The appearance of Vice-Admiral Gion caught Ian by surprise. He hadnât expected Navy reinforcement to arrive so quickly.
Moreover, the fact that Gion could appear on the fourth level of the prison for arrangements meant that the Marine ship outside, commanded by Enel, might have been captured. In other words, the warship that brought them here might have been sunk.
This wasnât good news. Though Ian hadnât placed his hopes on evacuating via that warship, having it sunk by the Marines still irked him.
Because it meant he might have to wait a bit longerâŠ
As for Enel, Ian wasnât worried. He knew why Enel was captured. Despite being able to go toe-to-toe with Admiral Kizaru, he fell to Vice-Admiral Gion. It was likely that his abilities were nullified. However, Gion wouldnât execute Enel immediately. Although he might suffer at the hands of the jailers, Ian could rescue him later.
Enel lacked Armament Haki, which was always his weakness. Perhaps after this incident, Ian could find time to âtrainâ him properly. Dropping the ball at a critical moment wasnât the mark of a competent fighter.
âIan boy! Whatâs next?â Ivankov asked as he approached Ian. âContinue charging upward?â
âOf course. With our current strength, we donât need any tactics. Weâll just push through!â Ian grinned. âVice-Admiral Gion might be a bit of trouble, but she alone canât stop us!â
Their power now was no weaker than it was during the days of Dressrosa, so all they needed to do was fight their way out.
âAnd thereâs Magellan!â Mr. 1 suddenly spoke up. âI saw him wake up!â
âNo worries, if I could beat Magellan once, I can beat him again!â Ian shook his head. âImpel Down canât stop us from leaving anymore!â
âOooh!!!â Hearing Ianâs confident words, the prisoners couldnât help but cheer, the hope of escaping the prison and gaining freedom was right before their eyes, making them ecstatic.
Buggy, on the other hand, smirked. âLetâs focus on getting out first. The fact that Vice-Admiral Gion appeared means that the ship you were planning to escape on has definitely been destroyed. In this situation, we must find a way to leave on our own!â
Upon hearing this, Ian couldnât help but give Buggy a strange look before saying, âRight, now that you mention it, I suddenly remember. If our warship was sunk, then your Big Top was probably sunk too!â
Buggy was stunned, unable to believe it. âWhat⊠What are you saying? What does my ship have to do with this!?â
Cabaji raised his hand nervously. âCaptain Buggy, when we came here, we were aboard the Big Top, but when we encountered Captain Ian and his crew in the waters outside Impel Down, we followed them here, soâŠâ freewebnĂžvel.com
âMy⊠my shipâŠâ Buggy was dumbfounded upon hearing this terrible news. Then, as if driven mad, he grabbed Ianâs collar and shouted, âI knew it, encountering you never brings any good luck!â
He had thought that this time heâd finally catch a break, only to be saved by Ian again. But it turned out to be a misconceptionâŠ
Buggy felt that his entire miserable life had been one long series of cons by Ian, and the kind that left him hanging between life and deathâŠ
Buggy cried bitterly. In fact, many pirates had a special attachment to their pirate ships, especially the longer they spent with them. Ian understood his feelings towards his ship, so he could understand why he grabbed him by the collar. After patting him off, Ian said, âA ship is just a possession. As long as youâre alive, thatâs what matters. Look at me, Iâve never had a dedicated pirate ship, and Iâm doing just fine.â
Buggy thought to himself, Can I even compare myself to you? Youâre just someone who freeloads on shipsâŠ
After calming their emotions, the group set off, dividing into several batches and taking the elevator to the third level.
However, when Ian and the others, as the first batch, arrived at the third level and opened the elevator door, they were forced back once again!
Updated from freewŃbnoÎœel.com.
The entire third level of the prison was filled with Magellanâs poison gas. Even the ground was covered with purple poison.
âHurry, put on the gas masks!â Thanks to Mr. 1âs earlier reminder, Ian and the others managed to find some gas masks. However, it seemed that they had been cleared out by the prison guards earlier, so there were only a few masks left, all found in inconspicuous corners. They could only give masks to Jinbe, Crocodile, and a few other main fighters. As for the rest, they had to return to the fourth level first.
In the end, only Ian, Eva, Crocodile, and Jinbe remained.
Ian threw a Shield of Four Heavensâ Resistance on himself, and a faint light film enveloped him, isolating him from the poison gas. Through the gas, Ian could vaguely see Magellan standing alone at the staircase leading to the second level, with the crimson poison giant behind him, glaring at them menacingly.
âMagellan!â Ian shouted at him. âReally, havenât I saved you once, and you still want to be my enemy?â
Upon hearing Ianâs shout, Magellan couldnât help but touch his abdomen. There was originally a wound inflicted by Shiryu, but miraculously, there was no trace of it now. When he woke up and heard Vice-Admiral Gion say that Ian had saved him, he was also greatly surprised.
He never expected to be saved by an enemyâŠ
Shaking his head, Magellan pushed aside his stray thoughts and shouted back at Ian, âI appreciate that you saved me, but I still have to stop you. Itâs my duty!â
âThis guy is really stubborn!â Ian said, feeling a bit of a headache.
Jinbe, wearing a gas mask, spoke with admiration, his arms crossed. âActually, if we look at it from another perspective, I think this person is quite commendable!â
Ian also thought so. Otherwise, he wouldnât have saved Magellan in the first place. However, Magellanâs recovery ability and resistance to attacks were somewhat unexpected to him. Even after having a tenth of his life force taken away by Ian while seriously injured, he managed to wake up in such a short time, which disrupted Ianâs plans.
Ian had originally thought that Magellan would wake up after they escaped from Impel DownâŠ
This was like facing Magellan for the second time. However, Ian also noticed that Vice-Admiral Gion, who came up earlier, did not fight alongside Magellan. It seemed like there was a bit of a misstep on the Navyâs part!
Ian knew that Vice-Admiral Gion was sent to suppress the prison riot together with Magellan, but they didnât consider one thing: once Magellanâs ability was activated, it was not only a lethal weapon against enemies but also against friendly forces. Although they could use gas masks to isolate the poison gas, the venom was not something gas masks could block. So, Vice-Admiral Gion couldnât possibly fight alongside MagellanâŠ
This is a huge mistake. Magellanâs ability destined him to always be a lone wolfâŠ
âYou guys stay here!â Ian said to Ivankov and the others, then he spread his Flame Wings and flew towards Magellan.
Seeing Ian approaching, Magellan made a gesture, and the hands of the Venom Demon behind him immediately clasped together, slapping toward Ian.
However, under Ianâs deliberate manipulation, the Flame Wings suddenly burst with intense heat. The clasped hands of the Venom Demon were vaporized just as they reached Ian!
Since Ian was now immune to poison gas, a bit more of it on the third floor wouldnât affect him. However, for Magellan, this was undesirable because it meant that even his most powerful moves had no effect on Ian.
Ian rushed in front of Magellan without drawing his sword. Haki directly attached to the sheath of the senbonzakura, and fiercely struck Magellanâs stomach.
Magellan was struck so hard that his stomach churned. Ian had only healed the wounds left by Shiryu on him. The wounds caused by Ian himself had not been treated, so Magellan, who had just recovered from his serious injuries, was hit hard and started sweating profusely, collapsing to his knees again.
âItâs useless!â Magellan raised his head, sweating profusely as he looked at Ian. âEven if you defeat me again, the poison gas and venom here wonât disappear. You wonât find more gas masks, so even if you escape, only a few people can get away. The rest will be blocked by the poison gas!â
Magellanâs Devil Fruit ability wasnât like Sugarâs, where once she fainted, her powers went out of control. So even if Ian knocked Magellan out, the poison gas and venom would still exist.
âThatâs not necessarily true!â Ian turned to Crocodile and said, âLetâs have another Desert Storm and try to disperse this poison gas!â
Crocodile extended his hand, gathering another tornado. However, as he released it, he said to Ian, âWe can disperse the poison gas, but what about the venom?â
âEven simpler! Just dilute it a bit!â Ian snapped his fingers, looked around, and then picked up a weapon left behind by the prisoners on the third floor, shaking off the venom on it.
It was a double-edged axe. After grasping it, Ian suddenly sparked with lightning all over his body!
âElectricity Manipulation!!â
Powerful electric currents surged, acting on the axe. Bringing about a high-temperature effect, it instantly softened the iron axe, turning it into a huge iron ball.
Ian left only a small portion, about the size of an egg. He tossed the pellet in his hand and said to Magellan, âWatch closely!â
âRailgun!â
Powerful electric currents surged again from Ianâs arm as he forcefully shot the metallic-egg.
A stronger sonic boom than before cracked open. Under the influence of Ianâs Grandmaster level in Nen training, even the power of the railgun had increased significantly. The egg, moving at a higher speed than before, turned into a stream of light and struck⊠the wall of the third floor!
Boom! A loud explosion rang out. The thick wall of Impel Down was instantly pierced by the egg, leaving a large hole. Then, the projectile, still maintaining its strong force, pierced through the wall and entered the seawater outside. It struck a Sea King that happened to be swimming along the route. After blasting through the Sea Kingâs body, it continued flying into the distanceâŠ
The moment the wall was pierced, seawater gushed in from the large hole, instantly turning into a jet due to the powerful water pressure!
âYou⊠youâre crazy!?â Magellan was dumbfounded to see this scene. Previously, when he was on the fourth floor, Ian had prevented him from piercing the wall. Now, he had pierced Impel Down on his own initiative, letting seawater pour in!?
âItâs all about timing!â Ian was very satisfied with the power of his railgun and laughed, âBefore, when I needed to get to the sixth floor, of course, I wouldnât let seawater in. But now, Iâve already rescued who I came for⊠Whether Impel Down gets flooded or not, itâs not my problem! Iâm here to cause trouble, you know!â