9 Chapter 9

◇4 days later◇

My vacation is almost over.

Man, I should've requested for a month.

Also... WHY AM I FILLED WITH PAPERWORK?!

I'm on a desk filled with papers to sign and to approve. And my use of [Doppelman] isn't enough. Because I needed to examine some of them to avoid mistakes.

Recruitment papers Request papers, Contracts, and more.

*Slam*

The door to my room at the Hunters Guild main building was suddenly opened and Blueno came in with a stack of papers.

"Guildmaster, Here's another batch!"

"Aaaaah! What is this?! I wanted a vacation!!" (Shikage)

I ended up messing with my hair due to my frustration.

"It is what is it, Guildmaster. You were mostly absent when we're organizing the guild. We need your approval."

My secretary consoled me. What she said was the truth. I'm still the head of the guild and this is necessary for us.

Currently, The place we're in is the former mansion of Hogback. The Thriller Bark mansion. I changed its name to the Hunters Guild HQ, our main building.

According to Blueno, The place was totally abandoned. All that's left are the debris and corpses.

The three of them and the workers of the WG did a lot of work. Kaku was in charge of repairing the Island ship. He needed a lot of manpower to repair the bridges, mansions, and the mechanism to use the ship.

As for the corpses, Blueno gathered them all and put them into the giant freezer in the Mast Mansion. Storing them for future use. They've heard of Moria's zombies and if Moria could do it, I can also do it.

Imagine his surprise when I presented him with my loot from the war of the best. Corpses of veteran marines and pirates came out of the stomach of [Doppelman].

The greatest corpse of them all is Oar's jr corpse. I now have 2 corpses of this monstrosity in my freezer.

Then Kalifa's the one who changed the theme of the Island ship. She can't help but adore the beautiful mansions at the Mariejois and the fountains of Water 7. Hence the mansion or the HQ is now a resemblance of both of them.

A fountain in the middle of the front yard and a little bit far from the entrance of the building. The HQ is also spectacular and the spookiness of the Thriller Bark mansion was removed.

A lot of rooms were made in the HQ. All kinds of necessary rooms for the Guild like the conference room, guest room, registration desk, and more.

Even the room I'm using is the ex-laboratory of the late genius doctor, Hogback. It's located in the topmost room of the HQ.

The entrance is also spectacular. Kalifa really used my status to have the builders work hard. I'm not complaining since this is to my liking.

The giant garden was also designed by her. She changed the spooky entrance of the HQ to a beautiful garden and a road for the carriage to use.

The road is connected to the town, Shadowfen.

The town of Shadowfen! We've made a town on this island ship. I was quite surprised about this when I heard it. I even visited the town a few days ago.

The dead forest we used to hide from the sun back when I was just a victim was removed. And a beautiful town replaces it. In the middle of the town were a long artificial river that connects to the sea and the port.

Various buildings are also built around the river especially the markets.

The pedestrian lane is right beside the river. It's really interesting to travel the sidewalk of the town.

The main transportation of the town is boats and carriages.

Again, According to Blueno. All the Inhabitants are the Bounty hunters and other civilian workers that we recruited at the Saboady.

The [Air door] is so handy. A separate space huh? hmm... Moving on.

The civilians who were living in the town have hunters that are employed to our guild. The population of the town isn't that big yet.

The town specializes in doing fishing and bounty hunting.

And soon, massive recruitment will happen at the Saboady since our Guild got popular too because of my name.

A Royal Shichibukai. Directly under the Government.

We also planned a big move after I'm finished working at the Impel down.

Aside from the town, We also have a huge port that is close to the town. It's named the Black port. This is where the hunters would disembark and embark.

Meanwhile, the entrance of the Thriller Bark is connected to the Mast Mansion and could be only used by the upper echelon of the Guild.

Anyway, The Thriller Bark had truly changed. I'll let my core members handle the management.

Blueno's in charge of the internal and management. Overseeing the Internal affairs of the Island ship and the Guild.

Kaku would be the main force of the Guild apart from me. Oh, Jabra is also here right?

And Kalifa is in charge of my schedules and would be the bridge for me and the Guild.

Well, We're just at the early stage of my organization. Let's see where it goes.

◇A day later◇

*Crack*

As I stretched my arms wide open. A small snap could be heard. I think my body's sore.

"Oooh! What a good breeze!" (Shikage)

I've finally left the hell-like room. I'm done with the papers!

I am at a government ship right now that is heading to the greatest prison in the world. We just left the mouth gate of the Thriller Bark. I should change that. It's uncomfortable to look at.

"So, Why are you here?" (Shikage)

"Come on, Shikage. Like I could miss the fun journey you'll have."

A guy with a weird nose talked to me.

Kaku was chuckling softly.

"You just don't want to be bored. Why not create some ships for the hunters to use." (Shikage)

I suggested this because Kaku regretted that he couldn't be a shipwright anymore.

"Well, I can just do it later. Please Shika?" (Kaku)

"Fine... You also need to train your DF power. I'm going to be even stronger in the next few months." (Shikage)

I feel like I'm the older one here, I'm younger than you Kaku-san. Hah... In any case, He's already here, I'll just accept it.

I can't wait any longer to get an abundance of shadows and corpses. Luckily, We're close to the government's private current. This means that It's only a matter of time till we get to the prison.

"As usual, The Straw hats are full of surprise." (Kaku)

"Hmm? What do you mean?" (Shikage)

Kaku-san handed me a newspaper. In the headline was Luffy's action in the Marineford. Just like in my Shikadiary, He's with Jimbei and Rayleigh.

But Luffy's scar was so big that even if there's bondage, You can still see it in his body.

"I wonder what happened to him... It's good that he's alive. I hope he'll see his brother soon." (Shikage)

His brother, Ace is also running wild in the New World. The people who are attracted to his heritage came under his banner.

His main goal was said to be revenge for Whitebeard. But he was actually being targeted by the people who lost to Roger back in the days.

So, his hands are tied up for now. The ones who are challenging the Blackbeard pirates are the remnants of the Whitebeard pirates.

The balance of the world is changing.

"Kaku." (Shikage)

"Yeah? What's the matter?" (Kaku)

"I want to go to the New World. But the ship couldn't be coated. So..." (Shikage)

I'm really serious. I want to request something from him.

"Build me the fastest ship in the world!" (Shikage)

I saw his eyes getting wide. I'm sure that he was greatly shocked.

Then he didn't say anything but he just nodded to me.

I can also feel his seriousness. Maybe his thoughts are already building the ship.

I sure hope he can make a ship. I want to visit Fishman Island.

The perfect place for bounty hunting.

The only route for pirates to take if they wanted to go to the second half of the Grand Line.

3 hours later, The ship we're in was docked at the entrance of the prison. The Impel Down is busy repairing the damages done by the breakout. It's identical to Marineford.

"Welcome to my Impel Down, Shadow hunter Shikage."

After entering the prison, I heard someone call my name. I was looking around since the place was spooky and you can hear all the pleads of the prisoners.

I cleared my head and faced the scary face of the warden of the prison. Meanwhile, My friend, Kaku, was observing the place like he's on some kind of field trip.

"Excuse me, It's my first time seeing the Impel Down. Looks like it's still functional." (Shikage)

Hannyabal was inspecting me and my friend. They're having a hard time trusting outsiders.

"Oh! I'm the warden of this prison. I knew you were coming here... Sorry for letting you see the shameful appearance of this place. The repairs are going smoothly."

"It's okay... The breakout can't be helped." (Shikage)

I can see their reaction to the breakout, I think I hit a sore spot. I'm sorry!

"... Ahem* Let's talk more in the warden office in Level 4. My office, It's so good to say it. Oh! I'm sorry, Let's go."

Then I stayed quiet for a while. Luckily, The warden is a talkative person. And Kaku was surprisingly a great shield to have. He's getting the attention of Hannyabal-san.

It was quite fast since we took the big elevator, The chief warden warned us that it's going to be hot because Level 4 is the burning heat floor.

I knew this already because of my Shikadiary. But experiencing it is different. We've passed the lower levels and saw the jailers doing their job.

Kaku and I sometimes question the chief warden on how does the prison works. All we can hear is the screams of the prisoners being tortured.

Damn it, Now I'm starting to dislike being here.

Then Hannyabal-san gave us a summary of Impel Down's breakout. It all started with Straw hat Luffy.

I heard Kaku's whistle, I guess he's impressed with Luffy.

Finally, We reached Level 4 of Impel Down. Hannyabal proudly presents his office to us. This office is the only area in Level 4 that's not affected by the heat.

"Now then, Welcome to Impel Down honorary warden... Vice warden Magellan told me that we should officially accept you here in the warden's office. Oh! I'm still the boss of Impel Down! You got that?" (Hannyabal)

Hah... This guy's not cute. I wonder where the Poison man is? He's the only villain that almost killed Luffy in my Shikadiary. Oops, scratch that. Kaido's a beast.

"I humbly accept the welcome, Chief Warden. I'm looking forward to working with you!" (Shikage)

I can feel Kaku's smirk but I don't care. I'll use the Impel Down as my stepping stone to get stronger!

My time to be a warden starts now!

◇◇

(a/n: Be warned time-skip!)

It's been a month since my first arrival in the prison.

Of course, not as a prisoner.

All I can say about the working condition here is that you needed to be immune to listening to the screams.

Every minute and Every second, There's always someone screaming in the background.

It was hard to get used to the screams.

The very first week of my stay here was so stressful. Even Kaku didn't last long here and left the prison for a while.

During the first week, I was busy.

I wasn't used at all and I was disoriented at first. But I learned to adapt. I turn deaf ears to the screams.

I did what I was told to do. And it's the cutting of the shadows.

Then I was busy commanding the newly revived zombies. I had them join the construction and repair of the prisons.

Zombie was the ultimate manpower to use. Its strength, stamina, and numbness to pain were the advantages of the zombies.

I also had them construct an area of my own on the first floor before Level 1. A personal room for myself and a separate office from Hannyabal.

The Honorary Warden's office.

I'm staying here all the time if I wasn't busy roaming the prison. Aside from the room, There are still other things in the area dedicated to me.

It has everything I requested. A personalized transponder snail is installed here for connecting with my Guild.

A training room for myself and a soundproof room for me to meditate.

There's also an extraction room far away from my office where I would do my job. It even has a name that the prisoners made after experiencing something in that room.

The prisoners feared it because of the rumors. That prisoner would vaporize if they're targeted by the new warden.

Yep, Me! It was only a week and my name is already being feared like Magellan.

Speaking of the poison guy, He's actually busy every time. Either from patrolling the prison or having a deadly battle in the bathroom.

But I still like Magellan. He helped me get used to working here in Impel Down.

*Slam*

The door of my office opens up.

"Shikage-san, Here, The updated list for the escapees. It's the thing you asked for yesterday."

The head jailer Domino-san gave me a sheet of paper.

All 241 prisoners who left the Impel Down with Luffy are included in the list.

"Thank you, You can go now. Remind me when is the next schedule for the guidance." (Shikage)

"Yes! Call us if you need us, Shikage-san."

I lightly wave to the serious head jailer. She's managing all the jails in this prison and its prisoners.

That's why we are working together. She would group the prisoners and sent them to me for guidance. The stealing of shadows.

Then a record would be made and for the next batch as well. A lot of time and preparation are needed since there are a lot of prisoners here. And a steady flow of newcomers is being accepted because of the rising occupation called Hunters.

These people are bringing criminals to the authorities.

Due to the increased piracy in the seas, The Hunters Guild has become the opportunity for those people who wanted money or people who hate pirates.

A lot has happened in just a month.

*Puru Puru*

I was quietly memorizing the list in my hands when my transponder snail rang.

It stopped ringing when I answered it. And my heart started to beat fast. I also froze for a moment.

"Hello? Shika? Are you there?"

Oops, I better respond.

"Hey... Nami! I'm here. hehe" (Shikage)

It's Nami. The Navigator of the Straw hats.

I know! I'm also surprised when I received her first letter. Of course, I had to reply. I also gave her my transponder snail number.

We are mailing buddies at first and it escalated with some time.

Now, We can call each other if the other party isn't busy.

It seems to be progressing 💕

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