The roar of the Encircling Wall still echoed over Marineford, and the pirates on the ice were driven to the brink of despair.
Shells rained down from all directions, each one creating a gap in the crowd.
The navy's elite fleet advanced in orderly steps, their bayonet formations pushing the pirates' lines back inch by inch.
The ice surface was littered with corpses, and blood flowed into the sea through the ice cracks, turning the harbor's waters a pale red.
On the Execution Platform, Ace knelt on the cold stone slab, watching the figures fall one after another below.
As Oars fell, he was still calling his name. The pirates at the forefront were blown away by cannonballs, and those who risked their lives to save him died one after another.
His body trembled violently, the Seastone chains rattled as he pulled them, and the chain loops rubbed bloody marks on his wrists.
"Stop--!!!"
Ace roared with all his might, but his voice sounded so weak amidst the gunfire.
He lowered his head, his forehead pressed against the cold stone slab, tears falling onto the stone and spreading a small patch of dark color.
He recalled his stubbornness when he was chasing Blackbeard, and how he slammed the door and stormed out when his Pops tried to persuade him not to go.
I remember when Marco told me "Don't be impulsive," I couldn't listen at all.
It's all his fault.
If he hadn't insisted on his own way, his Pops wouldn't have brought everyone to rescue him.
If he hadn't been captured by Blackbeard, these companions he'd spent every day with wouldn't have fallen one by one on the ice.
If it weren't for him--
"Click."
A faint cracking sound interrupted Ace's thoughts.
The sound was so faint that it was almost inaudible amidst the roar of artillery fire.
But then, the second, third, and fourth sounds followed...
The cracking sounds grew more frequent and louder, as if something was spreading across the top of the frozen waves.
On the Execution Platform, Sengoku suddenly looked up.
Garp also raised his head.
The Three Admirals simultaneously looked up at the sky.
Cracks are spreading at an incredible speed from the top of the tsunami, which was frozen hundreds of meters high by Aokiji.
The cracks started from a small point and spread in all directions like a spider web, the sound of ice breaking cracking becoming more and more dense and piercing.
Then--
" Gum-Gum --!!!"
A boy's roar exploded from within the ice.
"Giant - Pistol!!!"
The top of the ice layer suddenly shattered.
A giant rubber fist burst forth from the ice, its surface wreathed in visible Armament Haki, scattering shards of ice in all directions from the force of the punch.
Immediately afterwards, countless figures fell from the shattered ice.
Luffy was the first to break through the ice.
His clothes were tattered, and his face bore the scars from Impel Down, but the straw Straw Hat was firmly on his head, and the eyes beneath the brim shone with an alarming light.
He was followed by hundreds of figures.
Ivankov's signature afro stood out in the crowd.
Buggy's Red Nose gleamed in the sunlight, along with countless Impel Down prisoners.
The monsters from the second to the fifth basement level all followed behind Luffy.
" Luffy --!!!"
Ace suddenly raised his head, his pupils contracting sharply.
He stared at the figure descending from the sky, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.
Garp held his head in his hands, frozen in place as if struck by lightning.
His eyes widened, his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, and finally he managed to squeeze out only one sentence.
Luffy--
How did you get here?!
Sengoku suddenly turned to Garp, veins bulging on his face.
" Garp! It's your family again--!!!"
Luffy didn't hear any of that.
His body plummeted through the air, the elasticity of the Gum-Gum Fruit propelling him like a cannonball as he crashed into the ice.
His gaze pierced the entire battlefield, past the cannon fire and smoke, past tens of thousands of sailors and countless swords, and locked onto the kneeling figure on the Execution Platform.
" Ace --!!!"
Luffy's roar shook the entire plaza.
"I've come to save you--!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, hundreds of prisoners landed on the ground simultaneously.
The ice surface was smashed into countless dents, with shards of ice flying everywhere and water spraying into the sky.
The prisoners of Impel Down rose from the ice shards, their eyes blazing with a frenzied fighting spirit.
They were imprisoned in the dark, sunless cells of Impel Down for who knows how many years.
Now that they have finally seen the light of day again, the flames of revenge burn in everyone's eyes.
Ivankov stood behind Luffy, hands on his hips, his voice so loud it could be heard throughout the entire battlefield.
"Prisoners of Impel Down! If you want freedom, follow Straw Hat Boy!"
"Oh--!!!"
The shouts of hundreds of prisoners merged into a giant wave, causing the naval soldiers to involuntarily take a step back.
The battlefield situation changed subtly in that instant.
The pirates' morale, which was on the verge of collapse, was reignited by this unexpected influx of new forces.
Although we don't know where these prisoners came from, and we don't know who that kid in the straw Straw Hat is, -- reinforcements have arrived! That's enough!
"Charge--!!!"
A pirate captain raised his sword and led the remaining crew in a renewed charge.
The other captain got up from the ground, wiped the blood from his face, and rushed forward as well.
The third, the fourth, the fifth—the pirates, who had been suppressed and forced to retreat, rekindled their fighting spirit and roared as they launched a counterattack against the naval defenses.
At that very moment, a voice simultaneously rang in the minds of the three people on the battlefield.
"Let's do it."
Moria stood in the shadows at the edge of the battlefield, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
The power of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit silently spread beneath his feet, and dozens of shadow tentacles emerged from the ground, binding the ankles of more than a dozen marines and pirates around him.
" Shadow Horn Spear ".
The shadowy tentacles tightened suddenly, and the naval soldiers screamed as they were flung into the air.
Moria emerged from the shadows, hands in his pockets, stepping over the fallen bodies of the naval soldiers with each step.
His attacks were completely indiscriminate, regardless of friend or foe.
Whether they were navy personnel or pirates, everyone who stood in their way was swept away by the shadow tentacles.
" Moria! You're insane--!!!"
A naval Rear Admiral charged forward with a knife, but before he could finish speaking, shadow tentacles wrapped around his neck, lifted him up, and slammed him to the ground.
Moria didn't even glance at him, his gaze fixed on the direction Luffy was heading.
Hancock moved at almost the same time.
She was originally standing in the ranks of the Shichibukai, arms crossed, looking like she was ignoring everyone.
But the moment she received the telepathic message, her body blurred into a blur, her high heels making a series of crisp sounds on the ice.
" Perfume Femur."
Hancock's long legs swept out, instantly petrifying the three marines blocking her path, turning them into three stone statues while still in their charging, sword-wielding stance.
She didn't even glance at them; her cloak billowed behind her as she dashed forward more than ten meters.
" Pirate Empress! What are you doing?!"
Marine Vice Admiral in the distance roared at her.
Hancock didn't even bother to reply.
Her fingers lightly touched her lips, drawing a huge pink heart, then she released them— the Slave Arrow.
Dozens of pink arrows shot out from the heart of the peach, accurately hitting the marines on both sides of Luffy's path.
Those hit by the arrows instantly turned to stone, transforming into rows of stone sculptures in various poses on the ice.
Those stone sculptures were precisely the ones blocking Luffy to the Execution Platform.