# Chapter 522: Swim Back
These prisoners, at this moment, were all bowing and scraping, fawning and flattering Ian and his group with thick-skinned shamelessness.
But Ian wasn't angry at all, because the truth was that when he released these prisoners, he had been planning to use them from the start.
Since he had already decided to cause a major disturbance in Impel Down, the bigger the chaos the better. After these prisoners were released, they could serve to attract the attention of the Impel Down guard forces.
To put it bluntly, in Ian's eyes, these guys were cannon fodder!
Among the prisoners held in Impel Down, there might be some who were wrongly convicted, but the vast majority were truly vicious criminals. Ian wouldn't have any psychological burden using them.
So Ian didn't say anything about their admissions of wrongdoing. He just nodded and said, "Then follow closely!"
With that, Ian drew his Thousand Cherry Blossoms from its sheath and slashed a massive sword aura forward!
This sword aura was exactly as wide as the corridor, causing both edges of the aura to scrape against the prison cells on either side. After the aura flew past, the bars of these cells were all destroyed without exception.
This single sword aura indirectly revealed Ian's strength, to the point that when the prisoners from the other cells came out, they still couldn't believe it, staring dumbfounded at Ian.
Ian didn't care about them at all. He continued leading the group forward, and after they passed, the prisoners who had emerged from their cells exchanged glances, then hurriedly followed Ian and his group.
"These people seem extraordinary!"
"Of course! How could ordinary people dare to think of storming Impel Down?"
The prisoners whispered among themselves.
Meanwhile, because the previous batch of guards had been completely wiped out, Impel Down had no choice but to send out the prison guards Blue Gorillas!
These Blue Gorillas were monsters wearing white hooded cloaks with skull patterns on the hoods, holding huge double-bladed axes in their hands as they crawled along the corridor walls.
Thus began another battle. It had to be said that these Blue Gorilla monsters had some strength. Being able to hunt Sea Kings in the sea, they were deadly to ordinary pirates.
However, when Luffy, Zoro, and Urouge stepped in, they quickly defeated these Blue Gorillas.
This gave the released prisoners weapons. They picked up the axes from the Blue Gorillas' hands, slung them over their shoulders, and once again followed Ian's group.
After reaching the end of the corridor, Ian and his group arrived before a huge pit. This pit was where the Level 1 prisoners were tortured, and below was a forest of Sword Trees!
The so-called Sword Tree was a very special type of tree. It had hardness comparable to steel, and its leaves grew like sharp blades that were difficult to break. Whenever Level 1 prisoners were to be punished, the prison guards would throw them into this Sword Tree forest. The dense leaves left the prisoners with no place to rest, forcing them to keep moving. And as they moved, the leaves would cut them until they were covered in blood!
A lot of this blood remained on the Sword Tree leaves, giving them a crimson appearance from afar. This was the origin of the name "Level 1 Crimson Hell"...
When Ian looked down, he could still see many prisoners being tortured within the Sword Tree forest. These people walked shakily among the trees, looking like they were on the verge of death...
Shaking his head, Ian couldn't comment on what he was seeing. He didn't know whether such punishment was excessively cruel or whether these criminals deserved it.
But this Sword Tree forest was blocking Ian's path...
"What do we do? How do we get down?"
"Let's see. Maybe if they can't get down, they'll back off!"
The prisoners behind whispered among themselves, and some even looked forward to watching the show with schadenfreude.
Hearing these words, Ian couldn't help but sneer coldly. It seemed he needed to give these guys a proper intimidation!
The next second, the right sleeve of the Marine uniform Ian was wearing suddenly turned to ash!
The heat of the Black Dragon Wave radiated out, burning away the sleeve and revealing the incantation bandages wrapped around Ian's right arm. Ian raised his right hand, and the bell on the bandages let out a crisp sound.
By now, this bell sound had practically become Ian's trademark. When the world described Ian, the Seven Warlord of the Sea, the first thing mentioned was this bell sound...
So when the bell on Ian's wrist suddenly rang, some of the newer prisoners who had only recently been imprisoned suddenly opened their mouths wide, staring dumbfounded at Ian!
Although many had never actually seen Ian, this bell sound reminded them of the legend about the Black Dragon Ian...
No... no way!? The leader in front, wearing a Marine Rear Admiral's uniform, could actually be... be...
But before they could say that name, Ian had already unwrapped the incantation bandages from his wrist. The surging heat instantly assaulted everyone nearby, forcing them to retreat far away.
The tattoo-like black dragon on Ian's wrist, accompanied by black flames, wantonly released its heat, indirectly confirming Ian's identity. The freed prisoners stared at Ian in terror. They finally knew who was behind this prison break!
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Ian unleashed the Black Dragon Wave!
After Ian's Nen Training skill had been upgraded to Master level, the power of the Black Dragon Wave had also increased. Now, the Black Dragon Wave's body was somewhat larger, like a true giant dragon, roaring as it flew out. Under Ian's control, it arrived above the Sword Tree forest, coiling and circling with its head and tail swaying, while the black demon realm flames also surged.
As the Black Dragon Wave passed, the Sword Tree forest below was incinerated by the ultra-high temperature, along with the criminals being tortured inside, who were burned to ashes.
In just seven or eight seconds, after Ian recalled the Black Dragon and performed devouring, the Sword Tree forest below, which the prison inmates called Crimson Hell, had completely disappeared, leaving only countless scorched black ashes and marks.
"Let's go!" Ian spread his black Flame Wings and jumped into the pit, flying downward. At the center of the pit, there was a dark circular passage, which should be the way to Level 2.
When Ian flew down, Luffy, Law, and the others quickly followed.
Finally, when only the released prisoners remained at the edge of the pit, they looked at each other, then suddenly burst into loud cheers!
"Hahaha! We're saved!"
"Heavens! I never thought it would be Lord Black Dragon Ian, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"With such a big figure coming to break us out, we have hope of getting out!"
"What terrifying power! That flaming black dragon earlier felt like it would scorch us even from that far away!"
"I heard Black Dragon Ian has strength comparable to a Marine Admiral. Now it seems that's really true!"
"Well-deserved reputation! I think he might even be stronger than a Marine Admiral! There aren't many people in Impel Down who can stop him!"
"Hurry! Follow! With such a powerful figure, this is a good chance to latch onto his coattails!"
"Right, right! Follow quickly! Maybe we can become Lord Ian's subordinates. Once we get out and follow him, even the Marines won't dare to mess with us!"
Saying this, the prisoners all jumped into the pit one after another. Even with such a great height, they didn't hesitate at all, afraid that if they jumped too late, they would lose track of that Seven Warlord of the Sea.
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While the prisoners were recognizing Ian's identity, the prison guards watching through the ubiquitous surveillance Den Den Mushi footage also learned Ian's identity at the same time.
And then, cold sweat poured down their bodies...
"Hurry! Quickly contact Marine Headquarters!" the guards shouted frantically. "We need reinforcements! Reinforcements! Immediately have Marine Headquarters send a Marine Admiral!"
"No good! The interference is still there. We can't make contact!"
"Keep trying! Don't stop until we get through!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Dammit! If it's Black Dragon Ian, then that Vice Admiral Momonga must be fake too!"
"Absolutely! Marine Headquarters has already revoked Black Dragon Ian's Seven Warlord of the Sea title. He's now an enemy of the Marines again. How could a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral be mixed up with him? That's definitely fake!"
"Then, is that Pirate Empress likely a fake too?"
"Very likely. Regardless, we need to find a way to contact Marine Headquarters quickly. Tell them everything that's happening here and let them make the judgment!"
"Investigate the identities of the others too! Anyone who can be with Black Dragon Ian must be a famous figure! Check from that angle!"
"What about Director Magellan!? Have we contacted him?"
"We have, but the Director is still having diarrhea right now..."
"..."
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Meanwhile, far away on the sea surface near a solitary island in the Calm Belt, the real Vice Admiral Momonga, whom the Impel Down guards had mentioned, was swimming naked in the ocean!
"Dammit! Dammit!"
While swimming desperately, Vice Admiral Momonga cursed furiously: "Who!? Who attacked me!?"
His warship was gone. All his belongings had been taken away, leaving him only a sword. But laughably, he didn't even know who had done all this to him.
Unable to contact Marine Headquarters and without a Log Pose, Vice Admiral Momonga had no idea where he was. And since there were no ships near the Calm Belt, he was forced to replicate the scene from the original history where Rayleigh swam across the sea, trying to cross the ocean by swimming.
This might be somewhat difficult for him, a Marine Vice Admiral. Not to mention anything else, the Sea Kings that frequently attacked from beneath the sea surface had already made his life miserable.
But the most troublesome thing wasn't just that. Without a Log Pose, he couldn't even determine his direction. He had no idea whether the direction he was heading in was correct...
It seemed that Vice Admiral Momonga would have quite a struggle ahead of him if he wanted to return to Marine Headquarters...
And these were still minor matters. What truly made Vice Admiral Momonga uneasy was the feeling that something big was probably about to happen...