"Luffy!"
Ace's face went pale as Yamato's frantic explanation hit him. The dread that had been sitting in his gut since he first heard of his brother's infiltration turned into ice-cold fear. He was poisoned. Critically.
"Just as I feared…" Ivankov muttered, his usual flair replaced by the sharp focus of a Revolutionary Commander. He immediately took charge. "There is no time to waste! Ace-boy, Jinbe, Crocodile-boy! The three of you must get to the surface immediately and secure a warship! If they all escape, we'll be trapped here. Leave Straw Hat-boy to me; I am a miracle worker, after all!"
Ace hesitated, torn between his duty to escape and his desperate need to be by his brother's side. Seeing his conflict, Ivankov's voice boomed with urgency.
"This is no time for hesitation, Fire Fist Ace!"
The words snapped Ace back to reality. Yamato and Luffy had risked everything to save him. He couldn't let their efforts be in vain.
"I understand!" he declared, his resolve hardening. "Luffy is in your hands. Jinbe! Crocodile! Let's go!"
As the trio turned and blasted their way towards the upper levels, Magellan lunged forward to stop them. But he was too late. Yamato intercepted him, her kanabō crackling with dark lightning.
"Hey! Your opponent is me! Thunder Bagua!"
Screams and explosions echoed up the central shaft of Impel Down. The prison, once an impenetrable fortress, had become a warzone. A storm of fire and sand tore through the remaining guards, with torrents of water blasting away anyone who got too close.
Led by the devastating power of Ace and Crocodile, with the master martial artist Jinbe covering their rear, the escapees were an unstoppable force. The jailers stood no chance.
"Fire Fist!" Ace roared, unleashing a colossal pillar of flames that incinerated a platoon of guards.
Even the fearsome Jailer Beasts, monstrous Awakened Zoan users, were swatted aside like flies before these legendary pirates. It was a complete rout. They fought their way from the depths of Level 4, level by brutal level, until they finally burst through the main gates and onto the sea-level platform.
The brilliant blue sky and the warm sun washed over them, and for a moment, the hardened criminals felt a profound sense of rebirth.
"We did it! We're finally out!"
"The sun! I can't remember the last time I saw the sun!"
"Ah, the smell of the sea! It's beautiful!"
"I'm never going back to that hell ever again!"
Tears of joy streamed down the faces of men who hadn't cried in decades.
Bonney, however, had no time for sentiment. She pointed a frantic finger towards the horizon, where several Marine warships were already sailing away at full speed. "Hey! This is no time to get emotional! If we don't move now, those ships will be long gone!"
"Leave it to me!" Ace shouted, his mind solely focused on getting back to Luffy. Flames erupted from his back, forming a pair of massive wings that launched him into the air, propelling him across the water toward the fleeing fleet.
"I am with you, Ace-san!" Jinbe declared. He took a running leap off the edge of the platform, diving into the calm sea and swimming with incredible speed.
Back at the main gate, the remaining prisoners watched nervously. Bonney kept a wary eye on Crocodile, who stood silently with his arms crossed. She still didn't fully trust Ivankov's confidence in controlling the former Warlord.
"Hey, Crocodile," she said, her tone challenging. "Aren't you going to help?"
"Help?" Crocodile shot her a disdainful sideways glance. "And how would I do that?"
"You could fly over and help them, obviously! You're a Logia user, aren't you?"
Crocodile let out an impatient sigh. "Listen, you little brat. Not all Logia are the same. I ate the Sand-Sand Fruit. I can use the wind to glide, but my power doesn't grant me true flight. This is the Calm Belt, and that is a whole lot of ocean down there. Do you want me to fall in and die?"
"Tch! No wonder you lost to Luffy-kun. What a useless Logia user," Bonney grumbled under her breath.
Crocodile's expression instantly darkened, and a murderous aura emanated from him that made the nearby prisoners flinch. Fortunately for Bonney, he seemed to decide she wasn't worth the effort.
Not wanting to push her luck, Bonney turned away and went to check on her own crewmates, who were tending to their injuries. "How are you all holding up?"
"Don't worry, Bonney!" a large man with bandages wrapped around his arm said with a goofy grin. "We're fine! A few scratches are nothing!"
The other prisoners who had joined their group nodded eagerly, their faces full of a newfound respect. They had learned from the Okamas that their captain's companion, Yamato, was none other than the child of the Emperor Kaido. The shift in their attitude was immediate and obvious.
Bonney saw right through their flattery but said nothing. For now, their loyalty was useful. "Good. Everyone worked hard." She then turned to Perona. "Go tell Captain Yamato and Ivan-chan that we're ready. We need to leave this place as soon as possible."
"Understood!" Perona replied, her usual gloomy demeanor gone now that freedom was within her grasp. She activated her power, and two of her giant Hollows phased through the floor to deliver the message.
Aboard a Marine warship far out at sea, chaos reigned.
"Stop them! Quick!"
"Damn it! It's Fire Fist Ace and Knight of the Sea Jinbe!"
"We're no match for them!"
The ordinary Marines were utterly overwhelmed. Even the Vice Admiral in command, a seasoned veteran of the Grand Line, was taken down by a single, powerful blow from Ace.
Knowing time was short, Ace raised his voice over the sounds of battle. "Listen up, Marines! Abandon ship now, or I'll be forced to send you to the bottom of the sea!"
"Never, pirate! We won't let you take this ship!" a captain shouted back defiantly.
A fierce battle seemed imminent, but just then, the defeated Vice Admiral struggled to his feet, holding a Den Den Mushi to his ear. After a moment, his eyes widened, and he gave a shocking order.
"All hands, abandon ship! That's an order!"
"Sir?!" The Marines stared in disbelief, but their superior had already leaped over the railing and into the sea. Seeing their commander's action, the rest of the crew looked at each other, then followed suit, jumping into the water.
Ace and Jinbe watched, confused, as the Marines swam away toward a group of six other warships anchored beneath the massive, looming Gates of Justice. Strangely, those ships made no move to attack.
"What's going on?" Ace muttered, a feeling of unease washing over him.
Jinbe joined him at the railing, his brow furrowed in thought. "Do not dwell on it, Ace-san. Let us first get the ship and retrieve the others. Then we can inform Whitebeard-san of your escape."
"Right," Ace nodded.
But as the two turned to take control of the helm, a deafening, beast-like groan echoed across the world. They spun around to see the impossibly huge Gates of Justice, which had been sealed shut, slowly beginning to creak open.
As light from the other side of the world poured through the gap, a single, massive Marine battleship emerged. On its deck stood a tall man in a yellow-and-white striped suit, a "Justice" coat draped over his shoulders. His mere presence radiated an aura of terrifying power. He held a Den Den Mushi to his lips.
"Ooooh, how terrifying, Fleet Admiral. It seems Fire Fist Ace has escaped. And Knight of the Sea Jinbe, Crocodile, and Jewelry Bonney are with him, too?"
The stern, angry voice of Fleet Admiral Sengoku crackled from the snail. "Borsalino! Fire Fist Ace's public execution is in thirteen hours. I don't care what it takes. I want him at Marineford. Do you understand?"
"Yeees, I understand," the man, Admiral Kizaru, drawled lazily. "You can leave it to me, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
He casually put the Den Den Mushi away and crossed his arms over his chest. A brilliant golden light began to shine from his body. It intensified for a moment before exploding outwards into countless particles, each one coalescing into a perfect, shimmering clone of the Admiral. They shot across the sky, leaving trails of light as they sped toward Impel Down.
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