Chapter 529: Man of the Rain
Magellan released the poison cloud, causing the invading group to be poisoned. However, the cost was that he was consecutively struck by two slashes from Ian!
The deep purple poison cloud and mist, though capable of blocking the vision of most people, did not include Ian. His En Field enveloped the entire fourth level of the prison, allowing him to keenly perceive every move Magellan made.
After landing these two strikes on Magellan, Ian also noticed something. Magellan seemed not to use Armament Haki. When struck by Ian, he didn’t employ any Haki for defense, relying solely on his own resilience.
This puzzled Ian. With Magellan’s strength, it was entirely possible for him to withstand an admiral, and most marine admirals would use Armament Haki. It was strange that Magellan didn’t.
Little did Ian know, Magellan did possess Haki, but it was a bit awkward. Initially awakening his Haki, Magellan obtained the power of Observation Haki.
The effects of Observation Haki, when well-trained, could be formidable. However, due to the nature of Magellan’s Devil Fruit ability, he often suffered from stomach issues, spending up to ten hours a day in the restroom. How much time could he spare to cultivate his Haki strength?
Moreover, Magellan was an individual with a preference for confined spaces. This made it even less likely for him to engage in physical activity.
Coupled with his huge size, mobility was not his forte. In simple terms, one word could describe him: cumbersome!
This was the awkward reason why his Haki was not commonly used. Although Observation Haki allowed him to sense the movements of his opponents, Magellan lacked the speed to effectively evade attacks.
This is Magellan’s inherent weakness. The powers of his Devil Fruit make his entire body highly toxic, and he doesn’t fear any close-quarters combatants. Originally, if he could develop his Observation Haki well, he wouldn’t be afraid of long-range attacks either. In that case, Magellan’s strength could easily reach the level of an Admiral.Over the years, Impel Down has housed many dangerous criminals, some of whom possessed Haki, but Magellan still managed to subdue them. However, now facing someone like Ian, who is both fast, has Haki, and isn’t afraid of his deadly toxins, Magellan suddenly finds it challenging.
He has taken a total of two slashes, but Magellan has managed to endure them with his own body. However, his body is now covered in blood, and the injuries are severe.
The two slashes Ian landed on Magellan just now were executed with Yasuo’s Steel Tempest. After these two strikes, Ian swiftly withdrew his sword and swung it in front of him.
Whoosh! A rapidly spinning tornado immediately swept toward Magellan’s location!
Magellan’s poison cloud is most effective in enclosed spaces, but its nemesis is wind. Ian’s only wind-based ability, Yasuo’s whirlwind, was used without hesitation at this moment. Ian even deliberately increases the Nen output to enhance the whirlwind’s power, attempting to see if he can disperse the pervasive purple poison mist.
In the midst of his poison mist, Magellan remains unaffected and can see Ian’s actions clearly. When Ian unleashes the whirlwind, Magellan immediately senses trouble. His body, covered in toxic substances, swiftly slid into a long poisonous dragon, attempting to escape through a poison tunnel. However, Ian’s whirlwind was fast and fierce. Magellan’s body barely slid a short distance within the poison tunnel before the whirlwind caught him!
This whirlwind directly lifted Magellan, spiraling his massive body into the sky. Ian originally instinctively wanted to use Yasuo’s ultimate “LAST BREATH” to chase and kill Magellan, but suddenly he felt something was amiss and quickly stopped his movements.
Last Breath has a motion of a heavy downward slash. If used under normal circumstances, this motion would undoubtedly cause significant damage to Magellan. However, the current battlefield is on a bridge, and if Magellan were cut down, it might potentially collapse, endangering everyone. Below is a pool of lava, and if the bridge collapses, everyone will fall. Ian alone couldn’t save so many people, so he had to halt his actions for now.
Despite this, Magellan, lifted by the fierce wind, fell down in a chaotic manner.
“Lightning Spear!” Ian casually threw out a bolt of lightning, heading straight for Magellan. Just as Magellan struggled to get up, he was struck by the Lightning Spear. The spear of lightning pierced through his thigh with a sizzling sound, and Magellan, once again, fell to the ground, covered in burnt marks.
Ian looked around and noticed that after his whirlwind swept through, the poisonous mist in the surroundings seemed to disperse somewhat. However, it was a bit too late; Luffy and the others had already collapsed. Only Law, Franky, and Brook were still holding on. Brook was unaffected due to the lack of a respiratory system, but Law and Franky were nearing their limits.
Observing the situation, Ian immediately understood that Magellan must be taken down quickly to save them.
On this bridge, using powerful sword strikes was not feasible. So, Ian swiftly appeared next to Magellan, stepping on his chest, and raised the Senbonzakura to deliver a decisive strike.
However, at this moment, Ian suddenly felt a sense of danger. He immediately leaped away from Magellan’s body. At the same time, a Flying Slash swept past from under his feet!
“Who is it?” Ian looked towards the direction where the Flying Slash came from.
At the end of the bridge in front, a figure slowly emerged from the mist of the poisonous cloud. He wore a military cap slanted on his head, a crisp black uniform with a white collar cape behind him, high leather boots on his feet, and a field sword hanging from his waist that emanated a red glow.
Although the person’s face was covered with a gas mask, Ian immediately recognized him. He frowned; isn’t this the Head Jailer Shiryu?
Ian thought this guy was still confined. Who released him?
“Hehehe! Magellan…” Shiryu appeared with a sinister smile. “See, without me, you can’t do anything…”
Magellan lifted his head from the ground, gazing at Shiryu with a complex expression. “Who released you?”
“Who else could it be? Your ambitious subordinate, Hannybal!” Perhaps due to the gas mask, Shiryu’s voice sounded muffled as he mocked, “But I didn’t expect that guy to look that weird…”
Shiryu was referring to Hannybal’s appearance after the modification by Law’s Devil Fruit.
“Where is he then? Why didn’t he appear with you?” Magellan inquired.
“To deal with someone like the Black Dragon Ian, he’s of no use. So, I had him stay on Level 6 on standby!” Shiryu replied.
However, at this moment, outside the prison cell on Level 6 where Shiryu was held, Hannyabal and several prison guards were lying in a pool of blood. It was far from the standby situation that Shiryu claimed.
Initially, Hannybal was following Magellan’s orders to transfer Shichibukai Jinbe and Crocodile from the sixth level. However, when he arrived on the sixth level, it coincided with the battle between Ian and Magellan. At that moment, Hannybal happened to see the scene where Magellan was struck by Ian’s first attack through the surveillance.
In Hannybal’s mind, although he had always wanted to take Magellan’s position as the Chief Warden, he knew that Magellan was formidable. For twenty years, he had suppressed countless prisoners in the prison, always emerging unscathed.
However, this impression collapsed when Magellan was injured by Ian’s attack. Hannyabal witnessed Magellan being wounded for the first time, and in the footage, the Shichibukai, the Black Dragon Ian, showed no fear of Magellan’s toxins!
Suddenly, Hannyabal became disoriented. He was not a fool and realized that if things continued like this, Magellan would inevitably be defeated by Ian.
Just at this critical moment, he saw Chief Warden Shiryu, who was imprisoned.
Originally, Hannyabal did not have the authority to release him. Shiryu was arrested by Magellan for indiscriminately killing prisoners. Without Magellan’s orders, no one could release him.
However… if Chief Warden Magellan was killed, what use were his orders?
Moreover, Shiryu also knew what had happened above. So, he persuaded Hannybal, who was already disoriented, and with Magellan presumably defeated by Ian, Hannybal ended up believing Shiryu’s words and released him. Hannybal hoped that Shiryu could assist Magellan and repel Ian, but little did he know that Shiryu’s early release also led to Hannybal’s own premature demise!