Hiccup toppling a giant soon became a rallying point for him and his allies. Hiccup soon found himself by his side with Astrid, Jinbe, Mala and everyone else from New Kama.

"He toppled a giant all on his own!"

"Hell yeah, Dragon! You took him down with one punch!"

"Thanks, but the battle has just started," said Hiccup as he looked towards the scaffolding. "We still have a long road ahead of us to get to Ace."

"No kidding, because it looked as if you've earned their attention."

Sure enough, the Marines had now surrounded them in a circle; it was clear that they wished to eliminate Hiccup just as badly as they wanted to execute Ace.

"Do not let the foremost group advance any further!" Sander ordered. "Hold off and put that rookie into the ground."

"Damnit," said Ace helplessly.

"Make them pay!" a Marine officer yelled.

The Marines then charged in towards the pirates, who charged at them.

At the head of the bay, the pirate fleet was slowly pushing the Marines back.

"There's no beating around the bush," said one of the Gerline Brothers. "Let's launch a frontal attack and join up with Stoick inside the bay."

"Whatever it takes to save, Ace," said his brother.

"Drive them back with everything you've got!" said Captain Graze, pointing his sword at the enemy.

The pirates charged, but Marcus was among some powerful Vice-Admirals guarding the bay head.

"We've got to fight the Vice-Admirals too? Those guys are too strong."

"I don't think we have any other option."

"Well, this is going to be rough, but do it for Ace!"

The pirates then began to charge at the Vice-Admirals.

Ace found this aggravating. 'They're all going to get themselves killed.'

"Bazooka unit ready! Now fire at Stoick!"

Several Marines aimed their bazookas at Stoick and fired.

"Look out!" Ace yelled.

Stoick, however, wasn't too concerned; he merely channelled his quick power into his axe and, with one swing, destroyed the cannonballs and blew away the bazooka unit.

'Damnit! Please don't do this!' Ace begged.

The Marine was swinging his mace at Hiccup, who quickly blocked it and then punched the Marines, sending him flying.

"Now sliced into pieces!"

Several Marines with swords charged at Hiccup and managed to put him on the defensive. However, he was able to take out two of them with a few good blows, but the third one managed to graze him. However, Hiccup quickly launched a counter-attack and punched him into the ground.

"You're not going to stop me from saving my brother, so you might as well get out of my way!" Hiccup yelled as he kept on charging forwards.

'Hiccup… why do you care so much?' Ace cried. 'Why do any of them care? I deserve to die like this. Why can't they see that I'm not worth risking their lives for?'

Out of all the Hairy Hooligan Pirates, the second division fought hard, desperate to save their commander.

"We, the second division of the Hairy Hooligan Pirates, will save our commander, Ace! No matter what the cost!"

"Right!" they cheered.

'Please don't do this,' Ace begged. 'Just stop. Just let me die like I'm supposed to.'

However, deep down inside, he knew that no matter how much he begged, none of them would listen. They would fight to the death to rescue him, but he could do nothing to stop them, especially Hiccup.

"Hiccup, you're smarter than this," he said. "Stop, Hiccup… turn around Stoick…"

"What is it, Ace?" Wrinkly asked.

"I'm ready," he said. "Ready to accept whatever I deserve. I will accept any help that is offered to me, but I would also accept any punishment. Even one, whichever comes first. I'm just ready for all of this to end."

Both Wrinkly and Sander remain silent.

"On my signal, men! Fire!"

The Marines then began firing cannonballs at Hiccup's group. Hiccup then quickly flew up into the sky and spread out his wings.

"Wing Blast!" he yelled.

With one good flap, he unleashed a powerful burst of air straight at the cannonballs, deflecting them and sending them right back towards the Marines.

Buggy and his followers had yet to make a move and were currently watching the battle, or more precisely, they were watching Hiccup.

"Look at that punk; it's like he's trying to steal the show. Like this is his war."

"It should be Captain Buggy's!"

They all immediately turned towards Buggy.

"I think it's time, boss. You've got to stand up and show the world who you are."

"This is the perfect moment for you to defeat Stoick."

"Maybe I will, maybe I will," said Buggy, trying to hide his fear. 'I've got to keep stalling. This was completely bonkers. It's nothing but monsters on both sides. I'll just keep my head down and stay quiet.'

"Hey, you clown," said a voice.

"What the hell did you just say to me?!" Buggy snapped as he spun around towards the voice. "Are you cruising for a bruising, punk?" However, his eyes widened when he realised it had been Stoick who had spoken. "I take it back!"

Stoick narrowed his eyes. "I thought I recognised you. You worked for Roger back when you were just a brat. It's been a while, but it doesn't look like things have changed too much."

'I can't believe I just threatened him,' Buggy cried. 'He's going to kill me!'

'Yep, he's a dead man,' said Mr 3. 'His only chance is to run.'

Buggy's followers, however, just looked on in awe.

"Holy crap, it's Stoick! And he's speaking to him. That is like the coolest thing I ever seen."

"It is just further proof that you are a genuine living legend."

Buggy just stared at them dumbfounded. 'Do they realise I'm about to die?' He then looked back at Stoick. 'It must be nice if it's not your ass on the line.'

"You've got an entire battalion of prisoners," Stoick noticed. "Now, you're not planning on challenging me, are you?"

"Damn right he is!" said Buggy's followers in unison.

Buggy once again looked at them dumbfounded. When he looked back at him, they immediately looked at him apologetically.

"Oh, sorry about that. You probably would have wanted to tell him yourself."

"You give him hell, Captain Buggy."

Buggy looked at Stoick, panicking. 'I don't have much choice, thanks to you morons.'

He then pointed the finger directly at Stoick. "Yeah, we meet at last! Now, prepare yourself!"

Buggy's followers began clapping in awe, unaware that he was terrified from head to toe.

Mr 3 just opened his mouth in astonishment. 'He's pushing his luck right off the edge of a cliff. Dragon might have gotten away with it, but that's only because he's Stoick's son.'

Unsurprisingly, Stoick did look intimidated in the slightest. "Oh yeah. It doesn't bother me if you're hungry for a fight, but if you beat me, what's next? There might be more Navy soldiers than you can handle on your own. If I'm being honest, they are more than I can handle. Now, I'm not one to back down from a challenge, but it would make more sense to form an alliance. Once we're done, then you can kick my ass."

Buggy couldn't believe what he was hearing or his luck.

"Holy crap! Stoick actually recognises you as his brother-in-arms!"

"He considers you an equal!"

Mr 3 couldn't believe what he was hearing either. 'No, he called him a brat like one minute ago.'

He then looked at Buggy incredulously. "Don't tell me you're going to try to take on the Navy? You don't really think you can win, do you?"

"Well, yeah," said Buggy, trying to smile confidently, but it was plain to see he was utterly terrified. "I just got to go all out."

Mr 3's mouth fell wide open. 'He's completely lost his grip on reality.'

"Seriously?!"

"Oh, I got goosebumps."

'You know what, maybe I can do this,' said Buggy, trying to convince himself. 'Maybe I really was destined to become King, standing on top of the world.'

He then pretended to ponder for a moment before looking back at Stoick. "You know what, you might be onto something. Let's join forces and take down the Navy."

Buggy's followers immediately cheered.

"This is amazing! Man, it's too much!"

"All right, you win, Stoick," said Buggy. "I'll partner with you, but only because you're begging me to."

"Huh? So arrogant," his followers gasped. "Oh well, that's Captain Buggy."

Mr 3 stared at Buggy. 'What's wrong with him? Did he pull some sort of brainwashing technique on these idiots?'

"Hmm, well, that guy is unbelievably easy to manipulate," said Gobber as he looked down at Buggy.

"He's an idiot, to say the least," said Stoick. "Hiccup told me a bit about him before he took off. He mentioned that he was weak, but the prisoners he's got behind him are something else entirely. The last thing we need now is more enemies."

Buggy remained utterly clueless at Stoick's manipulation and merely laughed.

Stoick then turned his attention to the actual threat. "Now, back to the war."

The pirate fleet outside continued to attack the Marines guarding the bay head.

"All ships in the back, come forward and deploy backup!" said one of the Gerline Brothers over the transponder snail.

"It's time to show them what we're made of," said his brother.

The ships in the rear began to dock on the ice, and the pirates aboard began to join the advanced party.

The Marine immediately rushed over to inform a Vice-Admiral of the situation. "I have a report, sir! All of the pirate stations in the rear are currently heading this way!"

"It took them long enough," said the Vice-Admiral, pulling out a transponder snail. "Calling the forward unit at the bay head! Change the formation of the Fleet Admiral ordered. Prepare to deploy strategy."

"All units start backing up, but keep fighting and make sure you retreat slowly!"

The pirates noticed that the Marines had stopped firing cannonballs and started falling back into the bay.

"Did they stop firing on us?"

"Yeah, and it's starting to look like they're starting to pull back."

"Those Navy bastards are starting to buckle," said one of the Gerline Brothers.

"One more push, and we've got them," said his brother.

"Enemy ships on both sides!"

The Gerline Brothers turned their heads and saw that several Navy ships were closing in towards them.

"It's too late now."

"They can't stop us from charging the bay."

"Right, now is our chance to finally join Stoick at the centre of the fight," said Squall's first mate.

Suddenly, he received a message from a transponder snail and immediately answered it.

"Come in, this is Stoick," said Stoick's voice. "But Squall the line."

"Stoick? You need Captain Squall?" he said, looking around for his captain. "Well, he… um, he was right here just a few moments ago, but now, uh… the thing is, I'm not seeing him anywhere, sir."

"Yeah, go figure," said Gobber. "All that tough talk, and he's not even around when you ask for his help."

"Hmm, so it goes," Stoick huffed. "Get me the Gerline Brothers, then."

It only took a few short moments for the Gerline Brothers to get on the line.

"Hey, Stoick, what's up?"

"Yeah, Stoick, what's up?"

"I want you to follow my lead," said Stoick. "Take command of all pirate divisions around you."

"You got it!"

"Yes, sir! And what is the command?"

"Just focus on sinking the approaching Navy ships," Stoick ordered.

The Gerline Brothers looked at one mother, surprised by this command.

"What?! But Stoick, this is the best shot we have had of making a frontal assault since the battle got started!"

"Yeah, you're not giving up, are you?"

"Just trust me on this one," said Stoick. "I've got a bad feeling about those ships."

The Gerline Brothers looked at one another and nodded.

"Well, you can count on us, Stoick."

"That's right, we've got it. We'll spread the orders to the other captains."

Within moments, the Gerline Brothers relayed the order to every single pirate captain and the Obeid the command without question.

On the scaffold, a Marine rushed over to inform Sander of the pirates' change of attack.

"Excuse me, Fleet Admiral, sir, but the pirates of the New World have altered their battle tactics!"

"Yes," said Sander, narrowing his eyes. "They seem to turn to the sides."

"They certainly started attacking the approaching Navy ships!"

Suddenly, without warning, the pirates at the head of the bay attacked the approaching Navy ships from both sides.

"Your bluff has been called," said Wrinkly. "Stoick must have sensed something wrong."

"So I tried a cheap trick, and he didn't fall for it," said Sander, looking annoyed. "I'll admit it was way too obvious. But still, he can't prevent the inevitable just because he sees it coming."

Within the bay, Hiccup's allies were struggling against the Marines.

"I don't see how we'll ever break through."

"Death Wink!" Mala yelled, blowing away a few Marines with her shockwave attack.

"Whoa, Mala, you're all right."

"Mala, we need a clear path if we want to get to Ace," said Hiccup. He then turned to Astrid and Jinbe. "Astrid… Jinbe…"

The Marines began to launch a full frontal assault against Hiccup and his allies, but Hiccup, Astrid, Mala and Jinbe took a fighting stance in front of them.

"Fishman Karate: 5000 Brick Fist!"

"Death Wink!"

"Valkyrie Storm!"

"Plasma Blast!"

They unleash their attacks, which cut right through the Marines, sending them flying in all different directions.

"We go!" Mala yelled.

They cut a path right through the Marines and began advancing towards the wall. However, the Marines were no pushovers and began to recover from that sudden attack.

"Do not let them get any further!"

Moria laughed as he blocked Hiccup's path. "Ah, Dragon, you don't really think you can get past me."

"Oh great, him again," Hiccup muttered.

"I shall be your opponent," said Jinbe as he stepped forward.

Hiccup stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"My karate skills will be far more adequate a fraught you alone," said Jinbe, narrowing his eyes at Moria.

"That's a mighty fine speech, I'm impressed," Moria sneered. "But that's good because when I take care of you, my zombies can run wild again."

"You keep on moving, Hiccup," said Jinbe. "Do not waste a moment on this villain."

"If you're sure, thanks for the assist, Jinbe," said Hiccup as he and the others kept pushing forward.

Moria snarled in annoyance. "I can't believe I'm letting Dragon slip past me." He then turned to face Jinbe. "So Jinbe, are you really so delusional that you think you can beat me on dry land?"

The Marines looked at the two Warlords nervously.

"Oh man, I liked it a lot better when Jinbe was on our side."

"The Seven Warlords are a crucial part of our forces. It just doesn't seem right to fight each other."

The Marine then looked down at his feet.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my shadow."

It was then that they noticed that Moria and pulled their shadows out of the ground.

"Now suffer damnation, Navy soldiers, for your shadows will fight for me," said Moria.

He then pulled out his scissors and sliced the shadows, immediately knocking the Marines unconscious. Laughing, he inserted the shadows into his body and grew in size.

"Since you know all of my secrets, Jinbe, did you know that my power grows exponentially with every shadow that I consume? I'm guessing not, or you wouldn't have so foolishly challenged me."

Jinbe, however, was not intimidated in the slightest. "So you got bigger. Pointless. The power that you flaunt is stolen from others. Your selfishness is not your strength, but your weakness."

"Shut up!" Moria snarled. "We'll see how smart you are once I turn you into sushi!" He then split his giant scissors in two and wielded them like a pair of swords. "And I am going to add your shadow to my collection. You will spend the rest of your life toiling away within my darkness. How does that sound?"

Jinbe did not answer and merely took up a fighting stance.

"I'll take that shadow now," said Moria.

He swung his blade at Jinbe but quickly sidestepped, dodging the strike. Moria then tried to strike him with his other blade with a sideways strike, but Jinbe was able to dodge that as well.

Moria glared at him. "You're rather fast for such a hulking fellow, aren't you?"

"You're the only hulking fellow here, you imbecile," Jinbe pointed out.

That only aggravated Moria, who began swinging his blade at Jinbe relentlessly, but he was able to dodge each and every swing perfectly.

"Fishman Karate: Sharkskin Palm Thrust!" Jinbe yelled and deflected Moria's attack with a powerful palm thrust.

Then, when Moria was stunned by his blocky, he immediately launched himself into the air and swung his fist at his chest.

"Brick Fist!" Jinbe yelled.

His punch sent shockwaves throughout Moria's body, and the show he had absorbed earlier shot out of his mouth. He dropped his blade and fell to his knees as he began shrinking to his normal size.

"In the end, you gave up those coveted shadows of yours rather easily," said Jinbe. "Perhaps you should train yourself more. It's time that you gave up and let me pass. I am done with you; my only concern is Ace."

"You don't get to lecture me!" Moria snapped as he tried to stand, only to nearly topple over. "This fight is not done!"

Jinbe merely walked away from him, but Moria could not stop him.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was still making his way towards the wall and the tales he lost sight of Mala and Astrid, but he was confident they could look after themselves. However, free Marine officers immediately attacked him out of nowhere; two were wielding swords, and the third was wielding a ball and chain.

He quickly flew into the air just as the Marine swinging the ball and chain tried to strike him down and quickly spun around, striking him with his tail. He then landed on the ground and punched the second Marine. He quickly followed with a kick to take down the third one.

Stormfly noticed Hiccup. "That's Dragon!"

Smoker then turned his gaze upon Hiccup and then suddenly took off. "Move, Stormfly!"

He shot right past Stormfly and headed straight towards Hiccup, and a split second later, he struck him with his weapon. Hiccup was caught completely by surprise and knocked to the ground, but he recovered.

"It's you…" said Hiccup as he spat out some blood. "…Smoker."

"I finally found you," said Smoker. "About time."

Mala turned around and saw Hiccup was in trouble. "No, Hiccup Haddock!"

Unfortunately, she could not offer assistance as Kuma suddenly appeared behind her.

"Kuma Bartholomew, would you just stop already?" she asked.

Kuma, however, fired a laser at her. Thankfully, she jumped back in time, but this meant she could not help Hiccup.

"I forgot that your weapon is made of Sea Prison Stone," said Hiccup. "I would like nothing more than to go down memory lane, but I'm in a hurry. Beta Mode!"

Hiccup then took on his Beta Form.

"I'm not going to let you get away this time," said Smoker.

"Neo Plasma Barrage!" Hiccup yelled.

He immediately fired several quick plasma blasts in quick succession, completely bombarding Smoker.

"White Launcher!" Smoker yelled.

He then launched himself into the sky to get away from Hiccup's attack.

"You're a lot stronger than you used to be," Hiccup noted.

"Dragon!" Stormfly yelled, charging at him.

She then swung her sword, but he suddenly vanished right in front of her before it made contact.

"He vanished?" she gasped.

"He's fast," Smoker noted.

Hiccup reappeared in the sky and immediately continued his onslaught of plasma blasts. Smoker had to dance through them to avoid getting hit, which was not easy. One of his shots did make contact, but Smoker turned into smoke and somehow got behind him.

"Seems I can return the compliment; you are a real force to be reckoned with," said Smoker.

His arm then materialised, and he quickly pinned his weapon right underneath Hiccup's chin, and they crashed into the ground. Hiccup reverted to his human form, and now he was pinned to the ground by Smoker.

"Hate to tell you, though, you're still not strong enough to beat me," said Smoker.

The Marines just stared.

"Whoa, Commodore Smoker just pinned Dragon."

"He's amazing," said Stormfly.

"If you think this is going to stop me, you're wrong," Hiccup winced.

"After all this time, I finally understand the truth," said Smoker. "I know why Valka helped you. If it weren't for her that day, you'd be dead. Your mother may have saved you at Logtown, but no one is going to save you today."

"Wanna bet!" a voice yelled.

Smoker quickly jumped back as a powerful inferno headed his way, and the source of it was none other than Astrid.

"How did she conjure that much fire?" Smoker stared.

"Where did that fire come from?" Stormfly gasped.

Smoker rose to his feet and pointed his weapon at her. "I don't know what kind of trick you're pulling, but if Dragon couldn't beat me, what makes you think you can?"

"I've got more than one trek up my sleeve," said Astrid as he gripped her battleaxe. "Besides my duty as first mate to protect my captain, especially when he's in over his head."

Hiccup picked himself up. "You sure you can handle him?"

"I can certainly hold him off," said Astrid. Hiccup still looked uncertain, but Astrid looked back at him confidently. "Don't worry, I've got this."

"Just make sure you don't go over your head," said Hiccup.

Mala, meanwhile, was trying to get through to Kuma, who continued to fire lasers.

"Please listen!" Mala yelled. "This is enough! Kuma Bartholomew, it is I! Do not tell me you have forgotten my face! If you do not stop them, friendship be damned, I will fight back!"

"I do not know what kind of history you two have, but it doesn't matter," said a voice. Mala turned her head towards Johann, who found the entire thing amusing. "Trust me, Mala Emporio, there is really no use in talking to him as he is now."

"Johann Tradesman," said Mala, narrowing her eyes. "What are you saying? Is there something wrong with him?"

"You are clearly a friend of Kuma Bartholomew's, so I doubt you take this well. The man you knew as Kuma the Tyrant is not the man you see before you now because that man is dead."

Mala's eyes widened, and she looked back at Kuma. "But that can't be true. How could Kuma be dead?"