Summary:
Ace remembers his childhood, fighting with anyone who spoke ill of Roger, and wonders if he should have ever been born. He is currently touched by everyone who fights for him and realizes that he wants to live. Buggy arrives after recovering from being frozen and notices that Mr. 3 is gone. Whitebeard doubles over in pain while fighting Akainu, allowing Akainu to severely injure him and distract Marco and Jozu long enough for them to injure Kizaru and Aokiji. Luffy asks Ivankov to give him stress hormones that will allow him to fight again and save Ace. Ivankov refuses, saying that it will probably kill him, but Luffy replies that he would rather die than fail to save Ace, to which Ivankov complies and restores Luffy’s energy. Koby, despite his fear earlier and Helmeppo’s advice to stay out when the marines are almost certain to win, goes into battle.
Ivankov barely manages to avoid falling into the water when Jinbe asks what he’s doing, to which he replies that he’s trying to hear what’s going on in the square. Ivankov starts to panic about Luffy and blames Jinbe. Meanwhile, the war keeps pace and Marco thanks Little Oars Jr. for help. Whitebeard orders his pirates to clear the way as he prepares a powerful pressure wave.
Knowing the danger, Aokiji uses his powers to freeze Whitebeard on his Ice Orb, but is unable to freeze him because Whitebeard’s vibrations cannot be frozen. Aokiji prepares another attack and ends up impaled by Whitebeard to freeze him in place, but Jozu prevents this by smashing Aokiji, but he quickly regenerates, albeit slightly injured. Luffy and the pirates continue to move and Garp starts acting strange, which Sengoku notices. Both Helmeppo and Koby feel helpless, and Koby decides that he must fight because of his promise to Luffy. Vice Admiral Momonga attacks Luffy with his Rokushiki sword. Luffy is then attacked by another Vice Admiral and then blasted by Kizaru’s beams, much to Garp’s anger, to which Sengoku quickly reminds him of his position. Kizaru praises Luffy’s toughness, but states that “if he’s not strong, he can’t save Ace”. Koby and Helmeppo panic as Luffy confronts Kizaru as Luffy begins to lose consciousness.
Kizaru continues to kick Luffy away and is caught by Whitebeard, to whom Kizaru berates him while sarcastically praising the Whitebeard pirates for trying to protect their captain. Jinbe and Ivankov soon arrive as Luffy tries to continue fighting and is soon treated by a surgeon. Whitebeard claims to like people like Luffy and prepares a shockwave, but Akainu stops it and the two begin to fight over sheer sheer power. Both the Shichibukai and the Whitebeard Pirates make their way through. Sentomaru assures his attack leading the Pacifist. Marco gears up and flies to Ace to save him, to which Sengoku orders the marines to shoot him down to no avail.
As Marco is about to reach the scaffolding after a long struggle, Garp leaps into the air and begins brutally punching Marco. This action angers Sengoku and surprises everyone else. Garp then states that anyone who wants to pass must first kill him.