One Piece Chapter 548: Thank You

The escapees reach the Marine battleship after being carried through the Calm Belt by the whale sharks. Luffy and the prisoners cheer, "All right!!!" and "We made it to the battleship!!!" The scene shows the stolen ship surrounded by whale sharks and the aftermath of the frantic boarding, with prisoners sprawled across the deck and Luffy standing amid the crowd. For the first time since the Impel Down breakout began, the prisoners have a vessel under them instead of only a desperate route through the prison.

The prisoners declare, "Prison break, complete!!!" but Jimbei tells them they cannot celebrate yet and must launch the ship at once. The escapees thank the whale sharks, shouting, "Thank you, whale sharks!!!" and "Thanks for saving us!!! Be careful on your way back!!!" Others call for medicine from the sick bay and tell someone to get Inazuma the antidote. The crowd swears never to return to that hell, while Ivankov shouts, "Me neither, I'm so relieved!! I'm heading back to my family!!!"

The stolen battleship sails away from Impel Down as prisoners proclaim, "Now we're all free men!!!" and ask who they should thank for that, answering, "Captain Buggy!!!" Magellan watches from the prison and says he never thought they would make it this far. He orders the Marines to send a ship and says he will chase the escapees down and finish them off. A rear admiral reports that the cannons damaged by Jimbei have been repaired, and Magellan orders all ships to open fire. Cannonballs begin falling around the fleeing ship.

The Marine fleet gives chase, and the prisoners panic that the ships are already back up and ask how many ships the Marines have. Cannon fire explodes around the stolen vessel. One prisoner says everyone stronger than a vice admiral should be assembled at Marineford, but a battleship is still a battleship no matter who is on it. A Marine officer shouts that the escapees should realize it is hopeless: the Gates of Justice will never open for pirates like them. The chase moves from prison corridors to open water, but the escape is still blocked by the giant gates ahead.

The enormous Gates of Justice still stand in the sea ahead, and the prisoners say the mechanism is still there. Luffy, Buggy and the others panic because they have made it this far only to be stopped by the closed gate. Someone asks what they should do, and another says this is the worst possible situation. They have cut through Impel Down, stolen a battleship and survived the Calm Belt, but now the final barrier blocks the way to Marineford. Even Jimbei's calmness is tested as everyone stares at the gate that should be impossible to open from outside.

Luffy shouts, "First, protect the ship!!!" and tells everyone to guard the vessel from cannon fire. Crocodile asks why they are only defending when this is a battleship too, and orders the prisoners to fire the cannons. Buggy takes command in his own theatrical way, shouting that they will fire back at the Marines, and his followers answer, "Roger that, Captain Buggy!!" On the Marine side, a soldier wonders why the prisoners are heading for the Gates of Justice when they are trapped like rats, but then another orders fire and says there is no other way to open the gates from Impel Down.

To everyone's shock, the Gates of Justice begin opening. Marines at Impel Down tell Chief Warden Magellan that it cannot be, and guards in the gate control room nervously ask whether they should really open the gate. The escapees on the ship do not understand why the gate is opening, but the path ahead is suddenly visible. Magellan looks stunned as the sea barrier parts before the stolen battleship. The impossible final obstacle has moved, and no one on the ship yet understands who made it happen.

In the gate control room, a guard asks if Magellan is sure about opening the gate. The person giving the order, appearing as Magellan, says, "It's fine. Have my orders ever been mistaken?" and commands that after the enemy vessel passes through, they immediately shut the gates. Outside, Marines are confused and ask whether these are truly Magellan's orders, but they also fire and insist there is no way they will let the prisoners escape. The real Magellan is not the one issuing these instructions, but the prison staff are still obeying the face and voice they recognize.

Inside Impel Down, the real Magellan charges through the corridors, breathing hard. He bursts into the gate control room and shouts, "Who told you to open the Gates of Justice...!!" The guards stare in horror and realize the chief warden is standing in front of them. Luffy, on the ship, suddenly understands and says, "Bon-chan did that...?" Bon Clay has used his Mane Mane power to impersonate Magellan again, just as he did before, and has stayed behind alone to open the final route.

Luffy asks whether they are really going to leave Bon Clay behind, but Jimbei says there is no time. He asks if Luffy wants to go back and face Magellan again after they have already left hundreds of prisoners behind, warning that they will only lose more men and more time. The memory of Bon Clay plays in Luffy's mind: Bon saying he is the best one for the job, that he will open the Gates of Justice, and that an okama does not need words to say farewell. Luffy is forced to understand that Bon chose this sacrifice deliberately.

Jimbei holds out a small Den Den Mushi and says the line is still connected. He explains that the small Den Den Mushi's range is short, and once the Gates of Justice close, the signal will be lost. Over the line, the false Magellan laughs, "That's right, me!! Ngaahahahaha!!" and the guards realize he got them again and was a fake. The real Magellan stares down at the Den Den Mushi and says, "You..." as Bon Clay's disguise and trick are finally exposed in the control room.

Bon Clay says he took Magellan's face into his memory, while the real Magellan asks why he did this. Luffy calls through the Den Den Mushi, "Hey!! Can you hear me!! Bon-chan!!" and demands to know why Bon did this again when it is just like last time. He asks whether they were not going to escape together and cries that Bon was always saving him. Bon Clay listens from the control room while Magellan and the guards stand around him, his choice already made and impossible to undo.

The prisoners crowd around the Den Den Mushi, realizing that Bon Clay stayed behind by himself. They beg him to say something and call out, "Bon-chan!!!" and "Bon bro, say something!!" Mr. 3 shouts, "Mr. 2!! Guys like you...!! I'm sorry, for everything!!" Ivankov calls him "Bon boy," and the ship keeps moving while the gates begin closing. Luffy looks at the Den Den Mushi and tells Bon that they are going ahead, because the time for turning back has already ended.

Bon Clay finally answers with a tearful, enormous "THANK YOU!!!" Luffy and the others freeze in grief and shock. The prisoners answer back, thanking Bon and crying his name, while Bon tells Luffy, "Make sure you save your brother!!!" Luffy, holding the Den Den Mushi, calls out "Bon-chan!!" as the ship passes through the gates. Bon's farewell is not a request for rescue; it is a final push, sending Luffy onward toward Ace with all the force of their friendship.

As the Gates of Justice close behind the ship, the prisoners keep calling Bon Clay's name. Bon answers faintly through the fading signal, while Marines order the ship sunk and the gates continue shutting. Once the gate is closed, the connection dies. Outside, the Marine ships are left behind, and someone says, "They escaped...!!!" The ship has crossed beyond the barrier, while sea creatures churn in the water and the prison staff watch helplessly. Bon Clay's sacrifice has succeeded.

On the escaped ship, the prisoners understand that without Bon Clay they would be at the bottom of the ocean on the wrong side of the gates. Narration compares friendship to a flower blooming even in hell: "Even in Hell, the single flower known as friendship blooms. As waves break on the shore, it leaves its petals as mementos. May it one day bloom again, Okama Way." The image shows the prisoners mourning, the Den Den Mushi quiet, and Bon Clay left before Magellan inside Impel Down. His friendship has made the impossible escape possible.

Luffy and the prisoners scream, "Bon-chaaaaan!!!" while Bon Clay stands alone before Magellan. Magellan asks if he has any last words, and Bon answers, "I have no regrets." The narration says that at this time, 241 prisoners have successfully escaped from the world's greatest sea floor prison, Impel Down. Time left until Portgas D. Ace's execution: four hours. The narration also notes that this would become known as Impel Down's greatest failure, but the story did not end there.

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