The Navy, tasked with execution at a critical moment, was promptly stopped by Crocodile, but Ace's crisis was far from over. The remaining members of the Whitebeard Pirates boarded the Moby Dick, and Little Oars, with his last ounce of strength, helped Old Father and the others escape the encirclement and reach the execution platform.
To prevent any further complications, Whitebeard decided to personally intervene and rescue Ace. Though briefly obstructed by Aokiji, he didn't linger, instead entrusting the task to his son, Jozu. To make matters worse, Luffy's stamina had been completely depleted from the prolonged battle.
However, he couldn't afford to stop, so he pleaded with Ivankov to inject him with a stimulant hormone, even if it meant sacrificing over a decade of his lifespan. While Luffy was undergoing treatment, Whitebeard, his old wounds flaring up, was hit by Akainu's magma fist. Marco, concerned for his father's injuries, was not only struck by Kizaru's laser beam but also shackled with Seastone cuffs by Onigumo, rendering him unable to fight. Even Jozu, distracted by Marco's plight, was frozen solid by Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit ability.
The situation took a sudden turn for the worse, and to add to it, Sengoku once again ordered Ace's execution. In this dire moment, Luffy unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, stunning a contingent of elite Marines, including the two executioners on the platform. Witnessing this, Whitebeard instructed the remaining crew members to provide full cover for Luffy's rescue attempt of Ace. With the help of lightning, a stone staircase leading to the execution platform was created, making it impossible for Kizaru or the elite Marines to stop Luffy's advance.
Not even his grandfather, Garp, could halt him. After knocking his grandfather down the staircase with a single punch, Luffy finally reached the execution platform as he had wished and produced the key given to him by Hancock. Seeing this, Sengoku transformed into a golden Great Buddha, and Kizaru shattered Ace's handcuffs with a laser beam. In this desperate situation, Luffy used his Third Gear Balloon to block Sengoku's full-powered attack, while their third brother, disguised as an execution soldier, used his Devil Fruit ability to create a replacement handcuff key and free Ace from the Seastone restraints.
A fiery passage appeared in the sky, and Ace was finally rescued! Having achieved his objective, Whitebeard issued his final command, urging everyone to evacuate swiftly and safely return to the New World. As he was a relic of the old era, and no ship in the New World could carry him, Whitebeard once again unleashed the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, covering their retreat. Though they were all unwilling, they had no choice but to obey their father's orders. As Ace and the others were about to escape, Akainu could no longer stand by.
Akainu, unaware of what Aokiji and Kizaru were doing, knew only that if he didn't act now, Ace and Luffy would succeed in their escape. Thus, he resorted to provocation, calling Whitebeard a failure of the previous era. Hearing this, Ace stopped his escape. He wouldn't allow anyone to insult his father! Ace turned and unleashed a Fire Fist attack at Akainu, who retaliated with his Magma Fist. After a brief stalemate, the magma consumed the flames, and Ace was defeated.
Seeing Ace injured, Luffy attempted to intervene, but his body reached its limit once again. Due to the side effects of the stimulant hormone, he was now incapacitated. One, the son of Roger, the other, the son of Dragon, Ace and Luffy collapsed to the ground simultaneously. Akainu, without hesitation, chose the latter. The moment Akainu's fist struck Luffy—
Ace shielded Luffy with his own body...!
Tsk, tsk, what a pity. Su Mu sighed, waving his fan. The surrounding environment shifted to the scene of the Marineford battle. Everyone watched in shock as Ace stood in front of Luffy, blood continuously spilling from his chest. The magma pierced through Ace's body, incinerating his internal organs, yet Akainu was still not satisfied.
The air was filled with an atmosphere of grief and indignation. The crew members looked in disbelief at Ace, who had collapsed into Luffy's arms, as if this moment marked their end. The pain in Luffy's heart was completely ignited, tears streaming uncontrollably as he embraced Ace's gradually weakening body and cried in despair. All the memories from childhood to the present flashed through his mind. Luffy couldn't believe, couldn't accept, that Ace had fallen like this. His beloved brother, the one who had sheltered him and adventured with him!
Why do Master Su Mu's stories always hurt so much? I'm going to cry myself to death... Sob sob. There's just sand in my eyes, alas. So many people struggled so hard to rescue Ace, only to be unable to bring him back... Su Mu looked at Luffy in the audience, who had been keeping his head down, lost in his memories.
Akainu, after killing Ace, still intended to attack Luffy. Even though his body was hit by cannonballs from the pirate fleet, it couldn't stop his advance. At this critical juncture, Jinbe appeared in time to block the fatal punch, and Marco, with the help of their third brother, had his Seastone cuffs removed and, along with Diamond Jozu and Vista, blocked Akainu.
Seeing Ace sacrifice himself and Akainu still intending to attack Luffy, Garp couldn't stand it. In his rage, he intended to personally kill Akainu, but was pinned to the ground by Sengoku. In the image, Luffy held his brother Ace in his arms, feeling his life force slowly dissipate. Luffy could not accept this reality, could not accept his brother's departure. Seeing Ace's Vivre Card vanish, Luffy let out a cry of despair and then fainted.
Akainu still wanted to eliminate Luffy at this point, but fortunately, Marco arrived in time to block Akainu's iron fist, allowing Jinbe to successfully take Luffy away. Whitebeard also appeared behind Akainu at this moment, his rage having reached its peak. With a single punch, he knocked Akainu's head askew. It wasn't over yet; Whitebeard lifted Akainu with one hand and unleashed the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, attempting to shatter him and alleviate his internal rage!
Marineford was also reduced to ruins by Whitebeard's attack. It was at this time that the instigator of the Summit War, Blackbeard Teach, arrived. His objective was simple: to collect Old Father's Tremor-Tremor Fruit and demonstrate his ability, "Darkness." This was the bane of all Devil Fruit abilities; they would all become ineffective upon contact, even Old Father's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
However, Teach had ultimately underestimated the strength of the world's strongest man, Whitebeard. Not only was he counter-attacked by Father, but he was also restrained. Just as Father was about to use the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to blow Teach's head off, Teach, terrified, frantically called Whitebeard "Daddy" to beg for mercy. The seemingly fierce attack failed to finish Teach, as Whitebeard's injuries were too severe, and his body had reached its limit, unable to deliver the final blow. At this moment, Teach aimed the gun he was holding at Father's body...