Chapter 31: Moria's Unwillingness and Helplessness!

A warship emblazoned with the symbol of the World Government.

It sat quietly moored on the sea between the three islands of Whiteia.

Silently, it watched the East Island, which was shrouded in wind and snow.

Golden flashes, red fireballs, and purplish-black slashes flickered across the island from time to time.

The deafening roars were incredibly dense.

"Has it been five days already?"

On the deck, a man in white clothing wearing a white mask asked in a low voice.

Standing behind him were over a dozen members of CP6, dressed in black suits and exuding an aura of elite professionalism.

Hearing his inquiry, one of them hurriedly replied.

"Reporting, sir, yes, it has been five days!"

"It seems the outcome is about to be decided. How are those members of the Onizoku clan locked in the brig? None have died, I hope?"

The man in white continued to ask without turning his head.

"The ship doctors have finished their treatments. Combined with the fact that their vitality is stronger than ordinary people, they are all living well. They have all been injected with anesthetics and remain in a state of coma."

The man in white nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Keep a close eye on them."

"Yes, sir!"

Relentless time continued to blow away with the cold wind, and four hours passed silently once more.

Suddenly, the East Island of Whiteia seemed to fall quiet.

Whether it was the flashes or the explosions, everything had finally settled.

The swirling snow had stopped at some unknown point.

Only the brilliant sunlight covered everything in its surroundings, making the large and small craters and slash marks on the island appear even more prominent and hideous.

Just then.

The CIPHER POL personnel on the warship keenly heard a dull thud.

Immediately following, a dark shadow flew rapidly out from the interior of the East Island.

The shadow fell heavily to the ground, tumbling dozens of times.

Finally, it lay motionless on a relatively intact sandy beach.

Then, a cluster of golden light condensed beside the shadow.

It was Borsalino.

However, his appearance at this moment was truly wretched.

Not only was he drenched in sweat, but his breathing was also somewhat rapid and heavy, and his bright yellow suit had become tattered.

Only his "Justice" coat remained relatively neat, though a large portion of the left sleeve had been sliced off.

"Whew—what a troublesome fellow, this has exhausted me~"

Borsalino looked down at the unconscious Gecko Moria, who was rolling his eyes, and shook his head wearily.

This five-day battle experience was undoubtedly the most difficult and time-consuming one since he had joined the Navy.

This Moria's strength was truly impressive.

If it weren't for his own Glint-Glint Fruit abilities, he might have actually let this guy escape.

Setting aside everything else, if Gecko Moria had let his "Shadow Asgard" fly out first and then used "Shadow Asassin" to swap positions once he reached a great distance, his chances of escape would have been quite high.

It was just unknown for what reason this guy had absolutely no intention of running solo; all his vigilance until now had been for nothing!

Ten minutes later, the World Government warship drew close, and hundreds of CP6 men in black ran down from it.

They first placed Seastone handcuffs and shackles on Gecko Moria.

Then, six men worked together to lift him onto the warship, finally locking him in a single cell within the brig.

In the cells adjacent to his, two members of the Gecko Pirates from the Onizoku clan lay in each.

Though there were only twenty of them, they couldn't be ignored; each was tall, with an average height of six meters, taking up considerable space.

Consequently, out of the twelve total cells, only one remained empty.

"Good work, Vice Admiral Kizaru."

On the deck of the warship, the man in white from CP0 spoke deeply to the suddenly appearing Borsalino.

"Don't come looking for me for things like this next time. Also, since I put in so much effort this time, tell them about the bonus when you get back~~"

Borsalino complained with a pout.

At the same time, he turned and walked toward the interior, preparing to lie down in his room for a while.

"I will, but I cannot guarantee it."

***

The Underwater Prison.

The scorching hell of Impel Down's fourth level.

Five days had passed since the "Battle of Light and Shadow."

This place was the core of the entire prison.

The Warden's office and the granary that supplied all inmates were located here.

The reason it was called the "Scorching Hell" was because there were seas of fire everywhere, and the ground was as hot as a frying pan.

In the central area, a massive iron cauldron fifty meters in diameter was set up, filled with boiling, crimson blood-water.

As a result, the air throughout the fourth level was thick with a heavy scent of blood.

Two days ago, Gecko Moria woke from his coma and immediately experienced what it meant to be in unbearable heat.

As for the bloody smell, to him, it was actually quite sweet.

However, his mood was quite terrible.

He truly hadn't expected that after setting sail with his clansmen with such high spirits from his hometown in the West Blue last year, he would be captured and brought here just a few days after entering the "New World."

He had originally intended to become the second Pirate King...

"Finally awake? I've been waiting for you here for a long time."

At that moment, a strange, cold voice drifted in from outside the cell.

This caused Moria, whose hands and feet were bound by Seastone chains, to snap his head up and glare furiously at the man in white who had walked in.

"Who are you?"

"I report directly to the World Nobles."

"A Celestial Dragon!"

Gecko Moria felt very surprised and asked, "Are the Celestial Dragons targeting me? Why!"

"You could say that. As for the reason, it is, of course, because they have taken an interest in you and your fruit ability."

The man in white answered patiently, then continued, "Your clansmen are all still alive."

"What!"

Moria was greatly surprised and hurriedly asked, "Where are they?"

"Right above your head, in the Hungry Hell of the third level. Aside from being hungry, there are no major problems; their wounds have also been treated by us," the man in white replied.

Hearing this, Moria breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately frowned

"You came to see me and said the Celestial Dragons are interested in my ability, so what is your purpose?"

The man in white liked that Moria got straight to the point.

After all, the environment in Impel Down was indeed terrible, and he didn't want to stay a single day longer.

"The superiors above hope you can join the World Government and become a jailer in this Impel Down. However, you also have the qualification for normal promotion; it is not impossible for you to become the Warden if you have the ability."

"What—!!"

Gecko Moria's eyes nearly popped out. He looked at the mask on the man's face in shock, his voice immediately rising

"You captured me just so I can work here as a servant?"

"You could say that. The superiors above feel that your fruit ability is very suitable for working in 'Impel Down,' so they had me and Vice Admiral Kizaru 'invite' you here," the man in white nodded.

"You!"

Gecko Moria was enraged by the other party's use of the word "invite."

He felt a surge of anger rising from his gut and immediately stood up in a posture of rebellion.

He was nearly seven meters tall, and standing up like this made him look quite terrifying.

But the man in white remained unmoved.

With his hands in the pockets of his pristine white trousers, his attitude remained cold.

He completely disregarded the aura emanating from Moria.

"I have counted; you have twenty clansmen. According to the promise the superiors made to you, as long as you work honestly here, you can release one person every year to serve as a jailer here with you."

"At the same time, for every level you promote, you can release one additional person. In other words, if you can become the Warden, you can regain your freedom in at most fifteen years and leave this place with all your companions."

As soon as these words were spoken, Gecko Moria froze.

He remained silent for nearly twenty minutes.

During this time, his face flickered with struggle, conflict, resentment, and indignation.

Ultimately, it all turned into a long sigh: "Whew—take me to see them first!"

What else could he do?