Ch. 25- The Scaffold
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Ken, Marine K9 Unit © Me
When we last Luffy and Blizzard, our heroes continue their charge to Ace's rescue. Whitebeard orders his men to go and back them up, and not only do they follow those orders, but Crocodile and Mr. 1 come to their aid, as well! Inazuma, who has recovered from Magellan's poison, creates a bridge to the scaffold so that Luffy and Blizzard can reach Ace. Just when they are about to, however, Garp suddenly gets in the way.
"It's Garp the Hero!" the pirates cried.
KRAK! KRAKK! As Garp stood on the bridge, it began to crumble.
"Oh, no!" said Inazuma. "I was afraid of this! The bridge was only meant to handle Luffy and Blizzard's weight, and with Garp there, the bridge can support all of them! It's going to fall!"
Akainu sneered at Luffy and Blizzard on the bridge.
"Straw Hat Boy! White Wolf Boy!" Ivankov called. "DO SOMETHING!"
Up on the bridge, Garp and Luffy are locked in confrontation.
"I've been hunting and fighting pirates since long before even your mother and father were born!" Garp exclaimed. "So, if you want to cross this bridge, YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST, STRAW HAT LUFFY! IT'S THE PATH THAT YOU AND THAT BROTHER OF YOURS HAVE CHOSEN!"
"Gramps…!" Ace muttered.
As Luffy continued to charge on, he remembered the days of his childhood when Garp use to "train" him, how Garp would hit him whenever he so much as said the word "pirate". However, he also remembered the times when he got so tired, Garp would carry him back to the village and get him something to eat for his efforts.
Even if Garp did scare Luffy, and even if his mother absolutely hated him…Luffy could never bring himself to kill his grandfather, no matter what.
"I can't do that, Grandpa!" Luffy cried. "Please, I'm begging you, just get outta the way!"
"KILL ME OR ACE WILL DIE!" Garp shouted.
"NO!" Luffy shouted.
"There will be many things in life that you won't want to do, Luffy!" Garp yelled. "I'll show you no mercy! Luffy, you are hereby branded as an enemy of the state!"
With that, Garp reeled back his fist, preparing to strike Luffy with a Haki-imbued punch. Sengoku watched in silence. Maybe now, Garp will truly prove his worth as a man of justice.
"Gear…SECOND!"
VOOM! FSSSSSS! Luffy pumped his blood through his legs, and his sweat began to evaporate from his body. WROING! Luffy stretched his arm back, preparing to deliver a powerful Gum-Gum Bullet attack, just as Garp was about to bring his fist down upon him.
However, the old man began to remember the days Luffy and Ace were children, and the times they would eat together, the times they would fight together…even the times when they would laugh together.
"Even after all I've seen and done…I still don't wanna die!"
Garp froze, just when he was about to strike Luffy, and closed his eyes.
"GARP!" Sengoku barked. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
I…just can't do it! thought Garp.
Garp couldn't…but Luffy could.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
WHAM! With that roar, Luffy's fist connected with Garp's jaw, much to the shock of the Marines. The resulting punch caused Garp to fall of the bridge, and he fell, headfirst, into the ground below. BOOM!
"Vice-Admiral Garp?!" Onigumo cried.
It is revealed that Garp's upper body is now planted into the ground with his feet sticking out.
TMP! TMP! TMP! Luffy and Blizzard leaped off the crumbling bridge, heading for the scaffold, but the latter could not help but watch Garp from above.
Just like me and Ken, he thought. Luffy and Garp don't want to be enemies, either…but…they had no choice. These are the lives that they've chosen to live…but they're both sad.
"So, you're a grandfather first and a Marine second, eh, Garp?" questioned Sengoku.
FWASH! Kizaru materialized after being struck by Whitebeard's glaive. ZOW! He hit Whitebeard in the chest with his laser.
"POPS!" the Whitebeard Pirates cried.
SHUNK! Stefan is stabbed in the shoulder by Aokiji's ice sword.
"Stefan has been hit, too!" cried another pirate.
WHUP! Luffy and Blizzard jumped off the last bit of bridge and finally landed on the scaffold. Huff! Huff! Luffy panted before he turned to Ace and gave him a big, pearly grin.
"Ace…" he said. "I'm here!"
WHAP! He wrapped his arms around Ace, pulling him into a tight hug.
"I made it, Ace!" he said, trying to hold back tears. "I made it!"
"Uh, Lu?" Ace asked. "Listen, little bro. I love a hug as much as the next guy, but I think you're forgetting something!"
"Huh?" Luffy muttered. "Oh, right!"
Flashback
"Here," Hancock said as she held the key in her hand. "Take this with you. It's the key to your brother's shackles."
Flashback end
"I've got the key, Ace!" Luffy said as he pulled away from his brother and reached into his pocket, "Hang on!"
"Hurry, Luffy!" Ace said.
Down below, the Marines are gasping.
"Look!" cried one. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku's about to his Devil Fruit power!"
"No way!" said another. "I heard he ate a Devil Fruit, but I've never seen him use one, before!"
Suddenly, Luffy, Ace, and Blizzard felt a shadow looming over them. Looking up, they saw that Sengoku had transformed into a giant golden Daibutsu. He shined so brightly, the whole of Marineford was bathed in a golden light, at least for the moment.
"Halt!" Sengoku boomed. "Do you really think that I'm just going to stand here and let you three escape?!"
"Sengoku!" Ace cried.
What the hell…?! Blizzard thought. I've never seen a Zoan Devil Fruit like that, before!
"Luffy! Hurry up and unlock my cuffs!" Ace said.
Luffy had finally gotten the key out.
"Got it!" he said. "Now I just have to put this in…and-"
VEEN! TINK! A beam of light flashed and struck the key, causing it to break in half.
"No!" Luffy cried. "The key!"
Damn you, Kizaru! Blizzard thought.
Kizaru snickered as he put his hand back in his pocket.
"TAKE AIM!" ordered Vice-Admiral Strawberry.
"Yes, sir!"
KA-CHAK! The Marines raised their bazookas and cannons, preparing to fire at the D. Brothers.
"Luffy, what happened?!" Ace asked.
"The key broke!" Luffy said.
Maybe I can try to bite the cuffs off! Blizzard thought.
"Unh…"
Luffy, Ace, and Blizzard looked down and saw that one of executioners is beginning to wake up. Upon getting up to his knees, it is revealed that it is Mr. 3 in disguise!
"Ugh…!" Mr. 3 groaned. "W-what happened? Did I just faint, all of a sudden?"
Mr. 3?! Blizzard thought.
"What are you doing here?!" Luffy asked.
"I'll execute all of you, myself, here and now!" Sengoku shouted as he raised his giant fist.
LUFFY! DO SOMETHING! Blizzard shouted in thought.
"Quick, Three!" Luffy said. "Put up a wax wall to protect Blizzard and Ace!"
"AAAAAH!" Mr. 3 screamed, looking at Sengoku. "WHAT IS THAT THING?!"
"STOP SCREAMING AND DO WHAT I TOLD YOU, ALREADY!" Luffy snapped.
"Y-yes! All right!" Mr. 3 said.
"Gear…THIRD! Bone BALLOON!"
CHOMP! FWOOF! Luffy bit down on his thumb and blew air into his bones.
"Gum GUUUUUM…"
"Candle WALL!"
GLUP! KREK! Mr. 3 produced a wall of wax, surrounding himself, Ace, and Blizzard in it.
"GIANT BALLOON!"
FWOOMP! Luffy's belly grew at least 20 times its normal size. WHAM! Sengoku punched Luffy in his oversized stomach, and it was so powerfully, it caused him cough up blood, despite him being a rubber-man.
"His body grew!" Sengoku said.
Luffy couldn't hold the air in much longer. FSSHHHH! The air came blowing out of his mouth, causing his body to deflate. That's not all. The force of the punch was so strong, it cause the scaffold to start breaking apart.
"What's happening up there?!"
"Ace! He's not dead, yet!"
"They're falling!"
It is revealed that that the Marines are right. Ace, Mr. 3, Blizzard, and a shrunken Luffy are falling from the shattered scaffold.
"Straw Hat!" Mr. 3 called. "I'll make a key out of wax, right now, and set him free!"
"Do it!" Luffy shouted.
GLOOP! Mr. 3 formed a key made of wax in his hand.
"Cap'n Buggy! Look! It's Brother 3! He's on the execution platform, too!"
"BUT HOW?!" Buggy questioned.
"FIRE!" Strawberry ordered. "DESTROY THEM, ALONG WITH THE SCAFFOLD!"
BOOM! BOOM! The Marines fired their cannons and bazookas at Ace, Luffy, Blizzard, and Mr. 3.
"Straw Hat," said Mr. 3. "If I told you that I only came here to mourn the loss of my late comrade and avenge him…would you laugh at me?!"
Luffy's eyes widened, realizing that Mr. 3 was talking about Bon Clay.
"Of course I wouldn't!" he answered.
And neither would I! Blizzard thought.
"Then go and save your brother, Straw Hat!" Mr. 3 said.
"Got it!" Luffy said as he grabbed the key. He "swam" through the air in an effort to reach for Ace.
Sengoku, who had returned to his human form, gasped.
"Oh, no!" he cried as he jumped off the scaffold.
Luffy grabbed onto his brother's hands, making sure to avoid touching the sea prism stone shackles. CHINK! He inserted the key into the hole.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! KABOOM! The shots from the Marines' cannons and bazookas hit, causing an explosion.
"They hit!" shouted a Marine.
"Fire Fist is powerless, right! There's no way that he could've survived!" said another.
A pause, but then, the Marines spotted something.
"Look! In the cloud of smoke!"
FWOOSH! Something appeared in the cloud of smoke that had occurred from the explosion. It's…a tunnel of fire in the form of Whitebeard's maid.
Inside, Luffy has grown back to normal size, and he, Blizzard, and Mr. 3 are completely unharmed. That's not all…
"You haven't changed a bit…Luffy."
Luffy gave a big grin and a laugh, and Blizzard smiled, as well.
I knew it! he thought. I KNEW IT!
The pirates are breaking out into cheers.
"You never do a thing I tell you to do…and always end up getting your rubber ass in big trouble!"
Inside the tunnel, it is revealed that Ace is now free of his shackles, and he is holding onto Luffy, who is holding onto Blizzard, who has his teeth clamped on Mr. 3, who is unconscious, again.
The pirates' cheer became even louder.
"YES!"
"ACE IS FREE!"
"WAY TO GO, ACE'S BROTHER!"
Whitebeard smiled and chuckled in his throat, happy to see that his son is free, but the one who is the happiest of all them…is Luffy, who has tears of joy in his eyes.
"ACE~!"
ARROOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Blizzard howled, accidentally letting go of Mr. 3 as he did.
TO BE CONTINUED…
I'M ON FIRE!
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