Chapter 736: Within the Celestial Prison
Two days later, on the official road leading to the capital, a carriage creaked and groaned as it made its way along the path.
Pulling the vehicle were two round, plump creatures. These rotund beasts had large, dark nostrils on their faces, somewhat resembling pigs, but oddly enough, they each had only one ear, growing right on top of their heads.
One-Eared Boars—these were rare beasts of Wano Country, but among the common folk of Wano, they were also regarded as a type of "monster." However, because they were relatively easy to tame, they were used as draft animals for pulling carts.
Marco, dressed as a samurai with a conical hat, sat on the left side of the carriage railing, driving the cart. Ian, in similar attire, sat on the right, hands behind his head, leaning against the carriage and dozing, his hat covering his face.
Inside the carriage sat Bonney, who had transformed into a little girl. Her hair was dyed black, and she wore the clothes of the young princess Nea. The three of them now looked like a minor rural noble's daughter traveling with two samurai guards.
At least along this road, none of the passersby on the official road had any suspicion of them. Some commoners even stepped aside to let them pass first upon seeing Ian and Marco's samurai attire.
As they gradually approached the capital, the surroundings grew more bustling. Ian, who had been dozing, was awakened by the noisy crowd. He stretched and sat up straight.
The capital of Wano Country had a typical spring island climate, very pleasant. Cherry blossoms were planted along both sides of the roads, and it was the peak blooming season. With a gentle breeze, the entire city drifted in pink petals, looking incredibly beautiful.
The city streets were crowded with people coming and going, but most were men; women were rarely seen. Apart from commoners, the most common sight was samurai wearing wooden clogs and carrying swords at their waists.
The cart Ian and Marco were riding in was stopped at the city gate. Carts were not allowed into the city, so the three had to enter on foot. Bonney, being a little girl, had trouble walking, so Ian simply let her sit on his shoulders. Seeing the beautiful sights in the city, Bonney nearly shouted in excitement. Ian had to remind her several times and finally bought various Wano snacks from roadside stalls to keep her mouth busy.
Not only had Doriki provided them with disguises and clothes, but he had also given them a good amount of Wano currency to use.
The capital was a large city with a population of over a million. If not for the map Doriki had given them, which they had memorized, the city's streets might have left the three of them completely disoriented.
"Turn left up ahead!" Ian and Marco lowered their conical hats, identifying the streets with the map while checking the direction of Ace's Vivre Card. After some time, they finally found the location of the Celestial Prison.
But upon arriving here, Ian and the others had to stop, because they discovered that the Celestial Prison was guarded by Wano's military.
Having military guards was only natural. However, after carefully observing from a street corner for a while, Ian noticed that the defensive force here seemed... not as strong as expected!
"Strange, isn't this supposed to be the prison for holding serious criminals?" Marco whispered in confusion. "With so few guards, something feels off..."
"Could it be a case of loose outside, tight inside?" Bonney munched on a piece of cherry blossom rice cake and offered her guess.
"Possible!" Marco nodded, then looked at Ian and asked, "What do we do? Force our way in?"
With Ian here, they had their greatest confidence. Both Marco and Bonney knew that as long as Ian was with them, no matter how many people were in Wano's Celestial Prison, they wouldn't be a match.
However, before coming, Doriki had also warned them to try not to cause too much commotion when rescuing the prisoners. The capital was the core of all Wano, with tens of thousands of samurai in the city. If the disturbance was too great, all these samurai could become their enemies.
Moreover, among these samurai, many were at the level of master swordsmen. Even though Ian and Marco could both fly, after rescuing the prisoners, each of them would have to carry at least two people, so their speed would definitely be limited. If hundreds of sword slashes came flying at them from the air, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience...
So Ian thought it over. They had to break in—what kind of prison break would it be without forcing their way in? But they could wait a bit and choose to strike at night.
Since it was already afternoon when they arrived at the capital, it wouldn't be long before dark. So the three found an inn near the Celestial Prison and temporarily settled in.
Originally, they planned to find a taller inn and stay on a higher floor, so they could use the elevation to observe the situation inside the prison. But while searching for an inn, they discovered that most buildings in Wano were very low, none exceeding three stories!
There were tall structures, but they were either shrines or torii gates, and none were near the Celestial Prison. The tallest building in the entire city was the distant Tenshukaku, which was naturally the residence of the Shogun of Wano...
There was no choice. Ian and the others simply found a nearby inn and checked in.
As dusk gradually fell, the streets of the capital began to grow quiet. Years of isolation had left Wano without electricity. At night, candles were the main source of light, so many commoners went to bed early, sleeping as soon as night fell.
There were places for nightlife, of course—various taverns and izakayas where noise could often be heard, with samurai and ronin mingling, drinking until they were drunk and stumbling about.
A huge, bright moon rose, illuminating the night sky over the capital. When Ian and the others jumped onto the rooftops, they realized it was a full moon night.
This reminded Ian of Dorry, that big oaf who always hid early in his room on full moon nights...
He wondered if they had reached Zou yet...
Bonney reverted to her original body size. All three were skilled in movement, leaping across the rooftops of the capital's houses and quickly arriving near the Celestial Prison.
Perhaps due to their biological clocks, the prison guards were now yawning continuously.
Ian made the first move. The few guards at the prison entrance didn't even see his shadow before a massive force struck the backs of their heads, knocking them out cold.
After dealing with the entrance guards, the three jumped over the prison walls and headed straight in the direction indicated by the Vivre Card.
Along the way, they encountered two patrol teams inside the prison, but Ian and Marco knocked them out as well.
So far, they hadn't alerted anyone, but they knew time was limited. The unconscious guards would be discovered sooner or later.
However, everything was going surprisingly smoothly. They quickly penetrated deep into the prison and found the entrance.
The prison cells were naturally built underground. At the entrance, there was a staircase leading downward. The three looked around and then filed in.
The staircase was unexpectedly long, and what surprised Ian and the others most was that at the end of the sloping stairs, a huge spider web blocked the exit.
"What the hell is this?" Ian was stunned for a moment, then reached out and tore the web apart with a few pulls.
Because of the spider web at the exit, Ian almost thought they had come to the wrong place. It seemed like no one had been in this underground prison for a long time—why else would there be cobwebs?
But when the three reached the prison corridor, they realized that wasn't the case at all.
On both sides of the corridor were rows of cells. Some cells were empty, while others held prisoners. Strangely, the empty cells were just bare rooms with open entrances—no bars, no doors. And all the cells holding prisoners were the same: the bars and doors had been replaced by a huge spider web!
It was as if everyone here was trapped by these webs...
As soon as Ian and the others rushed in, the prisoners in the cells noticed them. They stood up in surprise, staring at the three, but oddly, none of them dared to approach the webs.
Seeing the prisoners' reactions, Ian, even if he were slow, understood that these webs were unusual. The web he had casually torn off at the entrance was probably the same.
But at this point, there was no time to worry about that. The three sprinted deeper into the prison, running while observing the people in the cells around them.
Meanwhile, above them in the Celestial Prison, a large number of guards had been alerted. In fact, the web Ian had torn off was an alarm device. It was made from the silk of a young ground spider, a rare beast of Wano. The silk of a young ground spider wasn't strong, but it had a peculiar trait: when its web was destroyed, the young ground spider would become restless and agitated.
Anyone entering the prison without permission would likely tear off the web without understanding this alarm system. At that moment, the young ground spider would send out a warning signal, letting the guards know someone had broken in.
So now, a large number of guards were gathering above...
Ian and the others had reached the end of the prison corridor and finally found Ace and the others locked up there.
Ace, Fujitora, and Izo were all held together in one cell, saving Ian the trouble of searching for them one by one.
But...
But when Ian and the others found the three, they were shocked to see them... playing Landlord!?
So much so that when Ian and Marco rushed to the cell door and saw this scene, they nearly tripped and fell flat on their faces!
Holy crap! Are you kidding me!? We've been scheming and planning to come rescue you three, and here you are playing Landlord!?
If there had been one more person locked up with you, would you have set up a mahjong table!?
And so, the rescuers and the rescued, six people in total, stared at each other across the spider web, eyes wide.
Then... then Ace, whose face was already covered with paper strips, greeted Ian casually: "Yo, Ian, you're here?" while slapping down four cards.
Three with one...
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