"Shiryu of the Rain...?"
Hawk turned his head.
A tall figure was leaning against the corner of the cell.
Even locked behind iron bars, the bloodlust rolling off him had not diminished in the slightest.
"Marine boy, you know who I am?"
The man lifted his head, revealing a face twisted into a wicked grin.
"Good. That makes things simple. How about letting me join that slaughter party happening upstairs?"
Silence.
The name surfaced instantly in Hawk's mind.
The former chief jailer of Impel Down, a pureborn killer.
If he had merely been bloodthirsty, merely enjoyed torturing criminals, Hawk would have welcomed him. G-3 needed executioners like that.
But Shiryu did not distinguish between friend and foe. He ignored his duties and felt no guilt about falling from an enforcer of law into a pirate.
Hawk did not need a subordinate without discipline.
He withdrew his gaze and continued walking deeper into the prison.
Level Six, Eternal Hell, held not only the individuals who would one day join Blackbeard's crew, but many pirates spoken of only in legend.
The Crimson King, Baroric Redfield.
The Demon Heir, Douglas Bullet.
The World Destroyer, Byrnndi World.
And many more.
Hawk's target this time was clear.
Douglas Bullet.
A former member of the Pirate King's crew. A monster who had refined his physical combat and Haki to the absolute extreme.
He was still in his prime and at the peak of his strength.
The perfect whetstone for Hawk at this stage.
Hawk needed a fierce battle to fuse his recently skyrocketing power and prepare himself to awaken Conqueror's Haki infusion.
Based on his calculations, by the time he left Impel Down, the Justice Points he had accumulated would be enough to raise his Conqueror's Haki to the highest level.
That would be his first million Justice Points.
And after that...
He would join the War of the Best, and claim the second million from the Whitebeard Pirates.
Then he would raise his physique to the very pinnacle of this world.
Just then, a crisp metallic click echoed through the darkness.
Shiryu stepped out of the now open cell, looking straight at Hawk.
His expression twisted into playful cruelty, eyes filled with sadism.
"As the chief jailer, leaving myself a way out is only natural."
"I didn't plan to come out so soon, but the sounds coming from above are just too delightful."
He licked his lips, greedily inhaling the scent of blood drifting through the air.
"Let me join you. I promise I will kill faster and more brutally than your Marines."
"No need."
Hawk's voice was calm, untouched.
"Oh? No deal? That is unfortunate."
Shiryu's grin grew sharper.
"Rear Admiral, it seems you still don't understand the situation."
He pointed at himself, then at Hawk.
"You see, I have never heard a Marine Rear Admiral scream before."
Shiryu raised his master key high, face warping into madness.
"How about this! I'll release everyone here, and we can all play. We can all slaughter each other. How does that sound?"
"Who agrees?"
Silence.
A massive figure, towering like a mountain, had appeared behind Hawk without a sound.
Dense violet poison mist curled around his body, the very air sizzling as it corroded.
"Whose screams did you want to hear, Shiryu?"
The manic grin on Shiryu's face froze.
He turned stiffly, pupils shrinking.
"Magellan?"
"Rear Admiral Hawk, how shall we deal with him?"
Magellan ignored Shiryu's shock entirely. He looked only at Hawk.
Every watching gaze throughout Eternal Hell froze.
The ruler of Impel Down, Magellan, speaking to a Marine Rear Admiral with respect?
"Leave him gravely injured."
"His swordsmanship is decent. Zoro can use him as a sharpening stone."
Magellan nodded slowly.
"Venom Dragon."
His low voice rumbled, and three colossal dragons of concentrated poison roared into existence, surging forward.
The dragon heads twisted with ferocity, toxic vapors boiling as they swallowed Shiryu whole.
"Aaaahhh!"
Shiryu's screams shook all of Eternal Hell.
Magellan controlled the venom with precise mastery.
Enough to make him suffer as if in hell, yet not destroy tendon or bone.
After all, Rear Admiral Hawk had said this man was for his subordinate to sharpen himself against.
A broken whetstone had no value.
Hawk ignored the chaos behind him and walked to a particular cell. He spoke calmly to the figure inside.
"Douglas Bullet. Interested in a fight?"
Inside, a scar-covered, muscle-bound man was pushing himself through brutal self-training, sweat soaking the floor.
Bullet did not respond. He continued training, as if the outside world did not exist.
"Beat me, and I will let you out."
Silence.
All of Eternal Hell fell still.
Every legendary pirate imprisoned here turned their gaze in unison.
Their eyes were filled with disbelief, shock, and a spark of madness that had long been extinguished.
Could they really get out?
Bullet slowly stopped his training.
He turned, looked at Hawk, then at Magellan who stood silently behind him.
"Can you make that decision?"
"Magellan alone is not enough."
His voice was hoarse and metallic, like steel grinding against steel.
He had trained in this isolated prison for twenty years.
Every moment, he thought about how to surpass that man, surpass Roger.
Eventually he reached his answer.
He would become the strongest in the world, stronger than Roger.
The only proof was to kill every powerhouse alive, including the Four Emperors and the Marine Admirals.
Now, he had refined his strength to the absolute limit. All he lacked was the chance to walk out.
This young Marine Rear Admiral dared to offer him one.
If he could walk free, the seas would tremble at his return.
Hawk did not answer.
He removed his Justice coat and tossed it back to Zoro.
Zoro hurried to catch it.
Then, under the watch of Bullet and every prisoner, Hawk calmly rolled up his sleeves, revealing forearms defined with explosive power.
From inside his suit, he drew something out.
A golden Den Den Mushi.
He set it down on an empty platform with a clear click.
Then a second.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
Four golden Den Den Mushi gleamed like miniature suns, banishing the darkness of Eternal Hell.
Each one symbolized the highest military authority in the Marines.
Each one represented the will of a Marine powerhouse.
Sengoku the Buddha.
Sakazuki.
Kuzan.
Borsalino.
Four Buster Call authorizations gathered in one place.
Hawk looked calmly into the cell at the man who had gone completely still.
"So, do you think I have the authority?"
"Right here. As long as you do not threaten Impel Down, defeat me with everything you have."
"I will set you free."