Chapters · Summit War › Marineford

Chapter 556: Justice Will Prevail!

Arc: Marineford · Saga: Summit War · Released: 2009-07-21

Summary

The Summit War continues. The maimed giant Little Oars Jr. keeps crawling toward the execution platform crying out for Ace while Mihawk (“This is how you make a smart and elegant kill!”), Doflamingo (“Ki shi shi!”) and Hancock watch the Marines tear into him; a Marine officer vows “You’re a dead man, Whitebeard!!” Marine Vice Admiral Lonz crushes a giant with his axe as Whitebeard’s commanders order the troops to “step over Oars and advance.” Doflamingo turns his strings on the Whitebeard commander “Water Buffalo Atmos” and delivers a cynical sermon on justice — “kids who’ve never known peace and kids who’ve never known war have completely different ideas of right and wrong… it’s the job of those at the top to decide what’s good and evil… Justice will prevail?! Of course it will!! …will be whichever side wins!!” Admiral Akainu arrives and, when a panicking Marine begs to flee for his family’s sake, melts him alive (“…then die an honorable death!! If you care about your family…”). A terrified Koby nearly breaks on the battlefield. The pirates breach the Marine line at two points — through the path Oars opened and through Whitey Bay “the Ice Witch,” prompting Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Tsuru to “put the plan into effect.” Garp, seated by the scaffold, agonizes between his duty (“Outlaws deserve no mercy”) and the fact that Ace and Luffy are family (“But this is family!!”), recalling how he raised Ace to be a Marine and was warned by Sengoku not to interfere. Helmeppo and Koby learn the execution is being moved up. The chapter ends as Luffy, Crocodile, Buggy and the rest of the Impel Down escapees plummet out of the sky over the frozen bay — Luffy yelling “I’m made of rubber!!” The cover runs the final volume of “Nami’s Weather Report.”

New reveals

• Admiral Akainu enters the battlefield. When a Marine deserts mid-battle (“I’ve lost my nerve! I don’t wanna die!! I got a family!”), Akainu answers “…then die an honorable death!! If you care about your family…” and melts him — Akainu’s debut act at Marineford establishes his absolute, merciless brand of Justice (pp. 8-9).
• Doflamingo’s justice doctrine. “It’s the job of those at the top to decide what’s good and what’s evil! Justice will prevail?! Of course it will!! …will be whichever side wins!!” — the villain’s nihilistic articulation of might-makes-right Justice (pp. 9-11).
• “Water Buffalo Atmos” — a Whitebeard division commander (water-buffalo zoan features, horned helm) — is named; Doflamingo’s strings cut through his squad (“Stop it, Doflamingo!!”) (pp. 7-9).
• Vice Admiral Lonz — a Marine officer wielding a great axe — “crushed the giant with ease!!” (p. 5).
• Whitey Bay, “the Ice Witch” — a Whitebeard-allied captain — breaches the Marine defenses at a second point (“This iceberg is nothing to me!”; her ship is an “ice-breaker”); the bay is breached at the OARS and BAY points (pp. 12-13).
• “Buddha” Sengoku. Whitebeard’s side calls Sengoku a “cunning foe… ‘Buddha’ Sengoku!”; Sengoku and Tsuru declare “we’re putting the plan into effect” / “I suppose it’s time” — Ace’s execution is to be brought forward (pp. 12-15).
• Garp’s conflict. Garp, by the scaffold, is torn between Marine duty and family — “What am I supposed to do?! …But this is family!!” — and remembers raising Ace (“You’re going to become a great naval officer!”) and Sengoku’s warning (“don’t get any funny ideas, Garp, or I’ll dispose of you too”) (pp. 14-15).
• Luffy’s group falls onto Marineford. Luffy, Crocodile (“Croc boy”), Buggy and the Impel Down escapees plummet from the sky toward the iced-over bay (pp. 16-17).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

(None resolved on-page this chapter.)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Little Oars Jr. (maimed, crawling toward Ace), Oars (referenced ancestor), Ace, Whitebeard (“Whitebeard”/“Gramps”-quakes), Hancock, Doflamingo, Mihawk, Sakazuki (on-page “Admiral Akainu”), Sengoku (“Buddha” Sengoku), Tsuru, Garp, Koby, Helmeppo, Luffy, Crocodile, Buggy, Atmos (“Water Buffalo Atmos”), Whitey Bay (“the Ice Witch”), Vice Admiral Lonz, Nami (cover)
• Locations: Marine Headquarters (Marineford — bay & plaza), Weatheria (cover)
• Groups: Marines, Whitebeard Pirates, Seven Warlords of the Sea
• Powers / fruits: Doflamingo’s strings (fruit unnamed on-page), Mihawk’s blade (Yoru, unnamed), Atmos’s water-buffalo zoan (unnamed), Akainu’s magma/heat (unnamed)

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page. Cover: “Nami’s Weather Report” Final Volume — “The Weather Science of Weatheria.” Nami walks a rainy field of umbrellas among Weatheria’s weather scientists; closes the short Nami cover serial begun in Ch. 555 (1-page cover).
• Page 2 — Mihawk’s slash (“This is how you make a smart and elegant kill!”); Hancock: “I didn’t know there was a man that big in the outer seas” (re: Oars).
• Pages 3-4 — Oars Jr struck down; “You’re a dead man, Whitebeard!!”
• Page 5 — Vice Admiral Lonz “crushed the giant with ease!!”; Mihawk’s flying blade-slash crosses the field.
• Page 6 — Cutaway gag: a distant locale (a winged pig and a pegasus) feels the tremors — “Why are there so many earthquakes today?”
• Pages 7-9 — Doflamingo’s strings cut down Atmos’s squad (“Stop it, Doflamingo!!”).
• Pages 8-9 — Admiral Akainu debuts on the field and melts a deserting Marine — “…then die an honorable death!!”
• Pages 9-11 — Doflamingo’s justice sermon, ending “Justice will prevail?! …will be whichever side wins!!”
• Page 11 — Marineford war panorama with the 海軍 (Marines) HQ tower.
• Pages 12-13 — The line breaks at two points (OARS / BAY); Whitey Bay “the Ice Witch” named; Sengoku & Tsuru “put the plan into effect.”
• Pages 14-15 — Garp’s anguish (“But this is family!!”) and flashbacks (raising Ace; Sengoku’s warning).
• Pages 16-17 — Luffy, Crocodile, Buggy and the Impel Down escapees fall from the sky over the frozen bay; “I’m made of rubber!!”
• Page 18 — SBS Question Corner (Vol. 56): Oda’s schedule; Hannyabal’s underwear collection (callback to Ch. 537); Inazuma’s glasses confirmed to be 3-D glasses.

Open questions raised

• What is Sengoku’s “plan,” and how early will Ace’s execution be moved up?
• Will Garp act on “this is family,” or stay his Marine duty?
• Where will Luffy’s falling group land, and what shape is the war in when they arrive?
• How far will Akainu’s “Justice” go against his own side and the prisoners?