One Piece: From Marine to Legend

The next morning.

The arrival of a group of jailers shattered the eerie silence of Freezing Hell.

"St-Storm..."

Hannyabal, shivering from the relentless cold wind, fumbled with a set of keys in his trembling hands. His breath was visible in the icy air as he struggled to insert the key into the lock.

"Y-Your confinement time is over!" He finally managed to stammer out. 

"D-Director Magellan asked me to b-bring you to him."

Inside the cell, Storm sat cross-legged, his eyes calm as he observed Hannyabal's pitiful state.

'Even if this guy wants to put on a tough front in front of his subordinates, it's not working,' Storm thought to himself, suppressing a chuckle.

Hannyabal had only been in Freezing Hell for a few minutes, yet he was already shaking uncontrollably. His teeth chattered, his limbs quivered, and his lips had turned a shade of blue.

This was the man who wanted to be the next Chief Warden?

Not convincing at all.

Storm slowly stood up, stretching his limbs after the days spent in confinement. Then, with an amused expression, he asked, "Hannyabal."

"Y-Yes?"

"Did you offend the Director too?"

Hannyabal blinked in confusion. "W-What?"

"Looking at you now, I can't tell whether you're here to escort me out or if you're being punished alongside me."

Hannyabal stiffened at the remark, realizing how pathetic he must have looked.

Storm smirked and extended his hand, a lump of clay forming in his palm.

"Do you want me to make you a coat?" he offered casually. "It won't provide warmth, but at least it'll block the wind."

For a brief moment, Hannyabal seriously considered accepting the offer. However, he caught sight of the jailers standing behind him, watching intently. His pride as a superior officer kicked in, and he quickly straightened his posture.

"N-No thanks!" Hannyabal declared, though his voice still trembled. He forced himself into a ridiculous bodybuilding pose, attempting to flex his non-existent muscles.

"I'm v-very strong—ACHOO!"

Storm shook his head, stepping past Hannyabal and exiting the cell.

"Let's go," he said.

Hannyabal, still rubbing his nose, quickly gestured for the other jailers to follow.

As soon as they stepped out, the biting winds of Freezing Hell greeted them. The temperature was so severe that even the guards, who were used to patrolling the floors of Impel Down, felt their joints stiffen.

Hannyabal, desperate to distract himself from the cold, hurriedly struck up a conversation.

"Storm," he began, "while you were in confinement, there was some unrest in Burning Hell."

At this, Storm's eyes narrowed slightly.

Burning Hell?

Over the past few days, he had taken the opportunity to "borrow" a considerable amount of food from the warehouse to replenish his energy after increasing his physique attributes.

Had someone noticed?

However, judging from Hannyabal's tone, the disturbance didn't seem to be directly related to him.

"What happened?" Storm asked, feigning ignorance.

Hannyabal hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice.

"Could it be that that bastard Shiryu caused another big commotion?"

"Shiryu..." Hannyabal muttered, shifting uncomfortably. "Actually, this might have something to do with him!"

He leaned in closer to Storm—more to shield himself from the wind than to share a secret.

"One of the prisoners in Burning Hell has gone missing! And he was a Devil Fruit user!"

Storm's gaze flickered, though his expression remained neutral.

'So they noticed, huh?'

Hannyabal continued, his voice turning even more hushed.

"That prisoner was known as the Chameleon Man. People are saying he received an invitation from the devil and vanished into thin air."

Storm almost chuckled at the absurdity of it.

The "Devil's Invitation"—a legend widely circulated among the guards of Impel Down.

According to this myth, prisoners sometimes mysteriously disappeared without a trace. No bodies, no evidence—just gone. Some claimed they were spirited away by the devil himself, taken to an unknown fate.

In reality?

It was nothing more than Ivankov and his Revolutionary Army operatives sneaking people into their hidden stronghold within Impel Down—the so-called Newkama Paradise.

...Then again, getting "invited" by Ivankov, the Okama King, was arguably just as terrifying as the "devil's invitation."

Hannyabal shivered—not from the cold this time, but from the eerie nature of the disappearance.

"Even the Den Den Mushi surveillance cameras didn't catch anything," he added, voice barely above a whisper. "It's as if he evaporated."

Storm listened without responding, though inwardly, he was analyzing the situation.

'I was careful. I avoided all the surveillance Den Den Mushi. There's no evidence linking me to his disappearance.'

If they had any proof, the person standing before him wouldn't be Hannyabal—it would be Magellan himself.

Still, he needed to tread carefully.

At that moment, Hannyabal suddenly snapped his fingers.

"But wait, Storm! What you just said before reminded me of something!"

Storm raised an eyebrow.

"That Chameleon Man was probably killed by that bastard Shiryu! And his body was destroyed!"

Storm's expression didn't change, but internally, he nearly laughed.

'Hannyabal's intuition is... surprisingly sharp this time.'

Because the Chameleon Man had indeed been eliminated.

After extracting the Chameleon Fruit's power, Storm had disposed of the prisoner's corpse properly.

He wasn't some inhumane butcher who left bodies lying around.

No, he had given the man a proper send-off—by throwing his body into the inferno of Burning Hell.

A decent cremation, free of charge.

'How many pirates die at sea, their bodies devoured by fish? At least this guy got a proper funeral.'

Storm exhaled softly and steered the conversation elsewhere.

"You were talking about Shiryu earlier. What's he up to now?"

Hannyabal's face darkened.

"...He killed a lot of people again."

Storm wasn't surprised.

"After we left Magellan's office that day," Hannyabal continued, "Shiryu was sent to the infirmary for detoxification. But then... he snapped."

Storm tilted his head. "Snapped?"

"He took his sword, Thunderstorm, and fought his way from the infirmary all the way down to Burning Hell."

Hannyabal shuddered again, but this time, it wasn't because of the cold.

"If Magellan hadn't personally stopped him, that lunatic might have charged straight into Freezing Hell to find you."

Storm's eyes narrowed slightly.

Shiryu's brutal personality was well known. Even though he was the Head Jailer, he cared little for rules or duty.

His only real passion was killing.

At first, Shiryu only killed prisoners.

Later, he turned his blade on his colleagues.

Eventually, he was imprisoned in the lowest level of Impel Down—Infinite Hell.

Storm asked with curiosity, his eyes gleaming with interest.

 "What did Magellan do with Shiryu? Did he finally lock him up in Infinite Hell?"

Hannyabal shook his head.

 "That's not exactly the case…"

Storm frowned slightly. "Then what? Don't tell me he just let him go?"

Hannyabal sighed and leaned in slightly. "Since that day, Magellan has ordered Shiryu not to leave his sight."

Storm blinked. Something about that didn't sound right. "That sounds difficult, doesn't it? Magellan isn't exactly a typical person—he has diarrhea for nearly ten hours a day. There's no way Shiryu can stay by his side for the entire ten hours, right?"

"Hahaha!" Hannibal burst into laughter, clapping his hands together.

 "This is the real punishment that bastard Magellan came up with for that super bastard Shiryu!"

Storm couldn't help but smirk at the thought of Shiryu being forced to wait outside the restroom for Magellan all day.

The two continued chatting and laughing as they left Freezing Hell behind.

Taking the elevator, they headed toward the Burning Hell on the fourth floor, where the Director's office was located.

Inside the elevator, Storm leaned casually against the wall. "So, what does Magellan want with me? Are we having another 'peace conference' like last time?"

Hannibal gave him a strange look.

After the chaos of their last meeting, unless Magellan had venom clogging his brain, there was no way he'd be foolish enough to put Storm and Shiryu in the same room again.

"That won't happen," Hannibal assured him with a shake of his head.

 "As for why Magellan called you, he probably just wants to 'educate' you on something."

Storm raised an eyebrow.

It had to be admitted—Hannibal did understand Magellan very well.

The moment Storm stepped into the Director's office, he immediately noticed the brick-like tome sitting on Magellan's desk.

"The Impel Down Jailer's Code"

A bad feeling rose in Storm's chest.

Other than Magellan, only Domino was present in the room.

There was no sign of Shiryu.

That was good.

"Director!" Storm called out quickly before Magellan could open his mouth and launch into a speech.

 "Good morning! Did you, uh… detox today?"

Magellan's expression remained serious, his arms crossed over his massive chest.

"Good morning, Storm." His voice was stern. "You haven't been in Impel Down for long. While you've performed well, you've also made a lot of mistakes."

Storm held up a hand, cutting him off again.

"Director! If no one offends me, I don't offend them."

"But he attacked me first. I only retaliated against Shiryu!"

Magellan sighed heavily, rubbing his temple.

What Storm said was true. If Shiryu hadn't made that unprovoked slash in the cafeteria, things wouldn't have escalated this far.

But now, the two were on the verge of all-out war.

Just as Magellan was struggling with how to handle this, Storm casually continued.

"Director, I've actually come up with a way to resolve this issue."

Magellan looked up. "A way?"

Storm nodded confidently.

"Yes. A way to finally settle everything between Shiryu and me."

Magellan narrowed his eyes.

"You mean… solving your problems with Shiryu?"

"Of course." Storm's lips curled into a smirk.

"The real issue between us is simple—our two previous fights never reached a clear conclusion."

"So, if I fight him again, and we determine who is truly stronger once and for all, there will be no more conflict between us."

If you can't solve the problem, then solve the person who created it!

Magellan fell silent.

He had spent all this time keeping Shiryu and Storm from tearing each other apart…

Was it all just so that Storm could beat Shiryu into the ground in an official fight?!

Magellan had never intended to protect Shiryu.

He had been trying to protect Storm!

Before the Director could even respond, a cold voice suddenly echoed from within his private restroom.

"Do you wanna die?!!"

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Now Available: Chapter 85: Blood and Resolve