The Great Deep Sea Prison, Impel Down.
In the sixth level, Infinite Hell.
Shanks woke from sleep in a daze, shackles rattling on his legs.
In this dark hell, he didn't know the difference between day and night, nor did he know how long he'd been trapped here.
Every day passed in a fog. Sometimes he wondered how he might escape from this place.
But Impel Down, which hadn't suffered any major incidents in hundreds of years, was like a castle of despair, locking away the ambitions of its prisoners. Even Shanks was no exception.
That's right. He couldn't imagine how to escape from here.
Falling into this hell and dying silently might be the best ending for him.
But today seemed somewhat unusual. When he opened his eyes, he found an extra figure in the cage opposite his.
A new prisoner?
He remembered someone had been imprisoned across from him, but that person had committed suicide two months ago. The cell had been empty ever since. Why was there someone there now?
Shanks was still half-asleep when he heard a familiar yet distant voice. "Hey, Shanks, are you awake?"
After a moment of hesitation, Shanks' eyes lit up with surprise. He looked at the cage opposite. "Vice-Captain? Why are you here? This is really great—"
But as soon as he finished speaking, his expression became awkward. He quickly explained, "No, no, that's not what I meant. What I mean is, I'm happy to see you again, but I really don't want to see you here..."
That's right. The person imprisoned opposite Shanks was none other than the unfortunate Rayleigh.
In the entire Battle of Jam Island, he'd been the only clown in the end, which made Rayleigh feel quite embarrassed. Good grief, a whole group of main characters hadn't been caught, but he, a supporting player, had been sent to Impel Down. What the hell.
"Although I don't want to see you here either, it really is unlucky." Rayleigh complained.
Shanks had finally emerged from his sleepy stupor and stopped saying ridiculous things. Curious, he asked, "Vice-Captain, how did you end up here?"
"Isn't it a coincidence? Just like you. Captured by Finn." Rayleigh said with a smile.
He seemed genuinely open-minded. Even though he was in Infinite Hell, he wasn't in a state of despair.
Or perhaps he'd just arrived and hadn't truly experienced the hopelessness of this place yet.
"That bastard Finn?" Shanks asked with surprise.
After a brief pause, Shanks shook his head. "Perhaps we Roger Pirates really are destined to clash with him..."
Hearing this, Rayleigh glanced at another cell, looking at the figure sitting silently inside, apparently meditating. He nodded. "Yes..."
Douglas Bullet.
He was naturally imprisoned in Infinite Hell as well.
By this calculation, there were three major figures from Roger's pirate crew, all imprisoned in Impel Down, all brought down by the same person. Therefore, what Shanks said wasn't wrong.
Moreover, their former captain, Pirate King Roger, had also been executed by Finn.
From this perspective, Finn had almost destroyed half of the Roger Pirates' strength.
"Boring! I sensed your tedious nature when we were on the ship. I didn't expect that after so many years, we'd meet here and you'd still be just as boring, Rayleigh." Bullet said with disdain.
"That's not the right tone for reminiscing about old times. We've all fallen into the same situation, so why be so cold? Why don't we just get along?" Rayleigh said with a smile.
"Hmph." Bullet snorted coldly and ignored Rayleigh.
Instead, he stood up, handcuffs rattling, and started exercising. Push-ups and squats.
Rayleigh, in his separate cage, looked at this scene with some surprise.
Shanks smiled. "Don't be surprised. You'll get used to it after a few days. This guy is always like this."
After a brief pause, Shanks' face darkened slightly. "But he's right. In this damned hell, if you don't find something to do, you'll soon go crazy..."
Then Shanks laughed again. "In this regard, I can be considered your senior, Vice-Captain. The cell you're in now was occupied by someone who was swallowed by infinite despair and darkness and committed suicide..."
Rayleigh looked at Shanks, then at Bullet, then smiled. "Thank you for the advice, Senior."
"Hahahaha!" Shanks laughed.
Every prisoner who first arrived at Impel Down thought about the same question.
How to escape from this hell.
Bullet had thought about it. Later Shanks had. Now Rayleigh was thinking about it too.
He'd even discussed it openly with Shanks, which caused countless prisoners around them to laugh at him.
The final answer was: there is no solution.
For hundreds of years, no one had escaped from here. Even Golden Lion Shiki, who'd once set off a frenzy of chaos in this hell, had fallen at the last moment.
This feeling of hope followed by despair killed the idea of escaping for most prisoners.
Leaning against the cold wall, Rayleigh suddenly laughed.
"Vice-Captain? What are you laughing at?" Shanks asked curiously.
Rayleigh smiled. "I have a hunch..."
"What kind of hunch?" Shanks asked.
"It won't be long. Three years, or five years. This prison, this hell, will become lively. Hahahaha, maybe many acquaintances will come in as guests. If that's the case, it doesn't seem unacceptable." Rayleigh laughed.
"If that's the case, I won't be lonely anymore. I really hope Buggy can come in and keep me company." Shanks smacked his lips thoughtfully.
At that moment, Buggy, far away in the East Blue, sneezed and wondered who was talking about him.
If he knew his good brother Shanks was praying for him to be captured and sent to Impel Down, he'd probably be angry enough to cough up blood.
By the way, his threat level probably wasn't even high enough for Level 6 of Impel Down.
So theoretically, even if he were caught, it would be impossible for him to be cellmates with Shanks.
The end of Sea Circle Calendar 1514.
The aftermath of the New World Pirate War finally dissipated. Although everyone knew the ultimate winner of this war was the Marines, this conflict had ultimately rewritten the entire power structure of the New World.
Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin.
Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
Hundred Beasts, Kaido.
Seven Warlords of the Sea, White Hunter Smoker.
In this era, in the New World, these four had become the absolute pinnacle of the pirate camp.
Although judging from the war's outcome, Smoker could barely be called a "winner."
Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and Newgate were all major losers.
However, due to various factors including raw strength, Smoker was unable to surpass these losers. Instead, he could barely stand on par with them after catching up. Even for this, he still had to rely on the power of Mary Geoise standing behind him.
On the contrary, although Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and Newgate had lost the war, no one in the New World could threaten them except the Marines, the overlords of the sea.
The pain brought by defeat forced them to abandon ideas of continuing the conflict. They licked their wounds silently and accumulated new strength.
In this way, the pirate landscape of the New World suddenly became clear.
From the past, when Newgate dominated the New World and suppressed all other powers.
It became a situation where four major forces were divided, with none able to overwhelm the others.
Gradually, people began to call Smoker, Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido the "Four Emperors of the Pirates."
They were considered the four people standing at the pinnacle of piracy in this era!
This designation soon gained recognition from more people.
At this point, the era of the Four Emperors' division in the New World officially began.
The first half of the Grand Line, in waters near Carnival City.
On a small assault ship from Marineford, Finn sat on the deck holding a fishing rod, angling leisurely.
On the small table beside him were juice, drinks, pastries, and a Den Den Mushi.
"So why are you heading to the East Blue instead of enjoying your status as one of the Four Emperors in the New World?" Finn asked with a smile.
That's right. The Den Den Mushi connected to none other than one of the current Four Emperors at the peak of their power: White Hunter Smoker.
He was also the only man who ranked among the Four Emperors as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
From a macro perspective, Mary Geoise was very satisfied with him becoming one of the Four Emperors. In the eyes of Mary Geoise's people, the current Seven Warlords organization had, to a certain extent, achieved the significance of balancing the forces at sea.
Smoker's ability to control a quarter of the New World pirate camp as one of the Seven Warlords undoubtedly increased the system's power and prestige.
As for Finn, he'd had some guesses long ago that Smoker could reach this point with Marine support.
But when Smoker actually became one of the Four Emperors, he still felt quite emotional.
Three years and three years more. If you don't close the operation, I'll become the boss!
Was it possible that such a joke could actually come true?
It was even more amusing to think that Shanks, who was supposed to be in Smoker's position, was still imprisoned in Impel Down.
Listening to Finn's question, Smoker smiled through the Den Den Mushi. "I'm going to the East Blue to discuss a major business deal. Dragon asked me to meet him..."
"Ah, the Goa Kingdom?" Finn asked.
More than three months ago, royal power in the Goa Kingdom had changed hands. The original king had died of depression due to health issues and the Celestial Dragon incident.
The great nobles of Goa Kingdom, the Outlook family, had taken over royal authority.
After the Outlook family came to power, they'd carried out large-scale "reforms." Of course, these "reforms" were naturally accompanied by blood and fire.
The Outlook family itself was a deeply rooted aristocratic class in Goa Kingdom. Now they'd allied with the major player, Dragon. Under Dragon's arrangement, the reform was progressing quickly.
This reform wasn't extreme. In fact, it was a brand new attempt by Dragon in Goa Kingdom. It didn't massacre all the nobles, nor did it delegate power entirely to the lower classes. It simply abolished some harmful policies and changed many of the country's practices.
This time, Smoker was going to discuss business with Dragon, ostensibly a major deal between the Amway Group and Goa Kingdom.
In reality, it was a major deal between the so-called Four Emperors of the New World and the world's most vicious criminal, Dragon, and the organization behind him.
Having seen initial success, Dragon was undoubtedly preparing to replicate this model.
Hold royal power in one hand and the people in the other.
He had to walk both paths!
They didn't talk about Dragon for too long before Smoker changed the subject. "By the way, Doflamingo has already arrived in the New World. I think he'll be making his move soon. I've discussed many things with him via Den Den Mushi before, but is he really trustworthy?"
"Who knows? But at least at this stage our interests are aligned. As for trust, that kind of thing never appears out of thin air. Let's wait and see." Finn said.
After a slight pause, the fishing rod in Finn's hand trembled. He laughed. "Alright, I won't waste more time chatting with you. My fish is hooked!"
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