"Without Haki, you're always at a disadvantage!"
The potent neurotoxin coursed through Jiang Lin's hands, spreading rapidly throughout his body. His once-clear eyes were now growing cloudy.
"One minute has passed. The Venom-Venom Fruit has been successfully copied."
Just as Jiang Lin's body was wracked with pain from the invading poison, the system's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
"Finally got it."
Now that he had acquired the Venom-Venom Fruit, Jiang Lin no longer had any reason to keep tangling with Magellan. His true objective was rescuing Ace, not testing himself against Impel Down's warden.
"Warden Magellan, hey, what's that… up there?"
Jiang Lin suddenly raised his left foot, pointing at the ceiling with a look of confusion.
"What is it?"
Magellan glanced upward with a puzzled frown. Aside from the oppressive smoke and twisting passages above, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"There's a… nothing!"
Jiang Lin smirked, and from his hands—still trapped inside Magellan's venom dragon—laser beams burst outward. The dazzling light pierced through the toxic beast, freeing his arms so they could return to his sides.
Once his body was whole again, Jiang Lin didn't hesitate. Activating the "Yata Mirror," he bypassed Magellan entirely and sprinted at high speed toward the Level 5 passage.
"Venom Road!"
Realizing what was happening, Magellan immediately used his venom dragon to form a passage, rushing ahead to cut Jiang Lin off.
"I've already spared you once—why insist on being so stubborn?!"
Jiang Lin sighed helplessly. He knew if he didn't reach Level 5 soon, it might already be too late. But Magellan refused to relent, hounding him at every turn.
"Brat! This is Impel Down—my territory!"
Magellan inhaled deeply, then spewed forth a torrent of lethal poison, sending it surging toward Jiang Lin.
"Looks like I've got no choice… let's see whose Venom-Venom Fruit is deadlier!"
Jiang Lin drew out the card containing the Glint-Glint Fruit, then slotted in the newly obtained Venom-Venom Fruit card.
"Venom-Venom Fruit loaded. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 30 seconds."
The system's voice echoed in his head. Immediately, the neurotoxin ravaging Jiang Lin's body lost its effect. His clouded eyes cleared, regaining their sharp brilliance.
"The Venom-Venom Fruit is powerful… though the side effects…"
The moment he activated it, Jiang Lin felt his intestines begin to gurgle uncomfortably.
"You… that ability… don't tell me—you're the one just placed under a new bounty by Admiral Kizaru himself… the mysterious pirate worth 601 million berries… codename 'D'?"
The instant Magellan saw Jiang Lin wielding the same power as himself, he recalled the freshly issued bounty: a newly risen pirate worth 601 million, with strength comparable to an admiral and a terrifying ability to copy Devil Fruits. The pirate carrying the mysterious title of "D."
"'D,' huh?"
Jiang Lin's eyes narrowed slightly. His name did contain the letter D, but he had never mentioned it to Kizaru. That the admiral had identified him with that codename… was it a mere coincidence, or had Kizaru noticed something more?
"But 601 million and one berries… that's amusing."
When Jiang Lin had fought Kizaru, he'd boasted his worth was "600 million." Now, the bounty poster read "601 million"—that extra one berry was Kizaru's stubborn little jab.
"D, why have you appeared in Impel Down? Are you working together with Straw Hat and his crew?!"
Toxic purple mist drifted from Magellan's mouth as his eyes darkened with hostility.
"Whether I'm with them or not… you'll just have to guess. Either way, you can't stop me. Why don't we just let each other go?"
Jiang Lin shrugged helplessly and stepped toward Magellan's side. Ace was waiting for him. He couldn't afford to waste more time here.
"Even if you can copy my power… don't think that means I can't defeat you!"
Behind Magellan, venomous dragons writhed into being. Several lunged forward at once, striking toward Jiang Lin's head.
"Venom Cloud!"
As the dragons surged forward, Magellan unleashed another technique: thick clouds of poisonous vapor poured from his mouth, coalescing into grotesque, living masses that encircled Jiang Lin, radiating toxic fumes.
"Your vision's blurring, isn't it? Your ears are failing, too? Every sense in your body must be breaking down right about now!"
His voice echoed calmly from beyond the mist, as if he already held complete control of the battlefield.
"Ahhh, but poison… once you're immune to it, it's not much fun."
Jiang Lin stood calmly at the center of the venom cloud. His eyes remained bright, his hearing sharp as ever.
"How is this possible?! Don't tell me your copy ability even alters your body's structure?"
Magellan stared in shock. His power had always triumphed because of poison's sheer corrosive and lethal nature. Yet after copying the Venom-Venom Fruit, Jiang Lin's body, like Magellan's own, had become naturally immune to its effects.
"Well, either way—you can't kill me, and I can't kill you. So why keep dragging this out?"
With a sigh, Jiang Lin stepped out of the poisonous haze. He didn't even bother attacking—both of them now wielded identical powers, and unlike other Devil Fruits, the Venom-Venom didn't offer unique variations that could shift the battle.
Poison was poison. No matter how the techniques differed, in the end, they all relied on the same toxic essence.
"Venom Dragon!"
Growing anxious, Magellan liquefied his hands, shaping them into two massive dragons that lunged straight at Jiang Lin's face.
"Why are you so stubborn?!"
Meeting the strike, Jiang Lin liquefied his arms, conjuring venom dragons identical to Magellan's. The beasts collided midair, tearing into each other.
"Splatter! Splatter!"
Torrents of poison burst from the clash point, sizzling as they corroded the walls. Deafening explosions echoed as venom rained down between them, shaking the chamber with every violent impact.
PS GOAL: 100-5 CHAPS.