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Magellan fell silent when asked.
He didn't know the answer to the question either.
And even if all the big pirates escaped, they would all gather around Shiki and wait to be killed.
In the vast sea, it's not easy to find him with the power of the Float-Float Fruit.
"Fleet Admiral Akira, I'm sorry," Magellan finally said after a long pause, expressing his helplessness with shame.
The same went for the senior Impel Down officers standing behind him.
Originally, the jailbreak was their responsibility, but the solution turned out to be completely dependent on the Marines, who couldn't help at all.
Akira waved his hand dismissively.
He hadn't expected them, who were confined to Impel Down's limited scope, to come up with any constructive solutions.
What he had said earlier was just a habitual self-question while thinking.
Akira sat in the chair, tapping his index finger on the table, falling deep into thought.
Magellan didn't dare disturb him and even breathed softly, careful not to disrupt Akira.
'Think… what in this pirate world can track someone's position from thousands of miles away?'
'There should be something. There's no way this world, filled with strange and special abilities, doesn't have a way.'
'Think again,' Akira told himself.
Time passed slowly.
Finally!
Akira, who had been deep in thought, suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and his eyes lit up.
Without a word, he immediately stood up and walked toward the door.
"Why did Fleet Admiral Akira leave?"
"Idiot, follow him! Fleet Admiral Akira must have thought of something."
"Wait for me, Director."
The wardens stared blankly at Akira's back, but Magellan, being the most alert, quickly followed after him.
The group hurried down and soon returned to Level Six, the Eternal Hell.
Compared to the other levels, Eternal Hell was now under even tighter security, and it was much livelier inside.
Although many of the infamous pirates were confined to their cells, the noise they made echoed throughout.
"Damn Shiki, he ditched me and ran! I was this close to getting back to the sea, but that bastard didn't help me when I was cornered by Magellan!"
"Have you checked out the other floors? It's hilarious that I wasn't even picked!"
"Shihahaha! You didn't see it, did you? That b*****d Magellan looked like his parents just died! I was laughing so hard!"
"The eight-hundred-year-old myth of this unbreakable prison was shattered by Shiki himself. Isn't it a shame for Magellan, who just got promoted to warden?"
"That Golden Lion has some guts, cutting off his own legs. Hey, anyone else thinking of trying that?"
"Come on, we're all locked up, hands and feet. No one's doing that."
"Damn it, why didn't I think of that sooner? I could've been the one to escape, not Shiki!"
The notorious pirates were all venting their frustrations loudly.
Hundreds of jailers, with grim expressions, patrolled the area, fully prepared for any trouble.
From time to time, a jailer would jab an overly excited pirate in the cell with his weapon to quiet them down.
"Fleet Admiral Akira, the Director, the Deputy Director, the wardens…"
At that moment, Akira, Magellan, and the others walked in quickly.
The jailers were taken aback, watching the scene unfold. Even the noisy pirates fell silent as soon as Akira entered.
As Akira walked by, he glanced toward the cages out of the corner of his eye and briefly paused.
He noticed that all the remaining imprisoned pirates had not only their feet but also their hands tightly bound by seastone cuffs. Some were lying on the ground, spread out in a star shape, completely unable to move.
Others, deemed less dangerous, were still able to move around in their narrow cells, but there was no chance they could imitate Shiki and sever their limbs to escape.
"Although this morning's jailbreak was a significant loss for us, it served as a wake-up call," Akira began. "We've been too arrogant, overconfident in Impel Down's defenses and the effectiveness of our containment methods."
"I understand these pirates we've imprisoned are all extremely dangerous, but we only gave them basic shackles," he continued. "That's why the Golden Lion was able to regain his powers after cutting off his legs."
"Therefore," he emphasized, "we've taken emergency measures to enhance security by adding an extra layer of seastone shackles for all prisoners."
Magellan stepped forward and explained in a serious tone, "We've gathered as many seastone restraints as we could find. Although we are running short on other levels, those prisoners aren't capable of causing any major trouble for now."
"I'll submit a request to the World Government to restock the seastone supplies soon."
Akira nodded but didn't add much.
Before arriving, he had expected to face some misunderstandings from the Impel Down staff. After all, Shiki had been in combat with him for quite some time before managing to escape.
There had been some tension between them in the past, but it just so happened that Shiki escaped from prison immediately after Akira left.
It has to be said, this coincidence could easily fuel conspiracy theories. However, fortunately, there was no real conspiracy behind Shiki's jailbreak—no one assisted him.
As Magellan mentioned, the responsibility for Shiki's escape lay entirely with Impel Down. If Eternal Hell had been as it is now, with seastone shackles binding both the hands and feet of all the dangerous pirates, making them immobile even if they tried to cut off their limbs, it would've been impossible for Golden Lion to escape.
Shiki's method—cutting off his own legs and using his Float-Float Fruit powers to flee—was only possible because his hands were still free.
But if both hands were restrained by seastone as well, that strategy wouldn't work. No one, no matter how determined, could break free under those circumstances.
And even if someone were desperate enough to sever both their hands and feet in a bid for freedom, what then? How could a disabled person survive in the brutal world of pirates?
Instead of risking their lives, they might as well accept their fate in Impel Down, where at least they could live out their days in relative stability.
Soon after, Akira arrived at the cell where Shiki had once been held.
He stepped inside and meticulously examined every corner.
"Fleet Admiral Akira, what are you looking for? Would you like us to assist?" Magellan asked, puzzled.
But before Magellan could finish his sentence, Akira suddenly stood up.
In his hand, he held a long strand of golden hair, and a smirk appeared on his face.
"I've found Shiki's exact location," he said.