"Eight Gates Release: Third Gate—Gate of Life—Open!"
With a silent thought, Renji Kai's entire body flushed red as blood surged through his veins. His speed and attack power spiked significantly.
Seeing Renji's form blur with motion, Hannibal swallowed hard and tightened his grip on the trident, bracing himself for the impending battle.
"It's game over—Hidden Lotus!"
Renji roared.
The next second, Hannibal felt as if some mysterious force flashed before his eyes. Before he could react, Renji's fist had already driven upward into his chin.
Like a rocket, Hannibal shot skyward, his face grotesquely twisted from the force of the strike.
But it wasn't over yet.
As Hannibal soared through the air, Renji bent his knees, then launched himself into the air in hot pursuit. Catching up to Hannibal mid-air, Renji raised his right leg and delivered a devastating kick downward.
BOOM!
The impact slammed Hannibal straight into the ground. The floor cracked outward from the point of impact like a spiderweb.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating the enemy. You have earned 15,000 reputation points."
The system voice rang out. Renji knew then—Hannibal was down for good.
Meanwhile, in the surveillance room, Magellan saw the scene play out on the monitor. He let out a sigh, adjusted his black suit, and stepped out of the office.
With Hannibal defeated, the guards on the third level fell into complete disarray.
Panicked, uncoordinated, and hopelessly outnumbered, many guards were beaten to death by the enraged and now wildly emboldened prisoners.
On the path to the next level, bodies lined the halls.
The wave of rioting prisoners surged toward Level Four of Impel Down—the most critical level of the entire deep-sea prison. This level housed Magellan's office, along with the prison's main kitchen and food storage. The temperature was extremely high.
At the center of Level Four sat a massive blood pool—a boiling cauldron-like pit filled with liquid fire.
But as Renji arrived at the entrance to Level Four, he was suddenly greeted by a chilling sight: countless prisoners lying motionless across the floor.
Simultaneously, the air on this level was thick with a deep purple gas.
Realizing the danger, Renji immediately turned and sprinted back to Level Three.
This was Magellan's doing—he had unleashed the power of his Venom-Venom Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allowed him to produce lethal poison from any part of his body.
Sweat, saliva, breath, even a sigh—everything could release his deadly toxins.
The poison could paralyze nerves, cause immense pain or hallucinations, and even result in death. The venom was strong enough to dissolve stone. Victims required Magellan's own antidote to survive.
However, the ability came with one drawback: excessive use caused chronic diarrhea.
This was one of the main reasons Magellan could keep so many legendary pirates under control in Impel Down.
"Hahaha! Kid, no matter how powerful your attacks are, it's impossible to overcome my poison!"
Magellan, in the midst of his toxic massacre on Level Four, burst into laughter when he saw Renji fleeing.
Back on Level Three, Renji wasn't idle—he quickly opened the System Shop and began browsing for options.
Magellan's strength primarily came from his inescapable poison. So if Renji wanted to beat him, he needed to choose a character that could resist toxic attacks.
Clearly, Might Guy was no longer enough.
The first candidate that came to Renji's mind was the legendary shinobi known as Hanzo the Salamander—a man often referred to as a "demi-god."
Hanzo could paralyze enemies just by breathing toxic gas. To prevent accidental poisoning, he even wore a breathing apparatus.
But Magellan's poison could invade a person's body just through physical contact. Even Hanzo wouldn't be immune.
Just then, Renji heard footsteps descending the stairs from Level Four to Level Three.
It could only mean one thing—someone had survived and returned to Level Three.
Renji's heartbeat quickened.
Then, in the very next second, his eyes lit up.
In the System Shop, a new character card had appeared: Sasori—the Puppet Master from the Akatsuki organization.
Unlike living beings, puppets were immune to poison. Even if the gas invaded, it wouldn't have any effect.
But Renji's excitement dimmed quickly when he saw the exchange requirement: 50,000 reputation points.
"Damn rip-off," Renji muttered under his breath.
Still, the idea gave him inspiration—there were other puppet users in the Naruto world.
And that's when he saw it: another card—Granny Chiyo, the veteran puppet master.
[Character Card: Granny Chiyo]Exchange Requirement: 30,000 reputation points
Possibly due to her advanced age, Chiyo's card cost less than Sasori's.
Renji quickly checked his system panel. After defeating Saludes and Hannibal earlier, he had just over 30,000 points available.
Without hesitation, he selected the card.
"Ding! Character card [Granny Chiyo] successfully redeemed. 30,000 reputation points deducted from the host's account."
As the card activated, Magellan finally arrived on Level Three.
"Well, kid. Still planning to resist? You're going to suffer a terrible death," Magellan sneered as he slowly approached Renji.
He was entirely engulfed in thick, purple poison mist, toxic energy radiating from every inch of his body.