"This is my justice. As long as I live, I won't let anyone walk past me."
Magellan looked at Jiang Lin with utter seriousness. His expression made it clear he wasn't spouting lofty ideals. Every word came from his heart.
"You're an opponent worthy of respect. I'll give you everything I've got to defeat you."
Moved by Magellan's resolve, Jiang Lin walked through the poisonous mist and stopped before him, his face solemn.
"What comes next... might kill you!"
Jiang Lin quietly took out the loaded Venom-Venom Fruit Card. He stood still, calmly watching Magellan.
"My justice is worth defending with my life!"
Magellan did not hesitate. He knew how powerful Jiang Lin was. He wasn't putting on a brave face; he meant every word.
"Good! This is the strongest I can be right now. I hope... you survive."
After waiting in place for thirty seconds, Jiang Lin slowly slid a Devil Fruit Card into the loading device.
Glint-Glint Fruit (enhanced by the Love-Love Fruit, Chop-Chop Fruit, and Venom-Venom Fruit) loaded. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!" Beads of sweat the size of soybeans poured down Jiang Lin's head like rain.
Fusing Devil Fruit powers was formidable, but the more fruits Jiang Lin fused, the greater the strain on his body and the harder it became to wield that power.
"Come on!"
Jiang Lin's eyes widened as he shouted at Magellan.
"Poison Gas Bomb!"
Magellan drew a deep breath, then fired a fist-sized ball of poison gas toward Jiang Lin.
"Yata Mirror!"
Jiang Lin turned into light. The poison gas could not affect him, and he shot above Magellan's head.
"Light-Speed Kick!"
A dazzling yellow flash streaked past. Jiang Lin raised his left leg high and slammed it into Magellan's shoulder.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The harsh sound of crumbling stone came from where Jiang Lin's foot struck. Magellan's shoulder was rapidly turning to stone.
"That's Boa Hancock's power. I never thought you could fuse the powers of multiple Devil Fruits. You're more dangerous than I imagined."
As soon as his right shoulder petrified, Magellan liquefied his body and restored it. Then thin wisps of mist spread from his feet, once again enveloping Jiang Lin.
"It's no use. Your poison doesn't work on me anymore!"
Jiang Lin ignored him. After landing his kick, he switched to a palm strike. A wisp of pale red vapor rose from his hands and entered Magellan's lungs.
"Heart-Throb!"
With that soft cry, Jiang Lin crossed his hands before his chest and leaped high over Magellan.
"Yasakani Sacred Jewel!"
Golden light blazed. Countless light bullets hurtled toward Magellan below, moving faster than the eye could follow.
The blazing bullets were devastating enough on their own. Infused with the Love-Love Fruit's power, they would also turn an enemy's entire body to stone on contact. Their destructive force was enough to terrify anyone.
"Ugh... Aaah! Aaah! Aaah!"
The dense barrage swallowed Magellan in an instant. Dust billowed up under the hail of bullets and hid him from view.
"Stop fighting! If you keep this up, you really will die!"
Jiang Lin listened to the unbroken roars coming from the dust. Magellan had not given in. He had to be tormenting his own body to stave off petrification.
That might keep Magellan from turning to stone, but it also meant taking the full force of every light bullet.
Either choice was disastrous for him.
"You're... strong! But I... won't let you... get past me!"
When the dust cleared, Magellan emerged drenched in blood. His demonic horns had snapped off, and blood covered his body.
Even someone as strong as Magellan had been driven to the brink.
"What a frightening opponent, and one worthy of respect. But you're still my opponent. Keep going, and you'll only get yourself killed."
Jiang Lin admired Magellan, but he had his own justice to pursue.
"Chief Warden Magellan, leave this to me. Go deal with Straw Hat and his crew!"
Just as Magellan, badly wounded, prepared to risk his life to stop Jiang Lin, a tall man with tousled hair, mesh goggles on his forehead, and a pure white cape glided down an Ice Path to stand before them.
"Admiral Aokiji of Marine Headquarters? What's he doing here?"
Jiang Lin stared at the newcomer in confusion. As far as he knew, Aokiji had no reason to be in Impel Down.
What Jiang Lin didn't know was that Sengoku had sent Aokiji because Jiang Lin's identity had gone unconfirmed at first.
"Admiral Kuzan, his powers are terrifying! He can copy other people's Devil Fruits and fuse the powers of multiple fruits. Be careful!"
At the sight of Aokiji, Magellan finally let his battered body relax. He had been on the verge of collapse. If Aokiji hadn't arrived, Jiang Lin might truly have killed him.
"Understood. Go get your wounds treated. Straw Hat and his crew should be reaching Level 4 soon. I'll handle this."
Aokiji turned a cold gaze on Jiang Lin.
Aokiji possessed the Ice-Ice Fruit. His combat strength ranked among the highest at Marine Headquarters, making him one of the Marines' strongest fighters.
"I never thought I'd run into you here. I—"
Jiang Lin broke off as blood burst from his mouth. A Devil Fruit Card fusing the powers of four fruits placed far too much strain on his body.
"Looks like you've reached your limit too, D. Kizaru might go easy on you, but I... won't!"
Frost spread across Aokiji's body. Countless chunks of ice formed around him like a sky full of windblown sand and surged toward Jiang Lin, freezing everything they touched along the way.
Even the searing sea of blood froze solid the instant the ice touched it.
"Yata Mirror!"
Facing such a powerful enemy, Jiang Lin did not hesitate. He moved at light speed, leaping high to escape the ground.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The harsh cracking spread across the floor. In an instant, the scorching Blazing Hell had plunged into bitter cold.
"So this is the power of a Marine Admiral? Who could possibly stand against him?"
In the surveillance room, the Prison Guards watched the battle on Level 4 through the monitor Den Den Mushi, exclaiming in astonishment.