Chapter Summaries

Whitebeard opened the battle at Marineford with a tremendous Sea Tremor, and Aokiji froze the resulting waves before they could hit Marine Headquarters. Nova watched from the Endless, then vanished to a distant location while Enel and Hailing stayed behind to observe and record the war.

• Whitebeard struck the air with his fists, sending massive waves toward Marine Headquarters and shaking the surrounding sea.
• Aokiji froze the waves and shattered Whitebeard's counterattack, while Whitebeard's blow also pushed the Endless nearly two kilometers.
• Nova told Enel that Whitebeard's attack was only a basic move, then left the Endless to handle something else.
• Hailing joined Enel and explained that they had been instructed to record the war for the others.
• Nova appeared nearly fifty kilometers away as Enel and Hailing watched the battle.

Nova opened a Space Gate and brought the Tru Empire’s warship to the Summit War, where he ordered Junhe to keep outsiders from interfering. Junhe and his troops took up their positions as Nova left the battlefield’s perimeter under their control.

• Nova created a massive Space Gate above the sea, drawing the attention of Sengoku, Whitebeard, and the Marines and pirates nearby.
• Junhe ordered the Tru Empire TH-6 warship and its personnel to prepare for war as the gate began to glow.
• The warship crossed from the South Blue to the Grand Line and arrived near the battlefield.
• Nova boarded the warship and instructed Junhe to prevent anyone from entering the fifty-kilometer zone around the battle.
• Junhe vowed that no one would pass while he remained there, and Nova warned him to expect unexpected developments.

Nova left Junhe and the Shadow Guard to secure the outskirts while he watched the battle at Marineford from the Endless. As the fighting escalated, Mihawk challenged Whitebeard with his strongest sword strike, which Whitebeard deflected away from the Moby Dick.

• Nova ordered Junhe to stay at the outskirts unless summoned, then returned to the Endless.
• Enel asked Nova why the Marine Admirals seemed to be holding back, and Nova explained that none of them wanted Ace to die except Akainu.
• Mihawk challenged Whitebeard, and Jozu intercepted Mihawk’s first slash with his diamond-coated shoulder.
• Whitebeard removed the needles from his body and told Jozu to stand aside.
• Mihawk unleashed his strongest sword strike, and Whitebeard’s counterattack changed its course away from the Moby Dick.

A ship carrying Luffy and other escapees from Impel Down fell into the Marineford battlefield, prompting Sengoku to move Ace’s execution forward and the pirates to charge. As Whitebeard fought off a giant Vice Admiral, Junhe remained on alert fifty kilometers away.

• Mihawk ended his attack after striking the Endless, and Nova stopped Enel from joining the battle.
• A ship carrying people from Impel Down fell from the ice above Marineford, and Sengoku recognized that Garp’s grandson had arrived.
• Luffy shouted that he had come to save Ace, and Sengoku announced that Ace’s execution would begin ahead of schedule.
• Luffy charged the Marine forces, spurring the Whitebeard Pirates to advance.
• Whitebeard shattered a giant Vice Admiral’s blade with a punch and then struck the giant into the ice.
• Junhe stayed on constant alert fifty kilometers away.

Junhe and the Tru Empire’s forces blocked the Red-Haired Pirates from advancing toward the war, and Shanks tried to negotiate passage. Junhe cited the Red-Haired Pirates’ seizure of a Tru Empire cargo ship ten years earlier, leaving both sides poised for a fight.

• The Red-Haired Pirates arrived and were surprised to find Junhe and a steel battleship from the Tru Empire guarding the route.
• Shanks and his crew discussed whether to fight, then sailed closer to learn why the Tru Empire was there.
• Junhe aimed the battleship’s cannons at the Red-Haired Pirates and declared that they could not pass.
• Beckman asked why the Tru Empire was blocking them, but Junhe refused to let them through and mocked their request to pass peacefully.
• Junhe brought up the Red-Haired Pirates’ seizure of a shipload of Tru Empire goods ten years earlier, and Shanks offered to compensate the empire tenfold while releasing his Conqueror's Haki.

Junhe and the Tru Empire’s forces fought the Red-Haired Pirates after negotiations broke down at sea. The battle remained a test of strength as Junhe faced Shanks and Vice Admiral Deko confronted Beckman.

• Junhe challenged Shanks to leave or go to war after his crew proved unaffected by Conqueror's Haki.
• Shanks attacked the steel warship, but Junhe deflected his sword strike and sent slashing attacks at the Red-Haired Pirates.
• Yasopp shot Junhe in the forehead, but Junhe recovered as the wound healed rapidly.
• Junhe refused to call in the Shadow Guard, and the Tru Empire’s first wave fought the Red-Haired Pirates while testing one another’s abilities.
• Junhe fought Shanks while Vice Admiral Deko stopped Beckman and introduced himself as an unknown figure in the Tru Empire.

At Marineford, Sengoku revealed that Ace was Gol D. Roger’s son and ordered his execution, but Luffy unleashed Conqueror’s Haki and rushed to save him. As the Marines attacked Luffy and Whitebeard remained aboard the Moby Dick, Nova sensed something above that Observation Haki could not detect.

• Garp and Sengoku sensed a disturbance ahead and suspected the World Government had left another contingency.
• Sengoku announced that Ace was the biological son of Gol D. Roger, shocking the battlefield and the civilians watching the broadcast.
• Sengoku ordered Ace’s execution, and the executioners raised their blades.
• Luffy unleashed Conqueror’s Haki, knocking out the executioners and hundreds of thousands of people before charging toward the platform.
• Akainu marked Luffy as a threat, while the Marines who remained conscious rushed to stop him and Whitebeard stayed aboard the Moby Dick.
• Nova sensed something overhead through his Sage Body, though the sky looked unchanged and Observation Haki detected nothing.

Nova told Whitebeard that the hidden threat had arrived and that it was time to fulfill their promise. Whitebeard took the pill that restored his strength, leaving the battlefield poised for his final stand.

• Nova told Enel that someone had arrived, then reminded Whitebeard that it was time to keep their promise.
• Whitebeard summoned Marco and told him to lead the others away once Ace was free; Marco wept but promised to protect them.
• Akainu charged at Whitebeard, but Whitebeard swallowed the pill and unleashed overwhelming power and Conqueror's Haki across the battlefield.
• Whitebeard called out that he had kept his end of the promise, while the Marines and pirates struggled to understand his words.
• The escaped prisoners gathered under the red-nosed man's command, recorded the battle, and searched for a way to escape.

Whitebeard displayed a frightening new level of power at Marineford, prompting Garp and Sengoku to recognize the danger. He ordered the Whitebeard Pirates to withdraw and declared the war over, while Ace and Luffy remained determined to face the Marines.

• Hancock sensed something unusual about Whitebeard and told her snake to leave, while Gecko Moria questioned her.
• Whitebeard leaped from the Moby Dick into the plaza, and Garp warned Sengoku that the Marines were in grave danger.
• Whitebeard declared himself a remnant of the old era and promised to show the power of that era.
• Marco ordered the Whitebeard Pirates to withdraw, and Whitebeard repeated the order and declared the war over.
• Vista asked about Ace, while Ace urged the pirates to leave and warned them of the Marines' scheme.
• Luffy continued advancing and vowed to save Ace no matter who stood in his way.

Akainu attacked the battlefield with Meteor Volcano as Whitebeard ordered his sons to withdraw and faced the Marines alone. An unseen attacker pierced Whitebeard’s chest from the sky, and he spoke to his sons as though preparing to die.

• Akainu unleashed Meteor Volcano across the battlefield and Sengoku ordered the execution to continue.
• Whitebeard split the battlefield with a slash, ordered the Whitebeard Pirates to withdraw under Marco’s leadership, and attacked the execution platform.
• The three Admirals stopped Whitebeard’s shockwave, while Garp and Sengoku wondered how his strength had increased.
• A crimson beam from the sky pierced Whitebeard’s chest, leaving the battlefield and the livestream audience stunned.
• Whitebeard laughed that his attacker had finally appeared, then told his sons to stay united and continue without him.

Whitebeard began charging an attack powerful enough to sink Marineford, forcing Sengoku and the three Admirals to act. Nova secretly shielded Whitebeard from their attacks, and Enel realized that the Tru Empire's war was about to begin.

• Whitebeard gathered immense shockwave power as the ground and frozen sea around Marineford shook.
• Sengoku ordered the Admirals to stop Whitebeard, while Garp and the escaped prisoners feared Marineford would be destroyed.
• Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu launched a combined assault, but their attacks stopped just short of Whitebeard.
• Nova used an invisible force to protect Whitebeard from the Admirals' attacks.
• Enel questioned Nova's intervention, then understood that the Tru Empire's war had just begun.

Whitebeard used his final attack to bring a vast mass of mechanical objects down from the sky, dying after fulfilling his promise to Tru. As the objects began crashing toward Marineford, Blackbeard arrived with his crew and the battlefield faced a new threat.

• Garp struck at Whitebeard, but Nova's Infinite Folding barrier and Whitebeard's power prevented the punch from reaching him.
• Whitebeard unleashed Subsonic Tremor—Infinite Waves, declared that he had kept his promise to Tru, and died with his hand on his great blade.
• Ace, the Whitebeard Pirates, Kizaru, Buggy the Clown, and others reacted in shock as they realized Whitebeard had fallen.
• Sengoku and those with Observation Haki sensed that Whitebeard's attack had changed the sky, where countless mechanical objects began falling toward Marineford.
• Blackbeard arrived with a group of people while the first falling component smashed a deep pit into the ground, and the remaining objects threatened to destroy Marineford.

The Five Elders discussed the destruction of the World Government's air force and the Red-Haired Pirates' failure to arrive, then ordered the war escalated. At Marineford, the falling wreckage threatened both the Navy and Whitebeard's crew, forcing everyone to respond while Luffy kept charging toward Ace.

• Saint Jorbah confronted Saint Lofted over the air force's exposure, while Saint Siloemia asked why Whitebeard had detected it and attacked it.
• Saint Siloemia asked why the Red-Haired Pirates had not arrived, and Saint Jorbah said the Tru Empire had likely stopped them.
• Saint Lofted left to carry out the higher-ups' order to escalate the war.
• Sengoku realized the falling wreckage came from the World Government's air force and ordered everyone to stop it.
• Whitebeard's surviving crew and the Navy faced the massive debris field as Luffy continued toward the execution platform and Akainu leaped to intercept the falling objects.

The World Government air force crashed onto Marineford, devastating both sides and leaving the battlefield in ruins. With Whitebeard dead and Ace freed but still surrounded by Marines, Blackbeard chose to stay, while Hancock and Doflamingo prepared to withdraw.

• Nova stayed aboard the Endless and told Enel to wait while debris and silver-clad figures rained down on Marineford.
• The Marines and Whitebeard Pirates fought off the falling wreckage for nearly ten minutes, losing at least a third of their forces as Marineford was reduced to ruins.
• Luffy rescued Ace from the execution platform during the chaos, but they remained on the Marines' side of the battlefield.
• Blackbeard cursed Whitebeard for dying before he could carry out his plan, then decided to stay and watch the war continue.
• Hancock told Sengoku that Whitebeard's death ended her mission, and Doflamingo agreed that the Marines should handle what remained.

Hancock defied Sengoku and left the battlefield as the Marines resumed their efforts to stop Luffy and Ace from escaping. Marco confronted Blackbeard after Whitebeard’s death, while Akainu’s bombardment drove the battle into an even more intense phase.

• Sengoku refused to let Hancock and Doflamingo withdraw, but Hancock rejected his ultimatum and walked away from the Shichibukai.
• Pacifistas blasted Luffy and Ace, and Sentomaru ordered them to kill both fugitives before they could escape.
• Marco, the division captains, Crocodile, and Jinbe advanced toward Ace as Akainu attacked the pirates with Meteor Volcano.
• Marco charged Blackbeard, accusing him of causing Whitebeard’s death, and Blackbeard accepted the challenge alongside his powerful companions.

After Whitebeard’s death, Marco saw the Whitebeard Pirates being overwhelmed and pleaded with Sengoku to end the war, but Akainu refused. Marco then called on Emperor Tru, revealing that Whitebeard had given his life to fulfill an agreement with the Tru Empire.

• A swordsman struck Marco out of his Phoenix form, reminding him that he was fighting in a battlefield.
• Marco broke off his attack on Blackbeard after seeing Ace and Luffy badly injured and the Whitebeard Pirates losing ground.
• Marco asked Sengoku to end the war, but Akainu rejected his plea and threatened to kill him.
• Marco called out to Emperor Tru and said Whitebeard had given his life for their agreement.
• The battlefield and outside observers were shocked as Marco’s words revealed the Tru Empire’s connection to Whitebeard’s actions.

Nova and the Tru Empire arrived at Marineford during the battle, and Nova demanded that Sengoku let Whitebeard’s allies leave. Nova’s overwhelming Conqueror’s Haki incapacitated most of the Navy, leaving Sengoku and the surviving Marines facing the Emperor Tru.

• Sengoku ordered the Navy to kill Ace quickly after learning that Whitebeard had made a deal with the Tru Empire.
• A giant attacked Ace, Luffy, and a Whitebeard division commander, but a spatial barrier blocked his axe.
• The Endless arrived at Marineford, melting a passage through the frozen sea as Nova appeared on deck.
• Buggy’s followers praised him and mocked Nova, until Buggy shouted at them to stop.
• Nova asked Sengoku to let Whitebeard’s allies leave, then unleashed Haki that knocked out most of the Navy.

Nova arrived at Marine Headquarters to claim Whitebeard’s body under an old agreement, but an unknown young man suddenly attacked him and fought Enel to a draw. The newcomer challenged Nova and insulted the Marines, leaving everyone confronting a powerful stranger whose arrival had changed the situation.

• Nova told Sengoku and Akainu that he had come to take Whitebeard’s body under an agreement and demanded that the Marines release the prisoners.
• Blackbeard offered to help the Marines fight the Tru Empire, but Nova crushed the Blackbeard Pirates with Conqueror’s Haki.
• An unseen attacker struck Nova, who defended himself with a spatial barrier, and Enel rushed in to fight the assailant.
• Enel and the young attacker clashed until an explosion sent them both flying apart, and Nova saw that the newcomer was a white-haired, red-eyed young man.
• The young man told Nova he had come to test the strongest of their generation, then mocked Sengoku, Garp, the Admirals, and the Marines for their weakness.

Nova halted the battle at Marineford, struck down Little Steel Tooth, and revealed the Tru Empire’s fleet emerging through Space Gates, which the Five Elders recognized as Ancient Weapon Pluton. As Little Steel Tooth attacked again, Admiral Issho intervened and crushed him into the ground.

• Little Steel Tooth insulted the Marines and challenged Nova, who sent him flying and created storm clouds over the sea.
• Nova declared that the Tru Empire would protect every member of the Whitebeard Pirates, while Marco and the division commanders abandoned thoughts of revenge.
• Nova opened five Space Gates, and steel warships sailed through them as the Five Elders identified the fleet as Ancient Weapon Pluton.
• Little Steel Tooth returned and tried to attack Nova, but Admiral Issho stepped in and pinned him to the ground with overwhelming pressure.

As the Marines stood aside after Whitebeard’s death, Abona and Hawk Eyes Mihawk prepared for a personal duel while Admiral Issho fought Little Steel Tooth. Issho trapped Little Steel Tooth with gravity and exposed his lack of combat experience, though the fight remained unresolved.

• Hawk Eyes Mihawk told Sengoku that the Seven Warlords would not join the war against the Tru Empire, then challenged Abona to a personal sword contest.
• Abona accepted Mihawk’s challenge, while Admiral Junhe fought the Red-Haired Pirates and Admiral Issho continued battling Little Steel Tooth.
• Tsuru questioned Sengoku about the Marines’ inaction, and Sengoku said they would watch for further World Government forces before deciding what to do.
• Little Steel Tooth used his speed to circle Issho, but Issho activated Gravity Zone and slammed him to the ground.
• Issho increased the gravity with each step and criticized Little Steel Tooth’s lack of combat experience, but Little Steel Tooth remained able to resist being crushed into the ground.