"It's getting lively."
On the playground, beside the shattered boulder.
Vivian lit a cigar, took out a lighter, and glanced at Zoro standing nearby. "Aren't you tempted to escape with them? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you miss this chance, you might still be stuck in Impel Down when the two-year period ends, unable to reunite with the Straw Hat crew."
Silence.
Zoro crossed his arms, his three swords at his waist, staring at the blazing cafeteria.
After about ten seconds, he finally replied, "I'm not strong enough to enter the New World yet. Even if I escape, I won't be able to protect them."
"Oh?"
Vivian exhaled a smoke ring with a smile. "You've almost mastered Wind Breathing, and your Armament Haki and Observation Haki are showing results. With this strength, you think you're not qualified to enter the New World? If that's the case, more than half the pirates in the New World should be sent back to the first half of the Grand Line."
Currently, Zoro had not only nearly mastered the nine forms of Wind Breathing, but also the basics of Armament and Observation Haki taught by Fujitora. Through relentless training, he had fully grasped the initial stages of these two Haki types.
Honestly, this talent surprised even Fujitora, who took three to five years to master these skills in his youth. Yet, this guy, whom Vivian called Liu Zoro (Vivian called him that so often he believed it was his real name), had reached this level in just over a year?
Fujitora was impressed.
But Vivian's progress was even more astonishing. After a year and three months of training, he not only mastered Armament Haki's hardening and imbuement but also began to understand its external projection.
This was partly due to the Conqueror's Haki he gained after the Summit War.
As the saying goes, once Conqueror's Haki awakens, mastering the other two Haki types becomes a matter of time.
With the qualities of a king, learning Armament and Observation Haki should be a piece of cake.
However, he still didn't know how to imbue Conqueror's Haki into weapons and his body to attack enemies.
Vivian flicked the ash from his cigar and, seeing the commotion in the cells, stood up and looked at Zoro. "Help me deal with those prisoners. After this, I'll teach you an advanced technique of Wind Breathing."
"An advanced technique?"
Zoro's interest was piqued. "Is there a skill stronger than Wind Breathing?"
"Of course."
Vivian nodded. "But first, you need to hold off at least three prisoners from the sixth level until I finish here."
"Three, huh…"
Three pirates with bounties of hundreds of millions…
With my current strength, I should be able to manage that, right?
Zoro thought to himself.
Meanwhile…
Bang!
The door to the first floor of the cell was kicked open, and a large crowd poured out, joining Buggy and the others outside the cafeteria, then charging towards Vivian and Zoro.
…
"Deputy Director Hannyabal, the prisoners on the sixth level seem to be rioting!"
In the first-floor duty room, a guard monitoring the sixth level looked panicked and shouted to Hannyabal, who was also on duty and had fallen asleep, "Should we notify Warden Magellan? If so many prisoners escape, we'll all be sentenced to death!"
"Prisoners? Escaping?"
Woken up by the guard, Hannyabal sat up, glanced at the monitor, and yawned. "They haven't even left the sixth level yet. Why are you so excited?"
"But…"
"Don't worry, Vivian will handle it."
He wasn't being lazy; he genuinely believed it.
About two months ago, curious about the "Thunder Swordsman" who was praised so highly on the battlefield, Hannyabal challenged Vivian to a duel.
The result was clear: within less than a minute, Hannyabal was defeated, and it wasn't a close match but a crushing defeat.
It's important to note that before Vivian and Fujitora were transferred, Hannyabal was the second strongest in Impel Down, only behind Warden Magellan. Even Magellan couldn't defeat him so easily without using his poison attacks.
This shows how strong Vivian has become.
"Maybe when that kid returns to headquarters, he might actually become an Admiral," Hannyabal thought to himself.
After a moment, he suddenly sat up from his lounge chair and looked at the guards in the duty room.
"What's wrong, Deputy Warden? Do we need to go down and help now?"
"No," Hannyabal waved his hand and pulled out the 300,000 Berries he had won from playing cards with Fujitora earlier that day. "I'm betting that Vivian can take care of all the prisoners within half an hour."
"Half an hour?" The guards were a bit skeptical.
One of them looked at the money on the table, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "What's the payout ratio?"
"Three to one. Not just this money here, but if you bet and it takes more than half an hour for Vivian to deal with the prisoners on the sixth level, I'll compensate you three times the amount. Conversely, if he handles it within half an hour, I'll take whatever you bet."
Three times…
The guards exchanged glances.
About a minute later, as if they had completely forgotten their earlier worries about being beheaded if the prisoners escaped, they all pulled out their savings and joined the bet.
…
Meanwhile.
"Whoo~~"
Vivian extinguished his cigarette and threw it on the ground. Seeing over a hundred "vanguard" prisoners rushing towards him, he didn't even bother to use his breathing techniques. With just a slight raise of his eyebrow, nearly ninety percent of the prisoners instantly fainted, losing their combat ability.
"Hey, Roronoa Zoro." He turned and gave Zoro a look.
The next second, a gust of wind shot out from Zoro's mouth.
In the blink of an eye, a green tornado flashed through the air, and Zoro, wielding three swords, appeared behind the mass of prisoners, murmuring softly:
"Three-Sword Style…"
"Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter!"
With a tearing sound, two more slashes shot out from his sides, sending the prisoners who tried to approach him flying into the air.
Turning his gaze to three tall and burly prisoners in the crowd, Zoro once again took a stance.
"Next, it's your turn."
Using these guys to test the results of his year-long training…
"Thank you, Teacher Vivian."