A while after sailing in silence, the commandeered Marine ship suddenly jolted. The deck rattled, ropes snapped taut, and the sea itself began to tremble.
"W-what's happening?!" a pirate cried, clutching the railing.
The ocean split apart in a terrifying spectacle—one half rising like a wall, the other plunging downward. Their ship slid helplessly down the incline, wood groaning under the strain.
Buggy's eyes bulged. "Whaaa! The ocean's gone vertical! We're gonna die!"
Luffy, wide-eyed but grinning, shouted, "Whoa! This is awesome!"
"Awesome!? We're sliding into the abyss!" Buggy screamed, clinging to the mast.
The ship skidded down the watery slope until, after agonizing minutes, the ocean slammed back into place. Waves raged, tossing them like a toy.
Lucas frowned, Omnitrix glowing. He shifted into Swampfire, vines sprouting from his feet and digging into the deck for leverage. "That's not good," he muttered.
"The hell was that about?" Luffy asked, scratching his head.
"Guys, hang on to something," Lucas warned.
Buggy scoffed. "What are you talking ab—" His words froze as his eyes widened. "Ahhhhh!" he shrieked, pointing behind them.
Everyone turned—and screamed. A colossal tsunami surged toward them, towering higher than the mast.
"What in heavens did I do to deserve this?!" a pirate wailed.
"Damn it all! I blame you for everything, Straw Hat!" Buggy cried.
The wave swallowed them whole. Jinbei gritted his teeth, steering desperately. "Hold on! I'll take us to the crest!" He maneuvered the ship upward, avoiding destruction, but they remained at the mercy of the raging water.
"The tremors must've originated from Marineford," Jinbei said grimly. "The war between Whitebeard and the Marines has already begun."
"So it seems," Crocodile muttered, eyes narrowing.
Pirates panicked around them.
"If the shockwaves of that battle are like this, we'll be crushed up close!" one shouted.
"Will we even make it there alive?!" another cried.
The tsunami carried them forward—until it slammed into another, even larger wave that had been frozen solid. Their ship shot upward, propelled like a cannonball, and lodged between jagged ice ridges at the crest.
Buggy's jaw dropped. "We're stuck… on top of a frozen tsunami!?"
"This is insane!" a pirate yelled.
"What the hell is going on here?!" another screamed.
Crocodile's gaze was cold. "Look down. You'll find your answer."
Far below, the war at Marineford raged—giants clashing, Admirals unleashing devastation, Whitebeard's forces pressing forward.
A transponder snail crackled. Peruperuperu…
"Calling all ships and troops! Objective Tottz! Change formation and prepare for General Strategy Three! Preparations are to be executed flawlessly. Ace's execution will be carried out ahead of schedule."
"What!?" Luffy and the others cried.
"We've gotta hurry!"
Suddenly, a deep cracking echoed beneath them. The ice ridge split, the tip of the frozen wave breaking apart.
"Areeee!" pirates screamed as the ship plummeted.
The Marineford battlefield paused as soldiers and pirates alike looked up with horrified faces as a Marine ship fell from the sky. Ropes snapping, sails tearing, pirates tumbling in chaos.
"Waaaaaah!" they all screamed.
Splash!!! The ship smashed through the ice layer, splintering it, and plunged into the water.
"Did… did a battleship just fall out of the sky?" a reporter gasped, broadcasting live. The world watching through monitors and radios reeled in shock.
Cough, cough. Luffy staggered to his feet on the ice.
"L… Luffy!" Ace cried from the execution platform, eyes wide.
"A~c~e!!!" Luffy shouted, voice raw. "I've finally found you!!"
Sengoku's face twisted. "Garp! Is that another member of your cursed family!?"
The battlefield froze in suspense.
Crocodile lunged, sand swirling, aiming for Whitebeard. Luffy intercepted, fists clenched.
"We had an arrangement, Straw Hat," Crocodile hissed.
"So this guy is Whitebeard, huh?" Luffy said, glaring. "Then you're not touching him! He's the one Ace really cares about!"
Lucas stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, a grin spreading across his face. "So many transformations… so many combinations."
His Omnitrix flared. He fused Heatblast and Cannonbolt, body igniting as he curled into a blazing sphere.
Lucas bolted forward, a streak of fire tearing across the battlefield. Marines shielded their eyes as the fiery comet smashed into the wall. Flames scattered, as the ice melted where he'd left a trail, and the soldiers were thrown back by shockwaves of the impact.
The war at Marineford had reached its climax—and now, Lucas had entered the battlefield.