The moment Jinbe leaped out of the ranks of the Shichibukai, a huge dent was created in the ice beneath his feet.
The Fish-Man Karate starting stance was completed the instant he leaped up, and the power of Five Thousand Brick Fist was concentrated in his fist.
He landed exactly thirty meters in front of Luffy, where an entire squadron of elite Marines was blocking his way.
" Fish-Man Karate - Five Thousand Brick Fist!"
Jinbe's fist slammed onto the ice.
The ice exploded from the center of his fist, and the shockwave spread forward, sending an entire squadron of naval soldiers flying.
The ice surface shattered instantly, and the hole was immediately filled with seawater.
The soldiers tumbled several times in the air before crashing onto the water.
" Jinbe! What are you doing?!"
Zephyr roared from the command platform.
Jinbe raised his head, his eyes showing no hesitation.
"I'm creating a battlefield that suits me!"
The simultaneous "defection" of three Shichibukai caused a brief period of chaos in the Navy's command system.
On the Execution Platform, Zhan Sengoku's face was ashen. He stared intently at the three figures charging across the battlefield, his fingers clenched so tightly at the edge of the Execution Platform that his knuckles turned white.
Moria's shadow tentacles cleared a path for Luffy on the left, Hancock's petrifying arrows cleared a path for Luffy on the right.
Jinbe's Fish-Man Karate smashed a hole right in front of Luffy.
Three roads converge into one.
A road leading to the Execution Platform.
And Luffy is sprinting along this path at full speed.
" Gum-Gum Rocket!"
Luffy compressed his legs to their limit, propelling himself forward at such a speed that he left a trail of afterimages.
He skimmed across the ice, weaved through the gaps between the battles between pirates and the navy, and burst forth from the gunfire and smoke.
He knocked away the naval soldiers blocking his way one by one – the passive ability of the Gum-Gum Fruit made him completely immune to blunt force attacks.
The elasticity made his impact incredibly powerful; the naval soldiers he hit flew out like bowling pins, knocking down a group of people behind them.
A Rear Admiral tried to stop him, slashing his long sword down at Luffy.
Luffy didn't even look, and smashed the Rear Admiral's face with his Gum-Gum Pistol, sending him flying more than ten meters away, sword and all.
Another Commodore cut in from the side, aiming for Luffy's wrists with Seastone Handcuffs.
Luffy's body twisted at an uncanny angle in mid-air, his Gum-Gum Whip lashing out, kicking the commodore in the Commodore, sending him sprawling into a U-shape.
Luffy forward with unstoppable momentum, stretching out his arms to reach the top of the Encircling Wall. With a 'thud,' he launched a Gum Rocket, Luffy into the sky and becoming the first to reach the Encircling Wall.
Luffy stood atop a hundred-meter-high steel wall, the sea breeze blowing his Straw Hat, and the sunlight shining on his scarred face.
His gaze swept across the entire square, past tens of thousands of sailors, past the artillery batteries and warships, and locked onto the kneeling figure on the Execution Platform.
" Ace --!!!"
Luffy put his hands on his hips and grinned broadly, revealing an extremely bright smile.
"Wait for me--!!!"
On the Execution Platform, Ace raised his head.
Across the entire square, amidst the sounds of cannon fire and battle cries, and beyond tens of thousands of naval forces and a dense array of swords,
Through the hundred-meter-high Encircling Wall and countless obstacles, he looked at the figure standing atop the city wall.
That little brat who used to follow him around shouting "Ace Ace" since he was a child.
That brat who was beaten up countless times by him in the back hills of Foosha Village but never cried.
That kid whose eyes lit up like they had light bulbs when he said, "I want to be the Pirate King."
She is now standing atop the hundred-meter-high city wall, smiling at him.
" Luffy..."
Ace finally couldn't hold back his tears.
These weren't the suppressed, silent tears of before; these were real, loud sobs.
He knelt on the Execution Platform, his hands bound behind his back with Seastone chains, his whole body trembling so hard the chains rattled.
"You idiot—who let you come—!!!"
His voice was trembling with tears, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.
That curve was so ugly that Sengoku turned their faces away.
Garp stood on the edge of the Execution Platform, his hands covering his head, crouching on the ground.
His eyes reddened, but he gritted his teeth and held back the tears.
" Luffy —you little brat—!!!"
His voice was hoarse, as if he had swallowed sand.
Sengoku looked at Garp, who was squatting on the ground, and then at the figure wearing a Straw Hat on the Encircling Wall. Veins bulged on his face.
" Garp —you bastard!!!"
Sengoku took a deep breath and picked up the Amplifying Den Den Mushi.
"All troops, listen up—stop Straw Hat Luffy at all costs!"
Meanwhile, high above the clouds, Roy on the Ark Maxim withdrew his gaze from the battlefield.
A slight smile played on his lips as he tapped the hilt of his Shusui Blade twice with his fingers.
" Luffy, that kid, is still as troublesome as ever."
He even tore Impel Down to smithereens.
"The old man from the Sengoku must be green with rage."
Bullet paced anxiously behind Roy.
" Roy, when are we going down?"
Luffy has already charged Encircling Wall!
What's the rush?
Roy turned his gaze back to the battlefield, towards the direction of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"The real show has only just begun."
Luffy descended from the Impel Down, and with the sudden "betrayal" of the three Shichibukai, the attention of the entire battlefield was drawn to them.
The mid-ranking naval officers turned their guns on Luffy and surrounded him.
Some of the artillery fire was also shifted away from the Whitebeard Pirates and turned towards the group of prisoners who had escaped from Impel Down.
The pressure on the Whitebeard Pirates has been greatly reduced.
" Pops!"
Marco landed back on the bow of the Moby Dick from the air, blue flames dancing on his shoulder.
His voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"That kid in the straw Straw Hat is Ace's brother! He's here to save Ace!"
Whitebeard stood at the bow of the ship, his naginata resting on the deck, his gaze piercing through the smoke-filled battlefield and landing on the small figure on the Encircling Wall.
That straw Straw Hat.
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed slightly.
He remembered that straw Straw Hat.
Now that brat is standing atop the hundred-meter-high Encircling Wall, shouting at Ace on the Execution Platform, "I've come to save you!"
"Gula la la la--"
The Whitebeard laughed loudly, his laughter shaking the sails of the ship.
" Ace's brother?! This kid's got some nerve!"
After he finished laughing, the hilt of his naginata slammed heavily onto the deck.
"Sons—cover Straw Hat Luffy!"
Whitebeard's orders were relayed throughout the fleet via Den Den Mushi) on each ship.
Upon hearing this order, the pirates on the ice felt as if they had been given a shot of adrenaline.
"Cover the Straw Hat Boy!"
"Don't let the navy get near him!"
"Charge--!!!"
The pirate formation, which had almost been broken up, was regrouped.
The wounded pirates got up from the ground, wiped the blood from their faces, raised their swords, and charged the naval defenses again.
A captain with a missing left arm charged ahead, brandishing a knife in his right hand, shouting, "For Pops!"
A pirate with three stab wounds to his chest tied a strip of cloth around his hand and continued charging forward, shouting, "For Ace!"
There was also a kid from some unknown ship, who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old.
Holding a knife taller than himself, he followed at the back of the group, his face filled with terrified fear, but he didn't retreat an inch.
Luffy's roar against the Encircling Wall was like igniting a fire.
The fire burned very quickly, spreading from one person to another.
The fire spread from one pirate crew to another, until finally all the pirates on the ice were engulfed in flames.
But just when everyone thought the situation was improving—
On the bow side of the Moby Dick, a figure silently approached Whitebeard.