Chapter 164: Planning the Harvesting Process

'The First Level – Crimson Hell:' There are a total of three Devil Fruit users here, including the Paramecia-type Stink-Stink Fruit, the Paramecia-type Jacket-Jacket Fruit, and the Mouse-Mouse Fruit in Squirrel form.

'The Second Level – Wild Beast Hell:' There are five Devil Fruit users, including the Paramecia-type Net-Net Fruit, the Paramecia-type Bamboo-Bamboo Fruit, the Paramecia-type Hairy-Hairy Fruit, the Bird-Bird Fruit Model: Ostrich form, and the Ox-Ox Fruit in Alpaca form.

'The Third Level – Starvation Hell:' A total of seven Devil Fruit users are here, including the Paramecia-type Paper-Paper Fruit, Drill-Drill Fruit, Water-Water Fruit, Bag-Bag Fruit, Slow-Slow Fruit, Pig-Pig Fruit Wild Boar form, and the Ox-Ox Fruit in Yak form.

'The Fourth Level – Blazing Hell:' There are fifteen Devil Fruit users here.

'The Fifth Level – Freezing Hell:' There are nineteen Devil Fruit users here.

'The Sixth Level – Eternal Hell:' There are forty-three Devil Fruit users here.

As Sally read through the list she compiled, El raised an eyebrow.

"In comparison to the tens of thousands of prisoners here, there are actually quite a few Devil Fruit users…"

Sitting nearby with her long legs crossed, Gerd remarked, "But considering how many prisoners die each year from endless torture in this prison, it's understandable."

Indeed, having this many Devil Fruit users here was already remarkable. If Devil Fruits were more common, they wouldn't be regarded as the rare treasures of the sea.

"Right, I looked into some records, and every year a significant number of prisoners mysteriously disappear. A portion of them are Devil Fruit users, and it's not some 'fairy tale' of them escaping to the secret 5.5 Level…"

Sally nodded, adding seriously, "Most likely, the World Government secretly removes them, using them as test subjects or harvesting their Devil Fruits."

"Knowing how the World Government operates, that wouldn't be surprising at all," El agreed with a nod.

After all, even something like the 'giantification' experiments on humans had been ongoing for centuries. Who knew what other secret experiments were being conducted over the years?

"Also, it's worth noting…" Sally's expression turned solemn as she continued. "In addition to the formidable beasts, there are five prison beasts here who have failed the Zoan Devil Fruit 'awakening' process, resulting in them losing their sanity and becoming low-intelligence, half-man, half-beast creatures. There's even one prison beast that failed the awakening process of an Ancient Zoan Fruit."

"What?"

"Failed awakenings?"

"Zoan awakenings can actually fail?"

Uthan, Rock, Moss, Ryan, and Gerd were shocked, barely able to believe it.

El was especially surprised to hear that an Ancient Zoan prison beast was among them. Given the risks of a failed awakening, though, he wasn't entirely shocked.

"As for 'awakening,' I don't have full knowledge," Sally shrugged, smiling, "but I've heard that Zoan Fruit users are different from Paramecia and Logia types. They're relatively more likely to 'awaken,' but the risk of failure is also higher."

"Although these beasts lost their 'human' intelligence in the process, they retained an awakened state, with significant strength, as well as extraordinary endurance and recovery abilities."

"To push their Devil Fruit powers to such a level, they would have needed at least the strength of an elite Vice Admiral. Even though they've lost their reason, their strength as beasts is no joke."

El studied the list of Devil Fruit users carefully before turning to Gerd. "Their souls should be comparable to, if not stronger than, Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals—quite a nice catch, actually."

"Oh?" Gerd's eyes lit up at this.

Indeed, souls at the Vice Admiral level, especially elite ones, would be ideal for creating specialized Homies if inserted one-to-one into flawless vessels like the angelic robots. While they might not reach the monster-level strength of the six-winged Lucifer Homie that housed the soul of a Holy Knight Commander, these souls would still be able to wield formidable Haki, making them immensely powerful. Plus, with the innate combat instincts these souls retained from their original bodies, combined with the armored shell and weapon systems on the angel robots, their fighting abilities would be nothing short of exceptional.

And when paired with weapon systems that allowed for self-guiding Homie bullets, missiles, and rockets that could track and pursue targets after firing, their potential grew even greater.

"Also," Sally continued, "the prison warden, head guard, and deputy warden here in Impel Down are all Devil Fruit users."

She paused, then explained, "The warden, 'Blood Prison' Tonis Ian, is quite powerful and wields the Paramecia-type Citrus-Citrus Fruit, which might already be awakened. But he's seventy-five and approaching retirement, so he rarely takes on responsibilities anymore, instead spending most of his time on the ground level. Recently, he's left most duties to the deputy warden and head guard."

"The head guard, 'Sharktooth' Golna Buck, is forty-three and wields the Ancient Zoan-type Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Tyrannosaurus Rex. He assumed his position two years ago when the previous head guard retired."

"The deputy warden, 'Ironclad' Adrian, age forty-four, has the Paramecia-type Hard-Hard Fruit and is about equal to the head guard in strength. Most likely, he's next in line for warden once Ian retires."

Sally paused, then added, "The deputy warden, Adrian, is currently on leave. This leaves only the warden and head guard in the prison right now."

"These three are known as the 'Big Three' of Impel Down," she finished.

Listening to her report, El's eyes narrowed, and a cold smile played across his face. "Perfect. That just means more valuable abilities we can take with us."

"But, Boss El…" Mos reminded him, "these guys could complicate things if they stick around."

"Exactly," Gerd agreed, frowning. "If we alert them too soon, the World Government might catch wind of this before we finish."

"Leave it to Sally," El said, glancing at her.

With Sally's formidable skills in stealth and assassination, taking the warden down quietly seemed feasible. Even if she was outmatched in direct combat with Ian, a surprise attack with the team's support could neutralize him without alerting others. Most Devil Fruit users—even powerful ones—became helpless against high-purity Seastone, after all.

Sally's smile was confident. "All I need is a chance to get close to 'Blood Prison' Ian. Once I take down this old warden, I'll assume his role and have all the access I need."

"Then, posing as Ian," she continued, "I'll just fabricate a reason to detain 'Sharktooth' Buck, the head guard. Word has it he's quite sadistic, often mistreating prisoners, which has earned Ian's reprimands in the past."

"If necessary, I can report Buck to Marine HQ and impose solitary confinement on him if his punishment gets too messy."

She smiled mischievously. "By the time Adrian returns from his leave, we'll be done here. He'll walk in and get taken care of without a fuss."

~~~

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