Chapter 552: Successful Escape
"How... how is this possible!?"
Peach Rabbit slammed her hands onto the ship's railing, her entire body trembling.
It could be said that the appearance of that yellow submarine dealt a massive blow to Peach Rabbit!
If the rescue vessel had been a flying ship or another warship, she could have understood it, but a submarine—she simply couldn't figure it out!
This was the Calm Belt, after all. Beneath the surface lurked ferocious Sea Kings. How on earth had a submarine managed to reach this place!?
Weren't they afraid of attracting the attention of the Sea Kings and having the submarine sunk by them!?
Peach Rabbit trembled with rage as she finally realized she had been completely fooled by Ian this time!
Ian had never planned to escape across the surface or through the sky. He had used a method no one had thought of—escape from underwater!
From the moment he had sneakily seized the Marine warship and found someone to impersonate Vice Admiral Momonga and the Pirate Empress, the entire prison break plan had been meticulously interlinked. Even the final escape route had been arranged so unexpectedly. This was a premeditated, flawless prison break operation!
If Peach Rabbit still had ways to intercept targets on the surface or in the sky, then this submarine made her truly want to tear her hair out!
Once they entered the water, no one could track their whereabouts. The Marine warship had no weapons to deal with underwater targets, and seawater was a great enemy of Devil Fruit users. Peach Rabbit herself couldn't dive in to pursue them.
Failure. This operation to intercept and suppress Ian was a complete failure!
Thinking this, Peach Rabbit immediately shouted, "Quick! Open fire! Sink that submarine before it dives!"
However, sinking a submarine with cannon fire was no easy task. Unlike a regular ship, only the entrance hatch was visible above the water; the rest was hidden beneath the surface. From such a distance, hitting such a small target with cannonballs was purely a matter of luck!
At Peach Rabbit's command, the Marines snapped back to reality and hurriedly adjusted their cannons, opening fire at the submarine.
Meanwhile, the prisoners were cheering, jumping one by one into the open hatch of the submarine.
To be honest, even they were astonished when they saw that the rescue vessel was a submarine.
"Torao, this is your ship, right?" Luffy's eyes lit up as he spotted the Heart Pirates' emblem on the submarine, asking Trafalgar Law, "What's it called?"
"The Nautilus!" Trafalgar Law tugged at his hat, a hint of pride in his voice.
That's right, this submarine was Law's pirate ship. In fact, after Law and Urouge joined, Ian had three ships at his disposal: the Ark Maxim, Urouge's pirate ship, and Law's submarine.
Ian had originally considered using the Ark Maxim to evacuate, but its supply of Wind Dial shells was running low, and the Ark Maxim had already been exposed at Marine Headquarters. He guessed the Marines might anticipate an aerial escape and prepare countermeasures. Though the Ark Maxim was made of gold, it was still just a ship. If hit by Marine cannon fire, it would be disastrous.
So, after much thought, Ian decided to use Law's submarine as a backup plan.
However, Law's submarine had a few drawbacks. One was its limited internal space. Don't misunderstand—the submarine's overall size was similar to a regular ship, but to withstand water pressure during underwater travel, it was built thicker, compressing the interior. That's why Ian had earlier mentioned it would be "a bit cramped."
Of course, even if cramped, it could still accommodate everyone. Ian had only freed prisoners from four levels, and some had died in the battles with the guards and Magellan. So, there were only about a hundred prisoners. They could squeeze in if they endured a bit.
As for the other drawback—navigating the Calm Belt. The submarine would indeed attract the attention of Sea Kings, posing a huge risk.
But Ian had come up with a solution: borrowing the two giant serpents that pulled the Kuja Pirates' ship!
These two serpents, though smaller than some Sea Kings, were not weak. In fact, they were highly venomous Sea King creatures. Even larger Sea Kings dared not provoke them. This was why the Kuja Pirates' ship could freely travel through the Calm Belt.
Boa Hancock naturally didn't refuse Ian's request. So, after Ian and the others set off on the warship, the Kuja Pirates began modifying the submarine. Dorry and Matthew stayed behind with Penguin, a member of the Heart Pirates, waiting for the modifications to be completed before piloting the submarine to catch up from behind.
If someone were to dive into the sea now, they would see Law's submarine being pulled forward by the two serpents with steel cables. The reins controlling the serpents were tied to the rear rudder, allowing the pilot in the cockpit to steer the serpents by changing the rudder's direction.
Ian hadn't known the exact arrival time of the submarine, only estimating it. He had sent Jinbe to observe underwater, and when the submarine appeared, Jinbe was to notify him so he could retrieve the idiot Enel.
But when Magellan saw Jinbe dive into the water, he worried that a Fish-Man pirate ship capable of diving might be coming to rescue them. Ian, reading his expression, guessed his thoughts. To prevent Magellan from shouting a warning to Peach Rabbit, Ian had to gag him first...
The prisoners scrambled to jump into the submarine, while Crocodile, Jinbe, and Ivankov dealt with the Marine cannon fire, deflecting any shells that might hit the submarine.
Ian returned carrying Enel over his shoulder. Ignoring the latter's protests, he shoved the guy into the hatch and said to the others, "Hurry, get in!"
Without wasting words, they followed and jumped in. However, when Ivankov jumped, there was a slight mishap—his face was too big and got stuck in the hatch!
In the end, he had to inject himself with a hormone to transform into a woman, making his figure slimmer and his face smaller before he could squeeze through.
Once everyone was inside, Ian sliced a cannonball in half with his sword, waved goodbye to the rapidly approaching Marine warship, then jumped into the hatch and sealed the lid behind him.
As soon as Ian was inside, Dorry and the others quickly began diving. By the time the Marine warship finally rushed over to the entrance of Impel Down, the submarine had completely vanished beneath the surface...
"Damn it!" Watching Ian and the others disappear before her eyes, even the well-mannered Peach Rabbit couldn't help but curse in anger, stomping her foot hard on the deck.
A miscalculation, a complete miscalculation! If she had known they would escape this way, she shouldn't have kept the warship so far away.
Magellan let out a sigh, but a cloud of poison gas spread across the deck, forcing the nearby Marines and prison guards to quickly retreat. However, since they were outside, his poison wasn't as potent, and no one was poisoned. He called someone to unlock his Seastone handcuffs, then asked Peach Rabbit, "What now? Does the Marines have any other interception plans?"
"No!" Vice Admiral Peach Rabbit shook her head. "Even if they did, who could track them once they're underwater?"
"This prison break at Impel Down is mainly my fault!" Magellan said gloomily. "I'll submit my resignation to Marine Headquarters..."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help much," Peach Rabbit replied in turn. "I share some of the blame. But for now, let's focus on getting Impel Down back in order, even if it's empty now..."
..........................
Meanwhile, beneath the sea, the two giant serpents plunged their heads into the water, twisting their bodies to pull a sleek, streamlined submarine forward at high speed.
Though the prisoners were packed in the submarine like sardines, it didn't stop them from cheering and celebrating excitedly.
The Heart Pirates members brought out beer stored on the submarine, sparking another round of cheers. The prisoners laughed heartily, raising their cups and clinking them with everyone around, whether they knew them or not.
Having finally escaped the hell known as Impel Down, some prisoners, recalling the unbearable tortures they endured, wept bitterly and even considered turning over a new leaf and going home to get married.
But more than anything, they yearned for freedom.
Only those who have lost it truly understand how precious freedom is...
Many prisoners pressed against the submarine's transparent windows, gazing outside. They saw the fierce serpents pulling the submarine and the shadows of massive Sea Kings occasionally drifting by, praying nervously, "You can't see me, you can't see me..."
Law grabbed Franky, warning this pervert to wear pants on his ship, but Franky, along with Luffy and Chopper, was dancing a celebratory jig, ignoring him entirely...
All kinds of expressions played out inside the submarine. But as they celebrated wildly, they had no idea how much their prison break would shake the world...
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