The person behind the bars is none other than Doflamingo.
The pirates of level six are also classified.
The weak are placed in shared cells, while the strong usually have solitary cells.
Not only are they stratified, but those in solitary cells can also make requests to Impel Down.
Things like food and information can be provided to them, except for the prison clothes and living conditions, everything else is negotiable.
For those who don't resist but also don't cooperate, and hold high status and power, this is the only way to deal with them.
Methods like intimidation and punishment are utterly useless on these individuals.
Not to mention, Doflamingo has been given special instructions from above.
The scattered newspapers around him were his requests.
Listening to Teach, Doflamingo's grin widened, "Defeat Sage? If it were that easy, you wouldn't be on the throne, hee hee hee hee hee!"
He tilted his head upwards, staring directly at Teach, "Listen well, Teach! I've met Sage; he is the most ambitious and the strongest man on the sea! He is more powerful than the so-called Four Emperors! The so-called Sea Emperors are no match for him now! Numbers don't matter; level six isn't absolute; those who came in... are all failures!"
No matter what, those who can enter Impel Down are failures to some extent.
Even Sage entered Impel Down because he failed before; reasons don't matter, failure is failure.
"A bunch of losers going against someone who took down three Sea Emperors and destroyed your old lair, now the only Sea Emperor... hee hee hee hee hee, it will be interesting!"
"Thief haha... my good Aibo is strong, I know that, but it's precisely because they're strong that it's worth killing."
Teach extended his hand, turning it into a black mass covered in dark smoke, "Don't you want to come out, Doflamingo? Wouldn't it be more fun if you won?"
"If I wanted to come out, I could easily call Sage. I'm not like you, Blackbeard."
Doflamingo laughed loudly, "I have never betrayed Sage!"
Swoosh!
His laughter caused his body to shake, chains rattling loudly.
"It's becoming more interesting! The Revolutionary Army stirred chaos with their ideals! Pirates returned to the sea following their desires! Even the World Government replaced one of the Five Elders! And the Navy began shrinking their defenses, unable to control world order! Hahaha, world!!"
Doflamingo extended his hand, laughing heartily, "You have all hit rock bottom; even the Divine Knight Order started mobilizing, what else might be deployed? Will that thing truly be revealed to the world? Or does that weapon not compare to Sage's directness at all! Hee hee hee hee hee!"
"Oh... you know quite a lot indeed, Donquixote."
The black smoke in Teach's hand dissipated; he glanced at Doflamingo before ignoring him and continued walking deeper.
Shiryu followed, asking, "Teach, if he doesn't agree personally, his ability..."
"A useless ability, finding a new suitable candidate doesn't matter, LINES and such... cannot restrain that guy."
Teach smirked coldly, "Abilities aren't always better the stronger they are; suitability is crucial, something you understand best, Shiryu. Level six holds the most ability users. I need to find the existence best suited to counter that guy's ability. If one person isn't enough, then several more! With these guys who once caught the world's attention, fight with full force!"
Bet!
Still betting.
Teach knows very well how strong Sage is; he has faced Sage's destructive might directly.
Nevertheless, "Sage", or rather "calamity", the meaning behind this name has represented everything in the New World.
Even if he traded power with someone from the World Government, it doesn't matter; winning is key for the future. Otherwise, if this continues, there won't be any future, so forget about cost or consequences.
His goal has always been to establish a Pirate Kingdom to seize the entire world.
The goal has been reached now, but the path to obtaining the world has a historically largest roadblock in the way.
Must bet big!
If the bet succeeds, he becomes the Pirate King, no need for any One Piece to rule pirates, and once he acquires the secret of One Piece, he can conquer the world and become the new... that existence!
Now, leveraging everything at Impel Down, he must bet big, otherwise when the Navy Headquarters moves into the New World, it will be the end of him!
"Follow me! Those who are fearless, those who want to challenge the strongest pirate in the world today, come join me! As long as we defeat him, everything in the New World will be under our rule!"
"Whichever island you want as territory is fine; any island is yours, you will legally and permanently rule over everything in your territory, the navy won't disturb us, and we will become the greatest pirate influence, no one can stop us! Thief ha, thief haha, thief hahaha!"
"Oh!!"
The sixth level erupted in deafening cheers again.
And Doflamingo's grin widened further as he raised his head, locking eyes with the unmoving Magellan, whose fists were clenched. From Magellan's gaze, he saw intense anger...
...
O'hara, Royal Palace.
Having received the latest intelligence, Lily immediately sought out Sage to report.
"Changes have occurred at Impel Down."
Lily spoke with her brows furrowed, appearing very serious.
"Hmm?"
Sage was currently gazing out the window at the bustling scene outside; it was nighttime now, with neon lights sparkling, and the streets were filled with a stream of people, vibrant and lively.
He greatly enjoyed this scene.
The more bustling it was, the more he rose above this vibrancy.
This was his creation; whenever he witnessed these, his insatiable desires would find momentary satisfaction.
"Do we have personnel within Impel Down? Who let them in? Lucci?" Sage asked curiously.
He's not very focused on the work of special agents; regarding internal and external affairs, as well as clearing out the Demon Race members, it doesn't matter how they operate to him, he just wants results.
Simply put, it's best if intelligence is delivered before things reach him; if things do and there's no intelligence, then the intelligence work wasn't done well.
He just didn't expect that things would go this far, even letting people into Impel Down.
"No, the news from Impel Down..."
Lily said, "It came through a call from Magellan, provided by Doflamingo to us."
"Dof?"
Sage paused for a moment, then laughed, "Has he finally grown restless and wants to come out?"
"Not planning that for now, but I think whether he comes out or not no longer matters, because Impel Down is empty..."
Lily explained, "Doflamingo conveyed the message that Teach personally arrived at Impel Down and took... everyone away."
Sage froze, "Everyone?"
"Yes, about nine-tenths, only one-tenth of the prisoners remain in Impel Down; the rest were taken out by Teach. Sage, it seems they intend to engage us in a grand showdown."
Lily reasoned, "Especially the sixth level, where many troublesome individuals are detained, including ability users. Teach possibly wants to use this method against us, but I think there's a downside; those prisoners wouldn't follow Teach out of loyalty, this won't last long, if we don't make moves temporarily and avoid this timeframe, those prisoners will venture out to sea on their own. Then we can..."
Strategically, Lily's thinking isn't wrong; the reality is just as such, chaotic pirates wouldn't pledge allegiance because someone freed them, otherwise Buggy would have made all the prisoners he freed from Impel Down his subordinates.
In reality, he only managed to keep a third of those who escaped during the riot as subordinates, the rest departed on their own.
For all Impel Down prisoners, if Teach retains one-tenth, it's impressive.
You just need to stall for time.
But before she could finish speaking, she saw Sage flashing a vicious grin.
"Me avoiding him?"
Sage clenched his fist, "Wanting to gamble? That's easy, I'm not lucky, but I'm not even a dealer, I'm the one who runs the casino! The one running the casino doesn't lose! All in! Sink it along with his stationed area and the Navy Headquarters!"