Little Oars Jr. Charges Ahead

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the battle raged across the Square, a massive figure appeared in the once-calm sea. He waded toward Marineford Bay, each step sending out a thunderous crash.

"It's Little Oars Jr.!"

"Hey! Oars is here!"

The Whitebeard Pirates felt the ground shake and looked toward the sea. Once they recognized the newcomer, excitement swept through their ranks.

"Oars!"

On the Execution Platform, Ace looked up at the enormous figure in the distance and shouted toward the Bay.

"Ace has always been kind! I won't let you die!"

Little Oars Jr. looked toward the Execution Platform. Resolve filled 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, heading straight for him.

"Stopping him is our job!"

The giants shouted and quickened their pace. Their battlefield lay ahead, and their time to fight had come.

Boom! Boom!

Cannons roared from the Marine warships stationed outside the Bay. Little Oars Jr. pushed through the barrage, reached one of the ships, and seized its mast and hull.

"They've brought quite a monster."

Sengoku stood on the Execution Platform, staring in astonishment at Little Oars Jr., who towered over the mountains.

"Oars! Don't! You're so big you'll be an easy target!"

Ace shouted desperately, but his voice could not stop Little Oars Jr.

"Ace! I'm coming!"

With a roar, Little Oars Jr. heaved 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 run and charged up to Little Oars Jr.

Boom!

Little Oars Jr. hurled the warship at the giants who had just reached him, driving them straight back into the Bay.

Crash!

The impact tore a huge gap through the Marines' tightly defended line.

"Oars opened a way into the Bay! Charge!"

The Whitebeard Pirates shouted in triumph. Weapons raised, they followed Little Oars Jr. through the breach left by the warship into the Bay.

"Into the Bay!"

Great numbers of Whitebeard Pirates roared as they surged inside.

"Fall back! Reinforce our defenses inside the Bay! We cannot let them land on the Square!"

As the pirates poured in, the Marines gave ground. Their line outside the bay rapidly drew 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 voice rumbled. He did not slow at Whitebeard's warning; stubborn determination filled his face.

"I know! Go cover him and clean up his mess!"

Veins stood out on Whitebeard's face. He had clearly realized what might happen, yet he did not stop Little Oars Jr. Perhaps that was a father's silent support for his son.

"Yeah!"

The Whitebeard Pirates answered Whitebeard's order with excited shouts.

"Slave Arrow!"

Just as the Marine Soldiers were about to charge into the Square, the Empress, who had already returned to the Square, lightly brushed her left hand past her lips. A huge pink heart began to appear in front of her.

"Slave Arrow!"

The Empress gripped the enormous heart before her with her right hand from behind. As she gently opened her palm, countless tiny arrows shot toward everyone in front of her.

The little pink heart-shaped arrows shot from the giant heart before the Empress, instantly petrifying everything they touched.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Whitebeard Pirates struck by the rain of arrows turned to stone where they stood.

"It's the Pirate Empress!"

Seeing their comrades petrified one after another, the pirates glared resentfully at the Empress on the raised platform.

Whoosh!

After landing her attack, the Empress leaped down from the platform and kicked at the pirates and Marine Soldiers below!

"Perfume Femur!"

The Empress swept gracefully through the Marine Soldiers and the Whitebeard Pirates. Wherever her foot struck, flesh began to turn to stone and shatter, whether it belonged to a Marine Soldier or a pirate.

"You bastard! You're attacking Marine Soldiers too?"

The Marine Soldiers glared up at the platform, furious that the Empress would attack people on her own side.

"I agreed to fight Whitebeard alongside you. That does not make me your ally. Enemy or friend, men are all the same to me."

The Empress stood atop the platform with her foot raised, her face full of pride. She paid the Marine Soldiers below no mind.

"Really? Even me?"

As the Marine Soldiers and the Empress faced off, a figure wreathed in pure blue flames swooped down from above and landed beside her.

"Jiang Lin!"

The Empress looked at Jiang Lin, his body covered in blood and a faint, roguish grin still on his face. 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. They raised their weapons and chanted the name on Jiang Lin's 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., then at the Shichibukai stirring behind him. When his gaze settled on Bartholomew Kuma, his expression darkened.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Sharp sounds rang out in a steady rhythm around Bartholomew Kuma. He raised both hands, compressed the air between them, and brought them together before his chest. The transparent, paw-shaped bubble he formed shrank to its limit, then drifted toward Little Oars Jr.

"Ursus Shock!"

Bartholomew Kuma's emotionless voice rang out. Under everyone's gaze, the fist-sized bubble of compressed air slowly flew toward Little Oars Jr.