Chapter Four: Journey to Impel Down

Qingji gazed at the handwriting on the letter and murmured, “Head to Impel Down? That works.”

After a night’s rest, Qingji was fully rejuvenated, as if reborn. After bidding farewell to Vice Admiral Mas, he took Tianye with him into the prison.

Inside, over a hundred pirates were being held. The small fry would be sent off to dig in the mines, while the notorious ones, by tradition, would be transferred to Impel Down.

Yet there was one thing Qingji still couldn’t comprehend: why not just execute these heinous criminals? Although escaping from Impel Down was nearly impossible, the odds were never truly zero. Wouldn’t it be cleaner to just kill them? Keeping them alive only wasted resources.

He walked to the deepest part of the G-6 prison, where four cells stood side by side, each holding a pirate in black-and-white striped prison garb.

“Corporal Tianye, bring them out and take them to the ship.”

“Yes, Lieutenant Qingji!”

Tianye opened the prison door and, with five navy soldiers, dragged out the four prisoners.

After his beating, Bepo was much more obedient; the other three, however, fought fiercely, pulling at their iron chains and resisting with all their might. Even with their Devil Fruit abilities sealed by Seastone, their natural strength was considerable. It took two marines to haul each one out, and even then, they staggered and swayed.

Qingji shook his head and flicked his baton, which instantly turned jet-black.

The three pirates immediately quieted down, smirking at Qingji with mocking expressions that all but said, “What can you do to us?”

In the pirate world, it was said that most navy officers were mild-mannered and refrained from violence as long as prisoners cooperated.

But Qingji was different. “You little punks, still daring to laugh at me and not listen!”

He struck one pirate across the skull with the baton, then landed two heavy punches to his gut. The pirate’s eyes rolled back and he nearly collapsed.

“What a ruthless navy! Don’t hit me; I promise I’ll behave,” one of the others pleaded.

The remaining three felt a chill down their spines and immediately lost their nerve.

Qingji put away his baton and barked, “Stop being idiots. Move out!”

This time, no one dared resist. They followed obediently onto the warship.

Soon after, the warship set sail.

Izumi Mizuno was now Qingji’s subordinate, so she too accompanied them to Impel Down.

She came up to the deck and stood beside Qingji.

He was frowning at the four pirates, finding them more irksome the longer he looked.

“Corporal Tianye, tie Bepo to the pillar over there and give him some fruit.”

Tianye led Bepo to the ship’s rail, where four thick pillars had been prepared in advance. He wrapped the iron chain around Bepo’s waist and placed a variety of fruit before him.

Bepo immediately grabbed one and stuffed it in his mouth without bothering to peel it.

Pirates in prison never got fruit; the food was barely edible, and as a captain used to feasting on meat and fish, he had long since run out of patience.

The other three pirates watched hungrily, swallowing hard. They had been here much longer than Bepo, and were practically dying for something different.

“Navy! Where’s ours?”

“Yeah, we want fruit too!”

“We want some as well!”

Qingji waved a hand. “Bepo cooperated well just now. That’s his reward.”

“Why should you get fruit? Corporal Tianye, fetch a long whip—tie them up and give them a good lashing!”

Seeing the leather whip brought out from the cabin, the pirates were on the verge of tears, the three immediately huddling together in fear.

“This isn’t fair! Are you really navy?”

“This is injustice!”

Qingji replied coldly, “Fairness isn’t something you deserve. Go ahead and whip them—one hundred lashes each. If they faint, so be it.”

Soon, agonized wails echoed across the warship.

Bepo leaned against the hull, munching fruit with relish as he watched the others being whipped. He knew where Qingji was taking them—once there, it would be hell, and the chance of ever seeing daylight again was slim. He was going to eat as much as he could while he could.

Those poor fools, he thought, almost bursting into laughter.

Just as he was enjoying himself, he heard Qingji call out, “Tianye, give Bepo two lashes for smacking his lips while eating!”

Bepo was close to tears. One moment he was happy, the next he was being whipped.

Izumi Mizuno stifled a laugh. “Lieutenant Qingji, you always seem so refined, but you’re hardly human—already resorting to torture devices.”

Qingji blushed. “This is different. They’re evil pirates, with countless innocent lives on their hands.”

Izumi Mizuno laughed, “Lieutenant Qingji, you really are a one-of-a-kind navy officer.”

This entire sequence was far from the usual navy conduct, and its very occurrence was a shock to the spirit.

Staring at the horizon, Qingji asked, “How long till we reach Impel Down?”

Izumi replied eagerly, “About a day, I think. I’ve been wanting to see it—I never expected to go so soon.”

“Impel Down is a huge prison at sea, but it has an interesting feature, one that most people don’t know exists.”

Curious, Izumi asked, “What’s so interesting? This is my first time going to Impel Down—I know nothing about it.”

Qingji deliberately played coy. “If there’s a chance, I’ll show it to you. Where it is, though, that I can’t say yet.”

“You’re so annoying—fine, don’t tell me,” Izumi said, not pressing further.

Time passed slowly drifting at sea. With no entertainment, Qingji could only sleep or lift weights when bored.

Between the two, he preferred sleeping.

As night fell, the pirates were locked in the cabin.

Tianye and the others took turns on watch.

Izumi quickly became familiar with the crew. After all, female officers were rare in the navy—every one was considered a flower among soldiers.

Qingji got up once in the night to relieve himself, then returned to his berth.

He was considering whether to intervene in the Summit War.

According to the story’s progression, Luffy would soon sneak into Impel Down with Boa Hancock’s help.

He’d cause chaos, releasing a horde of notorious pirates, and in the confusion, Blackbeard would seize the chance to break out Shiryu of the Rain and other high-ranking prisoners.

After much deliberation, Qingji rocked in his chair and said, “Luffy, Luffy, I can’t quite agree with your sense of justice and freedom.”

“I’ll give you one chance to leave. If you insist on entering Impel Down, then I’ll make sure you never leave again.”

Letting these pirates loose would only bring further disaster to the world. After careful thought, he decided to hold the line at Impel Down.

After all, he was now a navy officer.

Eradicating pirates was his duty. Luffy may be righteous at heart, but his righteousness was selfish, his actions thoughtless, driven entirely by whims and desires.

The whole Impel Down incident was his greatest stain.