"Shut up! Those guys are either old or dead. We're talking about the new era! The Great Pirate Era!"
"You're right, either old or dead. I don't even know how many years I've been imprisoned. I really miss it... Big Mom looked really good when she was young, you know? I heard she went crazy looking for a husband later on. I wanted to be her husband too..."
A sigh echoed within the cell.
After the sigh, the noisy cells around fell silent, as if everyone was reminiscing about their previous free lives and despairing of their current prison life...?
"You're right, Big Mom was really beautiful when she was young!"
"Gloriosa was also very beautiful, she was the Emperor of Kuja Island. I've seen her, a very alluring woman."
"I've seen her too, but I think Buckingham Stussy is even more beautiful."
"The young Tsuru was also very nice..."
"Tsuru? How long have you been locked in here? How come you're still thinking of that old lady?"
"They're all old now! Let's look at the present, I heard the current Emperor of Kuja Island, Boa Hancock, is an absolute beauty!"
"You're right."
"I agree."
"I heard the unseen Mermaid Princess 'Shirahoshi' is also an extraordinary beauty."
"Makes a lot of sense..."
"I think what you're saying is very reasonable, I agree."
The noisy cell became harmonious at this moment, completely devoid of the earlier tension.
But this harmony only lasted for a short while before someone changed the topic, and they returned to their arguments again.
Power, treasure, territory, women, men, the secrets of nobility, the scandals of the government, in this eternally unreachable cell layer, only their life experiences are worth discussing.
Whether it's noisy or not doesn't matter.
In this sound, the gradually falling soft noise was completely covered, not letting the Prison Beasts who occasionally came in to check notice anything unusual.
Until the third day...
Boom!!
When someone unknown started quarreling again, the sound of something softly falling steadily increased, like an explosion, making a loud noise.
In the cell between two Iceburgs, the newly arrived Iceburg, after pieces fell off halfway, the remaining half suddenly exploded, hitting the surrounding walls. Large ice blocks crashed and splintered more violently, continuing to splash out from the walls.
An Iceburg completely disappeared, revealing a sculpture in the center with the posture of punching amidst the pieces of ice and ice debris.
The fierce-looking ice sculpture was now covered in numerous cracks.
Bang!
The surface of the ice sculpture shattered, with numerous shards falling like a cracked shell, revealing the menacing body all covered in frostbite and ice.
White smoke emanated from that body, surrounding it with a faint white haze, restoring the fearsome 'armor' to its original tree root and gray iron color, quickly dissipating the frostbite and ice.
And at this moment, the 'armor' seemed to shrink in size, from over five meters to about three meters, with shoulder armor that transformed from three layers to two layers, appearing as heavy shoulder armor with a small shoulder plate.
The tree root and gray iron colors were also weakened considerably at this point.
This form only lasted for a moment, soon descending from about three meters to around one meter ninety, with the color changing to human flesh tones altogether.
It wasn't someone wearing armor, it was a person, a white-haired man...
Crack!
He twisted his neck stiffly, producing a sound like broken bones as if his neck was snapped. At the same time, he slowly raised his hand, fingers gradually curling inward until he clenched a fist.
Crack crack crack!
After clenching his fist, it was as if the switch of his entire body had been turned on. A series of explosive sounds emanated from him, white steam rising from his body, making this body fully vibrant.
"Phew!"
The Sage expelled a breath of ice gas from his mouth, spreading like an ice mist within the cell, even frosting over the bars at the front.
The frozen air within his body was completely discharged at this moment.
"Freeze was really intense, left no mercy at all, could even freeze one's will. Luckily, I left some groundwork while recovering Haki at the time."
The Sage moved his shoulders, his expression looking a bit haggard.
The consumption was enormous.
He knew the time because he hadn't been completely frozen, with some consciousness present. Where there's consciousness, there's will. But this Iceburg wasn't just ice; the extreme cold air it emitted continuously was the most important.
Relying on Haki to resist the ice air bit by bit and prying open the Iceburg outside, it took almost three days to break the ice and finally move freely.
But this effort was not simple.
Previously being frozen, the entire state was sealed, so nothing could be perceived, but even then, his stamina was almost depleted.
100% of 100%, using physical strength in exchange for explosive power, and now that the time has come, apart from returning to normal...
He picked up a piece of ice from the ground and bit off a large chunk, crunching and chewing it in his mouth.
Hungry!
Extremely hungry!
Ice is water, and eating it is considered drinking water.
After moistening his throat, the Sage then looked towards the bars and the darkness outside the bars.
"Am I locked up?"
The Sage was momentarily stunned, then realized this place...
A place that could imprison him, and it's so dark...
There were many strong presences around...
"Impel Down?"
The Sage clicked his tongue, "I actually got locked in a place like this."
It's not that he thought he couldn't be caught.
As a pirate, everyone fails sometimes; at most, it's just a setback in a career.
He's had major failures in whatever profession he chose before, even failed to the point where he couldn't have a second chance.
This was already considered good.
It's just imprisonment.
This small setback meant nothing, and it wasn't the end of his entire career.
Because he's still alive, and his strength remains, and besides...
Click.
The Sage clenched his fist hard, producing a sound in this huge space, "Not too bad."
Boom!
Just then, another loud noise spread, and the Sage frowned, without even looking, his body flickered slightly, triggering shadow-like afterimages, dodging the flying debris like a swaying willow.
"Ice block?"
He looked at the ice block shattering on the wall, turning his head to the left, where an ice block had a crack at its forefront.
It seemed his shock had broken the ice block, causing a bigger crack to erupt. A massive hand stretched out from the crack, shattering a large amount of ice.
Clatter!
More ice fell from the Iceburg, continuously cracking around the crack, until the entire thing came off, revealing a little Giant about five meters tall.
This guy wore only a captain's coat, with a helmet that had one horn broken, green long whiskers, and an upturned mustache on his mouth. Although his eyes were closed, his face could be felt to be full of anger and viciousness.
Not even the long-lasting frozen ice could freeze his fury.
"Ugh..."
The burly man slowly opened his eyes, with more whites than pupils, seemingly filled with endless rage.
"I'm alive again!"
He clenched his hand and gave his body a shake, making crackling sounds, then he looked at the Sage standing in front of him.
"Kid... who are you?"
"What a coincidence, I was about to ask you the same thing."
The Sage's lips curled, "As cellmates, sharing names seems appropriate."