Squelch!
The sword energy flew out in a horizontal arc.
As Shiryu swung his blade, the entire line of soldiers standing in front of him was sliced in half, their bodies slumping to the ground in a bloody heap.
His attack, a wave of pure destructive energy, shot across the cavern and slammed into the one Kai had just unleashed.
BOOM!!
A deafening roar echoed through the massive chamber. The two powerful sword strikes collided. The resulting shockwave tore outwards in every direction, gouging deep cuts into the stone walls of the prison. The sheer force of the impact blasted through the area, making Shiryu's Marine cape whip and snap wildly behind him.
"Hah… It's been a while since I've felt this" Shiryu said, a grin spreading across his face.
He took a long, slow drag from his cigar, then exhaled a perfect smoke ring. He breathed in the thick, metallic scent of blood that now filled the air, an expression of pure bliss on his face. He completely ignored the bisected corpses of his own men lying at his feet as if they were nothing more than slaughtered chickens.
"It's… It's Shiryu of the Rain!"
"The Head Jailer of Impel Down! They say he's as strong as Magellan!"
"That guy… Wasn't he locked up for killing too many prisoners?"
"They must have let him out to deal with us. This is going to be tough!"
"Kai, we have to finish this fast! We need to let the other prisoners out of their cells. They can keep Shiryu busy… and they'll keep Magellan busy when he gets here too."
Their plan hadn't changed. The main goal on Level Six was to unleash the monsters locked away here. Once the prisoners were free, they would naturally draw the attention of both Shiryu and Magellan. The legendary inmates would be forced to fight the two powerhouses of Impel Down, which would dramatically increase the chances for Kai and his small group to escape.
"I'll handle Shiryu. You guys go and free the others!" Kai commanded.
Gripping his crude sword, he shot towards Shiryu.
'With my training speed multiplied by one hundred, I don't even know how strong I've really become' Kai thought, his heart pounding with a mix of excitement and adrenaline.
Now, Shiryu of the Rain stood right in front of him. This was the perfect test.
'Let's see where I really stand in the world.'
Shiryu's strength was legendary. Even if he wasn't quite on the level of a Marine Admiral, he was far stronger than most Vice Admirals.
BOOM!!!
The ground exploded beneath Kai's feet. He vanished.
In the next heartbeat, he was right in front of Shiryu, blade raised.
CLANG!!!
Their swords met with a sound like thunder splitting the sky. Kai's crude iron sword locked against Raiu, one of the greatest swords ever forged. For a moment, everything went still.
Then Shiryu's eyes went wide.
He'd expected to shatter that pathetic blade in one blow. Instead, the iron held firm. Worse, it was pushing back.
Shiryu dug in his heels, gripping Raiu with both hands. But Kai was relentless, pouring raw power into every inch of the lock. Shiryu slid backward across the stone floor, each step gouging a trench behind him. Dust and rubble scattered.
"Not bad," Shiryu muttered, a grin spreading across his face.
"You either," Kai replied.
They broke apart like two magnets reversed. For half a second, they stared at each other across the gap.
Then they exploded into motion.
Steel sang. The air cracked where their blades passed through it. They moved too fast to follow, all anyone could see was blur and light, punctuated by the flash of metal meeting metal. The impacts came one after another, each one hard enough to shake the ground.
CLASH! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks erupted like fireworks. Waves of raw cutting force rippled outward, tearing through stone and kicking up clouds of dust. They were so quick, so fierce, that even keeping track of them was impossible. One second they were here, the next they were there, locked together, screaming across the battlefield at speeds that shouldn't have been possible.
The surrounding prison cells were battered by the shockwaves of their fight. They didn't even need to be unlocked. The sheer force of Kai and Shiryu's battle was blasting the cell doors right off their hinges.
However, the prisoners inside were still heavily restrained. They couldn't escape on their own and still needed someone to free them.
Here in the Infinite Hell, the physical fighters were bound by special, custom-made chains thicker than a man's arm. Not even a giant or a master Fish-Man martial artist could hope to break them through sheer force.
As for the Devil Fruit users, their situation was even more hopeless. They were shackled with multiple sets of Seastone cuffs on their hands, feet, and even their torsos. Ever since the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki had escaped by cutting off his own feet, the prison had become much more thorough with its use of Seastone.
Without someone to unlock the cuffs, the only way to escape would be to leave your limbs and body behind… which was no different from dying.
While Kai and Shiryu were locked in their furious battle, the men who had followed Kai to Level Six got to work, moving from one broken cell to the next.
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