Battle of Marineford

Battle of Marineford


 * Chapters: 552-580


 * Place: Marineford


 * Objective: Save Ace


 * Result: The Whitebeard Pirates failed to save Ace from death and their captain Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate lost his life. The Marines emerged victorious.

The Battle of Marineford is a part of the Whitebeard War.

Preparation for War
Whitebeard Pirates' second division commander Portgas D. Ace's public execution is scheduled to take place here at 3:00 p.m. sharp. To prevent Whitebeard and his crew's attempt to save their comrade, all of the Marines, along with the Shichibukai, have been summoned here to prepare for the war. This may be one of the world's most shaking events. Jinbei, however, caused an outbreak in the headquarters in his refusal to cooperate, and was transferred to Impel Down.

Marineford has been declared a target by Monkey D. Luffy in his attempt to rescue his brother, Portgas D. Ace from his impending execution. He and Buggy the Clown have caused a mass breakout within Impel Down and are currently on their way there, preparing for an imminent assault upon Marine Headquarters.

Prior to Ace's execution, the normal citizens of Marineford were evacuated from town, leaving only the Marines to prepare for battle. Sengoku announced Ace's origins of being the son of Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, in front of the Marine forces and consequently the world.

The War Begins
After Sengoku revealed Ace's secret to the world, Whitebeard arrives with his crew, along with 43 allied pirate crews from the New World. With Whitebeard setting off a massive earthquake that caused two giant tidal waves to crash into Marineford, as a starting signal for the war. Aokiji freezes the oncoming tidal waves and consequently the sea so to trap the pirate ships with his "Ice Age", as well as to give the pirates a surface to conduct their attack on the Marines.

While Oars Jr. tried his best to reach Ace, and defeating several members of the Giant Squad on his way, he was eventually defeated when Donquixote Doflamingo severed his leg, Bartholomew Kuma blasting him with his attack "Ursus Shock", and Gecko Moria piercing him with "Tsuno Tokage". However, his rampage did manage to open a clear path to the platform, along with Whitey Bay and her icebreaker.

New Allies Arrive
After a fierce battle between the Whitebeard Pirates and the World Government forces, Monkey D. Luffy and his motley crew of Impel Down escapees came crashing down with their ship, due to being caught in the frozen tsunami, which cracked. They joined the war against the World Government as well, most of them on Whitebeard's side. Ace then tries to tell Luffy to leave for his own safety, but Luffy retorts by claiming to be his brother, which brought the Marines to wonder how Roger can have a second son when he and Portgas D. Rouge already died after Ace's birth. Sengoku then revealed worldwide that they are adopted brothers, and Luffy is Monkey D. Dragon's son, and is as dangerous as Ace, much to the shock of many.

About one-and-a-half hour after the battle's start, Sentoumaru brought an army of Pacifista units as their master strategy to eliminate the pirates. However, they were ordered not to attack the Whitebeard Pirates themselves, but instead the allies, in order to make it look like Whitebeard made a deal with the Marines to spare his crew in exchange of his allies, all according to Sengoku's plan. The Pacifista then began an encircling formation around Marineford, to prevent the pirates from escaping.

The War's Final Phase
After Akainu deceived Squad to stab Whitebeard, Whitebeard himself joined the war. He launched a devastating quake that tilted the entire island and the sea around it, but it was stopped by the three Admirals before it reached the execution platform. The "Encircling Wall" then rose, trapping the pirates. Even though one of the wall was damaged by Oars Jr.'s blood, Sengoku ordered Akainu to proceeded to launch his "Ryusei Kazan" to devastate the pirates, as well as to melt the ice floor, robbing the pirates of their foothold. Many pirates were running in circles in fright, as Whitebeard looked at the meteor rain.

After the Whitebeard Pirates tried and failed to destroy the Encircling Wall, Luffy, in desperation to save Ace, requested Jinbei to throw him over the wall with a stream of water. When Luffy bypassed the barrier and into the inner plaza of Marineford, he landed right in front of the three Admirals, of whom he promptly attacked.

After challenging the Admirals and failing, Luffy collapsed once again. As such, the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies, with the help of Oars Jr., managed to use the small opening in the Encircling Wall to enter the plaza. Unfortunately, even the top commanders, Marco and Jozu, were defeated by the Admirals, and Whitebeard succumbs to old age and further injuries. Luffy then requested Emporio Ivankov to give him one more Emporio Tension Hormone boost, despite the after effects, to fight for Ace's life. After the injection, Luffy charged the execution stand, and released a burst of Haōshoku Haki throughout the entire Marineford plaza, knocking out the executioners and others, leaving the rest frightened and shocked.

As the others stared in shock and awe at Luffy's "gift", Vice Admiral Doberman declares Luffy would be a dangerous criminal one day, and that he is not to leave Marineford alive. Whitebeard orders his allies to back up Luffy, putting their faith in him and expects to see the Will of the D.. Inazuma then emerges out of Ivankov's hair and cuts out a slab of rock into a makeshift bridge to the the execution stand for Luffy. Whitebeard and Vista blocked all incoming attacks from the Marines, as Luffy continues up the bridge. Suddenly, Vice Admiral Garp jumps in, crashing part of the bridge in the process. Despite Luffy's request for his grandfather to move aside, Garp refused, on the grounds of his Marine duties. Garp prepares to attack Luffy but falters at the last minute, allowing Luffy to knock him off the bridge. Luffy reaches the execution platform and is about to use the key to unlock Ace's handcuffs, but Kizaru destroys the key. Mr. 3, disguised as an executioner, regains consciousness. Sengoku turns into a giant Buddha figure and prepares to do the execution himself. Luffy stops Sengoku with Gigant Balloon while Mr. 3 protects Ace with a Candle Wall. The execution platform starts to collapse and the marines fire their bazookas at the platform. Mr. 3 quickly makes a key using his wax powers and hands it to Luffy. Luffy frees Ace in mid-air and Ace in turn saves Luffy and Mr. 3 from the bazooka fire.

Escape from Marineford
After the Marines make several unsuccessful attempts at Luffy's and Ace's lives, Squad comes crashing in with Whitebeard's black paddle-boat. However, Whitebeard orders the crew to return to the New World, and that he alone would stay behind to finish everything with the Marines. He then launches another shock wave to shatter the Marine Headquarters' main building.

As the pirates retreat on Whitebeard's orders, Akainu launches another "Great Eruption" at them, and insults Whitebeard for being a "loser" for calling this retreat. An enraged Ace stays behind to retaliate with his "Fire Fist", only for it to be consumed by the superior magma. Akainu then states that he will not allow Luffy nor Ace to leave Marineford alive no matter what, due to their bloodlines are the ultimate crime, and then tries to punch Luffy with a molten fist, only for Ace to intercept it.

As the entire Marineford sees how Akainu pierces Ace through his stomach and burns his innards, a retaliation from the commanders begin, and Ace dies in Luffy's arms.

Amidst all the chaos, Whitebeard manages to literally split Maineford into two, literally separating the pirates from the marines and causing a defeated Akainu to fall into a crater, later leading to the arrival of the Blackbeard Pirates. After a short confrontation, the Blackbeard Pirates deliver the death blow to Edward Newgate, marking the end of Whitebeards' reign as the strongest man in the world. Shortly thereafter, Teach manages to fuse the Gura Gura no Mi with the Yami Yami no Mi, declaring to all that his era has begun. To test out his newest ability, he attempts to sink Marineford whole, only to be promptly sent flying, along with the rest of his crew, by an enormous shockwave delivered by Sengoku in his Buddha form, with Garp joining in on the confrontation. After Sengoku taunts Blackbeard for his cockiness, Blackbeard retorts on how he was looking forward to see Sengoku out on the field, and the three lock themselves in a duel. Once Teach shakes the ground once again, he not only breaks the ice from Aokiji's fruit, but also caused a large tsunami to head towards Saboady Archipelago.

Elsewhere, as Crocodile confronts Akainu, they are joined by the remainder of the Whitebeard commanders and prepare to face off, while Trafalgar Law arrives in his submarine to get Luffy, now held by Jinbei and Buggy, out safely from the battle. After a few choice words with the commanders, Akainu orders hundreds of Marine reinforcements, previously hidden in underground passageways, to mercilessly annihilate every single pirate in their sight, with Akainu himself leading the charge against the commanders and Crocodile, the Admiral quickly defeating Curiel in the initial clash.

After Coby wakes up, disgusted and horrified that the war was continuing despite the successful deaths of Portgas and Newgate, he hears voices of the combatants, in his head, disappearing one by one. Seeking to end the violence for good, Coby pleads with Akainu to end the battle and tend to the wounded, an action that caused literally every combatant in Marineford to stop fighting. Unimpressed by this, Akainu dismisses Coby's pacifism and tries to kill him, only to have his attack intercepted by the famed Shanks, commending Coby's courage to speak out against an Admiral and his adherence to morality. After reclaiming his straw hat, Shanks claims that he will personally bring about the end to the Whitebeard War.

After throwing the straw hat back to Buggy, who gave it to Law as his submarine submerged into the sea, Shanks threatens both the Marines and pirates alike to have his entire crew involved in the fighting, if they chose to continue fighting. With the Gura fruit under his possession, Teach no longer sees the point in resuming the battle and has his crew leave the scene. As Blackbeard leaves the scene, the absence of a designated rival and presence of a powerful Yonkou convinces Sengoku to call for a ceasefire, ordering the Marines to tend to the wounded. With Shanks declaring that the Whitebeard and Red-Haired Pirates will retrieve the bodies of Ace and Newgate, the Battle of Marineford, and by extension, the Whitebeard War itself has finally reached its long-anticipated conclusion, however short it may be.