"This is my justice. As long as I live, I will never allow anyone to slip past me right under my nose."
Magellan stared intently at Jiang Lin. From his serious expression, it was clear he wasn't preaching empty words—this was his genuine conviction, spoken from the depths of his heart.
"You're a worthy opponent. I'll put forth all my strength to defeat you."
Moved by Magellan's resolve, Jiang Lin's expression grew solemn as he strode through the poisonous mists to face him directly.
"From here on… You may very well die."
Silently, Jiang Lin drew out the Venom-Venom Fruit card, holding his ground as he calmly fixed his gaze on Magellan.
"My justice is worth laying down my life to protect!"
Magellan showed not the slightest hesitation. He knew Jiang Lin's power was immense, but his declaration wasn't bravado—it was a pure expression of his beliefs.
"Good! Then I'll fight you with the strongest power I have right now. Let's see… if you can survive."
After waiting silently for thirty seconds, Jiang Lin raised a hand and slid a Devil Fruit card into his device.
"Light-Light Fruit (enhanced by Love-Love, Chop-Chop, and Venom-Venom). Load complete. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
"Hu… hu… hu…"Sweat the size of soybeans streamed down Jiang Lin's forehead, falling like a sudden downpour.
The power of fused Fruits was immense—but the more he combined, the greater the strain it placed on his body, and the harder it became to control.
"Come then!"
Eyes wide, Jiang Lin roared toward Magellan.
"Venom Shot!"
Magellan inhaled deeply, then spat a fist-sized orb of poisonous gas toward him.
"Yata Mirror!"
In an instant, Jiang Lin's body turned to light. Untouched by the venom, he reappeared above Magellan's head.
"Light-Speed Kick!"
A blinding flash—Jiang Lin's left leg lashed downward, smashing into Magellan's shoulder.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The harsh sound of stone fracturing rang out. The spot where Jiang Lin's kick struck began to turn to stone at an alarming pace.
"This is… Boa Hancock's power! So you truly can merge multiple Devil Fruit abilities… you're even more dangerous than I imagined."
Though his shoulder turned to stone, Magellan quickly liquefied his body, restoring himself. At once, thick poisonous vapors surged beneath his feet, engulfing Jiang Lin.
"It's useless. Your poison no longer works on me!"
Ignoring the venom, Jiang Lin followed up without pause. His leg shifted into an open palm, faint pink smoke curling from his hands—and Magellan involuntarily inhaled it.
"Captivating…!"
Jiang Lin murmured, crossing his arms over his chest before leaping high above Magellan.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
A dazzling golden light erupted. Countless beams of light bullets rained down at speeds the eye could scarcely follow, pelting Magellan from every direction.
These brilliant projectiles weren't just immensely destructive—the fused Love-Love Fruit imbued them with petrification. Anyone struck would have their body turned to stone. The combined power was enough to chill any onlooker to the bone.
"Ugh… ahhh!"
A torrent of light descended, the impact erupting in smoke and dust that concealed Magellan's figure.
"Stop resisting. If you keep this up, you really will die!"
Through the smoke, Jiang Lin could hear Magellan's hoarse roars. He knew the warden had not yielded—Magellan was tormenting his body to stave off petrification.
This way, he could avoid being turned to stone, but he would have to withstand the full force of the barrage instead.
Either choice meant disaster.
"You… are strong! But… I… will never… let you… Pass me!"
When the dust cleared, Magellan staggered forth, drenched in blood. His demon-like horns had shattered, his body battered and soaked in crimson.
Even someone as powerful as Magellan had been driven to the brink.
"A terrifying, yet admirable opponent… But in the end, you're still my enemy. If you persist, only death awaits you."
Jiang Lin truly respected Magellan's resolve, but he too carried his justice—one he had to see through.
"Chief Warden Magellan, leave this to me. Go deal with Straw Hat and the others!"
Just as Magellan, broken and bloodied, prepared to sacrifice himself to halt Jiang Lin, a tall figure glided into the fray on a path of ice. His hair was unkempt, a netted visor covering his forehead, and a pure white Marine cloak billowed behind him.
"Admiral Aokiji!?"
Jiang Lin's eyes widened in disbelief. In his mind, Aokiji had no reason to appear in Impel Down.
But how could he have known? Because Jiang Lin's identity was unclear initially, Sengoku had Aokiji dispatched here in person.
"Admiral Kuzan, be careful! His ability is terrifying—not only can he copy other Devil Fruits, but he can fuse multiple abilities. You mustn't underestimate him!"
Seeing Aokiji's arrival, Magellan finally allowed his battered body to relax. He was already at the edge of collapse; if not for Aokiji's timely appearance, he might have truly died at Jiang Lin's hands.
"I understand. Treat your wounds. Straw Hat and the others should be reaching the fourth level soon—leave this to me."
Face cold and composed, Aokiji turned to Jiang Lin.
As the wielder of the Ice-Ice Fruit, his strength stood among the greatest in Marine Headquarters—one of the Navy's ultimate forces.
"To think I'd run into you here… but…"
Before Jiang Lin could finish, a mouthful of blood spilled violently from his lips. The strain of fusing four Devil Fruits at once was far too much for his body.
"Looks like you've reached your limit, 'D. Maybe Borsalino would have shown you mercy… but I won't."
Shards of ice spread across Aokiji's form. Countless blocks of frost erupted, surging toward Jiang Lin like a sandstorm. Everything they touched froze solid in an instant.
Even the boiling sea of blood below froze as soon as the ice spread over it.
"Yata Mirror!"
Without hesitation, Jiang Lin bent light itself, vanishing in a flash and reappearing high above the battlefield.
Crack… crack… crack…
The grating sound spread across the floor. In a single instant, the blazing inferno of Level 4 was swallowed by biting cold.
"So this… is the power of a Marine Admiral? With strength this overwhelming, who could stand against him?"
Inside the monitoring room, the guards stared at the den-den mushi's broadcast of the clash on Level 4, voices trembling with awe.