Vasco Shot never expected Shiryu of the Rain to attack so suddenly. Plus, with his hands restrained by Seastone cuffs, his movements were sluggish.
The next moment, a sharp gleam of Shiryu's blade slashed across his arm.
"AHHHH!"
A painful scream echoed through the sixth level of Impel Down.
"Shiryu, you dare attack me?!" Vasco Shot roared in fury.
"You're just a weakling. If I weren't locked up in this prison, killing someone like you would be as easy as crushing an insect."
"Then release me! Even with just one hand, I'll grind you into meat paste!"
"Hey, hey, what's all the yelling about?" A voice interrupted.
Alex smirked, standing casually in the distance. "So, you're Vasco Shot, huh? I heard you were famous back in the day. But right now, you should focus on stopping the bleeding. Once I'm done with Shiryu, I'll come have a chat with you. Try not to die from blood loss before that, alright?"
Hearing this, Shiryu's expression darkened as he turned his attention back to Alex.
"Get out of my way! Slash Wave!"
Shiryu raised Thunderstorm high and brought it down with a powerful swing.
A massive blue energy wave shot across the ground, hurtling toward Alex.
"Eight Gates Release! The Gate of Shock!"
The Shock Gate was the seventh of the Eight Gates, the final threshold before the ultimate Dead Gate.
As Alex activated it, his body emitted intense blue steam—an effect of his sweat instantly vaporizing from his skyrocketing body temperature.
At this moment, his speed reached its absolute peak.
To him, Shiryu's Slash Wave was nothing more than a slow-moving ripple.
Alex dodged with a casual step to the side.
"BOOM!"
The attack struck the massive stone wall behind him, carving a deep fissure straight through it.
"Alright, Shiryu, it's my turn now. The game is over. Daytime Tiger!"
Alex roared, and the blue steam around him surged.
In the blink of an eye, he compressed the surrounding air and released it in a devastating blast—a colossal shockwave shaped like a tiger's head.
By the time Shiryu blinked, the air-compressed tiger was already in his face.
Before he could react, Alex's fist struck him squarely.
"BOOM!"
Shiryu was sent flying like a ragdoll, his body crashing into the ground.
The sheer force of the impact sent shockwaves in all directions.
Even Domino, who had been watching from a distance, was forced back several steps. Blood trickled from the corner of her lips—just the aftershock of Alex's attack had been enough to injure her!
At that moment, Alex received two system notifications.
Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have defeated an enemy and earned 40,000 Reputation Points.
Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have defeated an enemy and earned 30,000 Reputation Points.
Two messages in a row?
Did I just get a "Buy One, Get One Free" deal?
The first notification was obviously for defeating Shiryu, but who was the second one for?
He had earned 50,000 Reputation Points for defeating Magellan earlier, and now another 70,000 had been added. Alex had suddenly become a "hundred-thousandaire" in points.
But Domino's strength was nowhere near strong enough to warrant such a reward.
While Alex was still puzzled, a fresh pool of blood spread from one of the nearby cells.
Glancing over, he saw that the source was Vasco Shot—the same pirate Shiryu had cut down earlier.
The man lay motionless in his cell, his lifeless eyes frozen in shock and unwillingness.
Vasco Shot had never imagined that, after a lifetime of infamy, he would meet his end like this.
After Shiryu severed his arm, his condition deteriorated rapidly.
Then, when Alex's Daytime Tiger unleashed its shockwave, it finished the job—rupturing his internal organs and killing him on the spot.
So even these imprisoned criminals count toward Reputation rewards?
Alex's eyes gleamed.
The sixth level of Impel Down held some of the most notorious pirates in history.
It looked like today was going to be a very profitable day.
However, he knew the risks of opening the Eight Gates. The strain was severe—activating the Eighth Gate meant certain death without extreme healing abilities.
That was why he had only opened the seventh.
Even so, once the effect wore off, the pain would be excruciating.
Before that happened, he needed to act fast.
Approaching Domino, he noticed the surrounding prisoners stirring.
The sheer might Alex had just displayed had shaken them to their core.
And now, many of them saw him as their one and only chance to escape.
Years ago, Golden Lion Shiki had escaped from here.
Now, they believed they could do the same—with Alex leading them.
A pirate wearing a long white and brown fur coat, a light purple necklace, and feline-like eyes pounded on his cell door.
"I'm Avalo Pizarro!" he declared. "Set me free, and I'll become your strongest crewmember!"