"How could you call it 'defeated'?"
Ian frowned and corrected him seriously.
"I was simply managing the jailer beasts under my command."
"Yes, yes, management."
Hannyabal nodded rapidly, though a complicated mix of emotions still surfaced in his heart.
Inside Impel Down, the strength of Chief Warden Magellan and Deputy Warden Shiryu stood far above everyone else.
Especially Magellan—his Doku Doku no Mi could crush any opposition by itself.
But aside from those two…
The rest of the jailers were—frankly—average.
Take Hannyabal, for example.
Give him a small-time pirate with a bounty in the tens of millions, and he'd manage.
Give him someone worth over a hundred million, and things got shaky.
Even then, pirates with nine-digit bounties weren't necessarily stronger than the sphinx-like Jailer Beast.
Meaning—
Hannyabal himself couldn't beat a Jailer Beast…
But Ian had crushed one like it was nothing.
This new subordinate's strength was far beyond expectations.
Hannyabal's heart burned with excitement.
With Ian around, I'll be promoted in no time—become Chief Warden, rise to the top of Impel Down… This is it! My golden era!!
Euphoric at the thought, Hannyabal immediately delivered the "good news."
"Ian! Thanks to my tireless efforts, you've already been promoted!"
"Promoted? Again?"
Ian blinked, suddenly remembering something.
"The Jailer Beasts?"
"Exactly!"
Hannyabal lifted his chin proudly.
"I ordered Magellan to hand over command authority for the jailer beasts on Levels 1 through 4 to you.
In other words—you can manage the Jailer Beasts now!"
Of course, his words were full of water.
It was obvious Magellan didn't take orders from Hannyabal—if anything, it was the reverse.
But the message itself was real.
Ian genuinely hadn't expected Hannyabal to pull this off.
He actually got him the Jailer Beast command rights.
"Thanks, Hannyabal."
Ian spoke sincerely.
"It's nothing!"
Hannyabal puffed out his chest so hard his chin was practically poking the ceiling.
"Just remember—
you're a man I acknowledge!
If anything happens, come to me! Don't go running to Magellan again!"
"Alright, alright."
Ian played along.
"I'll come to you if anything goes wrong."
"No problem!"
Hannyabal slapped his chest loudly.
"I'm a man destined to become Chief Warden, after all!"
By evening, news of "Ian easily defeating the Sphinx-type Jailer Beast" had spread throughout Impel Down.
Most were shocked.
A very small number came looking for him because of it.
During dinner at the mess hall, nearly all jailers had gathered—except for the still-recovering Sadi-chan.
Ian even spotted someone he hadn't seen in a while—
Shiryu of the Rain.
And the moment Ian looked at him, Shiryu looked back.
Then—
the swordsman stood up and strode straight toward him.
A corridor of space instinctively opened as jailers stepped aside.
Even Hannyabal, thick-skinned as he was, sensed something wrong.
"Shiryu! You—"
"Move aside, Hannyabal."
"Okay!!"
Hannyabal immediately retreated several steps, using Ian as a human shield.
Ian shot him a sideways look.
Weren't you the one who said I should come to you when trouble happens?
Why are YOU hiding behind ME?
"You're the newcomer everyone's been talking about?"
Shiryu's cigar glowed faintly as he spoke.
His right hand rested casually on the hilt of his blade, Raindrop.
Sharp eyes glinted beneath the brim of his hat.
"You look… disappointingly weak."
The instant the words dropped—
Shiryu struck.
Steel flashed.
Ian's pupils shrank; the little white clay dragon on his shoulder lunged forward like a bullet, ramming toward Shiryu's head.
—Shhck!
Shiryu's blade sliced cleanly through Ian's torso from shoulder to hip, spraying white clay as it parted.
—Bang!
At the same moment, the little white dragon smashed into Shiryu's forehead, knocking his black cap clean off.
"What fast swordsmanship," Ian said calmly.
His body split into two halves, white clay surging like liquid from the cut as it rejoined him—
completely unharmed.
"How terrifying~"
"Nani!?"
Shiryu stared, stunned.
The kid he'd just bisected was talking…
without a scratch.
"You're a Logia user!?"
Until today, Shiryu hadn't bothered to pay attention to the new recruit who'd volunteered for Impel Down duty.
He had no idea Ian possessed the Clay-Clay Fruit.
And seeing Ian's body morph into soft, malleable clay—
He naturally mistook it for an ultra-rare Logia like "Mud-Mud Fruit" or something similar.
But Shiryu's shock did nothing to hinder Ian.
Clay poured from the wound and coated his body.
Within moments, Ian's frame expanded—becoming nearly the same size as Shiryu.
The two were already close.
Ian's increased size made the distance nearly zero.
Soru.
Ian vanished from his spot and appeared in front of Shiryu instantly.
His clay-reinforced fist whipped forward with immense force.
Caught off guard, Shiryu took the punch squarely to the abdomen.
Gut Punch!
—BOOM!
A dull, heavy impact echoed.
The proud deputy warden flew backward more than ten meters.
"Bastard!"
Shiryu twisted in midair, landing in a low crouch.
He glared daggers at Ian, gripping Raindrop tightly as he prepared to strike again.
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