Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
While the battle raged on the Square, a massive figure emerged from the once-calm sea. With each step toward Marineford Bay, his feet struck the water with a thunderous roar.
"It's Little Oars Jr.!"
"Hey! Oars is here!"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates felt the ground shake and looked toward the sea. Once they recognized who was coming, excitement swept over their faces.
"Oars!"
From the Execution Platform, Ace spotted the enormous figure in the distance and shouted toward the mouth of the Bay.
"Ace is a good person! I won't let you die!"
Little Oars Jr. looked toward the Execution Platform. Resolve glinted in his eyes, as though he had already made up his mind.
Boom! Boom!
As Little Oars Jr. advanced, the Marine Giants who had been waiting in the rear moved out together. They passed the Marine Soldiers and Whitebeard Pirates and headed straight for him.
"Stopping that man is our job!"
The giants shouted and quickened their pace. Their battlefield lay before them; it was time to fight.
Boom! Boom!
Cannons thundered from the Marine warships stationed outside the Bay. Little Oars Jr. pushed through the barrage, reached a warship, and seized its mast and hull.
"What an extraordinary fellow they've brought."
Standing on the Execution Platform, Sengoku gazed at Little Oars Jr., who towered higher than a mountain. Amazement crossed his face.
"Oars! Don't! Your huge body will make you a target!"
Ace shouted desperately, but his voice could not stop Little Oars Jr.
"Ace! I'm coming!"
With a roar, Little Oars Jr. heaved with both hands, ripped the Marine warship free of the ice, and raised it over his head.
"This is bad! Stop him!"
The Marine Giants' faces changed at the sight. They broke into a charge and rushed up to Little Oars Jr.
Boom!
Little Oars Jr. hurled the warship at the giants who had just reached him, sending them straight back into the Bay.
Boom!
The warship slammed into the heavily guarded Marine line, tearing a huge gap through it.
"Oars opened a way into the Bay! Charge!"
The Whitebeard Pirates raised their weapons and surged after Little Oars Jr., rushing through the gap left by the warship.
"Into the Bay!"
Whitebeard Pirates poured into the Bay, roaring as they charged.
"This is bad! Fall back and reinforce our defenses inside the Bay! We cannot let them reach the Square!"
As the pirates flooded in, the Marine Soldiers gave ground. Their line outside the Bay rapidly contracted inward.
The Whitebeard Pirates followed Little Oars Jr., steadily closing in on the Square.
"That fool Oars. There's no stopping him. Being brave and throwing your life away are two different things!"
As Little Oars Jr. drew near, Whitebeard turned to look at him.
"Pops, please don't stop me. I want to save him. I want to save Ace as soon as I can!"
Little Oars Jr.'s deep voice rumbled. Whitebeard's warning did not slow his steps, and stubborn determination filled his face.
"I know!" Veins stood out on Whitebeard's face. "Go cover Oars!"
Whitebeard had clearly realized what might happen, yet he did not stop Little Oars Jr. Perhaps this was Pops' silent support for his son.
"Yeah!"
At Whitebeard's order, his pirates erupted in excited shouts.
"Slave Arrow!"
Just as the attackers were about to reach the Square, the Empress, who had returned there, brushed her left hand lightly past her lips. A huge pink heart appeared before her.
"Slave Arrow!"
The Empress grasped the huge heart with her right hand, then released it, sending a rain of tiny arrows toward everyone ahead.
The pink heart-shaped arrows shot from the giant heart and instantly petrified everything they touched.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Scores of Whitebeard Pirates struck by the arrows turned to stone where they stood.
"It's the Pirate Empress!"
As the pirates watched their comrades turn to stone one after another, they glared resentfully at the Empress on the raised platform.
Whoosh!
After landing her attack, the Empress leaped down and kicked at the pirates and Marine Soldiers below.
"Perfume Femur!"
The Empress moved gracefully among the Marine Soldiers and Whitebeard Pirates. Wherever her foot struck, flesh turned to stone and shattered—Marine or pirate alike.
"You bastard! You're attacking Marine Soldiers too!"
The Marine Soldiers glared at the raised platform. They had never expected the Empress, supposedly on their side, to attack them as well.
"I agreed to fight Whitebeard for you, but that does not make me your ally. Men are all the same to me, friend or foe."
The Empress stood atop the platform with one foot raised, her face full of pride. She paid the Marine Soldiers below no heed.
"Is that so? Does that include me?"
As tension flared between the Empress and the Marine Soldiers, a figure wreathed in pure blue flames dived from the sky and landed beside her.
"Jiang Lin!"
The Empress looked at Jiang Lin, bloodied from head to toe yet still wearing a roguish smile. Her expression softened.
"D! What's he doing here?"
The Marine Soldiers' faces changed at Jiang Lin's sudden arrival. He was a man who could fight Akainu blow for blow; his presence alone could turn the tide here.
"D! D! D!"
The Whitebeard Pirates erupted in excitement at Jiang Lin's appearance. They raised their weapons and chanted the name on his Marine wanted poster.
"D! You're Ace's friend, so you're my friend too!"
Little Oars Jr. swung his blade at the Vice Admirals before him and gave Jiang Lin a friendly smile.
Oars... and Kuma!
Jiang Lin glanced at Little Oars Jr. and then at the Shichibukai behind him, who seemed ready to make their move. When his gaze settled on Bartholomew Kuma, his expression darkened.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
A piercing, rhythmic sound came from around Bartholomew Kuma. He swiftly raised both hands, compressing the air between them until they met before his chest. A transparent, paw-shaped mass of air, compressed to its limit, drifted toward Little Oars Jr.
"Ursus Shock!"
As Bartholomew Kuma spoke without a trace of emotion, the fist-sized mass of air floated slowly toward Little Oars Jr. under everyone's gaze.