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Heading to the passage leading to Eternal Hell on the sixth floor, the atmosphere was unusually heavy at this moment.
Although no one spoke, the tension in the air remained undisturbed.
Magellan stood at the front, his Venom-Venom Fruit fully activated, with a large pool of poison gathering on the ground.
Behind him were the jailers, nervous but ready to fight to defend Impel Down.
Just when everyone thought the Marines and Impel Down were about to clash once again, Akira, who had remained silent, finally moved.
His sharp tiger-like eyes first glanced at Magellan, then shifted toward the back of the hallway.
Gulp.
The jailers, caught under his gaze, felt their breaths hitch, each swallowing hard.
After a moment, as Akira's eyes flickered, his powerful Conqueror's Haki surged, only to be drawn back into his body moments later.
The intense atmosphere dissipated all at once.
It was as if the looming battle had never been on the verge of happening.
"I understand."
Akira raised his head, adjusted the frame of his glasses with a calm smile, and asked Magellan, "Then, there shouldn't be any issue with me continuing to find sparring partners in Eternal Hell, right?"
Magellan hesitated, as though wanting to say more.
But as he looked into Akira's smiling eyes, he pursed his lips. Kaidou's words echoed, "Yes, as long as you don't kill anyone."
"Good."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Magellan withdrew his poisonous power and watched Akira's retreating figure.
When no one else was in sight, Magellan raised his hand to steady himself against the wall of the passage.
"Huh, huhu…"
He was breathing heavily, his face pale. At some point during the confrontation with Akira, the pressure had become overwhelming.
Though Magellan had managed to face Akira without faltering on the surface, internally, he was panicking.
This was still over 20 years before the events of the original story. While Magellan had considerable strength and had developed several techniques using his Venom-Venom Fruit, his power and character were far from the level they would eventually reach.
Facing the top-level emperor Akira, he had truly felt a murderous intent and hostility that made him tremble to his core.
In the presence of that lethal intent, he felt like a mere child—an eight-year-old standing before an unstoppable, savage beast.
Magellan was certain that if it came to a fight, he wouldn't stand a chance. Even if all of Impel Down's combat forces joined in, the outcome would still be inevitable.
He had been bracing for a disaster, mentally preparing to be beaten down by Akira just like the previous warden had been.
But unexpectedly, Akira had stopped.
The situation baffled him, but it was still a relief—for both him and Impel Down.
He didn't have to suffer the humiliation of being defeated in front of his subordinates.
Impel Down, which had recently struggled in front of the Marines, was given a brief reprieve, allowing them to save face.
Originally, Magellan had planned to ensure Akira stayed away from Impel Down unless absolutely necessary. After all, this wasn't the Marines' base.
Moreover, since the "Rehabilitation Impel Down Branch" had been taken over by CP, there was no need for Marines to remain stationed there. To him, it seemed perfectly reasonable to ask Akira to leave.
Magellan had initially intended to make a point of Hal Acheson's death.
But realizing he couldn't win against Akira, he had backed down.
Instead of trying to keep Akira away entirely, he compromised, agreeing to cooperate on the condition that no major pirates were killed.
"Alright… take it slow," he muttered to himself.
"Let him restrain himself for now, and later, guide him to leave step by step," Akira thought. "After all, Marine's true home is Marineford."
As Magellan calmed himself, his thoughts burned with determination.
Meanwhile, inside Eternal Hell...
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps echoed through the halls, and Akira's figure reappeared as he walked, deep in thought.
"CP is important, but Impel Down is just as crucial," he considered.
"How about using some leverage to turn Magellan into one of our own?"
The sudden situation earlier had made something clear to Akira—Impel Down needed to be under his control. Otherwise, his movements would always be restricted.
This heavily fortified and isolated prison, with its many imprisoned pirates, might seem like a burden to others. But for Akira, who required constant physical training, it was a treasure trove.
If he could seize control of this place, he could accomplish whatever he wanted.
For example, having high-level pirates as sparring partners.
Or using the prisoners' stamina without restraint.
Or even transforming it into a training ground for the future main forces of his rebellion.
The benefits of controlling Impel Down were endless, with no apparent downsides.
But the issue was clear!
The entire Impel Down had a deep-seated resistance to the Marines.
From the warden in charge down to the low-level jailers, the sentiment was the same. There was no way to take this fortress through conventional means.
"Alright then," Akira mused, lighting a cigar as his eyes gleamed with determination. "Start off soft, but if that doesn't work... go hard."
"'Over' is a bug, sure, but it only allows people to be pulled from the past to the present for a limited time," Akira thought. "Even with some tricks to exploit it later on, you can only keep pulling someone back for up to three years at most. After that, if both CP Captain Graeme and Impel Down Director Magellan were to have 'accidents' around the same time, it would definitely raise suspicion."
He exhaled slowly, contemplating the situation.
"Even if I manage to bring Magellan to my side, the other jailers at Impel Down are still a problem. Unless they're all replaced, any big moves I make here would be easily leaked."
Akira knew that using Impel Down for his future plans would require complete secrecy. Without full control, everything he tried to accomplish could be exposed too easily.
"So, using the same method on Magellan as I did on Graeme isn't the best option right now," he concluded.
He took a long drag from his cigar, releasing a cloud of smoke, deep in thought. "How do I make everyone in Impel Down stop resisting the Marines?"
Suddenly, an arrogant voice cut through his thoughts.
"Hey, Fleet Admiral, didn't you say you wanted to do more than just use our strength for sparring? What are you doing standing there, lost in thought? Hurry up!"
Akira turned toward the source of the voice.
When he saw the long golden hair coming into view, a knowing smile spread across his face.
"Golden Lion, Shiki!"
He grinned. "Now we have a plan."