Jack had witnessed Gibbs get hurt before.
He had seen the man bloodied, stumbling drunk, tossed overboard into raging seas, beaten by rival crews, and nearly frozen to death in the snows of Drum Island.
But this was different.
Gibbs was dying. There was no clever quip or denial that could change the grim reality sprawled out on the ground.
His chest heaved in shallow, erratic gasps. Blood seeped through the rough bandages Red had hastily wrapped around his torso.
One leg lay twisted at a sickening angle, while his shoulder was crushed beneath torn, mud-stained clothes. Even the hand that had gripped a bottle of rum for years now lay limply against the forest floor.
Jack stood frozen.
For several long moments, the world shrank around him. Patrick Redfield faded from existence. Dragon disappeared. Even Crocodile became a mere shadow in the devastated forest.
There was only Gibbs.
His first mate. The man who had joined the Black Pearl when Jack was still figuring out what it meant to be a captain. The man who grumbled about every reckless, madness-fueled plan Jack came up with—and then followed him into the depths of chaos anyway.
Jack moved closer.
Gibbs managed to catch sight of the boots that had stopped beside him. One swollen, blood-crusted eye cracked open.
"Captain…"
Jack crouched down beside him. "You absolute fool."
Gibbs' mouth twitched into a weak smile. "Nice… to see you too, Jack."
Jack's gaze swept over the devastation again, taking in the full extent of shattered bones and torn flesh. And then, slow and poisonous, his anger bubbled up.
But it wasn't directed at Redfield. It was aimed at Gibbs.
"What were you thinking?" Jack asked, his voice low—uncomfortably low.
Gibbs' faint smile faltered. "I…"
"You could barely stand after facing Mihawk," Jack said, jabbing a finger at Gibbs like he was accusing him of a crime.
"I know—"
"You had a hole in your chest!"
"Wasn't exactly a hole—"
"And yet you still fought him!"
Gibbs fell silent, the fight seeping out of him like air from a punctured balloon.
Jack pointed toward Redfield, his gaze still locked on his first mate. "That monster over there has gone toe-to-toe with men who stood alongside Gol D. Roger."
"Aye."
"And you thought—" Jack's eyes widened in genuine, furious disbelief "—you thought it was a good idea to step up and take a swing at him?"
Gibbs coughed, a dark trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth.
For just a heartbeat, Jack's anger faltered. He reached out and wiped the blood away with his sleeve, a bit rougher than necessary.
"You've spent the last six months whining about your knees!"
"Only the left one," Gibbs replied weakly.
"And you're always complaining about your back!"
"It does hurt."
"You need three tries to stand up after a night of drinking too much!"
"That's the rum's fault, Captain."
"And apparently," Jack snapped, tightening his grip on Gibbs' collar, "you thought this was the perfect time to throw your bloody life away!"
Gibbs' gaze drifted toward Red. "He saved me, Jack. He carried me."
"So?" Jack shot back, his tone as sharp as a knife.
Gibbs blinked, momentarily taken aback.
"So you help him run!" Jack barked, yanking Gibbs up an inch by his coat.
"You shoot at the bastard from a safe distance! You lie! You cheat! You crawl into a hole and hide until I get here!"
His fingers dug into the fabric. "You do not stand in front of something you can't beat and politely offer it your life!"
Gibbs stared at his captain, speechless.
Jack's jaw quivered just a bit. "You don't get to decide you're expendable, Joshua."
Behind Jack, Crocodile stood in complete silence, taking in a side of him she had never witnessed before. Jack Sparrow was a master at dodging vulnerability, almost like it was a sacred duty. When something hurt, he'd crack a joke. If fear gripped him, he'd flash a wild grin. And when things got too personal, he'd grab a bottle of rum and disappear without a trace.
But this was different. There was no drama here. Jack was stripped bare, filled with rage and deeply unsettled.
Gibbs managed a faint, painful smile. "I thought captains were meant to value sacrifice…"
"I value smart sacrifice," Jack snapped, letting Gibbs lean back against the leaves. "That was just foolish."
"Guess there's a distinction."
"Oh, there's a huge distinction."
Gibbs' eyelids fluttered, threatening to close again. Jack quickly reached out and gave his cheek a sharp slap.
"Don't you dare fall asleep."
Gibbs groaned, wincing at the sting. "Cap'n…"
"Stay awake. That's an order."
"You're getting quite bossy in your old age."
Jack slowly rose, his hand lingering on Gibbs' uninjured shoulder for just a moment before he turned away.
Crocodile moved to Jack's left, her golden hook shimmering, sand trickling from her clothes like an hourglass. Dragon positioned himself on Jack's right, his breaths deep and steady as he gathered his remaining strength.
Redfield glanced between the three of them. "Are you done with your little reunion?"
Jack drew Wado Ichimonji, the white hilt shining against his dirt-streaked hand. "Yes."
Redfield lifted his umbrella, standing tall and composed. "Good."
And then, Jack was gone.
CRASH!
Steel clashed with steel. The impact carved a trench into the earth beneath them. Redfield was pushed back several yards for the first time since Jack had shown up, his boots digging into roots and soil.
Redfield's eyes narrowed. Jack was on him in an instant.
A vertical slash! Redfield blocked it effortlessly. A quick horizontal follow-up! Blocked again.
Crocodile struck from the side. "Desert Spada!"
A massive, razor-sharp blade of compressed sand sliced through the clearing, aiming to split Redfield in half. But Redfield deftly stepped onto the flat of Jack's blade, using the momentum to leap high above the wave of sand.
Crocodile clicked her tongue in frustration, but Dragon was already poised above.
A hurricane swirled around Dragon's right fist. He brought it down like a meteor crashing to earth. "Dragon's Impact!"
Redfield crossed his umbrella over his head.
BOOM!
The air exploded into a shockwave that flattened the surrounding foliage. Redfield was slammed hard into the dirt, but before the dust could settle, Jack lunged into the cloud.
Wado Ichimonji thrust forward, aiming straight for Redfield's throat. Redfield raised the steel shaft of his umbrella just in time, catching the edge. Black Haki erupted from the point of contact like dark lightning.
"You're fighting with emotion," Redfield observed, his voice steady despite the pressure.
Jack pushed forward with all his might, teeth gritted. "You're quite the observant bastard, aren't you?"
"It makes your movements predictable."
Redfield flicked his weapon, throwing Jack off balance, but Crocodile's golden hook sliced through the air where Jack had just been.
Sand coiled around Redfield's ankle, pulling him down into the earth. Crocodile tightened her fist. "Got you!"
Dragon thrust both hands forward, unleashing a roaring column of pressurized wind straight at Redfield. Trees snapped like twigs. Yet, just before the blast struck, Redfield tore his leg free from the sand trap with a surge of Haki, vanishing into the chaotic air currents.
Jack's Observation Haki flared up wildly. "Above us!"
Redfield descended from the sky like a hawk diving for its prey, his umbrella aimed downward. Jack crossed his sword to intercept the blow.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave shattered the ground for fifty yards. Crocodile was hurled back against a tree, while Dragon stood firm, his cloak whipping around him like a storm. Jack felt his knees buckle, his boots sinking deep into the mud under the crushing force of Redfield's strike.
Redfield loomed over him. "You've got some strength, boy."
Jack flashed a grin, blood staining his teeth. "That's what they say."
"Not enough."
With that, Redfield pressed down harder, but Dragon sprang into action from the side, his fist charged with Haki aimed straight for Redfield's exposed ribs. Redfield disengaged from Jack, twisting midair to catch Dragon's wrist with his bare hand.
Crocodile moved in from behind, but Redfield's Observation Haki picked up on her intentions. He ducked under her swinging hook, pivoting on his heel to slam the pommel of his umbrella into her stomach.
THWACK!
Crocodile gasped, her eyes wide as she was sent crashing backward through a thick oak tree.
"Croco!" Jack shouted.
"I'm fine!" she called out, her voice strained from the debris. She transformed into swirling sand, reappearing a few feet away and wiping a trickle of crimson from her mouth.
Redfield turned back to Jack, closing the gap in an instant. The umbrella struck Jack's sword once, twice, three times—each blow resonating through Jack's bones, forcing him back step by agonizing step.
Dragon rejoined the fight, launching a punch wrapped in howling winds. Redfield had to pull back, Dragon's blast carving a clear path through the forest behind them.
Jack seized the fleeting moment of distraction. "Wayward Tide Cut!"
His blade feinted high before dropping into a wild, liquid arc at the last second. Redfield's eyes widened slightly—the unpredictable path slipped past his guard, the tip of Wado Ichimonji slicing through his crimson coat!
A thin red line blossomed across Redfield's ribs.