Chapter Seven: Truth Is Often Unexpected

In front of the third cell door, Seiji paused and peered inside.

One after another, the prisoners lay stiff and motionless on the ground, some even frozen into blocks of ice, their faces bearing faint smiles at the moment of death.

Izuna Mizuno asked, “This is the last cell, but we still haven’t found that pirate?”

“Huh?” Seiji scratched his head, then suddenly laughed. “Hahaha, my mistake. Bon Clay should be on the third floor…”

He glanced around awkwardly, realizing his earlier anticipation had been misplaced. Bon Clay’s bounty was less than a hundred million, so he wouldn’t be held in the Freezing Hell.

Quickly changing the subject, he pointed to a nearby grove. “Let’s go check over there. This is really embarrassing…”

As they entered the small forest, the howls of snow wolves echoed frequently nearby—clear and close—yet none emerged to attack them.

It was likely the clothing they wore that kept the wolves at bay.

They hadn’t gone far when they heard Tanino’s shouts.

“Could they have been attacked by snow wolves?” Seiji frowned slightly and hurried toward the sound, with Izuna close behind.

Soon, Seiji caught sight of Tanino’s back, and saw no sign of any snow wolves. Then what was he screaming about?

Seiji called out irritably, “Hey! Tanino, what are you yelling for?”

As he drew near, Seiji saw not far in front of Tanino a small mountain.

This mound, over two meters high, was made entirely of gleaming white bones, covered in icy spikes, frost binding them tightly together to form a miniature mountain of bones.

Tanino snapped to attention and saluted. “Reporting, Lieutenant, we’ve found a mountain of bones!”

Seiji responded gruffly, “I’m not blind, I can see it myself. What’s so scary about a pile of bones?”

“Ah!”

At that moment, Izuna caught up and, upon seeing the mountain of bones, her pupils contracted in shock. She screamed and seized Seiji in a tight embrace.

Seiji patted her head reassuringly. “Don’t be afraid. The lieutenant is here.”

Tanino stared, first in astonishment, then, mimicking Seiji’s earlier tone, muttered under his breath, “What’s so scary about this… What’s so scary…”

Seiji turned to look at Tanino, who immediately fell silent, his eyes darting to either side, all but whistling in feigned innocence.

Before long, two prison guards arrived, brandishing large blades. “Are you all right?”

Seiji replied, “We’re fine.”

One of the guards explained, “That pile is made up of the bones of pirates who tried to escape. After being devoured by snow wolves, their remains are all gathered here. There’s nothing for this young lady to fear.”

After considering briefly, Seiji asked, “Could you help move these bones aside?”

The guard spread his hands, an uneasy expression on his face. “Why would you want to move these corpses?”

“Yeah, why move them?” Tanino echoed meekly.

Indeed, who would bother disturbing a pile of frozen corpses?

But the truth often hides behind the impossible.

Seeing their reluctance, Seiji said, “Then I’ll do it myself. I assume there’s no rule against that?”

“There isn’t,” the guard replied, “but what could possibly be the point?”

“Just watch,” Seiji said.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed both hands to the icy surface and pushed with force.

Crack.

The pile of bones shuddered, a fissure appearing where it met the frozen ground. With another shove, Seiji slid the heap aside.

A narrow tunnel was revealed before them.

Tanino’s eyes widened. “The Devil’s Invitation!”

“A… a tunnel!?” The guards were instantly thrown into a panic. How could there be a tunnel inside Impel Down?

“Hurry, inform the Chief Warden!”

One of the guards dashed out of the Freezing Hell and into the office behind the door, grabbing a transponder snail to contact Warden Magellan.

But there was no connection.

He had no choice but to try Vice Warden Hannibal instead. Soon, Hannibal answered.

“Vice Warden, sir?” the guard said.

Hannibal’s voice came through the snail: “What is it? I’m… busy walking on the second floor right now.”

“Apologies for disturbing your stroll, sir, but we’ve found a tunnel in the Freezing Hell! We can’t reach the Warden, so we had to call you.”

“What!? A tunnel? I’m coming immediately! Guard the entrance and make no sound.”

“Yes, sir!”

A few minutes later, Hannibal arrived with more than a dozen guards, along with several of the guard beasts, all hurrying into the Freezing Hell and making for the grove.

“Hm? Seiji, my friend! What brings you here?” Hannibal asked, spotting him by the tunnel entrance.

One of the guards replied, “Lieutenant Seiji was the one who discovered the tunnel!”

“Just a coincidence,” Seiji said. “Who would’ve thought an impossible path would be hidden beneath a mound of bones?”

Hannibal, ever the ambitious man, immediately had several ideas flash through his mind at Seiji’s words. He gave a few quick instructions to his subordinates, then continued, “Warden Magellan was testing a new drug yesterday and has been suffering from diarrhea ever since. Let’s not disturb him—he needs his rest.”

“Understood!” the guards replied.

Hannibal waved a hand. “Go, quickly!”

Turning back, he said, “We’ll wait five minutes, then enter the tunnel.”

Seiji remarked, “The tunnel is likely winding and complex. It might be difficult to search once we’re inside.”

Confidently, Hannibal patted the head of a nearby lion. “No need to worry. With this one, we’ll be fine. Ugly as it is, its nose is keen.”

Beside Hannibal lay a grotesque lion, its gray-black body capped with tufts of pink, feather-like fur at its forelegs, a white mane, and a face etched with a deep, sorrowful bitterness. It was even uglier than Buggy’s subordinate lion.

After a while, Hannibal pulled out a transponder snail, only to see it retreat into its shell, refusing to poke its head out. The Freezing Hell was simply too cold—hence the lack of snail surveillance in this place.

After knocking on the shell to no avail, Hannibal finally exclaimed in frustration, “Enough! We go in now!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Keep your voices down. Shh!”

“Understood—shhh…”

Torches held high, they proceeded quietly into the tunnel. The entrance was not narrow, and as they advanced, the passage grew wider and warmer.

Everyone looked around cautiously, not uttering a sound.

As Seiji had suspected, the tunnel twisted and turned. However, Hannibal’s uniquely hideous lion proved unexpectedly useful, sniffing the ground diligently like a seasoned bloodhound, occasionally glancing up before returning to its task.

After about ten minutes, the lion’s eyes gleamed. It trotted over to a piece of rubble, tore at it, and pulled out a meaty bone, which it began licking with relish.

Hannibal cuffed the beast in irritation. “Useless animal!”

Seiji laughed. “If we’ve found leftover bones, then the pirates must be close by.”