Parting Ways, Successful Escape

"You're Blackbeard?"

Facing the man who once declared on Jaya Island, "Human dreams will never end!", Luffy clenched his fist.

"Hahaha, I haven't even introduced myself yet!"

"I was also taken aback. I never expected you to be Captain Ace's brother."

"I heard you defeated that Shichibukai over there," Blackbeard pointed to Crocodile beside him, "and I was thinking of going to Water 7 and using your head to exchange for the 'Shichibukai' position. But fate protected you—"

"After learning all this, Ace fought to the death..."

"Fate has no 'accidents,' in other words—"

'Sound-Sound' Van Oka looked sarcastic;

"Ahem, you're in luck, Straw Hat..."

'Death' Vajirus coughed up blood while grinning sinisterly;

"The captain has achieved his objective,"

'Demon Security Officer' Lafitte straightened his top hat;

"Your life is no longer useful."

"Hahaha, Ace fought very bravely!"

'Fighting champion' Gizas Burgess laughed heartily; but—

"A bunch of clowns."

?!

The White Knight stepped forward, interrupting the Blackbeard Pirates' arrogance.

"You're the ones being protected by fate, you idiots!"

"Do you know who was with our Straw Hat crew in Water 7 back then?"

The White Knight looked at the faces before him, destined to become 'stepping stones,' pathetic characters unaware that their fates had already been arranged for them. "It's Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Aokiji."

!!

"Do you understand now? If it weren't for Ace, you would all be dead beyond any doubt. A bunch of Rat who escaped with their lives by sheer luck actually have the nerve to talk about fate?"

Moreover, if Roman wanted to, he could kill the Blackbeard Pirates right here! — He only needed to leave a note for Magellan.

If it weren't to keep you around to draw the attention of those eyes, why would I give you the chance to be so arrogant...?

"You--!?"

Before Blackbeard, whose face had turned as black as coal from Roman's rebuke, could react, Luffy next to the White Knight had already instantly entered Second Gear.

"Then let's have a contest!"

Brush,

A punch was thrown, swift as Inazuma! The pervasive killing intent interfered with everyone's Observation Haki; in such situations, experience and composure are paramount. Unfortunately for Blackbeard, who was basking in his Luffy, he hadn't expected Luffy, whom he disregarded, to dare to make a move.

Bang!

"Guwaaa—"

A punch landed squarely on his chest, Blackbeard let out a scream filled with pain as his massive body was sent flying like a scarecrow! He instantly slammed into the wall behind him.

Although Luffy's attack wasn't particularly strong, the moment he was hit, a domineering and imposing force permeated Teach's entire body, disrupting his Armament Haki and causing him to cough up blood.

"Dark Water!"

Despite the pain, Blackbeard grabbed Luffy with his backhand and forced him out of Second Gear. He then Luffy to the ground.

Bang!

"Ahhhh—"

Blood mixed with screams spurted from Luffy's mouth. He rolled backward to break free from his opponent's grasp, and then:

Second Gear!

Just as Luffy, having re-entered Second Gear, was about to charge forward again, a white-armored arm pulled him back. —While, given Luffy's strength, the puppet White Knight couldn't possibly actually hold him back. However:

"Roman..."

"Calm down, Luffy."

"We don't need to get entangled with this guy. Let's think about our objective!"

·······

"I see,"

Luffy, having exited Gear Second Gear, Luffy. Even in his anger, he hadn't forgotten that he was there to save Ace, not to fight on impulse.

"Hahaha, even more powerful than I imagined... and your Haki has increased quite a bit too..."

Facing the Blackbeard that had just wiped his mouth, the White Knight calmly placed a piece of emerald green paper on Luffy, allowing him to quickly recover his strength and injuries.

"Blackbeard, if we hadn't lured Magellan away and released... you would never have had the chance to get here."

"Hahaha, you're in the same boat. If we hadn't taken care of the guards up there, you'd probably be having a real headache, wouldn't you?"

That's true.

If Magellan hadn't caused such a ruckus in Impel Down with Luffy and the others, he wouldn't have released Shiryu of the Rain because he felt he was short-handed.

If Blackbeard hadn't cleared out the guards on the upper three levels, it's likely that he, Luffy, and the others would have had a very difficult time escaping. Therefore:

Fate is truly amazing, as it allowed two mortal enemies to work together seamlessly to stage a meticulously planned prison break.

"I will definitely rescue Ace!"

The two groups passed each other, while Luffy looked intently at Blackbeard.

"Hahaha, it's not impossible, after all, nothing is impossible in this world."

"Don't Sky Island actually exist?"

"The same goes for the Greatest Treasure; it definitely exists!! Hehehe~~~"

... A miracle?

"Let's go, Luffy."

The White Knight patted Luffy on the shoulder.

As the two groups went up and down, they each went their own way and faced their own destinies.

"Run! Run!!"

"Quick, quick! That guy's here—"

If you were to ask why the escaped prisoners were so panicked, fearful, and even desperate:

"Straw Hat Kid!"

"I will not let you leave this place even once!!"

An angry voice rapidly approached from behind; the true 'King' of Impel Down had caught up. —Magellan!

Tsk, Blackbeard, you're such a loser!

Judging by the timeline, they really were all wiped out by a single wad of phlegm...

"Run!!"

A group of people rushed uphill frantically because behind them:

"Poison Dragon!"

Witnessing Hannibal's gruesome fate, the enraged Magellan's three-headed venomous Poison Dragon roared and rampaged like berserk beasts, indiscriminately spewing venom! Even Blackbeard's entire crew had been wiped out in a single blow by one of these Poison Dragons; the people before him were even more vulnerable—

With each shake of Poison Dragon head, a group of prisoners would fall to the ground, venom raining down; with each roll, the prison would tremble and shake violently in a frenzy, lava surging like waves; like a god, like a demon, it was simply invincible! Even a proud man like Crocodile was only concerned with keeping his head down and moving forward.

"Roman!"

The White Knight nodded in response to Luffy's shout.

"Leave the ship to me. But—"

The White Knight turned to Jinbe beside him, "Could you please push the ship for a bit later? After all, without Nami, my 'ship' will be a little slow to start."

?

"No problem."

Although he didn't know what Nami had to do with the ship, Jinbe immediately nodded in agreement. —It's just pushing the ship! But:

?!!

"Where is the ship...?"

The prisoners who rushed Impel Down were completely dumbfounded! There wasn't a single ship in sight. Impel Down had already deployed its warships to the sea, so even if the prisoners fought their way out, they would only fall into another cycle of despair.

"It's over. I finally crawled out of hell to get here..."

"Damn it, am I going to be—"

Brush--!

Faced with the despairing crowd, Luffy, who was running behind Luffy out his arms and instantly hugged everyone together.

"Hello? Hello?"

"Stop! Don't be impulsive!!"

"Ahead lies the vast ocean, teeming with sea kings—"

The hundreds of people grabbed by Luffy's 'Gum-Gum Grab' were instantly Luffy flying off the dock, while below:

Splash splash~~~

"Very good, let's use all the paper."

The White Knight spat out the last piece of paper from the massive Iron Barrel on its chest, swiftly sketching the outline of a 'ship' on the seawater! The gunwale, deck, sails—

"Paper Dance - White Plum!"

Knock knock knock,

A group of people fell onto the pure white deck like dumplings being dropped into a pot, lying in a pile, one on top of the other. Although it looked very messy, however:

"They escaped!!!"

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Jinbe, push the boat!"

While the others cheered, the White Knight had already given a loud order. Meanwhile:

"Ivankov, Death Wink!"

"Crocodile, bring some wind!"

Both were experts, and they immediately understood Roman's meaning. The Okama King winked sharply at the dock, a massive impact slamming into it, instantly sending the pure white sailboat beneath her hurtling towards the sea. Crocodile, after an annoyed click of his tongue, still spread his palms, conjuring a gust of wind, but:

"Forget it, forget it, your aim is terrible. You're not even as good as Nami's finger. You should just give up."

???

Do you look down on me?!

As for Jinbe, he quickly jumped into the sea and then pushed the pure white sailboat from behind, cutting through the waves and Impel Down Magellan, who was standing dumbfounded on the dock, behind.

"The prison break was successful!"

"We are finally free—"

Faced with a ship full of prisoners piled up like a human pyramid, weeping with joy, the White Knight shook his head.

"Don't be too happy yet, my ship can't hold out for long. We must capture a warship."

Of course, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's already safe. While naval warships certainly have elite sailors, even rear Rear Admiral, in the face of the current combat power of the Going Merry, even Elite Vice Admiral would flee in terror. It can be said that:

The Impel Down adventure has come to an end.

And next is—

Marineford War!