Impel Down, the Deep Sea Great Prison.
In this darkness-shrouded Level 6, the Eternal Hell.
Shanks, his legs bound in shackles, slowly woke up from a daze.
In this sunless hell, he had no idea what was day or night, nor how long he had been incarcerated. He spent every day in a stupor, sometimes pondering how to escape.
But Impel Down, which had stood without major incident for hundreds of years, was like a fortress of despair, ruthlessly locking down the ambitions of its prisoners. Shanks was no exception.
Indeed, he couldn't imagine how he could ever escape from here. Falling into this hell and silently fading away might be the best outcome for him.
However, today seemed to be an exception. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that there was an extra person in the cage across from him.
A new prisoner?
He recalled that someone had been imprisoned across from him, but that person had committed suicide two months ago, and the cell had been empty ever since. Why is there a figure there today?
Still groggy, Shanks hadn't fully woken up when he heard a voice—familiar, yet somehow strange.
"Yo, Shanks, are you awake?"
He paused, then his eyes lit up with a surprised delight as he looked at the cell across the way: "Rayleigh-san? Why are you here? This is truly wonderful..."
But as soon as the words left his mouth, his expression turned awkward, and he quickly corrected himself: "No, no, that's not right. It's not good. What I mean is, I'm very happy to see you, but I truly hoped not to see you here..."
Correct. The man now imprisoned across from Shanks was none other than the unlucky Rayleigh.
In the entire Battle of Jam Island, he was the only clown—a fact that made Rayleigh extremely embarrassed. Seriously, none of the protagonists were caught, but the supporting character got thrown into Impel Down. What the hell.
"Though I also strongly wished not to see you here, this is truly rotten luck," Rayleigh quipped.
Shanks had now shaken off the daze of sleep and wouldn't make any more ridiculous remarks. He asked, slightly curious: "Rayleigh-san, how did you end up here?"
"What a coincidence. Just like you, I was caught by Diarmuid," Rayleigh chuckled.
He seemed genuinely open-minded. Even being in the Eternal Hell, he didn't show any sign of despair. Or perhaps, he had only just arrived and hadn't truly experienced the despair of this place yet.
"That bastard, Diarmuid?" Shanks exclaimed, surprised.
After a brief pause, Shanks shook his head and added: "Perhaps the people of the Roger Pirates are truly destined to clash with him."
Hearing this, Rayleigh glanced at the other cell, looking at the silent figure sitting inside, seemingly meditating, and then nodded: "Yes..."
Douglas Bullet.
He, too, was naturally imprisoned in the Eternal Hell.
Counting them up, three major figures from the Roger Pirates were now locked away in Impel Down, and all of them had been defeated by the same person. Therefore, Shanks's words were not without merit.
Furthermore, their former captain, the Pirate King Roger, was theoretically also defeated at the hands of Diarmuid.
Viewed this way, Diarmuid has practically destroyed three cornerstones of the Roger Pirates.
"Boring. I already felt how boring you people were back when we were on the ship. I didn't expect to meet you again after all these years, only to find you still so boring, Rayleigh," Bullet said with profound contempt.
"That's no way to talk when catching up. We've all fallen to the same place, so why be so aloof? Why don't we try to get along?" Rayleigh smiled.
"Hmph." Bullet snorted and ignored Rayleigh.
Instead, he stood up and, still wearing his shackles, started working out. Push-ups, squats—it looked like he was aiming for a full-body routine.
From the adjacent cell, Rayleigh watched this scene, somewhat astonished.
Shanks laughed heartily and said: "Don't be surprised, Rayleigh-san. You'll get used to it in a few days. That guy is always too restless."
After a slight pause, Shanks's expression turned a bit somber: "But he is right. In this damned hell, if you don't find something to occupy yourself with, you'll go mad very quickly..."
Then, Shanks smiled again: "In this regard, I suppose I'm your senpai, Rayleigh-san. The previous occupant of the cell you're currently in was swallowed by this endless despair and darkness and committed suicide..."
Rayleigh looked at Shanks, then at Bullet, and finally smiled: "Thank you for the guidance, senpai."
"Hahahahaha..." Shanks burst into laughter.
Every prisoner who first arrives in Impel Down grapples with the same question: How can one escape this hell?
Bullet was no different, and later Shanks was the same. Now, Rayleigh was also contemplating this problem. He even openly discussed it with Shanks, which drew the unrestrained mockery of countless surrounding prisoners.
The eventual conclusion was: It is unsolvable.
No one had escaped from here for hundreds of years. Shiki the Golden Lion, who once stirred up a storm in this hell, also fell at the final moment.
This cycle of hope followed by despair crushed the escape ambitions of the vast majority of prisoners.
Leaning against the cold wall, Rayleigh suddenly began to laugh.
"Rayleigh-san? What are you laughing at?" Shanks asked curiously.
Rayleigh smiled and said: "I have a premonition..."
"A premonition of what?" Shanks asked.
"Before long, in three or five years, this prison, this hell, will become very lively. Hahahaha! Maybe a lot of familiar faces will come in as guests. If that happens, it might not be so unacceptable after all." Rayleigh laughed heartily.
"If that were the case, it certainly wouldn't be lonely anymore. I really hope that guy, Buggy, can hurry up and join me," Shanks muttered, clicking his tongue.
Meanwhile, Buggy, messing around in the East Blue, sneezed, wondering who was thinking of him. If he knew that his good brother Shanks was praying for him to be caught and thrown into Impel Down, he'd likely cough up a pint of blood from sheer fury.
Furthermore, given his threat level, he probably wouldn't even qualify for Level 6 of Impel Down...
So, theoretically, even if he were caught, he wouldn't be able to be cellmates with Shanks.
…
Late 1514, Sea Calendar.
The aftermath of the New World Pirate Hegemony War finally faded away. Although the world knew that the ultimate victor of this war was the Marines.
This war, however, fundamentally rewrote the entire landscape of the New World.
Big Mom Charlotte Linlin.
Kaido the Beast.
Whitebeard Edward Newgate.
Warlord of the Sea Smoker the White Hunter.
In this current era, in the present New World, these four have become the undisputed pinnacle of the pirate faction.
While a glance at the war's results might barely allow Smoker to be called a 'winner'—as Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and Newgate were all major losers—Smoker, due to various reasons, including strength, was unable to surpass these losers. Instead, he could only barely stand on equal footing with them after catching up. And even this relied on the power of Mariejois standing behind him.
Conversely, although Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and Newgate lost the war, aside from the Marines, the undisputed sea sovereign, no one else in the New World could truly defeat them.
The pain brought by their defeats forced them to abandon the idea of continuing the war, quietly licking their wounds and accumulating new power.
Thus, the pirate power structure of the New World became clear.
From the previous state where Newgate solely dominated the New World, towering over all rivals, it transitioned into a situation where four major powers held territories, none able to overcome the others.
Gradually, the people began to refer to Smoker, Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido as the 'Yonko of the Pirates.'
They were considered the four individuals standing at the absolute peak of piracy in this era!
This designation quickly gained widespread acceptance.
With this, the era of the Yonko's four-way split in the New World officially began.
In the waters near Carnival City in the first half of the Grand Line.
On a small Marineford assault ship, Diarmuid was sitting on the deck, holding a fishing rod and fishing leisurely.
On a small table next to him were juice, liquor, pastries, and a Den Den Mushi.
"So why aren't you properly being a Yonko in the New World? What are you doing in the East Blue?" Diarmuid asked with a playful laugh.
Correct. On the other end of the Den Den Mushi was Smoker the White Hunter, the newly crowned Yonko whose fame was currently soaring.
He was also the only man to achieve the rank of Yonko while still being a Warlord of the Sea.
From a macro perspective, Mariejois was quite pleased with his ascent to Yonko. In the eyes of the people of Mariejois, the Warlord of the Sea organization had, to a certain extent, gained the significance of balancing the power of the seas.
Smoker's ability to carve out a quarter of the pirate power in the New World as a Warlord of the Sea undoubtedly increased the weight of the Warlord of the Sea system.
As for Diarmuid, while he had long suspected that Smoker could reach this point with the Marines' support, he was still deeply moved when Smoker truly became a Yonko.
Three years and another three years, if I don't reel in the net, I'm going to become the boss!
The possibility of this joke actually coming true existed.
Thinking about how Shanks, who was originally supposed to be in Smoker's position, was now sitting in Impel Down, made it even more interesting.
Listening to Diarmuid's question, Smoker chuckled over the Den Den Mushi: "I'm going to the East Blue to discuss a big deal. Dragon asked to meet with me..."
"Ah, that... The Goa Kingdom?" Diarmuid asked.
More than three months ago, the royal power of the Goa Kingdom had already shifted. The former king, due to health reasons and the Celestial Dragon incident, eventually passed away heartbroken.
The Grand Noble family of the Goa Kingdom, the Outlook family, naturally took over the throne.
After the Outlook family took power, they initiated a large-scale 'reform.' Naturally, this 'reform' was carried out with blood and slaughter.
The Outlook family itself was a deeply entrenched noble class within the Goa Kingdom, and they had now sided with the big shot, Dragon. Under Dragon's arrangements, the reform proceeded quickly.
This reform wasn't overly extreme. In fact, it was a brand-new experiment for Dragon in the Goa Kingdom. He neither completely massacred the nobles nor completely devolved power to the common populace; he merely abolished certain malpractices and changed many of the nation's fundamental policies.
Smoker's current trip was, in fact, to negotiate a business deal with Dragon. On the surface, it was a large business transaction between the Amway Group and the Goa Kingdom.
In reality, it was a massive deal between the so-called Yonko of the New World and Dragon, the World's Most Vicious Criminal, and the organization behind him.
Dragon, whose initial attempts at reform had proven successful, was undoubtedly preparing to replicate this model.
Grasp the royal power with one hand, and the common people with the other.
He was going to walk both paths!
Not wanting to dwell on Dragon for too long, Smoker changed the subject: "By the way, Doflamingo has arrived in the New World. I estimate he'll make a move soon. I've discussed many things with him over the Den Den Mushi, but is he really trustworthy?"
"Who knows? But at least the interests align for the current phase. As for trust, that's never something that appears out of thin air. Just wait and see," Diarmuid replied.
After a slight pause, the fishing rod in Diarmuid's hand trembled. He laughed loudly: "Alright, no more idle talk with you. My fish has taken the bait!"