One Piece: From Marine to Legend

As night fell, a grand welcoming party was held in Impel Down.

The entire staff of the prison, from Director Magellan down to the ordinary guards, had gathered to celebrate. Long tables were filled with food and drink, laughter echoed across the halls, and the scent of roasted meat and fine liquor filled the air.

At the center of it all sat Storm, the soon-to-be Chief Guard of Crimson Hell.

After a brief round of introductions, Storm found himself gradually integrated into the workplace culture of Impel Down.

Magellan, the Director of Impel Down, raised his glass toward Storm, his initial impression of the newcomer quite favorable.

"Storm, working in Impel Down is no easy task," Magellan said, offering a rare smile. "But you stepping forward and requesting to join us—that's commendable!"

Magellan truly appreciated Storm's initiative. Most people avoided Impel Down due to its grim reputation, but Storm had volunteered to work here. Compared to Hannyabal and his ilk, this young man was far more reliable.

However, just as Magellan was about to take a sip from his glass—

SLAM!

A hand slammed down on the table.

"Magellan! Get out of here!"

Storm turned, seeing Hannyabal standing up with a finger pointed accusingly at Magellan.

"Ah?" Magellan blinked, confused.

"This is a party, Director!" Hannyabal scolded. "How can the Director sit at our table?! Shouldn't you be at your own table?"

Magellan frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Hannyabal scoffed. "Then hurry up and step down from your position as Director! That way, you can sit here properly!"

Silence.

Magellan sighed, closing his eyes. "I was wrong to expect anything else from you..."

Before Storm could react, wisps of lavender smoke escaped from Magellan's mouth, drifting lazily into the air.

A strong acrid odor filled the space.

Storm instinctively moved back, but before he could do so himself, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the table.

He turned to see a tall, blonde-haired woman with elegant waves.

Deputy Head Jailer Domino.

"Director Magellan is the Venom-Venom Fruit user," Domino whispered. 

"His body is literally made of venom. Even the breath he exhales is toxic."

Storm nodded in understanding. No wonder everyone kept their distance from Magellan when he spoke.

Hannyabal, who had been standing right next to the Director, had already covered his nose and mouth, waving away the poisonous mist.

"Magellan! You're poisoning us again!"

"Hahaha!" Magellan burst into laughter. "You deserve it, you fool!"

Hannyabal's forehead veins bulged in anger. "You bastard! I'll remember this!"

Storm watched the chaotic workplace battle unfold in front of him.

It wasn't some carefully planned office politics—it was straight-up warfare!

At this rate, someone might actually end up crippled or dead just from trying to climb the ranks here.

Impel Down's employees are built different.

Suddenly, a cold voice cut through the air.

"What a boring farce."

The noisy hall fell into silence.

Storm turned and saw a tall man in a dark trench coat rising from his seat.

Shiryu of the Rain.

The Head Jailer of Impel Down—and a man with an infamous bloodlust.

Without sparing another glance at the group, Shiryu turned and left, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.

Magellan's expression darkened.

"Shiryu!"

The swordsman stopped but didn't turn around.

"I'm going downstairs to stretch and move around," Shiryu replied indifferently.

Magellan narrowed his eyes. "You better not—"

"Enough, Magellan."

This time, Shiryu turned, gripping the hilt of his famed sword, Thunderstorm.

"I am the Head Jailer of Impel Down. I do not need your permission for my actions."

A dangerous silence filled the air.

Storm could feel the tension crackling like electricity between the two men.

Even Hannyabal, who was normally loud and obnoxious, had shut his mouth.

For a moment, it seemed like a battle would break out right then and there.

But Magellan did nothing.

Shiryu turned and walked away.

Magellan sighed, rubbing his temples. "Sorry, Storm," he muttered, forcing a smile. "That probably wasn't the best first impression of our team..."

And with that, the welcoming party ended on an awkward note.

Back in his private quarters, Storm reflected on what had happened.

"When did Magellan throw Shiryu into Infinite Hell?"

Storm tried recalling the timeline of events.

When Luffy raided Impel Down, Shiryu was already imprisoned in Infinite Hell.

At that time, Hannyabal had already been promoted to Deputy Warden.

That meant—Shiryu would be imprisoned in the near future.

"Infinite Hell… I want to go there, too."

Shaking the thought from his mind, Storm focused on his true priority.

He called forth the Silver Trophy he had earned from defeating the blue gorilla.

This was a Three-Star Trophy.

Rather than using it in the System Forge, Storm chose to enhance his physical attributes.

He recalled Zephyr's teachings—

"The body is the foundation."

He also remembered Kaido's words—

"Only Haki transcends all."

Storm didn't need more abilities—he needed raw strength.

The Trophy System displayed his current stats:

[Strength: ★★☆]

[Speed: ★★☆]

[Endurance: ★★★]

Storm made his decision.

He used the Silver Trophy in his Endurance.

His body burned as his endurance level rose beyond its current limit.

[Endurance: ★★★☆]

"Another trophy, and I can reach four stars."

A wave of hunger suddenly crashed over him.

His stomach roared, demanding food immediately.

Storm rushed out of his room and raided the jailer's lunchroom.

Plates stacked high with roasted meat, seafood, and fruit disappeared into his stomach at an alarming rate.

Only after devouring multiple meals' worth of food did the hunger subside.

"So that's how it works," Storm muttered.

Every time he increased his physical stats, his body would demand more nutrients.

The next day, Storm confirmed his speculation.

After defeating another Blugori, he received a Silver Trophy—proof that the quality of trophies hadn't dropped yet.

Wasting no time, he used it in his Strength attribute.

A familiar sensation of hunger washed over him.

Without hesitation, Storm rushed into the cafeteria, frantically grabbing all the food in sight.

Each time his physique increased, his body would undergo immediate strengthening.

But in the hours that followed, his appetite would become insatiable—far beyond normal limits.

It seemed necessary to replenish his body with external nutrients to compensate for the sudden growth.

It was similar to using a trophy to enhance his abilities.

The trophy's upgrades expanded the upper limits of his physique and Devil Fruit proficiency, but the actual increase in strength still required training and adaptation.

There was a certain "science" to the way his power developed.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Storm's life in Impel Down was simple yet fulfilling.

His daily routine boiled down to—

Training. Eating. Sleeping. Fighting Blugori.

It was a perfectly balanced cycle of improvement.

Fueled by the blood and sweat of the Blugori, Storm quickly accumulated a large number of Silver Trophies.

And by continuously absorbing them—

His physical attribute was pushed directly to four stars.

His Clay-Clay Fruit ability also reached four stars.

No exaggeration—

Storm felt like he could beat ten of himself from a week ago!

Just as Storm was about to summon another Blugori for his daily training—

Something unexpected happened.

After knocking out a Blugori, he instinctively checked his Trophy System, expecting another Silver Trophy.

But instead, he saw—

[Bronze Trophy: Blugori]

[Star Rating: ★★]

Storm frowned.

"Why did the quality drop?"

To confirm, he found another Blugori and defeated it.

But once again, the Trophy was only two stars.

A notification appeared in his system:

[Repeatedly collecting trophies from the same target in a short period of time will result in a quality drop.]

Storm finally realized the problem.

Every single Blugori in Impel Down had already been beaten by him!

Some of them… more than once!

It was clear...

It was time to find a new source of trophies.