Chapter 533: The Okama Queen's Grand Entrance
The antidote brought back by Shillew of the Rain was highly effective. With Brook's help, everyone gradually woke up.
"Whew! I thought I was going to die here!" Mr. 2 Bon Clay sat up from the ground, touching his face with lingering fear, looking terrified.
"I'm hungry..." Luffy's tongue hung out, looking completely drained.
Buggy was arguing with Mr. 3 because when Magellan's venom splashed earlier, Mr. 3's Candle Shield hadn't protected him. Now he was settling the score.
Trafalgar Law sat on the ground, his nodachi resting on his shoulder, silently watching Shillew of the Rain, who was smoking a cigar in the distance.
"That man... is very dangerous!" Urouge stood beside Law, speaking in a low voice. "Even though he brought the antidote, honestly, I don't want to stay near that guy."
As for Zoro, he was staring intently at Shillew's sword with a serious expression. Shillew noticed Zoro's gaze, snorted coldly, and said, "Kid, if you want to die, I can oblige you!"
Shillew acknowledged Ian's strength, but he had no regard for the people Ian brought along, so his words carried no politeness.
Hearing this, Zoro's eyes narrowed, and his hand unconsciously moved to the hilt of his sword at his waist.
This guy in front of him had an incredibly intense killing intent. Zoro didn't know why Ian had kept this man around, but he could also sense the danger the other posed.
Between swordsmen, sensitivity to killing intent was the sharpest. Though Zoro's movement was instinctive, it made Shillew squint his eyes, his right thumb pressing against the guard of his sword.
Shillew was naturally bloodthirsty, and now the killing intent within him began to boil again.
However, before his thumb could push the blade out, a sudden wave of danger washed over him, as if some fierce beast was staring at him from behind. Shillew spun around sharply!
Then he saw a pair of icy-cold eyes, and the owner of those eyes was the very person he had just pledged allegiance to: Ian!
"What do you think you're doing, Shillew?" Ian asked coldly, staring at him.
Ian had sensed the killing intent Shillew had directed at Zoro, and it made him particularly angry.
"..." Shillew looked into Ian's eyes, withdrew his thumb, and suppressed his killing intent, saying, "No, nothing..."
Ian gave him a meaningful glance before turning away and addressing the group, "Since everyone's fine, let's keep moving!"
Chopper was a kind-hearted kid. With his help, even the prisoners were saved. When they woke up and saw Magellan lying motionless on the ground, their spirits soared. Hearing Ian's orders, they cheered enthusiastically.
"Hail to the great Captain Ian!" They grinned, picking up weapons left behind by the prison guards, rushing ahead to clear the way for Ian.
At this moment, these prisoners felt an overwhelming sense of security. The strongest man in Impel Down had fallen before the Shichibukai Lord Ian. Now, no one could stop them.
Why else would people say latching onto a powerful ally was so satisfying? Knowing that Ian, this great figure, stood behind them, everyone felt confident about their future.
But when they reached the fifth level of the prison, the prisoners' feverish excitement was doused with cold water!
And it was literally cold! The fifth level, the Frozen Hell, was so frigid that even piss would freeze before hitting the ground...
The fourth and fifth levels were polar opposites, like ice and fire. It was hard to imagine how such an environment could exist.
"Achoo!!"
As they entered the fifth level through the stairs, a blast of biting wind hit them, making everyone sneeze in unison. On the fourth level, it had been so hot that many had stripped off their clothes. Now, arriving at the fifth level, they were instantly frozen stiff.
"S-so cold!" Chopper's nose was running, but Nami quickly hugged him, using his fluffy fur to keep warm.
"I-Ian!" Nami shivered, holding Chopper, and stammered, "Warm us up, quick!"
Ian was speechless. He could only control his Flame Wings to release heat. In the next moment, a surge of warmth spread out, greatly reducing the chill around them.
But then a problem arose. Ian couldn't release too much heat, so the warmth only affected a small circle around him. This led to the prisoners fighting over spots close to Ian!
Leading the charge were the two idiots, Buggy and Mr. 3, who had been arguing since they woke up and were now at it again.
Ian didn't know what to say to them, so he silently started walking forward.
Thus, the prisoners on the fifth level witnessed a strange sight: a group of thinly clad people, clustering around a man wreathed in flames, as if stars surrounded the moon. They all desperately tried to squeeze closer but dared not get too near the center.
Compared to the other levels, the prisoners on the fifth level had no idea what was happening in Impel Down. It was too cold here, and even the guards rarely visited. The more one moved, the more heat was lost, so the prisoners on this level rarely stirred. They just huddled in sheltered spots, motionless, as if their thoughts had frozen solid.
The prisoners on the fifth level were a tier more dangerous than those above. This time, Ian didn't rashly order the release of these inmates. Even if he told the prisoners to do it, they probably wouldn't—no one wanted to leave Ian's side now.
Even Shillew was the same...
Shillew had been released from the sixth level, but when he went to the fourth level, he used the guards' special elevator, controlled by the prison's command room. Ian and his group couldn't use it—the guards wouldn't activate it for them—so they had to take the normal route to the sixth level.
So, the group huddled together, trudging through the blizzard of the fifth level, searching for the spiral staircase leading down to the sixth.
But then, Ian suddenly stopped.
The prisoners on the outer edge, caught off guard, kept walking. When they realized Ian had halted, they scrambled back. One prisoner, his teeth chattering, asked Ian, "L-Lord... why have you stopped?"
"Ahead, there are people!" Ian's Psychic Field had been covering the fifth level, and just now, he sensed a group appearing up ahead.
They were still invisible in the blizzard, but Ian noticed they seemed to have emerged from the snow, sparking his curiosity.
Could it be Ivankov and the others?
Back on the fourth level, despite the heat, Ian had insisted on wearing his Bear Ear Hat because he knew Ivankov might recognize him.
Since parting ways in Shimotsuki Village all those years ago, Ian hadn't seen Ivankov. The current Ian was completely unrecognizable to Ivankov, so the Bear Ear Hat was needed as a token. Ian had no idea how to enter the so-called Newcomers' Paradise, so he could only wait passively for Ivankov to find him.
Everyone followed Ian's gaze into the blizzard ahead. At first, they saw nothing, but gradually, a cluster of shadows appeared, growing larger, indicating the group was approaching them.
Instinctively, some prisoners tightened their grip on their weapons.
Could it be enemies? No, weren't there hardly any guards here?
Just as they were thinking this, a loud laugh pierced through the wind and snow.
"Hee-haw!! Ian boy! Surprise!"
Then Ivankov's figure finally appeared before them!
The moment they saw this Okama Queen, many prisoners felt their eyes bulge!
Before them stood a person with an enormous face! It was heavily made up, with absurdly long eyelashes, looking utterly bizarre.
And the most ridiculous part was that, in such a fierce blizzard, he was only wearing a pair of suspender shorts and a cape, with fishnet stockings on his legs... and that was it!
A p-pervert!
Ivankov stood there, hands gripping his cloak, balancing on one leg as if flying, striking a pose before Ian and the others. He looked even more thinly clad than the prisoners in their prison uniforms.
With him was a group of okamas from the Newcomers' Paradise—some were seductive beauties, others were flamboyant perverts—but all of them were wearing thick fur coats to ward off the cold.
"..." An awkward silence fell. Everyone stared blankly at Ivankov, unable to speak.
A gust of wind blew, stirring up a flurry of snow.
"What's wrong, Ian boy? Don't you recognize me?" Ivankov asked, puzzled.
"Well..." Ian didn't know what to say, finally managing, "Ivankov, it's good to see you, but... aren't you cold wearing so little?"
"..." Ivankov suddenly snapped back to reality, his nose running as he hugged himself and shouted, "So cold! I'm freezing to death!"
An okama in a bunny suit and sunglasses picked his nose and said flatly, "Ivankov-sama, we told you to dress warmer..."