Chapter Summaries

Imu considered how the Human-Human Fruit might affect Chopper’s future, then sent Dragon to lead a fleet against the Thutmose Kingdom’s slave network. Dragon set out believing the World Government’s rescue mission was unexpectedly righteous, while the Five Elders trusted Garp’s arrival to protect him.

• Imu set aside the Munch-Munch Fruit because Vegapunk’s loyalties remained uncertain, then read Dragon’s letter and considered where Dragon should serve.
• Dragon sailed from Marineford with five warships and White-Clad Agents to capture King Taklama, dismantle the Thutmose Kingdom’s slave operation, and rescue its captives.
• Dragon reviewed intelligence revealing that Taklama ran the world’s largest slave supply station, with hundreds of thousands of captives and a thirty-thousand-man guard legion.
• Dragon resolved to give his all to the mission, despite his confusion about the World Government’s apparently righteous plans.
• The Five Elders discussed Dragon’s mission and learned that Garp had entered the South Blue, leaving them confident the operation would be safe.

Jinbe and Aladdin accepted appointments with the Marines to promote cooperation between humans and Fish-Men, while construction of a Marine branch began near Mermaid Cove. Arlong and his companions resented the human presence and decided to stop the construction, prompting a report of an attack that sent Jinbe, Aladdin, and the Minister of the Left to investigate.

• King Neptune asked Jinbe and Aladdin to accept the Marines' invitation, and they agreed to serve in the Fish-Man Unit and teach Fish-Man Karate.
• King Neptune explained that Aladdin would be the unit's adjutant and that the Marines would teach Swordsmanship to the Neptune Army; Jinbe agreed to take responsibility until Fisher Tiger returned.
• The Minister of the Left reported that the World Government had begun building a Marine branch near Mermaid Cove, and King Neptune approved the location.
• At Mermaid Cove, Arlong, Chew, and Kuroobi watched the human workers and Marines and condemned Ryugu Palace's cooperation with them.
• Arlong declared that he and his companions would stop the construction, and a Neptune Army soldier soon reported that Fish-Men had maliciously attacked the human construction team.
• The Minister of the Left led Jinbe, Aladdin, and thirty Neptune Army soldiers to investigate the incident.

Arlong and seven Fish-Men attacked a Marine-guarded construction site in Mermaid Harbor, but their assault met resistance from trained Marine officers. Major Hodgson defeated Arlong and pinned his head beneath his boot while the others stopped fighting in shock.

• Arlong divided his crew into groups and ordered them to attack the workers, sabotage equipment, and retreat to Fish-Man District on his signal.
• Kingen, Shioyaki, Take, and Pisaro attacked the construction site while Arlong, Hatchan, Chew, and Kuroobi struck the Marines, injuring workers and damaging an excavator.
• Arlong tried to retreat when Marines reinforced the scene, but a Headquarters Class ensign blocked him and enraged him by mocking his strength.
• Major Hodgson arrived, learned that the attackers were Fish-Man District thugs, and struck Arlong down with an axe kick.
• Major Hodgson planted his boot on Arlong's head and called to the other Fish-Men, who stopped fighting in shock.

Kuzan rescued three mermaids, then traveled to Mermaid Harbor to address the Arlong Pirates’ attack on a construction team. After handing the pirates over to the Neptune Army, he met Jinbe and Aladdin, whose question about the Navy’s greatest swordsman left him unsure.

• Kuzan rescued Shyarly, Emily, and Iwiny from pirates and agreed to let Shyarly accompany him to see Arlong.
• A Marine reported that the Arlong Pirates had injured workers at Mermaid Harbor, where Major Hodgson had captured them.
• Kuzan allowed Shyarly to see Arlong, who she judged to be an unimpressive-looking thug.
• Kuzan agreed to transfer the Arlong Pirates to the Neptune Army and warned the Minister of the Left that future attacks could lead to trial at Enies Lobby.
• Kuzan met Jinbe and Aladdin, and Aladdin asked who Marine Headquarters’ strongest swordsman was.
• Kuzan considered Borsalino the likeliest candidate but could not name a confirmed greatest swordsman.

Imu read the World Government’s annual report and uncovered how its revenue, spending, and military were organized. He decided to investigate member nations struggling with Heavenly Tribute before the Reverie and noted that the Marines would eventually need to be balanced against the other forces.

• Imu spent more than three hours reading the Five Elders’ annual report to understand the World Government’s finances and resources.
• Imu found that Heavenly Tribute and other revenue should have totaled 810 billion Beli, but collections fell nearly 26 billion short; he judged the fixed levy especially harsh on poor nations.
• Imu concluded that more than 180 billion Beli beyond practical expenditures went to the Celestial Dragons and decided to reduce Heavenly Tribute according to each nation’s circumstances.
• Imu ordered CIPHER POL to investigate which nations were genuinely unable to pay and which royal families were shifting the burden onto their people, naming Sorbet Kingdom as a possible case for relief.
• Imu reviewed the Army, Holy Land Garrison, and Navy, noting the Marines’ roughly 500,000 personnel and large warship fleet, and decided not to alter them yet but to balance their power in the future.

Imu considered the World Government’s disorganized departments and shortage of trained specialists while playing the piano, then realized it could recruit talent and resources from more advanced member nations. He ended the chapter pleased with a strategy of using whatever existed across the seas for the World Government’s needs.

• Imu left his treehouse, sat at the Moon God Piano, and played music while thinking about the World Government’s administrative problems.
• Imu recognized that reforms to Heavenly Tribute would require financial experts and other specialists that the government lacked.
• Imu considered building schools to train specialists but saw that doing so would take too long and cost too much.
• Imu realized that advanced regions such as North Blue, Loguetown, Water Seven, and Baldimore could supply the World Government with needed talent and resources.
• Imu concluded that the government should deploy existing resources across the seas rather than develop everything from scratch, then happily drank his wine.

Dragon led five Marine Warships into the South Blue to prepare an operation against the slave-owning Thutmose Kingdom, while concealing the fleet’s plans from potentially compromised Marine branches. After learning about the region’s two notorious cat-themed pirate captains, he ordered nearby branches to locate them and stand by for support.

• Dragon used the Hurricane Fruit to shield the five Warships from the storm and speed their voyage through the South Blue.
• Major General Ivan reported that three nearby Marine branches had thousands of personnel and small Warships, and Dragon delayed notifying them until the fleet was one day from its destination to prevent a leak to Slave King Taklama.
• Ivan identified the Black Cat Pirates’ Three-Legged Cat and the White Cat Pirates’ Fishing Kitten as the South Blue’s most renowned pirate captains and explained that the biological brothers were Zoan users who acted together.
• Dragon ordered every Marine branch in the surrounding area to search for the two cat captains and prepare to support the operation.

On Watermelon Island, Colonel Haros profited from exploiting residents and received a special Paramecia Candy-Candy Fruit for his son, Gasparde. When he learned that Dragon had arrived in South Blue to pursue the Black Cat and White Cat Pirates, Haros ordered his base to prepare to assist.

• Watermelon Island residents struggled with cramped housing and reduced incomes after the Marine base seized land and charged them forty percent of melon sales for protection.
• Haros received a green Candy-Candy Fruit that he had bought from King Taklama for five hundred million Beli, intending to send it to Gasparde.
• Haros reflected that he had agreed to remain at his post for five years and support the Thutmose Kingdom's business in exchange for the Fruit.
• A Major reported that Dragon had brought five Headquarters Warships to South Blue to capture the Black Cat Pirates and the White Cat Pirates.
• After learning Dragon was Vice Admiral Garp's son, Haros ordered his Warships prepared to deploy as soon as the order arrived.

The Five Elders discussed Dragon’s South Blue mission and the problem of promoting him when the Navy already had three Admiral candidates. They also planned how to handle Mary Geoise’s slaves and proposed staging a broadcast to claim the World Government had found One Piece, leaving their plans pending execution.

• Saint Shepherd Ju Peter reported that Dragon’s fleet had reached the South Blue and that Dragon’s careful strategy had impressed the Five Elders.
• Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro and Saint Topman Warcury discussed Dragon’s future rank, then agreed to promote him to Vice Admiral after his mission while postponing the Admiral question.
• Saint Marcus Mars asked how the World Government would handle the roughly one hundred thousand slaves in Mary Geoise.
• Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro proposed killing the slaves, but Saint Topman Warcury rejected the plan and suggested releasing some, secretly detaining the rest, and broadcasting the releases.
• Saint Shepherd Ju Peter proposed claiming in a worldwide broadcast that the World Government had recovered One Piece, and Saint Jaygarcia Saturn endorsed the idea.

The Black Cat and White Cat Pirates fled a relentless Marine pursuit toward the Grand Line, while Dragon prepared to intercept them and test his Hurricane Fruit before attacking the Thutmose Kingdom. The chapter ended with Dragon readying himself for a quick battle as last-minute training for the stronger foe ahead.

• Fishing Kitten transformed into his Lion Cat form and wanted to fight, but Three-Legged Cat stopped him because they were outnumbered.
• Three-Legged Cat deduced that the Marines were driving the pirates toward the Grand Line, and Fishing Kitten agreed to flee there with him.
• Dragon learned that the South Blue Marines had driven the two pirate crews toward his five Warships and ordered his forces to prepare for battle.
• Dragon declined Rear Admiral Ivan's offer to handle the fight and said he would test his Devil Fruit powers himself.
• Dragon planned to defeat the two pirates quickly and then launch a surprise attack on the Thutmose Kingdom, using the battle to practice for the powerful Slave King.

The Black Cat and White Cat Pirates discovered that the pursuing Marines had driven them toward a fleet from Marine Headquarters, led by Dragon. As the pirates prepared to fight, Dragon returned their cannonballs and appeared aboard the Black Ship.

• Fishing Kitten and Three-Legged Cat noticed the South Blue Marines had stopped firing and were following them in a three-sided encirclement.
• The captains spotted five enormous Marine Headquarters Warships ahead, and Three-Legged Cat recognized them.
• Dragon ordered the Headquarters fleet not to fire and told Rear Admiral Ivan to send the South Blue Warships back.
• Dragon flew toward the pirates after they fired cannonballs at his fleet, while Three-Legged Cat transformed and rallied both crews for battle.
• Three-Legged Cat and Fishing Kitten sliced apart the cannonballs Dragon sent back, but Dragon then appeared aboard the Black Ship in a powerful gust of wind.

Dragon fought the Black Cat Pirates using only the Hurricane Fruit, overwhelming their crews and Twin Cats with his wind powers. Impressed by the pirates’ loyalty, he decided to capture them, then unleashed a gale that swallowed everyone and wrecked both ships.

• The Black Cat Pirates opened fire on Dragon, who blocked their bullets with wind while sensing the air and avoiding their blades.
• Dragon unleashed Wind Dragon, lifting nearly a hundred pirates into a slicing tornado and leaving many wounded.
• Three-Legged Cat and Fishing Kitten attacked Dragon together, but his Wind Dragon struck them aside and injured them.
• The Black Cat and White Cat pirates charged to protect their captains, and Three-Legged Cat and Fishing Kitten refused to abandon their crew.
• Dragon decided to capture the pirates and expanded the Wind Dragon into a gale that swallowed them and tore apart the White Ship and Black Ship.

After finishing a government reform outline, Imu worried that alien civilizations might threaten Sea Star and opened his first random Star Gate to investigate. The gate revealed a green mountain landscape, and a planet on the Star Map lit up gold.

• Imu examined Sea Star's star system and speculated that alien civilizations, including the Otsutsuki Clan and Saiyans, might exist beyond it.
• Imu considered whether to explore a Star Gate alone or send an organized team, then decided to open one before choosing how to proceed.
• Imu cautiously opened a random small Star Gate five meters in front of him, creating a rectangular portal.
• Imu saw a green mountain landscape through the portal and observed that wind and smells did not pass through.
• A planet in a star system on the Star Map lit up with golden light.

The Five Elders reviewed Imu’s World Government Reform Plan and discussed expanding the State Council and Judiciary, relocating the headquarters, and transferring Impel Down from the Navy. They agreed to begin preparations, then turned to the plan’s new Ministry of Police.

• Saint Topman Warcury outlined plans to expand the State Council with new divisions for religious affairs, health, and education.
• Saint Shepherd Ju Peter pointed out that the plan called for a new World Government headquarters on the Red Line, and Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro supported moving it away from Mary Geoise.
• Saint Topman Warcury proposed recruiting talent from nations and having the Administrative Department search for a headquarters site once CIPHER POL gathered intelligence.
• Saint Jaygarcia Saturn described Judiciary reforms, including revising outdated laws, taking over the bounty department, and assuming responsibility for Impel Down.
• Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro supported transferring Impel Down from the Navy to the Judiciary, and Saint Topman Warcury raised the newly established Ministry of Police.

Colonel Haros realized Marine Headquarters was targeting King Taklama and chose to side with the Marines rather than warn him. As Dragon’s fleet neared the Thutmose Kingdom, he learned that Haros had mobilized his full force while two other branches had tipped off the kingdom.

• A Major told Colonel Haros that Dragon had ordered Branch 194 to reach the Thutmose Kingdom within two hours for an operation against King Taklama and his forces.
• Colonel Haros concluded that warning Taklama would expose Branch 194 to suspicion, so he ordered every warship to sail at full troop capacity toward the kingdom.
• Dragon learned from Ivan that Marine Branches 242 and 289 had warned the Thutmose Kingdom, while Branch 194 had sent all its warships instead.
• Dragon recognized Haros’s decision as clever and considered meeting him, while noting that the other base commanders would face harsher consequences.
• Dragon told Ivan that he planned to take the captured cat captains to Marineford and consider recruiting them into the Marines rather than sending them to Impel Down.

King Taklama prepared the Thutmose Kingdom’s forces to repel the Marines before evacuating underground, while Dragon assembled a large fleet and led it toward the kingdom. The chapter ended as Dragon ordered the Marines to attack Thutmose Kingdom.

• King Taklama learned that a Marine fleet was coming to arrest him and ordered an evacuation plan that began with defeating the first fleet.
• King Taklama ordered his officials to prepare for war, take fifty thousand prized slaves, and abandon the rest beneath the desert.
• King Taklama learned that Rear Admiral Dragon was Monkey D. Garp’s son and decided to spare Dragon if possible to avoid provoking Garp.
• More than thirty thousand soldiers from the Slave Guard Legion mobilized and moved weapons through underground passages to build coastal defenses.
• Dragon joined forces with three Marine branches, forming a fleet of twenty-three warships and twelve thousand Marines.
• Dragon flew above the fleet and ordered it to move out toward Thutmose Kingdom.

The Marines launched a four-sided assault on the Thutmose Kingdom, while Commander Dragon led a surprise attack on Sand City from the sky. King Taklama learned that Dragon’s forces had reached Sabak as Marine officers descended into the city.

• Major General Ivan mapped the coastal defenses with Observation Haki and ordered the fleet to bombard them.
• The Marines and Slave Guard Legion exchanged heavy fire as landing parties pushed onto the beaches, suffering mounting casualties.
• King Taklama watched the battles through Projection Den Den Mushi and wondered why no senior Marine officers had appeared.
• A high-ranking official warned King Taklama that a Marine warship was attacking Sabak from the sky.
• Dragon commanded the Marine officers aboard his airborne warship to attack Sand City.

Marine Headquarters officers fought their way through Sabak City, but King Taklama unleashed enhanced royal guards who overwhelmed them with brute strength. Taklama then used a strange power to vanish from the underground palace as the battle continued.

• Marine officers used their combat skills to slaughter the ordinary Slave Guards and pushed into the underground passages.
• Major Jack and the other officers encountered more powerful royal guards, then withdrew when the fighters forced them back through the tunnel.
• More than a hundred royal guards emerged, their strength amplified by Hero Water, and began pressuring the Marines.
• Dragon watched the battle from his warship while King Taklama observed it through a projection and explained that the enhanced guards would die after five minutes.
• Taklama blamed an official for the failed intelligence about Dragon, then unleashed green light and wind and sand before disappearing from the Golden Throne.

The Marines battled the seemingly endless Slave Guard Legion at Watermelon Island while Dragon’s officers fought the Black-Marked Royal Guards in Sabak City. Dragon unleashed his Hurricane Fruit power, but King Taklama confronted him with a sandstorm, leaving Dragon questioning the Slave King’s ability.

• Colonel Haros and the Marines fought the Slave Guard Legion as reinforcements kept emerging from underground, and the Marines realized many of their opponents were likely the slaves they had come to rescue.
• Fifty Marine officers battled the Black-Marked Royal Guards across Sabak City after the ordinary guards there had been defeated.
• Dragon transformed into a green tornado and killed the Black-Marked Royal Guards caught in its path.
• A sandstorm surged from the underground entrance and collided with Dragon’s tornado, carrying both forces high into the sky.
• King Taklama spoke to Dragon amid the sand and wind, offered to make him a slave, and left Dragon wondering whether the Slave King was a Logia-type.

Dragon fought King Taklama above Sabak, but Taklama’s stronger Armament Haki and Pet-Pet Fruit put him under pressure. As Dragon dodged a barrage of green rings, Taklama declared his ambition to become the master of the entire world.

• King Taklama attacked Dragon with his Golden Scepter, and Dragon blocked the blow before being sent crashing onto a warship.
• Dragon and King Taklama clashed in the air, with Taklama’s superior Armament Haki and combat skill giving him the advantage.
• King Taklama revealed his Pet-Pet Fruit ability by launching a green ring at Dragon, who evaded it with Observation Haki and elementalization.
• King Taklama formed over a thousand green rings and fired them at Dragon, whose Wind Dragon Protection slowed but failed to stop the barrage.
• Dragon dodged the rings as King Taklama proclaimed that he would become the master of the entire world.