The air inside the prison cell was hot and suffocating. Two prisoners, nothing more than skin and bones, stared at Yujin's back. Their eyes held shock, but also a hint of curiosity.
Once Magellan left, the two immediately shuffled closer.
"Kid, you really don't even know why you're in here?"
Yujin ignored them and walked straight to the corner, planning to recover some strength before thinking of a way out.
"What a pitiful fellow." The weaker of the two skeleton-like men shook his head. "Dragged in without knowing why, locked away for life, your best years all wasted here."
The other, who looked slightly better off, pouted. "That's just the way this world works. Doesn't matter what you did or didn't do. If the people up top are happy, then in you go."
As they talked, Yujin grew a little curious. "So how did you two end up here?"
That question seemed to open the floodgates. The healthier skeleton jabbed a finger at his own nose. "Me? I'm a great pirate with a bounty of sixty-three million Beli! They call me the Sea's Evil Lord—Ugo Bennett!"
The other prisoner, the weaker one, still introduced himself with pride. "Heh, I'm the Wicked King—Helan Carlson! My bounty is eighty million Beli!"
"We were both kings of our seas! The World Government had to spend an enormous amount of effort to capture us!"
Helan Carlson turned his gaze toward Yujin.
"And you, brat?"
"Zero bounty. Yujin. People used to call me Multiples · Infinite Yujin."
"What kind of name is that?" Helan Carlson scoffed. "You're telling me you've really got no bounty? And they caught you when you were just seven?"
"Yeah."
"That's strange, very strange…" Helan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I get it now. You must've been dragged into something involving the Celestial Dragons! Once they're involved, the World Government doesn't care about details. They just cut everything down with one stroke."
Ugo Bennett nodded in agreement. "Three years ago, when I first got thrown in this cell, we had another cellmate. He was also locked up because of the Celestial Dragons. Spent twenty-three years here. Died last year. The guard captain in charge of this block got his bonus docked for three years and even lost his annual vacation because of it."
Yujin frowned in puzzlement, "Why punish the guard captain? Isn't a prisoner's death the most normal thing?"
"No, no, no," Ugo Bennett explained. "The first level is Crimson Hell, the second is Beast Hell, both meant for those low-rank prisoners."
"Those kinds of prisoners are worthless when they die; to the World Government they're just extra feed for the fish."
"But Starvation Hell is different!"
"Prisoners sent to Starvation Hell are usually vicious Devil Fruit users, or people carrying major cases, or those who hold secrets about treasures — useful people."
"Any death on the third level is a huge loss to the powers above."
"Like that guy before who offended the Celestial Dragons — when he died, the Celestial Dragons were furious! They wanted that man tortured for a hundred years!"
Yujin let out an angry laugh, "So you mean I was lumped in because of the Celestial Dragons, thrown into Crimson Hell for being young, and the World Government, Impel Down, and the Celestial Dragons all cut me some slack?"
Ugo Bennett nodded, "I hate to say it, but that's probably the truth."
Yujin said nothing, his fists creaking as he clenched them.
Harlan Carlson pressed again, "That poison guy just said you escaped down to this level — are you lost? Why run the wrong way?"
Yujin didn't bother revealing the secret of level 5.5 and closed his eyes to rest.
The two inmates, finally seeing a newcomer, leaned closer and urged, "Tell us, tell us, how did you survive? How did you dodge the Rankyaku just now?"
At the word "Rankyaku," Yujin opened his eyes, "I wanted to dodge, so I dodged."
Harlan Carlson's face showed disbelief, "Your talent must be high! With a proper teacher you might become a master of Kenbunshoku Haki, Observation Haki!"
Ugo Bennett scoffed, "I trained eight years to learn Observation Haki, why would some green kid be self-taught?"
"Then explain how he dodged my Rankyaku."
"How would I know! You're old and slow!"
"Bullshit! I'm slow!? Have you forgotten how I used Rankyaku to smash your face when we first met?"
"Damn it!"
The two skeleton-like inmates grabbed each other's collars and tore into a brawl.
Yujin stood up, "Enough! What's the point of arguing? Since we're stuck here anyway, why not teach me Observation Haki and see if I can learn it?"
Two skeletons turned their heads at the same time.
"Fine! Let's give it a try!"
———
By the lakeside waterfall, a figure leapt down from the top of the cliff.
Just as he was about to crash into the water below, a pair of black wings suddenly spread open behind him.
After steadying himself in the air, he landed directly on the surface of the lake.
Nearby, Killer B, the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, was scribbling in his notebook while practicing his rap, "Freedom for Sky." He glanced over and shook his head.
"No, no, no! Your chakra control is way too sloppy! I don't even know how you managed to learn the Water Dragon Jutsu. What on earth was your teacher doing?"
"With chakra control this bad, you're nowhere near the level required for the Lightning Pen technique! Such a waste of your lightning nature chakra, check it, check it!"
Uchiha Yujin bristled at the remark. He spread his wings and shot a black feather straight at Killer B.
The feather tore through the air with a sharp hiss.
It was so fast it even surpassed the speed of a bullet.
But—
Killer B casually raised his arm, and a pencil wrapped in crackling blue chakra shot out like lightning.
In an instant, it pierced through Yujin's feather.
With two splashes, the broken feather fell into the lake.
"So fast!"
Even with his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning at full power, Yujin couldn't track the pencil's flight path. All he caught was a blur before his supposedly unbreakable feather dropped helplessly into the water.
"Hmph! You're still far behind!" Killer B smirked. "Before you can even dream of mastering the Lightning Pen, you'll need to write me five more songs! And I said five songs, not five hands, yo~!"
With a laugh, he pulled out another pencil, sharpened it with his blade, and began scribbling in his notebook again.
Uchiha Yujin plucked out another feather, trying to channel chakra into it.
But the moment he tried, the chakra slipped away like sand through his fingers. No matter how hard he focused, he couldn't keep it inside the feather.
Killer B looked up from his notebook and said, "Young one, don't rush it. The Lightning Pen isn't as simple as you think. It's one of the highest forms of chakra control! Yo-yo, the hardest secret technique~!"
Yujin clenched his fists, unable to bear Killer B's attitude. He shouted back, "Fine then! I'll write you ten songs! Enough to fill an entire concert setlist! Just tell me the trick! Sign me up for your crash course!"
"Ten songs!?" Killer B's eyes widened. The moment he heard that number, he jumped to his feet.
"Alright then—lesson starts now!"
****
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