Rubick knew he could not hide it for long. He had opened Portals in public many times. But as long as the Marines did not connect those Portals to his prison break, he had nothing to fear.
Even Kizaru, fast as he was, could not catch Rubick when Rubick had a Portal.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard and Luffy kept trying to contact Rubick, but neither could reach him.
Marco said, "Should we send someone to Alabasta and capture Vivi?"
Everyone had seen how close Rubick and Vivi were. Marco had first thought of Robin and Nami, but they were Luffy's crewmates, and Luffy was Ace's younger brother. So he had settled on kidnapping Vivi instead.
Whitebeard motioned for him to be patient. "I don't think Rubick is a man who breaks his word. The heir to Alabasta, a princess, knew he was a pirate and still chose to be with him. That can't be explained by love alone."
"A man like that must have something special about him."
Marco said, "True. Ace told me Rubick personally picked everyone aboard his brother Luffy's ship. From what I've seen, every one of them is first-rate."
Whitebeard laughed. "Red-Haired Shanks set Luffy on his path, and Rubick personally chose his crew. How many people would envy him if they heard that?"
Off the Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy and the others had escaped Kizaru's pursuit only days earlier. They said a tearful goodbye to Rayleigh, ready to storm the execution ground, but they could not get in touch with Rubick.
They sailed aimlessly across the sea before finally landing on an uninhabited island.
At Impel Down, Rubick had already made contact with Crocodile.
"Long time no see, Rubick."
Sunlight never reached Level 6, and only a few faint candles lit it. Rubick crouched in the shadows so