Recaps

Marco and the Whitebeard Pirates broke into Impel Down and freed Whitebeard, forcing Sengoku to abandon the Marine operation at Liquor Kingdom and rush to stop their escape. Whitebeard fought Magellan and Shiryu while his crew battled jailers and freed prisoners, leaving Impel Down in chaos.

• Magellan defeated Whitey Bay and the others with poison, but Marco, Vista, Jozu, and Thatch reached the sixth level and freed Whitebeard.
• Whitebeard emerged into the snow and fought Magellan and Shiryu, while Marco and the others returned to rescue their captured allies.
• Marco, Jozu, Vista, and Thatch fought Hannyabal, Saldeath, Domino, and the other jailers, freeing Whitey Bay and breaking open prison cells.
• At Marineford, Sengoku and Tsuru discussed the battle at Liquor Kingdom and Garp's failure to answer calls while he was on leave in East Blue.
• Sengoku received word that Marco had invaded Impel Down and ordered Marine forces to blockade its surrounding waters as he headed there to prevent Whitebeard's escape.

News of the Richest Group’s return, Whitebeard’s escape from Impel Down, and the destruction of the Liquor Kingdom spread worldwide, while fabricated reports about the female Admirals’ love for Gild Tesoro became the biggest sensation. Sengoku ordered the Navy to hunt down escaped prisoners and then prepared to answer to the World Nobles over a Celestial Dragon’s death.

• Newspapers reported the Richest Group’s return, Whitebeard’s escape, and other upheavals, while sensational rumors about the Admirals’ love affair seized public attention.
• At Marineford, Sengoku reviewed the Navy’s losses at Impel Down and the Liquor Kingdom as the injured Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and Issho simmered over the reports.
• Tsuru worried that Issho had withdrawn into silence since becoming a woman, while Marine officers gossiped and admired the four female Admirals.
• Sengoku ordered the Navy to capture the escaped prisoners and pursue other Great Pirates to limit the damage from Impel Down.
• After the meeting, Sengoku told Tsuru he had to go to Mary Geoise to explain the Celestial Dragon’s death.

The battered Donquixote Family and Nine Snake Island feared retaliation from the Richest Group after their failed confrontations. Doflamingo and Gloriosa both concluded that survival required giving way, though Hancock and Marigold remained unconscious and Sandersonia’s fate was uncertain.

• Doflamingo and his injured subordinates returned to the castle with breasts caused by the Okama King’s surgery, and they discussed asking Luo to reverse the changes.
• Trebol warned the Donquixote Family that the Richest Group might retaliate, and Doflamingo accepted that they would have to pay a price to survive.
• Gloriosa worried over the unconscious Hancock and Marigold and feared Sandersonia and the others had died.
• Gloriosa read the newspapers, learned of the Richest Group’s growing power and the recent disasters, and judged Nine Snake Island unable to resist them.
• Gloriosa dismissed asking the Marines for help and decided Nine Snake Island had no choice but to back down.

Hancock woke to learn Sandersonia had stayed behind and feared the Richest Group’s retaliation, while Gloriosa went to seek a solution. At the Gold City, the Richest Group’s returning members discussed their plans as Caesar neared completion of the Cosmic Detector.

• Hancock woke after two days and learned Sandersonia had not returned, then blamed herself for her sister’s loss.
• Hancock read the newspaper and asked Gloriosa how Nine Snake Island should respond to the Richest Group’s expected reckoning.
• Gloriosa told Hancock to focus on recovering and left the palace to find a way to protect the island.
• Betty, Stussy, Crocodile, Enel, Archino, Kuma, Baccarat, and Ivankov discussed the Gold City, Whitebeard’s escape, and the latest reports.
• Crocodile, Enel, and Archino declined to help clear the Richest Group’s forces, while Crocodile said he planned to meet a Four Emperor.
• Baccarat said Caesar was close to finishing the Cosmic Detector, which was designed to find life and signals beyond the nearby planets.

Chaos returned to the Gaia Building injured after his fight with Golden Lion and Zephyr, then learned about Phoenix’s rescue of Whitebeard and the Navy Admirals’ bizarre infatuation with him. Golden Lion spared Axos and offered him his old fleet command as he began rebuilding the Flying Pirates, while Zephyr returned to Marineford and Sakazuki and her sisters hunted pirates.

• Chaos arrived at the Gaia Building exhausted and injured, and Betty asked whether he had killed Golden Lion and Zephyr.
• Betty told Chaos that Impel Down had been attacked, and he read reports about Phoenix rescuing Whitebeard and the Navy’s Four Admirals falling in love with him.
• Golden Lion returned to the Flying Pirates’ headquarters wounded and offered Axos a chance to rejoin as captain of the First Fleet.
• Annie, Loria, and Spand objected to Golden Lion sparing Axos, but Golden Lion explained that he planned to rebuild the Flying Pirates and use its former captains.
• Zephyr returned wounded to Marineford and spoke with Tsuru after learning Sengoku was away, while Sakazuki and her three sisters led a sweeping pirate hunt.

Half a month after the Liquor Kingdom incident, the Richest Group’s fighters drew attention by battling the Four Emperors, while Stussy prepared to inspect the Group’s operations and expand its influence. Chaos agreed to accompany her, and they left Gold City together for a long trip.

• Newspapers reported that Tsar, Sun King Don Archino, and Thunder God Enel had fought Kaido, the Explosion Monarch, and Big Mom, while Gold City appeared in the New World.
• Chaos found Stussy preparing to travel and learned that she planned to inspect the Group, address the Shichibukai issue, and expand its presence across the Four Seas.
• Stussy agreed to take Chaos along as a bodyguard and said the trip could last from half a year to two or three years, with Wano Country as their first stop.
• Chaos and Stussy left Gold City in a golden Ferrari, with Stussy studying Chaos’s unusually plain outfit as he admired his own charm.

Chaos and Stussy visited Wano Country and saw the contrast between the prosperous Flower Capital and the dark, impoverished land beyond it. When Orochi’s guards tried to seize Stussy and rob Chaos, he welcomed the scripted mugging and made gold coins rain down around them.

• Chaos and Stussy arrived off the coast of Wano Country and admired the vast darkness and beam of sunlight above it.
• After inspecting parts of Wano, Chaos and Stussy entered the Flower Capital and headed toward Orochi Castle.
• More than ten of Orochi’s guards surrounded Stussy and declared that they would take her to Orochi.
• Chaos stopped Stussy from acting and invited the guards to rob him, even offering ten tons of gold.
• Chaos summoned a shower of gold coins bearing his face, leaving the guards and nearby civilians staring in shock.

Chaos and Stussy arrived in the Flower Capital, where Chaos caused a rain of gold coins and Kurozumi Orochi’s group recognized them and prostrated themselves. At Orochi Castle, Stussy confronted Orochi over reduced weapons deliveries and his secret trade with the Beasts Pirates, then gave him a choice: cut off a finger or resist.

• Chaos’s rain of gold coins drew crowds and alarmed Kurozumi Orochi and his retainers, who suspected the Gold Emperor had arrived.
• Kurozumi Orochi and his group compared old newspapers, recognized Chaos and Stussy, and prostrated themselves before them as the Flower Capital’s civilians knelt too.
• Chaos lifted the gold coins into the clouds, then he and Stussy headed to Orochi Castle while Orochi’s group followed.
• Stussy reviewed the records and demanded to know why Wano Country’s annual weapons deliveries had declined.
• Stussy accused Orochi of secretly selling weapons to the Beasts Pirates and offered him the choice of cutting off a finger or resisting.

After spending months punishing powers that had attacked the Richest Group’s business, Chaos and Stussy’s campaign terrified kingdoms, pirates, and the World Government. A Richest Group representative arrived over Alabasta’s capital, leaving its residents fearing that the kingdom was next.

• Kurozumi Orochi and the others relaxed after Chaos and Stussy left Wano Country, having surrendered fingers rather than risk their lives.
• Chaos and Stussy spent nearly three months in the New World as Stussy punished kingdoms and factions that had colluded against the Richest Group, while Chaos wandered and enjoyed himself.
• News of the Richest Group’s campaign and the Cultivation Era frightened Gloriosa, Hancock, Marigold, the Marines, and other powers as unrest spread.
• Five days later, a golden streak accompanied by the Richest Group’s signature music crossed Alabasta, and some pirates fled while others headed for Alubarna to challenge it.
• The golden streak hovered above Alubarna’s royal palace, and the people recognized it as a Richest Group representative who had come looking for trouble.

Crocodile punished Alabasta after discovering that its business managers had conspired with nobles, ministers, pirates, and criminals to betray the Richest Group. He left after demanding half the kingdom’s annual revenue and destroying Yuba and Elumalu, whose devastation killed over a million people.

• Cobra hurried to the royal tower after learning that Crocodile, a Richest Group Representative, had arrived in Alabasta, while Vivi and Karoo followed him.
• Crocodile attacked the casino, Red Light District, pharmacy, and arms shop, killing their four managers after they confessed to betraying the Richest Group.
• Cobra apologized and asked for a month to resolve the matter, but Crocodile demanded half of Alabasta’s annual revenue and launched sandstorms at Yuba and Elumalu.
• Crocodile left Alabasta as Cobra ordered the two cities evacuated, but the sandstorms buried both oases and killed over a million people.

Chaos and Stussy visited Doflamingo, who offered Devil Fruits and staged an apology while secretly planning to use Sugar’s Hobby-Hobby Fruit to capture Chaos. Sugar touched Chaos while trying to turn him into a toy, but the ability had no effect, leaving Doflamingo’s plan exposed.

• The Five Elders and Sengoku reacted furiously as the Richest Group’s representatives continued retaliating against kingdoms and forces around the world.
• Chaos and Stussy arrived at Doflamingo’s North Blue headquarters, where Doflamingo offered three Devil Fruits as apology gifts.
• Doflamingo secretly planned to distract Chaos with his apology before having Sugar turn him into a toy.
• Sugar brought Chaos coffee and tried several times to get him to take the cup, while Chaos teased Doflamingo and delayed her.
• Sugar finally touched Chaos, but he did not turn into a toy.

Chaos defeated Doflamingo, spared his crew at Stussy’s suggestion, and forced the Donquixote Family to submit to the Richest Group. A few days earlier, Gloriosa sought Shakky and Rayleigh’s help over Nine Snake Island’s conflict with the Richest Group.

• Chaos revealed that he had avoided Sugar’s Hobby-Hobby Fruit, subdued Doflamingo’s crew with Conqueror’s Haki, and sent a Golden Warrior to fight Doflamingo.
• Stussy persuaded Chaos to spare Trebol and the others, arguing that a living Shichibukai crew was more valuable than their Devil Fruit abilities.
• The Golden Warrior returned with a battered Doflamingo, who signed agreements surrendering Devil Fruits, half his business profits, and the Donquixote Family’s service to the Richest Group.
• After Chaos and Stussy left, Doflamingo destroyed the building and roared Gaea’s name as his crew shared his humiliation.
• A few days earlier, Gloriosa visited Shakky’s bar on Sabaody and asked Shakky and Rayleigh for help over the Liquor Kingdom incident and the threat to Nine Snake Island.
• Shakky guessed that Gloriosa feared the Richest Group’s response and hesitated because helping could put her at risk.

Gloriosa sought Shakky and Rayleigh’s help to protect Nine Snake Island from the Richest Group, while Chaos and Stussy set course for Amazon Lily to deal with Boa Hancock. In the New World, Whitebeard moved to reclaim his territory from the Explosion Pirates, drawing the attention of the world’s major powers and the Navy.

• Gloriosa asked Shakky to help Nine Snake Island avoid retaliation from the Richest Group, and Shakky told her to wait for Rayleigh.
• Rayleigh did not return that night, leaving Gloriosa without an answer.
• After Stussy finished her work call with Betty, she proposed that she and Chaos deal with Boa Hancock next.
• Stussy gave Chaos a general direction toward the Daughter Country, and he steered the Golden Ferrari toward it.
• Whitebeard, recovered after his imprisonment, targeted the Explosion Pirates as the first crew whose territory he intended to reclaim.
• The Navy and other major powers turned their attention to the coming clash and began preparing to exploit it.

Chaos arrived at Nine Snake Island with Stussy and the other members of the Richest Group, then attacked Hancock and the island’s defenders. Hancock kept fighting despite being badly wounded, and Chaos prepared to continue tormenting her.

• A golden avenue appeared over Nine Snake Island, and Hancock, Gloriosa, and the guardian warriors gathered to face the arriving outsiders.
• Chaos descended and knocked Gloriosa away, then used his Conqueror’s Haki to incapacitate Marigold, Margaret, and the Amazon warriors nearby.
• Hancock attacked Chaos with her Fragrant Kick, but he struck her down and overpowered her when she continued fighting.
• Chaos battered Hancock across the island and taunted her as she repeatedly charged him despite her injuries.
• Hancock fired her Love-Love Mellow beams, and Chaos attacked her while resisting their petrifying effect.

Chaos defeated Hancock but spared Nine Snake Island after Gloriosa offered compensation, including the Dark-Dark Fruit, which excited him because he planned to raise Blackbeard and pursue eating two Devil Fruits. Stussy imposed an annual payment on the island, and Rayleigh arrived after the crisis had passed.

• Chaos overwhelmed Hancock's attacks and was about to strike her down when Gloriosa intervened and begged him to spare Nine Snake Island.
• Gloriosa returned with two Devil Fruits and a method for improving the islanders' chances of awakening Armament Haki; Chaos seized the Dark-Dark Fruit and asked Stussy to locate Blackbeard.
• Chaos departed with the Dark-Dark Fruit, while Stussy demanded the Bag-Bag Fruit, the Haki method, and one billion beri annually for fifteen years.
• Gloriosa accepted the terms, and Hancock watched Chaos leave in resentment as Nine Snake Island was spared.
• Rayleigh and Shakky arrived ten minutes later, after the confrontation had ended.

Chaos learned that Marshall D. Teach was in Demon Valley Town and decided to secretly join his crew to steer Teach toward obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit and Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Two months later, the notorious pirate Ultraman Tiga arrived on Boka Island, where Teach and his companions were seeking a new ship’s doctor.

• Stussy told Chaos that Marshall D. Teach was in Demon Valley Town, but Chaos refused to send Old Don to capture him.
• Chaos decided to infiltrate Teach’s crew and departed to create a new identity, while Stussy declined to join him.
• Over the next two months, Chaos became known as the pirate Ultraman Tiga, earned a 300 million Berry bounty, and escaped Marine Admiral Aokiji.
• Teach, Laffitte, and Van Augur formed the Blackbeard Pirates and went to Boka Island to recruit a ship’s doctor.
• Teach and his companions encountered a refined, drunken man carrying two golden watermelon knives.

Blackbeard recruited Ultraman Tiga and Shinigami Q after fighting them, then the crew set out together. Ultraman Tiga returned from the woods with a Devil Fruit that Blackbeard recognized as the Dark-Dark Fruit.

• Blackbeard, Van Augur, and Lafitte clashed with Ultraman Tiga after he knocked Lafitte away and blamed them for breaking his wine jug.
• Blackbeard fought Ultraman Tiga for five hours, defeated him, and persuaded him to join the Blackbeard Pirates.
• The crew found Shinigami Q, and Blackbeard fought him for four hours before recruiting him as the ship's doctor.
• As the crew headed down the mountain, Ultraman Tiga returned from the woods holding a pale purple Devil Fruit that Blackbeard recognized as the Dark-Dark Fruit.

Ultraman handed Blackbeard the Dark-Dark Fruit, which Blackbeard ate and began developing. Three years passed as major events unfolded across the world, while the Richest Group’s representatives stayed active and Gaia and several other leaders remained absent.

• Ultraman tossed the Dark-Dark Fruit to Blackbeard, then secretly watched him eat it from the jungle.
• Blackbeard gained the Dark-Dark Fruit’s powers and thanked Ultraman, who boasted about his luck.
• Three years passed, during which Doflamingo seized control of Dressrosa, Otohime was killed, and many other major events unfolded across the seas.
• The Richest Group’s representatives held concerts, fought powerful opponents, and drew attention from pirates and Marines.
• Gaia Great Emperor, Queen of Joy, Dancing Queen, and King of Science remained inactive while the rest of the Richest Group stayed busy.

Betty managed the Richest Group while Gai continued undercover among the Blackbeard Pirates, whose captain planned to target the Golden Emperor and provoke a war. Blackbeard led his crew to Drum Kingdom to seek an ability user, but they found the castle in ruins and their target gone.

• Betty asked for updates on the Blackbeard Pirates and the moon, learning that the crew had stayed quiet and the third Cosmic Detector had launched.
• Blackbeard announced that his crew would target Gaia Chaos and capture a Richest Group senior staff member to trigger a conflict with the Marines and exploit the chaos at Impel Down.
• Gai questioned Blackbeard’s choice of target and listened as the crew agreed that the Golden Emperor’s power was worth pursuing.
• Blackbeard said the crew would first visit Drum Kingdom to find an ability user, then hunt the Okama King on Kakarot Island.
• Days later, the Blackbeard Pirates reached Drum Kingdom and found its mountain castle ruined, with Wapol apparently having fled.

Ivankov faced Blackbeard, who attacked to demonstrate the Dark-Dark Fruit’s power and nullified her Devil Fruit abilities. She relied on Haki and martial arts to resist him, and the fight remained unresolved as she unleashed a powerful aura.

• Ivankov read about her fame as the Okama King and prepared to leave Kakarot Island while being hunted.
• Blackbeard and his crew confronted Ivankov at a tavern, while Gai, disguised as Ultraman Tiga, joined the staged encounter.
• Blackbeard declared his ambition to rise by stepping on the Richest Group, but Ivankov dismissed him and his threats.
• Blackbeard used the Dark-Dark Fruit to swallow Ivankov’s shock wave, seize her, and nullify her Hormone-Hormone Fruit powers.
• Ivankov fought back with Ryuō Haki and a powerful kick, but Blackbeard absorbed the blow and tried to drag her into his darkness.
• Ivankov unleashed a terrifying aura and covered herself in Ryuō Haki to resist Blackbeard’s gravitational pull.

Ivankov fought Blackbeard until Gild Tesoro's Golden Warrior arrived and overwhelmed the battlefield with Conqueror's Haki. Blackbeard endured the pressure, challenged the newcomer, and then used the Dark-Dark Fruit to pull him close, catching his kick as the chapter ended.

• Ivankov resisted Blackbeard's Dark Water, counterattacked with ranged techniques, and struck him with a Haki-coated Death Finger Gun before they were thrown apart.
• A meteor-like arrival revealed the Golden Warrior, prompting Ivankov to act as though Gild Tesoro had returned while Blackbeard's crew panicked.
• The Golden Warrior unleashed Conqueror's Haki that suppressed Lafitte, Doc Q, Burgess, Van Augur, and Ultraman, forcing several of them to kneel.
• Blackbeard corrected the Golden Warrior's mistaken name, declaring that he was Marshall D. Teach, not Archy, and was immediately struck across the chest.
• Blackbeard boasted about the Dark-Dark Fruit, used Dark Water to pull the Golden Warrior toward him, and caught his incoming kick.

Blackbeard fought the Golden Warrior, a remote-controlled puppet of the Golden Emperor, and discovered that his Dark-Dark Fruit could not suppress its power. The Golden Warrior repeatedly overwhelmed him, and Blackbeard ended the chapter trying to flee without seeing any chance of victory.

• Blackbeard grabbed the Golden Warrior and realized that his Dark-Dark Fruit could not detect or nullify the Golden Emperor's power because the opponent was a puppet.
• The Golden Warrior attacked while Conqueror's Haki stunned Blackbeard, sending him crashing into the ruins.
• Blackbeard spread his Dark Hole across the battlefield, but the Golden Warrior broke free and struck him repeatedly.
• The Golden Warrior evaded Blackbeard's counterattacks, regenerated from damage, and dragged him across the ground.
• Blackbeard used a chaotic repelling field to send the Golden Warrior flying, then rose into the air in terror and tried to escape.

Gai defeated Blackbeard and his crew, then humiliated Blackbeard and spared him so he could grow stronger and seek revenge. As the Golden Warrior announced that the Iceberg Beauty had arrived, she appeared to hunt down Ivankov.

• Blackbeard’s attacks failed to stop the Golden Warrior, who trapped Lafitte, Doc Q, Van Augur, Burgess, and Dica in gold.
• The Golden Warrior battered Blackbeard until he was near death and dragged him back before his crew.
• Gai mocked Blackbeard by calling him Marshall D. Archy and demanded that he beg for his life.
• Blackbeard begged three times, concealing his hatred and resolve to survive.
• The Golden Warrior spared Blackbeard and urged him to grow stronger and seek revenge.
• The Golden Warrior and Ivankov noticed the Iceberg Beauty arriving to hunt Ivankov down.

The Golden Warrior freed Blackbeard and his crew, then joined Ivankov to defeat Kuzan after she tried to escape. The Golden Warrior left Kuzan alive with Ivankov, who took her away, while the island and surrounding sea remained frozen and devastated.

• The Golden Warrior released Blackbeard and his crew, and Gai secretly wished he could reveal his identity to them.
• The Golden Warrior and Ivankov confronted Kuzan, and Kuzan retreated when she realized the odds were against her.
• Kuzan unleashed Ice Age, freezing the island and sea as Blackbeard and his crew freed their ship and fled.
• The Golden Warrior and Ivankov fought Kuzan for three hours before forcing her to her knees.
• The Golden Warrior taunted Kuzan about the rumor that the four female Marine Admirals loved him, then left after warning Ivankov not to kill her.
• Kuzan collapsed in rage, and Ivankov made sure she stayed alive before carrying her away from the devastated island.

Blackbeard resolved to target Gild Tesoro again after recovering from his crew’s defeat, while the Marines discovered Kuzan unconscious and brought him to Marineford. Kuzan woke in a furious, despairing state, but concealed his feelings and was left alone under Seastone restraint.

• Blackbeard rejected his crew’s suggestion to change targets and vowed to take revenge on Gild Tesoro after investigating more carefully.
• Sengoku and Tsuru visited Kuzan in the Marineford infirmary after Vice Admiral Morgol found him unconscious and wrapped in a bedsheet at the Sabaody base.
• The doctor revealed signs of an intimate encounter on Kuzan and showed Sengoku and Tsuru an assortment of tools found beneath his bed sheet.
• Tsuru explained that Kuzan had recently been hunting the Okama King, whom she connected to Gild Tesoro.
• Sengoku and Tsuru placed Seastone on Kuzan before he woke, fearing he might freeze Marineford if his powers slipped out of control.
• Kuzan briefly showed despair and fury after waking, then claimed he was fine as Sengoku and Tsuru left him alone.