Chapter Summaries

Sanji refused to leave with the Straw Hats because he feared Nightmare would hunt them down and that escaping would endanger Reiju, the sister who had saved his life. Luffy and the others insisted they would not abandon him and proposed defeating Nightmare, while Sanji tried to warn them how dangerous he was.

• Nami scolded Luffy for eating everyone’s favorite food, and Sanji explained that the city’s weak defenses made it possible to reach him quietly.
• Sanji refused to escape, warning that Nightmare would discover his absence and send overwhelming forces after the crew.
• Luffy punched Sanji and insisted that crewmates did not abandon each other, but Sanji still would not leave because he feared Reiju would suffer for his escape.
• Sanji explained that Reiju had saved his life twice and would never betray Nightmare, whom she viewed as her savior.
• Luffy proposed defeating Nightmare, and Zoro agreed, while Usopp and Sanji warned them about the danger.

Sanji told Luffy and the others that Nightmare’s true body might be recovering inside a hidden temple beneath the Royal City, while Sabo explained that a barrier protected it. They learned the Martial Arts Tournament could be a sacrifice tied to Nightmare’s power, making it their only chance to defeat him, as an unseen eavesdropper slipped away.

• Sanji agreed to share what he knew and guessed that Nightmare’s true body was sleeping in the underground God’s Temple, possibly weakened after the Summit War.
• Sanji warned the group not to rush into the temple, and Sabo arrived to explain that a barrier blocked entry and could likely only be dismantled from within.
• Sanji revealed that the tournament’s Finals would take place at the Royal Palace above the God’s Temple and that Reiju had warned him the event involved a sacrifice.
• Sabo said rumors claimed Nightmare had gained his power by sacrificing an entire race to the Demon Sword, and he concluded that the tournament might be their only chance to defeat him.
• A shadow in the corner listened to the discussion and gradually faded away.

Luffy and his crew headed to the World’s Number One Martial Arts Tournament, where a Dream Net reporter dismissed Luffy’s bounty as too low to interview. They reached the tournament grounds and discovered a floating island above them.

• Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and the others made their way through the excited crowds, reminding Luffy and Zoro to stay focused and not get lost.
• High Fever Thirty-Six Degrees approached the crew and offered to interview them for a live Dream Net broadcast.
• Luffy revealed that he and Zoro were pirates with bounties of 100 million and 60 million Beli, and declared that he would become Pirate King.
• High Fever-kun abandoned the interview after learning Luffy’s bounty, leaving Luffy upset that he was considered too weak for the New World.
• Zoro pointed out the tournament venue, and Luffy realized it was a floating island in the sky.

Luffy, Ace, Sabo, and the others gathered before the tournament’s Floating Island battlefield and watched the first matches unfold. Lord Heaven’s Eye and Warden Shiryu won their battles in minutes, while Luffy eagerly prepared for his own fight.

• Nami explained that the Floating Island above them might have been carried into the sky by a Knock-Up Stream, and Sabo said Nightmare had chosen it as the battlefield.
• Luffy reunited with Ace, while the group discussed their assigned battlefields and the difficulty of reaching the Finals.
• The crowd watched Lord Heaven’s Eye become the sole victor of Battlefield One after killing his opponents in about five minutes, prompting Sabo and Ace to warn Luffy to avoid him.
• The host announced that Warden Shiryu had won Battlefield Two in four minutes and thirty seconds, and Sabo identified him as one of Nightmare’s four aces.
• After learning Battlefield Three had begun, Luffy asked how he could reach the island, and Usopp pointed him toward an airplane that could carry him there.

Luffy boarded a mysterious masked man’s personal aircraft and clashed with him using Conqueror’s Haki, causing the plane to explode before it reached the Floating Island. Meanwhile, Roy arrived at Laugh Tale and found fantastical creatures, including a griffin and a fallen Cerberus, leaving him to wonder if the island was where life began.

• Luffy entered the aircraft despite being warned it belonged to someone else, while the host announced that he had missed the departure for the Floating Island.
• Luffy confronted the masked man, who identified himself as Dark of Nightmare’s Assassination Squad, and they exchanged insults and challenged each other.
• Luffy and Dark clashed with Conqueror’s Haki until their auras tore apart the aircraft, and Dark wondered why the falling Luffy felt familiar.
• Roy crossed the natural barriers around Laugh Tale and discovered that the island was lush and full of life.
• Roy petted a griffin beside a dead Cerberus and mused that Laugh Tale might be where life began.

Roy explored Laugh Tale, where he encountered mythical creatures and began to suspect that Kaido had been a Dragon native to the island. After the griffin evolved by eating a Phoenix, it tried to warn Roy about something deeper inside.

• Roy let a fearful griffin follow him after it brought along meat from a dead hellhound.
• Roy traveled through Laugh Tale as mythical creatures attacked and fell before him, while the griffin eagerly collected prey.
• The griffin ate a dead Phoenix, evolved into a Flame Griffin, and gained azure flames that healed Roy when he touched them.
• Roy reasoned that mythical creatures had originated on Laugh Tale and that Kaido had been a Dragon who sought his lost home and kind.
• The griffin grabbed Roy's clothes, pointed ahead, and acted out a dramatic warning that Roy could not understand.

Roy reached the Sea Stone Poneglyph at the center of a blood-soaked forest on Laugh Tale and confronted the weakened being sealed inside. The being recognized Roy as an extraordinary power, and their exchange revealed that it had been imprisoned for eight hundred years.

• Roy passed a Poneglyph bearing Gol D. Roger’s message and continued into the forest.
• Roy walked through blood rain and ignored the hostile illusions and soul attack surrounding the sealed Poneglyph.
• Roy deduced that someone had repeatedly reinforced the seal while draining the being’s world origin, leaving it too weak to possess Kozuki Oden.
• The being projected itself from the Poneglyph and attacked Roy with blood, revealing its Blood-Blood Fruit ability.
• Roy used Dream Advent to dispel the projection, and the being realized Roy was not allied with the thief who had sealed it.
• Roy remarked on the being’s lucidity, and it sighed that eight hundred years of solitude had nearly made it forget time.

Roy killed the prisoner inside the Poneglyph and absorbed its power. After advancing to the Finals, Luffy discovered that the Dream Express had published a humiliating account of his battle with Dark, leaving him furious at the reporter.

• Roy learned that the prisoner preferred death to endless imprisonment, then shattered the Poneglyph and killed him with the Seven Star Sword.
• Roy reflected that the first person to tear apart the world had made it easier for him and Imu to challenge the World Will.
• The host announced that Dark and Luffy had advanced to the Finals, and Luffy told his friends that Dark had felt strangely familiar to him.
• Nami showed Luffy the Dream Express article speculating that he had advanced by flying on Dark's plane and describing his Gum-Gum Fruit abilities.
• Luffy recognized the reporter's name, High Fever Thirty-Six Degrees, and vowed to kill him.

Three days before the tournament Finals, the Straw Hat crew learned how many powerful forces had survived the elimination rounds and discussed the danger of Nightmare’s preparations. Sabo and Koala prepared a coordinated uprising to disrupt the sacrificial ritual, setting the stage for a continent-wide revolution.

• Luffy complained that High Fever Thirty-Six Degrees had fled and borrowed money from Nami, who secretly profited from selling his underwear.
• Usopp reported that 253 contestants had qualified for the Finals, including 97 under Nightmare, 51 from the World Government, and 39 from the Revolutionary Army.
• Zoro and Sabo warned that Nightmare had gathered his forces to protect the sacrificial ritual and that the supposed allies might not be trustworthy.
• Koala told Sabo that every major force had been notified to start riots and attack the city's order once the ritual began.
• Sabo declared that the revolutionaries would raise the Tidal Wave of revolution in three days.

The World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament Finals began as an unrestricted melee in Nightmare's Royal City, drawing contestants into a brutal battle. Luffy confronted the Masked Man and unveiled his Fourth Gear Ape King, while Hawkeye and Momousagi faced powerful opponents from Nightmare's forces.

• Zoro, Luffy, and Sabo admired Nightmare's lavish Royal City as the host announced that the Finals would have no rules.
• Luffy challenged the Masked Man, and Kid called for an opponent, triggering a chaotic melee across the city.
• Luffy demanded to know the Masked Man's identity, dodged his devastating sword slash, and transformed into Fourth Gear Ape King.
• Hawkeye fought Shiryu and noticed a familiar but altered aura elsewhere, while Momousagi recognized Augustine as her opponent.
• Augustine challenged Momousagi and attacked with Hell Blade Tiger.

Luffy fought the masked man in black, Dark, but was badly wounded before Sabo and Ace joined him. The three attacked together, yet Dark walked away unharmed, leaving their battle unresolved.

• Luffy used his elastic-ball form against Dark, who halted him with Conqueror's Haki and wounded him with a sword strike.
• Sabo and Ace rushed to protect Luffy, but Luffy insisted on staying in the battle while recovering.
• Dark attacked the three, and Luffy landed a surprise Fourth Gear Black Mamba blow that knocked him down.
• Sabo and Ace combined their attacks with Luffy's assault, but Dark emerged from the resulting flames without a scratch.
• Onlookers recognized Sabo, Ace, and Luffy as powerful fighters and wondered who Dark was.

The Red Count battled Golden Lion Shiki while Monkey D. Dragon fought Steel Bones Kong, and their clashes exposed God's Temple beneath the Royal City. As forces rushed into the temple, a man in black used Dark Water to stop Sabo, Luffy, and their companion from going deeper.

• The Red Count deflected Golden Lion Shiki's attack and blasted him hundreds of meters away, declaring his desire for a vigorous body.
• Monkey D. Dragon and Steel Bones Kong clashed, with Kong charging through Dragon's hurricane despite being badly wounded.
• Footage of the battles spread across the sea, and spectators recognized the legendary fighters and discovered God's Temple beneath the battlefield.
• Members of the Revolutionary Army, the World Government, and Marine Headquarters rushed into God's Temple after the sacrificial ritual began and the barrier broke.
• Sabo urged Luffy and their companion to enter the Underground Palace, but the man in black unleashed Dark Water and dragged them backward.

Ace, Luffy, and Sabo confronted the masked man, with Luffy insisting that he was Shanks. Meanwhile, Koala’s counterattack collapsed under Nightmare’s forces, leaving the Revolutionary Army to retreat and hope Sabo’s decapitation strategy succeeded.

• Ace charged at the masked man, but Luffy tried to stop him and insisted the man was Shanks.
• The masked man denied being Shanks and threatened to kill anyone who came closer, while Luffy challenged him to remove his mask.
• Koala ordered the Revolutionary Army to counterattack and avoid harming brainwashed civilians or clashing with the World Government and Marines.
• Revolutionary Army units reported heavy losses against Nightmare’s fanatical soldiers and Andromon, and Koala’s Magnetic Storm Bombs failed to disable the machines for long.
• Koala learned that the World Government and Marine Headquarters forces had already fled, then ordered the Revolutionary Army to withdraw in scattered units.

The Revolutionary Army forces entered the God's Temple and were ambushed by Enel, Kuma, and a thousand Pacifistas. Enel revealed that Nightmare's forces could draw unlimited power from Roy and the Dream Domain inside the temple, leaving the attackers facing a far stronger fight than expected.

• The Revolutionary Army and World Government forces fought through the God's Temple, where a thousand Pacifistas, Kuma, and a magma-dripping behemoth guarded the way.
• Kuma attacked Ivankov, and Enel struck at the Queen of Okama with paralyzing lightning before Mori saved her by turning the ground to quicksand.
• Enel unleashed Divine Judgment, while Inazuma raised an earthen barrier and Belo Betty empowered the group so Ivankov could counter the lightning with a fierce gale.
• Enel's allies released their auras and regained the upper hand, then he explained that the God's Temple let them borrow Roy's power and the Dream Domain's power without limit.

Aokiji battled the lava behemoth made from Akainu in the Underground Palace, believing he had briefly reached the former Admiral’s consciousness. Enel revealed that Nightmare had planted a hidden trap, and Akainu killed Aokiji before both Marine Admirals fell.

• Aokiji used Ice Age to freeze the Underground Palace, but the lava behemoth’s heat melted the ice.
• Aokiji and the behemoth exchanged powerful attacks, turning the battlefield into a clash between a frozen wasteland and a sea of lava.
• Akainu briefly formed his face and urged Aokiji to kill him while he was conscious, and Aokiji agreed to use Absolute Zero.
• Enel tried to move toward the volcano battlefield, but Momousagi stopped him and insisted the fight belonged to the Marines.
• Enel explained that Nightmare had planted a hidden move in Akainu, and the behemoth pierced Aokiji’s heart with its flaming fist.
• Aokiji and Akainu fell at the same time.

After two Marine Headquarters admirals fell, Capone Bege entered God's Temple to kill Nightmare, only to discover his bullets could not harm him. Tong revealed that he had manipulated Bege into the attempt and declared that Bege should die.

• The deaths of Aokiji and another Marine Headquarters admiral stunned the battlefield as the war reached a critical stage.
• Capone Bege slipped into God's Temple and fired Sea Stone bullets at Nightmare, but they bounced harmlessly off his forehead.
• Bege realized no one outside had reacted to his gunshots and suspected he had been set up.
• Tong appeared and explained that he had amplified Bege's desires and concealed his presence.
• Bege tried to stall Tong while preparing hidden cannons, but Tong called him trash and said he should die.

Capone Bege infiltrated God's Temple but was killed by the Masked Man, who revealed himself as Imu, the World Government's true ruler. Imu and Nightmare confronted each other, with Imu explaining that he had studied Nightmare's Dream Domain and come prepared to fight.

• Capone Bege fled the Masked Man's attack, but the Masked Man killed him and turned his attention to Nightmare on the stone bed.
• The cannon fire alerted the fighters outside God's Temple, and Enel and the others rushed back to defend it.
• The Allied Forces entered the temple and found the Great Demon King Nightmare awakened amid the bodies of the slain; Zoro recognized the Masked Man as the Eye of Heaven.
• The Five Elders knelt before the Masked Man and welcomed Lord Imu, revealing his identity to the gathered fighters.
• Roy and Imu exchanged words, and Imu said he had come to understand how Nightmare used the Dream Domain to make the world willingly work for him.

Roy confronted Imu in the underground temple after Imu revealed his plans to take over Dream Online, and the two began a battle so fast and destructive that the watching forces could not intervene. As Roy gained the advantage, the survivors realized the war’s outcome—and the world’s fate—rested with the two fighters.

• Roy told Imu he had freed the man whose will Imu had spent two years erasing, while Imu dismissed that man as worthless and declared he wanted Dream Online.
• Roy challenged Imu on his own turf, and the two clashed hundreds of times in less than a millisecond, collapsing the underground temple.
• Sabo, Ace, Dragon, Smoker, Momousagi, and Steel Bones Kong escaped to the surface, where they found many casualties and the Revolutionary Government Allied Forces defeated.
• Steel Bones Kong warned that joining the fight would get them killed and said Imu was at a disadvantage against Roy.
• Smoker and the others watched helplessly as fires and corpses surrounded the Royal City, realizing that the world’s fate lay in Roy and Imu’s hands.

Dragon and the Revolutionary Army stayed trapped as Roy and Imu continued their fight beneath God's Temple. Roy healed himself with Ain’s Rewind-Rewind Fruit, then used other Devil Fruit powers to exploit a weakness in Imu’s defenses.

• Dragon stopped Sabo and Ace from rushing into the deadly battle zone to rescue Luffy, and they could only hope he survived.
• Roy and Imu exchanged devastating attacks, each suffering severe injuries as Imu revealed he had stolen and sealed part of the Dream-Dream Fruit’s origin within himself.
• Roy summoned Ain, whose Rewind-Rewind Fruit restored his wounds, spirit, and stamina.
• Roy attacked Imu with the Seven Star Sword while using the Slow-Slow Fruit to make his strikes inflict damage despite Imu’s defenses.
• Imu realized Devil Fruits could cause Forced HP Reduction and grew excited as Roy continued exploiting the effect.

Roy and Imu fought through repeated deaths and resurrections as Imu revealed that he had collected every Devil Fruit ability and sealed them in his Eyes of God. Imu then announced that he could destroy the continent to break Roy’s Dream Domain and end his path to godhood.

• Roy trapped Imu in the Dream Domain, but Imu fragmented his body to escape the Seven Star Sword before Roy’s swordsmanship destroyed most of him.
• Imu restored his body with the Peach Blossom Flame and revealed that he could use every Devil Fruit ability collected over eight hundred years, sealed within his Eyes of God, which he named the Rinnegan.
• Roy and Imu exchanged abilities and repeatedly killed and revived each other, while Sabo and Dragon observed that Imu was weakened by the Dream Domain but remained difficult to kill.
• Imu admitted that he could not seize control of the Dream Domain with the Dream Origin he had brought.
• Imu claimed that Roy planned to turn the entire world into a dream and threatened to destroy the continent to break Roy’s foundation and halt his path to godhood.