"One step away from six stars!"
"Second Jailer Beast, come into my hands!"
A sharp red light flashed in Ian's eyes as he unfolded his Observation Haki. Sounds from every corner were snatched and catalogued by his heightened senses. At that moment he detected an unusually powerful presence approaching — a presence even stronger than the Minotaur Zebra's!
"Chief?"
Ian used Soru to close the distance in an instant and saw Magellan walking slowly toward them.
"Ah, Ian—"
As Magellan greeted him, his face contorted oddly; a sudden cramp seized his stomach.
"What were you doing just now?"
"Managing the wardens," Ian answered calmly. "Blue gorillas, sphinxes, and the Jailer Beasts — they're not the brightest. Managing them takes a lot of energy."
"I kno—oow~"
Magellan nodded, about to reply, but on the final syllable his tone shot up and he crossed his legs. Ian noticed pale purple poison mist curling from the corner of the warden's mouth.
"Chief."
Ian instinctively took a step back to avoid the drifting toxic fumes.
"You… don't have a habit of soiling the floor, do you?
That's natural for animals, but still, you should see a doctor."
"Haha!" Magellan forced a laugh, speaking deliberately.
"Manage the wardens, yes. But don't make too much noise!
Absolutely do not become… Shiryu!"
With that, Magellan clamped his backside and bolted away. Ian could have sworn purple smoke puffed from behind Magellan's departing butt.
"Absolutely don't become Shiryu?" Ian watched the chief's back, shook his head. "Who'd want to be a walking disaster?"
Ian let Magellan's warning slide. His Observation Haki hadn't picked up the second Jailer Beast's aura — no matter. Impel Down was full of Transponder Snails.
At the surveillance room of Blazing Hell, Ian tapped the massive monitoring system and locked onto the location of the second Jailer Beast in an instant.
Platinum Chest hunt, commence...
Over the following days, Ian relentlessly sought out Jailer Beasts to spar and hone himself. With help from a few of them, he trained Armament Haki in the mornings, Observation Haki in the afternoons, and practiced Seiken Return over every meal. Those three abilities, now at four-star levels, he mastered thoroughly.
He could now wield dual-Haki fluidly in combat, never wasting a trace; his endurance in battle soared.
Beyond personal growth, Ian's greatest gains were the System Chests provided by the four Jailer Beasts. Leaving aside the Minotaur Zebra's chest, the Minotaur Cow, Minotaur Koala, and Minotaur Rhino yielded three Platinum Chests and three Gold Chests in total.
Ian hadn't opened the three Platinum Chests yet. He burned through the three Gold Chests immediately: two of them went into Stamina, one into Speed.
Those stats became:
[Stamina: ★★★★★]
[Speed: ★★★★☆]
By the time Ian had wholly adapted to his suddenly beefed-up Physique and the upgraded Clay-Clay Fruit, Shiryu's solitary confinement ended and he returned from Freezing Hell.
In the chief's office of Blazing Hell, Impel Down's heavy-hitters had gathered at Magellan's summons. The chief hoped to smooth things over between Ian and Shiryu — put the past behind them and work together to run the prison.
BAM!
The office doors were pushed open. Shiryu stepped in, a chill clinging to him like frost. Magellan's look sent Ian forward; he greeted the deputy with a bright smile.
"Deputy Warden."
Ian approached Shiryu, beaming. "The chief wants us to lay aside our differences, but I think—"
Before Ian could finish, he suddenly swung his right fist; all his strength condensed into the blow and slammed into Shiryu's broad face. Pitch-black Armament Haki cloaked Ian's fist, adding brutal force.
Shiryu hadn't expected Ian to attack in front of Magellan. Caught off guard, he took a heavy hit to the left cheek — a proper workplace—face-crushing punch!
Ian's Haki-laced fist smashed into Shiryu's jaw. The deputy's mandible convulsed horribly. Thick blood and a few white teeth arced through the air across Magellan's office.
Shiryu flew backward on the impact and smashed into the office wall.
Silence fell, heavy as a tomb.
"An eye for an eye! Blood for blood! That's my style!"
Ian shook his hand, glanced at the stunned Magellan, and called out boldly: "Chief, give me a Freezing Hell ticket!"
"Send Ian to Freezing Hell!"
Magellan, quick as any chief, reacted fast. "We mustn't let them clash again in public!"
But the words could not outrun the fury rising in Shiryu's mind.
"Kore pàsô ru! (You bastard!)" he roared — a furious cry leaking through his bruised lips.
Shiryu hauled himself up from the wrecked floor. He'd only just ended his stretch in Freezing Hell and hadn't even retrieved his blade; still, without his sword, he was a terrifying swordsman. Bare-handed, he surged at Ian, right fist raised and black with Armament Haki.
"Die, brat!"
In a flash Shiryu covered the ground with lightning speed. Even Magellan registered the move late. But Ian, who had anticipated a counterattack, clearly mapped Shiryu's line of advance.
He swung his right fist. White clay wrapped along the surface of his hand and then was bound in heavy Armament Haki.
Armored Giant Fist!
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