into two halves, passing harmlessly by on either side. They slammed into the wall behind him, embedding themselves deep into the stone.

Dust and debris rained down as smoke filled the air.

A towering, bearded figure burst from the cell like a cannonball, eyes bloodshot and face twisted with savage fury as he charged at Daren.

"Hahahaha! Why waste time talking? Let's all strike together and kill this arrogant brat! Then we can finally escape this hellhole!"

The man's deranged laughter echoed through the chamber as he raised his massive right arm, muscles bulging, veins standing out like cords.

"Riki..."

A visible vortex of air swirled around his fist, the sheer concentration of strength radiating from it palpable even from afar.

"It's 'Brute Strength' Saka!"

"He couldn't hold back and made the first move!"

"I heard it took thousands of Marines to capture him back then, and he still managed to sink over a dozen warships!"

"His brute strength rivals even that of the Giant Race!"

"..."

Shocked murmurs rippled through the rows of cells. Every prisoner's eyes locked on the massive figure, terrified to miss a single instant of what was about to unfold.

A Paramecia-type, Riki Riki no Mi user!

His Devil Fruit granted him unimaginable physical power—so great that he could lift an entire mountain with one hand!

"Hahahaha! Don't blame me for attacking first... Let me show you the power that crushed warships with my bare fists!"

"Brute Strength" Saka roared with laughter, his eyes burning red as he imagined the arrogant brat before him reduced to a mist of blood.

Those so-called feats—tearing apart a member of the Five Elders or slaying the commander of the God's Knights single-handedly—might sound impressive, but to battle-hardened killers like them, they meant nothing.

After all, figures like the Five Elders or the God's Knights' commander were far too distant from their world.

They were blood-soaked criminals who believed that true strength was proven only in the heat of combat.

And so, the moment his Seastone shackles hit the ground, Saka struck without hesitation.

Rogers Daren? When I was rampaging across the New World, you were still sucking milk in the North Blue!

"Just do it!"

"Riki... Giant Punch!"

In that instant, as countless thoughts raced through his mind, Saka's fist came crashing down like the hammer of a giant!

Wrapped in Armament Haki, the blow pressed down so hard that the very air seemed to scream under its weight—the sheer power of it was beyond imagination.

BAM!!

The fist, wrapped in spiraling shockwaves, smashed straight into Daren's face. The explosive force of the impact sent a roaring gale through the prison, whipping Daren's hair and cloak wildly in the wind.

Yet "Brute Strength" Saka's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpoints, as if he'd just witnessed something utterly impossible.

The other prisoners, too, stared wide-eyed in frozen disbelief.

That black-haired brat...

Even after taking a full-force punch, amplified by the power of the Riki Riki no Mi—he hadn't moved an inch!

The skin on his cheek rippled faintly under the impact, but that was all. He stood there without expression, completely still, not even taking a single step back.

Crackle...

Beneath the dark-haired youth's feet, deep cracks split across the hardened stone floor, scattering bits of gravel into the air.

"Th-th-this..."

A chill as cold as death shot up from the soles of Saka's feet, racing up his spine and flooding his head. He stood frozen in place, his heart pounding and scalp tingling with horror.

Because he saw it—

Daren frowned slightly, his face unreadable.

That look... it was like a teacher disappointed by a student's poor performance.

"I know the food here isn't great," Daren said quietly, his eyes shifting toward Saka. "But surely you're not that malnourished?"

His gaze, calm yet sharp, landed squarely on Saka's face.

"So this is the power of the Riki Riki no Mi?"

For some reason, the moment Daren's displeased eyes fell on him, Saka's entire body trembled violently.

"You bastard...!"

He gritted his teeth, forcing down the rising dread in his chest, and once again threw his full weight into a punch!

Thud!

The blow landed squarely on Daren's chest. Saka was certain that even a mountain would have shattered under that strike.

Yet Daren remained completely unmoved.

He didn't even bother to dodge—or defend.

He simply stood there, as though Saka's punch had never connected at all.

Silence filled the prison once again.

A single bead of cold sweat rolled down Saka's forehead.

The restless murmurs among the hundreds of prisoners instantly died down, smothered into stillness.

The air was so quiet that even breathing sounded forced.

"The strength of a giant... isn't used like that."

Daren smiled faintly.

Drip.

The cold sweat on Saka's cheek finally fell to the ground.

And then—

He watched in terror as a hand with sharp, defined knuckles—carrying a power that filled him with despair—suddenly expanded in his vision, closing in fast.

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