Summary:
Previously Before
Luffy and his crew of refugees find themselves on top of a frozen wave, completely surprised. Someone claims that the wave caught them and suddenly froze due to Whitebeard’s Gura Gura no Mi and Aokiji’s Hie Hie no Mi abilities. Crocodile looks down and so do the others where Jinbe notices Whitebeard’s men while Iva notices that the war has already started. Soon Luffy gets an idea to get the group out of the wave and tells them to hurry as they only had three hours. Luffy’s idea is to push the ship into the water after the wave. Mr. 3 and Buggy are against the plan, but Luffy convinces them and Buggy suddenly feels he could do it, backed by his loyal followers.
Den Den Mushi rings and reports to the Marine, all in code words. However, one thing that could be clarified is that Ace should have been executed before the original time. Everyone yells that they had to hurry as the wave crashes and forces the Marine warship down.
Present, Marineford
Ace and the Marines look on, confused, as a Marine warship crashes into the bay. Sengoku and Whitebeard notice a new addition to the war, while the refugee crew thank their luck when they miraculously land on a piece of water. Jinbe rushes down to retrieve the fallen Devil Fruit users, complaining about how annoying they were when they fell into the water. Ace screams Luffy’s name; Luffy answers.
The Marines around him begin to recognize a new power, starting with the former Shichibukai, Crocodile. To Garp’s horror, Sengoku recognizes Luffy; another group of marines recognize Jinbe, revolutionary Iva, and other infamous Impel Down pirates.
Mihawk quietly comments on how Luffy is doing heart breaking scenes as Moria wails his former enemy’s name. Jango and Fullbody also ponder Luffy’s presence, while Hancock looks relieved that Luffy managed to escape Impel Down safely. Helmeppo and Koby are surprised that Luffy also escaped Impel Down, while Aokiji comments on the group as a whole. Kuma remains silent, but Kizaru laughs that Luffy and him were supposed to meet again so soon. Marco recognizes Luffy as Ace’s brother. Doflamingo laughs at the presence of the Shichibukai as well as the “outrageous” newcomer, Straw Hat Luffy. Tashigi sees them as well, but Smoker tells her to focus as she gets slashed, only to pass as a cloud of smoke. Akainu finally notes Luffy as the grandson of Garp “the hero of the marines” and the son of a revolutionary dragon.
Sengoku yells at Jinbe and asks if it was Shichibukai’s choice. Jinbe yells back and says he was fine with that choice and resigns as Shichibukai. Garp comments about the group that they were the most “screwed up” group and refused to admit that they all had one common goal. As if on cue, Iva notices that the Crocodile is gone. The former Shichibukai appeared at Whitebeard’s, his hook on the Emperor’s neck. Buggy is angry that Crocodile tried to “steal his glory” while the Whitebeard Pirates begin to react.
Out of nowhere, in Gear 2, Luffy kicks Crocodile across the face while his leg was covered in water, which is Suna Suna no Mi’s weakness. Crocodile questions their arrangement, but Luffy refuses, saying that if the giant old man was really Whitebeard, no one was touching him because the Emperor was the only one Ace really cared about.
Looking back, Whitebeard notices a straw hat on Luffy’s back that belongs to Shanks. He disputes this, saying that it bears a strong resemblance to another. Luffy replies that he was borrowing it from Shanks. Whitebeard has a flashback to when Ace was showing Luffy’s wanted poster. Whitebeard asks if Luffy was here to save Ace, to which Luffy says yes. The first says that Luffy would throw his life away if he entered the treacherous battlefield. Enraged, Luffy tells Whitebeard to stop telling him what to do and that he heard about Whitebeard becoming the Pirate King and states that he should have defeated Whitebeard to glory. Whitebeard stares at Luffy and laughs, telling him not to get in his way as Luffy continues talking saying he can do whatever he wants. Everyone is shocked at Luffy’s attitude towards the Emperor that he would compete with such a pirate. Kizaru asks Sengoku if he should have executed any intruders, Sengoku agreed.