The flickering torchlight illuminated the silhouette of a monster ahead.
The other party was approaching the prison cage, accompanied by an aura of terror that made one's heart tremble with fear.
Fisher Tiger's scalp went numb. A monster from Impel Down actually knew him.
"The monster is coming!"
The prisoners beside him, who had been excited and exhilarated just a moment ago, instantly shrank back like frightened quails, trembling as they retreated. They were clearly more than willing to watch the battle between the monster and the jailer beasts, but they absolutely did not want to get close to him.
"Who are you?"
Watching the figure approach step by step, Fisher Tiger asked nervously.
The Monster did not answer. He quickly reached the prison cage, pulled a key from his chest, and unlocked it. A series of unlocking sounds rang out.
"Who am I?"
"Well, judging by how I look now, even people who know me well probably wouldn't recognize me."
The Monster grinned. Then, with a slight shake of his head, his black hair fell back, revealing a face that filled Fisher Tiger with incomparable shock.
"Vice-Admiral Kojin?!" He cried out in disbelief.
"Long time no see, Tiger! I wonder how much time has passed outside… to think I'd run into you here." Kojin smiled.
The smile on his face was bright. Clearly, meeting an old friend here made him genuinely happy.
However, after the initial shock had passed, Fisher Tiger felt a chill run down his spine.
"Who was it?"
"Who injured you so badly?!"
"And even imprisoned you here!"
The figure before him was still tall, but compared to the man in his memories, he was now far too thin, little more than skin and bones. What made Fisher Tiger's heart tighten even more was...
Both of the man's arms were gone.
Iron chains pierced his back and, after years of erosion, had practically fused with his flesh.
It was impossible to imagine the legendary Vice-Admiral, who had once been so spirited, powerful, and confident, ending up in such a miserable state.
Fisher Tiger's eyes welled up with tears for a moment.
"Well, that's a long story! I was just about to catch a Jailer Beast. Why don't you come with me?"
Kojin grinned.
He didn't seem to care at all about his current appearance. After fighting for such a long time, he had gradually adapted to the power of Seastone and become accustomed to it.
In fact, he had started to enjoy the changes to his body and the heightened clarity of his perception of the outside world.
According to his guesses, it might not be long before he finally achieved completeness in his overall strength by awakening Kenbunshoku Haki.
"Ah?"
Fisher Tiger froze.
Then, the prison door was pulled open by the chains behind Kojin. Before he could react, Tiger found himself standing outside the cell.
"This?!"
"Did I just escape like that?"
Fisher Tiger was completely bewildered.
He turned to look at the prisoners still inside the cage. They all wore expressions filled with longing and fear.
"Come on! There are plenty of Jailer Beasts in Wild Beast Hell. If I want to catch that big guy, I might need your help!" Kojin said with a laugh.
"Alright!" Fisher Tiger nodded.
He could not refuse his benefactor's request. Then he watched Kojin turn around and sprint deeper into the prison.
"Further down?"
"Have you been living here all these years?"
Fisher Tiger asked in astonishment, running after him.
"That's right! Powerful Jailer Beasts are the most effective tempering for my strength. Besides, I recently discovered an interesting Jailer Beast. It seems to have eaten an extremely rare Zoan Devil Fruit." Kojin said with a smile on his face.
"Zoan?" Fisher Tiger looked utterly confused.
The two of them continued running deeper.
The further in they went, the fewer prisoners there were and the darker it became. By the time they reached the end, it was pitch black and impossible to see anything with the naked eye.
Only a faint glow coming from far away allowed them to make out their surroundings vaguely.
Yet Kojin seemed completely unaffected. He continued sprinting forward at high speed, occasionally telling Tiger where to go.
"Once we get here, you need to be careful, Tiger! There are plenty of Jailer Beasts around!" Kojin's voice echoed out.
"Huh?" Fisher Tiger was startled.
But the moment he heard those words, a gigantic shadow suddenly lunged at him from within his blurry field of vision, opening its jaws wide to tear him apart.
"Keep your focus!" Kojin's voice rang out again.
Immediately afterwards, there was a loud collision in the darkness. Violent winds swept across Tiger's face as the enormous shadow let out a pained whimper and was instantly blasted away.
Cold sweat seeped from Fisher Tiger's forehead. Just a moment ago, he had nearly been swallowed whole by the Jailer Beast.
This place was simply too dangerous for him.
After that, the two slowed their pace and continued deeper inside.
A moment later, light appeared ahead, allowing them to make out their surroundings vaguely.
Fisher Tiger finally let out a long breath, though his entire body remained tense.
Although he couldn't see clearly, he could distinctly sense the terrifying, fear-inducing aura emanating from the darkness.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, a low growl echoed out.
A violent gale swept down from above as four or five gigantic beasts with blood-red eyes emerged from nowhere and pounced ruthlessly towards the two of them.
"We're done for!"
Fisher Tiger's eyes widened.
Even just from their massive bodies and savage auras, he could tell that these monsters were unimaginably powerful.
"Don't freeze up! Take them down! Don't lose your fighting spirit because of fear! It's precisely in desperate situations that your will is tempered the most!" Kojin burst into wild laughter while speaking.
With a powerful stomp, his figure shot high into the air, charging straight toward the Jailer Beasts ahead.
The chains behind him were pulled taut with a loud clatter.
The next second, his head slammed ruthlessly into the skull of a Jailer Beast.
"Bang!"
A ripple spread outwards from where the man and the beast had collided head-on.
Watching this scene, Fisher Tiger was deeply shaken.
Despite being missing an arm and being bound in shackles, Vice-Admiral Kojin's strength far exceeded his imagination.
"AAAAAH!"
With a loud roar, Fisher Tiger charged forward too. He swung his fists and battled against the rushing Jailer Beast, but after only four or five breaths, he was sent flying backwards, blood scattering through the air.
"Get up! Keep fighting! If you want to realize the convictions and dreams in your heart, this level of strength is far from enough!" Kojin roared.
At that moment, he was fighting three Jailer Beasts alone; collision after collision echoed continuously.
The whimpers and growls of the Jailer Beasts rose and fell one after another.
"Where's that fish?!"
After exchanging blows for over a dozen rounds, Kojin suddenly shouted again, seemingly questioning the three Jailer Beasts before him.
Tiger, who had collapsed not far away, jolted in surprise, thinking that Kojin was talking about him. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself abruptly back to his feet.
Almost the instant he stood up, a Jailer Beast raised its sharp claws and slashed towards him.
"Fish-Man Karate - Karagawara Seiken!"
Fisher Tiger's expression turned solemn. Taking his stance, he threw out a fierce punch.
"Bang!"
Man and beast collided once more. The Jailer Beast let out a furious roar, and the foul wind from its mouth caused Fisher Tiger's clothes to flutter violently.
Then, a massive force surged towards him, pushing him backwards.
"I can't fall here!"
Fisher Tiger let out a loud roar and glanced at Vice-Admiral Kojin, who was engaged in a fierce battle nearby. Then, he charged forward again with a savage expression on his face.
The two engaged in a fierce battle. As time passed, three more Jailer Beasts arrived and joined the fight.
Fisher Tiger was already engaged in a desperate life-or-death struggle and this was the most dangerous moment of his entire life.
Meanwhile, Vice-Admiral Kojin seemed to grow more exhilarated the longer he fought, weaving back and forth through the Jailer Beasts' siege.
"Even if the body is bound!"
"The heart and will are still free!"
"This is Vice-Admiral Kojin!"
Fisher Tiger understood.
Then he unleashed a battle power greater than he had ever displayed before.
Neither of them knew how long the battle lasted.
After being repeatedly assaulted by three Jailer Beasts, Fisher Tiger was eventually beaten unconscious. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Kojin sitting cross-legged with his back to him.
"If you're done resting, then we're heading back out again!"
The cheerful voice made Fisher Tiger freeze.
He tried to move his body and immediately felt agonizing pain coming from each and every part of his body. His previous injuries were still far from healed, but after glancing at the man, who had already stood up and turned around, he fell silent once again.
The injuries on the other man's body were even more terrifying than his own.
"No problem!"
Gritting his teeth, Fisher Tiger stood up.
Kojin grinned.
Not long afterwards, the two engaged in battle with the Jailer Beasts once again.
No one knew how much time had passed, but throughout it all, Fisher Tiger had experienced just how terrifying Vice-Admiral Kojin truly was.
The man was like a demon. No matter how severe his wounds became, he simply did not care.
As long as he had rested enough, he would throw himself back into battle and drag Tiger along with him.
Under such high-frequency, high-intensity combat, Fisher Tiger's injuries never once fully healed.
Every battle he fought was accompanied by intense pain, yet his strength advanced at an astonishing rate under those conditions.
At an unknown point, he became capable of defeating a single Jailer Beast and could handle two at once with ease.
Vice-Admiral Kojin's growth was equally obvious. The shackles around his legs no longer affected him at all.
...
While inside Impel Down, no one could sense the passage of time; outside, the world had unknowingly entered the year 1517 of the Marine Era.
That year, Fisher Tiger finally saw the fish that Kojin had mentioned during their first meeting in Impel Down.
It was the greatest shock that Fisher Tiger's soul had ever experienced.
Words could not describe just how enormous and terrifying the creature before them was.
Countless fine tendrils spread from beneath its jaw like whiskers. Its body resembled a whale's, while the fins on either side looked like wings.
Its back was as vast and broad as a stretch of land.
In the depths of Wild Beast Hell, its gigantic body filled the entire corridor.
"I've been searching for you for far too long!"
Kojin bared his teeth in a grin.
From the moment he first saw this creature, he had suspected it to be one of the powerful beings from ancient myths and legends.
Fisher Tiger stood there stiffly, his eyes vacant.
Compared to the creature's enormous body, the human form was no more than a speck of dust.
Too insignificant.
(End of Chapter)
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