Summary:
Ace is finally freed as he and Luffy fight their way back to escape Marineford. Everyone is happy for this as Squard and his crew burst into the square with a paddle boat to give everyone a chance to escape, but is stopped by Whitebeard, who says it would be a shame for a son to die in front of his father. . Whitebeard stands up and orders his sons to flee, saying that the New Age doesn’t need a man like him.
Whitebeard’s pirate coalition celebrates their victory, while the marines are horrified and angry that Ace has been freed. As Ace now glows with fire and freefalls with Luffy, Ivankov cries with joy that his father will be happy. Hancock praises Luffy, hoping that he will have a happy ending here and wants to marry him after leaving Marineford. Helmeppo is shocked while Koby accepts that Luffy is who he is. As the marines are about to fire a second volley, Ace suggests splitting up and the Straw Hat pirate throws Galdin aside. The fire pirate then uses flame commandment and a fire pillar that burns some marines and blasts them back.
Ace and Luffy land safely while Galdino is injured on the ground. The former surrounds their group with a ring of fire and asks if Luffy can still fight. Luffy answers in the affirmative. Surprised that his brother saved him, Ace decides to go against his pride. Luffy laughs and says he couldn’t do it himself. The two are hit by bullets with no effect and Luffy deflects the bullets. Two marines try to slash him, but Ace blocks the blow and instantly heals. He then uses a Fire Fist that cuts through the marines around the brothers. Luffy goes into Second Gear, dodges the attack, and uses the Gum-Gum Jet Spear to hit some officers hard. Ace then fires several Fire Gun shots from his fingers, hitting the other officers. The mace marine nearly crushes the fire pirate, but Luffy knocks him away. With the marines in awe, Ace says that while the fight is fun, they’ll have to leave soon.
Vista praises the brothers’ teamwork and Haruta orders the pirates to retreat. The Marines give chase, but Ace and his brother jump over them before the former fires a small burst of Fire Fly and blasts them with a Fiery Doll, blasting the Marines away. Luffy blasts more enemies with the Gum-Gum Jet Gatling. As the two continue their fight, they look back to their younger days racing to the beach. Now running in the present, Ace admires how tough Luffy has become as he thinks about the battles they had in their youth. Luffy admits that he hopes to be stronger than his brother, but then Aokiji blocks their path. The Ice Admiral says they won’t live to see dawn. Ace prepares to attack the Admiral, who prepares an Ice Block and fires a Pheasant Beak while the pirate fires a Flame Mirror. Their attacks slowly dissolve. With the marines in shock, Vista’s party rushes forward, not blaming Ace for showing off a bit.
Meanwhile, Buggy wants to fix Den Den Mushi so he can brag again that he wants to destroy Luffy and kill Whitebeard. When it’s done, Buggy plans to be one of the four emperors. As Galdino watches Ace and Luffy escape, he thinks of Mr. 2’s memory and wishes to leave, but is spotted by some marines inspecting his disguise.
Sengoku recovers, enraged at the mistake, while Doflamingo wants to let Luffy and Ace slip away. But Momonga gives chase. As some of the marines are confused as to what to do, Akainu orders them to get together and assures Ace and Luffy that escape is impossible. Just then, the pedal boat runs aground, scaring the marines with Squard on board. Squard tells Whitebeard to leave, hoping to show his enemies the pride of the Maelstrom Spider Pirates. Whitebeard thinks Squard has gone mad.
Some of the pirates think that Squard has a death wish and the other hopes to atone for stabbing Whitebeard by sacrificing himself heroically. The Maelstrom Spider Pirate captain is saddened that his crew came with him, but they went of their own accord. Hearing their word, Squard ordered the pirates to get Ace out of there. Ace fires a beam of fire St. Elmo on some marines and is surprised by Squard’s actions. Marco fears that grief will result before demanding that the Seastone Cuffs be removed from his wrists.
Squard’s group rushes forward, ready to fight, but Whitebeard stops the pedal even on the verge of death. The white bearded pirate says how cruel it is for fathers to bury their own sons and says that everyone has to grow old and die someday. With their business at Marineford over, Whitebeard orders a full retreat while he stays behind to protect his sons from further harm.
Whitebeard is firmly prepared to give his crew one last order. The pirates protest as they wanted to leave together. As Ace fires a cross, Whitebeard continues that families must be separated as well and wishes for his crews to return to the New World and continue their legacy. As his era draws to a close, Whitebeard says that no ship can carry him into the new age. He causes an earthquake that begins to tear Marineford apart, begging the pirates to evacuate and make their own way. Rakuyo doesn’t want his captain to be left behind, while Luffy and Ace protest as well. With a proud smile at his sons, he wishes them a new age. He also thinks about the time he spent with his crew because it’s been a long journey with them. Smiling, Whitebeard shouts that he will end the fight once and for all.