All the prisoners looked at the young man before them with deep fear.
He had only opened his mouth, yet everyone around had fallen dead. His murderous nature was terrifying.
What was even more frightening was that he actually possessed the power to kill them all.
"Yes, Caelan! It's really Caelan!"
Krieg was stunned when he saw Caelan appear before him.
Although Caelan's appearance had changed slightly, that look in his eyes was unforgettable, even if he turned to ashes.
It had only been a few months since they last met. Krieg had only lost some weight after being imprisoned, but Caelan had changed completely.
In just a few months, he had gone from being the strongest bounty hunter in the East Blue to breaking into Impel Down itself.
What on earth was happening to this world? Why had it become so insane?
"Boss, he looks like he's ready to kill us all. What should we do?"
Gin was equally confused.
Running into Caelan in Impel Down like this was far too stimulating.
"What should we do? Wait for death."
Krieg simply lay down in despair.
When Caelan had been a bounty hunter in the East Blue, he had wiped out a hundred of his remaining subordinates with a single sword strike.
Now that Caelan had come to Impel Down, there was no reason to believe he would show mercy.
"Caelan-sama, please don't kill me, I'm a good man!"
"Caelan-sama, please spare me! I'll serve you!"
In the first level of the Crimson Hell, countless prisoners clung to the iron bars, frantically begging Caelan for mercy.
"…"
Caelan's cold eyes swept over the desperate prisoners.
These pirates were now wagging their tails and begging for their lives, yet who knew how many people they had killed and what evil deeds they had done before ending up here?
If he truly recruited these people, there would be no point in establishing a Neo Navy.
He was here to exterminate pests, not gather them. The only ones who could become his subordinates were the strong, those he turned into Heroic Spirits after death.
Just as Caelan prepared to take action, something crossed his mind and he stopped.
Impel Down housed Ivankov of the Revolutionary Army, and there should be other members imprisoned here as well.
Since he had allied with Monkey D. Dragon, it was right to rescue them if possible.
Caelan turned to Magellan and asked, "Are there any members of the Revolutionary Army here?"
Magellan pointed to a section of the prison. "Yes, they're all held in that area."
"Alright." Caelan nodded slightly, then walked to the front of that area and said, "I'm a collaborator of the Revolutionary Army. Come out and follow me."
As he spoke, Caelan drew his sword.
With a single flash of the blade, more than a dozen iron pillars as thick as arms were cut cleanly in half.
The soldiers of the Revolutionary Army inside were stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.
They had thought death was certain, but the one who arrived was actually an ally of the Revolutionary Army.
However, this collaborator's style was far too bold—he had forced his way into Impel Down itself.
That was completely different from their cautious leader who always acted discreetly.
"Thank you, Caelan-sama, for saving our lives!"
A team leader stepped forward to express his gratitude, and the soldiers behind him bowed deeply.
Caelan nodded lightly. "I'll save you this once. Be more careful next time. If you die again, don't blame me."
"Yes, Caelan-sama."
The Revolutionary soldiers nodded repeatedly.
They knew Caelan couldn't be their babysitter, and it was already a great favor for him to save them.
"Caelan-sama, this isn't right, is it?"
Magellan approached Caelan, looking uneasy.
Compared to other criminals, these people were better off—they could be considered political prisoners.
But political prisoners couldn't be released so casually.
"There's nothing wrong with it. You'll be working with me from now on, and they'll be your colleagues," Caelan said, patting Magellan on the shoulder.
"I haven't even agreed to follow you yet," Magellan said helplessly.
He had only said he would consider it, but somehow he had already become Caelan's subordinate.
"You can try fighting me again and see how that ends," Caelan said with a grin.
"…"
Magellan was speechless.
Before Caelan killed Shiryu, he had still harbored some will to fight.
But after seeing Caelan kill Shiryu with just two sword strikes, he knew he stood no chance.
Besides, Caelan had promised he could neutralize the side effects of the Poison-Poison Fruit. If that was true, Magellan's fruit abilities would be useless against him anyway.
Magellan sighed. "Fine, I'll follow you. But if you release anyone besides the Revolutionary Army, I'll fight you to the death."
"Don't worry, I have no fondness for criminals," Caelan-sama replied with a smile. "Next, let's kill all the criminals here."
"Let me remind you, many of the criminals imprisoned in Impel Down are Devil Fruit users. The World Government locks them up instead of killing them because they fear those fruits will reappear across the world," Magellan warned.
"…"
Caelan fell silent, deep in thought.
He knew Magellan was right, but he already had a solution.
He would simply transform the most powerful Devil Fruit users into Heroic Spirits under his command.
When Nami, Tashigi, Vivi, and others were transformed into Heroic Spirits, they retained their Devil Fruit abilities.
However, when he summoned Enel's Heroic Spirit, Enel had lost his Rumble-Rumble Fruit powers, since Gion had already eaten the fruit.
This meant that when a living person was transformed into a Heroic Spirit, the Devil Fruit within their body would not regenerate.
When he summoned Toki, she still possessed the powers of the Toki-Toki Fruit.
This proved that even if a Devil Fruit is reborn, as long as no one has eaten it yet, it will return to its previous owner.
After all, a Devil Fruit reincarnates only after its previous user dies—but what if that person is resurrected?
Without a new host, the fruit naturally returns to its original owner.
It was like exploiting a loophole in the system.
However, this method couldn't be used too often, only for a select few powerful individuals.
Although his Heroic Spirit capacity was large—around three thousand when full—not every small fry deserved a place.
Those with ordinary Devil Fruit abilities required a different solution.
Caelan's eyes gleamed as he asked, "Magellan, Blackbeard is in this prison, right?"
"Yes. I just locked him up recently. Even if Shiryu released him, he wouldn't escape," Magellan replied seriously.
"Good."
Caelan smiled.
Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit could absorb other Devil Fruit powers.
If Caelan captured and transformed Blackbeard into a Heroic Spirit, he would become a Devil Fruit Recycler.
There would be no need to worry about Devil Fruits reappearing across the world, and Caelan would have a group of powerful subordinates at his command.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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