Escape Ship

The convoy ship crashes through the chaos as Franky and Robin push the escape forward. Marines are thrown aside, screaming "GYAA-AAAAH!!!" and "HWA-AAAH!" while the vessel smashes into the waters near the bridge. Franky does not apologize for the damage so much as for the people in his way. "SORRY, MARINES!!" he calls, then declares the purpose plainly: "WE'LL USE THIS SHIP FOR OUR ESCAPE!!!" The bridge has become a battlefield of collapsing stone, incoming cannon fire, and one stolen ship that may be the only way for the Straw Hats to survive the Buster Call.

Franky and Robin stand on the seized convoy ship and look toward the route out. "NOW, WE'RE FINALLY DONE WITH SPRING-CLEANING," Franky says. Robin confirms the plan with a quiet "YES." Franky points to the mast and declares, "THIS CONVOY SHIP IS NOW OUR ESCAPE SHIP!!" Their only remaining task is to wait for the Straw Hats: "ALL WE HAVE TO DO NOW IS WAIT FOR THE STRAWHATS!!" But something shifts under the water and along the side of the ship. A strange bubbling and a sudden "DOOOONT..." break the confidence of the moment, and Robin notices danger before it fully surfaces.

The water erupts and the saved group bursts up near the ship. Everyone screams and gasps at once, while Franky and Robin stare in surprise. The shout "WE CAN ESCAPE!!!" rises with the relief of seeing a path still open. Someone calls, "ALL RIGHT!!!" and another yells, "WUOOOOOOH!!!" The front gate and the entrance to Enies Lobby are visible behind the chaos, and the giants cheer from the roadway: "GOOOD, GIANTS!!! LEAVE IT TO US!!!" The escape is almost within reach. They can see the way off the island, but the sea and the Buster Call still roar behind them.

The enemy sees them first. Marines shout, "OH, GOSH...!!" and "THEY GOT HERE BEFORE US!!" as three warships appear before the convoy ship. The order comes down immediately: "IDENTIFY YOUR UNIT, QUARTER, AND MARINE CODE, ALONG WITH YOUR ID PHOTO." Another voice demands, "AND GET ON THE WARSHIP!!!" When the officers realize who is aboard, panic turns into aggression. "VICE ADMIRAL, SIR!! DIDN'T WE TIE THEM UP IN THE COURT-HOUSE!?" one soldier asks. The answer is practical and merciless: "HRMM. AIM AT THEM." Rifles rise as the declaration spreads: "PIRATES! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, WE'LL FIRE ALL AT ONCE IF YOU MOVE!!!" The escape ship has been found before it can sail.

The Straw Hats and their allies are trapped between two disasters. Behind them are "THE WATER-FALL AND A BURNING ISLAND," and in front of them are "MUZZLES AND CANNONS POINTED AT US!!" Someone groans, "OH CRAP~~~!!!" because there is nowhere to run. A Marine report confirms the larger encirclement: "WE HAVE COMPLETED THE RETRIEVAL OF THE MARINES AND THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS." Then the ships form a line: "EACH SHIP, KEEP A DISTANCE FROM THE MAIN GATE." The crew looks out at the surrounding warships and asks, "WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO?" The answer is not yet spoken, but the formation tells them they are being boxed in before the final fire begins.

The warships confirm the Straw Hats' route. "WARSHIPS NUMBER 6, 7, AND 8 HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE PIRATES ARE IN FRONT OF THE MAIN GATE, SIR," one report says. The answer is simply, "GOOD." Around the gate, the fleet settles into firing positions while the escape ship waits below. From the bridge and towers, people call, "HEEY!!" and "HEY, GUYS, GET A GRIP!!" but the shape of the battlefield has changed. The crew may have reached the ship, but the Buster Call has finished surrounding the very place they must pass through.

The rescued group coughs and staggers after surviving the underwater passage. Someone says, "NBU~~~!!!" while others spit up water and gasp. The shock begins to settle in. "IT MUST BE A MIRACLE...!!" someone says, and another guesses that, since they all reached a state of apparent death, they did not swallow that much water. Kokoro laughs it off with "NGAGAGA, GOOD FER 'EM." The important fact is simple: they made it out of the flooded passage alive, and the crew is back together on the path toward Robin and the escape ship.

Robin stands before Kokoro and understands who saved them. "IT WAS YOU," she says. "I WONDER WUT CAUSED LERE APPARENT DEATH..." Kokoro remarks, and Robin remembers, "I MET YOU AT THE SHIFT STATION. I REMEMBER YOU." The shock turns into recognition: "IT'S YOU, RIGHT? THE NAKAMA THAT PIRATE KING BRAT CAME TO RESCUE..." Kokoro says. Robin admits, "I DIDN'T IMAGINE... THAT YOU WOULD CAUSE SOMETHING LIKE THIS..." while Kokoro laughs and says maybe it will come true after all. Robin smiles softly: "FUFU." Behind them, Luffy's words echo in memory: "DON'T GET IN OUR WAY!!! OUR NAKAMA ARE WAITING FOR US!!!" The rescue has brought Robin back to the people who came for her.

The truth about Kokoro detonates through the crew harder than the flood did. Sanji, Chopper, and the others stare as someone yells, "MERMAIDS DON'T EXIST!!!" and another screams, "GYAAAH, IT'S REALITY!!!" Sanji rejects it with all his strength: "IDIOT!! SHE HASN'T SAID SHE'S A MERMAID YET!!! DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM!!" Kokoro calmly says, "I'M A 'SHIRAUO' MERMAID." That only makes the panic worse. Someone shouts, "NO~~~!!" while the old legend is explained: dugongs are mistaken for mermaids, mermaids split their tail fins into two when they reach age thirty, and after that they can live on land. The beautiful dream Sanji imagined underwater is replaced by Kokoro's laughing, very real presence.

The crew tries to regain itself after the shock. Robin thanks Kokoro: "KOKORO-SAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH." Kokoro answers, "NGAGAGAGA, NO WORRIES!" Sanji and Sogeking cannot stop reacting. "WE'RE NOT THE SAME!!!" someone shouts, and Sanji guesses wildly, "AH, YOU MEAN THE 'GOBLIN CAT'?" while Chopper repeats the legend he heard: "OH, I KNOW! I HEARD THAT THE TAIL OF A 100-YEAR-OLD CAT WILL SPLIT AND THE CAT WILL TURN INTO A 'MONSTER'!!" Then Sanji sees Robin and charges toward her with joy: "NNNNROOOBIN-CHAAAN!!!" Nami beams too: "I'M GLAD WE MADE IT, ROBIN!! YOU'RE SAFE!!!" The reunion finally happens in the middle of the bombardment.

The crew checks on one another, but the relief is fragile. Robin tells the others, "YES... THANKS TO YOU...!!" Kokoro laughs at their shock: "WHOA, GRANDMA!! YOU'RE A MERMAID!?" and someone says, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE YOU HAVE FINS AND SCALES AND ALL." She snaps back, "YOU SHOULD'VE FIGURED IT OUT, GRAND-DAUGHTER!!!" Chopper, still stunned, says, "I CAN'T MOVE...!!" while Zoro appears on the stairway, battered but standing. Sogeking calls, "ZORO!" then corrects himself, "I MEAN, ZORO-KUN!!" Zoro answers calmly, "I'LL TELL YOU WHEN THIS ALL ENDS." The group is alive, but everyone is wounded and the battle is not finished.

The crew looks back toward Enies Lobby. The island they just escaped has become a blazing inferno. "HARD TO BELIEVE THAT IT'S THE ISLAND WE WERE JUST AT," someone says, while another asks, "!! WHAT'S THIS ATTACK ABOUT...?" Zoro understands the pattern: "IT SEEMS THAT THERE WAS AN ORDER NOT TO KILL NICO ROBIN... SO THAT'S WHY THE BRIDGE HASN'T BEEN ATTACKED." But once Enies Lobby is completely demolished, the Marines will probably come for Robin in close combat. Sogeking asks the question everyone fears: "WHERE'S LUFFY NOW!?" He can still see smoke from the battle coming from the top of the bridge's first prop. The duel with Lucci is still burning above them.

Zoro reads the battlefield. "IT'S A BAD IDEA TO GET INVOLVED IN THEIR FIGHT AND GET SEPARATED," he says, and when someone mentions the pigeon, he answers that the pigeon guy is not ordinary. The conclusion is practical: "WE MUST KEEP OUR ESCAPE ROUTE OPEN." Even if the fleet of enemy warships comes at them, they need to hold the ship and wait. Nami understands: "THE 'STORM' IS ABOUT TO COME!!" and someone adds, "THAT'S WHAT WE SHOULD DO." Chopper cries, "AND WAIT FOR LUFFY RIGHT HERE!!" The group chooses not to rush blindly into Luffy and Lucci's battle. Their role is to protect the path home.

On the ship, Franky still wants to rejoin the others. "FRANKY..." someone says, but he snaps, "IDIOT. YOUR NAKAMA..." and the danger of the approaching fleet remains in front of him. He shouts for Paulie: "PAULIE, COME BACK!!!" while the others prepare the ship. "MAKE READY..." comes the order. Then someone realizes what Franky is holding: "WHAT ARE YOU PICKING UP THE DENDEN-MUSHI FOR!?" Franky answers the reason immediately: "THIS WAY WE CAN GET AN UPDATE ON THE STRAWHATS!!" Even amid cannon fire, he is trying to keep the scattered allies connected before the next assault arrives.

A massive explosion tears across the battlefield. Debris and smoke fill the air, and the crew reacts with alarm as the blast throws stone and wreckage outward. The Buster Call continues to crush Enies Lobby piece by piece, and the shockwave reminds everyone that even standing still is dangerous. The escape ship may be ready, but every second they wait for Luffy is a second spent under the guns of warships willing to destroy anything in their range.

The smoke clears enough to return to Luffy and Lucci. Lucci stands in leopard form amid the wreckage while Luffy, battered and breathing hard, faces him again. The broken island stretches behind them, proof of how much damage the Buster Call has already done. Both fighters pant, but neither backs away. Luffy's body is recovering from Gear Third, and Lucci is still ready to kill. The duel continues in a space that has become nothing but rubble, smoke, and the sound of warships.

Luffy and Lucci face each other across the ruined battlefield. Lucci asks, "THIS IS IT...!!" and then, "ARE YOU GOING TO DIE BY USING UP YOUR POWER...?" Luffy answers, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN LATER." Then he makes the only promise that matters: "I WILL NOT STOP USING THIS UNTIL I DEFEAT YOU." Steam rises again as he calls the technique: "GEAR" and "SECOND!!!" The chapter ends with Luffy forcing his body back into Gear Second despite the damage, choosing victory over survival because Lucci cannot be allowed to reach his friends.

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