The Escape Route Was Cut Off

Boom!

The ice split with a violent roar. A slash several stories high bore down on the battlefield, its crushing force sending everyone in its path scrambling to either side.

Directly in front of the slash, Jiang Lin braced both hands against it and dug his feet deep into the ice. It drove him steadily backward.

The slash pushed Jiang Lin from near the Square almost out of the Bay. Under its immense force, his body began to fly backward beyond his control.

"Go... back!"

Jiang Lin wrenched his hands apart and forced them upward. At last, he sent the slash, many times taller than he was, flying back the way it had come.

"Get out of the way!"

The Marine soldiers and pirates who had only just returned to the fight saw the mountain-high slash coming back at them and fled to either side once more.

Whoosh!

Facing the returning slash, Hawk-Eye calmly swung his sword again.

Boom!

The two enormous emerald-green slashes collided above the ice and exploded. A dense gale of cutting winds shredded the ice beneath them, then surged upward and downward, churning the air and sea into a column of water that shot toward the sky.

"It's seawater... Run!"

The ability users near the explosion saw the dragonlike column burst through the ice and hurried away in terror.

"I caught it, Hawk-Eye!"

Standing behind the column, Jiang Lin looked through the spray at Hawk-Eye, who was watching him just as intently.

Their gazes met across the towering water, both brimming with the will to fight.

Clang!

With a metallic ring, Hawk-Eye decisively sheathed his sword. He was a man of his word. Jiang Lin had withstood his strongest strike, so he would not stand in his way again.

Whoosh!

Seeing that Hawk-Eye had no intention of stopping him, Jiang Lin turned into a streak of yellow lightning and shot forward.

"I hope we can cross swords someday!"

Jiang Lin's voice rang out beside Hawk-Eye. He had only caught the slash through a clever trick. Without the Paw-Paw Fruit's ability to repel it, stopping Hawk-Eye's attack would never have been so easy.

"Hmph."

Hawk-Eye gave a noncommittal snort at Jiang Lin's invitation. Who knew what the future held?

"Fleet Admiral, everything is ready!"

"Are the forces along the shore in position too?"

"Yes! The deployment is complete!"

Just as Jiang Lin and the others were about to draw near the Execution Platform, preparations for Ace's execution were nearly complete.

"What are those bastards planning to do to Ace? It isn't time yet!"

The Whitebeard Pirates glared at the executioners on the platform, their faces full of fury.

"Is the execution starting already?"

Meanwhile, the people watching the live broadcast in the Sabaody Archipelago cried out when they saw the executioners appear.

There were still several hours until the scheduled execution. Yet the executioners' movements made it clear that it was about to begin. Shock and confusion spread through the crowd. Were the Marines going back on their word?

"Cut the Visual Den Den Mushi feed at once. We Marines and the World Government began this war in the name of Absolute Justice, and it is a battle we must win. We will win even if we have to use any means necessary!"

"But ordinary people would never accept what is about to happen. There is no need to show the coming tragedy to the world. The justice of the Marines... no, of the World Government will be carried out here!"

Once every preparation was complete, Sengoku stood on the Execution Platform, surveyed the deadlocked battle below, and issued his latest order.

With the situation turning so heavily against them, Sengoku had very few choices left. He could accept defeat, or he could use methods the world would condemn to uphold his justice and win the war.

Some methods would never be understood by the public. But in a war, especially one fought for his own justice, Sengoku was prepared to use them, however difficult that might be.

"In a few hours, all we need to tell the world is one thing: 'Victory!'"

Sengoku's gaze was unwavering. He had plainly made decisions that could have grave consequences.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As his orders were carried out, explosions erupted among the Whitebeard Pirates' ships anchored outside the Bay.

Whoosh... Beep! Beep! Beep!

Countless lights appeared amid the smoke, accompanied by the steady, terrifying sound of weapons charging. The pirates hurriedly turned to look outside the Bay.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Deafening explosions followed one another outside the Bay. Ship after ship went down under the bombardment.

"The Marines went around the ice and attacked us from behind!"

Their escape route had suddenly been cut off. The expressions of the Whitebeard Pirates who had just charged into the Bay changed at once.

The ships were their means of retreat. If the Marines cut them off, then even if the pirates rescued Ace, they would have no way to leave Marineford.

And if they could not leave, every pirate there would eventually die in Marineford, trapped by an endless stream of Marine reinforcements.

The blow to the Whitebeard Pirates' morale was immense.

But once the smoke cleared, an even deeper despair would descend on the battlefield.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Countless footsteps sounded in lockstep from within the smoke. Then ranks of "people" identical to Bartholomew Kuma marched out.

"What are those things?"

The Whitebeard Pirates stared at the imposing "army," their faces stricken with horror.

"So those are the legendary human weapons?"

Whitebeard glanced back at the army closing in behind them and spoke coldly.

"Pacifistas? There are this many of them?"

Standing beside the wall, Jiang Lin turned to look at the fast-approaching army, his eyes darting across its ranks.

Jiang Lin was still far from the Pacifistas and, ordinarily, would not have had to worry about their attacks. But they had appeared behind the battlefield, leaving him with a dilemma. If he ignored them and they overran the rear, he would have no way to retreat.

"Forget it. Saving Ace comes first. Worst case, I'll ride a bicycle back."

Jiang Lin shook his head helplessly, then turned toward the Execution Platform behind him.