—Broadcast (Year 1526)—
Admiral Kisame filed his request through proper channels, and within half an hour, authorization finally came through. The bureaucratic wheels of the New Marine turned slowly even for an Admiral, but they did turn.
Entering Still Water Prison required cooperation from inside. The facility's security protocols demanded that prison personnel operate the internal mechanisms, raising the sluice gate upward to expose the external elevator. It was a deliberately slow process—one designed to give defenders time to prepare if the visitor proved hostile. Hoshigaki Kisame could only wait patiently at the designated staging area, his shark-like features impassive as minutes crawled past.
"Admiral Kisame, what a rare guest." A familiar feminine voice cut through his patience. "I haven't seen you since the last decoration ceremony."
Kisame turned to find a blonde woman approaching, her military uniform tailored to emphasize curves without sacrificing professionalism. Recognition flickered across his features—Domino, former deputy chief warden of Impel Down, now promoted to head the New Marine's flagship prison.
"The Fleet Admiral certainly rewarded loyalty well," Kisame observed, noting the insignia of rank adorning her collar.
Domino's expression softened slightly, though her bearing remained crisp and professional. "Since Impel Down's fall, our former home sustained catastrophic damage. The lowest levels sank completely beneath the waves. However reluctant we were to abandon that place, duty called us elsewhere."
She gestured toward the descending stairwell. "Fortunately, the Fleet Admiral's vision provided us with something far superior. Rome's foundation supports more than just the fortress above—it anchors the future of Marine justice below."
Kisame inclined his head respectfully. "Domino, I'll need your guidance. This is my first visit to Still Water Prison, and I'd rather not violate protocols through ignorance."
"Of course, Admiral." The woman took point, leading him down the stairs with practiced efficiency. "Follow me closely. The descent protocols are quite specific."
They passed through layer after layer of reinforced bulkheads, each one requiring biometric verification before unsealing. The security measures impressed even Kisame—Rome's designers had learned harsh lessons from Impel Down's vulnerabilities. Finally, they reached the elevator shaft entrance, where a pool of absolutely motionless water stretched before them like a mirror of glass.
The elevator required continuous power transmission from the prison facility far below, a fail-safe ensuring no unauthorized ascent could occur. The descent process would take approximately ten minutes through nearly ten thousand meters of specialized liquid. Man and woman settled into patient silence as mechanisms groaned to life in the depths.
Kisame found his gaze drawn to the unnaturally still water before him. Not a ripple disturbed its surface despite the vibrations from the machinery. It seemed to swallow light rather than reflect it, creating an almost hypnotic effect.
Domino noticed his fascination and allowed herself a small smile of professional pride. "The stagnant water surrounding Still Water Prison truly lives up to its name—it cannot flow under any circumstances. This liquid possesses none of water's normal characteristics. It generates no buoyancy whatsoever." Her voice dropped slightly, taking on a cautionary edge. "If it enters the body through skin pores, the poisoning process begins immediately. Death follows within hours even for the strongest constitution."
The fish-man's expression remained neutral, but his respect for the facility's designers deepened. Such a substance represented scientific achievement bordering on the miraculous.
"The dead water contains extremely high concentrations of Sea-Prism Stone particles," Domino continued, warming to her subject. "Even the slightest contact proves nightmarish for Devil Fruit users. Their powers become completely inaccessible—not suppressed, but genuinely unreachable, as though they never possessed abilities at all."
She gestured at the vast reservoir surrounding them on all sides. "This specialized liquid doesn't suffer from normal water pressure limitations. It remains incompatible with seawater, allowing Still Water Prison to function at depths that would crush conventional facilities. The engineering challenges alone—"
"It ensures no escape," Kisame interrupted quietly, understanding the strategic brilliance. "Even if prisoners somehow breach containment and riot successfully, they merely exchange one death for another. The dead water becomes their tomb."
Domino nodded approvingly. "Precisely. Sea Kings cannot approach through this barrier—their natural instincts scream warnings. Fish-men and Merfolk, despite their racial advantages in aquatic environments, become utterly helpless. They suffocate faster than humans, actually. Their superior lung capacity works against them when drowning in poison."
Hoshigaki Kisame absorbed this information with the analytical mind of a professional tactician. The explanation satisfied surface curiosity, but he recognized it as merely the public-facing security layer. The true horrors of Still Water Prison would only reveal themselves to those who entered the facility proper. Threats designed to break spirits rather than merely contain bodies.
The elevator finally broke through the stagnant water's surface, rising until it reached the insertion point. Hatches opened with pneumatic hisses, extending steps with almost courtly precision. The two Marines boarded in order of rank—Domino first as the facility's mistress, then Kisame as her guest.
Once the hatch sealed behind them, the elevator began its descent. Transparent reinforced glass panels allowed Kisame to observe the seabed environment during the journey. Under normal circumstances, sunlight never reached these depths—only absolute darkness and crushing pressure existed here. However, the New Marine had installed extensive lighting arrays across the ocean floor, illuminating the area surrounding Still Water Prison with artificial brilliance. The effect transformed an abyss into a fishbowl.
"An impressive observation deck," Kisame remarked, studying the barren landscape beyond the glass. "The engineers spared no expense on aesthetics."
"The Fleet Admiral believes environment influences morale," Domino replied. "Even prison staff deserve some beauty in their working conditions."
Yet the Admiral noticed one conspicuous absence in the underwater panorama. Within Still Water Prison's effective radius, absolutely no marine life existed. Not a fish, not a crustacean, not even the microscopic organisms that typically populated every oceanic environment. The poisoned water had created a dead zone—an aquatic desert where nothing lived, nothing moved, nothing changed. The seabed might as well have been the surface of a lifeless moon.
After nearly ten minutes of rapid descent, the elevator began interfacing with Still Water Prison's docking mechanism. Biometric scanners activated, cross-referencing genetic markers against authorization databases. DNA verification completed successfully, and the prison's automated systems accepted the visitors, drawing the elevator into the facility's receiving bay with mechanical precision.
Domino exited first, her heels clicking against metal flooring as she stepped into the prison's artificially maintained atmosphere. She inhaled deeply, and her shoulders relaxed fractionally. For all the horror this place represented to its inmates, to its staff it meant home—familiar, controlled, safe.
"Admiral Kisame," she said, turning to face him with a curious expression. "Can you detect any changes in your physical condition?"
Kisame stepped out of the elevator and raised his arms experimentally, mimicking the woman's earlier stretch. The simple motion provided immediate understanding of Still Water Prison's insidious nature. His muscles responded sluggishly, as though he'd already fought for hours without rest. Fatigue crept through his limbs like creeping frost.
"Remarkable engineering," he admitted, genuine appreciation coloring his voice. "The facility drains physical stamina passively, and I suspect attempting to use special abilities would cost exponentially more energy than normal. How is this effect generated?"
The question was partially rhetorical—Kisame could deduce the mechanism from context—but professional courtesy demanded he allow Domino to explain her domain.
"Not only does Still Water Prison continuously sap an outsider's physical strength," the warden confirmed, "but utilizing any supernatural abilities requires approximately one hundred times the normal expenditure. Eventually, exhaustion renders such powers completely unusable regardless of willpower."
She gestured at the walls surrounding them, though the actual mechanisms remained hidden behind reinforced plating. "Devil Fruit users find this environment particularly hostile. Even without Sea-Prism Stone restraints, their abilities become functionally worthless. The prison itself serves as their chains."
Domino's expression turned grave. "Should prisoners attempt to force usage of Devil Fruit powers through sheer determination, the backlash proves catastrophic. Those with weaker constitutions might have their life force drained entirely after only a few attempts. The survivors learn quickly—continued resistance means death. Even the most stubborn pirates develop wisdom when mortality stares them in the face."
From her pocket, Domino produced a simple metal badge attached to a lanyard. The identification tag bore official Marine insignia alongside encrypted authorization codes. She offered it to Kisame with both hands, formal courtesy for a superior officer.
"Wear this at all times while inside the facility," she instructed. "It broadcasts clearance signals that exempt you from the draining effect."
Admiral Kisame accepted the badge and looped it around his neck. The change was instantaneous and profound—the oppressive weight crushing down on his shoulders vanished as though it had never existed. His strength returned in a rushing wave, muscles responding with their normal fluidity. The exhaustion that had been accumulating reversed itself completely.
He allowed himself a slight smile, impressed despite himself. The technology represented cutting-edge development, likely emerging from Dr. Vegapunk's laboratories before his... complicated relationship with the New Marine developed.
"Domino," Kisame said, straightening to his full height now that the prison's suppression no longer affected him, "I'm here to visit a former Shichibukai. Jinbe—assuming he still survives within these walls."
The warden's expression shifted subtly, professional mask sliding into place. "Boss Jinbe remains alive and relatively healthy. Still Water Prison has discontinued most torture practices under the Fleet Admiral's reforms. She maintains that even criminals possess certain inalienable rights."
Her tone suggested skepticism about this policy, though she would never voice such criticism of her commanding officer openly. Kisame, however, possessed enough experience with institutional politics to read between carefully chosen words.
Whether imprisoned pirates truly enjoyed "human rights" remained a philosophical question worth debating. The Fleet Admiral certainly didn't allow these criminals to live comfortably—she simply prolonged their survival indefinitely, making them available for purposes that served the New Marine's strategic interests.
Caesar Clown, the Marine's chief scientific officer, maintained a standing authorization for Still Water Prison access. The mad scientist visited regularly, conducting experiments that skirted ethical boundaries with the pragmatic excuse that his subjects were condemned criminals anyway. Discussions of "human rights" with captive pirates tended to be rather one-sided conversations.
Domino gestured toward the interior corridors, beginning their journey into Still Water Prison's depths. "This way, Admiral. Boss Jinbe is held in the specialized aquatic wing. Even prisoners deserve environments suited to their physiology—within reason, of course."
As they walked deeper into the facility, Kisame reflected on the irony of visiting his "brother" in chains. Two fish-men who had taken such different paths, now meeting again in a place designed to break the strongest wills.
The corridors of Still Water Prison stretched before them, clean and sterile and absolutely merciless. This was the New Marine's vision of justice—efficient, inescapable, and perfectly controlled.
Exactly as the Fleet Admiral intended.