The prisoners celebrated wildly, basking in the euphoria of escaping from hell.
A gentle breeze stirred by the fleet finally cleared the endless fog ahead. Emerging from it stood a colossal gate rising from the sea to the sky—a natural abyss separating this area from the rest of the world. On either side were ship-wrecking currents; behind them loomed Impel Down itself, and before them stood this immovable behemoth of a gate. Joy on the prisoners' faces turned instantly to despair.
Boa Hancock narrowed her eyes, gazing at Roya in the distance.
"The operation room for this Gate of Justice is inside Impel Down. Roya must have made arrangements... but how are we supposed to break through the equivalent gate at Marineford?"
Before she finished her thought, the massive gates quivered open, as if welcoming its returnees. Relief washed over her, and the freed prisoners cheered in unison.
Only a few—Magellan, Jinbe, and the like—understood the significance of the gate opening and held different thoughts in their hearts.
Magellan sighed softly. "Lord Roya indeed knows Impel Down inside and out. I don't know when he seized control of the operation room and established silent communication. This fight... I was thoroughly defeated."
Jinbe looked surprised.
"You don't seem to bear much—?"
(Magellan interrupts) "Grudges? Of course not. Impel Down robbed me of my freedom. Leaving the prison with just cause is more than satisfactory. And being by his side—a man of such strength—there could be no brighter future for me!"
Jinbe's surprise turned to realization.
"Indeed, that future... is compelling. But you're mistaken—this gate opening has nothing to do with the operation room."
Magellan stiffened but dared not look at Roya for confirmation. Instead, he looked at the two massive gates.
---
Inside Impel Down's control room, news of the Gate of Justice opening reached Blackbeard like a thunderclap. He stormed inside, furious:
"Bastards! Who opened the Gate of Justice?!"
Guard operators looked at him blankly, glancing nervously at Hannyabal.
Hannyabal dashed to the console, slamming the "close gate" button over and over. Yet despite indicators showing the command registered, nothing responded—no stirring, no movement. The entire system had been dead for a while.
Hannyabal panicked. "It's over! Communications gone, ships taken, even the Gate of Justice is broken—are we trapped in here?!"
Blackbeard laughed madly and exited the control room. "Not our fault—yours!"
He turned to his helmsman, Jesus Burgess. "Gather our people. Get them onto the hastily built rafts and leave. The prisoners—only they'll fit, depends on their luck."
Burgess sounded alarmed.
"Admiral, these rushed-together rafts aren't seaworthy!"
"If we don't leave, we'll be stuck here! Who knows when Marine HQ will send help? What if the rescue comes from Ace and Whitebeard's forces?"
Burgess' face drained of color as he hurriedly started organizing the rafts.
Blackbeard glared at Hannyabal who cowered with Sadi. Satisfied, he chuckled and left the control room. Only once his footsteps faded did Hannyabal relax.
"Thank goodness—now I have someone else to blame. I'll get promoted from deputy to warden without any fault."
---
Soon, ten warships sailed through the Gate of Justice into the swift current toward Marineford. Less than two hours later, the fleet would reach Marine HQ.
Staring at the sunset, Boa Hancock finally exhaled in relief.
"There's still over twenty hours before Ace's execution... there's no way we won't make it!"
But suddenly she paused, a critical question forming.
"Where is Luffy? He punched through all of Impel Down, and yet I haven't seen him. I thought the 'life paper' was supposed to guide him—what happened?"
Turning to Squard crouching by her side, she asked:
"Squard, did you see anyone named Straw Hat Luffy?"
"Straw Hat Luffy? I've never heard that name among the prisoners. And no one dared storm the prison before us."
Hancock tilted her head in puzzlement—where could Luffy have gone? Just then, cheers sounded as the Gate of Justice trembled and swung shut.
Behind the gate, five crude wooden rafts, manned by Blackbeard's pirates and freed inmates, frantically paddled toward the narrowing opening. At the last second, they passed through.
When the gate slammed shut, the exhausted men collapsed upright on the rafts, having no strength left even to cheer.
Blackbeard exhaled in relief as he watched the warships pull away. Then--the gate rumbled again, slowly creaking open.
Blackbeard snarled:
"Damn it, Hannyabal! I swear I'll shove you into a cherry pie and eat you!"
Inside the control room, Hannyabal trembled and quickly removed his finger from the "open gate" button.
---
Night had fallen when the ten warships reached Marineford's Gate of Justice. Climbing over the cliff-side wall, Crocodile spoke gravely:
"The operation room for these gates is inside Marine HQ itself... how are we going to get through now? If we can't open that gate, we'll just float along the current, all the way to Marineford's front side before we can escape the flow."
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