Chapter 177 FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST

A purple wall?

Little Sadie was confused for a moment, but then it hit her. She quickly turned around and saw a towering figure standing behind her. His presence alone exuded an overwhelming sense of security.

"Warden Magellan!" Little Sadie exclaimed in surprise.

"You've done well, Little Sadie. Leave the rest to me," Magellan said as he stepped forward, his eyes cold and piercing.

"Straw Hat! Who released you? Who's behind this prison break? Is it the Demon King Kai?" Magellan demanded, his voice low and threatening.

"We don't owe you any answers," Zoro replied calmly, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Magellan's eyes narrowed, a flicker of murderous intent in his gaze. "It doesn't matter who it is. None of you are leaving here alive today."

"Wherever you came from... you're going back!"

"Venom Demon: Hydra!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Magellan unleashed a torrent of venomous gas, flooding the area with toxic fumes.

"Everyone, stay back! Don't let that venom touch you!" Luffy shouted, his voice urgent.

"Don't worry, I've got this!" Usopp stepped forward, his voice brimming with confidence. This was his moment to shine.

If it were any other attack, he might've been useless, but poison? Ha! Easy.

With a thought, white mist began to swirl around Usopp, condensing into the shape of a massive tiger. The misty tiger enveloped him, its form still incomplete—Usopp hadn't fully mastered his Devil Fruit yet. But for this situation, it was more than enough.

Taking a deep breath, Usopp roared, and the misty tiger roared with him.

"Tiger's Roar!"

A shockwave erupted from the tiger's mouth, blasting the venomous gas away. The force of the roar didn't stop there—it surged toward Magellan, who raised his hand, summoning a wall of venom to block the attack.

"Boom!"

The shockwave collided with the venom wall, sending splatters of toxic liquid everywhere. The ground sizzled and corroded wherever the venom landed.

Seeing the destructive power of the venom, everyone's hearts skipped a beat. Getting hit by that would be no joke.

But Luffy and the others weren't panicking. They knew they could defend against the venom with their Haki. This fight wasn't over yet.

Magellan dispersed the venom wall, his eyes locked on the group. Without warning, he surged forward.

"Venom Road!"

A path of venom formed beneath him, and Magellan slid across it at incredible speed, closing the distance in an instant.

Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji immediately moved to intercept him, their attacks landing—but they passed straight through Magellan's liquid form.

"What?!" Sanji exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

Magellan didn't give them time to react. With a flick of his wrist, a wave of venom surged toward the three.

But Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji weren't rookies anymore. They leaped back, avoiding the venom, and regrouped, their expressions serious.

"This guy's tough," Luffy muttered, cracking his knuckles.

"His venom's a problem. We'll need to use Haki for every attack and defense. It's going to drain us fast," Zoro said, his grip tightening on his swords.

"But we don't have a choice. Robin's waiting for us," Sanji added, his eyes narrowing.

On the other side, Magellan watched them calmly, though his mind was anything but calm. The Straw Hats were stronger than he'd anticipated. Much stronger.

When they'd been brought in a few days ago, he hadn't thought much of them. Sure, CP0, Garp, and Aokiji had personally escorted them, and they'd been locked up on Levels 5 and 6—something usually reserved for the most dangerous criminals. But their bounties had been laughably low. Luffy, the highest among them, was only worth 120 million berries.

But now? Magellan was starting to think those bounties were a joke. These three were easily worth over 300 million each. Whoever set those bounties clearly had no idea what they were doing.

And then there was the fact that he, the Warden of Impel Down, was struggling to keep up with them. If this kept up, he'd be in trouble.

"Yo ho, quite the party you've got here!"

A voice cut through the tension, and Magellan's heart sank. He turned to see a young man with a smirk on his face, walking toward them. Behind him was a group of the most dangerous criminals Impel Down had ever seen.

"Crocodile, Jinbe, Catarina Devon, Sanjuan Wolf...," Magellan muttered, his eyes narrowing. But then his gaze landed on one figure in particular, and his expression darkened.

"Shiryu."

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GOOSEBUMPS. USSOP was so COOOOL .