Chapter Twenty-Four: The Innocent Magellan

Half a day later, the escort ship had arrived at Platform Zero of Impel Down. Led by Hannibal, two squads of wardens began escorting the pirates from the ship one by one into the prison. Buffon and Moria, both cloaked in black capes, followed behind Garp without drawing Hannibal’s attention. After all, the Navy and the World Government always had some odd individuals who preferred to remain unseen, occasionally coming and going from Impel Down.

At that moment, a voice came from the line of prisoners: “Hehehehehe, Garp, you can lock me up if you like, but tell Sengoku I want a laboratory in this prison. With so many pirates here, this is the perfect place for my experiments.”

With a dull thud, Caesar, who had turned to speak, abruptly stopped after running into a towering figure.

“Who’s the blind fool daring to block the great—” As he turned and recognized the man, his mouth snapped shut.

“With me here, these pirates will stay in Impel Down for life! Caesar, do you want to see whether your gas or my poison is deadlier?”

Before this poisonous man, who far surpassed him in both Devil Fruit powers and sheer strength, Caesar felt a natural terror. Instantly, he fell silent and obediently followed the guards forward.

Buffon, seeing this familiar face, paused in surprise. He couldn’t help but wonder what expression the interrogators on Enies Lobby would have when faced with Caesar’s outlandish confessions. Then his eyes shifted to Magellan’s massive shadow lurking behind the door. With someone of Magellan’s strength, rivaling the Navy’s three admirals, and the protection of the Calm Belt, Impel Down truly deserved its reputation as an impenetrable fortress.

Once all the prisoners had entered the prison’s main gate, an officer from the escort ship said to Tsuru, “Commander Tsuru, another escort ship will arrive in three days to pick you up. I’ll take my leave for now.”

“Thank you for your hard work,” Tsuru replied, patting his shoulder. With a casual touch of her Wash-Wash Fruit power, the officer’s slightly worn uniform became spotless and good as new.

Inspired by Tsuru’s gesture, the officer straightened up and gave a sharp salute.

As the group stepped through the prison gates, Magellan finally spoke. “The plan Sengoku discussed with me is indeed a good one. But with those great pirates’ shadows in Moria’s hands, aren’t you afraid the Navy is nurturing a future disaster?”

Magellan knew that one of the two figures in black cloaks had to be Moria, so his words were intentionally for Moria’s ears.

“Kishishishishi, but as long as the owner of the shadow remains in your custody, you can simply execute them and the shadow will disappear as well. Doesn’t that give you a perfect excuse to sentence the criminals to death?” Moria replied, pulling back his hood to reveal his iconic flame-shaped hair.

He was right—Sengoku had agreed to Moria’s deal precisely because of this reasoning.

“Heh, you’d better not try anything clever, or I’ll step out of Impel Down myself to drag you back!” Magellan threatened again.

“All right, Magellan. Think about who might be suitable,” Tsuru interjected, redirecting the conversation and putting an end to the pointless exchange.

“Moria won’t be interested in inmates from Level 1 to 4, and I absolutely forbid you from touching Level 6. If you must, look around Level 5.” With that, Magellan led them deeper into the prison.

Buffon now began considering his options. The person he had in mind was on Level 6. Moria’s influence wasn’t enough to sway Magellan’s decision—how could he persuade Magellan to grant him that shadow?

When they reached the scorching heat of Level 4—home to both the kitchen and Magellan’s office—Tsuru paused before a cell’s iron bars. Although the Navy did not oppose corporal punishment, what she saw inside made even her, a seasoned strategist, frown with displeasure.

“Magellan, what happened here?” Tsuru asked, pointing to a prisoner inside the cell, whose body was covered in knife wounds and looked more like a dried corpse.

Magellan’s face darkened with frustration. “All the work of Shiryu! You know how bloodthirsty he is, and his sword, Thunderstorm, is a vampiric demon blade. He had no interest in the inmates on the first three levels, so he’d amuse himself by tormenting and butchering the prisoners on Level 4 and 5. I’ve already classified him as a death row inmate and confined him to Level 6!”

At the mention of Shiryu, Buffon’s heart skipped a beat. His target was as flamboyant as in the original tale.

Buffon tugged lightly at Moria’s cloak, and Moria nodded subtly in understanding. Their movements were discreet enough to avoid the others’ notice.

“You did the right thing, Magellan! But can’t the prison doctors treat these wounds? If Devil Fruit users die like this, their powers will simply enter a new cycle. Should the power fall into pirates’ hands, what meaning does Impel Down have?” Tsuru’s words rang true. The Navy’s reason for keeping these prisoners locked up indefinitely, instead of executing them, was precisely this concern. Only criminals as notorious as the Pirate King Roger were publicly executed as a warning to pirates.

“There’s nothing I can do. After Thunderstorm slices through flesh and blood, the wounds bleed endlessly and never heal.” Magellan was clearly troubled.

Tsuru ordered the cell to be opened and used her Wash-Wash Fruit to clean the prisoner’s blood-soaked body. Only then did they see that old wounds still oozed blood.

At a glance, Buffon, recalling his experience stitching up Tiger’s corpse, guessed that the problem lay with the blood vessels.

At that moment, Tsuru spoke again: “Buffon, could you use your miraculous stitching skills to sew up this prisoner’s wounds?”

Before Buffon could respond, Moria interjected, “We’re not part of the Navy. There’s no need for us to help you over and over again!”

Buffon couldn’t help but think that Moria would have made an excellent businessman; with negotiation skills like his, he might have achieved just as much in commerce as in piracy.

“Moria, I’m asking young Buffon, not you. Don’t interrupt.” Tsuru’s tone was calm, but it left no room for dispute.

“Kishishishishi! This is already beyond our agreement. Buffon already acted once on the escort ship. If you want him to help the Navy again, you must promise to give us Shiryu’s shadow!”

Before the others could speak, Magellan coldly refused, “Impossible!”

But before he finished, Buffon stepped into the cell, crouched down, and began examining the prisoner’s wounds.

Tsuru spoke up, “Magellan, wait until you’ve seen Buffon’s handiwork before you decide. On behalf of Navy Headquarters, I accept Moria’s terms.”

Buffon smirked inwardly and set to work. The problem was indeed the blood vessels. He surmised that the demon blade contained some mysterious power preventing natural healing, and the prison doctors lacked the skill to suture blood vessels.

That was why these injuries bled without end.

Without waiting for Magellan’s approval, Buffon’s needle danced in his hand. In the blink of an eye, he had stitched up a wound, flawlessly reconnecting even the finest capillaries.

Tsuru stepped forward for a closer look. Sure enough, as she had guessed, the bleeding had stopped. This only strengthened her resolve to recruit Buffon into the Navy.

Magellan came over, face still showing disdain, but inside, he was more astonished than anyone else. He had only locked Shiryu in Level 6 to stop him from torturing prisoners to death, especially those with Devil Fruit abilities.

He was about to say something, but seeing Buffon rise and leave the cell without any intention of stitching up the rest of the wounds, his expression darkened. Poison began to gather in his hand, taking the form of a venomous dragon.

“Kishishishishi! Magellan, when you ask for help, do it properly. You still want to fight? Buffon, let’s go! Forget the shadow, and all previous agreements are off!”

With that, he turned to leave with Buffon.

But at that moment, Garp lost his temper and punched Magellan on the head, shouting, “Shut your mouth! Whether you agree or not, you’ll accept their terms.”

Rubbing the large bump on his head, Magellan looked at Garp in confusion. “Is it really worth it for a single pirate?”

Facing Garp, whose strength was second only to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Magellan dared not protest.