The surveillance room was filled with screens, and every single one of them was showing Yujin sprinting through the corridors.
Unlike the frigid hell below, the sixth floor wasn't nearly as harsh, but it was packed with surveillance Den Den Mushi.
Wherever Yujin ran, those little "buru buru buru buru" snails chattered nonstop above his head.
Pressed for time, he had no choice but to pull out the nail he'd stolen from the torture chamber and fling it like a shuriken, shooting down the annoying things one by one.
Even so, he couldn't avoid the ones placed at tricky angles, and soon enough, an entire action squad had been dispatched toward Eternal Hell.
Among them were Magellan, Hannyabal, and Shiryu of the Rain.
Magellan's goal was to stop Yujin from escaping.
Hannyabal wanted to seize this chance to earn a promotion.
Shiryu, meanwhile, wanted to reach Yujin before Magellan did… so he could kill him.
And Yujin?
He only wanted one thing—to get the antidote and revive Inazuma.
Four forces, each rushing forward for their own purpose.
Yujin reached a fork in the path and silently recalled what the Red Count had told him.
Almost there.
He was about to reach the supply room!
Anxious and burning with urgency, Yujin dashed toward his target.
Because he was running too fast, just as he reached the turn, his foot suddenly slipped, his body losing balance in an instant.
But relying on sheer stubborn momentum, he didn't fall.
Instead, he shot out of the corner like a car drifting out of control, moving with a nearly "gliding" motion.
At that moment, three Jailer Beasts were standing guard ahead, weapons in hand, looking fierce and ready to tear apart any intruder.
They were massive, heavily muscled, and confident in their overwhelming strength, certain they could stop anyone who dared to approach.
These three Jailer Beasts were: Minotaur Cow wielding a giant spiked club, the dual–club–wielding Minotaur Rhino, and the full–brass–knuckle Minotaur Koala.
Yet when Yujin burst out of the corner in such an unexpected way, the sheer intensity radiating from him made all three beasts freeze in shock.
Especially his eyes—
No matter how they looked at him, they all felt like he was staring at them the same way someone looks at food.
Jailer Beasts were, after all, Zoan-type Devil Fruit users who had reached the awakened stage.
Yujin, with the physique of a ghoul, had never really liked biting people.
It always felt a little wrong to him.
But eating animals…
That was different.
When humans ate animals, the only thing they cared about was how good the meat tasted.
The jailer beasts perfectly filled the gap between humans and animals.
This was pure suppression from the top of the food chain.
The three jailer beasts, who spent every day beating prisoners, were suddenly flustered.
That guy's blood-red eyes and the drool leaking from the corner of his mouth… he definitely didn't look friendly.
In that instant, Pirate Yujin quickly formed hand seals, his hands moving like shadows as chakra surged rapidly through his body.
His gaze stayed sharp and focused, completely ignoring the suspicious, cautious stares of the three jailer beasts.
Minotaur Cow saw Yujin standing still and unmoving.
Uneasy, but forcing itself to be brave, it gripped its spiked club tightly and stepped toward Yujin one heavy step after another.
Each step shook the ground slightly.
A low, rumbling growl came from its throat as it tried to intimidate Yujin.
Just as Minotaur Cow approached and raised its spiked club high, preparing to bring it down—
The ground behind Yujin suddenly trembled violently.
A huge water dragon burst out of the floor with a thunderous roar.
The water dragon lashed and coiled, its crystal-clear body glowing eerily in the dim corridor.
Minotaur Rhino and Minotaur Koala widened their eyes in shock the moment the water dragon appeared.
They instinctively stepped back, but it was already too late.
The water dragon rushed at them with unbelievable speed, and a massive torrent swallowed all three jailer beasts instantly.
Because they were Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, the overwhelming volume of water robbed their bodies of all strength the moment it touched them, leaving them unable to use their powers.
They struggled desperately, but the water dragon's force was irresistible.
They were swept up completely and carried straight toward the drainage channel.
Their roars and cries for help were drowned out by the sound of crashing water.
Moments later, they disappeared into the drainage tunnel, leaving behind only a wrecked hallway and slowly settling water.
This was the power of Water Release.
Inside this underwater prison, Yujin could freely manipulate the surrounding seawater, and these Devil Fruit users had absolutely no way to resist.
This was the source of his confidence in breaking out.
After clearing away the last three jailer beasts, Yujin rushed into the supply room.
Half of Impel Down's security relied on Magellan the poison man, but Magellan constantly burped and farted poison, knocking out his own jailers.
Many prisoners were also poisoned and on the verge of death, but the World Government refused to let Devil Fruit users die and let their fruits respawn in the world.
Because of that, the supply room contained a large amount of antidote made specifically for dealing with Magellan's poison.
Yujin casually grabbed a piece of cow-patterned cloth — which looked suspiciously like Minotaur Cow's torn shorts — and wrapped all the antidotes together before tying them to his body.
Just as he was about to head out, he suddenly crouched down.
A massive glaive slashed past the air over his head.
Yujin clenched his teeth, twisted his body, and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the chain of follow-up strikes.
"Hehehe!"
Hannyabal swung his naginata wildly.
"Capturing escaped prisoners! I'm gonna get promoted!"
"Promote your damn grandmother!" Yujin lunged toward the window, preparing to leap out of the cramped room.
But Hannyabal pressed his advantage relentlessly.
His naginata swept across in a harsh horizontal arc.
Yujin kicked off the ground hard, body flipping backward as his hands flashed into rapid seals.
"Water Release — Water Formation Wall!"
A wall of water surged up in front of him.
Hannyabal's flaming blade smashed into the barrier, sending water splashing everywhere — but the wall didn't break.
Hannyabal froze for a moment, eyes widening in surprise.
Then his lips curled into a cold smirk.
Flames erupted along his naginata.
With a loud shout, he roared, "Hannyabal Carnival — Scorching Hell Wheel!"
The burning naginata spun like a windmill as Hannyabal charged straight at Yujin.
Steam exploded through the air.
Fire and water collided violently, hissing with sharp "zizizi—" sounds.
Seeing his Water Release barely slowing the man down, Yujin couldn't help complaining, "People in the One Piece world who haven't eaten a Devil Fruit are the real criminals!"
Hannyabal didn't understand a word.
He just kept slashing. "Catch you, and I get my promotion!"
Facing the incoming blade, Yujin twisted his body sharply.
With a loud "clang!", Hannyabal's naginata was clamped tightly — caught between Yujin's two kagune tails.
"W-What the hell are those? Are you even human?"
Two flexible yet steel-hard tails — one long, one short — extended from Yujin's lower back. Even Hannyabal, who had worked in Impel Down for many years, was stunned.
"You look like a damn ghost yourself! And you're asking me?!"
The pirate Yujin was furious, grinding his teeth.
He held the naginata firmly with his kagune while forming new hand seals.
A strange uneasiness ran through Hannyabal's chest — though he couldn't tell why.
His mind flashed back to when he first met Yujin.
Was it… that ability that turned him into wood?
But Hannyabal underestimated Yujin's resolve.
From Yujin's shoulder, the blue Wind Release mask burst out through the flesh, sucking in air greedily.
At the same time, Yujin opened his mouth wide, cheeks swelling.
Realizing things were turning very bad, Hannyabal tried to yank his weapon free and flee — but the naginata was locked in place.
Without his weapon, he was basically just a big, unarmed soldier.
At that instant of hesitation, Yujin unleashed the technique.
"Composite Ninjutsu — Flame Wind Chaos Wave!"
He had prepared this technique to return the favor — to pay Hannyabal back for forcing him into Crimson Hell and Beast Hell.
Fire burst forth, swallowing Hannyabal instantly.
The massive flames erupted at point-blank range, and Hannyabal took the full brunt of it.
Within the roaring fire, there was a sudden "poof!"
Yujin transformed into a log.
His real figure had already shot out into the corridor, disappearing in a flash.
****
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