Chapter 542: The Advancing Momousagi
The world is vast and full of wonders. Devil Fruits truly represent a case of one thing overcoming another; seemingly powerful abilities will one day find their counter.
Enel had been caught. He had ultimately fallen into Momousagi's hands.
This was a classic case of suffering a loss due to not understanding an opponent's abilities. But then again, ever since arriving on the Blue Sea, Enel had suffered one blow after another, and his once arrogant attitude was gradually being tempered.
"That warship over there—should be waiting to pick them up, right?" Momousagi looked at the ship Enel had arrived on and waved her hand. "Sink it!"
Once again, the cannons roared. The vessel that had originally carried Vice Admiral Momonga was now completely destroyed, sinking into the sea amidst flames and smoke.
Watching the ship go down, Vice Admiral Momousagi pondered for a moment and then spoke, "Our ship should not get any closer. Stay here. Leave some personnel to guard the vessel, and if necessary, sail the warship away from Impel Down. We cannot let them steal our ship!"
Her orders were understood by the Marine soldiers. She was cutting off any escape route for the escaped pirates.
So, leaving a portion of the Marines to guard the warship, the rest followed Vice Admiral Momousagi, boarding small boats and heading to Impel Down.
The prison guards lined up to welcome Vice Admiral Momousagi's arrival. She led her people straight into the visitation room.
"Welcome, Vice Admiral Momousagi!" A beautiful woman wearing sunglasses, with her right eye hidden behind her bangs, raised her hand in salute. "I am Domino, the Vice Head Jailer!"
Beside her, another short, imp-like figure also saluted, "I am S, the commander of the Blue Gorillas!"
"I am Sadi, the Chief Jailer of the great prison!" said another woman with an equally voluptuous figure.
Momousagi nodded to them and asked, "What's the current situation?"
Domino replied, "It has been confirmed that the jailbreaker is the Warlord, Black Dragon Ian. With him are the Supernova Trafalgar Law, Urouge, as well as the rookie Straw Hat Luffy and the Pirate Hunter Zoro—four newcomers with bounties over one hundred million. Additionally, due to the riot they triggered, criminals from the first to fourth levels of Impel Down have almost all been released... That's manageable for now, but they have already entered the sixth level. If the prisoners on the sixth level are also freed, it will be a disaster..."
"What about your Warden, Magellan?" Momousagi frowned. The situation seemed worse than she had imagined. Not much time had passed since the invasion alert, yet the jailbreakers had already fought their way to the sixth level. Hadn't Magellan tried to stop them?
"This..." Domino broke out in a cold sweat. "Warden Magellan is on the fourth level, but... but he has been defeated by Black Dragon Ian. His current status is unknown..."
"What?" Momousagi was startled. "Magellan's status is unknown? You can't confirm?"
"Yes..." S interjected. "All my Blue Gorilla guards have been taken out. The fourth level is now occupied by some rioters who stayed behind. They've blocked the elevator entrance, and our guard forces can't break through... So we can't confirm Warden Magellan's condition. We can only see through the monitors that he's lying on the ground, motionless..."
Momousagi thought to herself that this was bad. When Fleet Admiral Sengoku had dispatched her, he had warned her that Warden Magellan was a formidable fighter and hoped she could join forces with him to stop Ian. But Momousagi never expected Magellan to be defeated so quickly. If Magellan were killed, she would lose a crucial ally.
"By the way, what about your Head Jailer, Hannyabal?" Momousagi suddenly remembered another strong figure in Impel Down.
"Hannyabal..." Sadi swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "No, it's Hannyabal. He has been confirmed as a traitor. He killed Vice Warden Hannibal and then attacked from behind, severely wounding Warden Magellan... Now he has followed the Warlord Black Dragon Ian into the sixth level..."
Momousagi's heart sank. Only after arriving did she realize the situation was far more serious than she had imagined.
Magellan's fate unknown, Hannyabal's betrayal, the sixth level breached, and the entire prison guard force helpless to respond. This tangled mess was now hers to handle!?
"Do you have surveillance footage of the sixth level?" Momousagi wasted no time and headed for the monitoring room. "Pull it up and show me what's happening down there!"
However, when they reached the monitoring room, the guards on duty nervously told Momousagi that because the sixth level had been sealed off and filled with sleeping gas, the Video Den Den Mushi there had been affected and were mostly in a dormant state. That meant almost all the surveillance feeds from the sixth level were black. The few that remained only covered remote corners, making it impossible to see what was happening.
This infuriated Momousagi. They had no way of knowing what was going on in the sixth level.
But time was of the essence. She had to act quickly. Momousagi began issuing orders: "All Marines and prison guards, follow me! We must retake the fourth level and rescue Warden Magellan! Then, starting from the fourth level, we will establish a defensive line!"
With her commands, all the Marines and prison guards mobilized. Before setting out, Vice Admiral Momousagi glanced at Enel, who was bound in Seastone Handcuffs, and said, "Your captain is very unwise. The rescue ship has been sunk. He won't be able to leave. So you'll see him again soon—maybe you'll even be locked up together."
"Is that so? Then I'll be waiting with interest," Enel replied with a carefree smile, staring straight at Momousagi. "You're not bad, woman. If possible, when we leave, we might just take you with us."
Momousagi was secretly angered and snorted coldly. She dismissed Enel's words as stubborn bravado and didn't bother arguing. She ordered the Marines to guard him well and then led her team out.
The prison cells on the first and second levels were now almost empty. The prisoners hadn't stayed behind on those floors either; they had all followed Ian deeper down. Only on the third level did they find a few scattered inmates. These were the ones who had been bullied by the prison guards and had secretly stayed behind, now taking revenge on the injured guards.
Momousagi showed no mercy to these scum and ordered them shot on sight.
Under her leadership, the forces charged toward the fourth level. The elevator entrance there was guarded by a large number of prisoners. Momousagi took the lead, cutting through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. With her strength, the prisoners couldn't stop her, and she quickly retook the fourth level.
Then, on the bridge, she saw Magellan's massive body lying on the ground.
Sighing, Momousagi walked over to him. Seeing him motionless, she crouched down to check on him.
But just then, a voice suddenly rang out: "Don't bother looking. He's not dead yet. But it might take a while for him to wake up..."
Momousagi turned to see a locked cell. All the surrounding cells were open, but this one remained closed. A bald, cold-faced man sat hunched in the cell, his head lowered.
"Who are you?" Momousagi was taken aback. "Why haven't you escaped? Did you see what happened to Magellan?"
"Hmph! I'm just waiting for someone," the bald man said, lifting his head to glance at Momousagi. "Magellan was defeated by the Warlord Ian, but it actually saved his life. Otherwise, that wound on his abdomen alone would have made him bleed to death."
Momousagi gently lifted Magellan's body and examined the wound on his stomach. She found it was true. There was still a faint glow around the wound, but it had already healed considerably.
This was the wound left by Hannyabal's sneak attack, wasn't it?
"You did well," Momousagi said to the bald man. "You didn't run off with the other prisoners. Maybe when this is over, I can apply for a reduction in your sentence."
However, her words only drew a mocking laugh from the bald man. "Better worry about yourselves. If my boss comes back with Ian, you'll be facing more than just one Warlord..."