"Who understands anything about what Sag or Rey? Just tell me the direction, east, south, west, north, or find a place that all of you can confirm, then come get me."
"Sage, where are you?" Lily asked.
The Radio Snail mimicked that arrogant face, uttering words that left everyone present stunned.
"Me? The front gate of Impel Down, just broke out!"
After a brief moment of daze, a series of question marks popped into Lily's head.
It's not that she didn't understand the words, but the sheer amount of information left her unsure of whether she should understand it or not.
Sage being able to call made Lily very happy, but his completely incomprehensible state, Lily... well, she's quite happy about it too.
It's just that in her imagination, this phone call was at most Sage going through something, perhaps escaping from a prison ship, or maybe it's just a misjudgment by the World Government and Navy, and Sage wasn't captured at all...
After all, the newspaper here had just disclosed Sage's capture, and then the Radio Snail immediately made a noise saying... he's out.
What did they capture?
Air?
"Impel Down?"
Renedia tilted her head, "Such a familiar name, same as the World Government's prison name. Sage, did you find some good place called Impel Down?"
The Radio Snail's expression turned furious: "Good place my ass! I'm damn well talking about the prison! I'm right at the prison gate! Hurry, find someone to confirm the position. My time is limited! Otherwise, Magellan will catch up!"
...
Three days ago.
The day Sage was frozen, personally escorted by Kizaru, brought to the Navy's headquarters on the third-floor warship, pulling a huge iceberg no less than the warship, into the Navy's dedicated sea current of the Gate of Justice, turning from Enies Lobby to Impel Down.
"Yes, caught him."
Inside the office of a warship, Kizaru reported into the microphone, "Evaluating, very strong, has an unusually high aptitude in Body Techniques, can use a technique that greatly compresses stamina to explode, even had brief exchanges with Vice Admiral Garp, quite a troublesome character."
"The failures of the first two Buster Calls were indeed due to him alone, now frozen by Admiral Aokiji, ready to be put into Impel Down. Also, no Pluton blueprints were found during combat, maybe destroyed in the battle, or perhaps it's with his Pirates... should we continue the search?"
"Hmm..."
A faint voice came from the other end of the Radio Snail, "Norton Sage is a survivor from O'hara, since he's frozen, keep him frozen thoroughly, put him in the sixth level. After all, he possesses the power to decipher Poneglyphs, can be used as a trump card. As for Pluton's blueprints, I haven't received any news, let it be... thank you."
Click.
The call on the other side of the Radio Snail was hung up.
Kizaru looked at the now closed-eyed Radio Snail, placed the microphone into it, turned his head to look through the window at the iceberg, pouted and said: "Young people today, really frightening."
Not killing Sage, aside from the World Government's tradition of locking someone into Impel Down, there were orders from above.
The survivors of O'hara are rare, how could they bear to let him die.
The power of knowledge, they also want to hold on to it.
The next day at dawn, the enormous iceberg was pulled by the warship into the front of the Gate of Justice, and as the gates opened, reached the front gate position of Impel Down.
In charge of welcoming them was the warden of Impel Down, Magellan!
"Welcome, Admiral Kizaru."
With unknown decorative or natural wings on the back, unknown decorative or real horns on the head, dressed in pitch-black uniform, a nearly five-meter tall man like a demon shook hands with Kizaru, who was arriving at the front suspension bridge.
The Navy Admiral, naturally needed the warden to welcome him personally.
"Oh~ Warden Magellan, long time no see." Kizaru chuckled, "Then I'll leave it to you, the instructions from above are to directly imprison him in the sixth level."
"Understood..."
Magellan glanced at the rear of the warship towing the iceberg, saw inside the fierce ice sculpture holding a punching stance, curiously said: "That is the calamity? Doesn't quite match the Wanted Order."
"Indeed, a strange Body Technique, but just this far."
Kizaru smiled, "Well, I'll leave the handover to you."
"Yes, trust me." Magellan said solemnly, "Since I became the warden, no one has escaped from Impel Down, not even a riot, the glory of Impel Down, I will always guard."
Claimed as absolutely escapeless Impel Down... is not that absolute.
Twenty years ago, when he was the deputy warden, one man did escape, the first in Impel Down's history, also its shame.
But besides him, never another could escape.
Especially after he became the warden, not to mention escaping, even a riot is an unattainable desire.
Because he is the strongest man in the prison, the absolute of the World Government's three major institutions, 'Impel Down'!
After completing the handover with Kizaru, four Prison Beasts carried the gigantic iceberg, opened Impel Down's gate, and carried it inside together.
Within the gate, a freakish figure like an infernal ghost pointed at the enormous iceberg being carried by the Prison Beast, shouted: "Warden! Aren't we giving this guy a 'baptism'?"
"How do you baptize an iceberg?"
Magellan shook his head: "This is Admiral Aokiji's ability, a hundred-degree 'Hell Warm Water' is of no use here, others even less needed. Such a guy, although a newbie from the front half, is extremely dangerous, you've read the news, he and the Straw Hat Gang together destroyed Enies Lobby... internal news, he also destroyed two Buster Calls, orders from above are to imprison him in the sixth level."
"Buster, Buster Call?!"
That freakish figure retreated a few steps, cold sweat broke out, "That legendary thing, I had only heard of it, it's real, actually destroyed... Warden, we should all the more give a 'Hell Warm Water' baptism, show him Impel Down's mighty!"
Saying so, he again to himself, plotting: "If suddenly melted, it's no longer frozen, such a guy will surely clash with Warden Magellan, if it hits the Warden's prestige, I can take the opportunity to raise prestige, hmm, the position of warden will then be mine."
"Hey, Hannyabal, I can hear you!" Magellan glanced sideways.
"Ah! My ambition exposed!" Hannyabal tightly covered his mouth.
"Alright, I'll personally escort him to the sixth level, open the lift now." Magellan waved his hand, led the Prison Beasts to open the lift gate, descended first to the fourth level, 'Scorching Hell', where Magellan's office, supply kitchen, and granary are, also the place for interrogating prisoners.
Below the fifth level, known to prisoners and the world as the lowest level, holds bounty criminals over 100 million, the highest guard level in the regular floors.
And below the sixth level, the prison unseen by the world, holds those with great danger.
Those here, every one is utterly vicious, famous enough that the World Government wants to erase their traces.
For instance, one of the former Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, once plotted to usurp a nation...
And also currently being escorted, destroyed two Buster Calls, annihilated Enies Lobby, killed numerous kings, nobles, and many important citizens, severely provoking the World Government.
This man sealed in the iceberg.
"Hmm... both being icebergs, you and the other man quite match, let's put them together."
Magellan looked at the iceberg, pondered, muttered.
Waiting for the lift to descend, Magellan led four Prison Beasts, carried the iceberg to deep within these prison cells, opened a gigantic prison door, enough to accommodate this enormous iceberg.
After the Prison Beasts dragged the iceberg inside, locked the prison door again, Magellan nodded satisfactorily, turned and left.
Inside the huge and dimly lit prison cell, faintly visible, stood two roughly sized icebergs, side by side.
The old one on the left, the new one on the right.
The old one encases a huge man with a broken-horn helmet.
And the new one, a fiercely corporeal ice sculpture sealed within the iceberg.
Rumble...
As the lift sound rang, mysteriously, a crack appeared on the surface of that ice sculpture...