As soon as Renji Kai finished speaking, he suddenly kicked one of the cell doors with full force.
Boom!
The steel cell door was actually blown open with a single kick.
In the next moment, the prisoners inside immediately surged out.
Then, everyone scrambled toward the fallen guards, frantically searching their bodies for the keys to the cell doors.
Within just a few minutes, every cell on the first floor was unlocked!
Meanwhile, the guards in the surveillance room saw what was happening and quickly rushed to the Warden's office on the fourth floor to report the incident.
After being released, the inmates gathered around Renji Kai.
At this point, they all understood clearly—there was no way they could escape on their own. The man in front of them was their only hope.
"Brothers! If we don't take out those bastards in the lower levels of Impel Down, there's no way we'll ever escape. So, are you willing to fight alongside me?" Renji Kai stood atop the dueling platform and shouted down to the crowd.
"YES!!"
"Kill them all!!"
The crowd roared in excitement.
They had been repressed for far too long. In Impel Down, there was no hope, no light. Rather than die in torment, why not rise up and fight back?
In the next moment, following Renji Kai's command, the crowd began charging toward the second underground level.
This was the Beast Hell—home to all kinds of ferocious and terrifying creatures: chicken-snakes, lion-headed men, venomous scorpions, and more.
This level was ruled by one of the guardian beasts: Sphinx.
Sphinx looked like a lion, but its face was grotesque—horrifying to look at.
When Renji Kai and his mob reached the second floor, the Sphinx was still lazily dozing off.
"Rip those damn beasts to pieces!!" someone yelled as they reached Beast Hell, pointing at the small hippos, giant mantises, and combined scorpions up ahead.
In the next moment, the prisoners, now armed with guns and ammunition taken from the first-floor guards, unleashed a storm of bullets at the guardian beasts.
With the roar of explosions, waves of guardian beasts at the front collapsed.
That made the prisoners even more hyped—they rushed forward in a frenzy!
This commotion finally woke the Sphinx.
When it saw so many prisoners had broken free and were rebelling, it stood up with a deafening roar and immediately charged into the crowd!
As soon as it plunged in, chaos erupted.
Several prisoners were instantly torn apart by its fangs.
And when the surrounding prisoners tried shooting at it, their bullets couldn't even pierce its skin.
Clearly, the Sphinx had insane defense—it made sense why it was assigned to suppress the second floor.
With the Sphinx joining the fight, the guardian beast army began a fierce counterattack.
Seeing this, Renji Kai didn't hesitate. He leapt into the air, landing on the heads of the crowd, sprinting toward the Sphinx at high speed.
Just as he got close, he muttered:
"First Gate—Open!"
This was the first of the Eight Gates, releasing the brain's restrictions and unleashing 100% of physical capability. It drastically boosted attack and speed, though it burned through his body's energy rapidly.
Once opened, he could use the powerful taijutsu technique: Front Lotus.
The Sphinx noticed Renji's presence and opened its jaws wide, ready to swallow him whole.
"You wanna eat me? Try this—Front Lotus!!"
In the next moment, Renji Kai launched a fierce kick straight at the Sphinx's jaw.
The beast never expected this. It took the full force of the kick to the face and was sent flying.
Then, using Instant Step, Renji Kai teleported into the air above it, locked his arms around the beast, and slammed it down to the ground.
BOOM!!
The impact was so powerful that the beast's head smashed into the floor, creating a massive crater.
The Sphinx passed out cold from the blow to the head.
Ding! Congratulations to the Host for defeating an enemy. You have gained 3000 Reputation Points.
The Sphinx was weaker than Saludes, so the reward was a bit lower—just 3000 points.
The remaining guardian beasts, seeing this scene, were terrified. Some even tried to flee.
On the other side, the prisoners' morale skyrocketed after seeing Renji Kai take down the Sphinx in just one round.
They surged forward with renewed energy.
As for those guardian beasts trying to flee to the third floor—Hunger Hell—they didn't make it far. A few massive figures emerged from that level and blocked their path.
Then, a woman slowly walked out from between the towering beasts.
She had curly blonde hair, bangs covering her eyes, wore white candle-shaped earrings, and a tight pink bodysuit.
This was Little Sadie, commander of the four great guardian beasts of the fourth floor—Blazing Hell—and Chief Guard of Impel Down.
She raised her trident and pointed it at the retreating guardian beasts, her voice cold and stern:
"Anyone who takes another step back—will be executed on the spot!"
As soon as she spoke, the four giant beasts beside her stepped forward.
The mini guardian beasts were terrified.
They feared Renji Kai, yes—but they feared the sadistic and cruel Little Sadie even more.
So they turned back again, trembling, and charged toward the prisoner mob with grim determination.
But facing the fired-up prisoners, the guardian beasts didn't stand a chance.
In just a few exchanges, they were defeated one after another.
At last, the two forces met at the center of the second floor.
Although Little Sadie was far stronger than the Sphinx, the prisoners still hesitated when they saw her.
They knew this next fight wouldn't be easy...