Chapter 15

Because.

"The ground's breaking apart!!"

"Damn it! Are they going to punch through the floor?"

"Run! We're going to fall!"

The earth was crumbling.

The solid floor kept cracking apart, and the icy land on the next level was already visible!

"Magellan?"

Shiryu, who had been giving Weevil a hard time while his arm was injured and he lacked a suitable weapon, leaped several times to avoid the crumbling ground. His gaze grew grave as he looked toward the battle not far away.

This was bad.

He thought.

He was not yet the completely deranged murderer he would become seven years later.

"Fighting like this takes quite a lot out of me."

Naito stood atop the Guanyin statue's head, talking to himself.

Sustaining high-intensity projections placed a heavy burden on his consciousness as well.

Not to mention World's body: even if the power of the More-More Fruit was only about half of what World himself could produce, he still had to take into account this zombie body that had been frozen for over twenty years.

The body's stamina was rapidly dwindling.

"Hm?"

Naito raised an eyebrow in surprise.

At that moment, the shaking, crumbling ground and the surrounding buildings began to quiver.

They were not quivering because of the tremors, but wobbling like liquid.

The next instant, the ground and every surrounding building turned into scarlet venom that surged skyward, forming enormous Poison Dragons that crashed into the projected giant fists raining down on them.

The Poison Dragons lacked hardness and were smashed apart in an instant, but their incredibly powerful corrosiveness also rapidly shrank the giant fists, stripping them of their might.

"Awakening?"

Naito clicked his tongue.

Come to think of it, it would have been strange if Magellan, a formidable fighter who was only average in Haki and physical combat and relied entirely on his ability, had not awakened it.

From within the smoke, Magellan's grave voice rang out. "Shiryu, take everyone and retreat to the third level!"

Shiryu gave Magellan a long look.

The Venom-Venom Fruit was terrifying enough already. Once awakened, it could turn everything around it into deadly poison, making no distinction between friend and foe. It was a move Magellan would never willingly use unless it was a matter of life and death.

If he was even slightly careless, every living thing on a whole level could be wiped out.

"Retreat!!"

Shiryu gave the order without hesitation, leading the shaken jailers toward the stairs.

Though there were not many jailers left.

The gap in strength between them and the prisoners was simply too great. With both Magellan and Shiryu occupied, no one could stop the sixth-level prisoners led by Salt and Anthony.

Only the Jailer Beasts could put up some resistance thanks to their tenacious vitality. Everyone else, whether jailer or ferocious beast, could only be slaughtered.

The prisoners turned to look at Naito, standing atop the Guanyin statue's head.

"Go."

Naito simply looked down calmly at Magellan as he emerged from the smoke. "Weevil, hold off the opponent you were just fighting. Everyone else, wait at the harbor."

"Yes, my lord!"

The prisoners were ecstatic.

It seemed even Magellan could do nothing against their lord.

And Weevil would deal with the powerful Chief Warden Shiryu.

Now, no one could stop them from escaping!

The prisoners quickly poured into the stairwell as well.

That left only Naito and Magellan.

Magellan was in a sorry state. His left arm was probably broken, his right leg was bent, and his face was a bruised and swollen mess.

Venom surging in from all directions enveloped him, forming the upper body of a giant far larger than the venom giant from before.

On top of that, the ground and buildings for over a thousand meters around the giant had all turned to venom and were constantly churning.

Worse still, a red mist kept spreading in from all directions. Anyone could tell it was an incredibly poisonous gas.

"What a monster."

Naito could not help saying it.

In the original story, if Shiryu had not turned traitor and Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit had not been able to counter ability users, it was hard to imagine how Magellan could ever have been defeated.

This guy was definitely stronger than the so-called emperor's right-hand men! Especially in an environment like this!

Naito first created a translucent space around himself, keeping the seeping poison gas out.

He needed to breathe too. If he let the poison gas spread, World's body would be dead before long.

"Come on, World!!"

The skeletal giant swung its enormous fist straight at Naito.

At the same time, scarlet venom dragons came roaring out of the surrounding field of venom.

"Then let's do this."

Naito chuckled. Projected arms appeared one after another, and the More-More Fruit continued to exert its power as fists like meteors thundered forward.

At the same time, Guanyin itself finally raised its original arm and punched to meet the venom giant's fist.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

A violent roar swept through the whole of Blazing Hell.

The earth shook, the blood pools surged, the walls crumbled, and even the ceiling trembled.

The entire fourth level had become an apocalyptic landscape.

"Honestly, even my blood's starting to boil."

The corners of Naito's mouth curled up slightly.

Ora Ora and Muda Muda were a man's romance too.

But on second thought, he and Magellan were quite alike.

Neither of them amounted to much physically, and both relied entirely on their abilities.

What should have been a scene of berserkers brawling had turned into mages blasting away at each other.

While the two were passionately exchanging blows here, on the third level, Starvation Hell.

The fighting resumed.

Or rather, the slaughter continued.

"Salt-Salt Shot!"

White arrows rained down, and a Jailer Beast howled as it was riddled with holes.

"Shield Bash!"

A figure charged in like a locomotive, sending Impel Down's Vice Warden flying.

"Hahahaha! Freedom is right in front of us!!"

The giant bear laughed and slapped the Chief Jailer hard, driving him into the ground like a radish.

"Villains like you have no right to talk about freedom!"

Though covered in wounds, Deputy Warden Hannyabal still held his double-bladed sword as he blocked the stairwell leading to the second level. He roared himself hoarse, "You're not getting past me-"

Squelch.

A blade pierced his chest.

"Stay out of the way."

The short, stout Salt had appeared behind Hannyabal at some point. With a cold laugh, he kicked Hannyabal flying.

Then he turned around, finding the dark stairwell before him.

"Hahaha! I'll be going on ahead!"

He darted straight inside.

"Bastard, wait for me!"

Anthony rushed after him.

"Charge! Freedom is right in front of us!"

The prisoners shouted wildly as they swarmed forward.

There were no jailers left who could stop them.

Shiryu, the only one still standing, had a dark look in his eyes. "You bastards!!"

"I'm going to beat you flat!"

Though he had been slashed with wound after wound, Weevil still paid them no mind and roared as he swung his fist at Shiryu.

"You persistent idiot!"

Shiryu was furious.

This guy was not very bright, but he was so difficult to shake off that Shiryu really could not get away from him.

"Weevil! You can do it! I'll wait for you outside!"

In the distance, Buckingham was mixed in with the prisoners, calling back to Weevil as she ran nonstop toward the stairwell.

She would not be able to help if she stayed, and she would be more likely to become a weakness Weevil had to protect.

In any case, Weevil would be fine for a while against that man called Shiryu, and she did not believe their lord would abandon a fighter as powerful as Weevil.

"Okay, Mom!"

Weevil fought with even more vigor.

Shiryu kept gritting his teeth.

The fourth level.

The fierce exchange of blows continued.