Chapter Summaries

Stussy arrived in Wano Country and halted her attack after Kurozumi Orochi offered the country’s seastone and resources to the Richest Group. She spared the Flower Capital but left the rest of Wano in darkness for twenty years.

• A vast thunderstorm formed over Wano Country, and Queen of Joy began destroying the Flower Capital with lightning.
• Kurozumi Semimaru urged Kurozumi Orochi to offer the Richest Group Wano Country’s seastone, mineral resources, and weapons factories in exchange for survival.
• Kurozumi Orochi knelt and pledged Wano Country’s allegiance to the Richest Group, begging them not to destroy it.
• Stussy appeared before Kurozumi Orochi and declared that Wano Country would fly the Richest Group’s flag and remain shrouded in darkness for twenty years.
• Stussy cleared the clouds above the Flower Capital, leaving it in sunlight while the rest of Wano Country fell into darkness.

Kurozumi Orochi secured control of Wano Country with the Richest Group’s backing, while Stussy arranged for Wano to supply the group with seastone and weapons. Back in Gold City, Chaos planned new research inspired by the Moon Island incident, hoping to advance the Richest Group’s ambitions, while Betty remained unconscious.

• After Stussy left, Kurozumi Orochi and his allies celebrated taking power in Wano Country and planned to blame Oden for the crisis.
• Two days later, Kurozumi Orochi met a Richest Group executive to discuss annual supplies of seastone and weapons.
• Stussy returned to Gold City and told Chaos she had spared Wano Country because its resources and arms trade could benefit the group.
• Chaos said Betty might remain in a vegetative state, while Baccarat continued trying to improve her luck.
• Stussy told Chaos the group would expand into arms dealing, and Chaos left to research ideas he hoped would help the Richest Group rule the world.

Chaos visited Betty, then checked on Caesar’s research, urging him to investigate dynamite rock as a possible weapon and prepare spacesuits and oxygen tanks for a trip to space. He also pressed Caesar to finish a life elixir, leaving the group’s plans dependent on Caesar’s experiments.

• Chaos found Betty asleep with her severed arm bandaged, then went to Caesar’s lab to ask about his research.
• Caesar admitted he had made little progress on nuclear fusion, so Chaos suggested purifying or compressing the energy in dynamite rock to create a powerful weapon.
• Caesar confidently agreed to study dynamite rock once Chaos supplied the raw materials.
• Chaos asked about spacesuits and oxygen tanks, explaining that he planned to explore space and might send the rest of the group after him.
• Caesar warned that space travel was reckless, but Chaos told him to develop the equipment and test it gradually.
• Caesar said he was developing a life elixir using medicinal herbs and Sea King life essence, and Chaos ordered him to finish it soon.

At a feast, Chaos assigned BGMs to the Richest Group’s main fighters and gave them orders for their next tasks. Stussy was told to investigate Kinetic Rock, while the others were tasked with raiding its location or helping Caesar’s research.

• Chaos played recordings of personal BGMs and gave Crocodile, Stussy, Archino, Betty, Kuma, Ivankov, Enel, Baccarat, Caesar, and Bonis their selections.
• Chaos told Stussy to investigate where the Kinetic Rock was located.
• Chaos assigned Little Ai and Crocodile to raid the Kinetic Rock site and collect as much as possible.
• Chaos told everyone else to assist Caesar’s research, including by catching Sea Kings.

Kaido learned that the Richest Group had taken Wano Country, but Queen persuaded him to focus on strengthening the Beasts Pirates and competing for territory. Meanwhile, the Marines met to address the growing disorder caused by the Cultivation Era, as they faced major changes ahead.

• Kaido learned that the Richest Group had raised its flag over Wano Country and raged at Gild Tesoro for taking territory he wanted.
• Queen warned Kaido against confronting the Richest Group and urged him to build up the Beasts Pirates amid pressure from rival crews and new pirates.
• Kaido ordered his troops summoned and said he would meet Big Mom and Gotdi as the Beasts Pirates fought other crews over territory.
• Tsuru reported to Kong and the Marine officers that growing public distrust and newly empowered people were causing the Marines to lose control in many places.
• The Marine leadership discussed how to respond to the Cultivation Era, with a major change to the Marines looming.

The Five Elders discussed the threat posed by Gaia Chaos and the Richest Group, then agreed to hold a second World Military Draft and reform the Navy. Their plans included a fourth Admiral seat, while events across the world continued to reshape the future.

• The Five Elders assessed the Richest Group’s growing power and the unrest caused by the Cultivation Era.
• The Five Elders agreed to hold a second World Military Draft and consider reforms, including adding a fourth Admiral seat and a Shichibukai-like organization.
• The chapter outlined how the Navy’s leadership might change early, with Kong becoming Commander-in-Chief and Sengoku becoming Fleet Admiral.
• Tom, Eustass Kid, Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, Roronoa Zoro, and other figures were born or set on paths that would affect the future.
• The Buster Call destroyed Ohara, Saul sacrificed himself to help Robin escape, and Kuzan let Robin go.
• Nojiko, Nami, and Bellemere formed a family in Cocoyasi Village, while other events unfolded across the seas.

After Betty woke from her coma, she reunited with Chaos and learned that the Marines were accelerating their reforms in response to the Richest Group’s attacks. The chapter ended with news spreading that the Marines would hold a second World Military Draft and add another Admiral seat.

• Over three days, Enel and Crocodile raided Marine strongholds and research facilities, seizing Power Stones and abducting scientists, while the Five Elders began reforming the Marines.
• The Gold City emerged from the Calm Belt and drew crowds eager to board before it disappeared again.
• Betty visited Chaos and Caesar’s lab after waking, and she and Chaos discussed their missing limbs and her recovery.
• Betty gave Chaos a file from Stussy, revealing that the Marines planned a second World Military Draft and an additional Admiral seat.
• Chaos and Caesar connected the Marine raids’ limited response to the Marines’ preparations, as newspapers spread news of the coming reforms.

After five months of upheaval across the seas, the Navy held a ceremony at Marineford where Steel Bone Kong stepped down as Fleet Admiral and Sengoku took his place. Sengoku stood before the Marines to begin his tenure as the Navy’s new leader.

• Gold City appeared around the world as pirate crews fought over territory and new pirates rose to prominence.
• Stussy’s agents helped Kurozumi Orochi regain control of Wano Country, where he built weapons factories and turned the people against the Kozuki Clan.
• Momonosuke and Hiyori escaped Wano Country with help from the Kozuki Clan’s surviving retainers and survived a shipwreck.
• Steel Bone Kong addressed the gathered Marines and announced that he would leave the Fleet Admiral post to become Commander-in-Chief.
• Kong placed the Fleet Admiral coat and insignia on Sengoku, who accepted the position and vowed not to let Kong or justice down.

Sengoku marked the Navy’s new era by honoring Zephyr and appointing four Marine Admirals. As the ceremony reached its climax, Gaia Chaos made a dramatic entrance at Marineford, and the dust had yet to clear.

• Sengoku delivered a speech about the Navy’s mission and honored Zephyr for his service, keeping him on as Chief Instructor.
• Sengoku announced Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and Issho as the four new Marine Admirals.
• Sengoku promoted Sakazuki as Akainu, Borsalino as Kizaru, Kuzan as Aokiji, and Issho as Fujitora, and each declared his justice.
• Black-and-red lightning and three beams of light struck Marineford during the ceremony, prompting Sengoku and the assembled Marines to recognize the familiar entrance.
• The dust began to clear as the crowd waited to see who had arrived.

The Golden Emperor sent puppets to Marineford to congratulate Sengoku and challenge the Navy’s new admiral, Issho, over the Navy’s justice and the Cultivation Era. After the puppets were destroyed, the Golden Emperor’s words left Issho silent and the Navy leaders worried that he had weakened public trust in them.

• Chaos, Crocodile, and Enel remotely controlled golden, sandy, and lightning figures that appeared at Marineford as the Richest Group.
• Sakazuki attacked the Golden Warrior, but Sengoku ordered her to stand down and demanded to know why the Golden Emperor had come.
• The Golden Emperor questioned the Navy’s four-admiral lineup and confronted Issho, who pressed the puppet down with gravity before it resisted.
• The Golden Emperor defended the Cultivation Era as a source of strength and freedom for ordinary people, then urged them to learn the Six Powers and Haki.
• Sengoku struck and shattered the puppets, while the Golden Emperor warned that the Navy’s admirals should all be women and left gold as a gift.
• Issho remained silent as Sengoku and the other Navy leaders feared the Golden Emperor had driven a wedge into the Navy’s sense of justice.

After the Navy’s new leadership was announced, Gild Tesoro’s comments about the Cultivation Era dominated the news while the Navy launched a sweeping campaign against pirates. At Sabaody, Dragon left his infant son Luffy with Garp, who quickly warmed to his new grandson.

• Issho reflected on Gild Tesoro’s words, while Sengoku told Tsuru to keep an eye on the new Admiral at the Five Elders’ request.
• News Coo spread reports of the Navy’s new appointments and Gild Tesoro’s challenge to Issho and defense of the Cultivation Era.
• Sengoku sent the Admirals and Vice Admirals after pirates, driving crews across the seas into hiding or defeat.
• Garp arrived at a house on Sabaody and found Dragon holding a crying baby.
• Dragon told Garp that the baby was his grandson, Monkey D. Luffy, then left him in Garp’s care.
• Garp realized Dragon had left, but softened as Luffy grabbed his beard and babbled.

Chaos traveled from Sky Island into space to test his equipment and powers, discovering that space rapidly drained his Armament Haki and that his body could survive brief exposure. After testing Goldenization as protection, he began returning when his stamina ran low.

• Chaos prepared to travel into space from Sky Island while Caesar and the others watched anxiously.
• Chaos climbed the vine, passed through the atmosphere, and escaped the planet’s gravity into space.
• Chaos observed the planet and nearby celestial bodies, then tested how quickly space consumed his Armament Haki.
• Chaos removed his spacesuit and exposed his unprotected arm, finding that it took about half an hour for it to become numb and begin dying.
• Chaos turned his body to gold and exposed himself to space, but the transformation rapidly drained his stamina, so he started heading back.

Chaos’s space training confirmed that the Richest Group could explore beyond their planet, and the group spent two years preparing for a trip to the moon. The chapter left them traveling there aboard a golden ship, eager to discover what awaited them.

• After returning from space, Chaos drank Caesar’s life potion and told Betty and the others that his training had succeeded.
• Betty and the others put on spacesuits and explored space, while Caesar became fascinated with studying the universe.
• Over the next two years, the Richest Group trained in space and largely withdrew from public life, causing the Marines and World Government to grow wary.
• The Richest Group set off for the moon aboard a golden ship, and Caesar estimated that the journey would take about five days.
• Chaos urged Caesar to develop a spaceship capable of interstellar travel as the group trained atop the ship on their way to the moon.

Chaos and his companions discovered the ruins of an advanced lunar civilization, along with robots and records suggesting the moon people might have become the Celestial Dragons, Sky Islanders, or Clan of D. Chaos returned to the pirate planet to gather supplies while Caesar and the others stayed on the moon to study and explore.

• After circling the moon, Chaos and his companions found an empty city among the far-side ruins.
• Caesar discovered a hidden factory filled with inactive robots and identified a Mink-like creature as a space pirate.
• Caesar explained that a mysterious doctor had built one robot, and that the robots had come to the moon after the doctor saw it explode.
• Caesar showed the group mural rubbings that suggested the moon people might have been the Celestial Dragons, Sky Islanders, or Clan of D.
• After a week exploring lunar ruins, Caesar, Enel, Crocodile, and the others stayed behind while Chaos returned with Stussy, Baccarat, Betty, Ivankov, and Kuma.
• Chaos built a larger Golden Ship, loaded it with supplies, and set off to deliver them to the moon.

Seven years of major events reshaped the seas as new fighters and pirate crews rose, while the Richest Group remained largely absent. By the end, its dwindling appearances had caused many to forget or dismiss its former power.

• Fisher Tiger freed slaves in an attack on Mary Geoise, founded the Sun Pirates, and was later gravely wounded while fleeing the Navy.
• Rosinante stole the Op-Op Fruit and gave it to Law, then died helping Law escape Doflamingo's massacre.
• Shanks saved Luffy from Higuma and the King of the Near Sea, lost an arm, and gave Luffy his straw hat.
• Ace, Sabo, and Luffy became sworn brothers, but Sabo was later taken away by Dragon after a Celestial Dragon attacked him.
• Jinbe became captain of the Sun Pirates after Tiger's reported death, while Arlong left the crew and was sent to Impel Down.
• The Richest Group stayed out of public view for seven years, and its rare appearances led a new generation to forget its former influence.

A year earlier, the World Government’s Four Emperors plan triggered a wave of pirate attacks against the Explosion, Beasts, Big Mom, and Red-Haired Pirates. The four crews fought back, while the Five Elders delayed their planned Shichibukai system to see how the chaos unfolded.

• The newspaper named the Explosion Monarch, Kaido, Big Mom, and Red-Haired Shanks the Four Emperors, prompting pirate crews to challenge them.
• The Explosion Monarch recognized the title as a trap and ordered the Explosion Pirates to prepare for challengers and make the title their own.
• Big Mom ordered Katakuri to investigate who was behind the scheme and prepare Totto Land for war.
• Beckman warned Red-Haired Shanks that the crews were being used, while the Red-Haired Pirates declared they would face the challenges; King and Queen likewise prepared the Beasts Pirates for attacks.
• Pirate crews attacked the four powers’ islands and subordinates, and the resulting battles left the Grand Line’s second half in chaos.
• Sengoku and the Five Elders confirmed that the World Government had orchestrated the Four Emperors plan, then postponed the Shichibukai plan for half a year.

The Marines met at Marineford to discuss implementing the World Government’s Shichibukai plan and review potential pirate candidates. Sengoku approved a contest that would make the candidates fight one another for a place among the Shichibukai.

• The four pirate crews known as the Four Emperors survived six months of attacks and built fearsome reputations, while the World Government moved ahead with its Shichibukai plan.
• Sengoku, Tsuru, the admirals, and other Marine officers gathered at Marineford to discuss the plan, which granted recruited pirates broad freedoms in exchange for limited service to the Government.
• Borsalino and other officers questioned the plan’s terms, while Sakazuki argued that the Marines should carry out the Five Elders’ order.
• Tsuru presented a list of more than sixty pirate candidates, including Dracule Mihawk, Boa Hancock, Jinbe, Gecko Moria, and Edward Weevil, and explained that candidates were chosen for more than strength alone.
• A Vice Admiral proposed making the listed pirates compete for positions, and Sengoku decided that applicants would have to defeat listed candidates or present the heads of three pirates with bounties above three hundred million berries.

The Navy’s Shichibukai proposal stirred fierce reactions among pirates, while Doflamingo, Moria, Hancock, Weevil, and Buffalo Aquit considered what the offer could bring them. Doflamingo planned to force the World Government to accept him, while Hancock remained unconvinced and Gloriosa warned her that Nine Snake Island was at risk.

• Pirates across the seas reacted to the Shichibukai announcement, with some rejecting the offer and others seeking to join.
• Doflamingo told Trebol and Diamante he would plunder Heavenly Gold to force the World Government to make him a Shichibukai.
• Moria read the announcement and planned to use Shichibukai authority to gather shadows and build an army to defeat Kaido.
• Gloriosa urged Hancock to become a Shichibukai to protect Nine Snake Island, but Hancock ordered her to leave after Gloriosa warned that the Navy could enter the Calm Belt.
• Miss Bakkin told Weevil to become a Shichibukai so they could plunder treasure, and Weevil agreed to please her.
• Buffalo Aquit’s impoverished crew celebrated his place on the candidate list, hoping Shichibukai status would bring them money.

Sengoku reviewed the Shichibukai selections and assigned Borsalino to receive the remaining candidates at Marineford. Borsalino agreed, then planned to travel the world and challenge the Four Emperors.

• Sengoku and Tsuru confirmed that Doflamingo, Hancock, Jinbe, Mihawk, and Gecko Moria had been selected, leaving Edward Weevil and Buffalo Aquit as the two likely candidates for the final spots.
• Sengoku ordered Vice Admirals Onigumo and Stawberry to notify Weevil and Aquit, and summoned Borsalino to receive them at Marineford in a week.
• Sengoku chose Borsalino to show the candidates the Marines' strength because Sakazuki might kill them and Kuzan was leaving on a mission.
• Borsalino agreed to receive the candidates but said he would leave Marineford afterward to travel and possibly challenge the Four Emperors.

The Shichibukai candidates gathered at Marineford, where Borsalino arrived late and asserted the Navy’s authority before ordering the agreements distributed. The candidates faced their next step toward becoming Shichibukai as the meeting began.

• Mosambia greeted Donquixote Doflamingo and Buffalo Aquit at the harbor and sent Rear Admiral Sicily to escort them to the meeting room.
• Edward Weevil and Miss Bakkin arrived, followed by Jinbe and Dracule Mihawk.
• Boa Hancock arrived and traded sharp words with Doflamingo while the candidates waited for Gecko Moria.
• Gecko Moria arrived, but the candidates waited past the appointed time for Borsalino.
• Borsalino entered late, challenged Moria to leave only if he could defeat her, and warned the candidates to behave.
• Borsalino told Rear Admiral Sicily to distribute the Shichibukai agreements.