Chapter Summaries

Moria and his subordinates drifted at sea after losing their ship, then learned Crocodile had been killed and spotted a pirate ship approaching. Moria planned to let the crew rescue them before attacking and taking their shadows.

• Perona and Absalom fed Moria raw fish while Doctor Hogback struggled to catch enough food for them.
• Perona read a newspaper announcing that Crocodile had been killed and Moria had gone missing, prompting Moria to covet Crocodile's corpse for a zombie.
• Perona spotted a pirate ship approaching their raft, and Moria ordered his subordinates to pretend to be helpless survivors.
• Moria told Perona and Absalom to prepare to attack the rescuers after they hauled him aboard.

Moria and his crew sailed toward Alabasta while being pursued by Cavendish, whose strength had grown with each encounter. When an armored knight attacked Moria’s flagship, he identified himself as Garen, Lord of Rainbase, and claimed the surrounding waters for his family.

• Absalom and Perona discussed how Moria had seized a pirate crew’s ship and taken their shadows, while Cavendish continued pursuing them to rescue his companions.
• Moria erupted in anger at the idea of protecting companions, then reflected on Cavendish’s rapid growth and resolved to become stronger by gathering more shadows.
• A lookout spotted an unidentified ship flying a golden greatsword flag, and Moria prepared to take its crew as prey.
• An armored knight launched a flaming sword slash at Moria’s flagship, and Moria used Shadow Avatar to block the attack.
• The knight boarded the ship and declared that pirates could not pass through the waters, introducing himself as Garen, Lord of Rainbase, and claiming the sea belonged to his family.

Cavendish encountered Silvers Rayleigh while pursuing Gecko Moria to rescue his closest friend, Faruru. After learning that Moria had also captured a ten-year-old child, Rayleigh agreed to help and declared that Moria would die.

• Cavendish rowed toward an elderly man drifting at sea, then discovered he was asleep and brought him aboard his boat.
• The old man introduced himself as Silvers Rayleigh and revealed that he carried Black Blade Shusui to deliver to a swordsman.
• Cavendish told Rayleigh how Gecko Moria had captured Faruru and pleaded for help rescuing his friend.
• Rayleigh learned that Faruru was only ten years old and reacted with killing intent toward Gecko Moria.
• Rayleigh promised to help Cavendish and declared that Moria was dead this time.

Garen battled Gecko Moria and quickly crippled him with a sword strike and Demacian Justice, but Moria escaped using his shadow ability. When a Marine warship arrived, Moria and his crew invoked their status as legal pirates, prompting Garen to recognize Absalom and turn his killing intent toward him.

• Garen confronted Moria over his attacks on ships and struck his knee with Fatal Strike, then overwhelmed him with Demacian Justice.
• Moria's Devil Fruit Ability failed during the attack, and Perona and Absalom froze as they watched him suffer.
• Moria used Shadow Doppelganger to escape Garen's next attack, but Garen cornered him at the stern of the ship.
• Moria, Perona, and Absalom claimed the Marines would protect them because Moria was a Shichibukai and they were legal pirates.
• Garen recognized Absalom as the user of the Suke Suke no Mi and declared that he would kill him.

Garen cornered and mortally wounded Absalom, but Moria intervened and chose to protect him, even summoning Marine aid. Garen then faced Moria and prepared to use Spirit Turtle Stance as their fight began.

• Garen used his flames to clear the deck, then tracked invisible Absalom by sound and pinned him with his thrown greatsword.
• As Garen prepared to kill Absalom, Moria shielded him with bats and ordered Perona to seek help from the Marines in his name as a Shichibukai.
• Moria told Perona he had rescued them so they would not die, and she left for the lifeboats while Moria stood between Garen and Absalom.
• Moria used his shadows to protect Absalom and confronted Garen, who activated Spirit Turtle Stance.

Onigumo’s Marine unit watched Garen nearly kill Gecko Moria, then intervened when Perona sought help. Onigumo recognized Garen as both the man who killed Crocodile and the newly appointed Shichibukai he had been sent to meet.

• Onigumo spotted the golden light over the sea and identified Moria’s pirate ship as the source of the battle.
• Onigumo refused to intervene until Moria was dead, but ordered his ship to rescue him after Perona arrived seeking help.
• Onigumo saw Garen overpowering the badly wounded Moria and joined the fight, separating the two with a sword strike.
• Onigumo recognized Garen as the man who killed Crocodile and told him he was the target of his mission.
• Onigumo identified Garen as the newly appointed Shichibukai, while Moria considered joining forces with the Marines to kill him and take his corpse.

Garen and Vice Admiral Onigumo clashed over whether the Marines should protect Gecko Moria, whose subordinate Absalom had died from Garen’s injuries. Onigumo agreed to leave the two Shichibukai to settle their conflict after he completed the agreement, and Garen cooperated so Onigumo could finish quickly.

• Onigumo said he had to protect Moria because the World Government recognized him as a Shichibukai, while Garen condemned Moria and the Shichibukai’s right to plunder.
• Moria discovered that Absalom had died from his injuries and threatened to kill Garen, but Onigumo warned that the Marines would not protect him if he attacked another Shichibukai.
• Moria realized he could not defeat Garen and collapsed, while Onigumo said he would stop interfering once he left.
• Garen agreed to spare Moria for the moment and urged Onigumo to sign the Shichibukai agreement quickly so he could depart.

Rayleigh taught Cavendish how rowing with a sword could train his swordsmanship as they raced toward Moria’s ship. They found Moria with Marine vice admiral Onigumo and Garen, and Cavendish and Rayleigh prepared to fight to rescue the child.

• Rayleigh rowed the boat with Black Blade Shusui and explained how the technique trained a swordsman’s qi and strength.
• Rayleigh and Cavendish caught up with Cavendish’s captured ship, where Moria was with Onigumo and Garen.
• Rayleigh recognized Garen and told Cavendish that Garen’s strength might rival the Pirate King in his youth.
• Cavendish declared that he would not retreat while the child remained unrescued, and Rayleigh agreed to join him in battle.
• Cavendish asked Rayleigh to explain the third benefit of sword-rowing, and Rayleigh said it got them there fast.

Garen and Onigumo raided Gecko Moria's ship, discovered prisoners and corpses, and dealt with Moria's accomplices before completing Garen's Shichibukai appointment. The chapter ended when Dark King Rayleigh suddenly appeared on deck after Garen promised to help the World Government.

• Garen and Onigumo found wounded prisoners and a corpse-modification laboratory aboard Moria's ship.
• Hogback admitted the laboratory was his, and Garen killed him; Moria claimed responsibility for the crimes and begged Garen to spare Perona.
• Garen spared Perona from execution and left her in Marine custody, while Onigumo arranged a report stating that Moria had died in a later battle.
• Garen signed the Shichibukai appointment document and posed for an official photograph with Onigumo.
• Garen pledged to help the World Government, but Dark King Rayleigh suddenly appeared on deck.

Rayleigh arrived with Cavendish intending to kill Gecko Moria, but Garen had already subdued Moria. As Onigumo fought Rayleigh, Cavendish attacked Garen, who knocked him unconscious—only for Cavendish to rise again under the influence of his murderous second personality.

• Onigumo identified Cavendish as the Moonlit Murderer, and Cavendish denied that he had committed the crimes himself.
• Rayleigh announced that he had come to kill Moria, but Garen pointed out that Moria was already bound and nearly dead.
• Onigumo challenged Rayleigh to defend Moria as a Shichibukai and attacked him with his eight-bladed Life Return technique.
• Cavendish thrust his rapier through Garen, but Garen's defenses absorbed the attack and he seized Cavendish.
• Garen struck Cavendish with Demacian Justice, knocking him unconscious, then realized Cavendish's second personality had taken over when he stood back up.

Garen defeated Kamaitachi after the killer emerged from Cavendish, then joined Onigumo against Rayleigh. Rayleigh badly wounded Onigumo but appeared to go easy on Garen, exchanging evenly matched strikes with him.

• Garen taunted Kamaitachi for having left his rapier in Garen’s chest, then subdued him with his greatsword until Cavendish fell unconscious.
• Onigumo called Garen to help fight Rayleigh, and Garen reluctantly leaped into the battle as the Marines and rescued civilians watched.
• Rayleigh suddenly accelerated and cut through Onigumo’s eight-sword defense, sending the badly wounded Marine crashing into the sea.
• Garen tried to flee from Rayleigh but was caught and met his Black Blade with his greatsword and Spirit Turtle Stance shield.
• Rayleigh exchanged a second apparently even strike with Garen, leaving the watching Marines stunned.

Garen fought Rayleigh to a standstill while Rayleigh questioned his idea of justice and his willingness to kill. Rayleigh then staged his own defeat, knocked out the Marines with Conqueror's Haki, and gave Garen Black Blade Shusui as spoils of war.

• Onigumo watched in shock as Garen exchanged dozens of sword strikes with Rayleigh without falling behind.
• Rayleigh tested Garen’s strength and questioned why he killed people while claiming to be a Knight of Justice; Garen admitted he judged justice for himself and might kill the wrong person.
• Rayleigh acknowledged Garen’s honesty and said he would leave the rest to him, then deliberately let Garen send him crashing onto the warship.
• Rayleigh released Conqueror’s Haki, knocking out the Marines and rescued civilians, while the already wounded Onigumo collapsed into a coma.
• Rayleigh explained that he had to keep Garen from becoming his pirate accomplice, then handed him Black Blade Shusui as his spoils of war.

Rayleigh spared Perona and took her with him while Garen prepared to execute Moria. Before leaving, Rayleigh asked about Faruru, and Perona used her ghosts to search the ship, where a frightened white horse appeared.

• Rayleigh confronted Moria over his crimes, and Moria accepted his death while asking Rayleigh to spare Perona.
• Rayleigh agreed to protect Perona, but Garen persuaded him to let Garen execute Moria for the prisoners’ suffering.
• Perona clung to Rayleigh and claimed she was still a child, so Rayleigh took her with him.
• Rayleigh asked Garen and Moria about Faruru, the boy Cavendish wanted to recover, and Perona said she could find him if her Seastone Handcuffs were removed.
• Garen freed Perona, who sent ghosts throughout the ship, and a frightened white horse ran out of the cabin.

Onigumo woke to find Garen holding Dark King Rayleigh’s Black Blade Shusui and assumed Rayleigh had given it to him after their battle. Before leaving the Marines, Garen tested his new Ultimate Flash skill by destroying the abandoned ghost ship with a powerful beam, then departed through the sky.

• Onigumo woke and found Garen holding Shusui, then concluded that Garen had driven off Rayleigh and received the sword from him.
• Garen changed the subject, and Onigumo woke the Marine soldiers, who finished cleaning the battlefield and settling the rescued prisoners.
• Garen prepared to leave but stopped when he noticed the corpse-filled ghost ship and decided to test his new skill.
• Garen charged his greatsword with golden-white light and fired a beam he called Excalibur, obliterating the ship.
• The Marines marveled at Garen’s attack as he used Geppo to depart.

Sengoku learned that Garen had fought on equal terms with Dark King Rayleigh and decided the Marines should use the news to strengthen their prestige. As Garen faced reporters, an old rumor that he was a Celestial Dragon resurfaced, and the Five Elders ordered CP9 to let it spread.

• Onigumo reported that Garen had defeated Dark King Rayleigh, and Sengoku resolved to publicize the incident as a Marine victory.
• Garen told reporters he had killed Gecko Moria for his evil deeds and said he had given Black Blade Shusui to a young Marine he admired.
• Garen explained that Rayleigh had given him Black Blade Shusui and that he had sent it to East Blue for Tashigi.
• A reporter asked whether Garen was a Celestial Dragon traveling incognito, and Garen denied the rumor while warning the press not to spread it.
• Spandam reported the rumor to the Five Elders, and Gorbachev ordered him to let it spread and secretly fan the flames.

Vivi and Nami confronted Garen with rumors claiming he was a Celestial Dragon, while a malicious booklet portrayed Sterry as a hero who resisted the Celestial Dragons. After reading it, Boa Hancock mistook Sterry’s fate for a reason to seek revenge on Garen, but Gloriosa stopped her.

• Vivi questioned Garen about the rumors and noted that his past could only be traced back to Samwell Island, and Garen admitted his life in this world began when he met Nami.
• Nami brought Garen a booklet portraying Autluk Sterry as a heroic opponent of the Celestial Dragons, then struck Garen after he told her to buy clothes with pockets.
• Gloriosa brought news of Garen to Hancock, who reacted with pain and anger when she read that he was supposedly a Celestial Dragon.
• Hancock read the booklet’s account of Sterry’s resistance and decided to avenge him by confronting Garen.
• Gloriosa restrained Hancock and warned her she could not defeat Garen, so Hancock stayed behind and vowed to find him someday.

Ace learned that the Autluk Family had been wiped out and wondered whether the story fit his childhood brother Sabo. After the booklet awakened Sabo’s lost memories, he set out for Water 7 to find Ace, while Hatchan and Koala joined him.

• Ace read about the Autluk Family’s destruction and told Teach that Sabo had been his childhood brother.
• Teach offered to help Ace take revenge, but Ace questioned the account and refocused on buying warships at Water 7.
• Sabo woke after a day unconscious and told Koala and Hatchan that he remembered his identity and the Autluk Family.
• Sabo explained that Sterry was his younger brother but said he needed to find Ace rather than discuss revenge.
• Hatchan agreed to take Koala and Sabo to Water 7, and Sabo set out to change their ship’s course.

Sabo reluctantly explored Water 7 with Koala, who became separated from him after speeding through the canals and accidentally splashing Nami. Koala and Nami befriended each other, and Nami offered to enlist a friend to help Sabo avenge his family.

• Sabo agreed to accompany Koala around Water 7 after Hatchan encouraged him to clear his head.
• Koala raced ahead on a Yagara Bull, lost Sabo in the crowded canals, and stopped her descent with a Fish-Man Karate strike.
• Koala's wave soaked Nami at a café, but Nami soon forgave her and invited her to tea while she waited for Sabo.
• Koala told Nami that Sabo had recovered his memories only to learn his family had been killed by a powerful enemy.
• Nami promised Koala that her friend would stand up to the person responsible.

Nami introduced Garen to Koala, who recognized him as the man who had destroyed Sabo’s family and attacked him. After Sabo confronted Garen, Garen called the tragedy a misunderstanding and asked them to talk because he was Luffy’s friend; Sabo immediately agreed to sit down.

• Nami told Koala that Garen was her friend, then introduced them when he arrived carrying her purchases.
• Koala recognized Garen as the Celestial Dragon who had destroyed Sabo’s family and struck him with Fish-Man Karate.
• Garen caught Koala’s wrist after his armor withstood her attack, and Nami demanded to know why she had attacked him.
• Sabo arrived and hit Garen with Dragon Claw, but Garen blocked the blow with his greatsword.
• Garen acknowledged that he had killed Sabo’s family, called it a misunderstanding, and asked them to talk for Luffy’s sake.
• Koala objected, but Sabo loosened his fists and eagerly sat down.

Garen told Sabo and Koala about the downfall of the Autluk Family and the changes in Goa Kingdom, then used a video call with King Wallace to show them the housing project in Uncertainty Terminal. The call ended with a straw-hatted Luffy appearing after eating through the workers’ food.

• Garen reassured Sabo that Luffy, Ace, Dadan's family, and Miss Makino were doing well, and Sabo became emotional hearing about them.
• Garen showed Koala a newspaper article detailing the Autluk Family's crimes, and Sabo confirmed that its account was mostly true.
• Garen described how he had executed Goa Kingdom's nobles, torn down the walls separating Uncertainty Terminal, and helped its people; Koala approved but questioned whether he was telling the truth.
• Garen called King Wallace by video, and Wallace explained that he was supervising housing construction for Uncertainty Terminal's residents.
• Wallace said a strong volunteer was helping with construction but eating too much, and Luffy appeared on camera complaining that there was not enough food.