Liberation.

It was nighttime, everyone was sleeping except for a certain rubbery kid.

Luffy is meditating in the bathroom while thinking about something.

'Tomorrow's the day…it's true that I've made preparations for that day in specific but, why do I feel so unease? I wish my older self could be here; he would know what to do.' Luffy.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Oi, Luffy. Are you the one in there?" Zoro asked after knocking.

Luffy opens the door.

"Come in, I'm actually not pooping." Luffy.

Zoro gives a "Are you serious?" look, sighs and enters the bathroom.

Now both of them are awkwardly inside the bathroom, Luffy in the WC and Zoro in the tub.

"So? Why did you call me?" Zoro.

"Gonna be honest, this is more uncomfortable than I imagined." Luffy.

"Oi…" Zoro.

"I'm scared." Luffy.

Zoro's eyes widen.

"Tomorrow is when we'll put everything on the line to escape this place. I'm confident about our abilities and all but, I can't shake the feeling that something can happen." Luffy.

Zoro gets up and smacks Luffy in the head.

"Ow! Why did you do that, Zoro?" Luffy.

"Because you said something stupid-er than usual." Zoro.

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember how we used to be 2 years ago? I was a loner who wanted to survive regardless of who I had to sink and you were a naïve brat that tried to be nice with everyone, regardless how many times they pushed you away."

"You then helped all of us in many different ways and earned our friendship, loyalty and respect. You shouldn't be worried for something like the 'what if's'. you should focus on your actions, since those are the only things, you can control." Zoro leaves.

Luffy is thinking about what his friend just said and smiles.

'Hehe, first, we leave this place and then, we'll go on adventures.' Luffy thought as he made his way back to his bed.

(Next day)

The kids were preparing for their assault against "The Creek" and finally escape, until....

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

A big explosion shakes the whole facility.

"ARGHHHHHH!!!" Usopp/Nami/Chopper/Vivi/Karoo/Carrot.

"What's happening?!" Franky.

"Hell if I know! Ladies, your prince will protect you!" Sanji.

"Luffy-senpai, is this part of your plan?!" Bartolomeo.

"Nope! I have no idea what's going on!" Luffy.

[INTRUDER DETECTED! INTRUDER DETECTED! ALL UNITS, REPORT TO THE EAST SIDE IMMEDIATELY!]

The kids hear the alarm and also hear the sound of many guards running through the hallways.

"Regardless of what's happening, we should use this as our chance." Katakuri.

"Agreed, captain…" Robin was cut off by Luffy's action.

[Gear Third!]

Luffy slightly bites his thumb and begins to blow air in it, inflating it.

[Hone Fuusen!]

[Gomu-Gomu No: Giganto Pistol!]

Luffy Takes his giant fist and smashes it against the wall, breaking it apart. Luffy then loses the air inside of his arm and becomes small.

"Yosh! Let's go!" Luffy.

Everyone snaps out of their astonishment and follows Chibi Luffy. They begin to run through the hallway, returning to his normal form soon after, Robin uses the information she's been gathering and guides the group the surveillance room.

They arrive but there are guards everywhere, Luffy, Katakuri, Zoro, Sanji and Jinbe begin a frontal assault. Luffy stops the bullets with his rubbery body, Zoro slash the guards, Sanji kicks them, Katakuri binds them with his mochi and Jinbe attack them with his water bullets.

"Luffy, some guards are coming this way!" Nami.

"Romeo! Buy us some time while Franky and Robin manage to unlock this whole place!" Luffy.

"Understood Luffy-senpai!" Bartolomeo.

Bartolomeo creates a barrier that stops the guards.

"Guys, let's take their weapons!" Luffy.

"I-I've never used a gun before." Usopp trembles.

"Neither have we!" Nami/Chopper/Vivi/Carrot.

"What's there to fear, let's kill them all for their insolence!" Hancock.

"Scary…" Carrot.

"Robin, Franky, how much time do you guys need?" Ace.

"AO! There's a problem, I'm not entirely sure which cables are the ones of the doors and whatnot." Franky.

"Just rip them all off, what's the worst it could happen?" Zoro.

Zoro slashes all the cables.

[WARNING! WARNING! ALL SYSTEMS ARE SHUT DOWN, COMMENCING FULL CLEANSE OF THE FACILITY IN 30 MINUTES!]

Everyone looks at Zoro pissed.

"YOU ROTTEN MOSSHEAD!" Sanji.

"You idiot, that's a typical self-destruct mechanism! How come you don't know about this!" Usopp.

"Crap! Everyone, let's bail!" Luffy.

"Luffy, look at this map of the facility!" Robin.

They look at the map and see a place called "Evacuation Port".

"Robin, got the path memorized?" Luffy.

"Yes!" Robin.

"Let's run! We have less than an hour before this place goes boom!" Luffy.

They begin their dash through the hallways, taking some guards out in the process, and see some of the children's cages. They got open after the sequence started, but no one was coming out. Luffy stops after feeling an intense sadness, helplessness and fear.

"We must help them." Luffy.

"We only have 22 minutes; you think we can make them follow us?" Katakuri.

"I have an idea." Luffy gets up and takes one of the speakerphones on the ceiling.

Luffy took out some parts with Franky's help and used Carrot's electricity to make it function again.

"HEY! EVERYONE!!!!!!!!" Luffy called all the kids.

"MY FRIENDS AND I ARE LEAVING THIS PLACE FOR GOOD! WE'RE PLANNING TO GO ON A BIG ADVENTURE SO, I WAS WONDERING, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET OUT OF HERE TOO?!" Luffy.

His voice was loud like a plane's turbines, yet delicate enough to ease their hearts. Suddenly, a kid weaking a white hat with black dots came out of one of the cages and asks Luffy.

"Can you assure it, that we'll escape from this hell."

"OF COURSE, I CAN'T! THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR LIVES ARE YOURSELVES! SO, INSTEAD OF ROTTING IN HERE, ESCAPE AND BE FREE!!!!!" Luffy.

There was a moment of silence and one after another, every kid began rushing towards Luffy's group.

"Follow us!" Luffy says as he commands Robin to lead the way.

His group however, is more versed in knowing how he managed to ease the minds and hearts of so many children that have fallen into despair.

Luffy and the kids arrived at the evacuation port. Their escape medium is some sort of big sphere-shaped pod with allot of buttons and other needs. The maximum is 21 persons per pod.

"Okay! Everyone, enter as many as you can in a pod and get out of here." Luffy.

One after another, the kids began to rush inside the pods and pressed buttons that send them elsewhere.

The kid with the white hat and a kid with red hair went towards Luffy and spoke.

"Thanks, I'll pay this debt if we meet again." White hat kid.

"I owe you this time, but there won't be a second time!" Red-haired kid.

Both kids entered a pod and escaped alongside other kids.

"Well, those were le last ones." Usopp.

"And look! There's one pod left!" Nami.

"Yosh! Let's bail, for real this time." Luffy.

One after another the kids entered the pod but realized something. Karoo is with them, which makes them 22 in total.

"Damn!" Yamato.

"Let's leave the duck then." Zoro.

"Zoro-san!" Vivi.

Luffy steps out of the capsule and closes it.

"Luffy?" Nami.

"Hey, open this thing up." Usopp.

"Don't worry, I'm just gonna grab this thing, once it gets shoot out of here, I'll simply be riding it." Luffy.

"*WHEW* For a second there, I thought it would be like those movies in which..." Usopp got cut off by an unexpected guess.

[HELLHOUND!]

A gigantic hound created out of magma flew in between Luffy and his friends. Luffy dodges but the door gets melted together due to the magma and some major damage is made to the pod. A man came out of the hallway with his fist covered in magma.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Dragon's son." Spoke the man.

"Who are you?!" Luffy.

"Me? I was supposed to be your temporary guard. But now, I'm your executioner!" Spoke the man.

"Sakazuki!"

A man with red hair and a straw hat came from the same hallway and tried to slash Sakazuki but fails. Sakazuki transforms his body into magma and evades the attack. He then creates more magma to blend his body.

The man with the straw hat closes his eyes and sends a flying slash towards a certain direction and it hits Sakazuki.

"Tch! You are as annoying as ever, Shanks! I'm glad I came early to this base." Sakazuki.

The man named Shanks looks at Luffy.

"Hey, kid, get out of here!" Shanks.

"Robin, why haven't you guys launched this thing?!" Luffy spoke as he's tying himself to the pod.

"Something's wrong, that last blast fried the boosters of this thing!" Robin.

[Great Eruption!]

Sakazuki transforms his arm into magma and sends a big magma fist towards Luffy. Shanks moves fast and slashes the fist in two with his sword. Both men resume their fights and are aiming to kill each other.

Shanks slashed but Sakazuki dodged, Sakazuki kept making the room hotter and hotter until Shanks was beginning to have problems like dehydration. Sakazuki ceases the opportunity and blasts Shanks with a ball of magma.

Shanks blocks with his sword and somehow generates some sort of barrier but gets pushed back. Shanks breaks the walls and gets launched out of the building. Sakazuki looks at Luffy and begins to slowly walk towards him, Shanks left him so tired that he wasn't able to shoot another magma blast.

Luffy is in awe, he's never been in a fight of this intensity. He knew that neither him nor his friends wouldn't manage to survive the battle. He takes a deep breath and gives his last order.

"I guess that this is it." Luffy began to speak while getting farther from the pod.

"Luffy? What are you talking about?! We're leaving together, right?!" Usopp.

"The door's closed shut, the boosters are fried and there's not much time left. On top of that, Mauna Loa here's trying to fry us till extra crispy. I see no more choices." Luffy.

"Luffy, if you do what I think what you're gonna do then, I'll beat your ass!" Ace.

"You idiot, come back!" Sabo.

"My New Genesis will be incomplete without you!" Uta (Crying).

"You made a promise, don't break it now!" Zoro.

"Who allowed you to be this selfish!?" Nami (Crying).

"Don't lie Luffy! That doesn't suit you!" Usopp (Crying).

"I'll cook more meat for you but come back!" Sanji.

"We can't leave you in this hell!" Vivi (Crying).

"ROO!" Karoo (Crying).

"You can't leave, not now, not ever!" Chopper (Crying).

"He'll kill you!" Robin.

"Give us a second! I'll rip this door SUPER fast!" Franky.

"You can't leave, captain!" Brook.

"You can't Luffy!" 'I haven't confessed my feelings for you!' Hancock (Crying).

"Just give us a moment here!" Jinbe.

"Wait, Senpai! I can still aid you!" Bartolomeo.

"Luffy!!!" Carrot (Crying).

"..." Katakuri was in shock.

"DON'T BE AN IDIOT!" Ulti.

"IDIOT!!!!!!!!!" Page One.

"Please, please Luffy!!" Yamato.

"Everyone, thank you. I command all of you to fulfill your dreams and live however you want! I'll see you guys after I deal with this guy." Luffy smiled at them.

Everyone's eyes widen after hearing Luffy's order. And try to talk back but, the rubber kid has already finished inflating his fist. Luffy punched the pod out of the island, ensuring the safety of his friends, somewhat.

"Tch! Some managed to run away. Well, at least I'll put an end to you, Dragon's son!" Sakazuki.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy began to laugh like a maniac.

'Did he go crazy out of desperation?' Sakazuki.

"*WHEW* I feel a lot better, if I'm going to die then…" Luffy punches the wall and breaks it, he jumps the gap and is out of the facility, not the island but the facility.

"…I'll die as a free man!" Luffy spoke as he taunts Sakazuki.

Sakazuki follows Luffy and begins to transform his body into magma.

"Not too fast!" Shanks.

Shanks once again appeared and went besides Luffy and prepared to fight Sakazuki.

"Kid, you should leave." Shanks.

"I can't, this guy won't let me go." Luffy.

"Damn! It will take a couple of minutes until my group comes back. I knew that they went too off shore." Shanks.

[FINAL WARNING, FINAL WARNING, THE FACILITY WILL SELF-DESTRUCT ITSELF IN 10 MINUTES!]

'Damn! I can't fight him and protect this kid.' Shanks.

Luffy takes a fighting stance.

"Are you planning to fight him?" Shanks.

"Yes! Its better than run or die!" Luffy.

Shanks smile and touches Luffy's forehead.

"Then, you'll need this." Shanks.

Shank's fingers begin to glow and Luffy's mind is filling with knowledge.

Shanks continued his round with Sakazuki while Luffy processed the knowledge.

He only received one thing; he received knowledge about some type of natural energy within the living being's bodies. HAKI.