The Audacity of G-5

Across the frozen, poisoned wasteland of Punk Hazard, Caesar's laughter rolls over the island as Shinokuni advances. He declares, "IT'S ALL OVER!! SHURORORORORO!!" and boasts that "THERE ISN'T A SINGLE PLACE LEFT ON PUNK HAZARD WHERE LIFE COULD POSSIBLY EXIST!!!" Inside the laboratory, the surveillance screens show the devastation, and someone asks, "WHY AREN'T WE SEEING THEIR SOLIDIFIED FORMS!?" Another notes, "WHY AREN'T G-5 GUYS IN FRONT OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE!?" The question is treated as "SHINOKUNI'S DEBUT EXPERIMENT," but Caesar suddenly pauses: "BUT WAIT!! HMM M!?" Monet reports trouble from inside the cage: "WHAT ABOUT THE STRAWHATS!? LAW!? AND SMOKER-- THEY'RE ALL GOOD AND DEAD, RIGHT?" Caesar answers with doubt: "THE FACT THAT WE CAN'T SEE G-5... IS PROOF THAT THOSE GUYS IN THE CAGE GOT AWAY...!!" Monet asks, "WHAT DO YOU THINK, VERGO...?" Vergo replies coldly, "MY MARINES ARE A COLLECTION OF VIOLENT IDIOTS... THEY COULDN'T ESCAPE ALL ON THEIR OWN." Caesar realizes the escape points to Law and the others; Vergo adds, "AT ANY RATE, I CAN'T LET LAW GET AWAY... DEPENDING ON HIS OBJECTIVE, IT MAY BE THAT I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO TAKE CARE OF HIM PERSONALLY." Caesar snaps, "WHAT THE HELL, VERGO! ARE YOU SAYING THEY ESCAPED?"

The alarmed report continues inside the lab. A subordinate cries, "MASTER!!" and points out that, "WITH THE PIRATE 'STRAWHAT LUFFY' LEADING THE CHARGE..." the enemies have not simply escaped but pushed deep into the facility. Another shouts, "THE ENEMIES HAVE ALREADY INVADED THE LOBBY OF A-BLOCK!! AND THEY'VE ALREADY STARTED TO MOVE DEEPER INTO THE LAB!!!" Caesar's face distorts in fury: "!!! WHAT THE!!? THEY'RE INSIDE!!?" He cannot believe it: "HOW DID THEY GET THROUGH THAT IMPENETRABLE SHUTTER!!! HOW'D THEY GET OUT OF THAT CAGE!!!" The scene cuts to Chopper running with a note in hand, still worried but relieved: "THANK GOODNESS, IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE'S SAFE...!!" He reflects, "I DON'T KNOW WHO GAVE ME THIS NOTE, BUT I GUESS THEY WERE TRYING TO TELL ME THAT THEY COULD ESCAPE ON THEIR OWN...!!" and adds, "I'VE GOT A SEDATIVE, TOO...!!"

Chopper races through the passage and thinks, "BUT WHERE SHOULD I GO NOW!?" From the control side, Monet quietly processes the evidence: "...... AND NOW I UNDERSTAND THE COMPOSITION OF THE DRUG...!!" Caesar turns his anger toward his troops: "WHAT ARE MY SOLDIERS DOING!!" A subordinate answers that the defense in A-Block has thinned: "THERE ARE ONLY A FEW OF US GUARDS IN A-BLOCK NOW, SIR. THE MAIN SQUADRON IS PREPARING FOR BATTLE IN THE INNER BARRACKS OF B-BLOCK!!" Caesar sees the route the escapees must take: "SO THEY'RE HOPING TO ESCAPE, HUH...!? THEN THEY'VE GOT TO BE HEADING FOR GATE 66 IN R-BLOCK...!!" He decides to trap them before they can leave: "BUT I WON'T LET THEM GET THERE!!! CLOSE UP THE ACCESSWAY BETWEEN A AND B-BLOCK!!!"

Caesar issues the order against a diagram of Laboratory 3, marking the blocks and the route from A toward B, while Shinokuni threatens the front entrance. He commands, "SHUT THIS GATE, HERE" and "ISOLATE A-BLOCK!!!" He adds an even crueler instruction: "AND DESTROY THE OUTER WALL OF A-BLOCK SO THAT SHINOKUNI CAN FLOW IN!!!" One subordinate hesitates, "EH!? BUT IF WE DO THAT, THEN OUR OWN GUARDS WILL-- ALSO...!!" Caesar does not care: "WHO CARES, JUST DO IT!! AND DON'T FORGET TO SET UP THE SURVEILLANCE DENDEN MUSHI." When the subordinate says, "EH... MASTER!?" Caesar concludes, "WE'LL FIX UP THIS EXPERIMENT AND MAKE IT RIGHT FOR THE BROKERS." To him, the Marines and guards inside are expendable. He dismisses the escapees' resistance: "AS OF NOW I DON'T YET THINK THEY GRASP THE EXTENT OF MY SCIENTIFIC ABILITY!!"

Vergo steps forward, reading Caesar's panic as more than ordinary irritation. He asks, "HMM? PLANNING TO DO SOMETHING, VERGO...?" and Caesar, still clinging to his plan, says, "AT BEST, ALL YOU'LL CATCH WITH THAT TRAP ARE SOME SMALL FRIES." Caesar then turns on Vergo: "THE ONE WHO LET LAW AND SMOKER SLIP AWAY AND WHO LOST TRACK OF THEM IS YOU AND YOU ALONE, CAESAR!!" Caesar protests, "I CAN'T LEAVE THIS IN YOUR HANDS...!!!" Vergo is unmoved and says, "I'LL CUT THEM ALL TO RIBBONS...!!" Monet notices something odd: "YOU'RE NOT A SWORDSMAN, ARE YOU..." Vergo answers, "RIGHT. I WAS NEVER A SWORDSMAN." Caesar looks back and mutters, "HMM? THAT'S STRANGE. I CAN'T FIND MY SWORD...!!" Vergo decides, "WELL, I'LL BE BACK AFTER CRUSHING THOSE BRATS...!!!"

Inside the lab's A-Block, the escapees are stopped by a strange enemy. A sign identifies the area as "INSIDE THE LAB: A-BLOCK." A centaur-like pirate blocks the way and announces, "I WON'T LET YOU THROUGH, 'STRAWHAT'!! GUAHAHAOHAOHAOA!!" He introduces himself: "I'M THE GATEKEEPER TO B-BLOCK, FORMER PIRATE 'MACHETE' ROON. IN THE NAME OF OUR BELOVED SCIENTIST, MASTER CAESAR..." Luffy stares and says, "THOSE AREN'T ANIMAL LEGS... I'VE GOT NO RESPECT FOR YOU!!" The narration note clarifies that "ROON" actually answers Luffy as his pained grunt means "spider." Roon charges, but Luffy blasts him aside with a heavy strike, the impact shouting "KUMA!!!" as debris explodes through the passage. Luffy insults him mid-blow: "WHAT SORT OF '-TAUR' ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE...!!!"

The Straw Hats and their allies charge through A-Block. Roon is thrown aside while enemies cry, "OUTTA MY WAY!!!" and "GYAHH!!" Luffy notices the huge route ahead: "HUH?" A sign marks the "ACCESSWAY BETWEEN A AND B-BLOCK," and the industrial gate begins sounding its warning: "*BEEP* *BEEP*" The passage is enormous, big enough that someone gasps, "WHAT A GIANT PASSAGE!!!" But the command from Caesar has reached the machinery. The open sign changes toward closure, the warning continues, "BEEP!!" and the gate display reads "CLOSE." The SFX around the machinery emphasizes the massive door beginning to move, cutting off the only path deeper into the lab.

The warning spreads through the accessway: "*BEEP*!!" "*POP*" "*BEEP*!!" Law hears it and asks, "LAW!! WHAT'S THIS BUZZER ABOUT!?" He answers with alarmed clarity: "IT'S A WARNING THAT THE GATE TO THIS BLOCK IS CLOSING. THERE'S ONLY ONE ROUTE TO THE NEXT AREA, B-BLOCK. THEY'RE TRYING TO SHUT US OUT... YOU SHOULD QUICKLY MOVE YOUR MEN FARTHER INSIDE." Bodies and wreckage lie around the passage as the group runs, and Law's warning makes the situation plain: if the allies do not move immediately, the closing partition will separate them from their escape route and leave part of the group trapped in A-Block.

Near the entrance inside A-Block, the Marines and pirates face the collapsing situation. A small map marks their place near the A-Block entrance. Law says, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WITH THAT TIME LIMIT THAT TRAFALGAR LAW SET, BUT THERE'S NOWHERE TO RUN!!" Zoro, swords drawn, is ready to force a path: "THERE'S NO WAY WE'LL LET YOU ESCAPE FROM RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES!! 'STRAWHAT' CREW!! HERE WE GO...!!" Then the G-5 Marines and Straw Hats clash in a chaotic rush. The broad cry across the battle is "OUT OF OUR WAY!!!" The enemies react to the strange mix of attacks and elements: "HOT, HOT!!" "THAT HURTS!!" "SO COLD!!" The page makes clear that every second of fighting now matters because the gate behind them is closing.

The allies push forward through a scrum of Marines, pirates, and the drugged dragon. Brook laughs, "YOHOHOHO," while someone says, "UOHHH!! WE SURE CAN COUNT ON THEM, THOSE THREE MUSKETEERS!!" Nami calls from the group, "SORRY BROWNBEARD-CHI, BUT COULD YOU CARRY US A BIT FARTHER?" Brownbeard struggles under the burden and the dragon's weight: "HAA YEAH THAT'S FINE, BUT YOU GUYS...!! WHY'D YOU BRING THAT DRAGON WITH YOU! HAA... HAA..." The answer is practical: "WE THOUGHT THAT IF WE CAUGHT IT WE COULD FLY AWAY FROM THE GAS, BUT..." Brownbeard complains, "IT'S NOT FLYING NOW BECAUSE IT'S BEEN SEDATED. BUT I DON'T THINK BRINGING IT INTO THE LAB WAS SUCH A GOOD IDEA." Nami admits, "IT'S DANGEROUS!? BUT IT'S MAKING SUCH A CUTE FACE..." Meanwhile, G-5 charges with battle hunger: "THIS IS A RARE CHANCE!! WE'VE GOT TO STOP THEM!!!" and another Marine answers, "IT'LL BE MY PLEASURE!!!" The dragon growls, "*GRRRRRR*" and "*BOHHHHH*" as it is dragged along.

Zoro crashes through the Marines, having already warned them. He says, "I'VE ALREADY WARNED YOU," and the impact rings out as soldiers are knocked away. The Marines shout, "WHIII!" and "!!?" A G-5 soldier calls Tashigi by her familiar nickname in surprise: "CA... CAPTAIN-CHAN!?" Another sneers, "SO YOU'VE BECOME A CAPTAIN THEN, YOU CON-WOMAN. BUT YOU'VE GOT NO FIGHTING SPIRIT...!!" Tashigi, carried through the chaos, tells the attackers, "EHH... PLEASE GO ON AHEAD!!" The group keeps moving while the Marines insist on fighting. Someone warns, "G-5!!! THIS IS NO TIME TO BE FIGHTING!!" and another calls, "PLEASE HURRY UP AND HEAD FOR THE INNER PASSAGE!!" The page pivots from combat to urgency: even enemies can see the closing gate is the real threat.

The warning grows louder: "BEEP!! BEEP!!" and the only exit from the area begins to close. A Marine cries, "THE ONLY GATE OUT OF THIS AREA IS CLOSING!!" Others react, "EH" and "!!?" The group understands the trap: "IS CAESAR TRYING TO TRAP US IN HERE!?" The answer is immediate and frantic: "IF WE DON'T MAKE IT THROUGH THAT GATE... WE WON'T BE ABLE TO ESCAPE PUNK HAZARD!! NOW HURRY ON!!!" The order passes through the crowd: "THIS IS BAD!!! HURRY UP YOU BASTARDS!!" "DO AS TASHIGI-CHAN SAID!!" "CARRY THE WOUNDED!!" "LET'S MAKE A BEELINE FOR THE GATE!!!" Even the rough G-5 soldiers begin acting in coordination, putting survival and Tashigi's command ahead of pride.

Robin appears beside the group, and Nami snaps, "...THAT WAS AN AWFUL THING YOU DID." Someone shouts in surprise, "UOH! ROBIN, WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?" Robin answers calmly, "UFUFU LUFFY ASKED ME TO." Nami hears the worsening alarm and asks, "DID YOU HEAR THAT!? THE SITUATION NOW?" Brownbeard, still moving, urges, "HANG IN THERE BROWNBEARD-CHI!! MAKE A DASH FOR IT!!" He replies, "HAA, HAA IT'S NOT GOOD, THIS IS AS FAST AS I CAN GO!" G-5 grumbles while running: "WE'RE DOING NOTHING BUT RUNNING, THAT WE ARE!!" One asks, "IS THAT A COMPLAINT I HEARD!?" Another denies it: "NO IT IS NOT!! WELL, I'M NOT A SAMURAI, SO I'LL SAY IT... I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!" At the gate, the warning is nearly final: "IT'S ALMOST COMPLETELY CLOSED!!! HURRY, HURRY!!" and someone orders, "MOVE IT, G-5!!" The Marines behind Brownbeard still question him: "HEY, WHY IS BROWNBEARD WITH THE PIRATES!?" "COULD IT BE? HAS HE BETRAYED MASTER!?" "OUR GREAT SAVIOR...!?" Brownbeard only shouts, "ANYWAY, HURRY UP. WE'VE ALSO GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

Outside the lab, Caesar's plan moves into its most brutal stage. A label reads "OUTSIDE THE LAB." The outer wall of A-Block of Laboratory 3 is targeted, and the order is given: "EXPERIMENTAL-USE CANNON-BALL, STANDING BY!!!" Another command follows: "AIMING!!" and then "SHIFT!!" The cannon is pointed at the wall. Inside, the blast hits with a massive impact, and the trapped people cry, "!!?" and "UWAHHHHHHHH!!" Debris and smoke fill the area. One person shouts, "THE WALL BROKE! OH GOD... NO..." Tashigi sees the breach with horror: "EHH..." Through the broken wall, the poison gas floats inward: "*FLOAT* FLOAT*" Someone cries, "YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!" The page confirms Caesar has not merely closed the gate; he has opened A-Block to Shinokuni.

The broken wall vomits Shinokuni into A-Block. Someone screams, "THAT KILLER GAS IS COMING INSIDE!!!" The gas floods behind the crowd as the group runs, and the commands become pure survival: "RUN!! RUN!!" The people nearest the gas panic: "AAA AAA!!" "HELP M..." and one victim cries, "GYAHHHHHHH!!" as the poison catches him. The escape route is now almost shut, and someone shouts, "INTO THE GATE!!" Another warns, "IF WE DON'T MAKE IT, WE'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD!!" The page shows the cruel geometry of Caesar's trap: the gas advances from the broken wall while the Section B gate closes ahead, forcing everyone through a narrowing gap or leaving them to petrify behind it.

In the crush before the gate, Tashigi is thrown through the closing gap. Someone yells, "MADE IT!!" while another is hit aside with "OOF...!!" Tashigi lands on the safe side, stunned: "WOAH!!" and someone cries, "EHH!!? CAPTAIN-CHAN CAME FLYING THROUGH!!" She wakes into immediate concern: "HAA... HAA... PLEASE GET OUT OF MY WAY. THERE ARE STILL A NUMBER OF MARINES OUT THERE!!!" Another Marine asks, "CAPTAIN-CHAN, HOW DID YOU FLY IN LIKE THAT!? DID SOMEONE THROW YOU!? AND SO VIOLENTLY!!" But the answer is bitter: "AND THERE'S NO WAY BACK OUT, THE GATE IS ALREADY--" The page reveals that G-5 has chosen to prioritize Tashigi's survival, even if their own escape is no longer possible.

Tashigi desperately tries to return for her men. She cries, "!! CAPTAIN-CHAN, IT'S NO GOOD!! IT'S TOO LATE!!" and another Marine on the safe side says, "DON'T BE STUPID!! YOUR COMRADES ARE STILL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GATE!! PLEASE GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!" A Marine answers the impossible truth: "SAVING THEM IS IMPOSSIBLE!! CAPTAIN TASHIGI!!" From behind the barrier, the trapped G-5 soldiers raise thumbs and peace signs through the smoke. They shout to her, "...!! WELL DONE, YOU GUYS!!! WE'VE RECEIVED OUR PRECIOUS CAPTAIN-CHAN, SAFE AND SOUND!!!" Tashigi is horrified, unable to accept the sacrifice. Caesar watches through surveillance and laughs, "SHURORORORORO!!! YOU SCUM!!!" then snarls, "YOU'RE A REAL BUNCH OF SURVIVORS, BUT I WON'T LET ANYONE ESCAPE!!!" In a narrow side panel, Sanji runs carrying Kin'emon's head, with the sound "SHURORORO..." trailing into the end of the chapter. The final emotional beat belongs to G-5: crude, reckless Marines who deliberately stayed behind so their captain could live.

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