Ian activated the Clay-Clay Fruit, turning the icy stone floor of his cell into a soft, springy bed of white clay.
He bounced on it.
He rolled across it.
His expression was so radiant you'd think he'd been infected by the "Nika Virus."
Once he'd gotten used to the fruit's newly awakened abilities…
Ian wasted no time.
"Golden system chests—here I come!"
Because this was "solitary confinement" rather than full imprisonment, he wasn't bound by sea-stone cuffs.
Not that it mattered.
Even if they had slapped sea-stone on him, Ian wouldn't have been worried.
His ability to use the Clay-Clay Fruit didn't come from himself—it came from the Ring of Magic Control.
Sea-stone restrains Devil Fruit users.
Ian?
Technically not one.
He'd tested that a long time ago.
Back when he first got his sea-stone baton from the Navy's equipment department, he'd experimentally pressed it against himself for minutes on end.
Conclusion:
Sea-stone = trash rock. Completely useless against him.
From that moment on, he'd vaguely formed a "future incarceration plan."
Now that he'd been sent to Freezing Hell, nothing here could actually restrain him.
He walked toward the bars of his cell—bars reinforced with sea-stone ore.
The moment his body touched them, they softened into white clay and sagged apart.
The great sea-stone prison of Impel Down…
couldn't even slow him down.
A gust of frigid wind swept through Freezing Hell as Ian stepped calmly out of his cell.
Next on the agenda—
Harvesting every golden chest in this floor of the prison!
The rank of system chests was tied directly to the target's strength.
And in the pirate world, a man's strength was best represented by—
his bounty.
Just as he'd predicted:
Pirates with bounties over 100 million each yielded…
Golden Treasure Chests.
Starting from his own solitary confinement zone, Ian systematically cleared out every cell nearby.
One by one, the golden chests dropped into his hands.
By the time he emptied out the entire wing…
He was holding a two-digit pile.
Fifteen golden chests.
"Acceptable," he said, though his tone suggested otherwise.
He stopped before a stretch of snow-covered forest deep inside Freezing Hell.
"But that's fine. Besides prisoners, this place also has its own wardens."
His lips curled.
"The Demon Wolves."
Before dealing with them…
Ian summoned the system interface and cracked open chest after chest.
One golden chest popped like a bubble—
and another—
and another—
Until one ability after another lit up in his system panel:
[Armament Haki / Observation Haki — ★★★★★]
[Iron Body / Paper Arts / Shave / Finger Gun — ★★★★★]
In the blink of an eye, he had burned through twelve golden chests.
He didn't know how powerful the Demon Wolves would be, so he kept three golden chests in reserve—
specifically for bringing his two remaining physique stats—Strength and Speed—up to five stars.
With preparations complete, there was only one thing left—
"Demon Wolves."
A cold red glint flashed in Ian's eyes as his Observation Haki swept through the forest like an icy wind.
"Found you."
He raised his hand and created a towering clay clone, sending it charging into the snowy grove.
The forest's residents reacted almost immediately.
Rustling.
Then—
A pack of white-furred wolves emerged from the shadows, their glowing red eyes fierce and feral.
The legendary wardens of Freezing Hell—
Army Wolves.
They weren't as massive as the beasts in Beast Hell, but their aura was far more violent.
"AWOOOO—!!"
With a bone-chilling howl, seven or eight Army Wolves sprang forward simultaneously.
Fast.
Very fast.
Almost as fast as Minotaur-Zebra on the level above.
But no matter how fast a wolf moved…
it could not outrun awakened clay.
Ian's clay clone swung an arm—
BOOM!
The massive limb exploded into seven evenly-sized chunks of clay, each reshaped into a clenched fist at the tip.
They shot forward.
"Clay Tempest!"
The wolves surged through the snow like lightning—
—and immediately got deleted.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Eight crisp impacts.
Eight wolves collapsed simultaneously, skulls dented, eyes spinning.
[Golden Treasure Chest: Army Wolf ×8]
"Golden chests, just as expected."
A small smile appeared on Ian's lips.
But—
Something moved.
A flicker of orange darted between the snow-laden trees.
In the next instant, a blur of color flashed through the air—
—and the clay clone's head was severed cleanly.
Thud.
The headless clone toppled like a felled statue.
"Did I get him?!"
The orange blur stopped, revealing its true form.
A figure with hair half-orange, half-white.
A lightning-shaped scar from forehead to right eye.
Clothing split in the same two-tone pattern.
And instead of human arms—
Two massive scissor blades.
A Revolutionary Army executive—
Inazuma.
Before he could confirm the kill—
The clone's "corpse" began making a wet, squelching sound.
Splat… splat…
The clay softened.
Before Inazuma's widening eyes, the clay reshaped itself—
the head rolling back and fusing flawlessly with the body.
The clay clone turned toward him.
Expressionless white eyes.
A slowly widening smirk.
"Hey…"
Its voice was low and mocking.
"That hurt, you know…"
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