Chapter 536: The Tsundere Sand Crocodile
Seeing Ian appear in this Impel Down prison, Jinbe was extremely surprised. He never imagined that Ian would come to rescue him.
But regardless, Jinbe was overjoyed.
Back then, after receiving the Marines' mandatory summons and arriving at Marine Headquarters, he heard Sengoku talk about the Marines' war against Whitebeard. Jinbe, as a Warlord of the Sea, had been appointed by the World Government as a representative of Fish-Man Island. He was well aware of his mission: to do his best to ease the racial tensions between fish-men and humans, allowing fish-men more room to survive. As such, he had always been obedient and cooperative with the World Government's orders.
Sengoku had originally believed that Jinbe would support the Marines in their war against Whitebeard. However, to his surprise, Jinbe turned out to be one of the most vehement opponents!
First, Whitebeard had a debt of gratitude from Fish-Man Island. Second, Jinbe clearly understood what a war between the Marines and Whitebeard would lead to. Regardless of who won or lost, it would throw the entire world into turmoil. So Jinbe resolutely opposed it and refused to fight for the Marines as a Warlord of the Sea.
This finally angered Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who personally subdued him and threw him into Impel Down prison.
Inside Impel Down, even as a Warlord of the Sea, Jinbe suffered severe abuse. However, he could ignore the torture and pain. What troubled him was the impending war between Whitebeard Old Man and the Marines. Every time he thought of the approaching war, he grew anxious.
The land environment limited Jinbe's abilities, and with Warden Magellan present, Jinbe couldn't escape.
Just as he was at a loss, Ian appeared!
So Jinbe felt that Ian's timing was perfect.
"Ha! Jinbe, big brother, I finally found you!" Ian said upon hearing the shout, arriving in front of Jinbe's cell.
"Ian, little brother!" Though Jinbe's body was covered in wounds, his spirit was high. His hands were chained to the wall with thick chains, preventing him from standing, but he asked happily, "Did you come because of the war between the Marines and Old Man?"
"That's right!" Ian nodded. "According to the intelligence I've gathered, the Whitebeard Pirates are in a bad spot. I need more help."
Indeed, because of Ian, most of the Marines' Warlord of the Sea forces were unable to assist. But similarly, the Whitebeard Pirates were also in a tough situation. According to the intelligence from Aunt Shakky, the description of Whitebeard Old Man was only two words: dying!
That meant it was highly likely that Old Man couldn't even make it to the battlefield. But his Division Commanders would have to face three full Marine Admirals and a large number of Marine Vice Admirals, not to mention Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp. Compared to the original Paramount War, it was hard to say which side had the advantage.
"Take me out of here. I can definitely help!" Jinbe said urgently upon hearing Ian's words.
"Wait, I'll let you out right now!" Ian couldn't be bothered to find the keys. He drew his Thousand Cherry Blossoms blade, black flames surging along the sword. Gripping the sword with both hands, he swung it fiercely at the Seastone bars!
A dull sound rang out, and the Seastone bars snapped in response.
Ian had now fully realized the power of Master-level Nen Training. Seastone was incredibly hard; back then, even with the flame temperature of the Evil King Flame Slayer Sword, he could only cut it slowly. But now, with the enhanced power from his Nen Training, cutting through Seastone required little effort.
This meant that the demon world fire from the Shadow Card had risen to another level of heat.
This casual slash stunned the prisoners in other cells. They knew exactly what their cell doors were made of. They had never seen anyone cut Seastone in one stroke.
"Hey, hey, little brother, let us out too!" Several prisoners in one cell rushed to the bars and shouted at Ian. "We can help you too!"
However, these opportunists were shut down by Ivankov's Death Wink.
"Shut up, you Level 6 scum!" Ivankov roared. "Don't cause trouble for yourselves!"
But this threat didn't intimidate the prisoners. When they realized that this group appearing on the sixth level was actually here to break someone out, they began to stir!
No one wanted to stay here. Those imprisoned on the sixth level were all heinous criminals, facing endless sentences with no end in sight. Even if they died, their bones would remain in the cells. That was why the sixth level was called the "Infinite Hell." Before, there was no chance to escape, but now that an opportunity had arisen, no one was willing to sit and wait for death.
So the prisoners came to their cell doors, pounding on them and begging Ian to let them out. Even Ivankov's Death Wink couldn't stop them.
But Ian ignored them completely. He walked straight into the cell, cut off Jinbe's shackles, and freed him.
Jinbe stood up from the ground, his tall frame making Ian look small. Though many wounds on his body were still oozing blood, he rubbed his wrists and said gratefully to Ian, "Thank you! Ian, little brother! I owe you one!"
"Don't say that!" Ian sheathed his sword and smiled. "Back in Dressrosa, didn't you help me too? We're friends, no need for that!"
Jinbe didn't say any more words of gratitude, but he kept this debt in his heart. He was a man who followed the path of chivalry and justice, thinking only of how to repay it later.
"Let's go!" Ian said, leading the way out of the cell, with Jinbe following behind.
"Oh ha!" Watching Ian and Jinbe walk out one after the other, Ivankov felt a surge of excitement. Two Warlords of the Sea were now together!
But before he could finish his amazement, a voice suddenly rang out, "Ian, have you forgotten someone?"
Turning around, Ian looked at another cell on the right, where a man in prison clothes was crouched in the corner.
Crocodile! The scar on his face was still so prominent.
"Little 0?" Bon Clay, standing beside Ivankov, rubbed his eyes.
"B... Boss!?" Mr. 3 also stared in terror at Crocodile in the cell.
In their memories, their boss always wore a trench coat and exuded an imposing aura. They never imagined seeing Crocodile in prison clothes.
"Ha! Sand Crocodile, you're here too!" Ian walked up to his cell and smiled. "What, want me to rescue you too?"
"Hmph!" Crocodile, though imprisoned, was as tsundere as ever. He sneered, "The outside is sealed off. Without me, you won't get out!"
What Crocodile meant was his sand-based ability. Indeed, once freed from the Seastone restraints, Crocodile's ability was the most useful for escaping here.
But Ian shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily true. I don't believe a single Railgun blast can't break through whatever's blocking me."
"You..." Crocodile was choked speechless.
"Want to get out? It's not impossible!" Ian rubbed his chin and grinned mischievously. "But... beg me!"
Seeing Ian's expression, Crocodile gritted his teeth in anger. "Damn it, have you forgotten what you said before?"
"What did I say?" Ian remembered, of course, but pretended to be clueless, teasing him. "Did I say something?"
"You...!" Veins bulged on Crocodile's forehead. He said bitterly, "Didn't you say before that if I was willing to join, you'd leave me a position as Chief of Staff?"
"Oh!" Ian slapped his palm in mock realization. "I think I did say that... But you're the one who was unreasonable, right? Why did you refuse when I said it back then? Now that you want to escape, you suddenly remember to join? That's not very sincere, is it?"
Crocodile was still as arrogant and tsundere as ever, so Ian felt it was time to knock him down a peg.
"..." Crocodile remained silent. In truth, after being defeated by Luffy and his crew and then arrested by the Marines, he suddenly felt bored. He had schemed in Alabasta for so long, only for it all to come to nothing. Meanwhile, Ian, also a Warlord of the Sea, lived freely and easily. After all, as a pirate, wasn't adventure the true path?
So at that time, Crocodile had taken a rubbing of the Poneglyph from Alabasta, planning to use it to wait for Ian to rescue him. Then he could legitimately join Ian and live a different kind of life.
But unfortunately, after waiting so long, Ian finally showed up, and it seemed Ian had no idea that Crocodile had the Poneglyph rubbing. On top of that, Crocodile was still a bit tsundere, not wanting to beg to join Ian's crew but hoping Ian would invite him instead. This led to an awkward situation...
Crocodile stared at Ian in silence for a long time before finally saying bitterly, "The Alabasta Poneglyph rubbing is in my hands. Don't you want it?"
Ian almost laughed out loud. The Alabasta Poneglyph rubbing that Crocodile relied on only contained information about the ancient weapon Pluton. Ian had planned to bring Franky over and formally introduce him to Crocodile, saying, "This is the shipwright who holds the design for Pluton," to really rub it in. But on second thought, he decided to let it go. Crocodile was once a Warlord of the Sea. If he embarrassed him in front of so many people, the guy might get angry and lash out.
So Ian pretended to be interested and said, "Oh, really? Alright, deal. I'll let you out!"
Sure enough, upon hearing Ian's words, Crocodile seemed to breathe a sigh of relief... He was really afraid Ian would mock him again...
When it came to Ian, Crocodile truly had a shadow over him...