Renji Kai recognized the man immediately—he was one of the pirates that Blackbeard had freed and taken in as a crew member. His strength was roughly on par with the recently killed Basker Jott.
Without delay, Renji approached Domino.
She was visibly nervous, beads of sweat trickling down from under the brim of her cap. It was clear she couldn't possibly fend off Renji now.
"Hand over the keys."
"Don't even think about it!"
Smack!
With barely a word exchanged, Renji delivered a hard slap to Domino's face. Her head slammed into the wall, and she slumped to the floor, unconscious.
"Trying to act tough with that level of strength? Please," Renji muttered dismissively. He crouched down and removed the keyring from her belt.
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You've defeated an enemy and earned 15,000 reputation points.
That system prompt clearly referred to Domino.
Now holding the keys, the surrounding prisoners began shouting even louder.
Renji then walked over to the cell of Avalo Pizarro—the man who'd been singing his praises nonstop.
Click. The cell door creaked open.
Pizarro looked at Renji like he was his savior. "Brother! Let me out, and I'll help you find the legendary treasure!"
"Sorry, pal. Rather than let you tag along, I'm more interested in your reputation points."
"What reputation points? I don't have anything on me! You can search me!"
Pizarro was genuinely baffled.
"Maybe you didn't before, but now you do."
Moments later, Pizarro's agonized groans echoed from within the cell.
Renji walked out calmly.
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You've defeated an enemy and earned 30,000 reputation points.
The other prisoners, who had been worked up with excitement and envy, suddenly fell into dead silence.
The sixth level of Impel Down was so quiet you could hear people breathing.
Next, Renji approached the loudly shouting pirate Catherine—better known as Crescent Hunter Catarina Devon.
As she saw Renji smiling and approaching, a sense of dread washed over her.
"What do you want?" she asked as he opened her cell.
"Didn't I say? I want reputation points."
"Re-reputation points? Just tell me how to give them to you—I'll do it right now!"
"Thanks. Much appreciated."
Renji responded by suddenly kicking her in the chest.
Boom!
With a loud crash, Catarina Devon was knocked out cold without even a chance to scream.
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You've defeated an enemy and earned 30,000 reputation points.
With yet another victim down, chaos erupted among the prisoners.
"What the hell does he want from us?! Why's he attacking everyone?!"
"Reputation points? I don't even have a shirt on, let alone something worth points!"
"This guy's more brutal than the Marines! One wrong word and he throws a punch!"
Despite the chaos and confusion, Renji remained unfazed. One by one, he unlocked cells and beat down whoever was inside.
The sixth level of Impel Down began to resemble a real-life hell.
Eventually, Renji reached the final cell in the corridor. A deep, low voice echoed from within:
"Don't open this door. You'll die."
Renji paused. He hadn't expected someone with that much backbone to still exist on this level.
Along the way, he had encountered many legendary pirates—most of them, including Blackbeard's future crew members, had been thoroughly humbled.
But now, curiosity stirred within him. Could there really be someone tough enough to be a real challenge here?
With deliberate caution, Renji slowly pushed open the cell door.
Suddenly, from the darkness, a towering middle-aged man lunged at him.
The man was massive, with long golden hair and wearing a tattered military uniform. He charged fiercely, swinging his sea-stone shackles down toward Renji's head.
"How foolish," Renji scoffed.
He casually lifted one leg—
Smack!
A surge of pain shot through the man's body, and he dropped to his knees, groaning in agony.
"Still feeling tough?"
"Get out of my way!"
Refusing to yield, the man roared again and attempted to launch a second attack.
Boom!
This time, Renji's kick was even stronger. The man was slammed to the ground, coughing up blood violently and gasping for breath.
"If you've got the guts, then kill me!" the man growled defiantly, even as he trembled on the floor.
Renji raised a brow, his interest piqued.
"Imprisoned in the sixth level of Impel Down, wearing a military uniform, long golden hair… You wouldn't happen to be the infamous 'Demon Heir' Douglas Bullet, would you?"