PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

Luo Yu glanced at his recently inflated private treasury.

After defeating Jack the Drought and reporting only after the fact, he'd earned 20 million Berries in bonus.

Then, after canceling his "deal" with Blackbeard, that earned him another 20 million.

But when Blackbeard suddenly made a move, forcing Luo Yu into overtime, he had to burn 3 million just to meet the extra demands—leaving 37 million remaining.

Then, by intercepting Kizaru, and striking a deal to bring Fire Fist Ace back ahead of schedule, he had extorted another 20 million.

And now, this prisoner escort mission came with a neat 10 million Berries bonus.

All told?

67 million Berries.Still 33 million short of his first major goal—100 million Berries.

Originally, he'd planned to finish this current mission, go back, open a few more gold treasure chests, and ride a lucky streak if fate allowed it.

But what he didn't expect…Was that the system had just upgraded the treasure chest tier.

Is the system really trying to become a toll gate in front of my 100-million milestone?

Then Luo Yu glanced again at the upgraded Platinum Chest description—and even he couldn't help but feel a flutter in his heart.

[Platinum Treasure Chest – First Unlock Bonus]: High probability of gaining top-tier interdimensional skills or items. Rewards valued at Diamond Tier.

As expected, capital always targets the softest points of human nature.

Luo Yu looked at his once-proud little treasury, now suddenly feeling painfully poor.

After all that blood, sweat, and grind… and he still couldn't hit one basic goal?

"System, what's the time limit for upgrading the chest?" Luo Yu asked, gathering his thoughts.

With major upcoming events—the Paramount War, the rising shadows of the Four Emperors—he couldn't afford to head into battle with just one unopened Fusion Card.

"Ding! The treasure chest upgrade is valid for 45 more days. If you miss the window, all future exchanges will be capped at the Gold level."

Forty-five days?

Luo Yu blinked in mild surprise.

Did the system suddenly become… merciful?

Once this escort mission was done, he'd be at 67 million.Still short by 33 million, but with 45 days to go—it was doable.

And as for that Fusion Card he'd drawn before?It was time to put it to use.Time to test a certain bold theory he had.

"Admiral Luo Yu, this is Level Six. It houses the most heinous pirates ever recognized by the World Government,"Magellan's voice echoed in the descending elevator."Each one has stirred storms of blood across the seas. It cost us dearly to imprison them."

With a sudden lurch, the elevator stopped. The glowing panel displayed a crimson "6".

Luo Yu blinked.

That went by quick.

Well, it helped that both Ace and Jack had high-priority status—no need for them to be paraded through the torture gauntlet, which saved a ton of time.

Otherwise, from Level One to Level Six, enduring all the procedural agony—it would've taken half a day at minimum.

And just one glance behind him—at Blackbeard, now sweating bullets and trembling like a kicked puppy—made it clear just how terrifying this place really was.

With a grating hiss, the elevator doors opened.

What lay beyond was a long, dim corridor… flanked by massive cells looming in silence.

From within the darkness, restless murmurs began to stir.

The rare sound of the elevator must have caught the attention of its feral residents.

"Hehe… didn't expect visitors at this hour. What poor bastard got tossed in this time?"

A sharp, mocking female voice rang out.

"Hey, Sand Kid. Wasn't long ago you were the fresh meat here. Finally someone's come to take your place?"

"Shouldn't you be growling out some righteous threat right now?"

"Shut it, you tomboy!"

From deeper within, a familiar voice growled.

Crocodile, in full prison garb, stepped forward, eyes narrowing toward the corridor.

But the moment he saw the silhouette outside the cell bars—his pupils contracted sharply.

"All of you. I suggest you shut your damn mouths."

"Don't waste his time. Or you'll suffer for it."

His words hung coldly in the air.

Waste his time? Suffer?

For a moment, the prisoners hesitated—then suddenly burst into laughter.

Even Catarina Devon, the sharp-voiced woman from earlier, bent over with laughter.

"Sand Boy, you scared or something?"

"We're in Level Six. We've already suffered every torment imaginable. Unless the warden himself—crazy Shiryu—steps in, who else could possibly make it worse?"

"Right, boys? Baskerville? Sanjuan? Avalo? Shiryu?"

Their laughter echoed like thunder across the stone corridor.

But Magellan's face darkened immediately.His voice cracked through the air like a whip:

"You bunch of vermin—shut your filthy mouths!"

"This is Admiral Luo Yu, newly appointed Fourth Admiral of the Marines!"

"He's here to personally escort Fire Fist Ace—captain of Whitebeard's Second Division with a 500 million bounty—and Jack the Drought, Beast Pirates' All-Star with a 1 billion bounty!"

"These aren't people you lot can mock!"

Suddenly, everything went quiet.

Even Catarina's mocking grin faltered.

They might've been rotting in this dark hell for years, but names like Whitebeard and Kaido were legendary—even before these prisoners fell.

Now the Navy was shoving both of their high-command officers into Level Six?

What was going on out there?

This wasn't just shocking.It was a sign of something terrible to come.

A war between the Three Great Powers?

Has the Navy gone insane?

Just then, a deep, scornful laugh echoed from the corridor's end.

From a solitary, isolated cell… a hulking figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

Scarlet red muscles, a brutal aura, and blazing eyes—it was none other than Douglas Bullet.

"Hahaha… Two of the Four Emperors' top men, tossed into Impel Down like stray dogs?"

"Tell me, Marines… Can you really bear the wrath of two Emperors at once?"

"And this so-called 'New Admiral'—he's just a brat, a fresh face. Let me guess…"

"You only got this far because of the old geezer Garp by your side, right?"

"Look at you… Haven't even tasted what the sea can really do to a man. Let me show you what the old era does to pretenders like you."

"Bullet, don't you dare!" Magellan roared, his face pale with fury.

This was his prison.And now, before a Marine Admiral, he was being humiliated in his own domain.

But before he could act—

Luo Yu took a swig of his homemade spirit, swallowed with ease, and said flatly:

"You've got three minutes."

"If you bastards want to try something, you better hurry up. I've got a shift to finish."

"After that, time's up."

The silence that followed was surreal.

Inside Level Six, time didn't exist—not for prisoners who'd lost years in the dark.

But now, a Marine Admiral was talking about clocking out?

There were no "shifts" in Impel Down.

There were no "off hours" in the Navy.

And there sure as hell wasn't supposed to be someone who casually threatened mass murder before 5 PM.

The prisoners stood frozen.

And somewhere behind the silence…

Even Blackbeard gulped, eyes glued to Luo Yu's back.

This was no brat…

This was a monster.