His right arm was completely severed, and the intense pain woke the already unconscious Shiryu.
The piercing pain and the sight of his arm lying to the side made him roar out loud.
"Ugh... cough!"
Shiryu let out a wail of infinite anger and hatred, suddenly coughed up a large mouthful of blood, and with a tilt of his head, he fainted once more.
"Captain..."
Burgess carried Shiryu and leaped several times to escape Taro's attack range, shouting fearfully to Blackbeard.
From a distance, Blackbeard saw Shiryu's empty right sleeve, and his eyes were filled with shock.
Magellan also saw that Shiryu was seriously injured and unconscious. His confidence surged instantly as he launched a fierce counterattack, throwing punch after punch at Blackbeard and the others.
This man, known as the strongest in Impel Down, strolled through the Crimson Venom Demon, splashing lethal toxins all over the Sixth Level, compressing the Blackbeard Pirates' range of movement.
"Die, you scum of the sea!" Magellan roared, raising his fist once more.
Just then, the giant skeleton soldier's movement suddenly stalled, its raised arm stiffening in the air.
"Fox-Fire: Burst!"
Catarina Devon whispered with a sinister smile.
Bang, bang, bang, boom!
Magellan's body suddenly twisted within the toxic mist as a massive force rampaged inside him, finally exploding with a bang.
"Gah!"
Magellan suddenly spat out blood, his legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground. The giant skeleton soldier's attack disintegrated, turning back into Crimson Venom and quickly retracting into his body.
A sudden change occurred. Taro thought of the Fox-Fires Devon had launched at Magellan earlier, and his heart tightened.
At the time, he thought those attacks had been corroded by Magellan's venom, but now it seemed the opponent had planned this all along.
"Murunfuffu, Magellan, how is it? Are you satisfied with the gift I gave you?"
Devon's nine tails swayed back and forth, looking very proud as she laughed loudly.
"The more power you consume, the more energy the Fox-Fire absorbs. This final explosion—the taste of internal injury is wonderful, isn't it? Murunfuffu."
Before she finished, Taro leaped to Magellan's side. "Magellan, how are you?"
Magellan clutched his chest, gasping heavily and constantly coughing up blood, unable to say a single word.
Taro's heart grew heavier; it seemed Magellan was indeed as Devon said—his internal injuries were extremely severe.
On the other side, Blackbeard was not as relaxed as Devon. Breaking into Impel Down by force would lead to a battle, which was indeed within his expectations.
But for all his calculations, he hadn't expected Taro to appear here, let alone that the battle would be so difficult.
Lafitte and Shiryu paid the price of their arms to severely wound Magellan, yet Taro, the greatest threat, seemed to still have strength left.
"Captain..."
Burgess called out again in a low voice. Blackbeard followed his gaze; Shiryu was still unconscious, and the awakened ship doctor, Doc Q, was treating his wounds.
Lafitte, his face pale, clutched his bandaged severed arm.
Thinking of his next plan, Blackbeard's expression changed several times. This battle had taken too long; they couldn't keep fighting.
"Kill... kill... can't..."
Magellan gasped for a long time before barely squeezing out a few words. However, those few words had already exhausted all his strength, and blood gushed out again.
Taro was torn. If he let Blackbeard leave, he would be unwilling.
But if they continued fighting, given Magellan's injuries, he probably wouldn't last long.
While both sides were hesitating, movement came from deep within the Sixth Level once again.
Taro's heart sank instantly, while the Blackbeard Pirates were overjoyed.
A tall, muscular man with long blonde hair, wearing earmuffs and prison clothes, walked out.
"'Demon Heir' Douglas Bullet!"
Blackbeard cried out in surprise, "Zehahahaha, it's actually you! Bullet, join us, and together we..."
Bullet glanced at Blackbeard contemptuously and said dismissively, "Are you worthy?"
After saying that, he continued walking forward. Taro became extremely vigilant and stepped forward, shielding Magellan behind him.
"Hey, little Marine, don't be nervous." Bullet waved his hand dismissively and chuckled. "You are indeed strong, and I'd love to have a fight with you."
"However, it seems some interesting things are happening in the outside world, and I don't want to miss out."
Taro didn't actually know much about this legendary powerhouse, but he knew this man was one of the most dangerous individuals on the Sixth Level.
Douglas Bullet only believed in his own strength.
"My strength exists only for me to win alone!"
This was Bullet's famous quote.
He wouldn't join the Blackbeard Pirates; Taro knew this for certain.
"Magellan, I really wanted to thank you for your hospitality over the past twenty years, but seeing you like this, I'm really not interested!"
Bullet glanced at Magellan lying on the ground and laughed loudly, then looked at Taro again.
"Just you wait. When you get a bit stronger, I'll come find you for a fight!"
After saying that, Bullet leaped up and jumped out through the hole previously smashed open by San Juan Wolf.
After Bullet left, Taro's expression relaxed, but Blackbeard became tense again.
Having lurked on Whitebeard's ship for over twenty years, he naturally knew how terrifying the strength of this guy, who had once been on Roger's ship, was.
He thought they could team up to kill Taro and Magellan first, but he didn't expect Bullet to despise him. What was even more irritating was that he couldn't even turn against Bullet.
Now that Bullet had left, Blackbeard again had the urge to retreat.
"Burgess, you guys go first." Blackbeard couldn't laugh anymore and whispered to Burgess and the others.
"Dictator King" Avalo Pizarro heard this and, without a word of nonsense, stepped on the collapsed rubble and jumped toward the hole above in a few leaps.
"Mihawk Slash"
Taro drew his sword with a flick and unleashed a slash, blocking his path.
"Didn't you say we were gambling with our lives? You want to leave without anyone leaving their life behind?"
Blackbeard gritted his teeth and said, "Taro, if you want our lives, you'll have to see if you have the ability!"
"We only need to hold out a little longer, and Magellan will surely die!"
Blackbeard's words struck Taro's weak spot. In Taro's view, if the opponents wanted to run, some would always escape. Even if he killed a few of them, if Magellan died in the end, it would be a huge loss.
Unless Blackbeard gave up on obtaining the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Taro would still have a chance to encounter them again at Marineford.
Thinking of this, Taro looked at Magellan beside him and finally sighed helplessly.
As a youth from the Celestial Empire raised under the red flag, he ultimately couldn't bear to watch his comrade die before his eyes.
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