Luffy vs. Mihawk

Unwilling to waste time dueling, Luffy bursts past Mihawk using Gear Second, yet the swordsman picks him out of the crowd and sends a spiraling slash that strikes him alone, ignoring everyone in its path. Realizing a counter would cost him an arm, Luffy halts mid-attack and flees instead, and a horizontal stroke from Mihawk shears the leftover frozen wave so its upper half crashes onto Marineford. Across the field, Crocodile spurns Doflamingo's offer, suggesting the flamingo serve under him instead, then whips up Sables and accidentally drags Buggy into the vortex. Luffy snatches Buggy as a living shield, Buggy's bomb gets batted back into his own face, and the rubber man finally sprints toward the platform.

Luffy demonstrates an uncanny knack for predicting attacks, sensing exactly how he would have lost his arm to the swordsman. Mihawk is shown wielding Observation Haki. Marco summons Vista, the Fifth Division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, who is introduced here as he intercepts Mihawk. Meanwhile a wave of fresh battleships delivers Sentomaru at the head of at least nine Pacifista, a sign that the conflict's closing stage has nearly arrived.

Mihawk remarks that Luffy possesses the rare and dangerous gift of turning anyone nearby into an ally. Sengoku orders the live feed severed so the civilians at Sabaody never see the Marines stumble, intending to announce only a single word once it is over: Victory. By this point the conflict has raged a full ninety minutes, the closing phase now imminent. The cover features Luffy gathering bananas for a monkey nursing a broken arm.