Just as the confinement ended, a mission was immediately arranged. It seemed like they were treating him like a beast of burden! Hearing Rowen’s complaint, Ain rolled her eyes.
“You stayed in the base without going out, so Naturally, you don’t know how many major events have occurred in the Grand Line!”
“Teach gathered members from the New World to the First Half and formed the Blackbeard Pirate crew. They engaged in battles with many pirates in search of the Yami Yami No Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit).”
“The Gold Emperor redefined the order of the New World Underground. A large number of scavengers rushed up to seek food, causing a stir in the Underground World. Even the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) sent people to warn him.”
“Due to the cancellation of the tea party, the BIG MOM Pirate crew faced a peak challenge. That woman recently destroyed three countries to deter onlookers. Although they weren’t Allied Kingdom Members, it still made the people of the New World fearful, and they once again became afraid to provoke BIG MOM.”
Whether it was Teach stirring up trouble or Big Mom going on a killing spree again, Marines needed to be prepared to fend off 1 to 2. Marine’s mission was to nip potential dangers in the bud, rather than fixing things afterward.
“And also…”
“Stop!”
After spending a few months together, Rowen had come to understand Ain’s personality. If he didn’t interrupt her now, she could go on for half an hour.
Since Ain came to G-10, Dante’s workload has been taken over by Ain for the most part. Dante himself was happy about it because with Ain sharing the workload, he could have more time to train.
But this put Rowen in a predicament…
She was a part of Zephyr’s team, his most valued disciple, and also a senior sister to Rowen. Moreover, Momousagi’s words had given Rowen a strange feeling about her. For a moment, he couldn’t even muster his authority.
Speaking of which, Rowen was quite annoyed about it.
With his current aura, even Dante would feel a nervous tension facing him. It wasn’t hostility but simply the pressure brought about by the change in aura. The stronger the person, the more sensitive they were to danger. Dante didn’t want to face Rowen because of the instinct to avoid danger.
However, Ain completely ignored Rowen’s terrifying aura that could soothe a crying child. This made Rowen quite a headache.
“Why does Fleet Admiral want me?”
“It’s a very relaxed substitute duty mission…”
Ain was dissatisfied with Rowen’s interruption, but the mission was more important. She pouted and took out the Marine’s blue book sent by Sengoku.
“Magellan, the Warden of Impel Down, is on leave. Fleet Admiral thinks you are a good candidate for substitution until Magellan returns.”
“…What’s going on?”
Rowen’s expression was strange, and he asked, “Impel Down… and leave?!”
Are you kidding me?
As part of the Gates of Justice and arguably the most important part, Rowen had never heard that there could be leave for the Warden of Impel Down!
In the Gates of Justice, the Marine Headquarters in Marineford and the Land of Trials on the Judicial Island were, to some extent, just symbolic structures for the World Government.
In the original story, after Akainu became Fleet Admiral, he could move the headquarters to the G-1 Branch with just a word, aside from the heavy damage to Marineford during the battle with the Whitebeard Pirate crew. It was also a symbolic factor.
In addition, a Buster Call initiated by Admiral Aokiji could even blow up the Judicial Island, indicating their low status.
But asking them to switch to Impel Down?
Are you thinking of relocating or blasting it apart?
The Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) would tear them apart!
As part of the Copper Wall Iron Wall that imprisoned criminals of all generations, the existence of Impel Down was not only related to the government’s face and authoritative hegemony but also to the safety of the seas!
Its importance far surpassed that of Marineford and the Judicial Island!
Rowen had some qualifications as a subordinate, and he had never heard of anyone taking leave from Impel Down, let alone Chief Warden Magellan!
This was like Sengoku suddenly deciding to quit, it was simply unbelievable!
“It was indeed impossible at first, but the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) considered Magellan’s recent low spirits, coupled with his loyalty and dedication for over a decade. So, they allowed him to take a break.”
At this point, Ain sighed.
“Some time ago, Shiryu, the Chief Warden of Impel Down, killed many important prisoners, causing a large number of Devil Fruits to fall into the sea. After Magellan arrested him, the Judicial Island sentenced him to death, with a delayed execution.”
“That was Magellan’s old subordinate, and now he has ended up in this situation. Naturally, he’s feeling quite uncomfortable.”
Shiryu of the Rain?
Rowen took the documents and silently frowned after scanning through them.
“So, this is how the plot has progressed.”
In the original story, it was because Shiryu, who had been sentenced to death, betrayed the prison at a critical moment, bringing the antidote to the entire Blackbeard group, thus giving rise to the birth of Yonko Blackbeard. Shiryu had received a death sentence due to his excessive love for killing, and using prisoners for sword practice.
In Impel Down, Chief Warden Shiryu of the Rain was on par with Chief Warden Magellan, and Impel Down earned the nickname “Iron Wall” because of these two aces, both contributing to its defense significantly.
If it were just ordinary prisoners being killed, it wouldn’t have led to the death penalty. Killing them would mean losing some workforce, but it certainly wouldn’t warrant a death sentence.
However, Shiryu liked powerful prey and wasn’t interested in weak and powerless upper-level prisoners. Instead, he enjoyed torturing and killing the important prisoners in Freezing Hell, most of whom had bounties exceeding a billion.
It’s worth noting that “Okama King” Ivankov had been imprisoned in Freezing Hell in the past, and many individuals with dangerous Devil Fruit abilities were among them.
Devil Fruits were a mysterious phenomenon. Once an Ability user died, the Devil Fruit would randomly reappear in some corner of the sea, uncontrollable and indefensible.
The World Government refrained from ruthlessly killing these dangerous individuals for a reason. Apart from using their tragic stories to deter pirates, it was also to prevent the powers of their Devil Fruits from causing more significant chaos if they were to fall into the sea.
If they started killing everyone, given the cyclical nature of Devil Fruits, it would never end!
So, Shiryu’s disregard for discipline and his brutal killings infuriated the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars), leading to his direct transfer to Judicial Island for trial, followed by a death sentence.
“Magellan originally wanted to resign and hand over the Warden position. However, the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) didn’t agree to his resignation application, so it turned into temporary rest and finding someone to temporarily take over the duties.”
Ain was more familiar with Magellan than Rowen, given her much longer tenure. She had accompanied Zephyr on real combat training missions and had been the one, along with Binz, to bring prisoners back to Impel Down, handing them over to Magellan for processing.
She knew that Magellan was a man with an extremely strong sense of responsibility. Whether it was the chaos that might be caused by the massive influx of Devil Fruits into the sea or Shiryu’s betrayal, he would shoulder the blame on himself.
“Alright, I think I understand.”
Rowen remembered from the original story that after Luffy caused the jailbreak incident, Magellan had voluntarily remissioned to resign and demoted himself back to Vice Warden.
And the reason Magellan could become the Warden, in the first place, was because twenty years ago, Golden Lion had escaped, and the old Warden resigned, allowing Magellan to rise from Vice Warden.
So… quitting Impel Down was also a tradition, just like a samurai committing seppuku at a moment’s notice!
Rowen’s face was weird.
However…
“I understand the logic, but why me?”
Rowen widened his eyes, looking at Ain in disbelief. “I’m the Base Head of G-10, after all. Leaving the base unattended to go to Impel Down, what kind of logic is that?”
As the most crucial part of the Gates of Justice, even if nothing was happening, Impel Down had to have a top-tier combat force present. This was a dead rule set by the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars)!
But looking at the top combat forces of the Marine Headquarters, there was no shortage of powerful individuals.
Not to mention, Rowen was also the Base Head, responsible for the critical mission of overseeing G-10, the island that was an essential passageway on the Fourth Line, making the usual defense work quite demanding.
Regarding this, Ain looked at him with a suppressed smile.
“Why you?”
“Naturally, it’s because Fleet Admiral has already asked for their opinions!”
This group of assholes!!
Rowen was dumbfounded.
…
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