Chapter Summaries

Caesar and the others found an ordinary, apparently uninhabited peninsula beyond the Star Gate, while Imu reviewed the planned explorers and learned Shanks had been returned to the Figarland estate. There, Mihawk questioned Shanks about Roger and Rayleigh, and the two began to bond.

• Caesar and the inspection team removed their protective suits and collected samples as CP7 scouts found sea to the west and south and hills and forests to the north.
• Saint Shepherd Ju Peter and the other leaders ordered surveillance around the Star Gate, preparations for a defensive base, and a CP9 expedition in three days.
• Imu noticed CP9 captain Laskey’s file and learned that his daughter was Kalifa, then heard that Shanks had escaped before Mihawk returned him to the Figarland Family Estate.
• Mihawk told Shanks he was a Celestial Dragon and that he could not help him escape, but offered to spar with him and asked about Roger and Rayleigh’s swordsmanship.
• Shanks agreed to talk with Mihawk, and their friendship began to grow.

The Reverie began with worldwide broadcasts that unsettled the kings, while the Five Elders discussed how to exploit the resources of a newly discovered planet. The chapter left them considering a mining expedition if the world proved safe and uninhabited.

• King Neptune and Queen Otohime arrived at the Red Port with the other kings, and Otohime introduced herself to them.
• The Publicity Department began filming the kings and announced that the Reverie's proceedings and results would be broadcast worldwide.
• Elizabello II said he planned to propose sanctions against the Adabieh Kingdom over its border fortresses.
• The kings grew anxious about being watched during the Reverie and worried that their usual conduct and positions would be exposed.
• Saint Topman Warcury and the other Five Elders discussed the planet's resources and the shortage of metals on Blue Star.
• Saint Topman Warcury proposed sending the Mining Division to survey the planet's mineral veins and freshwater if it proved safe.

Fifty kings arrived at Pangaea Castle for the Reverie and were stunned by a new tennis court and a lavish circular meeting hall, both broadcast to the world. Queen Otohime opened the Reverie with a speech titled “I Have a Dream.”

• An Administrative Department official warned the kings that the tennis court, named Sanctuary, was reserved for those with special permission, and the broadcast showed its map of the Grand Line.
• The kings entered the Reverie hall and found a new circular table with custom seats and the World Government emblem, replacing the old long table.
• The kings took their assigned seats as attendants served tea and left, while the broadcast cameras made them reluctant to speak.
• Queen Otohime floated onto the platform, introduced herself to the kings and viewers, and announced her speech, “I Have a Dream.”

Queen Otohime delivered an impassioned speech at the Reverie advocating equality for Fish-Men and the abolition of slavery, while Imu recognized her ability to influence listeners’ minds. Imu ordered her placed under top-priority protection and arranged medical care to preserve her health.

• Queen Otohime addressed the kings and a worldwide audience, describing Fish-Men’s oppression and presenting the World Government’s proposals for equality and slave liberation.
• Queen Otohime concluded by urging the world to let freedom and justice begin at the Holy Land.
• Imu identified Queen Otohime’s spiritual influence as a powerful asset and decided her sincere support for the World Government could sway people wherever she spoke.
• Imu ordered CIPHER POL to protect Queen Otohime and directed the Medical Academy of Drum Kingdom to send physicians to Fish-Man Island.

Queen Otohime’s speech led the world’s kings to ban slavery, and hundreds of thousands of slaves were freed as September 15, 1498, became Liberation Day. After returning to Fish-Man Island, Otohime and King Neptune prepared for a celebratory visit to Sabaody Archipelago, while Neptune arranged a lottery to limit the first group of visitors.

• Queen Otohime’s speech persuaded the fifty kings to sign a declaration of friendship and unanimously ban the slave trade worldwide.
• Nobles and Marines freed hundreds of thousands of slaves, and the World Government designated September 15, 1498, as Liberation Day.
• King Neptune and Queen Otohime returned to Fish-Man Island with four CP7 agents assigned to protect Otohime, while Kuzan escorted them.
• Otohime went to rest before the planned visit to Sabaody Archipelago, and Neptune discussed the trip with the Minister of the Left.
• King Neptune ordered a lottery to select two hundred Fish-Man Island residents, each allowed to bring up to five family members, for the visit.

As Sabaody Archipelago prepared for a worldwide Liberation Day gala, Mihawk brought Shanks to meet Imu. Imu warned Shanks to embrace his Celestial Dragon identity, leaving Shanks silently grappling with his past among the Roger Pirates.

• Ships and visitors crowded Sabaody Archipelago as people gathered for the Liberation Day Grand Gala, which was set to celebrate the end of the slave trade and bring locals and Fish-Men together.
• Gion waited for Mihawk to arrive, while Stussy explained that he might be sparring with Saint Figarland Shanks.
• Mihawk arrived with fifteen-year-old Shanks and explained that he had invited him because Shanks was alone.
• Imu allowed Shanks to stay and told him not to let his past with the Roger Pirates shape his judgment of his future.
• Imu reminded Shanks that Rocks had killed his parents and urged him to accept his Celestial Dragon identity; Shanks listened in silence.

Tesoro and Stella performed a song at the Liberation Day gala, while Imu enjoyed the music and decided to hold a worldwide banquet every year. At Impel Down, Crocodile was released from his cell and escorted out by Magellan, who told him he could ask his new receivers where he was going.

• Tesoro and Stella sang together onstage, captivating audiences around the world with their performance.
• Gion and Stussy praised the song, while Shanks compared it favorably to Binks' Sake and Imu recalled his former life.
• Imu decided to hold a yearly banquet where people of every race could join in the celebration.
• Magellan opened Crocodile's cell on Level 6 and told him he was only responsible for escorting him out.
• Crocodile left his cell with renewed hope and joked that his wheel of fate was turning again, prompting Magellan to threaten him.

After Tesoro and Stella’s gala, Sabaody’s celebration brought humans, Fish-Men, and Merfolk together, while Dragon’s forces managed the crowds and watched for threats. Dragon then sensed a powerful stranger standing alone at Grove 53, leaving the identity of the potential master unknown.

• Tesoro and Stella ended their gala with the Navy’s military song, Guidance of the Sea, as crowds poured out to celebrate across Sabaody.
• Queen Otohime and King Neptune watched humans, Fish-Men, and Merfolk mingle peacefully, and Otohime vowed to promote similar scenes through the Publicity Department.
• Dragon questioned Rear Admiral Ivan about disorder and crime on the island, then ordered the Navy and Neptune Army to keep watch for anyone trying to escape by sea.
• Dragon used his awakened Hurricane Fruit and Observation Haki to monitor Sabaody and detected an extraordinarily powerful person standing alone at Grove 53.

At Star Gate Base No. 0001, Caesar Clown was ordered back to Impel Down while CP9 and Crocodile prepared to explore the newly discovered world. The chapter ended with Laskey demanding to know why Crocodile was going with them.

• A government official ordered Caesar Clown to leave the base and promised he could become director of the Biochemical Research Institute after developing Shinokuni and Ice Oni and curing Amber Lead Syndrome.
• Laskey arrived with the other nine CP9 members, and the base official began escorting them to their rooms.
• Crocodile arrived in handcuffs and was assigned to travel to the same mission area as CP9, surprising Laskey and the other agents.
• Laskey and CP9 read a report confirming the Star Gate led to another world, that the area near its entrance appeared safe, and that Den Den Mushi worked there.
• A base official instructed CP9 to split into five pairs and explore different directions, and Laskey asked why Crocodile was going with them.

CP9 began its deep investigation of the first Star Gate world after crossing into a military base, while Crocodile set out alone to explore. The Five Elders watched and discussed how the new worlds could help recruit him and others into the World Government.

• The Five Elders watched CP0 oversee the investigation and discussed the risks and possibilities of exploring other worlds.
• Laskey, the CP9 agents, and Crocodile entered the Star Gate after being disinfected, then emerged at a military base in the new world.
• Laskey gave CP9 ten minutes to familiarize themselves with the base, while Crocodile was left free to explore under the condition that he return within a month or remain stranded.
• Crocodile turned into sand and flew away from the base, prompting the Five Elders to praise the plan to entice him with the prospect of exploring more worlds.
• Laskey gathered his ten agents outside the base, ordered them to follow their assigned routes, and set out with his female partner as the investigation began.

Mata and Laskey learned that the new world had human inhabitants after a scouting team found two strange corpses. An autopsy and tests on a prisoner revealed a contagious virus that turned victims into mindless Living Dead, leaving the team to investigate its danger.

• Mata and Laskey searched the hills but found nothing until Star Gate Base reported two strange human corpses north of the base.
• Star Gate Base sent soldiers to retrieve the bodies, while the Five Elders discussed their appearance and the possibility that they had been poisoned.
• Professor Fritz began examining one corpse and found a heat-ravaged heart protected by a translucent membrane that his scalpel could not cut.
• Researchers identified an RNA virus in the second corpse and confirmed it spread through blood, saliva, and wounds, turning an infected prisoner into a Living Dead in under a minute.
• Professor Fritz authorized tests on the infected prisoner's aggression and ordered the researchers to keep their distance and leave the task to CP7 and the Army.

CP7 tested a Living Dead's aggression and combat ability, finding it strong and difficult to kill because its Heart Membrane resisted Shigan. The test ended with the Living Dead's heart pierced on a second strike, while the researchers concluded that this Sea Star prisoner could not represent the average Kabane.

• The researchers received approval for offensive testing, and headquarters ordered two CP7 members to test the Living Dead while Army troops guarded the area.
• One CP7 member provoked the Living Dead, which bent and tore open its steel cell bars before lunging at him.
• The CP7 tester dodged the Living Dead's attacks, then used Tekkai to withstand its blows and kicked it through the bars into the cell wall.
• The researcher estimated the Living Dead's strength at about 300 Doriki Value and shouted that its glowing chest spot was its heart.
• The CP7 tester's first Shigan pierced only the outer layer of the Living Dead's chest, but his second strike pierced its heart and brought it down.
• The tester reported that the Living Dead's Heart Membrane was exceptionally hard, and the researcher noted that the Sea Star prisoner was not a reliable measure of ordinary Kabane.

Imu reviewed his memories of the Kabane World and decided to let the World Government learn to conquer it without his help. At the Star Gate Base, Dr. Fritz revived a supposedly dead Kabane and tested its resilience, leaving the researchers with new questions about its strength.

• Imu recalled details about the Kabane World, kept his knowledge from the Five Elders, and judged its resources more useful than its powers for mass production.
• Dr. Fritz questioned how the Kabane prisoner had died with its Heart Membrane intact and suspected it had entered a dormant state.
• Dr. Fritz ordered human blood and flesh poured into the corpse to see if it would awaken, and the Kabane suddenly attacked one of the black-clad men.
• A CP7 agent intercepted the attack, then tested the Kabane's strength before killing it with Shigan through its heart.
• The agent reported that the Kabane's Doriki Value was under a hundred and its Heart Membrane could not withstand Shigan, prompting doubts about Guts's strength.

Dr. Fritz and his team studied the Living Dead Virus and identified a way it might be used to create soldiers who kept their awareness while gaining enhanced abilities. He decided to request more living test subjects to investigate blocking the virus from reaching the brain through the left carotid artery.

• Team Leaders Ron and Eli reported that two test subjects had unusually low cell counts and weak immune systems, but Dr. Fritz warned them not to generalize from so few samples.
• Dr. Fritz explained that the Living Dead Virus was a blood parasite that heated the blood, killed the brain, and left infected people driven by movement and bloodlust.
• Dr. Fritz described the infected body's reduced pain, unrestricted strength, blood-scenting, night vision, heat resistance, and improved wound healing.
• Dr. Fritz proposed preventing the parasite from entering the brain so soldiers could retain their self-awareness while gaining the virus's benefits and needing blood to function.
• Dr. Fritz noticed the virus appeared to reach the brain only through the left carotid artery and ordered Ron and Eli to leave while he applied for an experiment with more living test subjects.

Imu read Dr. Fritz’s report on Kabane and considered how to use Kabane Heart Membranes and whether to involve Vegapunk in research from another world. He then reflected on ways to strengthen his own power while preserving Haki as its foundation, before heading out to train Mihawk.

• Imu read Dr. Fritz’s report and noted that it focused on Kabane biology while overlooking the potential of their Heart Membranes as a durable material.
• Imu decided to send Kabane Heart Membranes to Punk Hazard and leave it to Vegapunk to decide whether to study them, while considering other scientists to recruit for the Academy of Sciences.
• Imu heard a knock and prepared to meet Mihawk for their regular Swordsmanship practice.
• Imu reflected on strengthening his Haki, expanding World Government rule, improving his Swordsmanship, or adding new sources of power, and resolved to keep Three-Color Haki as his foundation.

The Navy and World Government carried out a vast slave-liberation campaign while preparing reforms that would transfer policing duties from the Navy to a new Ministry of Police. At Sabaody, Rayleigh suspected that changes in Mary Geoise had ended the era Roger created and considered investigating their cause.

• Kong, Sengoku, and Tsuru discussed the workload of the worldwide slave-liberation operation and the planned transfer of police duties to the Ministry of Police.
• Tsuru explained that the reforms would centralize laws and policing across member nations, while Sengoku worried about who would lead the new ministry and its Military Police Bureau.
• Sengoku said he thought he knew which Navy officer would be transferred to the Ministry of Police.
• Sabaody residents adjusted to the presence of Fish-Men and mermaids, the end of slave markets, and tighter controls that kept most pirates away.
• Rayleigh read a newspaper report about the planned liberation of Holy Land slaves and told Shakky that he wanted to discover what had changed the World Government and ended Roger's era.

Dragon confronted Rayleigh and Shakky at the Rip-Off Bar and ordered them to leave Sabaody within three days. Rayleigh left that night, and Dragon sensed that he did not return.

• Shakky angrily forbade Rayleigh from going to Mary Geoise, while Rayleigh insisted he only planned to investigate.
• Dragon visited the bar, explained he wanted Rayleigh to leave to prevent a destructive fight on Sabaody, and challenged Rayleigh over helping pirates.
• Rayleigh and Shakky questioned Dragon about the World Government, and Dragon gave them three days to depart before someone else came to confront them.
• Shakky offered to help Rayleigh escape, but Rayleigh left the bar alone, and Dragon sensed him depart that night.

The Five Elders reviewed reports from the Star Gate World, learning that its Living Dead were called Kabane and that its people used Wano Script. A huge explosion then rocked Mary Geoise, and the Five Elders received an order not to disturb Imu’s enjoyment.

• Saint Shepherd Ju Peter gave the Five Elders CP9 reports showing that some Living Dead had bullet-damaged hearts and heads.
• The Five Elders learned from a letter found by Laskey and Mata’s group that the Living Dead were called Kabane and that a place called Sugaya Station, a Samurai, and a Hayajiro existed.
• Saint Shepherd Ju Peter received word that Laskey and Mata had found railroad tracks and were following them in hopes of finding a town with living people.
• A tremendous roar shook the Social Plaza, prompting the Holy Land Garrison and CIPHER POL agents to rush toward Pangaea Castle.
• Saint Topman Warcury answered the Den Den Mushi and heard that Lord Imu ordered that his enjoyment not be disturbed, while the Five Elders exchanged looks at the mention of Mihawk.

Rayleigh infiltrated Mary Geoise to investigate the World Government’s recent changes and found the Five Elders gathered at Pangaea Castle. Before he could reach them, Imu intercepted him and filled him with fear.

• Rayleigh climbed the Red Line and entered the Holy Land, where he sensed the Garrison soldiers and crowds of slaves.
• Rayleigh slipped through Mary Geoise and headed for Pangaea Castle, believing the Five Elders could explain the World Government’s changes.
• Imu sensed the intruder while training Mihawk in the Moon Chamber and identified him as a golden-haired rat.
• Rayleigh approached the castle’s inner gates but was blasted backward by a powerful attack.
• Imu appeared in midair, struck Rayleigh again, and demanded to know who had allowed him to raise his head.

Silvers Rayleigh confronted Imu, disguised as Saint Nerona, in Social Plaza and discovered that the Celestial Dragon possessed overwhelming power and invisible attacks. Surrounded and unable to escape, Rayleigh unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki and prepared to fight back with all his strength.

• Gion and Stussy rushed out of the castle, but Mihawk stopped them because the lord had ordered that no one interfere.
• Mihawk identified Rayleigh as the former vice captain of the Roger Pirates and expected Imu to kill him.
• Rayleigh attacked Imu, but an unseen force knocked him back, and Imu declared that he had no way to escape.
• Imu assaulted Rayleigh with countless invisible currents, forcing him to defend himself while Mihawk and Gion watched.
• Rayleigh released his Conqueror’s Haki, concealed the outlines of the invisible sword energy, and said he would take Imu down before leaving.