Chapter 515: Rallying for the Rescue

“We can’t let anyone underestimate us. Let’s go!”

Seeing Luffy charge ahead without hesitation, members of the Whitebeard Pirates surged with excitement and followed, clearing the obstacles behind him.

“Is a brat like that really enough to boost morale? Still, it won’t affect the actual battle.”

“Stay calm and follow your orders.”

“Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!”

Massive waves of Navy soldiers leapt down from both sides of the harbor, splitting up to cut between Luffy and the pirates trailing him.

“That bastard Sengoku—he means we don’t have to stick to any execution schedule with pirates. All that talk about preparations, that’s the real trick.”

“Dad, the Navy just got word that Ace’s execution will happen ahead of schedule.”

Marco, whose hearing was razor sharp, broke off from Tradis the moment he heard this and rushed back to Whitebeard’s side.

“I got it. What about Squard and the others?”

That news didn’t matter so much anymore. What did matter was that the pirates were running out of steam. Unless the 43 allied crews showed up, breaking this stalemate was impossible.

“They’re locked in a fierce fight at the bayhead against the Vice Admirals.”

“I’ll fly over and back them up.”

Marco was always hot-headed, and things really had come to a standstill. With Garp and Sengoku yet to join the battle, the pirates were at a huge disadvantage.

Not to mention, there were still tons of Navy soldiers at both sides of the harbor who hadn’t even entered the fray. Actually breaking through the plaza would need a small army.

“No—hold it. Leaking such intel to speed us up must be part of his plan.”

“Letting us hear that kind of mistake? He’d never slip up like that. That’s just the kind of man he is.”

Whitebeard was truly a master tactician. Sengoku’s schemes meant little in front of him. Still, even he couldn’t guess exactly what Sengoku’s preparations meant—or he’d be countering already.

“Boom!”

Tradis, dressed in a yellow coat, appeared in a flash at the head of the 14th Division, blocking Kiel and the others.

“Admiral Tradis!”

“If I don’t take you down, you’re just going to cause me trouble.”

Tradis didn’t bother with Kiel and his crew. His eyes were fixed on Luffy, still barreling toward him.

It was Straw Hat Luffy’s sudden dash that had shifted the mood in the plaza, letting the pirates break through almost a hundred meters.

Golden light burst from Tradis. Countless glowing blades of energy gathered, ready to strike—while Luffy kept his head down and charged without flinching.

“He—he’s going to get himself killed, that Straw Hat kid!”

“Death Wink!”

Ivankov wasn’t about to watch the boss’s son die right in front of him. He launched a golden-red semicircle shield to block Tradis’s blade storm.

The tremendous pressure made Buggy mutter about just wanting to go home.

“Captain Buggy, I can’t believe what you just said.”

“Are you sure you want to say he won’t make it out alive?”

“Are you serious right now?”

“No wonder he’s a legendary crew member—he’s not scared of an admiral at all!”

Only Galdino had caught what Buggy said earlier. “Are your ears deafened by hope or what?”

“Straw Hat, you alright?”

Seeing Luffy get back on his feet, Ivankov finally relaxed.

If the boss found out Luffy died right in front of him, he’d never live it down.

“That was close. Thanks, Iva!”

“Protecting your life is my mission!”

Whoosh!

“Tradis again?”

“No—what is that?”

A robot with a metal shell stepped into view, firing attacks identical to Tradis’s.

“Iva!”

“Don’t worry, leave this to me. You keep moving forward.”

“Alright!”

Seeing that Ivankov wasn’t too badly injured, Luffy nodded and kept running toward the execution platform.

With Luffy gone, Ivankov turned to face the robot. His face hardened—this machine was no pushover.

Two iron rings came flying from the sky but Luffy kicked them away with both feet.

“Tough luck running into us.”

“Straw Hat, your adventure ends here.”

Standing before him was Iron Fist Fullbody from Baratie and a member of the Black Cat Pirates, from Usopp’s own village.

“Who are you guys?”

Honestly, there were few people Luffy could remember by name. He had no clue who these two were—especially since they wore Navy uniforms now. No wonder he drew a blank.

“Fullbody, here’s the bill from the Baratie—I’m paying you back right now!”

“Oh, you mean the guy Sanji kicked sky high.”

Now Luffy remembered. Back at Baratie, some Navy officer didn’t respect women and got sent flying by Sanji. Wasn’t that this guy?

“This hypnosis ring—don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about it.”

“You’re the hypnotist from Usopp’s village, right? What’s a guy like you doing here?”

At the sight of those familiar iron rings, it all came back. Wasn’t this Jango, the reverse hypnotist who’d put himself and his allies to sleep?

“I’ve polished my hypnosis in the Navy, Straw Hat! Two rings now—double the effect!”

“One, two, Jango, deep sleep for you. One, two—Jango—clack clack!”

Sure enough, Jango’s performance went sideways again and both he and Fullbody knocked themselves out. Luffy’s eyes went blank—was this some kind of circus act?

“Oh, I thought you might need backup, Luffy.”

Sanji strolled over, relaxed as ever, with Zoro at his side.

They’d meant to take out Jango and Fullbody themselves—but the idiots ended up hypnotizing each other anyway.

“Ahaha! Zoro! Sanji! Guys!”

Looking back, Luffy saw that not just Zoro and Sanji, but the others too had joined the fight, carving out a path and making sure the Navy couldn’t cut them off from behind.

“Facing Hawk Eyes again—I’ve dreamed of that rematch, and he’s right up ahead.”

Zoro drew his three blades, locking eyes with Hawk Eyes up on the grandstand. That fighting spirit caught Hawk Eyes’ attention immediately.

“The kid from East Blue has grown up, huh?”

“Honestly, I still haven’t gone toe-to-toe with a Warlord myself. Maybe this time I’ll get to reclaim my pride.”

Sanji still brooded over what happened in the Florian Triangle. He was never letting Moria off the hook.

“Alright!”

“Tashigi is disappointed.”

Tashigi stepped up and sent the two fools flying with one kick.

“You—you’re the one from Alabasta, right? I don’t have time to waste on you.”

“Don’t even think of running! Feathery Jail!”

She spread out her arms, and rows of iron bars grew in looping circles, trapping Luffy and the others in the middle.

“Anything my body passes through gets locked in place.”

“I am not getting trapped again!”

“Alright—Luffy’s mine. You go on ahead.”

“One Sword Style—Lion Song!”

Shing!

With a flash, Zoro carved through all the bars, opening a new path for Luffy.

“Alright, I’ll leave this to you, Zoro!”

“Yeah, go on—just keep pushing ahead.”