Chapter 527: Fire and Poison
The moment the elevator doors opened, the prison's guard unit opened fire.
However, their bullets and cannonballs struck a smooth, white wall!
This was a candle shield created by Mr. 3's ability, extra-large and reinforced, both hard and soft, providing excellent cushioning. The bullets and cannonballs hit the candle shield but couldn't penetrate it, getting stuck inside.
Luffy had initially wanted to use his rubber ability to block the bullets, but Ian disagreed. He knew that Impel Down was equipped with Seastone bullets designed to counter Devil Fruit users. While the quantity might be limited, there was no telling if Magellan's deployed forces carried such weapons. If they did, using Luffy as a shield would be sending him to his death.
Fortunately, among those Ian brought along was Mr. 3. That's the nature of Devil Fruit abilities—when used correctly, they can achieve remarkable results.
Due to their nervousness, many of the guards had fired several shots, but after realizing it was useless, they gradually stopped.
However, at that moment, the candle shield at the elevator entrance suddenly shattered and collapsed, and a dark object came flying out of the elevator with a whoosh.
It was a heavy spiked club, spinning as it flew with a whistling sound, crashing directly into the formation of the guard unit. The club came so unexpectedly that many couldn't dodge in time and were sent flying.
Thus, for a time, the guards of Impel Down screamed in agony.
"Hehe, sorry, my hand slipped!"
A heavily made-up, curvaceous woman stepped out of the elevator. This was naturally Alvida. Though her words sounded apologetic, her expression showed no hint of remorse.
"Wow, a beauty!" Many of the guards couldn't help but brighten at the sight of her.
Alvida seemed to enjoy such looks, seductively flipping her hair.
But then, as the others filed out of the elevator, the guards couldn't help but exclaim, "An even prettier one's here!"
Needless to say, they were looking at Nami. Though still wearing Boa Hancock's clothes, she had removed the wig, revealing her orange hair.
Alvida was so angered by the guards' attitude that her nose twisted. She snatched a double-bladed axe from a nearby prisoner and hurled it into the crowd with a swoosh.
Her Smooth-Smooth Fruit was said to have zero friction, so even without much force, she could easily throw heavy weapons, not to mention she was naturally strong.
However, her second thrown axe was casually knocked away by a fist!
Magellan had intervened. After deflecting the axe, he couldn't help but roar at the guards, "Fools! They're the enemy! What are you thinking?"
"So... so huge!" Looking at Magellan's massive size, Luffy and the others couldn't help but look up at him in awe.
The prisoners, upon seeing Magellan, cowered, their legs trembling, but because Ian was there, they had to grit their teeth and hold their ground.
As for Ian, after exiting the elevator, he was busy taking off his clothes!
"So hot, so hot! Can't stand it!" Ian quickly stripped off his Marine Rear Admiral uniform, but still felt like he was in an oven.
This fourth level, the Blood Pool Hell, was even hotter than the third level's Scorching Heat Hell. The third level only had heat radiating upward, but the fourth level had the magma furnace directly beneath their feet.
After exiting the elevator, Ian and the others found themselves on a wide bridge, built directly above a magma pool. The heat here was even more intense.
Although Ian was also a fire user, with the Black Dragon Wave's heat surpassing this magma, the two were completely different. The Black Dragon Wave was Ian's own ability, having little effect on him, but the magma pool affected the entire environment.
Ian wasn't the only one stripping; others who couldn't bear the heat did the same. Nami, for instance, discarded Boa Hancock's clothes, revealing her bikini and shorts. As she undressed, Sanji and Brook leered at her, making "Ooh ooh ooh" sounds, only to be met with Nami's strong suppression, giving each a big bump on the head.
Law's subordinate, Bepo, couldn't help but sneak a glance, but Nami caught him and pointed, "You're just a bear, daring to peek at me!?"
Bepo was immediately dejected, lowering his head and saying, "S-Sorry..."
Ian quickly turned away, pretending nothing had happened, and took out his Bear Ear Hat from his pants pocket to put on.
Returning to his familiar attire, Ian felt a bit more at ease. Though still hot, he had no choice but to wear the hat.
"You're the Warlord, Black Dragon Ian?" Magellan looked down at Ian, recognizing the hat.
"Warden Magellan, I've heard much about you!" Ian held his sword hilt and looked up at him, saying, "You're blocking my way with your men here!"
"Ridiculous! This is my territory!" Magellan pointed at the ground, a drop of deep purple liquid falling from his finger and hitting the ground with a hiss, creating smoke. "I don't care if you're a Warlord or not. If you dare cause trouble here, don't blame me for being rude!"
Ian looked at the poison liquid corroding the ground and smoking, then at Magellan's body, noticing a liquid-like film forming on him.
This was a sign that Magellan was about to attack. Not only Ian and the others realized this, but the guards did too.
The next second, the guards panicked. Magellan's deadly poison terrified even his own subordinates. Seeing him ready to fight, fearing they'd be caught in the crossfire, they scattered in all directions. Some guards shouted as they ran, "Warden! W-Wait before you act!"
But Magellan didn't care. He took a deep breath, his entire abdomen swelling.
"Scatter!" Ian shouted immediately. Luffy, Zoro, Law, and Urouge all reacted instantly, quickly moving away from Ian.
"Poison Pufferfish!"
Just as everyone scattered, Magellan spat out several deep purple poison bubbles toward Ian's position!
There were seven or eight of these poison bubbles, striking almost simultaneously, seemingly surrounding Ian.
Ian drew Senbonzakura, black flames instantly enveloping the entire blade. He leaped into the air, swinging Senbonzakura in a circular arc of black flames in front of him.
"One Hundred Styles: Demon Fire!"
Ian used the black hellfire from the Flying Shadow Card to execute the Eight-Yao Card's special technique. This was a new attempt, but after advancing to Master-level Nen Training, such attempts came naturally to him.
All the poison bubbles were caught by the flames on Ian's blade at the same time, unable to touch his body.
However, the next second, Ian realized he had miscalculated. Although his flames were effective against the poison, unexpectedly, the poison wasn't burned to ashes. Instead, due to the high heat, it vaporized upon contact!
Thus, the poison bubbles turned into poison gas, spreading around Ian.
"Not good!" Ian inhaled a mouthful of poison gas, and his mind immediately became dizzy. He quickly used Orihime Inoue's Card's Twin Heaven Return Shield, enveloping himself in a protective barrier.
The barrier's rejection force cleared the dizziness from the poison gas he had just inhaled, but the barrier could only cover Ian. Seeing the purple mist spreading in all directions, Ian immediately warned everyone, "Watch out! Find gas masks!"
Hearing Ian's instructions, everyone panicked and followed his orders, trying to run past Magellan on both sides. Across the bridge was the guard room, where gas masks were sure to be.
Trafalgar Law was among them, running forward with his nose covered. In truth, given some time, he could treat this poisoning—he was a doctor after all. However, the Surgery Fruit's abilities didn't include a direct detoxification skill, so he also needed a gas mask now.
Chopper was in the same boat. Though his backpack contained many medicines, as soon as he sniffed the air, he identified the poison's toxicity—a complex neurotoxin. He too needed time to prepare an antidote.
Thus, a group of people tried to bypass Magellan on both sides, charging forward...