Chapter 4: Magellan

At this moment, a prison guard holding a fork passed by the jail entrance, and suddenly a burst of cursing came from inside.

"Hey, you bastards, you dare lock this grandpa up here! Believe it or not, I'll twist your head off and kick it like a ball!" Man Niu's voice was coarse and grating, echoing in the cramped cell.

"What's with the noise, shut it!" The prison guard frowned, looking quite displeased. He strode to the cell door and glared viciously at Man Niu. "Dare to act up again, watch me cut out your tongue!"

Man Niu didn't fear him in the slightest, instead cursing even more fiercely. "Hah, you think you're something? I'm a big pirate with a bounty of ninety million! A mere prison guard, you're fit to swagger before me?!"

The prison guard was enraged, raising the fork in his right hand and grabbing the iron bars of the cell door. "You ignorant piece of trash, I'll make you have a taste of—"

Before his voice fell, a cold light suddenly stabbed out from the darkness, swift as lightning straight for the prison guard's throat. A sharp long sword pierced through his neck in an instant, blood spurting out like a fountain.

"Mmph ah." The prison guard let out a short miserable cry, hands clawing wildly at the wound on his neck, yet unable to stop life rapidly fading.

A moment later, he collapsed stiffly on the ground, utterly silent.

"A loose tongue can get you killed." Accompanied by a cold voice, Orochimaru walked out, still gripping that blood-stained long sword.

Then Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile. His body suddenly elongated, like an agile snake, and he slipped out through the gap between the two bars just like that.

Then Orochimaru lowered his head to look at the prison guard's corpse beneath his feet, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes.

Next second, countless white snakes emerged from his body, pouring down like a waterfall, covering the prison guard's corpse.

"Hiss hiss." A hair-raising sound rang out; those white snakes actually began frantically tearing at the corpse, stripping away flesh bit by bit, exposing ghastly white bones.

The prisoners' faces turned ashen, several wanting to vomit; even a villain like Man Niu couldn't help sucking in a cold breath.

Soon, the prison guard's corpse was gnawed clean, leaving only a pile of ghastly white bones and clothing.

The crowd hadn't yet recovered their senses when they saw Orochimaru form hand seals with both hands.

With a bang, white smoke rose up, enveloping Orochimaru's figure. When the mist dispersed, a prison guard appeared before everyone's eyes.

Orochimaru, transformed into the likeness of a prison guard, stood coldly outside the cell. He bent down, picked up the keys and clothes on the ground, and casually tossed them into the cell.

"Since we're breaking out, might as well make a bigger commotion." He spoke, tone flat yet carrying a hint of wickedness.

The prisoners in the cell stared blankly at this scene, shocked speechless. That mysterious person just now had actually turned into a prison guard in the blink of an eye! Man Niu widened his eyes, muttering, "Maybe... we really have a chance to successfully escape."

The other prisoners also looked at each other in dismay, eyes flashing with intertwined hope and unease.

They seemed to still not dare believe that this person of unknown origin could really lead them to escape this hellish jail.

Just at this moment, a sudden huge noise came from above, the entire ceiling seeming to tremble, countless dust falling down.

Immediately after, a piercing alarm instantly resounded through the entire floor, the shrill sound making prisoners look at each other in dismay.

"This is an emergency summons for prison guards," an old prisoner said gravely. "Looks like something big happened."

The other prisoners also showed unease, whispering and discussing among themselves.

"The last time the alarm sounded was when 'that incident' happened." A prisoner lowered his voice, expression horrified. "Could someone be attempting a jailbreak?"

Yet Orochimaru's expression remained normal, not affected in the slightest:

"This is rather a good opportunity; all prison guards are concentrated and attention dispersed, which instead favors our plan more."

Man Niu froze for a moment, then nodded in understanding.

"Understood, Boss." He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "I'll throw the whole prison into chaos." 【Triggered Sub-mission】

【Task: Escaping Prisoners】

【Requirement: Release Impel Down's prisoners, bring away as many as possible, pass through the Gate of Justice.】

【Mission Reward: 10 points per prisoner】

"Good," Orochimaru said softly. "Then I'll go see what exactly caused this commotion."

Following the alarm's sound, Orochimaru arrived at the entrance leading to Level 4.

At this time, a large batch of prison guards had already assembled outside the door, while intense fighting sounds continuously came from behind the door; clearly some riot was occurring there.

At the very front of the prison guard formation, a man holding a double-edged broadsword, tall of stature, was particularly eye-catching. He had a pair of extremely prominent fleshy eyebrows, like two fat caterpillars perched on his brow ridge. His square face had heavy jowls, a pair of small eyes gleaming with craftiness and sinisterness.

Just then, a prison guard stepped out from the formation and said respectfully to Hannibal: "Vice Warden, do we need to go up and support? The movement inside seems to be getting bigger."

Hearing his subordinate's inquiry, Hannibal instead revealed a lecherous smile.

He rubbed his hands, eyes flashing with greedy light, muttering softly: "Hehehe, if that guy Magellan gets beaten, when the higher-ups blame down, I'll finally get to be Warden! Then I can do whatever I want, hehehe."

Hannibal's sinister muttering wasn't loud, but the surrounding prison guards heard it clearly.

Sensing the surrounding prison guards' astonished suspicious gazes, Hannibal only then belatedly reacted. He embarrassedly scratched his head, dryly laughed twice, trying to cover his slip: "Aiya, I accidentally spoke my inner thoughts just now."

Orochimaru stood in the crowd expressionlessly watching Hannibal's comical appearance, a strange feeling rising in his heart; what kind of person could directly speak out the desires in his heart, and at a time like this...

However, the other party's ugly display of scheming for private gain made Orochimaru inexplicably think of another person — Danzo, who always prioritized his own interests no matter when.

"Hehe... such despicable people exist in any world."

Just then, the fighting sounds behind the door abruptly stopped, and for a moment the surroundings fell into an eerie silence, only the sound of door hinges turning.

Then heavy footsteps rang out, that iron door slowly opened, an incomparably tall figure appearing before everyone's eyes.

The instant he saw the other party, Orochimaru froze; that massive body of his made even Hannibal, who stood a full three meters tall, look like a child beside him, completely overshadowed by that burly frame.

What made his hair stand on end even more were the pair of giant bat wings on Magellan's back and the pointed horns atop his head, making him look like a demon.

"So this is Impel Down's Warden? A real monster!" Orochimaru frowned at this moment; since exchanging blows with Hanzo, he had never felt such a deadly aura again.

"Everyone listen up." Magellan spoke, voice deep and powerful. "The riot just now has been quelled; the prisoner has been subdued by me. However, the prison's security level must be raised again; we must prevent prisoners from escaping again."

"Starting now, every prison guard must heighten vigilance, strengthen patrols; discover any suspicious situation, report to me immediately." Magellan issued orders, tone brooking no refusal.

Then Magellan strode down the steps, heading toward the main gate; and when he passed by Orochimaru, a powerful oppressive feeling rushed over.

Magellan's tall body was like a moving mountain peak; every step stirred a breeze, his body exuding a suffocating oppressive feeling; such a physique, if he fought, would absolutely be no small matter.

Just then, Magellan suddenly stopped, slowly lowered his head, gaze like a torch, staring straight into Orochimaru's eyes.

Orochimaru instantly tensed every muscle in his body, a chill crawling up his spine to the back of his neck; on the surface he didn't change expression, but his fingers had already tensed, ready to strike at any moment.

"Could I have been seen through?" A trace of apprehension flashed in Orochimaru's heart, fine beads of sweat seeping on his forehead. He knew this monster-like Warden was no ordinary character; moreover, everyone here was the other's people; if his identity was exposed, fortune would be slim and misfortune great.

(Chapter End)