Chapters · Summit War › Marineford

Chapter 565: Oars's Path

Arc: Marineford · Saga: Summit War · Released: —

Summary

The Summit War’s encirclement closes. At Sabaody Archipelago, pirates rage that the war broadcast has been cut, and rumors spread that Whitebeard “made a secret deal with the Navy” and “sold out his men”; Trafalgar Law coolly orders the Heart Pirates to ready their ship and leave (“Get the ship ready, Bepo… Come with me, Jean Bart”), while Jewelry Bonney weeps. At Marineford, the Marines’ magma and cannon bombardment boils the sea and burns the Moby Dick to the waterline (“the ship that carried us for decades… I’m sorry”). A colossal “wall of steel” rises to seal the bay — and to the pirates’ horror Pops’ quake power cannot break it, leaving a single narrow gap as the only road to the execution scaffold, where Sengoku announces the execution of “Portgaz D. Ace” will now proceed. As the alliance debates the obvious trap, the mortally-wounded giant Little Oars Jr. rises again; Kizaru moves to finish him with “a shot in the head,” but a pillar of water erupts and hurls Luffy — launched by Jimbei — over the wall and into the bay. Called “son of Dragon,” Luffy lands beside Oars Jr., and the two punch a corridor through the steel as Whitebeard orders Jozu to “play our trump card” and the alliance readies to storm the plaza.

New reveals

• The Navy’s wall of steel encirclement around Marineford bay is impervious even to Whitebeard’s quake-quake power; the only opening is a single narrow gap, and “each group that goes through will have to face the full force of the Navy.”
• The Moby Dick is destroyed by the Marine bombardment.
• Little Oars Jr. is mortally wounded but not dead — “He’s still alive?!” — and rises to clear a path for the alliance.
• Sabaody fallout: the cut feed has the world believing Whitebeard betrayed his crew; Trafalgar Law orders the Heart Pirates out; Jewelry Bonney is in tears.
• Jimbei launches Luffy over the wall on a column of water; Luffy is addressed by Marine command as “son of Dragon.”
• Whitebeard orders Jozu to “play our trump card.”

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy (launched over the wall; Gum-Gum Stamp Gatling; “son of Dragon”) · Ace (execution announced as “Portgaz D. Ace”; reacts to Oars Jr.) · Whitebeard (“Pops”; quake fails on the wall; orders the trump card) · Jozu (“play our trump card!!”) · Jinbei (VIZ “Jimbei”; launches Luffy on a water pillar) · Kizaru (moves to finish Oars Jr.) · Sengoku (announces the execution; “son of Dragon… not getting on this platform yet”) · Sakazuki (the magma admiral — shown, unnamed this chapter — lava bombardment boils the sea) · Gecko Moria (inferred — the “Ki shi shi” corpse-coveter, p. 9) · Trafalgar Law · Bepo · Jean Bart · Jewelry Bonney · Little Oars Jr. · Oars (referenced as ancestor) · Dragon (referenced — “son of Dragon”) · Brook (cover)
• Groups: Marines · Whitebeard Pirates · Heart Pirates · Bonney Pirates · Giants (Little Oars Jr.) · Eleven Supernovas (Law, Bonney at Sabaody)
• Places / things: Marine Headquarters (Marineford; the wall of steel) · Sabaody Archipelago · Moby Dick (destroyed) · Den Den Mushi (cut video feed) · Gomu Gomu no Mi · Pika Pika no Mi (Kizaru) · Gura Gura no Mi (Whitebeard’s quake)

Notable panels

• Page 1 — B&W title page: a Brook-like afro-skeleton in striped attire with a striped cane beside a zebra-headed humanoid on a savanna (stripe motif).
• Pages 2-3 — Sabaody crowd erupts over the cut broadcast; rumor that Whitebeard “sold out his men.” Law: “Get the ship ready, Bepo.” / “Come with me, Jean Bart.” Bonney weeps (“Leave me alone!”).
• Pages 5-6 — The Moby Dick set ablaze and destroyed: “The ship that carried us for decades…” / “I’m sorry.”
• Pages 8-9 — The wall of steel rises (KRUNK); “That’s not ordinary steel!! Pops’ power doesn’t work on it!!”; Sengoku: “…of Portgaz D. Ace!! The execution… we will now perform.”
• Page 12 — Little Oars Jr. rises again — “LITTLE OARS JR.!!” / “He’s still alive?!”
• Page 13 — Kizaru: “A shot in the head is all that’s required.” A pillar of water erupts.
• Page 14 — Splash: Luffy bursts over the wall riding a geyser of water — “STRAW HAT LUFFY!!”
• Page 15 — Marine command to Luffy: “You’re persistent, son of Dragon… but you’re not getting on this platform yet.”
• Page 16 — “Gum-Gum… Stamp Gatling!!”; Oars Jr.: “Let me have Ace!!”
• Page 17 — Oars Jr. smashes the gap open; “Jozu!! Play our trump card!!”; “We’re going to storm the plaza!!”

Open questions raised

• What is the Whitebeard Pirates’ “trump card” Jozu is ordered to play?
• Will the corpse-coveting Warlord (Moria’s “Ki shi shi”) move to claim Oars Jr.’s body?
• Can the alliance exploit the single gap in the wall of steel to reach Ace before the execution is carried out?
• Where are Law’s Heart Pirates heading, and what does “the chance of the Whitebeard Pirates surviving is…” portend?