One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

Using Conqueror's Haki to filter the corpses and shadows.

Next, a contract was established with the severed shadows, and then each shadow was inserted into a corpse, creating a formidable zombie army.

This process, much like the selection, was both time-consuming and labor-intensive.

The previous filtering had already taken Maude around four hours.

According to Domino, Magellan's work shifts lasted four hours. If they exceeded that time, any remaining tasks would have to be postponed to the next day.

However, Maude didn't mind. He could even use this "gap" to carry out some minor schemes.

Yet, contrary to his usual habit of clocking out on time, Magellan did not mention anything about leaving work this time.

This anomaly surprised Domino, who had worked with Magellan for years.

Even more surprising to her was that, throughout Maude's selection process, Magellan hadn't once rushed off to the mobile restroom.

If Domino had been observant enough, she would have noticed that from Level 4 to Level 5, Magellan's gaze had been locked onto Maude the entire time.

This highly responsible warden was watching Maude closely in his own way, ensuring that nothing went awry.

Or perhaps the Marines had disclosed some information to him, making him exceptionally wary and vigilant, never once letting his guard down.

Since Magellan did not bring up clocking out, Maude proceeded to formally create his zombies.

Contracts were signed, and shadows were implanted.

The entire process unfolded under the watchful eyes of both Magellan and Momonga.

Gains always come with losses.

That was unavoidable.

As shadow after shadow entered the frozen corpses, the cold prison gradually filled with sound.

One by one, lifeless corpses, their eyes devoid of light, slowly stood up.

Their movements, though slow, caused the shackles to jingle crisply.

Under Maude's instructions, Domino unlocked each cell, allowing the newly completed zombies to step out one by one. He then ordered them to stand outside their cells without wandering around.

The process of creating zombies continued in an orderly manner.

As the number of zombies increased, the prisoners who had their shadows stolen earlier gradually regained consciousness.

Upon opening their eyes, they were met with the sight of their deceased cellmates—standing outside their cells, seemingly alive once more.

Shock rippled through them, but it wasn't long before they realized something was off.

These former inmates, who had somehow ended up outside their cells, exuded no signs of life whatsoever.

And that wasn't all. The way these supposedly dead inmates moved and behaved gave them an eerie sense of familiarity—one that sent chills down their spines.

"It's a Devil Fruit ability!"

Realization dawned on them, igniting a wave of fury.

"To go this far…!"

"Damn bastard! He doesn't see us as human at all!"

"Son of a bitch! I'll kill him! Kill him!!!"

"Monster! You're a goddamn monster!!!"

Enraged, the awakened prisoners erupted in a chorus of furious shouts.

Magellan did not silence their clamor, keeping his unwavering gaze on Maude.

Likewise, Maude paid no attention to their outbursts and instead increased his pace.

Two hours later—

A six-hundred-strong zombie army was officially formed.

On a battlefield where tens of thousands clashed, six hundred soldiers were barely a drop in the ocean.

However—

Although the number of zombie warriors was small, their corpses and shadows came from pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million berries.

Moreover, since the bodies were well-preserved and zombies felt neither pain nor fear, their individual combat capabilities were nothing to scoff at.

Under Maude's command, nearly six hundred freshly created zombie warriors walked barefoot across the frost-covered floor, approaching him without the slightest discomfort.

They made no grand displays, yet the power they held was undeniable.

"Excellent."

Maude surveyed the varied physiques of the zombies before him and nodded in satisfaction.

Ignoring the curses from within the prison cells, Maude turned to Magellan.

"Well done."

"Uh…"

Magellan was momentarily stunned, feeling as though Maude's words carried a deeper meaning.

Moreover, "well done" was something he usually said to his subordinates.

Hearing it from Maude now felt oddly out of place.

Shaking off the thought, Magellan said in a deep voice, "It's just my duty—there's no hardship in that."

Maude smiled faintly.

Duty, huh…

In this frigid environment, he had monitored Maude for nearly seven to eight hours without even blinking.

That was what it meant to be the Warden of Impel Down.

Magellan cast a sidelong glance at the prisoners who had been turned into zombies and stated flatly, "Since the matter is settled, please leave Impel Down immediately."

"Naturally."

Momonga nodded.

With Magellan's meticulous oversight, Maude, Momonga, and the six hundred zombies successfully departed Impel Down.

There were less than four days left until the public execution.

Time was tight.

Maude's group swiftly boarded a warship, set sail, and headed for Marineford.

At the gates of Impel Down—

Magellan and Domino watched as the warship disappeared into the distance.

As it faded from sight, a thought struck Magellan, and he asked, puzzled, "Why haven't I seen Hannyabal at all?"

"Well…"

Domino hesitated.

She couldn't very well say that Hannyabal, who despised pirates with a passion, had attempted to use his authority to humiliate Maude—only to be utterly humiliated himself. He was likely sulking in some corner at this very moment.

...

Riding the treacherous currents of the Tarai Current, the warship sped across the sea.

At this pace, it would take approximately a day to reach Marineford.

Once they arrived, the Marines would conduct basic combat tests on the zombie army.

Only then could they maximize the zombies' battlefield potential.

Regardless of how Sengoku decided to utilize this zombie unit, Maude was indifferent.

After all—

He had already gained half of Impel Down's Level 5 experience points. Once the war escalated into chaos, the shadows residing in these corpses would ultimately convert into even more experience points for him.

Moreover, as the experience points were fed back into his body, they would also restore his stamina and heal his wounds.

In other words, these zombies about to be deployed weren't just Maude's stored experience points—they were also walking energy restoratives.

This was a secret unknown to outsiders.

In preparation for the impending war, Maude had laid out numerous contingency plans.

He was merely waiting for the moment to unveil them.

"The gains from this trip weren't bad, but they still fell short of expectations."

Inside the cabin, Maude lounged on a sofa by the window, gazing at the endless blue sea beyond the porthole.

"As expected, the higher the star rating, the more dependent it is on the quality of prey."

"If only there weren't a limit on 'pages,' quality wouldn't even be a concern."

"Fortunately, the upcoming battle offers plenty of high-quality prey to spend those pages on."

"I just wonder… how much profit Whitebeard will bring me."

The closer the time came for the Summit War to erupt, the more Maude anticipated it.

Right now, his strength had reached at least the level of a ten-figure bounty.

The pirates imprisoned in Impel Down's lower levels, even those with bounties exceeding a hundred million, could no longer provide Maude with significant gains.

Ultimately, this was due to the limited pages of his Hunter's Notebook.

Before harvesting the inmates of Level Five, Maude had no choice but to record only their names and specialties in the notebook, without detailed information.

As a result, the conversion rate of his gains wasn't as high as it could be.

If not for the sheer number of prisoners and the fact that acquiring them required minimal effort, Maude would likely have left disappointed.

But in the end, Maude was more than satisfied with the outcome.

After all—

The six hundred zombie warriors he had taken from Impel Down wouldn't just serve as experience harvesters in the upcoming war; they could also function as logistical support.

This would significantly enhance his margin for error during the Summit War.

If there was anything to regret, it was that there weren't any Devil Fruit users among the Level Five prisoners.

Most likely, the Marines had anticipated this and, to prevent the prisoners' Devil Fruits from reincarnating somewhere in the world, had already removed any Devil Fruit users before handing over the inmates to Maude.

A logical precaution—

Yet, it caused Maude to miss out on the most valuable gains of all: Devil Fruit proficiency.

Still—

As long as he could claim Whitebeard's head…

His physical abilities and swordsmanship were secondary.

The real treasures lay in the battle-hardened mastery of Haki Whitebeard had forged over a lifetime—

And his Devil Fruit proficiency.

Time passed.

Under the watchful eyes of countless onlookers—

The day of the public execution had finally arrived.

As the countdown to the execution began, Marineford stood in full battle readiness.

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