Chapter 12: Battle of Pluton I
May 14, 801 WG
Once clear of the coast, and out of sight of Fujitora's blockading Marines, the Polar Tang resurfaced. Laboon surfaced nearby, having spotted the submarine, but Thousand Sunny wasn't there yet. Not a surprise. Law's submarine was faster under the water than any ship on the surface. Also, he had had a much easier time passing the blockade. Luffy and his crew would have to run gauntlet of the Marine battleships and hope Fujitora wouldn't drag them out of the sky if they tried to fly over it.
Still Law could barely keep from kneading his new sword's sheath in worry as he leaned against the wall on the outer deck while he waited for his brother appear. He did not have much confidence in his success if this wound up a solo operation. The Admiral had seemed agreeable to Lance's proposal and he had pulled a similar stunt in Dressrosa. However, Law understood politics enough to know that that Dressrosa stunt may have cost him any leeway here.
Several minutes passed with Law and his crew watching the horizon anxiously for any sign of their partners. Law had always believed the Straw Hats, and particularly, his brother, were miracle workers, able to pull off the impossible. But Luffy had never been this weak before. Even coming out of Impel Down when he had been moving by the grace of a couple of adrenaline shots, he hadn't been this weak. Hell, he still had his devil fruit and his physical strength then even if he had been on the verge of keeling over. Still he had his crew and none of them were slouches. Law also had his capable crew and both ships were better prepared, unlike when they faced down Kaido.
He let out a sigh when Thousand Sunny finally sailed up. Laboon sang in happiness at seeing his friends and Law let himself smile. The ship wasn't the worse for wear despite the number of cannons they had to face, they probably flew over the line.
"So, he let you pass," called out Law as the ship came alongside.
"Hard to say," replied Luffy. "He looked like he wasn't going to but held back at the last second."
"Well you're here, so there's that miracle. We need to get moving," said Law. He gestured toward Laboon. "Tell the whale the plan and that he should probably stay below until we reach Pluton. The longer we wait to spring the surprise the better.
Brook began talking to Laboon as both ships began to sail.
"We should stay alert but try to relax until we see the ship," said Law. "We'll need all our energy then." He quickly added, remembering how the Straw Hats generally ran, "Just don't relax too hard!"
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Several hours passed before they saw the shadow of the great ship and it was another hour before they were close enough to see the escorting battleships and that's when they all could appreciate its ridiculous size.
"Ow! You moved that with just dozen or so people?! That's super outrageous!" yelled Franky. The rest of the crew gasped or shouted their own remarks, expressing their shock and horror at the size of the behemoth.
"Yeah, well it helped to have a wind user on your side," replied Lance. "I think I forgot just how stupidly big that thing was."
Once they peeled their eyes off Pluton's ridiculous size, they realized they had another problem. There were fifteen battleships escorting the behemoth.
Pirate ships ran the gauntlet of ship designs ranging from large powerful fighting ships to light weight travel ships. While many could be classed together, pirate ships often reflected the attitudes of the captain and crews. Pirate ships as a whole had to be able to travel, fight and be the crew's home, but the focus of the captain caused the ship to express different ratios of the three.
If a captain favored plundering, the ship's design was more combat oriented. More cannons, tougher hull, sail designs that allowed for more agility and swift movement or even paddle wheels. Pirate ships had the option for oars, best way to escape danger when caught in a calm or wrong way wind but having part of your crew committed to oars instead of cannons or boarding parties was generally not productive for capturing other ships. Plundering pirates had to be able to take a ship without sinking it and that required boarding it. Oars were best left for when the idea was to sink a ship. Generally, these ships were not efficient long-haul travelers. They tended to trade storage space for combat gear and fighting men, and plunderers would rather spend extra space on holding their treasure rather than large stores of food and water.
If a captain favored adventure, the ship's design was more travel oriented. Fewer cannons, a trimmed hull and sails that maximized any favorable breeze. They lacked the bulky wheels and extra weight of armored hulls and heavy cannons to make traveling from island to island quicker. They had more room for storage and could be at sea for weeks at a shot. The extra storage meant any loot they did manage to acquire could be carried with them without risking their supplies. Any sea battles they took part in were strictly self-defense and mostly oriented to escaping the fight. If they had to capture a ship, they would have to get close enough to board it as they wouldn't be able to force it to submit with cannon fire alone.
Law and Luffy were the adventuring type. While both the Polar Tang were outfitted with potent weapons, neither could be expected to handle the intense combat of a melee sea battle. Law's own ship leaned more toward combat given its nature, but he could shoot two torpedoes at a time and only at whatever was in front of him. Luffy's air cannon could do serious if not catastrophic damage to battleship three times Thousand Sunny's size but only if the ship was straight in front. She had no broad sides to guard her flanks and she only had added on armor plating to reinforce her hull.
Luffy had never been one to think hard about a fight, but without his Gum Gum Fruit, he knew he would be depending on his ship to take on the bulk of the battle. They could not leave their ship to fight the Marines on theirs nor could they let the Marines board them. One kamikaze Marine with a bomb would be the end of them.
Luffy tried to remember the number of cola barrels below and the number required for each blast of the air cannon. He also tried to think about Law's torpedo count. His brain burned with the unfamiliar exertion. Crap! Things were so much easier when it was just a matter of punch harder.
Luffy rubbed his head, trying to visualize the ammo stores, counting with his fingers to keep track. He was probably off, but he was sure that if they could get most of the battleships with a few spares for misses that were sure to occur. Law was smart and so was his crew. They could get the right shots and remove half of them before they were in the mix.
Laboon would need to just focus on hammering Pluton. Stopping that ship was their highest priority. It was tempting to ask the island whale to belly flop the escort ships. He could squash four at once the way they were lined up or throw them if breached beneath them. However, Pluton would keep clunking along and the Marines ships were probably agile enough that after the initial hit they'd scatter. Laboon would be lucky to catch one of them.
If Laboon spent all his time chasing battleships, Pluton could get into position and fire. To that end, it would be a victory for the Marines and defeat for them. Then there was the bothersome reality that if Laboon was breaching and flopping around Pluton in a variation of whack-a-mole, neither Polar Tang nor Thousand Sunny could get near Pluton to enact their part of the plan.
No, Laboon needed to focus on stopping Pluton and leave the escorting battleships to the woefully outnumbered pirate ships.
Luffy now regretted not getting in contact with his allies, though, the idea made him feel all weird. Calling on other pirates to abandon their own fun adventures to save a country that only he cared about? He hadn't even wanted them to be his allies and refused to drink the sake in that special ceremony. Maybe there hadn't been time. He hadn't known where they were in New World and the Marines had flooded Moady, practically barring that route for anyone trying to go to paradise.
But truth be told… Luffy had just forgotten he had that option. So did his crew, since none of them had brought it up. Law hadn't either. With everything that happened afterwards, it was possible the whole ceremony had slipped his mind. The crew were probably too panicked by Pluton's presence to recall things they had never had to think about before. He couldn't think of any other reason why they wouldn't have brought it up.
Now that he thought about it, he needed to contact them post haste. His vivre card had burned up. They were probably convinced he was dead. It was like the World Government had reported the attack on Varian and he hadn't done anything since then to catch the eye of the media. Yep, after this he needed to make a few calls.
Laboon's alarm cry echoed up from the ocean beneath, causing the deck to vibrate with his howl. In the same moment, Luffy's observational haki caught the sound of several things streaking beneath the water toward them.
Torpedoes!
"Everyone!" screamed Luffy as he turned to leap for the main deck from his perch on the lion's head, but that was all he could cry out before the missiles struck. Thousand Sunny pitched violently as explosions tore at her underside. Robin sprouted arms to catcher herself, Usopp and Chopper. Sanji went over with Nami but caught her and used skywalk to get back on the ship. Zoro drove a sword into the deck and grabbed Brook before he went over. Carrot clung to the mast from where she was perched atop the crow's nest. Jinbei clung to the helm, managing to keep it steady by some miracle. Lance caught Luffy around his waist when the leaping bow knocked him off course and toward the water. He dropped to a crouch in the same motion with his godson clutched to his chest. Franky was down below, prepping the air cannon, his wild shouting giving away the wild ride he was having.
"Jinbei, evasive maneuvers!" shouted Lance. "Don't give them an easy target!"
Ordinarily, it was bad form to shout commands to captain's subordinates when you weren't the captain. But Luffy had always run his ship by letting the expert take charge. Lance may have been nearly two decades out of the service, but he still knew naval combat. Something that only Jinbei could possibly compete with. At the very least, Lance knew how Marines would fight from how he would choose to engage. Making him the combat expert and the one to be deferred to at this time. There was zero hesitation as Jinbei complied. An advantage of not being a slave to the ranks. Might just be the only one, though.
The first wave of torpedoes ended. Everyone scrambled as the ship stopped rocking to new positions, ones that would keep them onboard when the next wave struck.
Usopp leapt below deck to help Franky with whatever emergency repairs the Thousand Sunny needed. She was still in one piece; the Adam's wood and the reinforcing steel plats had held their own. However, there was no way she's hadn't sprung leaks. Carrot used a rope to tie herself to the mast so she wouldn't be thrown off. Jinbei began turning the wheel, making the ship zig zag. Luffy clambered to his feet, as Lance regained his, and raced to the Den Den Mushi.
"Law! Law! Are you still there?" cried Luffy.
"Ugh! Barely," came the reply. Law sounded battered. A faint hissing sound could be heard in the background. Was Polar Tang taking on water? "I can't believe they have their own submarines."
"How many of those things do they have?" cried Chopper, who was running circles in a panic.
"How many impacts did you suffer?" asked Law.
"We were supposed to count?" Chopper glared at the Den Den Mushi in disbelief.
"Too many," replied Lance. "Some exploded simultaneously making it impossible to determine the exact number."
"Then too many Marine submarines," replied Law.
"Conservative estimate," said Lance. "They equal the number of battleships."
"I thought we would have a slight edge with the Polar Tang," said Nami. "But now…"
"INCOMING!" shouted Carrot. Luffy sensed the new wave as she cried out. Now that they knew what to look for, they were picking them up sooner.
"LAW!" shouted Luffy, terrified for his brother whose ship was not prepared for this kind of bombardment. Submarines were such a new thing on the sea. Law's had been a rarity when it premiered two years ago. There wasn't much that could compete with it, never mind attack it. It was only armored enough to withstand bombardment from cannons until it could drop beneath the water.
Jinbei read the waves and used their slight peaks to angle the ship as he spun her into a new direction. Most of the torpedoes shot passed harmlessly, but a few had been adjusted to account for Jinbei's potential maneuvers and hit home. Everyone clung to the deck as the ship shook.
"This would be where we would withdraw to regroup and re-plan," said Lance with a grunt as he climbed to his feet. "However…"
"We can't," finished Luffy, understanding Lance's comment. This situation had gone beyond expectation. The Marines were not risking any potential setbacks. Luffy grimaced. Law would be fighting with the submarines that were all better armed and combat focused than his. Luffy would be facing the same long odds on the surface against the battleships along with taking hits from the subs. With Law too busy to help, those battleships wouldn't have the same worries.
"LABOON!" Luffy cried, though how the whale was going to hear him, no one could know. "STRIKE NOW!" But Laboon did, or perhaps he suddenly realized what he needed to do in the face of the overwhelming defense. The ship trembled again with Laboon's war cry. Luffy sensed the great whale rising as he charged forward until he breached the surface. His scarred head must have been a terrifying sight to the Marines in the fleet.
Laboon rammed Pluton. The great waves caused by his movement driving apart the battleships. Pluton creaked but held. The engines driving it forward began whining as they strained to continue driving the great ship forward.
Laboon stopped, back up and slammed it again. The ship was forced to a halt again but nothing else happened. He continued to slam it with the same head on force he used against the Redline, with the same unyielding results.
"LABOON! CHANGE ATTACK! HIT THE SIDES! SMASH THE ENGINES! TIP IT!" shouted Luffy. However, the island whale was too far away to hear this time. Luffy turned and shouted back to Jinbei. "Coo-du-burst! We need to get over there!"
"Luffy! We'll be landing in the middle of that fleet!" cried Nami.
"No! We need to! Look!" said Lance as he pointed toward Pluton. The battleships were turning to face Laboon. Maybe even the submarines.
"Laboon!" cried Brook in horror.
"They're going to attack him!" wailed Chopper.
"They don't consider us a threat to Pluton," continued Lance. "As far as they know, our ships lack the fire power. They were shooting because they aren't taking any chances, but Laboon is a legitimate threat. They're focusing on him now."
"Go!" said Law from over the Den Den Mushi, having heard the entire conversation. "We'll catch up."
"Franky!" called Luffy.
"We're all set!" replied Franky from below.
"Everyone hang-on and prepare for battle!" said Jinbei as he threw the lever. Thousand Sunny leapt into the sky toward what could very well be its doom.
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I'm picking up the pace of posting these chapters because it seems like I wrote another dud and no one is interested in it. I don't want to drag this out any longer, because I'm posting to three different sites. So my Monday night I should have all chapters up.