"I almost fell off the island!"
Luffy grabbed a chunk of rock that had broken off the island under Whitebeard's attack as he spoke.
Jinbe pulled him up just in time.
"Why's that old guy attacking friend and foe alike?!"
"Phew..."
Once rescued, Luffy grumbled, while Jinbe replied calmly.
"His crew knew what was coming and took shelter beforehand!"
"I'm so close to Ace now. I've got to hurry..."
Luffy said no more. Clutching his wounds, he broke into a sprint again...
Meanwhile, with the ground finally steady, the Marines immediately organized their next attack!
"Fire!"
"Don't be afraid! Charge, men!"
"Ohhhhh!"
"Charge! If we keep dragging our feet here, we won't be able to back them up!"
The battlefield was in utter chaos...
By then, Luffy's stretched arm had already grabbed the edge of the square!
"Nothing's in the way now! I can get up there!"
Luffy spoke excitedly, but just as the words left his mouth and his body was about to launch forward, something changed.
A thick iron wall suddenly rose from beneath the square!
"What?!"
The impact knocked Luffy's hand off the square, and he cried out in surprise!
The other pirates who had reached the square also stopped in their tracks, staring in shock at the iron wall that had suddenly risen.
"An iron wall?"
And that was hardly the only section. While they were still staring in disbelief, countless broad, thick iron walls rose around the square, trapping all the pirates inside the bay!
"Damn it!"
One pirate angrily slammed his hammer against the rising wall. But it was his hammer that shattered, while the iron wall blocking his path did not budge!
"Damn it, it won't budge! This steel plating is seriously thick!"
"Is this Steel-Plate Defense Wall the Encircling Wall they were