Jinbei insisted they hurry, and make it outside to get a battleship. Three was running with them, looking more than relieved he didn't need to fight Magellan's poison. His wax would have been very helpful, but this was the easiest way. The warden and the demon guards, the most dangerous things in the prison it seemed, were all defeated by Luffy.
Defeated by a short and lanky monster. "Ngahahaha! There's no way we can lose now!" Bon Clay shouted. "Straw-chan, you're amazing!"
"Neehee! We're all working together now! I couldn't'a done anything without everybody's help!" Luffy said brightly.
Mr. 1 pointed out that all the marine ships outside had 800 men. If they took one, they had to deal with all the others. It wasn't a fun prospect, but they could do it, because there was no other option. Desperation was their main weapon at the moment, spurring them on to do the impossible, which they'd been doing for awhile already.
They finally made it out, only to see the ships were gone. "There's a ship that way!" Luffy said, hearing them easily. "But that's the only one in the area!" Luffy added.
"It's too far! We'll never make it! We're doomed!" Buggy shouted pessimistically. Everyone else was shouting about how they were all screwed. The plan was ruined at the end. Now they had to face the jail once again, no way out. Luffy hated their pessimism, but though it was a long shot to get to the ship, as well. But he didn't give up, especially when Jinbei said he'd take care of this, and Luffy trusted his word.
He didn't seem like the guy to gloat about something and not do what he said. He was honorable and Luffy respected him. He ripped off the Impel Down door, one of the two, and tossed it into the water. Crocodile, Mr.1 and Buggy all got on to fight against that marine ship. Maybe Buggy was actually really brave when he really had to be. This was their last chance, after all. That ship was their hope.
Someone handed Jinbei a baby den den connected to the group.
"He ripped the door off! That's the captain of the Fishman Pirates for ya!" Luffy felt he was in a different group than the one of Arlong.
Jinbei got in the water, and sped the door to the ship quickly. Fishman were indeed fast swimmers. The prisoners were all cheering them on. Luffy lost sight of them so he focused on his other senses, his nose no longer plugged. He took out a blood bag and drank from it. Who knows what was coming next?
Nobody saw it and he quickly tossed it into the water. He wished he had gotten another pair of seastone, so he had to make sure the two he had lasted. Pressure built up. Not until Marineford. It was his secret weapon. He would use it wisely and carefully.
Luffy was surprised that there were more warships than the one in view. Maybe his sinuses were still hurt? He didn't think so. So, he just made a mistake, but that wasn't stopping the warlords, former bounty hunter and bumbling idiot from attacking the ships as best as they could.
He knew they would succeed. Crocodile was strong, and so was Jinbei. Being in the water was a huge advantage against ships. He shot water under the door, launching those on it onto the first marine ship. Luffy wished he had a watch. But he was also glad he didn't. Looking at how much time he had left would both be helpful and terrifying. What if there wasn't much time left? No, he couldn't think like that.
What could I have done differently? But unlike the doubts he had before, he told this thought to fuck off and leave him alone. He did everything they could to get out. There was no other way it could have gone. He just wished Iva-chan and Inazuma had made it. The okama had wanted to fight Magellan, he'd volunteered. And he'd lost, but he showed his bravery by taking him on, truly.
The three fought like hell, with Buggy doing nothing helpful. Luffy could hear them easily. The screams of the marines and the confident voices of the three strong ones as they took on 800 men and were doing well. Crocodile and Jinbei were really lucky to find and let out!
Luffy heard a ruckus from behind, a familiar smell. "Iva-chan, Inazuma!" Luffy cheered, running inside. They were both injured, but alive. "You're alive!"
"We won't die so easily, Straw Hat boy!" the okama queen shouted. Luffy was so happy he was alive that tears pricked his eyes. He wiped them away. "We got to beat Magellan, a nice revenge! Inazuma is very hurt, though." Luffy said he'd managed to cuff Magellan with one of the seastone shackles.
Iva-chan said, "Just what I'd expect from his son!" proudly. Luffy giggled. Then he felt a pain in his arm, and it started to cramp. It hurt, but not in the same way as usual. More like it was just residual pain. Well… the blood was a quick fix. He would get real treatment hopefully after he saved Ace.
He kind of felt sick. Like he was going to throw up. "Straw-chan, are you okay?!" Bon Clay asked in worry. He nodded. Just some aches from everything.
"It makes sense. You should have at least three days of bedrest after fighting off the poison like that! It seems the blood was a quick fix," Ivankov said. Luffy insisted he was fine, and ignored the pain. He could deal with it.
"Straw Hat, it's Jinbei!" someone shouted, and tossed him the den den mushi to the fishman warlord.
"Luffy-kun, my apologies, but we've acquired a ship that is far from the prison! You must jump into the sea, all together, and not be afraid! Then leave the rest to me!"
"What are you talking about, Jinbei?! This is the Calm Belt!" the prisoners shouted. Luffy said he understood, and went to the dock to jump. "Are you serious?!"
Luffy said he trusted Jinbei's word. "If he says to jump, then we jump!" he insisted. "Ace trusted him, I trust him, too!" Others said he was a puppet to the World Government. "If you want to stay here, be my guest! If you don't, trust Jinbei! He was a warlord for a reason! He's strong!"
The blugori and demon guards, along with Magellan with a weapon, came up from behind them. It seemed the fear of Luffy finally wore off, or they were more scared of somebody else. The monsters could pummel them possibly. "Iva-chan, do your wink thing!" Luffy called. He didn't want to fight anymore than necessary.
He didn't want to cause anymore damage to his tired and overworked body before the war. "You're plan won't work! Even if I'm handcuffed, there's no way out of here! All the battleships are gone!" Magellan shouted, voice full of fury. Luffy shouted for Ivankov to do it. "I will not let you get away!"
They were ordered by the okama queen to grab onto his enlarged face as he shot a death wink in front of him to propel them into the water, over the ocean full of sea kings. With so many people, Luffy didn't know if he could scare them off all on his own.
But something was under them until they hit the slippery and spotted blue back of whale sharks! Jinbei called them like Caimie had spoken to the fish! This was their way to the ship. Jimbei really was completely dependable. "Yahoo!" Luffy cheered as they bounced along the peaceful sharks' backs.
They weren't bothered by Luffy's presence, which was very lucky. He hoped he didn't need to command anymore creatures to do his bidding. It was completely possible that it was draining his energy. He would try to rest on the way to Marineford, the final destination. "He's so awesome!" Luffy said as the dozens of whale sharks let them escape, leaving Magellan at the dock, looking horrified, his body hunched over.
A single person broke in, and hundreds of prisoners broke out by the end. Luffy conquered two of the three marine strongholds. They all bounced onto the last whale and onto the ship that was commandeered by two warlords and one's right hand man. Buggy was there, somehow still alive.
Everyone cheered, mocking Magellan from the distance. His prison lost all its credibility! The prisoners and new kama's alike had done the impossible, and they were in a great mood.
Ace, I'm coming!
"Thanks, whale sharks!" everyone said. Jinbei said they had to set sail now, and they did, hurrying away from the prison.
Inazuma was brought to the infirmary at once, heavily poisoned, though not with as many poisons as Luffy had. But that might not matter if they had no antidote. He didn't have two days worth of time to get better.
Luffy hurried into the infirmary, too, and collected more blood bags he stuck into the backpack. Then he went looking for seastone cuffs. It was amazing the backpack was still there and not damaged at all. It had been from level six up to here and was still intact. Impressive. He found a ton of pairs, and got them. He hung them onto the straps.
More weapons to use. There had to be a ton of devil fruit users, not to mention the admirals, at Marineford. And more warlords. He would see Hancock again! Hopefully she could see all of her help worked, and Luffy made it out as safe as possible.
He went into the infirmary's bathroom and drank three bags of blood. The aches and pain beneath his skin were still there, and he felt tired inside. He really did need rest and proper treatment. But he worried he'd fall asleep and not be able to wake up.
If the blood didn't fix him completely, then he had no other shortcut. He'd just have to deal with it. He was still storing the huge burst of power that he'd find a use for. He hoped it didn't wreck his body too bad. It had to be huge. Five days worth of hiding it. Well, it would come in handy. He knew that! He was prepared to use it, too.
They were still fighting marine warships, and Luffy heard about the Gates of Justice. He forgot all about them! They were appearing, too! The second time he'd seen them. He hadn't looked on his way with Hancock. They really were massive. It was crazy they reached the ocean floor. He once again wondered how they were created.
But they were stuck here without them moving for them. All that work… was it going to be stopped just cause of some huge doors? The ship frantically kept the vessel safe from the other marine ships on their tail, chasing them and shooting cannon balls. Everybody was frantic about the Gates of Justice locking them there.
"Shark, what now?!" someone demanded.
"We push through!" he insisted, not bothered at all by the huge gates. Everyone didn't know what he was talking about, but Luffy knew he had a plan. And by some miracle, the Gates of Justice opened a crack!
"WHAAAA?!" the prisoners and new kamas shouted in shock. "Who did that?! How were they opened for us! Nobody would do that for us!"
Luffy suddenly noticed someone was missing. There was no cheerful scream coming from a certain somebody. He searched the ship, pushing through people. Bon-chan was missing! Had he fallen in the water?! He was a devil fruit user! He had been at the docks with them! He was missing!
"Bon-chan is missing!" he shouted. But nobody was listening. They were still shocked about the gates opening for them. Luffy listened for his voice, his smell, but he came up with nothing. What happened to him? Did Luffy forget he was there? He was so consumed with getting out that he hadn't realized his closest ally was gone?
The marines behind said Magellan was opening the gates for them. They couldn't believe that! And Luffy saw him at the doors only minutes ago. He realized what must have happened to allow this, and for Magellan to open the gates for them. Bon-chan didn't die. He stayed behind… Luffy hurried to Jinbei. "Did Bon-chan stay behind?!"
The fishman didn't answer for a moment before he nodded once. They had to go back! "This was his decision. Going back would sully his effort, and we would not escape. We have no time to go back, Luffy-kun." Luffy lost another friend.
"No! We can't leave him behind!" Luffy shouted.
"How many people do you think we've lost on our escape! Hundreds of allies must have died, poisoned! Do you want to face Magellan again?! He could find the key to the cuffs and then we're all doomed! We must continue on to save your brother! Bon Clay chose to be the hero and let us out! We can't go back for him and waste his amazing sacrifice!" Jinbei said, sounding scolding.
They had lost so many people. He was right. But Bon-chan… he was the reason Luffy was alive. That he didn't die a painful, lonely and cowardly death. He sacrificed himself again. Luffy grabbed his hair, and his face crumpled in grief and guilt.
What could I have done differently?
That thought was still there. Would it always be there? He thought he was strong, but now he felt weak, falling apart. "It is not wrong to be upset, Luffy-kun," Jinbei said, as if he was reading his mind. "Negative feelings do not make you weak. They make you human, even if you are not." He said the last part quietly.
Luffy let his face crumple and stay crumpled. He tried to keep the tears in, but his friend's words came into his mind. He barely heard them. "I'll save you in the name of friendship!" That was what this was, again. Luffy wasn't a hero for starting the prison break. He wasn't the hero for stopping Magellan. He wasn't the hero for stopping the demon guards, forcing them to submit to him. He wasn't a hero for killing a dangerous man.
Bon Clay was the hero of the day. This escape was only perfected by his heroism and sacrifice. "He was an amazing man. I shall never forget him for this," Jinbei said firmly. "Cry if you wish, I will not look down on you for it." He handed Luffy a den den mushi. "It's still connected to him. But the range of a baby den den mushi is short. Once we pass through the gates, the signal will cut."
Luffy took the snail. "Bon-chan! Hey, can you hear me, Bon-chan?! Why did you have to do a thing like this again?! It's just like last time! You always save me! I didn't ask for it! Weren't we going to break out here together?! Why… why is it always you who saves me?! If you can hear me, respond, Bon-chan!"
The prisoners heard what was happening, and cheered on the okama. Thanking him for his great sacrifice. They would never forget him and what he'd done. Buggy and Three apologized for leaving him behind. Ivankov looked surprised and saddened.
"B-Bon-chan. The gates are closing. We're… we're going on. To be off now… Thank you!" Luffy heard sobbing from the den den, even if the signal wasn't the best quality. Everyone continued to thank him.
"STRAW-CHAN! You make sure you save your brother! No matter what!" The signal fuzzed. "I know… you can do it!" Luffy was crying hard by now. The signal cut, and Luffy lost another friend.
He wasn't alone in the crying. But he composed himself as fast as he could. He wiped his eyes and nose. He walked to Jinbei, and thanked him for the den den. "I'm sorry we could do nothing else," he said in true regret. Luffy was irritated with how fast everyone else felt fine. They moved on. Buggy even intensively said they should party and stop moping about a dead guy. Luffy nailed him in the face.
Though he wasn't crying, the teen was putting up a front, and still felt terrible. But he would do what his good friend and savior asked. He would save Ace.
"If it wasn't for him, every last one of us would be dead, or back in the hell of Impel Down," Iva-chan said. "He was a wonderful person. I am glad I was able to meet him." Luffy nodded silently. He took the backpack off and held it to his chest.
He lost another friend, but he would not waste his sacrifice. "Jinbei, Iva-chan," he said, getting their attention. "If I tell you to run, then run."
"What do you mean? We won't be leaving you!"
"You will die if you don't." Jinbei asked what he was talking about, his voice firm. "I have one last trump card. It's a complicated story, but I once touched something I shouldn't have, and it gave me the power to let off blasts. Iva-chan and Inazuma saw it before. But I've been holding on for a long time. Once I use it, I think it will eradicate everything in the area. I will no doubt use it in the war. Trust me when I say to run."
"Very well. But tell me it will not hurt you," Jinbei said.
Luffy replied he didn't know what would happen. He clutched the backpack closer. "I think I could survive if I have blood afterwards. I'll use it only in a desperate situation." Ivankov told him he needed to be careful in the war, doing anything. His body was already beaten up and damaged. Even with a quick fix, he was still injured.
"What do you mean?" Jinbei asked, seeing Luffy looked fine. The now-freed revolutionary explained the poison treatment. "You didn't scream at all?"
"If I screamed, I would have been weak. I sort of did a lot of self-reflecting during that time." Ivankov left to check on Inazuma, who he was doing his best to heal. He was treating him much better than he had Luffy. But he wasn't upset, he hadn't known Luffy or who he was related to. He had just been an interesting character to him.
Luffy went to sit on the front of the warship on his own to think. To plan and imagine himself saving Ace to motivate himself even more. He smiled, happy to show him he made it out of Impel Down and broke out important figures.
He laid down on his back, the backpack pressed to his chest. He wouldn't let it go, wouldn't put it down. He heard Jinbei and Crocodile, talking about how violent fishmen were to humans. Jinebi admitted that was true like a man - fishman. Luffy looked at the sky, and knew he was going to face all the admirals, current warlords (minus Blackbeard, dead in Impel Down, his eyes gouged out, spine shattered, and face stomped in) and his grandpa.
Garp… would he try to kill Luffy? He clearly didn't break Ace out. Not that he honestly expected him to. His job had always meant more than family. That much was clear with how little Garp visited him in his childhood. He and Ace were just grandkids. One wasn't related to him by blood, and the other was a small monster he wished to hide.
Well, the vice admiral had been right. Luffy was a monster, and he'd show that on the battlefield. He didn't care. He was accepted by the people that mattered. The rest of the world could fear and hate him if they wished.
The days of being insecure about himself were over. Well, he hoped. No, he was confident in it.
The little lantern he had of hope not long ago was now a raging inferno, lighting up his surroundings. Jinbei came to Luffy, and formally thanked him for freeing him. Luffy smiled up at him, still lying down. "Don't be like that! You helped me out so much! And you're strong as hell."
"I was a warlord, but I have renounced that title, and it will be stripped of me when I appear at Marineford. I will just be another criminal, once again, to them. But, I will fight to save Ace-san and assist you and Whitebeard-san."
"WHAT?! We're going to Marineford?! You know the war going on there?!" Buggy shouted. He hadn't known? Fool.
"It's because you're a dumbass," Crocodile said. "The moment we went through the Gates of Justice, there was no other place to go but Marineford." He explained how the current worked. There was no other destination, even if they weren't planning on fighting in the war. "We broke out to go to the war in the first place. I'm sure that brat was shouting that he was saving his brother over and over."
Well, that was true and a good point. "When we came out without him, it should have been clear where the next place was." He sounded bored with him. Luffy was kind of annoyed with him, as well. His gratitude from before was outweighed by the irritation.
The prisoners were all freaking out, not having known they were going from one hell to another one. "Stop this ship right now, fish!" Buggy demanded.
"There is no way to stop, now," Jinbei replied, unbothered by being grabbed at. He didn't move, as if Buggy wasn't trying to shake him. Luffy told him he could get off if he didn't want to go with them.
"We can't get off now, dumbass! We'll die!" The prisoners who weren't the new kamas all said they would rather be in prison than go to someplace like Marineford in the middle of a war. Well, it was too late to go now.
"You could always just get arrested again immediately," Luffy commented, unmoved by their terror and shock. Even if they wanted to stop, there was no way. They were trapped in the whirlpool.