The artillery fire had momentarily ceased. Vice Admiral Gion, as agreed, awaited the exchange of prisoners with Ian.
Navy soldiers, following Gionâs orders, closely monitored the sea, watching for any signs of approaching ships.
Not only did they keep an eye on the sea, but they also occasionally glanced at the sky. Gion had learned from the Navy Headquarters that Ian had initially escaped aboard a golden airship when he fled the Headquarters. Thus, Gion strongly suspected that the ship coming to Ianâs aid was a vessel that could fly.
Standing on the shipâs deck, Vice Admiral Gion anxiously contacted the Navy Headquarters via Den Den Mushi.
She had been tasked with intercepting Ian this time, but now a major problem had arisen. Admiral Sengokuâs original intention was to utilize Gionâs Devil Fruit ability to see if, together with Magellan, they could capture Ian. After all, the Navy now knew quite a bit about Ianâs abilities, understanding that most of his attacks relied on fire and lightning, along with his mastery of swordsmanship. Gionâs Gentle Fruit happened to be able to âtameâ such energy attacks, and she was also skilled in swordsmanship. From any perspective, Gion had a restraining effect on Ian.
Furthermore, with Magellanâs Venom-Venom Fruit ability, and the release of Shiryu at a crucial moment for their backup, so along with the two jailers from Impel Down and Vice Admiral Gion, believed that the three of them were sufficient to deal with Ian and his gang of jailbreakers.
However, Sengoku had not personally been present at the scene, so his predictions about the situation were insufficient. No one had anticipated that Magellanâs formidable Venom-Venom Fruit ability would have no effect on Ian whatsoever!
This was unavoidable. Although the Navy had gathered intelligence on Ianâs abilities, they were unaware of Ianâs ability to repel toxins with the Three Sacred Links Shield. This ability had rarely been displayed, and even those who had been healed by Ian only believed he possessed a healing ability. No one had imagined that the Sacred Shield could also repel poison attacks.
The consequence of this misjudgment was that when Vice Admiral Gion arrived at the prison, Magellan couldnât effectively delay Ianâs progress! This resulted in Ianâs jailbreak action proceeding much faster than Gion had anticipated. By the time she arrived, Ian had already rescued the prisoners!
Moreover, even the former Head Jailer, Shiryu, had turned traitorâŠ
This was the biggest mistake, causing the situation to shift from Gion, Magellan, and Shiryu against Ian⊠to Gion alone facing three Warlords of the Sea!
This turn of events was beyond Gionâs expectations. She hadnât even had a chance to truly engage with Ian before she had to retreat to the sea surface.
And the worst part was that although she had captured the helmsman of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, essentially nabbing an important member of Ianâs crew, now even Magellan had been captured!
This forced her to make compromises, reluctantly preparing to negotiate with Ian.
She now realized that her mission might not be accomplished, so she hurriedly contacted the Navy Headquarters, hoping to see if they could still send some reinforcements to assist her.
However, unfortunately, Admiral Sengoku told her that due to the withdrawal of forces into the New World, preparing for a war against the Whitebeard Pirates, the defense of the Navy Headquarters was now quite depleted. There were only a few warships guarding Mariejois. In theory, no pirate crew should dare to attack the Navy Headquarters, but who could say whether there were some foolhardy individuals out there? Sengoku was quite troubled now. He could indeed divert a few more warships to assist Gion, but without corresponding capable leaders, even if they came, their assistance to Gion would be minimal.
Actually, there were reinforcements available. The only naval force that could be mobilized now was the âMarine Special Forcesâ led by former Admiral Zephyr. However, Zephyrâs Special Forces had been hunting pirates outside for a long time. Even if they could contact him now, it would take a long time for him to arrive at Impel DownâŠ
After learning about this situation, even Gion fell silent. Almost everyone at the Navy Headquarters thought that Ianâs choice of timing for this raid on Impel Down was just⊠ridiculous! It was driving the Navy up the wall!
âIt seems weâll have to rely on ourselvesâŠâ Gion silently hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Just then, Head Jailer Domino approached Gion and reported, âVice Admiral Gion, it has been confirmed through the telescope that Head Jailer⊠no, Shiryu of the Rain, is not among the enemy ranks. Their Lv6 prisoners only include Fishman Jinbe and Crocodile. The rest of them seem to be absent. Impel Down is currently experiencing severe leaks. Should we send Blue Gorilla jailers to seal the leaks underwater? Please indicateâŠâ
âLetâs find a way to seal them up!â Gion said, âWe need to ensure that Impel Down can resume operations as soon as possible after this incidentâŠâ
âYes, maâam!â Domino saluted and then turned to leave.
Itâs strange. Shiryu of the Rain isnât with the enemy. So where did he go? Or did something happen on the sixth level?
Unable to figure it out, Gion turned to her deputy, a rear admiral, and asked, âHow is it? Any ships appearing on the sea?â
âThere is none!â the rear admiral shook his head. âThere are no suspicious targets in the sky either!â
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Gion looked up at the sky. This area was the Calm Belt, and the weather had always been fine, so visibility in the sky was high. If there were indeed any suspicious targets, they would be visible at a glance.
âDonât let your guard down. Remain on high alert!â Gion ordered.
The rear admiral nodded in acknowledgment, while Gion stood with her arms crossed, gazing into the direction of Impel Down.
âIan⊠What exactly are you planning by like?â
âŠ
At the entrance to Impel Down, a large number of prisoners gathered, some anxiously waiting and occasionally looking towards the sea.
Although the Navyâs artillery fire had ceased, relieving them somewhat, the expected supporting ships had yet to appear. Undoubtedly, they were feeling uneasy.
With freedom seemingly within their grasp, just one step away from leaving Impel Down, everyone was worried that they might fail at the last moment.
âCaptain Ian, Boss!â a prisoner approached Ian cautiously and said, âMaybe we shouldnât wait anymore. Letâs find a way to take away a warship first!â
âYeah, yeah!â the other prisoners chimed in.
âWhatâs this? You donât trust me?â Ian looked at the group of prisoners with a sly smile.
Seeing Ianâs expression, the prisoners couldnât help but shiver, recalling the scene on the sixth level of the prison. They quickly waved their hands and smiled obsequiously, âNo, no! Of course, we trust you, BossâŠâ
âThen shut up!â Ian snapped impatiently.
Immediately, the prisoners fell silentâŠ
âHow boring!â Luffy complained, then grabbed onto Buggy and said, âHey Buggy, make your lion jump through a hoop or something!â
Buggy exploded with anger, grabbing Luffyâs collar and growling, âWeâre Buggyâs Pirate Crew, not a circus! Straw Hat brat, are you trying to get yourself killed?â ÆĐłeeweÉnà«Švel.com
âYeah! We only came to the Grand Line to seek revenge on you!â Alvida hefted her iron club and said, âOnce weâre out of here, weâll be enemies again. You better be prepared!â
âHaha, yeah yeah!â Luffy laughed heartily, hands on hips, then turned to Trafalgar Law and asked, âHey, Tora, do you want to see the lion jump through a hoop too? Itâs fun!â
ââŠâ Law looked at Luffy with a bewildered expression.
âWe already said weâre not a circus!â Buggy roared at Luffy, âCanât you understand!?â
However, just at that moment, Ian turned back and said to Buggy, âActually, Iâd like to see it too!â
Buggy was immediately stunned. He glanced at Ian, then at his lion, Richie, and finally snapped his fingers, saying, âRichie, jump!â
In the next moment, somehow, Moji managed to produce a hoop, and Richie, the lion, began jumping through it. Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp sat in a row, clapping and laughing heartily as they watched.
âThereâs only ten minutes left. Will your ship actually come?â Crocodile approached Ian, asking quietly.
Before Ian could respond, there was suddenly a splash, and Jinbe emerged from the sea. Everyone turned to look at him.
Jinbe nodded slightly at Ian.
Ianâs spirits lifted immediately. Finally, it had arrived!
He hoisted Magellan onto his shoulders and flew towards the Navy warships.
Ianâs reappearance made the Navy tense. However, when Ian flew over the warship and addressed Gion, âForget it, Iâve changed my mind. Letâs exchange prisoners first!â
Gion didnât believe him. It hadnât even been an hour, and Ian had already flown over. It must be that his supporting ship had appeared. So she didnât answer Ianâs question at all but instead glanced at the Navy rear admiral beside her.
However, the rear admiral looked puzzled. They had been observing the sea and the sky all this time and hadnât seen any sign of a ship!
What on earth was going on?
Gion was also puzzled. While she was thinking about what Ian might be up to, she heard Ian urging her again.
ââŠFine, letâs exchange!â Gion thought for a moment and finally agreed. She thought it was better this way. If they exchanged Magellan first, they could freely open fire on them.
Then, Gion grabbed Enel and threw him towards Ian, while Ian threw Magellan towards Gion. Both of them caught the exchanged prisoners.
However, unlike before, this time Magellanâs mouth was covered with a piece of torn cloth. As soon as Gion caught him, he immediately made muffled noises.
Sensing something was wrong, Gion quickly tore off the cloth covering Magellanâs mouth.
âCareful! They might escape from underwater!â As soon as the cloth was removed, Magellan immediately shouted.
Gion was shocked and quickly looked up, but Ian, who had received Enel, had already vanished!
Gion quickly took out her telescope and looked towards Impel Down. She saw that the calm sea had suddenly churned up, and thenâŠ
And then, a yellow⊠submarine! Suddenly emerged from the water!