Ian earned another Silver Treasure Chest today.
And because the opponent this time had a Devil Fruit ability, Ian—on a whim—decided not to use the chest for stat upgrades.
He chose to wish with it instead.
"A chameleon… A three-star chest… Are you gonna give me a three-star version of the Ring of Magic Control?"
Ian watched the silver chest melt in front of him, expectant.
But even after the chest fully dissolved, no item appeared.
…A new ability, then?
He quickly pulled up his ability panel—and sure enough, a new entry was glowing there.
[Name: Color Shift]
[Stars: ★★★]
[Effect: Freely change the color of your body's surface]
[Comment: Why am I changing colors?]
Color Shift… the signature trick of a chameleon.
Ian released a blob of clay.
Its surface rippled, shifting colors at his command.
So the effect… just lets me craft more realistic clay puppets?
That's not the kind of clay art I wanted!
"Is art just… painting things?"
Ian raised his right hand.
The little white dragon hopped obediently into his palm.
His fingertip traced the small dragon's back—gliding across its tiny white scales.
The originally pale, ivory-white dragon scales shimmered…
and transformed into a dignified metallic silver-gray.
Ian's finger stopped at the dragon's head.
Painting the dragon—
And now… the finishing touch.
He gently tapped the dragon's eyes.
Its pure white pupils instantly flared into a vivid, sky-blue glow.
It was as if that simple gesture granted the tiny creature a true soul.
"—Haah…"
The hatchling let out a faint chirp of life.
Ian couldn't help but laugh.
He pressed his palm forward, channeling the power of the Clay-Clay Fruit into its body.
The little white dragon—barely the size of a housecat—began to swell like an inflating balloon.
One meter…
Five meters…
Ten meters…
Within a few heartbeats—
A colossal white dragon nearly fifty meters long towered over the hellish chamber.
It threw back its head—
"ROOOOAAAR!!"
A roar that shook stone and rattled the sky.
But Ian only sighed.
"Too bad… clay is still just clay."
With a single wave of his hand, the massive dragon collapsed, shrinking back down into its small, harmless form.
"A dragon like this… still doesn't have a true soul."
Color Shift tested.
Not bad for a silver-tier wish.
Can't expect too much from a three-star reward, after all.
What mattered far more—
Were the abilities he had decided to invest in.
Life Return.
Armament Haki.
Observation Haki.
Especially—
Haki.
All three had only awakened at one star.
But in Blazing Hell, the number of prisoners was overwhelming—and every one of them carried a bounty exceeding ten million.
Ian browsed the inmate list, picked out a few he found "unpleasant," and hunted them down effortlessly.
Within a few hours—
He had harvested multiple Silver Treasure Chests.
All of which he fed into his new abilities:
[Armament Haki / Observation Haki / Life Return: ★★★★]
"Silver chests cap out at four stars."
Ian's pupils faintly reddened.
His Observation Haki spread outward like an invisible tide, mapping everything around him.
"I need higher-tier chests."
He clenched his fist.
"I need Gold Chests.
I need stronger enemies."
"The Jailer Beasts."
In Impel Down, the Jailer Beasts roamed almost every level.
Even Level Six—Infinite Hell—occasionally saw their presence.
Ordinarily, wardens didn't bother restricting their movement.
Luckily—
Ian's Observation Haki soon detected one wandering nearby.
He headed straight toward it.
Impel Down had four Jailer Beasts—five, if counting future developments.
The one Ian encountered today was—
Minozebra.
A truly bizarre creature.
It had wavy pink hair, held a massive spiked ball-mace,
and from the waist down looked entirely like a zebra.
Its abdomen, however, retained disturbingly defined human abs—
Two neat rows.
Eight blocks.
"Other than the stomach… it really is just a pink-haired upright zebra."
As Ian studied it—
The Minozebra spotted him as well.
And in the Jailer Beasts' simple minds, there was no concept of "jailer" or "prisoner."
It inhaled sharply through its nostrils—
almost sucking up the snot dangling beneath them.
That was merely its way of identifying Ian by scent.
The verdict:
Stranger.
Unknown smell.
Its previously blank eyes instantly sharpened with aggression.
It dug its hooves into the ground—
and charged.
Fast.
So fast Ian's mind barely processed it.
Before his thoughts could catch up, the beast was already in front of him.
The pinker the hair, the harder the punch.
Minozebra swung its enormous spiked mace downward with murderous force.
The air tore open with a sharp crack.
[Paper Art — Clay Form]!
Ian's body softened, deforming into pliable white clay.
He willed his form to twist—
And his torso bent into an impossible arc, narrowly avoiding the blow.
The mace missed him by a hair—
BOOM!!
The ground exploded into rubble.
A crater several meters wide opened beneath the impact.
Speed.
Power.
Both were monstrous.
After slipping past the attack, Ian countered instantly.
White clay surged from his arm, wrapping his fist—
expanding it into a giant's weapon.
Giant Clay Fist!
He drove it straight toward the Minozebra—
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