"Your friend knows quite a lot." Crocodile commented.
"But I like your plan. Except this plan would need a lot of money, and even I can't come up with so much wealth."
Hearing that, Luffy smiled and said.
"I have given Buggy the treasure map of Captain John. I don't know this guy, but this is a treasure that got Buggy arrested. So, it must be quite valuable, right?"
Crocodile's eyes lit up as he said.
"Of course, it is. That's Captain John, who possessed the most treasure in the world. If we can find his treasure, there is nothing that we can't buy. You just gave that treasure map to him?"
He couldn't help but speak in disbelief.
Luffy shook his hand and said.
"I don't need that treasure. My crew won't sail for the next two years. After that, we will directly enter the New World and challenge the Emperors. So, what's the point of collecting those treasures?"
Hearing that, Bullet smirked, almost letting out a maniacal laugh as he said.
"I'll be waiting for you in the New World."
"Shouldn't we focus more on our current situation? Ace's execution is still going on?"
Jinbei said.
Because they were talking to each other, other people were busy clearing the way.
Even Ivankov didn't disturb them, but he might have heard some of his words.
At this moment, Luffy turned toward Jinbei and said.
"Don't worry, Jinbei! I will definitely save Ace."
"If we hurry, we might catch up to that ship and save Ace." Jinbei spoke. He was still unwilling to let Whitebeard fight this war.
After all, the consequences of this war could lead to the demise of the Whitebeard pirates.
Hearing that, Luffy became silent.
If he rushed, then he could use Gear Fourth and appear before Ace entered the Marineford.
Doing so, the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines could either stop entirely, or the entire Whitebeard Pirates would be annihilated by the Marines.
But he wasn't sure if this was possible.
Not to mention the time limit on his Gear Fourth, just the sheer distance between Impel Down and Marineford could take him half an hour or even more than an hour.
He had never tried this before, so he wasn't sure.
More importantly, even if he did that, if Whitebeard Pirates and Marines did go to war, while Ace escaped, then even if Whitebeard Pirates did survive, Ace would only feel guilty and blamed.
With the death of Whitebeard and the pressure of carrying his legacy, Ace might be able to overcome the guilt.
But the blame would surely continue. After all, this war started because of Ace and his recklessness.
"Jinbei, we will save Ace. But if we do save Ace beforehand and if Marines and Whitebeard fight, how do you think Ace will feel about it?"
Luffy asked.
Jinbei paused. He realized that if the Whitebeard Pirates wanted to save Ace, they would've already rushed toward Marineford.
Unless they were found in the middle and warned, they would enter the Marineford.
And, Marines wouldn't let them go that easily.
"Marine's main target is Whitebeard. His pirate crew isn't so important to them. The end of Whitebeard would completely suppress all new and upcoming pirates."
"So, Ace is just an icing on the cake. Well, with his identity, he is a bit more than that."
Luffy muttered.
Hearing that, Crocodile asked.
"What identity?"
Luffy paused before answering.
"Well, considering that they will be executing Ace soon, his identity will be public. So, it doesn't make sense to hide it."
"The name he used from his mother's side is Portgas D Ace. But from his father's side, it would be something else."
"His true identity is Gol D Ace, the son of the Pirate King."
.....
Level One, The Crimson Hell;
"Raise the Drawbridge! Don't let them across!"
"They're only five men! The Blackbeard Pirates are to be stopped!!"
"They are traitors at this moment! Blackbeard is not on our side."
"Fire!"
The soldiers raised their guns and shouted while constantly shooting towards the Blackbeard pirates.
"Why even bother calling them traitors? Once a pirate, always a pirate!"
A voice came from behind. It was none other than Shiryuu who had reached Level One.
"Head Jailer Shiryuu!"
The soldiers were stunned.
"So, we're up against five men, is it?" Shiryuu asked.
"Oh? Who's this, now? He looks like some pretty bad news. Is that Magellan?" Blackbeard asked.
"So, you are Marshall D Teach 'Blackbeard', correct?"
"Zehahahaha! Damn right I am! And, who might you be?" Blackbeard laughed out loud and asked.
...…
"It's Chief Guard Sadi!"
"Who cares? Charge her down!"
The prisoners shouted.
"Silence! You are to refer to me as 'Sadi-chan'!!!"
But before she could continue, a rubbery fist came straight toward her stomach.
She found her Haki completely useless as she couldn't even dodge it with her Observation Haki.
In simple words, her prediction was predicted.
[Gomu Gomu No]
[Pistol]
Bang!
That punch hit straight at her guts, and the fist returned to Luffy.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have time to waste here."
'I need to eat more food. I am almost this close to recovering eighty percent of my true strength.'
Luffy thought to himself as he charged forward.
But suddenly, Hannyabal appeared on the scene while spinning his giant bisento.
"You shall not pass."
"Who's that guy?"
"Throwing open the door like that! It's Vice Chief Hannyabal.
"Observe! The Stairway to Level Three is guarded by a thousand-strong force of Sea stone bullet troops."
"There is no way out."
At this moment, Hannyabal got into a stance and said.
"To protect the bright future of the Punny Masses! Unprecedented Pirate, Straw Hat! I will pass the death penalty upon you in the place of the Chief!"
Hearing his words, Luffy got pretty serious and said.
"Get out of my way! You will not get hurt."
"Absolutely not!"
Despite the fear in his heart, Hannyabal gripped the bisento with all of his strength and spun it.
[Gomu Gomu No]
[Jet Pistol]
Before he could react, Luffy appeared in front of him in Gear Second and punched straight at his chest.
Hannyabal didn't fall. Despite the broken bone, he supported himself with the bisento and said.
"I'm not done yet!"
[Gomu Gomu No]
[Jet Bullet]
Luffy spun his arm with an extraordinary speed and punched Hannyabal on the face, throwing him away.
But the guy didn't fall. Even though his legs were shaky, bleeding from every corner of his body, and had broken bones, he didn't fall.
He kept moving his bisento to strike Luffy.
"Sorry, but I have to save my brother."
Luffy clenched his fists once more and threw them towards Hannyabal like a rapid-firing gun.
[Gomu Gomu No]
[Jet Gatling]
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His fist wasn't coated with Haki. He didn't use Haki against someone like Hannyabal, but even so, it had a lot of strength.
To Hannyabal, every punch felt like hell. He found that his mind couldn't concentrate. His spirit was about to collapse as he almost closed his eyes.
He couldn't say a word, but he struck the ground with his bisento and stopped himself from falling.
"You pieces of scum, infamous for your heinous acts up above pirates…. Rebels! You just want to save your brother? What right has the scum of the earth to parade fine words?"
"Why, the moment you set sail… the mere existence of the likes of you strikes fear into the common people! Fear of losing loved ones! Because of you, they can't sleep at night!"
"This is a mighty fortress of Hell, sworn to lock away those evildoers to bring some measure of peace and security to those weak, ordinary people."
"If this place is destroyed, the world will plummet into the darkest death of fear! I said you shall not pass and you will not pass!"
Hearing his words, Luffy stopped and released his Gear Second.
Because Hannyabal's words reminded him of Liam.
In this world, pirates weren't right.
Adventures? They were okay. But pirates were a nightmare for people. He wasn't as mindless as before.
He didn't care about ordinary people or justice, but he did care about his friends.
In his mind, his friends' dream is his dream.
So, he understood Hannyabal's words, and this made him contemplate his action.
After all, he could've just escaped with Bon Clay, Buggy, and Galdino.
But to save his brother, to have a chance of saving his brother, he freed people like Crocodile and Bullet.
At this moment, his Observation Haki triggered, and he suddenly stretched his right hand, held the Hannyabal, and pulled him close.
Bang!
At the same time, Blackbeard appeared behind Hannyabal, tried smashing his head to the ground, only to feel his fist hitting the ground.
When Hannyabal saw this, his eyes widened in shock.
Before he could say a word, Luffy replied.
"You are right. My partner would be a great friend to you. Unfortunately, you got one thing wrong."
"I am not qualified to say those words. But you, who serve the Greatest Pirate Crew in the world, deserve even less to say these words."