Summary:
Bentham sets out to rescue Luffy and the others by disguising himself as Warden Magellan. However, in doing so, he sacrifices any chance of his own escape as the real Magellan chases him down in the control room for the Gate of Justice.
The whale sharks happily bob in the water as Jinbe tells them to carry the former prisoners to his newly captured naval ship. The whale sharks form a line as Luffy and the others jump over one by one until they reach the ship. The prisoners celebrate their victory, but Jinbe says there is one more obstacle to freedom. While the prisoners thank the whale sharks, Ivankov wants to treat Inazuma while checking the medical supplies. The prisoners insult Magellan and thank Buggy for their freedom. Desperate, Magellan wants a ship to pursue pirates determined to carry out their death sentence.
Suddenly, naval ships open fire on the ship being used by the prisoners. With so many naval ships shooting at them, Jinbe wants to say that high officers are being called to Marineford, but the enemy won’t let them escape so easily because the Gates of Justice cannot be opened easily. Buggy is afraid that they will crash, but the fish man wants to continue sailing without stopping. More cannonballs rain down as Crocodile and Buggy try to protect the ship. Crocodile and Luffy deflect several cannonballs, but the situation worsens by the second. It would seem that there is no way out.
The gate can only be controlled from inside Impel Down just as the gate itself begins to open. The Marines are horrified that the prisoner’s ship has managed to break free. As Magellan is about to board the ship, he sees the gates being opened without his permission. Inside, Magellan is said to have ordered the gates open and wants to close them when the prisoners get through. The Marines are confused as the warden has disappeared back inside and spotted the impostor.
Jinbe felt it was possible because Bentham stayed to open the Gates of Justice. Magellan angrily orders the ship closed, but then the other Magellan wants the gate to remain open. The Marine presses a button and Bentham uses Memoirs of a Desert Kingdom to break the controls so the guards can’t stop the escaping ship.
As the gate soon closes, Luffy senses that Bentham must have stayed behind and they would have died if not for his help. Jinbe regrets that they lost several hundred prisoners in their escape attempt. He recalls how Bentham wanted to open the gate without question because swans never die or say goodbye.
While the small Den Den Mushis have a limited connection, they will be cut off once the gates close.
Inside, the guards realize that Bentham has been posing as Hannyabal and taunting the Warden himself. Luffy tries to contact Bentham and remembers the last time he saved the Straw Hat crew. Luffy hoped there would be another way as they wanted to break up together. The prisoners desperately try to contact Bentham to no avail, while Galdino sadly calls out to Mr. 2. As the gates close, Luffy insists it’s time to go thank his friend.
At the end of it, Bentham yells at Luffy and tells him to save Ace when he has a lot of friends to help him. He also looks back on the time he spent with Luffy in prison and how he saved him. When the gates are closed, the prisoners escape and thank Bentham for his heroic sacrifice. Bentham rejoices that even in hell the flower of friendship blooms. He also vows to make the flower bloom again before attacking Magellan while the prisoners cry. As Magellan reaches out for last words, Bentham vows to meet his friends again in the garden of Oh Come My Way.
There were 241 prisoners who escaped in one round. Ace’s execution is only four hours away and a flower petal rests on the water.