Chapter 551: The Ship Is Here!
The cannon fire had temporarily ceased. Vice Admiral Momousagi, as agreed, was waiting for the time to exchange prisoners with Ian.
Following Momousagi's orders, the Marine soldiers kept a close watch on the sea surface, checking for any approaching ships.
And not just the sea; they also frequently scanned the sky. When they had set out from Marine Headquarters, Momousagi had learned that Ian had escaped from Marine Headquarters aboard a golden flying ship. So she strongly suspected that Ian's pickup vessel would be that same flying ship.
Standing on the ship's deck, Vice Admiral Momousagi was anxiously contacting Marine Headquarters via a Den Den Mushi.
She had been ordered to intercept Ian, but now a major problem had arisen. Fleet Admiral Sengoku's original plan was to use Momousagi's Devil Fruit ability, in conjunction with Magellan, to try and capture Ian. The Marines now knew a fair amount about Ian's abilities—that most of his attacks were based on fire and lightning energy, and that he was also a master swordsman. Momousagi's Tame-Tame Fruit was precisely suited to "tame" such energy attacks, and she herself was also skilled in swordsmanship. From every angle, Momousagi seemed to have a counter against Ian.
Combined with Magellan's Venom-Venom Fruit ability, and the possibility of releasing Shiryu of the Rain at a critical moment, Sengoku felt that the two "iron walls" of Impel Down, plus Momousagi, would be enough to deal with Ian and his prison-breaking crew.
However, Sengoku wasn't at the scene, so he couldn't fully predict how events would unfold. No one had expected that Magellan's usually unstoppable Venom-Venom Fruit ability would have absolutely no effect on Ian!
There was no helping it. Although the Marines had gathered intelligence on Ian's abilities, they didn't know about his Twin Heaven Return Shield. This ability had rarely been shown. Even those Ian had healed only thought he had some kind of healing power. No one had ever considered that the Twin Heaven Return Shield could also repel poison.
The consequence of this miscalculation was that by the time Momousagi arrived at the prison, Magellan had failed to effectively slow Ian down! This made Ian's prison break much faster than Momousagi had anticipated. By the time she got there, Ian had already rescued the prisoners!
And on top of that, the former Head Jailer, Shiryu of the Rain, had also rebelled…
This was the biggest mistake. The situation instantly shifted from a potential three-on-one fight—Momousagi, Magellan, and Shiryu against Ian—to Momousagi having to face three Warlords of the Sea alone!
This turn of events caught Momousagi completely off guard. She hadn't even really fought Ian before she was forced to retreat to the sea.
And the worst part was that, although she had captured the Dragon Hunter Pirates' boatswain—a key member of Ian's crew—Magellan had now been captured too!
This forced her to compromise and reluctantly prepare for a prisoner exchange.
She now realized her mission might be impossible, so she was using this time to contact Marine Headquarters, hoping they could send reinforcements.
Unfortunately, Sengoku told her that with combat power being diverted to the New World in preparation for war with the Whitebeard Pirates, Marine Headquarters was now severely understaffed. Only a few warships remained to defend Marineford. While no pirate crew should be foolish enough to attack Marine Headquarters, you could never be sure. Sengoku was in a difficult position. He could send a few more warships to help Momousagi, but without a strong leader, they wouldn't be of much use.
There was one potential reinforcement: the "Pirate Hunter Squad" led by Admiral Zephyr. But Zephyr's squad was always out hunting pirates. Even if they contacted him now, it would take a long time for him to reach Impel Down…
Hearing this, even Momousagi fell silent. Regarding Ian's surprise attack on Impel Down, almost everyone at Marine Headquarters felt his timing was… incredibly bad! It was enough to make the Marines want to jump off a building!
"Looks like I'm on my own…" Momousagi silently hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Just then, Impel Down's Deputy Head Jailer, Domino, approached and reported, "Vice Admiral Momousagi, we've confirmed through telescopes that Jailer Shiryu… no, Shiryu of the Rain, is not among the enemy. His whereabouts are unknown. Among the Level 6 prisoners, only Sea Knight Jinbe and Sand Crocodile Crocodile have joined them. The others don't seem to be present. Impel Down is leaking badly. Should we send the Blue Gorilla guards underwater to plug the leaks? Please advise."
"Try to seal them up," Momousagi said. "At least ensure Impel Down can resume operations as soon as possible after this incident."
"Yes, ma'am!" Domino saluted and turned to leave.
Strange. Shiryu of the Rain wasn't with them. Where had he gone? Or had something happened on the sixth level?
Unable to figure it out, Momousagi turned to her Vice Admiral aide and asked, "How is it? Any ships on the surface?"
"No," the Vice Admiral shook his head. "No suspicious targets in the sky either."
Momousagi looked up. This was the Calm Belt, where the weather was always good, so visibility was high. If a suspicious target appeared, it would be spotted immediately.
"Stay alert. Keep watching," Momousagi ordered.
The Vice Admiral nodded in acknowledgment. Momousagi, arms crossed, gazed towards Impel Down.
"Ian… just how do you plan to leave?"
…………………………
At the entrance to Impel Down, a large crowd of prisoners had gathered. Some were anxiously waiting, occasionally scanning the sea surface.
Although the Marine cannon fire had stopped, giving them some relief, the fact that their pickup ship hadn't appeared yet made them uneasy.
They were so close to freedom, just one step away from leaving Impel Down. Everyone was worried that their efforts might be wasted at the last moment.
"Boss Ian!" a prisoner cautiously approached Ian and said, "Maybe we shouldn't wait any longer. Let's try to capture one of the Marine ships!"
"Yeah, yeah!" the other prisoners chimed in.
"What? Don't trust me?" Ian said with a faint smile, looking at the prisoners.
Seeing Ian's expression, the prisoners couldn't help but shiver. They remembered the scene on the sixth level and quickly waved their hands, flattering him, "No, no! How could we not trust you, Boss…"
"Then shut up!" Ian said irritably.
The prisoners immediately fell silent.
"So boring!" Luffy shouted, then grabbed Buggy and said, "Hey, Buggy, make your lion jump through a flaming hoop!"
Buggy was furious. He grabbed Luffy by the collar and yelled, "We're the Buggy Pirates, not a circus! Straw Hat, do you want to die?"
"That's right! We came to the Grand Line to get revenge on you!" Alvida chimed in, hefting her spiked club. "Once we leave here, we'll be enemies again. You'd better be ready!"
"Haha, really?" Luffy laughed carelessly, hands on his hips, then asked Trafalgar Law, "Hey, Tora-o, do you want to see the lion jump through a flaming hoop too? It's fun!"
"…" Law stared at Luffy, dumbfounded.
"I told you, we're not a circus!" Buggy roared at Luffy. "Don't you understand, you idiot!?"
But just then, Ian turned around and said to Buggy, "Actually, I'd like to see it too!"
Buggy was stunned. He looked at Ian, then at Lion Richie, and snapped his fingers. "Richie, jump!"
The next second, Mochi somehow produced a flaming hoop, and Lion Richie started jumping back and forth through it. Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp sat in a row, watching and clapping and laughing hysterically…
"Ten more minutes. Is your ship coming or not?" Crocodile approached Ian and asked quietly.
But before Ian could answer, there was a splash, and Sea Knight Jinbe surfaced from the water. Everyone turned to look at him.
Jinbe gave Ian a slight nod.
Ian's spirits lifted. Finally!
He immediately hoisted Magellan onto his shoulder and flew towards the Marine warship.
Ian's reappearance made the Marines nervous. But when he flew above the warship, he said to Momousagi, "Changed my mind. Let's do the prisoner exchange first!"
Momousagi didn't believe him. It wasn't even an hour yet, and Ian had flown over. His pickup ship must have arrived. So instead of answering, she glanced at her Vice Admiral aide.
But the Vice Admiral was confused. They had been watching the sea and sky the whole time. There was no sign of any ship!
What was going on?
Momousagi was also puzzled. As she wondered what Ian was up to, she heard him urging her again.
"…Alright, let's exchange first," Momousagi finally agreed after thinking it over. She figured this was fine. Once she got Magellan back, she could open fire on them without any worries.
So Momousagi grabbed Enel and tossed him towards Ian, while Ian tossed Magellan towards her. They each caught the person being exchanged.
But unlike before, Magellan had a rag stuffed in his mouth. When Momousagi caught him, he immediately started grunting.
Sensing something was wrong, Momousagi quickly pulled the rag out of his mouth.
"Careful! They might escape underwater!" Magellan shouted as soon as the rag was removed.
Momousagi's heart skipped a beat. She quickly looked up, but Ian, who had already caught Enel, was already fleeing!
Momousagi quickly pulled out her telescope and looked towards Impel Down. She saw the previously calm water suddenly churn with waves, and then…
Then a yellow… submarine! Suddenly surfaced from the water!