Part 3.5

After Keystone got his two bricks, he stopped squatting and the rest of us resumed our normal positions. Some of the prisoners fell to the ground clutching their thighs and gluts in pain.

One reached out torwards me, one hand around his butt, the other wrapping around my ankle. "The burn! I feel the burn! It burns!"

I quickly shook him off. I was feeling the burn too, but I had to be tough, and make it through the burn.

The burn burns!

Keystone evaluated the bricks with a critical eye. He tossed them up in the air a few times and banged them together. He held his ear up neat them as he grinded them together and listened to the noise. He flipped one up in the air and used the other to catch it. Finally, he handed the bricks to a nearby prisoners.

"Lick these and tell me how they taste."

The prisoner holding the bricks frowned. Then groaned out, "Do I have to?"

Keystone shook his head and threw an arm over the prisoner's shoulder. "No no no no no. I wouldn't make you do anything you don't feel comfortable with. I just don't have it in me to be violent."

"Really?"

Keystone laughed. "Nope! I'm a lier. It comes with being a conspiracy maker." He then leaned his head back and gave a very familiar looking headbut to the man in chains. When the prisoner was layed flat be picked the bricks back up and turned to another man.

He held out the bricks out to another prisoner and said, "Lick these bricks."

This time, instead of arguing the man just began licking the bricks up and down. He coughed when he was done and wiped his tounge while having a sour face.

"Well," Keystone asked expectedly, "how do they taste?"

"Salty and gritty. That's how they taste." The prisoner said blandly.

Keystone clapped. "Excellent! That means we can get started immediately." He explained.

He took the two bricks gleefully and began rubbing them together again. Faster, and faster, and faster still. I thought that the bricks would be set aflame or at least cumble to dust but instead the unexpected happened.

The bricks begin to glow. I dont sheild my eyes and I'm briefly blinded as a result. When my sight returns, instead of holding two bricks, he's holding four.

Amazed murmurs come from the crowd out of the mouths of many prisoners, including myself. I have no idea how he did that! I'm just going to assume it's magic until explained otherwise.

"Behold! The power of the Many Many Fruit! I can multiply an object endlessly as long as I'm holding two objects, one in each hand. In this case, my specialty, bricks!"

"BULLSHIT!" Me and half of the prisoners call out while the other half look unimpressed.

His power is like a shitty ripoff of mine! I will not stand for this, I don't have a lot of things, but everything I do have I hold close to my heart. My memories of Magellan and I when I was young, these chains I've never stopped wearing, my awesome Impel Down tattoo, my hockey stuff, and most importantly my Moa Moa powers! They're my trademark damnit!

Keystone seems to see how upset I am and just laughs nasally. Then he stops and says, "But seriously. I can't actually multiply things endlessly. They only last for five hours, until I fall unconscious, or if the original copies break. But that's okay! You know why?"

I shake my head and ask, "No. Why is that okay?"

"Five hours is more than long enough for us to run to a nearby island! I have an Eternal Pose pointed in the direction of Brakka Island. There's a huge settlement there, but also tons of forests for you guys to hide out in until I can kick start the next part of the plan. The best part is that no one will be looking for you for quite a while because everyone is involved in this whole War thing going on at Marineford."

"So... we aren't going to be forced to fight in that bloody battle that's likely raging on to determine the fate of the world?" Yells someone from the back of the crowd.

Keystone shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for epic battles. But, let's be honest. My reputation would be turned to shit if you guys showed up to help the Marines on a bridge I've built cause y'all are criminals. Also... CP0 explicitly stated that no Cipher Pol organization were to involve themselves in what's going on. But you didn't hear that from me, capiche?"

Wait, what?

Keystone must of all seen how confused we were. "It's all a conspiracy, don't look into it." He then coughed, and began juggling some bricks he began copying using only his elbows.

"So, who's up for a four and a half hour run to a distant island on a rickity-ass stone brick bridge I'm about to build?"

I was the first to step forward. "I've already come this far. I'm committed now to seeing this through to the end." I said, proudly proclaiming my intentions. Then I walk right in front of Keystone to show that I was ready.

The men who had followed me from the depths of Hell look at each other for a split second. Then, as one, they stepped behind me.

Keystone turned his back to us to face the direction he faced when we were all doing squats. Then, he stopped juggling the bricks. Instead, he tossed one in front of him at the ground. Instead of bouncing off the dock, it stuck in place.

Rapidly, Keystone began throwing bricks. They neatly stacked up against each other until a clear outline of a bridge was built. He craned his neck behind himself to look at us while still throwing bricks and said, "You guys ready?"

I nodded. Enough was enough already. He had asked us if we were ready or shure at least five times already. I was ready damn it!

He nodded back.

"Many Many Sky-Bridge."