Chapter 6: Chapter 6: A Serious Punch? You Must Be Kidding!
Golden Lion Shiki: "Tsk! Roger, you idiot! Do you really think I ended up as helpless as you? I may have been locked up in Impel Down, but I wasn't just sitting there waiting to die. Unlike you, I actually escaped! Hah! Can you imagine? Me, the first man to break out of that hellhole in centuries! That is something to be proud of!"
Pirate King Roger: "No, that's just because I didn't try to escape."
Golden Lion Shiki: "Hah! Don't be ridiculous. Even if you had tried, you wouldn't have made it out. No one escapes from Impel Down. No one! But I did!"
Shiki's voice was brimming with pride. Breaking out of the most impenetrable prison in the world was a feat that no pirate in the past few centuries had accomplished. It was a mark of his greatness!
Pirate King Roger: "Wait… is that true?"
Roger was momentarily stunned. He knew firsthand how terrifying Impel Down was. Despite his bravado, he had always known that even if he had tried to escape, the chances of success were slim to none.
Whitebeard: "It's true. Shiki broke free of his seastone chains by cutting off his own legs. Once he regained his strength and Devil Fruit abilities, he forced his way out of Impel Down. He was the first prisoner to escape since the prison was built."
Pirate King Roger: "What?!"
Roger was in disbelief. Shiki had actually done it. He had escaped from Impel Down!
Pirate King Roger: "Wait, then why didn't he become one of the Four Emperors?"
Whitebeard: "I'm not sure. After his escape, he came to see me. He told me he was planning something big, something that would make the whole world fear real pirates again."
Pirate King Roger: "Hah! I should've known. This guy never quits. So? What did he do?"
Whitebeard: "I don't know. He disappeared after that meeting. I didn't hear about him again until twenty years later, when I read in the newspaper that he had been captured by the Marine again. To this day, I still don't know what his grand plan was."
Pirate King Roger: "Twenty years? That long? And after all that, he still got himself caught?"
Roger couldn't help but laugh.
Pirate King Roger: "Shiki! What happened? Did your plan fail again? Come on, it's already over. No need to be embarrassed—just tell us what your big plan was!"
Golden Lion Shiki: "Tsk! Why the hell should I tell you?! You think I'd humiliate myself by spilling my secrets? Forget it!"
Lucas: "Oh, I know exactly what Shiki's plan was!"
Golden Lion Shiki: "???!"
Shiki's eyes widened.
Golden Lion Shiki: "How do you know?! That's impossible!"
Pirate King Roger: "Tell me, Lucas! What was Shiki plotting for all those years?"
Whitebeard: "I'd like to know as well. Considering how much he hyped it up, it must have been something truly terrifying."
Lucas: "Alright, I'll explain. Shiki had a scientist working for him, one who specialized in biology. This scientist discovered a special plant on an isolated island and managed to extract an ingredient from it. This ingredient had the power to mutate animals, making them grow to gigantic sizes."
Lucas: "Shiki spent over twenty years in hiding, developing this ingredient and using it to create monstrous beasts. His grand plan was to raise an army of mutated creatures and use them to conquer the world."
Whitebeard: "Gurarara! A monster army, huh? They must've been pretty damn powerful if Shiki bet everything on them."
Lucas: "Meh, they were decent. If you had to fight them, Whitebeard, you'd probably need to at least throw a serious punch to wipe them out."
Whitebeard: "…"
Pirate King Roger: "A serious punch? You must be kidding!"
Lucas: "Nope, I'm dead serious! These monsters were, at best, on the level of a Rear Admiral. Sure, they were bigger and uglier, but strength-wise? Not that impressive. If the current Three Admirals fought them, they'd be wiped out in one ultimate attack."
Whitebeard: "This is…"
Pirate King Roger: "HAHAHAHA! This is too funny! Shiki, you wasted twenty years lurking in the shadows, and this is all you came up with?!"
Golden Lion Shiki: "..."
Shiki remained silent.
He had nothing to say.
Deep down, he knew his plan had been a massive failure. He had put everything into it, only for it to be completely useless.
Lucas: "The moral of the story? Never put all your eggs in one basket. Shiki invested twenty years into his grand scheme, and in the end, he lost everything."
Pirate King Roger: "Hahaha! Keep going, Lucas! What happened next? Do you know how Shiki was captured by the Marine?"
Lucas: "Oh, I know! After successfully creating his monster army, Shiki planned to launch a full-scale attack on the East Blue."
Pirate King Roger: "NANI?!"
Fire Fist Ace: "YOU BASTARD!"
Both Roger and Ace instantly erupted in rage.
They were both from the East Blue.
Pirate King Roger: "Shiki, you bastard! Did you seriously plan to destroy my homeland?"
Golden Lion Shiki: "So what?! The East Blue is weak! If it was wiped out, so be it. All I needed was to prove that I had the power to destroy an entire sea. Once the world saw that, everyone would be forced to submit to me!"
Fire Fist Ace: "You're insane! No wonder you failed!"
Whitebeard: "Tell me, Shiki. Were you targeting the East Blue… because of Roger?"
Lucas: "Of course he was! Like I said before, Shiki loves Roger deeply!"
Golden Lion Shiki: "SHUT UP! STOP TALKING NONSENSE!"
Pirate King Roger: "Why did Shiki fail?"
Roger quickly changed the subject, realizing that this conversation was getting far too dangerous for his liking.
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