Basker Jote never expected Shiryu of the Rain to strike so suddenly. With his wrists bound by specially crafted Seastone handcuffs, his movements were slow and restricted.
The next moment, Shiryu's blade gleamed as it sliced straight into Basker Jote's arm.
"Aaaaargh!" A pained howl echoed through the sixth level of Eternal Hell.
"Shiryu of the Rain, how dare you lay a hand on me!" Basker Jote roared in fury.
"You're a useless sack of trash. If I hadn't been locked in this damn cell, killing someone like you would be child's play."
"Then release me! Even with one arm, I could grind you into pulp!"
"Hey, hey, what's all this yelling about? I'm still here, remember?" Renji Kai's voice cut through their bickering. "Basker Jote, right? Heard you used to be famous. But maybe you should focus on stopping that bleeding. Once I'm done with Shiryu, I'll come have a little chat. Try not to bleed out before then, alright?"
Realizing who his true opponent was, Shiryu turned back toward Renji Kai.
"Out of my way! Wave Slash!"
He raised his blade, Thunderstorm, and slashed down hard. A surge of cyan energy burst from the ground and rocketed toward Renji.
"Eight Gates Release! Gate of Shock!"
This was the seventh of the Eight Gates—just before the Gate of Death. As Renji activated it, blue steam formed from the evaporation of sweat, streaming off his body.
At that moment, his physical speed reached its upper limit.
To Renji, the incoming cyan wave looked like nothing more than a gentle ripple.
He sidestepped effortlessly, dodging the deadly attack.
"BOOM!"
Shiryu's slash blasted into the high stone wall behind Renji, carving a deep fissure into its surface.
"My turn. Game over, Shiryu! Daytime Tiger!"
Renji roared to the sky. The blue steam exploded upward as he compressed the air around him to its limit, then let it burst outward in a shockwave shaped like a roaring tiger.
In the blink of an eye, the tiger-shaped air cannon materialized in front of Shiryu.
In just one breath's time, Renji's fist collided directly with Shiryu's face.
"BOOM!"
Shiryu flew backward like a kite with its string cut, while the shockwave expanded in all directions.
Even Domino, watching from afar, was pushed back several steps. When she finally regained her footing, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Just the shockwave from that one punch was enough to injure her—a testament to Renji Kai's overwhelming power.
Right after unleashing his punch, two system prompts echoed in Renji's mind:
"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You've defeated an enemy and earned 40,000 Fame Points."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You've defeated an enemy and earned 30,000 Fame Points."
Renji blinked in confusion.
"What the—did I get a two-for-one bonus?"
It was obvious one message was for defeating Shiryu, but the other couldn't possibly be for Domino. When he beat Magellan earlier, he had received 50,000 points, and now he'd just gained another 70,000 in one shot. That catapulted him to six figures in Fame Points.
Clearly, Domino's strength wasn't comparable to someone like Hannibal. That meant the second reward must be linked to something else.
Just as Renji puzzled over it, a fresh pool of blood began seeping from one of the nearby cells.
He glanced over to see that it belonged to Basker Jote—the very man who had lost an arm moments ago.
Basker Jote had collapsed within his cell, eyes wide open in disbelief and unwillingness.
He never imagined that someone as notorious as him would meet such an end.
After Shiryu severed his arm, his condition rapidly deteriorated. And then, when Renji's Daytime Tiger attack blasted through the area, the residual shockwave ruptured all of his internal organs.
He died instantly.
"So even imprisoned enemies grant Fame Points, huh? And there are plenty of infamous pirates on this level... Looks like I'm in for a big haul today!" Renji thought gleefully.
But he also understood the severe toll of using the Eight Gates. In theory, opening the final gate meant certain death—unless you had protagonist-level plot armor.
That's why he only opened the seventh gate.
Still, even using that much power left him vulnerable. Once the technique wore off, even a light touch could cause excruciating pain.
Taking advantage of the gate still being active, Renji slowly walked up to Domino.
Around them, the pirates shaken by Renji's shockwave started to rally.
They had witnessed his might firsthand. To them, Renji Kai was the only man who could possibly break them out of Impel Down.
Years ago, Golden Lion Shiki managed to escape. If he could do it, so could they.
Now, some of the world's most dangerous pirates began shouting at Renji:
"I'm Avalo Pizarro! Get me outta here and I'll be your strongest crewman!" cried a man wearing a long fur coat patterned in white and dark brown, adorned with a pale violet necklace. His eyes, catlike and intense, stared out from behind the bars as he pounded on the cell door.