Chapter 244: Remnants of the Old Era

Level Six of Impel Down is called the Infinite Hell, the most secure level of the underwater prison, housing the most vicious criminals.

Inmates confined to Level Six usually face execution or life imprisonment.

Such as Gold Lion, who challenged the Marine Headquarters and was later captured by Garp and Sengoku in tandem.

Barret, captured by the Marines during the Holy War.

And the Lone Red: Red Count Barolick Redfield, who stood equal to Luo Jie and Whitebeard's crew through sheer personal strength.

These three, along with Pirate King Luo Jie, were the most notorious villains imprisoned in Infinite Hell over the years.

Unfortunately, times have changed.

Luo Jie was executed five years ago; Gold Lion escaped three years ago by severing his own legs; Barret was rescued by Luo Jie's crewmates.

The only major figure still imprisoned on Level Six now is Red Count Barolick.

Barolick is reclusive, having risen to legendary status solely through his own power.

Yet after witnessing the full strength of Luo Jie and Whitebeard, Red Count believed his dream inferior to theirs and resolved to spend his remaining days in Impel Down.

But recent events on Level Six have made Red Count feel an urgent threat—

The number of inmates in Infinite Hell is dwindling; one disappears almost every few days.

Moreover, Red Count has possessed powerful Observation Haki since childhood, allowing him to see through a person's heart.

From the thoughts of World Government agents, Red Count learned his ultimate fate: to become expendable material for the World Government, like those vanished inmates.

The only possible difference is—

The earlier missing inmates vanished merely to increase the odds of success in experiments—the World Government's true target is him.

Red Count really wants to curse.

When Luo Jie, Gold Lion, and Barret were here, the World Government never ran experiments.

Now that Luo Jie and the others are gone, and Red Count is the only great pirate left on Level Six, they start these modification experiments!?

Damn it!

Red Count had intended to spend his remaining days in Impel Down, but now he must consider: how to escape?

He felt his dream was inferior to Luo Jie's, but he never intended to die—especially not to be transformed into a monstrous bio-weapon.

With Gold Lion having escaped before him, Red Count believes he too can succeed.

Imagination is beautiful; reality is cruel.

Due to Gold Lion's escape, security patrols in Impel Down have become stricter than ever.

Red Count finds no opportunity.

What about mimicking Gold Lion and severing his own legs?

Gold Lion could still fly even without legs; Red Count couldn't even perform Moon Step without them—how could he possibly crawl out of Level Six?

Since realizing this problem,

Each time an inmate disappears from Level Six, Red Count feels death drawing nearer.

He isn't afraid of death—he fears losing his consciousness after transformation, becoming a tool of the World Government.

If Gold Lion or Whitebeard ever saw him like that, they'd surely mock him: "Told you, you can't make it alone on the sea."

Just imagining that embarrassing scene, Red Count wants to Overturn the World Government and slaughter all Five Elders.

【These damn bastards!】

【If anyone rescues me, I'll kill every last one of them to avenge today!】

No one answered Red Count's longing—only the footsteps of the meal-delivery guard came and went, came and went.

Waiting is far more terrifying than the outcome.

Red Count knows exactly what the final outcome will be: he will become a bio-weapon under the World Government's control, and very likely lose his self-awareness.

Precisely because he understands, the regret over unfinished matters continues to pound his heart.

Compared to the approaching end, death itself becomes liberation.

Unfortunately, beyond refusing food or biting his tongue, Red Count finds no third option—and he has no intention of leaving so pitifully.

He wants revenge—revenge against the World Government for inflicting so much suffering upon him.

Perhaps due to his chaotic thoughts, Red Count failed to notice any difference in the meal-delivery guard.

After delivering Impel Down's special prison rations to the few remaining cells on Level Six, the guard trembled as he left Level Six.

This was Saint Saint Saiwen's third day infiltrating Impel Down.

Originally, Saint Saint Saiwen planned to take Red Count away immediately, but after sensing Red Count's unusual emotions, he decided to wait a little longer.

He would appear like a beam of light, a hero arriving just as Red Count lost all hope.

Otherwise, it would be nearly impossible to win over a veteran like Red Count.

Veterans are called remnants of the old era precisely because they carry their own pride.

They rarely yield to the world.

Just like Gold Lion and Whitebeard—getting them to join a younger generation of pirates is harder than killing them.

Gold Lion joining the Morning Star Crew was an accidental outcome of multiple factors.

Saint Saint Saiwen never intended to invite Gold Lion aboard; he originally planned to kill Gold Lion to obtain the Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit.

It was Saint Saint Saiwen who transformed Gold Lion from a broken lion into a complete lion, and ultimately into an eternal lion—only then did the Morning Star Crew gain a top-tier combatant.

Much of this was accidental.

Red Count is not a broken version now.

Yet Red Count's current situation is nearly identical to Gold Lion's right after his escape.

Right after escaping, Gold Lion bore the title of Supreme Ship's Helm and had just lost his legs, his combat power severely diminished.

Red Count now faces the fate of being modified by the World Government—his life is dark, with virtually no hope in sight.

It's a state of neither being able to survive nor die.

This must be thanked to Satan Saint.

Saint Saint Saiwen learned from Begepangke that the initiator of the Peacekeeper Project was Satan Saint.

The suggestion to reform prisoners from the sixth level of Impel Down also came from Satan Saint.

When the Morning Star Group gathers in the future, Saint Saint Saiwen won't even raise his cup if Satan Saint isn't there.

Satan Saint is the Morning Star Group's greatest ally—he not only gave Saint Saint Saiwen initial Devil Fruit sales points but also sent in a mole.

Now he has cornered the Red Count.

Praise Satan Saint.

Although these outcomes were not Satan Saint's original intent, every decision he made benefited Saint Saint Saiwen and the Morning Star Group immensely.

Saint Saint Saiwen was beginning to hesitate about killing Satan Saint.

If this fool were replaced by the Speed Limit and Lin Saint, it would be a catastrophic loss for Saint Saint Saiwen and the Morning Star Group.

Satan Saint's existence is like a deliberately planted stick in the World Government's shit.

Satan Saint, this great genius, must be kept alive.

While Saint Saint Saiwen infiltrated Impel Down, the Blackbeard Pirates in the West Sea faced their greatest existential crisis since their formation.

The moment Blackbeard saw Akainu and Lin Saint appear together, his head buzzed.

"Is this really necessary?"

For an unknown pirate, the Marines and the World Government had dispatched a Fleet Admiral and the leader of the Divine Knights.

Blackbeard felt overwhelming malice.

Seeing this, Lafitte sprouted wings and shot straight into the sky after uttering a single phrase.

"Captain, stop staring."

"Run, now!"