Free-for-all! Fist of Sincerity!

He was so fast that the guards couldn't react at all. He casually snatched a sword from one of them, and the slaughter began.

Salt moved so fast it was as if he had used shadow clones. A dozen Salts swung their swords at once, and the guards were cut down almost instantly, blood splattering and severed limbs flying.

So fast.

Naito marveled inwardly.

Salt was much faster than he was.

No Devil Fruit power could be underestimated. Oh, except for ordinary zoans. Don't get the wrong idea; it wasn't discrimination against Devil Fruits. He just plain hated extreme animal rights activists.

"Hands up! Criminals!"

A group of guards armed to the teeth rounded a corner in a side passage and spotted Naito's group. They immediately raised their weapons and aimed at them.

"Hahahaha! Leave this side to me, my lord!"

Anthony roared and leaped into the air, thick brown fur growing over his body. By the time he came down, his already over-three-meter-tall frame had transformed into a giant bear nearly twenty meters long!

Boom!

The impact alone smashed the guards to pieces.

Naito then led the group onward toward Buckingham.

The old woman wasn't much of a fighter, but she was a scientist, at least, and she was also Weevil's remote control. She was still quite useful.

They crushed several more waves of guards along the way, and dozens more prisoners joined the group.

Naito didn't turn them away. The prisoners on the fourth level had some strength, too.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"

A man stood in front of Naito, his arms joined together to form a massive shield. The guards' gunfire from a distance was completely useless.

"Salt-Salt Shot!"

Another man with a slender build clapped his hands, and white salt rose, swirling like a gust of wind. It then condensed into sharp arrows, which fell like a downpour the next instant.

The guards were shot full of holes.

Their advance was not hindered in the slightest.

Naito looked up. Ahead was a wide bridge, with a bubbling pool of blood beneath it.

Wasn't Luffy's first clash with Magellan in the original story somewhere around here?

Beyond the bridge should be the passage to the level above.

"Help!"

Amid a piercing scream, a short figure came scrambling across the bridge toward them.

"Mom!!"

Weevil immediately cried out in excitement.

"Poison Dragon!"

Behind the fleeing Buckingham, a long purple dragon tore through the air, about to swallow her whole the next instant.

"Mom!!"

With his beloved mother in danger, how could the dim-witted Weevil be slow to react now?

His slender legs pushed off, launching him like a cannonball. He threw a punch with all his might, using the right hand that Zephyr had broken and that still hadn't fully healed.

"Shock!!"

The air began to vibrate in an instant.

A translucent shock wave swept forward like a gale, blowing the oncoming Poison Dragon apart in an instant and scattering large amounts of purple venom across the bridge.

Edward Weevil was a Paramecia-type Shock Fruit user, with the ability to unleash powerful shock waves.

"Weevil!"

Buckingham leaped up in excitement and flung herself into Weevil's arms. "I was scared to death!"

After freeing many prisoners, she had intended to get to the upper level before this one descended into chaos and wait there for Naito and the others.

Who would have thought that bastard Magellan would be blocking the entrance to the stairs, killing people?

Aside from her, all the prisoners who had the same idea had been killed.

"Where do you think you're going, sinners?!"

With heavy footsteps, a tall man in pajamas and with a livid face strode over from the other end of the bridge, purple venom dripping steadily from his body.

"How dare you attack Mom! I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Weevil was furious.

"Don't be reckless, you silly boy!"

Buckingham hurriedly stopped him. "That's not an enemy you can handle!"

Her silly son's Haki was nowhere near good enough to stand up to Magellan's poison! If he got any on him, he'd be finished!

She turned back and shouted at the top of her lungs to Naito, "My lord! Please, I'm counting on you!"

"My lord, watch out. That's Warden Magellan!"

Anthony, who had returned from his giant bear form and was following Naito, warned him cautiously. "He's a Paramecia-type Venom-Venom Fruit user. Whatever you do, don't touch his venom!"

Naito's expression grew a little more serious.

He's finally here, the final boss.

"Hm?"

Magellan stopped halfway across the bridge and surveyed Naito and the others. His gaze finally settled on Naito, who was surrounded by the others like a moon among stars. "Byrnndi World?"

Is this guy the one responsible for this riot?

How did he get thawed out?

Was it because of that guy who was just locked up on the sixth level? His mother called World her lord!

Could it be that this was the mother and son's goal from the start?

Fortunately, though, the two most dangerous prisoners haven't been released.

Otherwise, Impel Down would be turned upside down.

Magellan took a deep breath, and his gaze sharpened as he looked at the prisoners. "Sinners, there's a limit to this nonsense! In the name of the warden of Impel Down, I sentence you to death!"

"Effective immediately!"

Three enormous Poison Dragons rose behind him, ready to pounce on the group the next instant.

"Aah!!"

Some of the prisoners who had witnessed Magellan's power cried out in terror.

"What are you afraid of?!"

Anthony was a former general, after all. He turned back and roared, "At this point, do you think surrendering will keep you alive?!"

His body swelled rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, he had turned into a giant explosive bear. "Freedom is right behind him! Take him down!"

Naito couldn't help turning to look at him.

Wait, is this a professional habit?

Isn't the pre-battle speech my job?

Oh well, it doesn't matter.

"Die here, or seize your freedom."

Naito's lips curled as he stepped forward. "The choice is yours."

A moment of silence.

Then.

"Let's do this!!"

"Take him down!!"

"I'm getting out of this hellhole!!"

Under the intense pressure, some twenty prisoners roared and charged past Naito on both sides, heading straight for Magellan.

Oh, they're all full of energy.

Chapter 10: Free-for-all! Fist of Sincerity! (Please keep reading!)

This was his first time fighting a true expert.

And an expert like Magellan, at that.

Although the story was still seven years away, Magellan was probably already close to his peak. After all, he was nearly forty.

What was more, in an enclosed environment like this, the power he could bring to bear was even more overwhelming.

To put it bluntly, if Naito didn't intervene, this man could kill every last prisoner.

But that was precisely why he felt excited.

Let's put it to the test, then. Just how strong am I?

Naito, who had always been lazy, was fired up now!

Even more fired up than him were the prisoners charging ahead.

Every one of them wore a crazed expression, like a beast ready to devour someone.

"Utterly foolish."

A purple dragon of venom crashed down on them head-on, instantly swallowing the prisoners who had been swept up in the heat of the moment.

By the time the Poison Dragon struck the bridge and burst apart, the prisoners could do nothing but lie on the ground and twitch.

At the sight, the eyes of the prisoners who had still been somewhat caught up in the excitement instantly cleared.

Even Anthony couldn't help swallowing.

This guy's too much of a monster.

Just touching his poison is enough to finish you!

Magellan raised his right hand, and the two remaining Poison Dragons behind him moved with it.

The prisoners behind Naito began to back away without realizing it.

"Repent in hell, sinners. Poison Dragon!"

The two enormous dragons of venom lunged at them, jaws gaping wide.

"Aaaah!"