Chapter 526: The Strongest Man in the Prison
(After reading the book reviews, some readers gave the name of Momousagi, saying it's Gion. Thank you very much, already corrected.)
As the Marine Headquarters made their moves, Ian and his group were also advancing unstoppably through Impel Down.
On the third level of the prison, the Blazing Hell, a new guard appeared: a minotaur known as Minotaurus!
Needless to say, this was a Devil Fruit user who had eaten the Ox-Ox Fruit, specifically in its cow form. The prisoners who had followed Ian here, upon first seeing this drooling, dim-witted creature, eagerly rushed forward, hoping to show off in front of Ian.
But they immediately suffered a heavy loss, because this guard beast was actually a Devil Fruit Awakener!
And it was a Zoan-type Awakener!
Facing the charging prisoners, this cow with its stupid expression swung its spiked club with incredible speed, sweeping a large area in one go!
With overwhelming strength and speed, under such a blow, a rain of blood erupted from among the prisoners who had charged forward. Several who were directly hit were killed on the spot, their bones shattered!
The spiked club in this minotaur's hands was a pure weapon of slaughter. As a guard, he had the duty to suppress prisoners, and clearly, in Impel Down, no guard treated these inmates as human beings. They were executed directly! There was no concept of holding back.
The prisoners rushed forward, not only failing to succeed, but also having over a dozen killed and many seriously injured. Terrified, they scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing back in panic.
Seeing this, Luffy and the others stepped in.
Activating Gear Second, Luffy punched, his arm stretching and retracting, landing a heavy blow on the minotaur's face. Then Sanji and Bon Clay, one in front and one behind, simultaneously kicked the minotaur from both sides, delivering two kicks of immense force. Together, the three of them knocked it to the ground.
Nami also joined the fight. Seeing the minotaur fall, she used her Clima-Tact to summon a bolt of lightning, delivering a finishing blow.
The minotaur was struck by lightning, its body charred black and smoking. But unexpectedly, it stirred, quickly stood up, and swung its spiked club down at Sanji.
Sanji quickly jumped back to dodge, avoiding the blow as the minotaur's club shattered the ground, sending gravel flying.
But through the dust, Zoro's figure appeared. Wielding three swords, he instantly flashed behind the minotaur, leaving three crossed slash marks on its body.
"Damn it, what's going on?" However, the feeling of cutting into a thick tire from the blades made Zoro uneasy. The immense resistance on his swords was too obvious.
Sure enough, looking back, he saw that the three slash marks on the minotaur hadn't cut very deep, barely drawing any blood. Not only that, but the wounds were visibly healing at an astonishing speed.
A Zoan-type Devil Fruit Awakener possesses powerful physical abilities, resulting in incredible regenerative power, like an unkillable cockroach. Even when injured, they can quickly recover their combat capability.
Seeing this, Brook the Bones and Franky the Iron Man quickly joined the battle, and the group began to gang up on the minotaur.
After knocking it down again, everyone was slightly out of breath. The third level, the Blazing Hell, was unbearably hot because the fourth level contained a massive magma pool. All the heat radiated upward into the third level, making fighting in such an environment extremely draining.
Ian noticed Luffy and the others showing signs of letting their guard down and reminded them, "Be careful. He'll recover soon!"
"What!?" Zoro, sweating profusely, was stunned. "With injuries that severe, he can still get up?"
So Ian had to explain the matter of Devil Fruit Awakening to them.
Just as Ian finished speaking, the minotaur's fingers began to twitch again.
Seeing this, Zoro and the others immediately resumed kicking and punching the downed minotaur. Franky even straddled it, punching its face hard, the force cracking the ground like a spiderweb.
Finally, this time, the minotaur was knocked unconscious. Even if it woke up, it would take a while.
Panting as he stood up, Luffy stuck out his tongue, looking wilted, and said, "It's so hot, Sanji. I want a cold drink..."
"Bear with it!" Sanji replied, his shirt soaked through with sweat from the heat.
With the minotaur dealt with, the prisoners ran off to release the inmates on the third level. Ian, however, went to the elevator entrance leading from the third to the fourth level, staring thoughtfully at the elevator doors.
"What's wrong?" Zoro asked curiously.
"Below is the fourth level..." Ian said. "That's... the Warden's office, right?"
As soon as Ian mentioned that word, the prisoners who were releasing others froze in their movements, and the entire area fell into a dead silence.
"Th... that's right... below seems to be... Magellan's office..." After a moment, a prisoner whispered.
"D... damn it!"
The prisoners finally snapped out of it, but chaos erupted. Several pirates stammered in front of Ian, "Lord Ian, maybe we should stop here. If we go further down, we'll definitely run into Magellan! The strongest man in Impel Down..."
Magellan, a Poison-Poison Fruit user, was the supreme ruler of Impel Down. Deeply trusted by the World Government, he had never allowed anyone to escape from this prison in 20 years. He was the nightmare of every inmate in Impel Down. Just the mention of his name made prisoners tremble, and they could barely speak properly.
But... what nonsense was this? Stop here?
Ian coldly stared at the prisoners in front of him until they averted their eyes in fear and stepped aside. Then, with a snort, he pushed open the elevator door and stepped inside.
Having come this far, was there any turning back?
..........................
On Level 4, the Bloody Hell, Magellan was waiting at the elevator exit with a large contingent of guards.
Magellan was a very tall man, and his appearance, even more than Ian with his Flame Wings spread, resembled a demon from Satan. He had a mouth full of sharp teeth, a pair of horns on his head, and a pair of demonic wings on his back—whether decorative or real was unknown. No one could tell what race he was.
As a Poison-Poison Fruit user, Magellan was covered in deadly poison from head to toe. Even when he breathed or sighed, he sometimes emitted toxic gas, so even his subordinates dared not get too close to him.
Magellan had actually been informed by his subordinates as soon as Ian and his group invaded Impel Down. But unfortunately, perhaps due to his Devil Fruit ability, Magellan loved eating poisonous food. However, when he ate such food, it reacted with his own poison, creating a counter-effect that gave him diarrhea.
Magellan spent 24 hours a day sleeping for eight hours, and of the remaining time, he spent ten hours constantly on the toilet with diarrhea. After deducting rest and meal times, he only had about four hours of actual work. So even though his subordinates had immediately reported the intruders, he was still stuck in the bathroom.
Even now, he had only just come out of the bathroom a short while ago.
However, about twenty minutes ago, while in the bathroom, Magellan received a call from Fleet Admiral Sengoku at Marine Headquarters, informing him that Vice Admiral Momousagi had been dispatched for support. Magellan's task was to delay Ian as much as possible until Momousagi arrived, preventing him from rescuing Sea Knight Jinbe and Sand Crocodile Crocodile.
If he could hold out until Vice Admiral Momousagi arrived, then with the combined combat power of Magellan and Momousagi, they should be able to suppress Ian and his group of prison breakers.
As the Warden, Magellan had a strong sense of responsibility. He regarded Impel Down as his own territory. Now that someone had come knocking on his door, how could he remain indifferent? So after coming out of the bathroom, he gathered his men in the shortest possible time, ready to give the invading Warlord, Black Dragon Ian, a proper welcome.
"The elevator is moving!" a guard suddenly shouted.
In the next second, all the guards surrounding the elevator raised their guns and weapons, nervously aiming at the elevator doors.
When the elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened, someone suddenly yelled, "Fire!" In the next moment, the already tense guards pulled their triggers.
Instantly, gunfire erupted, and countless bullets flew into the elevator...