Super Card System
Chapter 736: Inside the Heavenly Prison

Two days later, on the official road leading to Kyoto, a carriage creaked along as it moved forward.

The animals pulling the carriage were two round-looking creatures. These rotund beings had large, dark nostrils on their faces, somewhat resembling pigs. Strangely, they each had only one ear, which grew right on top of their heads.

These were “One-Eared Boars,” rare beasts in Wano Country. Among the commoners, they were also considered a type of “yokai” or monster. However, because they were relatively easy to tame, they were used as beasts of burden to pull carriages.

Marco, dressed as a samurai with a straw hat, sat on the left side of the carriage, holding the reins. Ian, similarly attired, sat on the right, his hands behind his head, leaning against the carriage and dozing off, his straw hat covering his face.

Inside the carriage sat Bonney, who had transformed into a little girl. Her hair was dyed black, and she wore Princess Naya’s clothes. The three of them now looked like a daughter of a rural noble family traveling with two samurai guards.

At least along the way, none of the passersby on the official road suspected them in the slightest. Some commoners even saw Ian and Marco’s samurai attire and made way for them, allowing them to pass first.

As they gradually approached Kyoto, the surrounding scenery became more bustling. The sleeping Ian was awakened by the noisy crowd, stretching lazily and sitting up straight.

Kyoto of Wano Country had a typical spring island climate, very pleasant. Cherry blossoms were planted everywhere along the roadsides, and it was the blooming season. A slight breeze sent pink petals fluttering throughout the city, making it extraordinarily beautiful.

The city’s streets were crowded with people, mostly men. Women were rarely seen. Besides commoners, the most common sight was samurai dressed in wooden clogs with swords at their waists.

Their carriage was stopped at the city gate; carriages were not allowed into the city. So the three had to enter on foot. Bonney, transformed into a little girl, found it difficult to walk, so Ian simply let her sit on his shoulders. Seeing the city’s beautiful scenery, Bonney nearly exclaimed in delight. Ian reminded her several times, and finally, he had no choice but to buy various Wano Country snacks from street vendors to keep her mouth occupied.

Hidakira had not only provided them with disguises but also gave them a good amount of Wano Country currency to use.

Kyoto was a big city with a population of over a million. If they hadn’t memorized the map that Hidakira had given them, the city’s streets might have left the three of them dizzy.

“Turn left up ahead!” Ian and Marco lowered their straw hats, using the map to navigate the streets while checking the direction indicated by Ace’s Vivre Card. After spending some time, they finally found the location of the Heavenly Prison.

But upon arriving, they had to stop because they found that the Heavenly Prison was guarded by Wano Country’s troops.

Having troops guarding it was only natural. However, after carefully observing from a street corner, they noticed that the guarding force seemed… not as strong as they had expected!

“Strange, isn’t this supposed to be a prison for high-security criminals?” Marco whispered in doubt. “But there’s just this few guards? Something doesn’t feel right…”

“Could it be lax on the outside but tight on the inside?” Bonney speculated, munching on a sakura mochi.

“Possible!” Marco nodded, looking at Ian. “What should we do? Force our way in?”

Ian’s presence was their biggest confidence booster. Both Marco and Bonney knew that as long as Ian was there, no matter how many people were in Wano Country’s Heavenly Prison, they wouldn’t be a match.

However, before coming, Hidakira had warned them to try not to cause too much commotion when rescuing people. Kyoto was the core of Wano Country, with tens of thousands of samurai in the city. If the disturbance was too big, these samurai could become their enemies.

Moreover, among these samurai, many were at the level of “sword heroes.” Even if Ian and Marco could fly, after rescuing their friends, each of them would have to carry at least two people. Their speed would definitely slow down. At that time, hundreds or thousands of sword slashes coming at them in the air wouldn’t be pleasant…

So Ian thought for a moment. They had to break in; otherwise, it wouldn’t be a prison break. But they could wait a bit and choose to infiltrate at night.

After all, when they arrived in Kyoto, it was already afternoon. It wouldn’t be long before nightfall. So the three of them found an inn near the Heavenly Prison to stay temporarily.

They initially planned to find an inn with higher floors, choosing upper rooms to observe the Heavenly Prison from a vantage point. However, during their search, they discovered that buildings in Wano Country were generally low, with none exceeding three stories!

There were tall buildings, but they were either shrines or torii gates, and none were near the Heavenly Prison. The tallest building in the city was the distant Tenshukaku, which was naturally the residence of the shogun of Wano Country…

With no other options, Ian and his companions settled for a nearby inn.

As night gradually fell, the streets of Kyoto began to quiet down. The long-standing isolationist policy meant that Wano Country didn’t have electricity. At night, they mainly used candles for lighting, so many commoners rested early and went to bed as soon as night fell.

Of course, there were places for nightlife, like various taverns and pubs. Noisy sounds often drifted over, with samurai and ronin mingling, drinking heavily and stumbling about.

A huge full moon rose, illuminating Kyoto’s night sky. After jumping onto the rooftops, Ian and his companions realized that tonight was a full moon night.

This suddenly reminded Ian of Dorony. That big guy would always hide in his room early whenever there was a full moon night…

“I wonder if they’ve reached Zou yet…”

Bonney returned to her original size. All three of them were agile, leaping across the rooftops of Kyoto’s houses, and soon arrived near the Heavenly Prison.

Perhaps due to their biological clocks, the guards of the Heavenly Prison were yawning incessantly.

Ian acted first. The guards at the entrance of the Heavenly Prison didn’t even see his shadow before feeling a strong force at the back of their heads, and they were softly knocked out.

After dealing with the guards at the gate, the three of them jumped over the walls of the Heavenly Prison and rushed in the direction indicated by the Vivre Card.

Along the way, they encountered two patrol teams, but Ian and Marco easily knocked them out.

Although they hadn’t alerted anyone yet, they knew they didn’t have much time. The unconscious guards would be discovered soon.

However, the whole operation was going so smoothly that Ian found it hard to believe. They quickly penetrated deep into the Heavenly Prison and found the entrance to the underground cells.

Naturally, the prison was built underground. At the entrance was a staircase leading downward. The three of them looked around and then entered one after another.

The staircase was unexpectedly long, and what surprised them the most was that at the end of the sloping staircase, a huge spider web blocked the exit.

“What the heck is this?” Ian was stunned for a moment, then reached out and tore the spider web apart with a few moves.

Because of the spider web at the exit, Ian wondered if they had come to the wrong place. This underground prison seemed like it hadn’t been visited for a long time; otherwise, why would there be cobwebs?

However, when the three of them entered the prison corridor, they realized that wasn’t the case at all.

On both sides of the corridor were rows of cells. Some cells were empty, while others held prisoners. The puzzling thing was that the empty cells were just empty rooms with open entrances, no bars, and no prison doors. All the cells that held prisoners were the same; the bars and prison doors were replaced by huge spider webs!

It was as if all the people here were trapped by these spider webs…

As soon as Ian and his companions rushed in, they were noticed by the prisoners in the cells. They stood up in surprise, looking at the three of them. But strangely, none of them dared to approach the spider webs.

Seeing the state of these prisoners, even if Ian was slow, he understood that there was something strange about these spider webs. The one they had casually torn down earlier was probably the same.

But at this point, they couldn’t worry about that. The three of them started running towards the depths of the prison, paying attention to the prisoners in the surrounding cells as they ran.

Meanwhile, above them, a large number of guards in the Heavenly Prison were also being alerted. In fact, the spider web that Ian had torn down was a warning device. It was made from the web of a juvenile “Earth Spider,” a rare beast in Wano Country. Although the web of the juvenile Earth Spider wasn’t strong, it had a characteristic: when its web was damaged, the spider would become restless.

People who entered the prison without permission and didn’t understand this warning device would most likely tear down the spider web. At this time, the juvenile Earth Spider would send out an alert, letting the guards know someone had intruded.

So now, a large number of guards were gathering above…

Ian and his companions had now reached the end of the prison and finally found Ace and the others who were imprisoned.

Ace, Fujitora, and Izo were all imprisoned together, saving Ian and the others from searching individually.

But…

But when they found the three, they were shocked to see them… playing cards!?

So much so that when Ian and Marco rushed to the cell door and saw this scene, they almost stumbled and fell at the cell door!

What the heck! Are you kidding me!? We went through all this trouble to rescue you three, and you’re playing cards!?

If there were one more person imprisoned with you, would you be planning to play mahjong!?

So, the rescuers and the rescued just stared at each other through a spider web.

Then… Ace, whose face was already covered with paper slips, greeted Ian while slamming down four cards. “Yo, Ian, you’re here?”

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