Blackbeard looked down on even Whitebeard, thinking of him as an old man who was bound to die sooner or later. In a sense, the person he found troublesome—Magellan—was even more problematic than Whitebeard.
The Yami Yami no Mi could absorb the pain caused by damage, but that didn't mean it could absorb poison.
The countering effects between Devil Fruits worked both ways.
Blackbeard found Magellan to be quite troublesome.
Knowing about Luffy's fight with Magellan only made Blackbeard more confused. He had no idea how Straw Hat had survived.
"Don't worry,"
Lafitte elegantly twirled his cane. "According to the internal information Mr. Shiryu provided, we've taken all the antidote stored on Level Six. Even if Magellan comes now, his poison will be far less effective against us."
Blackbeard: "Zehahaha! Well done."
Now he wasn't afraid.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Van Augur raised his rifle, Senriku, and looked through the scope into the depths of the passage. "He's here."
The moment his words fell, purple venom fog, carrying a terrifying aura, surged in like a tide from the end of the passage.
Within the venom fog, Magellan's tall figure, like a demon god of hell, slowly emerged.
"Blackbeard. You haven't been killed by Straw Hat yet?"
Standing on the bridge, Magellan glanced at Blackbeard, who now had only one ear left. Then he turned his head and looked coldly at Shiryu of the Rain. "Shiryu of the Rain. You're the one helping them, aren't you?"
The lower levels should have been flooded by seawater. But Level Six had a seawater drainage system—something only internal personnel should know about.
There was no seawater visible here now. Shiryu must have been the one responsible.
Among the prisoners who had rushed out earlier, there had been several he himself found troublesome, and he hadn't been able to stop them.
As for the prisoners on Level Five, Magellan didn't even have time to deal with them.
All of this was Shiryu's doing!
At this thought, a terrifying killing intent surged in Magellan's heart.
"Helping the enemy?"
Shiryu stopped wiping his blade and slowly looked up with a smile. "Magellan, the people you call enemies are my crewmates now."
"The moment you locked me in Infinite Hell, I was no longer part of this underwater prison."
"When you need me, I'm a comrade. When you don't, I'm an enemy. You've said all the good things and the bad things."
"Bastard! Do you think I wanted to do that?!"
Magellan growled. "It was because of your bloodthirsty habits! Wantonly slaughtering prisoners—even if they were scum—still broke the rules!"
"Because I killed some prisoners who deserved to die?"
Shiryu let out a scornful laugh. "Don't be ridiculous, Magellan. Those pieces of trash—if I killed them, who would care? What difference does it make whether they die here or out there?"
That was why he and Magellan were not on the same path.
Shiryu said, "Forget it. You're already bound by duty and justice. Too rigid."
Watching Shiryu, who had chosen to stand by their side, Magellan was silent for a few seconds. The purple venom around his body began to boil.
"Since you've chosen to side with them, then die here together with these rabble."
"Venom Dragon!"
Three purple venom dragons lunged from behind him, opening their maws and snapping toward Blackbeard's crew.
"This is exactly why you're so contradictory. What you're doing now—how is it any different from what I did before?"
Shiryu exhaled. "You hypocrite."
Then he threw out a glass bottle filled with green liquid.
"Is that the antidote? Shiryu, you bastard!"
Magellan's expression changed dramatically.
"And that's not all."
Blackbeard's crew did not panic. Everyone took out several glass bottles filled with pale green liquid.
"Zehahaha! Magellan, without your poison, you're nothing!"
Blackbeard laughed heartily and hurled the bottle in his hand at the oncoming venom dragons.
The others followed suit!
Splash, splash.
A large amount of antidote was accurately thrown onto the venom dragons.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
Accompanied by a piercing sound, the three venom dragons visibly shrank, then turned into harmless purple smoke!
Seeing this, Magellan's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
It was over.
In that moment, he knew he couldn't stop these people.
He had no choice. Magellan was no longer in his prime. He had fought Luffy full-on from the beginning.
First, he had been cut by Luffy and been beaten to a pulp. Then he had been ejected from Level Six all the way up to Level One. After returning to Impel Down, he had fought against Luffy's escape team. Then he had fought Jinbe. He had never stopped!
Magellan wasn't a monster like Luffy, whose energy and stamina seemed bottomless. Luffy was still outside fighting Hawkeye back and forth.
Now, Magellan had hit his limit.
Poison had been his final reliance. But now, facing this group of vicious criminals, even his poison wasn't effective anymore.
Damn it. Damn it all!!
To make matters worse, one of them was a former colleague who knew Magellan very well.
Magellan wasn't given much time.
Shiryu of the Rain moved.
Like a streak of blood-red lightning, in the blink of an eye, Shiryu was already in front of Magellan.
The famous blade Raiu left its sheath. A flash of cold light!
Pfft.
"Simple." Shiryu sheathed his blade.
Magellan couldn't even fully react. He just felt a chill in his right arm, followed by excruciating pain!
It had been cut off.
Magellan let out a dull grunt and stumbled backward. His face instantly turned pale as paper. Cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall.
"You bastard!" Magellan roared.
"That's as much as you can recover?"
Shiryu looked at the slowly wriggling venom at the stump of Magellan's arm. "It seems you've reached your limit, Magellan."
He was at his full strength!
While one was declining and the other was at his peak, the outcome was decided.
Pfft!
The next moment, Magellan was struck again in the chest.
A deep wound opened to the bone. Poisonous blood sprayed wildly!
His entire body was sent flying by the immense force of the slash, crashing heavily into the rock wall behind him before slowly sliding down.
Magellan struggled to lift his head. His vision was already blurring. He looked at the cold, blade-wielding figure in the distance, then at Blackbeard's crew closing in with sinister smiles. Finally, his vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.
"Zehahaha! Impressive, Shiryu. Well done!"
"You took down Magellan so quickly? The former Chief Guard of Impel Down lives up to his reputation."
"He was already at his limit."
Shiryu coldly flicked the poisonous blood off his blade. "I just delivered the final blow."
Blackbeard liked people who were so decisive.
It was time to go out!
Soon, it would be their turn to take the stage!
...
Main Battlefield.
"Push! Push forward!! Pacifista unit, advance!!"
"The Marines will win! Justice will prevail!"
With the Pacifista unit joining the battlefield and clearing large areas with their devastating laser beams, the Marines' morale surged once again.
"Hmph. So what if you rescued Ace? There's no way you're evacuating safely. It's only a matter of time before you're wiped out."
Watching the Marine front line, which had stabilized and even started pushing back under the Pacifistas' fire support, Sengoku breathed a small sigh of relief.
Whitebeard was locked in battle with Akainu. Their fight was earth-shattering, but in the short term, neither could overcome the other. He could set that battlefield aside for now.
Aokiji had successfully tied up Ace, preventing Whitebeard Pirates' Fire Fist from reuniting with the main crew.
As long as Ace was contained, the Whitebeard Pirates' strategic objective remained unfulfilled.
They could rescue the man, but they couldn't take him away!
Don't forget, the Marines still had two top-tier combatants: Garp and Kizaru.
Sengoku's task was to keep an eye on Golden Lion. That man's ability was too troublesome. One slip-up could cost the Marines this war.
But for now, Golden Lion still seemed very interested in this war, showing no intention of leaving.
"Hmph. I know Newgate's stubborn temper."
Golden Lion inwardly sneered.
Why wasn't Whitebeard leaving?
Apart from Ace, all of his sons were here, too.
That man had probably prepared to fight to the end.
Even if Golden Lion wanted to fly the Whitebeard Pirates' main crew out of here, at the very least, Whitebeard wouldn't go.
Sengoku had seen this long ago.
The so-called "Great Strategist" was really just someone who understood how to control people's hearts.
"This is the result of resisting justice, Whitebeard. Your fate is sealed!" Sengoku declared loudly.
The Whitebeard Pirates' defeat was certain!
Even if the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders were as strong as monsters, the Marines' seasoned elite Vice Admirals were also monsters!
Onigumo, Doberman, Strawberry, and the others were also elites who had fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
With their skilled coordination, they were holding their own.
Ultimately, Sengoku's gaze fell once more on Luffy, who was still fighting Hawkeye.
He narrowed his eyes. The only variable here was that side.
Over there, sword energies were everywhere, the fight was intense, but Sengoku's keen instincts as Fleet Admiral told him something was off.
Luffy's track record was brilliant.
Fighting Aokiji to a standstill, exchanging blows with Garp, splitting Impel Down in two—his strength should never have been limited to just fighting Hawkeye back and forth!
Likewise.
Hawkeye, as the World's Strongest Swordsman, had unfathomable swordsmanship. He shouldn't be limited to just this level, either.
Were these two both holding back?
At this possibility, veins bulged on Sengoku's forehead.
Keep acting!
Keep acting!
Anyway, for now, the advantage was still with the Marines!
Fortunately, not all the prisoners from Impel Down had been released. Otherwise, there would be some quite troublesome individuals as well.
Just as Sengoku was thinking this, the communications officer beside him came running over in a panic.
"Report! We can no longer contact Warden Magellan!"
"What?!" Sengoku's expression changed dramatically.
The next second, as if to confirm his premonition.
From the collapsed ruins of Impel Down's exit, as if the gates of hell had been opened, a steady stream of prisoners came pouring out.
Among them were a number of terrifying presences.
The Marines subconsciously looked over.
"Byrnndi World the World Destroyer! His Momo Momo no Mi allows him to multiply the speed, size, and weight of anything he touches. He's a war maniac who once made even the World Government tremble!"
"Redfield the Red Count! A legendary pirate who alone rivaled Roger and Whitebeard!"
"Douglas Bullet the Demon Heir! A former member of the Roger Pirates! How did this monster escape too?"
"And there are more..."
The Marines' faces showed terror. "Why have all these guys been released?!"
These names were well known. Even if they weren't quite up to Golden Lion's level, they weren't far behind.
Not only these legendary names, but also a large number of prisoners from Level Five, Freezing Hell—with bounties over 100 million, with infamous reputations—mixed in, charging like mad dogs out of a cage into the already chaotic battlefield!
"Hahaha! We came out just in time for this lively scene! Perfect!"
"Whitebeard! Save a spot on your ship for me! I'm getting out!"
"Hey, Marines! Listen up! Give me a Warlord position, and I'll help you take down a few troublesome pirates!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!!! I've been holding it in for over a decade!"
These newly emerged prisoners were a mixed lot with various objectives.
Some wanted to join Whitebeard and seek his protection to escape. Some wanted to make deals with the Marines. But most of them, just as Blackbeard had hoped, became perfect chaos agents, completely stirring up an already chaotic and deadlocked battle.
Seeing this, Sengoku's head swelled.
The situation on the battlefield had shifted again. Not all of these troublesome prisoners genuinely wanted to help Whitebeard, nor did they want anything to do with the Marines. They just wanted to leave here.
If even one of them escaped, it would be a huge problem!
"We absolutely cannot let them escape!"
Sengoku roared. "All reserve forces, move forward! Block all sea routes that could be used for escape! Fire coverage! No regard for casualties!"
But he knew that with the Marines' forces alone, it would be very difficult to achieve this goal.
The Whitebeard Pirates, Straw Hat and the revolutionaries, the prisoners from Impel Down...
Sengoku's expression shifted several times. Finally, he made a decision. He pulled an ancient-style black Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
As Fleet Admiral of the Marines, asking the World Government for help was not something to be proud of—especially when asking those arrogant bastards.
But now, he had no choice.
"Buru buru buru..."
"Click."
The call connected.
"It's me, Sengoku."
Sengoku's voice was dry. "I need you to act. Under no circumstances are these prisoners or the Whitebeard Pirates to escape."
From the moment he heard that Straw Hat and Blackbeard were at Impel Down, Sengoku had made this final preparation.
Originally, he had great confidence in this war.
No Yonko crew on the sea could stand against the full force of Marine Headquarters!
But Luffy's appearance—demonstrating time and again his ability to break the pattern—had forced him to prepare for the worst.
The Den Den Mushi was silent for a few seconds. Then, a voice full of arrogance sounded:
"It's about time, you useless Marines."
Sengoku's expression instantly turned extremely ugly.
These God's Knights, directly under the Celestial Dragons, really had foul mouths.
But their strength could indeed change the course of the battle. There probably weren't many people on this battlefield who could handle them.
...
Inside a large warship on the edge of the battlefield—seemingly ordinary but flying the special flag of the World Government.
The lavishly decorated cabin was a world apart from the bloody, fiery chaos outside.
Delicate silver cutlery and a variety of rare delicacies were arranged on the long table.
A muscular elderly man was slowly cutting into a piece of tenderloin from a rare Sea King from the South Blue with his knife and fork, savoring it carefully.
Somaz Saint.
One of the God's Knights.
A gourmet. Even with Sengoku calling him personally, he still did as he pleased—eating, drinking, and enjoying himself.
He didn't care at all how many Marines or pirates died.
"Honestly. They have to wait until things get this bad before they remember us."
Nearby, a creature with a long, slender neck, shaped like a Kirin, impatiently tapped the floor with its hoof. "Hurry up and give the order, Somaz. I can't wait to stretch my legs."
One of the God's Knights.
Killingham Saint.
They were elites among the Celestial Dragons—completely different from those pigs of Celestial Dragons who had been killed on the Sabaody Archipelago.
Somaz Saint said, "What's the hurry? Let me finish eating first."
Killingham Saint asked, "Why isn't Shamrock Saint here this time? It would be easier if he were around."
The man he was talking about, Shamrock Saint, was the commander of the God's Knights. A mission of this level should have the commander present.
Somaz Saint chewed his food slowly and said indistinctly, "I don't know. He said he had something else to do."
The higher-ups didn't really take this matter very seriously, either. Otherwise, Shamrock Saint couldn't just leave.
"It's time to move. It's the Fleet Admiral's order." A cold voice came from beside them.
"Oh, don't be so impatient."
Somaz Saint elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth. "Good food should be savored slowly. A battle is only interesting when you wait for the best moment to strike, isn't that right?"
He turned his head. The speaker was a young-looking woman with heterochromia and long legs, wearing a newsboy cap with goggles and a cloak.
"Mission always comes first. If the commander were here..."
"Ahh, I know, I know. You wouldn't tattle to Shamrock, would you?"
Somaz was truly afraid of this woman, Gunko.
Compared to the other God's Knights, her promotion from God's Blade to God's Knight had been far too fast.
Just like Shamrock, she had very powerful backing.
"I only care about the mission." Gunko said coldly.
What a woman with a heart of stone.
Somaz offered her some Sea King meat.
Gunko stared coldly at Somaz.
But in the end, she couldn't help but take a bite. A blissful expression appeared on her face, quite different from just a moment ago.
It really did taste good.
Just then, a man beside them stood up.
He wore a dark blue slim-fit suit. Two classical Western-style swords hung at his waist. He wore an orange mask with a single black number: 46.
God's Knights, Number 46.
A veteran of the God's Knights.
"Number 46, where are you going?"
Somaz Saint noticed him walking toward the door and asked casually.
Number 46 stopped. He didn't turn around. He simply said two words:
"To kill."
"So soon?"
Somaz Saint raised an eyebrow. "Have you chosen your target?"
"Straw Hat Luffy."
Number 46 pushed open the door and left.
***
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