Chapter Summaries

Bright, Tesoro, and Olga encountered Olga’s father, Mischina Ashiya, who confirmed that he had created Pure Gold. They found a vast hoard of it inside Lanternfish and secured a piece before preparing to leave.

• Olga kicked away her father and blamed him for creating Pure Gold, which had led to her mother’s death and the family being swallowed by Lanternfish.
• Tesoro realized Ashiya had created Pure Gold, while Bright assured Ashiya that they meant no harm and introduced himself and Tesoro.
• Bright carried Olga, Ashiya, and Tesoro through Lanternfish toward the final passage, where Ashiya warned them that Pure Gold brought disaster.
• Bright and the others entered a chamber filled with a mountain of gold, and Bright broke off a basketball-sized piece of Pure Gold.
• Tesoro tested his ability on the gold mountain, laughed when it worked, and Bright told everyone to leave.

Bright rescued Mr. Ashiya and Olga from the Lanternfish and brought them to Fish-Man Island. After learning they had been swallowed two hundred years earlier, he asked Mr. Ashiya to teach him how to extract Pure Gold.

• Bright protected Tesoro, Mr. Ashiya, and Olga with bubbles and Flame Clouds as they escaped through the Lanternfish's mouth into the deep sea.
• Bright spoke with the Lanternfish, which departed after he kept only a small amount of its treasure.
• Bright led the group toward Fish-Man Island, and Tesoro introduced him as its Uncrowned King and Emperor of the Deep Sea.
• Mr. Ashiya revealed that the Lanternfish had swallowed him and Olga in Marineford Era 1322, two hundred years earlier.
• Bright asked Mr. Ashiya to tell him how to extract Pure Gold.

Bright pressed Ashiya to explain why he created Pure Gold, revealing that Ashiya had intended to use it to keep Olga alive because she had a terminal illness. Father and daughter reconciled, and after learning Olga’s disease was now curable, Ashiya agreed to give Bright the method for extracting Pure Gold.

• Bright insisted that Ashiya explain why he had created Pure Gold, while Olga accused her father of greed.
• Ashiya revealed that Olga had a terminal illness and that he created Pure Gold to slow her aging and keep her alive.
• Bright confirmed Ashiya was telling the truth, and Ashiya embraced Olga as he apologized for leaving her alone.
• Olga sobbed in her father’s arms and fell asleep, and Ashiya thanked Bright for helping them reconcile.
• Tesoro told Ashiya that South Blue Emperor Fever now had a specific medicine, and Ashiya agreed to give Bright the Pure Gold extraction method.

Bright brought Ashiya and Olga to Fish-Man Island, then took the Pure Gold extraction method to Vegapunk for testing. Elsewhere, Caesar experimented on captive Marines at a government research base after their existence had been disavowed.

• Bright thanked Ashiya for explaining how to extract Pure Gold, and they agreed to be friends while keeping their relationship secret from the government.
• Bright led Ashiya, Olga, and Tesoro to Fish-Man Island, then asked Tesoro to take the father and daughter to the hospital while he went to Vegapunk's laboratory.
• Bright showed Vegapunk and his clone a sphere of Pure Gold and asked them to verify its effects and check for side effects.
• At a Marine Science Unit research base, Caesar experimented on a yellow-skinned man with a dorsal fin and recorded how human lineage factors assimilated with another lineage factor.
• A bound Marine challenged Caesar's experiments, but Caesar said the government had denied the captives' existence and reminded him that someone had transferred them there.

Bright arranged for Ashiya to remain on Fish-Man Island and for Olga to recover, while the island stayed peaceful through the end of Marineford Era 1517. In 1518, a prisoner beneath the NEO Marines’ underwater prison began a covert move, signaling that the year’s upheaval was starting.

• Tesoro told Bright that Olga had received the special medicine and was being cared for at the hospital.
• Tesoro warned Bright that Ashiya’s knowledge could not be allowed to reach the Government, and Bright decided Ashiya should stay on Fish-Man Island until the war ended.
• Bright explained that Katakuri’s younger sister could erase memories with her Devil Fruit, and Tesoro agreed to speak with Ashiya.
• Ashiya agreed to remain on Fish-Man Island, where Olga could attend school and he could learn about the two centuries he had missed.
• After Marineford Era 1517 ended, a man emerged from beneath a prison cell floor tile in the NEO Marines’ underwater prison, and Vice Admiral Momousagi sensed the signal.

Momousagi escaped the NEO Marines’ prison with the help of a fellow prisoner, prompting Bright and Zephyr to prepare an emergency evacuation before their base’s location was exposed. As the escapees fled and the prison raised the alarm, a small figure emerged from the sea and spotted a ship.

• A prisoner freed Momousagi by slipping through the bars, and she broke her shackles and cut open the cells of her comrades.
• Momousagi led the group into a tunnel, leaving Aokiji and Akainu behind as the prison alarm sounded.
• Aokiji and Akainu watched the escapees go and hoped they would reach safety.
• Bright learned that Gion had escaped and told Zephyr to prepare warships and evacuate NEO Marines headquarters.
• Bright contacted nearby logistics teams and flew toward the base while considering calling other friends for support.
• A small figure escaped pursuing sea beasts, surfaced in the New World, and spotted a ship.

Gion escaped the NEO Marines and revealed the location of their headquarters, prompting the Five Elders to consider using a secret weapon. Bright and Zephyr hurried to evacuate the NEO Marines by moving their entire island, while the Five Elders watched as Im personally took action.

• Gion escaped the pirates' ship and called the World Government, reporting that she had found the NEO Marines' headquarters.
• CP0 pinpointed the headquarters on an unnamed island, and the Five Elders decided to request Im's aid rather than wait for the Marines.
• Bright arrived at the NEO Marines' base and, fearing the World Government's weapon, ordered Zephyr to gather everyone and move the entire island.
• Ain thanked Bright for helping the NEO Marines, and Bright urged her to focus on their next strategy instead of regretting Gion's escape.
• Zephyr brought the captured child versions of Akainu and Aokiji to Bright, who urged him to hurry the evacuation.
• The Five Elders saw Im move personally above Pangaea Castle.

Bright lifted the island into the sky to escape with Zephyr and the others, but his future sight warned him of an incoming attack. He stopped the island just before a blinding beam passed by, revealing an enormous hidden object as the source of the so-called Divine Punishment.

• Bright transformed into a Divine Dragon and used Flame Clouds to raise the island from the sea.
• Bright guided the airborne island toward the West Blue while Zephyr, Ain, and the captured Marines watched.
• Bright sensed a future danger, wrapped everyone in Flame Clouds, and abruptly halted the island.
• A blinding beam shot past the island, scorching objects and nearly overwhelming Aokiji.
• Bright and Zephyr saw a huge silhouette hidden in the clouds and identified it as the Divine Punishment.

Bright and the NEO Marines faced the World Government’s colossal national treasure, which attacked the island with enormous beams. After Bright exhausted his stored energy blocking one beam, the enemy prepared to fire again, and reinforcements arrived beside him.

• Zephyr identified the approaching giant object as the Celestial Dragons’ national treasure and the World Government’s Final Weapon.
• The weapon fired several massive beams at the island, and Bright used his strongest King's Punch to briefly stop one while Flame Clouds kept the soldiers from being swept away.
• The beam and shockwave devastated the island and sea, and Bright admitted he had exhausted his stored energy.
• As the weapon prepared to attack again, Zephyr urged Bright to retreat, but Bright said reinforcements had arrived.
• A tall figure appeared beside Bright and asked whether they had arrived too late.

Bright and the NEO Marines fled the island’s bombardment with Bartholomew Kuma’s help, but a redirected beam wiped out half the soldiers. As another volley gathered, Aokiji asked Zephyr to release him so they could fight alongside Bright.

• Bartholomew Kuma used his power to move the island out of the bombardment, and Bright kept it from sinking with clouds.
• With another volley approaching, Kuma sent Bright flying while Black pulled tens of thousands of NEO Marines along in the clouds.
• A beam grazed the clouds, vaporizing many soldiers and leaving others to die from their burns.
• Bright released the fallen soldiers’ bodies into the sea, and Zephyr mourned them as the survivors sped away.
• Aokiji asked Zephyr to release him so he could fight beside Bright, and Bright urged Zephyr to grant his wish.

Bright led Zephyr, Ain, Aokiji, Akainu, Kuma, and the others in escaping the colossal monster’s bombardment, but its beams trapped them in the sky. With no route left, they launched a desperate assault on the weakest point of a beam.

• Bright restored Akainu and Aokiji to their former appearances after freeing them from their Seastone shackles, and they agreed to cooperate.
• Bright used future sight and unpredictable changes in direction to evade the monster’s thirteen beams, but their movement slowed while carrying more than ten thousand people.
• The beams swept across the sky and surrounded the group, leaving them with too little room to escape.
• Akainu proposed charging through the bombardment, and Bright urged everyone to strike the beams with all their strength.
• Bright aimed for the side of a beam and attacked alongside Aokiji, Akainu, Zephyr, Kuma, and Ain.

Bright fled with the surviving group through repeated barrages from a hidden weapon, using his speed and Observation Haki to evade the beams as the wounded died around him. He finally escaped above the last storm of fire, leaving the attackers unable to catch him.

• Bright escaped the first explosion with the survivors, many of whom were badly burned or killed.
• Bright sensed a new barrage of thirty-nine shots and raced through the beams as they transformed into pillars of light.
• Bright's companions fought openings in the pillars while he dodged, but their numbers dwindled as the injured died.
• Bright grew fast enough to pull away from the pillars and the pursuing entity, despite another barrage filling the sky with beams.
• Bright evaded the final storm of artillery fire, broke above it, and sped away beyond the attackers' reach.

Bright and the survivors escaped the colossal weapon, but the surviving Marines faced a tense standoff with Akainu and Aokiji. Zephyr invited the two former officers to join his fight against the World Government, and Aokiji asked to hear the story of what happened eight hundred years ago.

• Bright slowed down after the colossal pursuer disappeared, and the exhausted survivors realized they had escaped.
• Binz mourned the dead, and Zephyr urged him to remember what happened and make the World Government pay.
• Ain refused to tell Akainu what the colossal weapon was, and Akainu prepared to fight Bright over his imprisonment.
• Zephyr invited Akainu and Aokiji to join his cause against the World Government, but Akainu rejected the offer.
• Aokiji asked Zephyr to answer his questions about the world, and Bright prompted Zephyr to tell the story from eight hundred years ago.

Bright told Aokiji and Akainu how the moon-dwelling Bikans brought science to the Blue Sea and ushered in an age of exploration. He introduced Joy Boy and Imu as the figures who advanced that era, then began explaining how Joy Boy’s actions challenged slavery and racial discrimination.

• Bright explained that the Bikans had left their depleted homeland on the moon and settled atop the Red Line in a colossal ship.
• He described how Bika shared science with the Blue Sea, spreading technology and transforming the world through exploration and contact between peoples.
• Bright named Joy Boy and Imu as the figures who brought the scientific era to its height, contrasting Joy Boy’s reckless freedom with Imu’s dignified political skill.
• He explained that Bika’s scientists called for an end to slavery and racial discrimination, while Bika itself refrained from interfering in other nations’ affairs.
• Bright said Joy Boy smashed the things he could not tolerate, setting change in motion.

Bright recounted how Joy Boy freed slaves, united people, and founded a kingdom before Imu and the former rulers of Bika engineered a rebellion that destroyed Bika. Escaped Bikan scientists created the first Devil Fruits in Joy Boy’s country, and Joy Boy became the first ability user; Bright left the story at the start of the war.

• Bright said Joy Boy’s travels freeing slaves attracted followers and made him a threat to rulers across the sea.
• Joy Boy and his followers founded a kingdom where different races and classes lived together, while Joy Boy continued liberating people.
• Imu joined forces with Bika’s former royal family, who created the Lunarians using advanced technology and resources.
• The Lunarians seized Bika’s star-crossing ship and destroyed the country, scattering the surviving Bikans.
• Bikan scientists fled to Joy Boy’s kingdom and created the first Devil Fruits, including the Nika fruit that Joy Boy ate.
• Bright said the war began.

Bright recounted how Joy Boy and his allies fought the Lunarians, then joined forces with Imu and twenty nations before Imu betrayed them and took control of the Lunarians’ sky ship. The great kingdom was destroyed, and Akainu ended the account by challenging Bright’s credibility.

• Bright explained that Joy Boy’s allies used the Ancient Weapons to oppose the Lunarians, but Uranus died after roughly twenty years, leaving the great kingdom vulnerable.
• Bright said Imu and twenty nations joined forces with Joy Boy, and the alliance held the Lunarians back while they waited for a new Uranus to be born.
• Bright recounted that Uranus’s egg disappeared after the fool carrying it was deceived, and Imu later rebelled against the Lunarians.
• Imu led a Dragon into the Lunarians’ sky castle, where an insider opened the gate, allowing Imu to defeat the Lunarians and seize their sky ship.
• Bright said Imu’s victory ended the war, destroyed Joy Boy’s kingdom, and left Joy Boy to record its history for future generations.
• Aokiji expressed regret over the story, and Akainu asked how they knew Bright was not deceiving them.

Bright convinced Aokiji and Akainu to join Zephyr’s effort to change the world after revealing the truth about the World Government and the history preserved on Laugh Tale. With both admiral-level fighters committed, Zephyr planned to rebuild the NEO Marines at their remaining bases.

• Bright offered to take Aokiji and Akainu to see Joy Boy’s message on Laugh Tale, and Aokiji accepted Bright’s account of history.
• Bright told Aokiji that Robin helped them reach the Final Island and that a burned giant had saved Ohara’s books for Elbaf.
• Aokiji joined Zephyr, saying he could not keep serving the government after learning what the world could have been.
• Bright argued that hardship drove people to become pirates and that ending the Great Pirate Era required fixing the root causes; Akainu then agreed to join Zephyr’s cause.
• Zephyr said he would guide Bright to the NEO Marines’ remaining bases and rebuild their strength, and Bright promised his support.

Bright left Zephyr, Akainu, Aokiji, and Kuma at the secret NEO Marines base and returned toward Fish-Man Island. At Mary Geoise, Lord Im revealed that the operation had failed and ordered the Five Elders to prepare for an unprecedented war, with Akainu, Aokiji, and Kuma now aligned with Bright.

• Bright thanked Zephyr and Kuma, then flew away to check on Fish-Man Island.
• Zephyr told Akainu and Aokiji that Bright fought fiercely for his companions and only sought freedom for his compatriots.
• Zephyr urged the group to move quickly because the decisive battle was approaching.
• Lord Im told the Five Elders that the operation had failed and ordered them to prepare for war on the frontal battlefield.
• Lord Im revealed that Akainu, Aokiji, and Kuma had joined Bright's side, alarming the Five Elders.

Sengoku learned that Akainu and Aokiji had joined Bright and was ordered to issue wanted posters and prepare the Navy for an unprecedented war. Back on Fish-Man Island, Bright told Tesoro that he had barely survived the World Government’s weapon, then rested with Shyarly by his side.

• The Five Elders ordered Sengoku to declare Akainu and Aokiji wanted and launch a major recruitment drive for the coming war against Bright and his forces.
• Bright returned safely to Fish-Man Island and told Tesoro that he had barely escaped the World Government’s ship.
• Bright revealed that Akainu and Aokiji had become his companions, and Tesoro accepted that they were likely trustworthy.
• Bright tried to rest in his residence, where Shyarly joined him and comforted him until he fell asleep.

Bright woke beside Shyarly, shared a tender moment with her, and regained his resolve after worrying about the casualties of the coming conflict. At Ryugu Palace, he and Fish-Man Island’s leaders discussed how the news of two former Admirals defecting had shaken the world.

• A Birdman celebrated Zephyr’s recruitment of two former Admirals and anticipated a world-spanning war as NEO Marines, Fish-Man Island, and the Revolutionary Army challenged the World Government.
• Newspapers rushed to publish Navy Headquarters’ wanted posters and articles, while publishers panicked over the defections and their effect on the balance of power.
• Bright woke hungry beside Shyarly, reflected on their long relationship, and asked whether she wanted to learn Observation Haki so she could read minds.
• Shyarly told Bright she already understood him, returned his declaration of love, and went to prepare food with ingredients she had brought.
• Bright worried about possible casualties but resolved to keep moving forward and improve their chances of victory.
• Bright met with Tesoro, Jinbe, Neptune, and Fish-Man Island’s other important figures at Ryugu Palace to discuss how the world had been shaken by the news.