Xiano slightly raised his head, calmly watching the three Venom Dragons charging toward him.
"The Venom-Venom Fruit, huh..."
Instead of dodging, he took a decisive step forward, clenched his right fist, and met them head-on!
BOOM!!!
A terrifying shockwave erupted instantly!
The three Venom Dragons disintegrated upon contact with the force of his punch, splattering purple venom in all directions and corroding the ground into pockmarked craters.
Some of the venom splashed onto his skin, but like raindrops hitting a reef, not a single mark was left.
"Toxins of this level..."
Xiano grinned, glancing at the purple liquid trickling down his arm before casually flicking it away as if it were mere water droplets.
"Can't even make my skin itch!"
Without piercing his Body Protection Haki, the venom could only be repelled.
Completely harmless!
...
How?!
Magellan's pupils contracted sharply as he stared in disbelief.
His "Venom Dragon" technique was lethally potent—countless infamous Pirates had once writhed in agony under its poison, leaving them terrified of him ever after.
Yet this man before him...
Didn't even bother to evade, completely nullifying the venom with just Armament Haki?!
"Impossible!"
Magellan roared, his muscles swelling as all the venom in his body surged violently. "No one in this world should be capable of this—Poison Giant Soldier: Hell's Judgment!"
Squelch!
Unlike the previous purple venom, thick crimson poison gushed from his body, instantly forming a skeletal giant dozens of meters tall.
This was his ultimate killing move, far more terrifying than the Venom Dragon.
Its toxicity was strong enough to devour everything—merely summoning it corroded the surrounding air with a sizzling sound!
"Susanoo, huh? Finally, something interesting."
Xiano's eyes gleamed with interest as he observed the towering crimson Poison Giant Soldier.
The toxicity had escalated by more than a level.
As expected of Impel Down's warden—he had some real skills.
At this level of toxicity, prolonged exposure could indeed erode Haki and seep into his skin if he wasn't careful.
But unfortunately...
Bigger, stronger—but also noticeably slower!
Still no threat to him!
By the time the crimson giant lunged, his figure had already vanished like a ghost. The giant's attack crashed down, shattering only a patch of rocky ground.
"Looking the wrong way. I'm over here."
A cold voice came from behind the Poison Giant Soldier.
Magellan whipped his head around in horror to see Xiano, now midair, raising his right leg high before bringing it down like a battle-axe, wreathed in black-and-red lightning!
CRACK!!!
With an earth-shaking explosion, the Poison Giant Soldier's head was obliterated from the neck up, crimson venom pouring down like a storm.
Yet the momentum of that lightning-wrapped leg didn't falter—after annihilating the giant's body, it came crashing straight toward Magellan's skull!
"Damn it!"
Magellan's face paled in horror as he hastily raised his arms to block, but he was utterly powerless to resist. With a crisp sound of bones breaking, his entire body was smashed several meters deep into the ground!
"With the giant soldiers gone, it's your turn, Magellan. Let's see how many punches your real body can take... First punch!"
Without pause after landing, Xiano's left fist, wreathed in black-red lightning, blasted toward Magellan's abdomen!
Magellan saw stars, his consciousness already wavering, yet he still mustered a desperate defense by conjuring a thick layer of venomous armor.
But the moment it made contact, the venomous armor was pierced through like paper, shattering completely.
"Guh!" Magellan spat out a mouthful of blood, his body curling like a shrimp as he was sent flying backward.
"Second punch!"
Xiano flashed into the path of Magellan's flight, his right fist driving upward with brutal force, smashing into Magellan's chin.
Magellan's head snapped back with a sickening crack of his cervical spine, his entire body launching like a cannonball into the ceiling.
"Third punch!"
Xiano stomped the ground into rubble, charging forward in long strides. With both fists clenched together like a hammer, he grinned savagely and brought them crashing down on Magellan, who was embedded in the wall.
BOOM!!!
The entire Impel Down trembled violently. The ground within a hundred-meter radius around Magellan collapsed entirely.
The overwhelming shockwave sent the prison guards rushing to assist flying backward in all directions. Even Hannyabal, lying on the ground, was so terrified that snot and tears streamed down his face, clinging to a pillar to avoid being blown away.
Whoosh~
As the dust gradually settled,
Xiano casually brushed off the dirt on his clothes, straightened up, and spoke calmly:
"Taking this many punches from me before going down... You should be proud."
Behind him, Magellan lay unconscious in the center of the crater, eyes rolled back, covered in blood. After a few spasms, he went completely still.
"Warden... Warden?!"
Hannyabal screamed in terror, kneeling beside Magellan, staring in disbelief at the scene.
How could this happen?
How was this possible?!
Hannyabal had been in this prison for seventeen years! Ambitious, power-hungry—no one wanted to take Magellan's seat more than he did.
But deep down, Magellan had always been an insurmountable figure in his mind—strong, reliable, practically invincible!
Yet... against this man named Xiano...
After Xiano got serious, Magellan had only taken three punches and one kick before being utterly defeated?!
"No need to worry. He won't die."
Xiano spoke, glancing at the keychain on Magellan's waist but not bothering to pick it up. After surveying the surroundings, his gaze fixed on the staircase leading to the next level:
"Now, I assume no one will stop me?"
The next level was Freezing Hell, where pirates with bounties around 100 million Berries were imprisoned. There was no reason to linger there. Below that, in the hidden 5.5th level, were Ivankov, Lightning, and the others.
In terms of alignment, they were allies on the same side.
But the New New Human Paradise... was just too unsettling. And honestly, he couldn't fathom why these revolutionaries had been lurking in such a place for over a decade without leaving.
Was this part of Dragon's plan?
No matter how he thought about it, it was just too bizarre.
In any case, if Ivankov didn't come out to meet him on their own, he wasn't in the mood to seek them out at a time like this.
Might as well head straight to the bottom floor. With that thought, Xiano stepped forward, heading toward the stairwell.
Tap.
Just then, a bloodied hand weakly and laboriously grabbed his ankle.
Hm?
Xiano looked down to see Hannyabal, who had somehow crawled to his feet, lifting his head with all his might, his voice hoarse as he gasped out:
"The warden's down, but… I'm still here, you hear me, Pirate? No… no matter what… I won't…"
Before he could finish, Hannyabal's head slumped to the side as he passed out.
The Finger Pistol had pierced his thigh earlier, and without treatment, he had lost too much blood. Holding on until now was already his limit.
Seriously, at his age, acting like some hot-blooded shonen protagonist… making me look like the ultimate villain here…
Xiano shook his head in exasperation, gently moving Hannyabal's hand aside before continuing toward the stairwell.
Along the way, the guards they encountered shrank back in terror, trembling so hard they might as well have fused with the walls, not daring to block his path.
...
Lv6, Infinite Hell.
This was the most terrifying and mysterious place in Impel Down, where countless criminals capable of shaking the world were imprisoned—some even legendary figures from bygone eras.
The World Government had deliberately erased their names from history, and as time passed, many had been forgotten by the sea itself.
At the end of the dim corridor…
Rumble—
When Xiano pushed open the heavy iron gate and stepped inside, the thick, stagnant air, reeking of blood and decay, assaulted his senses.
The flickering torchlight stretched his shadow long against the walls.
From the cells near the entrance, pairs of crimson eyes abruptly lit up, turning toward him.
"Huh? A blonde hottie just came in this morning, and now another one so soon?"
"Can't even let a man sleep in peace… Wait, no—this brat came in alone. Doesn't seem like a prisoner. Tch, new guard or something?"
"Bold move, heh. The only ones who dare enter the sixth level alone are Magellan and Shiliew. Even that Hannyabal pisses himself if we so much as tease him."
"Newbies are always this arrogant. Hey, brat! Didn't your superiors warn you? The sixth level isn't some place rookies can just waltz into!"
Xiano ignored the prisoners' taunts, calmly scanning the cells on either side for Beverny's figure.
But the moment he took a step forward—
"I'm talking to you, you little shit! Ignoring me? You got a death wish?!"
Hum!
A terrifying pressure erupted from the cell on the right, crashing toward him like a tidal wave.
Conqueror's Haki!
And that was just the beginning.
Like a row of dominoes falling, over a dozen other prisoners unleashed their own Conqueror's Haki, their auras clashing and intertwining in the air as they surged toward Xiano.
The entire sixth level trembled under the overwhelming force, the very air roaring in protest.
"Hahaha! Scared shitless now, aren't you, brat?!"
"Aside from those two monsters, this is a place ordinary jailers wouldn't dare set foot in!"
"If you can't handle it, just kneel and beg for mercy. Maybe we'll spare your life!"
The prisoners' wild laughter echoed through the dim dungeon.
Conqueror's Haki—a rare gift found in perhaps one in a million, even in the New World.
Yet here in Level 6, it was nothing special.
However.
When they saw Xiano's reaction in the torchlight, their laughter died abruptly.
Xiano remained standing exactly where he was, not even a strand of hair disturbed, as if the Conqueror's Haki didn't exist at all.
When he lifted his gaze, his dark eyes reflected profound disappointment.
"Is this all you've got?"
His quiet voice carried clearly to every prisoner. "Seems Level 6 just houses a bunch of small fry after all."
The next instant—
BOOM!!!!
A pressure ten times more terrifying than the prisoners' combined Conqueror's Haki erupted from Xiano's body!
Black-red lightning surged through Level 6 like an enraged dragon. The ceiling and floor cracked violently, and every torch on the walls was instantly extinguished.
"Wha... what?!"
"What kind of monstrous Conqueror's Haki is this...?"
"Impossible! Not even Roger... no! Not even Rocks reborn could match this!"
Terror gripped the prisoners. The dozen closest collapsed foaming at the mouth.
Many legendary figures who usually disdained speaking—the true monsters—now opened their eyes, studying the figure moving through the darkness with wary uncertainty.
Just who...
was this man?!
At that moment.
"Tsk tsk tsk tsk..."
A chilling laugh echoed from the corridor's depths, accompanied by crisp footsteps of military boots.
"Quite the spectacle, gentlemen."
A towering figure in a white coat emerged slowly from the shadows.
With a flick, he lit a cigar. The lighter's flame illuminated his cruel middle-aged face and the crimson-gold sword at his waist.
"Chief Jailer Shiliew!"
"Why's this freak here?!"
Prisoners gasped in fear, some instinctively shrinking deeper into their cells—clear evidence of Shiliew's psychological hold.
Tap. Tap.
Cigar between his teeth, Shiliew strolled leisurely to a cell, then suddenly drew his blade without warning.
Swish!
Blood splattered the wall as the first prisoner who'd taunted Xiano collapsed, clutching his throat in shock.
"Worthless trash who don't know their place."
Shiliew flicked blood from his blade, sneering at the cells:
"Can't even use those eyes properly. With your pitiful Conqueror's Haki, you dare disrespect a true king?"
Turning to Xiano, his demeanor shifted. The violence faded as he bowed respectfully:
"I've been expecting you, sir. These idiot pirates disturbed you with their stupidity. My apologies for the poor entertainment."
Hmm?
Xiano's eyebrow arched slightly in surprise. He opened his mouth to speak—
Deep within the corridor, the sudden clanking of chains echoed, followed by a hoarse, aged voice drifting through the darkness:
"Judging by your demeanor, this fellow doesn't seem to be one of Impel Down's own... Hey, Shiliew, have you turned traitor? Since when did you start groveling before some outside Pirate?"
Shiliew, with a cigar clenched between his teeth, slowly turned toward the source of the voice, a cold smirk curling at the corner of his lips:
"Grovelling? Hah..."
He casually exhaled a smoke ring, resting his blade against his shoulder. The crimson glint of the sword flickered ominously in the dark, sending shivers down the spines of many prisoners:
"How laughable. You caged old relics, abandoned by the times for far too long, wouldn't possibly comprehend the stature of the man standing before you now."
Shiliew took a deep breath, then abruptly raised his voice, barking sharply:
"Open your damn eyes and look closely! This is none other than the Sea Emperor who now reigns supreme over the seas—the man who personally slaughtered one of the Four Emperors! Who massacred Celestial Dragons! With a Bounty exceeding five billion Berry—"
"Lord Xiano!"
The entire sixth floor plunged into a deathly silence.
For several long seconds.
Only the sound of sharp, staggered gasps could be heard from the depths of the cells.
Wait, seriously?!
You've got to be joking!
That Shiliew... he can't be mistaken, can he?!
What... what in the world did they just hear?!!!
(End of Chapter)