Chapter 90: Crocodile and Bullet!
"Let me out!"
"Let me witness the World's Strongest Strength!"
"Did you hear me? Let me out quickly!!"
Underground Level 6, within the Dark Corridor known as Infinite Hell, roars filled with anxiety, anger, and unwillingness swept across the entire area without restraint, accompanied by purple-black Air Currents.
As Crocodile stepped out of the Large Elevator, he heard a voice that sounded Familiarize, yet he couldn't recall who it belonged to for a moment. The waves of Air Current hitting him made him frown in annoyance.
"It's that bastard Bullet again. I don't know what kind of madness he's been having lately, suddenly starting to yell and randomly unleashing Conqueror's Haki."
Vice-Warden Magellan, standing behind him, complained discontentedly. Because of this guy, the Prison Guards couldn't even come down here; otherwise, they would faint the moment they stepped in.
"Bullet?"
The moment Crocodile heard that Name, he instantly recalled past events and sneered, "It really is Douglas Bullet. I didn't expect us to meet again in a place like this!"
"Let's go. Your Prison Cell is right next to his, which I specifically arranged. You can help us persuade this bastard to shut up and calm down!"
At Magellan's urging, the two walked one after the other along the Stone Corridor between the massive individual Prison Cells. The bars of these Prison Cells were all made of Seastone, making them extremely hard.
[Boom----]
Suddenly, just as Bullet was still making a racket and venting his purple-black Conqueror's Haki, another surge of dark golden Conqueror's Haki erupted from another Prison Cell, and its Air Current was even more powerful than the former's.
If the former was like waves on the Great Sea, then the latter was a Tsunami dozens of meters high. The purple-black color was instantly submerged by the dark golden color. The oppressive feeling was so Strong that it not only made the two people in the Corridor break out in a cold sweat, but even the 'Monsters' in the various Prison Cells trembled.
"Shut the hell up! You brat from the Roger Pirates!!"
"Who is this person?" Crocodile, who had subconsciously stopped in his tracks, swallowed and asked in a low voice. Magellan lowered his voice and replied solemnly.
"Golden Lion, Shiki!"
Hearing this Name, Crocodile suddenly understood and thought to himself, "So it's this big shot."
"Let's go quickly."
Magellan urged him on, not wanting to stay here for long. He then continued escorting the former towards Bullet's location.
"Hahahaha, I thought it was someone else, but it turns out to be the Captain's Defeated Foe!" At this moment, Bullet's extremely arrogant voice rang out.
"Old man, at your age, staying here for a few years will probably cripple you!"
Shiki angrily retorted loudly, saying, "Brat, I was defeated by the Storm back then, not Roger! If it weren't for that sudden Storm, your Roger Pirates would have been wiped out by me long ago!"
"Hmph hmph, defeated is defeated. Making excuses is meaningless. No matter what you say, you were a big figure outside, although just a big figure who will be surpassed by me sooner or later."
Bullet lay on the Ice-cold floor and curled his lip in disdain, but his mood at this moment was still extremely foul, which was also the reason for his irritability.
Ever since talking with that person, he felt that every minute and second spent here was causing his Potential and Aptitude to drain away. He was impatient to get out and continue becoming Stronger, then surpass Garp, defeat Garp, and prove that he was Stronger than Roger.
He also wanted to witness the so-called true World's Strongest, and then surpass them, and defeat them!
With his own Strength, surpass everything, obtain everything!
On the other side, Shiki heard the brat's mockery and revealed a cold smile on his Face, replying, "Surpass? You arrogant brat who doesn't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth. If this were outside, I would have cleaved you with a Blade. But now that you're in this place, you can't get out either. Don't even think about surpassing me and Roger in this lifetime!"
As for the first half of that sentence, Bullet didn't think much of it, but the last sentence somewhat broke through his defenses. His Expression instantly became ferocious, and his entire Breathing became heavy.
But he didn't retort again. Instead, he thought about the words of that Mysterious Person. That person had said they would let him out in another year or two to meet that true Strongest person.
To be honest, just this point alone could be considered a glimmer of hope, but he didn't want to speak of it, fearing that something unexpected might happen.
However, even this not-so-long period felt extremely difficult to endure. He couldn't imagine how he would get through the next two years. That's why he was yelling so frantically, hoping to attract the Mysterious Person's attention and be taken out earlier!
Bullet fell silent, and Shiki also stopped bothering him. This caused 'Infinite Hell' to return to a state of silence.
This also made the sounds from outside the Corridor become more noticeable.
"Go in."
Magellan's voice was very Familiarize to most people here. Hearing these words, they knew another 'little companion' had arrived, but they didn't know their background.
This place wasn't somewhere ordinary people could enter.
Actually, with Crocodile's current Strength and Identity, strictly speaking, he wasn't qualified to be here. He should have been imprisoned in the 'Freezing Hell' upstairs, which was the gathering place for Criminals with Bounties over 100 million.
But who could help it? He was personally captured by 'Holy Shield' from CP0, who specifically requested he be imprisoned in 'Infinite Hell'. So Warden Magellan could only act according to the instructions.
Of course, he wasn't following the Order of this 'Holy Shield', but rather the Order from the World Government behind the other party. After all, the two sides didn't belong to the same System, and neither could Order the other.
Crocodile obediently walked into his own Prison Cell. He ignored Magellan closing the door behind him and looked around at the Environment. He found there was nothing much to see; there was just a Stone Platform he could sit or lie on, and a Stone Toilet next to it. There was nothing else.
However, he didn't care. He casually sat on the Stone Platform, already able to imagine how boring life would be here. Fortunately, there was an old acquaintance nearby.
"Ha—ha—ha—ha—"
Crocodile's laugh was particularly interesting. Although each syllable was 'ha', it seemed deliberately drawn out, giving the impression that one might worry he couldn't catch his Breath.
The moment Bullet in the adjacent Prison Cell heard this voice, an unpleasant Face immediately appeared in his mind—a Sand-Playing Bastard whom he couldn't beat but also couldn't lose to two years ago.
This was a mystery he couldn't solve at the time. He could fight Vice Captain Rayleigh to a draw, yet he also fought that guy who played with Sand to a draw.
This isn't right!
He, Bullet, was the World's Strongest Genius. It was only natural for him to achieve this. But why could a guy who had just set sail also seem to fight 'Dark King' Rayleigh to a draw?
So, was his Strength on par with Rayleigh, or on par with that bastard?
"Stupid Crocodile, I didn't expect you to be captured too. But why is your Aura so weak..."
"Uh—"
Crocodile's long laugh was instantly stifled by Bullet's words. His Face turned red, and he retorted through gritted teeth, "I'm your equal, so even if I've become weak, that means you've also become weak!"
"Huh?"
Bullet was dumbfounded. What kind of logic was this? But it somehow sounded like there was nothing wrong with it. He said angrily, "Although I don't know what happened to you, with your current Aura, I could beat you to death in less than a day!"
"Hmph, then come out! Anyway, our Record so far is a draw. You're not qualified to say I'm weak!" Crocodile disdainfully tried to save Face for himself.
...
Author's Note: It's going premium on the first of next month, only three days left. Little Author thought it was going premium next Monday, so I have to speed up my writing progress. It's a bit rushed.
Also: Originally, if it went premium next Monday, the Collection would probably reach ten thousand, but then I wouldn't get the Full Attendance Bonus. The Full Attendance Bonus is 1500, everyone. How many bowls of pickled cabbage beef noodles can that buy?
For the sake of Little Author working so hard, I sincerely ask for everyone's support on the first. At least aim for five hundred First Subscriptions, right?
(End of Chapter)