One Piece: Start with Zanpakutō

"Please follow me!"

Although countless thoughts flashed through Shiryu's mind, his face remained calm as water.

Unlike Domino, who had thoroughly searched Hancock before she entered, Shiryu did not inspect Rosen, Zephyr, or Borsalino. After exchanging a few polite words, he turned and led them to a large elevator.

"If we use this, we can head straight to the Director's office on the fourth floor."

"From there, we can reach Level 6 much faster."

As Shiryu spoke, Domino, clad in a crisp military uniform and crimson boots, stepped forward and started the elevator.

"Except for Domino, all others withdraw."

Considering that Rosen and the others' mission involved confidential Navy matters, Shiryu dismissed the surrounding guards, leaving only Domino as the chief warden.

"Please, everyone."

When the elevator opened, Domino was the first to step inside, pressing the "open" button.

Seeing this, Rosen and the rest followed in silence.

Creak—

The elevator doors closed, and it began to descend straight down to Level 4.

Thud—

With a slight tremor, the elevator halted. The doors reopened, revealing a wide office space.

"From Level 4 onward, we'll have to walk."

Shiryu explained as he stepped out first.

The Rosen and the others exited the Director's office, a blistering wave of heat rushed toward them.

"So this is the Blazing Hell…"

Rosen felt as though he had fallen into a vast iron cauldron, being roasted and stewed alive.

While he wouldn't be cooked through, the suffocating heat made it hard to breathe. After a while, one would be drenched in sweat, clothes soaked through.

Thinking this, he channeled his willpower, focusing his consciousness into Armament Haki, infusing it into his blood vessels—transforming it into tangible defense.

From the outside, nothing seemed to change. But the moment Rosen activated the Blut Vene, he immediately felt all the oppressive heat waves blocked out. That scalding suffocation dissipated in an instant.

The Blut Vene could defend not only against Haki attacks, but against any external intrusion Beneath its endurance limit.

"Hm?"

Almost at the same moment, Zephyr, Borsalino, and Shiryu—who was walking ahead—all turned to look at Rosen.

"What is this?"

"It's neither internal reinforcement nor external hardening… nor is it simply flowing outward… yet it can completely block out all external intrusion?"

"Can Armament Haki really be used like this?"

Borsalino and Zephyr were less surprised. After all, they already knew Rosen had developed the Fifth Armament Haki technique.

But Shiryu was different.

Seeing Rosen's Blut Vene for the first time, it was as if he were re-learning the very foundation of Armament Haki.

"Wait… if that's the case, wouldn't internal destruction techniques be completely useless on him?"

"As expected… this kid, who hasn't even graduated from the Naval Academy, is no ordinary genius…"

"Perhaps he's just like Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan back in the day—monsters, each and every one."

Shiryu glanced at Rosen again, then turned away. Though his heart was in turmoil, he forced himself to appear indifferent and kept moving forward.

"So much more refreshing now."

With the Blut Vene activated, Rosen felt no more stifling heat.

He looked around. Before him lay an enormous lake of boiling blood, surrounded by roaring flames, swallowing nearly the entire prison floor.

This was Blazing Hell in its truest form.

"Flames…"

Rosen paused, his gaze lingering on the surging fire around him. A thought quietly surfaced in his mind.

Though people often joked that "even dogs wouldn't touch the Flame-Flame Fruit," no one could deny that fire was a powerful force.

Especially in the New World—almost every top powerhouse possessed some control over fire.

Kaido.

Big Mom.

Shanks.

King.

And so on.

It could be said that fire was nearly a "standard configuration" for those who stood at the peak—an emblem of kingship.

If one did not wield some form of flame as a calling card, how could they dare call themselves a king?

"If it were me… how would I wield the power of fire?"

"It seems that Haki alone cannot generate fire from nothing…"

"What about the Arms-Arms Fruit, then?"

As he pondered, Rosen's footsteps gradually slowed. His eyes fixed on the sea of flames, his expression distant, his spirit slowly slipping into a trance.

"Stop."

Zephyr immediately noticed Rosen's abnormal state.

He did not explain further, but directly ordered Shiryu—who was leading the way—to halt.

"Eh? Are you getting old, teacher Zephyr? Only a few steps and you're out of breath?"

Borsalino teased lightly, thinking Zephyr had been overwhelmed by the heat and was about to have an asthma attack.

Though his words were sharp, he still obediently stopped.

"Hmph!"

"You'd best keep your eyes wide open this time."

"Otherwise, you'll miss something truly spectacular."

Zephyr crossed his arms, glaring at Borsalino.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Borsalino couldn't help but follow Zephyr's gaze—landing directly on Rosen.

"What's happening?"

Shiryu, too, turned his attention to Rosen.

All he saw was Rosen staring at the sea of fire and blood, completely still. Shiryu couldn't help but feel puzzled.

It's just flames.

What's so impressive about that?

Shiryu thought Rosen was simply curious, stopping to marvel at the terrifying Blazing Hell for the first time. But he did not know—in Rosen's eyes, the burning prison had already vanished.

In his mind's eye, a new scene gradually unfolded.

A modern city.

A dark night sky, faint moonlight shining down.

Beneath that crescent moon stood a man wearing a haori with the number "10" stitched onto the back, silently facing off against a white-horn-masked figure radiating murderous Reiatsu.

"A black Hollow?"

"This level of Reiatsu… impossible for a Gillian."

"Could it be… a Vasto Lorde?"

Shiba Isshin's eyes narrowed, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

This was Karakura Town, home to hundreds of thousands of souls.

If a Vasto Lorde-class Hollow went berserk, the entire city would vanish in mere minutes.

"ROAR!"

Suddenly—

The horned Hollow lost patience. With a heaven-shaking roar, a crushing wave of Reiatsu exploded upward, splitting the clouds and roaring into the sky.

"Yo…"

"Who sent you here?"

Shiba Isshin raised his Zanpakutō lazily, still asking questions as if exchanging casual greetings.

However—

What responded to him was a shrill screech.

The next moment, the horned Hollow vanished from sight—reappearing directly before Isshin as though teleporting. Its hands, like sharpened blades, slashed down, dragging turbulent wind currents along with them.

"You're not gonna answer, huh…"

Shiba Isshin lifted his sword to block the claws. As the two passed each other, he landed behind the Hollow. His eyes turned cold, as if he were already seeing a corpse.

"Burn… Engetsu."

A thunderous shout.

His Zanpakutō instantly ignited, a violent torrent of flame illuminating the night.

Sword, man, and fire merged into one.

A flaming blade streaked across the sky like a shooting star, tearing open the black night and crashing down upon the horned Hollow.

Crack—

Just before the blade engulfed its target, the entire scene suddenly splintered like a shattered mirror.

Night.

Moonlight.

Shiba Isshin.

The Horned Hollow.

And that flaming Zanpakutō that dyed the moon red—

All vanished without a trace, 

In the next moment—

The suffocating Blazing Hell returned.

The boiling blood pools, the endless flames, all returned to Rosen's eyes.

From beginning to end, he had never taken even half a step away from Impel Down's fourth floor.

All of it—

Had simply taken place within his extraordinary enlightenment.

Yet Rosen felt no disappointment. Instead, he immersed himself in the new flood of information surging through his mind.

[Your comprehension is extraordinary. Through visualization and self-realization, fused with the Arms-Arms Fruit, you have awakened a unique technique: Engetsu.]

...

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