Chapter Summaries

The Five Elders agreed to let Blackbeard recruit prisoners from Impel Down and planned to blame Bai Ye for their escape. They ordered Magellan and the prison staff to leave, and Magellan reluctantly accepted the transfer.

• The Five Elders weighed Blackbeard's ambition and untrustworthiness against the threat Bai Ye posed, then agreed to his proposal.
• The Five Elders decided Blackbeard could take whoever he recruited from Impel Down and release the rest, while they would blame Bai Ye for the jailbreak.
• Saint Saturn proposed transferring Magellan and the prison staff away so they would not obstruct Blackbeard.
• The Five Elders ordered Magellan to bring the guards to the World Government immediately, and Magellan questioned what would happen to the prisoners.
• Magellan accepted the order to leave, and Domino asked whether the other guards were being transferred too.

Magellan and Domino withdrew from Impel Down under the Five Elders’ orders, while CP agents prepared the prison for Blackbeard. Blackbeard arrived to recruit prisoners for the coming war and set Level 6 into a deadly contest, leaving the prison in chaos.

• Magellan and Domino obeyed the order to evacuate Impel Down as CP agents moved in to take over.
• Saint Saturn and Saint V. N. Uranus decided to let Blackbeard take prisoners, believing they could use the pirates against Bai Ye.
• Blackbeard accepted the arrangement and headed to Impel Down, intending to recruit fighters for the coming war.
• Blackbeard went straight to Level 6 and told the prisoners he wanted elites, not everyone, while refusing to explain what had changed outside.
• The Level 6 pirates began fighting one another for a chance to escape, and the prison filled with screams.

Blackbeard stopped the prisoners’ battle and told them Bai Ye had helped destroy the World Government. He gathered prisoners from Impel Down and prepared to leave, while Shiryu of the Rain reasoned that Magellan’s absence had made the breakout possible.

• Blackbeard decided the prisoners had fought enough and announced that he would tell them what had happened outside.
• The pirates doubted Blackbeard’s claim that the World Government had fallen, but he explained that Bai Ye and the former Rocks Pirates had attacked it with other major forces.
• Blackbeard killed several pirates who tried to attack him, then gathered prisoners from the fifth, fourth, and third floors and opened the gates to the lower floors.
• Evil Governor King questioned why Blackbeard was releasing more prisoners, while Vasco Shot asked why everyone from Impel Down was gone.
• Shiryu of the Rain concluded that Magellan’s absence had allowed Blackbeard to reach the sixth level and wondered how Blackbeard had learned about it.

Blackbeard admitted that he had cooperated with the World Government to free the prisoners of Impel Down and recruit them to fight Bai Ye. He promised them a chance to claim the New World and eventually seize power, but the prisoners questioned his plan and doubted his confidence.

• Shiryu of the Rain questioned how Blackbeard had entered Impel Down without encountering guards, leading the prisoners to suspect he had worked with the World Government.
• Blackbeard admitted that he was cooperating with the World Government, and Shiryu of the Rain asked what their agreement involved.
• Evil Governor King objected to serving the World Government, while Dai Peng and others considered whether the promised rewards would make cooperation worthwhile.
• Blackbeard explained that the World Government had traded him the prisoners in exchange for help fighting Bai Ye, and promised them the New World if they won.
• Blackbeard revealed his ambition to use the Dark-Dark Fruit to gather more Devil Fruits and take advantage of whichever side weakened, but Dai Peng called his plan an ideal scenario.

Blackbeard persuaded the escaped Impel Down prisoners to join his crew and fight in the coming war, promising them a chance at power while warning them to prepare for death. They agreed to follow him, but planned to investigate the conflict before joining the battlefield, and Shiryu wondered whether Bai Ye meant to finish what the Rocks Pirates had started.

• Blackbeard urged the prisoners to join his plan, offering them a chance to gain powerful Fruit abilities and arguing that they had to risk death to claim the world.
• Shiryu, Vasco Shot, Dai Peng, and Evil Governor King agreed to join Blackbeard, and Blackbeard named them officers of his crew.
• When Shiryu questioned why they would not head straight to the battlefield, Blackbeard said he needed to find more powerful allies and told them to investigate the war themselves.
• Evil Governor King said he would verify Blackbeard's claims, while Dai Peng remarked that Bai Ye's planned war was astonishing.
• Shiryu of the Rain speculated that Bai Ye was trying to overthrow the World Government and fulfill the ambitions of the Rocks Pirates.

Blackbeard escaped Impel Down with a large group of prisoners to build a pirate alliance for the coming war between Bai Ye and the World Government. Count Red and other prisoners debated whether to take part, while Blackbeard assured the Five Elders that he would join them after recruiting more people.

• Blackbeard told Shiryu that Bai Ye had defeated the Marines and urged him to leave Impel Down before discussing the events outside.
• Blackbeard recruited prisoners and took as many as the available World Government warships could carry, intending to form a powerful pirate alliance.
• Count Red questioned whether Bai Ye could defeat the World Government as he and other Level 6 prisoners considered whether to join the coming war.
• After Blackbeard left, prisoners inside Impel Down fought over the remaining ships while Count Red weighed whether his age and declining strength would allow him to participate.
• Blackbeard told Saint Saturn that he would honor their agreement but needed time to recruit more people before joining the World Government's war.

Blackbeard accepted that he had to join the war against Bai Ye and ordered his crew to recruit pirates and hunt for Devil Fruit users while the Marines were redeployed. Meanwhile, the Five Elders worried that prisoners freed from Impel Down might join Bai Ye and resolved to collect Devil Fruits themselves.

• Blackbeard and Shiryu of the Rain discussed the World Government’s surveillance and their reluctant cooperation, then reacted to Big Morgans’s report that the Four Emperors and Revolutionary Army had gathered around Bai Ye.
• Blackbeard called the World Government’s predicament an opportunity and ordered his crew to recruit promising pirates across the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line.
• The Five Elders learned that Blackbeard had taken most of Impel Down’s prisoners and worried that escapees such as Count Red might join Bai Ye instead of Blackbeard.
• Saint Saturn and the other Five Elders debated whether Count Red and the other prisoners could regain their strength with powerful Devil Fruits.
• The Five Elders acknowledged that the World Government had once released Devil Fruits to maintain control and decided they could collect them now as Bai Ye did.

Saint Saturn ordered the Marines to leave the escaped Impel Down pirates alone and focus on mobilizing kingdoms against Bai Ye. At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku and Tsuru suspected the World Government had arranged the escape, leaving Sengoku questioning whether it was still worth protecting.

• Saint Saturn told Sengoku to let the escaped Impel Down pirates run free and to recruit kingdoms for the war against Bai Ye.
• Sengoku became furious after the Five Elders informed him that the Marines should not interfere with the pirates.
• Tsuru told Sengoku that the World Government would not concern itself with Impel Down because defeating Bai Ye was its priority.
• Sengoku and Tsuru concluded that the World Government had likely transferred Magellan and the others, then arranged for the pirates to be released.
• Sengoku condemned the World Government for unleashing the pirates and asked Tsuru whether it was still worth protecting.

Sengoku and Tsuru discussed why the World Government had allied with pirates against Bai Ye and what that meant for the Navy. Tsuru revealed that Gion had shared news about Bai Ye, including an unexpected development she was about to tell Sengoku.

• Sengoku questioned whether his past convictions had been wrong as Tsuru predicted that the conflict would lead to chaos and a struggle over the world's new order.
• Sengoku explained that the World Government and pirates had joined forces because Bai Ye threatened both the Celestial Dragons and piracy, while the Navy's position had become uncertain.
• Tsuru said the World Government would likely keep working with pirates and that Garp and the others were probably safe with Bai Ye for now.
• Sengoku realized Tsuru was still in contact with Gion, who had defected to Bai Ye, and asked what she had learned.
• Tsuru confirmed that Gion said Bai Ye had no immediate plans to act and hinted at another surprising piece of news.

Tsuru told Sengoku that Garp, Kizaru, Akainu, and the other captured Marines had been released but chose to remain with Bai Ye, whose cause they increasingly saw as upholding justice. As Sengoku realized the Marines had lost most of their strongest fighters, he wondered whether Tsuru planned to defect too.

• Sengoku feared Bai Ye had killed Garp and the other captured Marines, but Tsuru clarified that they had been released from prison.
• Tsuru explained that Garp, Kizaru, and the others stayed because they approved of Bai Ye’s actions and did not want to return to the World Government’s cause.
• Sengoku was astonished to learn that Akainu had also attended Bai Ye’s banquet, though he remained resistant to fighting alongside pirates.
• Tsuru predicted that more people opposing the World Government would join Bai Ye and doubted the captured Marines would return or fight for the Government.
• Sengoku recognized that the Marines had lost much of their high-end combat power and wondered whether Tsuru intended to go over to Bai Ye.

Tsuru urged Sengoku to consider taking the Navy away from the World Government, arguing that the Government’s alliance with pirates and the Navy’s weakened forces could doom its soldiers. Sengoku agreed Bai Ye might win and began weighing whether the Navy could protect its lower-ranking Marines by changing sides, but he remained uncertain how the World Government would respond.

• Tsuru asked Sengoku to consider whether the Navy should choose another path instead of standing with the World Government.
• Sengoku questioned whether Bai Ye would keep his promises and noted that the World Government would not allow the Navy to defect.
• Tsuru and Sengoku judged that Bai Ye was more likely to win because the World Government had released Impel Down prisoners and appeared cornered.
• Tsuru clarified that she was not worried about her own sacrifice but wanted to protect the Navy’s ordinary soldiers.
• Sengoku recognized that fighting for the World Government could cost many low-ranking Marines their lives, but he remained unsure whether the Navy could refuse to join the war.

Tsuru reminded Sengoku that Bai Ye could transport the Marines to fight him, leaving Sengoku to decide whether to join the conflict. A newspaper revealed that the World Government had blamed Bai Ye for the Impel Down breakout and called on outsiders to help defeat him, while concealing its plans for the pirates afterward.

• Tsuru reminded Sengoku that she could contact Gion, who could ask Bai Ye to transport the Marines directly.
• Sengoku worried that the Marines might refuse to fight alongside Bai Ye, even if he chose to go.
• A Marine brought Sengoku the latest newspaper, which made him and Tsuru furious.
• The newspaper blamed Bai Ye for freeing the Impel Down prisoners and asked powerful people to help defeat him, while the World Government hid what it would do about the other troubles afterward.
• Tsuru said she would support Sengoku's decision, and he faced the choice of leading the gathered Marines to fight Bai Ye.

Tsuru urged Sengoku to choose whether the Marines would side with the World Government or oppose it, but he postponed the decision while they waited to contact Gion. After reading the news blaming Bai Ye for the Impel Down escape, Crocodile decided to seek Bai Ye rather than support the World Government.

• Tsuru told Sengoku that the Marines’ future depended on choosing whether to follow the World Government or protect civilians, and urged him to commit once he decided.
• Sengoku hesitated over the risks of turning against the World Government and chose to wait while they contacted Gion.
• Crocodile read the newspaper blaming Bai Ye for the escaped prisoners and rejected the idea of going to the World Government.
• Crocodile told Mr. 1 that Bai Ye would honor his promises to establish a peaceful New World, and decided they would go find him.

Crocodile and Mr. 1 headed toward Bai Ye, while Doflamingo explained how the World Government had framed Bai Ye for releasing Impel Down’s prisoners. Doflamingo’s family remained aligned with the World Government, and he told Baby 5 that victory would determine how their actions were judged.

• Crocodile decided to take Mr. 1 to find Bai Ye and see Pluton, while abandoning Baroque Works and the Shichibukai arrangement.
• The World Government let the seas grow chaotic and spread claims that Bai Ye had released Impel Down’s prisoners to discredit him and recruit allies.
• Trebol and Baby 5 questioned Bai Ye’s actions, and Doflamingo argued that the World Government had framed him because escaped pirates would oppose Bai Ye.
• Doflamingo’s family recognized the World Government’s deception, but Doflamingo confirmed they would still side with the World Government and told Baby 5 that winners controlled the story.

Doflamingo explained why he would side with the World Government rather than Bai Ye: Bai Ye would strip his family of its power and might kill him, while the World Government still had a chance to win. He left his family convinced that the risky alliance could also give him a chance to seize the Celestial Dragons' national treasure.

• Baby 5 gave up asking Doflamingo more questions, while Trebol and Pica pressed him to explain why he would help the World Government.
• Doflamingo said Bai Ye would not tolerate his crimes or Celestial Dragon blood, so joining Bai Ye would leave him with nothing and might cost him his life.
• Trebol and Pica agreed that they could not support Bai Ye, but worried that the World Government was too weak and joining it would mean suicide.
• Doflamingo revealed that he believed the World Government still had eight hundred years of foundations and a chance to defeat Bai Ye, despite its desperate measures.
• Doflamingo chose the World Government because victory could restore his status and let him seize the Celestial Dragons' national treasure.

Doflamingo’s family discussed how to handle their departure and the coming war, deciding not to destroy the place because doing so could alert Bai Ye and provoke the Revolutionary Army. Doflamingo then insisted they find Law before going to war, hoping to obtain the Op-Op Fruit and its Immortality Surgery.

• Trebol worried that the Donquixote Family would become cannon fodder, and Doflamingo said they would wait to see how the war unfolded before joining.
• Diamante suggested destroying the place, but Doflamingo warned that Den Den Mushi and Revolutionary Army members could alert Bai Ye and Dragon.
• Doflamingo persuaded Trebol to leave the place intact, saying they should focus on the Holy Land and what lay ahead.
• Doflamingo declared that they needed to find Law, whose Op-Op Fruit and Immortality Surgery remained part of his plans.
• Diamante questioned how they could locate Law in their limited time, and Doflamingo said he would use World Government CP agents and the underground world to find him.

Doflamingo negotiated with Saint Saturn, agreeing to side with the World Government in exchange for help finding Law and other benefits. He planned to send over his demands and bring the underworld’s forces with him once the terms were approved.

• Doflamingo decided to have the World Government search for Law and called Saint Saturn.
• Doflamingo said he would stand with the World Government, while Saint Saturn dismissed his excuse and called their alliance mutual exploitation.
• Doflamingo demanded help finding someone and said he would send the rest of his conditions later.
• Doflamingo used the underworld’s forces as leverage, knowing the World Government needed them as fighters and cannon fodder.
• Saint Saturn agreed to review Doflamingo’s conditions and told him to bring the underworld’s people if the World Government accepted them.

Doflamingo negotiated with the World Government for support and the search for someone he wanted, then decided to evacuate Dressrosa before Bai Ye expanded into the New World. After Dressrosa’s people learned the truth and discovered Doflamingo had fled, Dragon asked Bai Ye what he planned to do about the abandoned country.

• Doflamingo demanded that the World Government find someone before they discussed his contribution, and the Five Elders agreed to search while debating how to keep Elbaf from helping Bai Ye.
• Doflamingo told Trebol and Pica to prepare to leave Dressrosa, accepting that they were in a weaker position in their deal with the World Government.
• Sugar’s ability was released, Dressrosa’s toys returned to normal, and a crowd calling for Doflamingo’s downfall discovered that he and his subordinates had already left.
• Revolutionary Army members reported Doflamingo’s retreat to Dragon and Bai Ye in Wano Country.
• Dragon asked Bai Ye whether he would seize Dressrosa now that Doflamingo had abandoned it.

Bai Ye and Dragon discussed Doflamingo’s departure, the fate of the Celestial Dragons, and how to gather allies for a decisive war against the World Government. They agreed to bring willing forces from across the seas to the New World, while Dragon warned that the World Government might unleash its hidden weapons.

• Bai Ye concluded that Doflamingo was too unreliable and weak to recruit, while Dragon suggested he had left because of his Celestial Dragon heritage.
• Bai Ye and Dragon discussed killing the Celestial Dragons and other opponents who stood in their way.
• Bai Ye asked Dragon’s people to take control of Dressrosa and agreed to help bring willing allies from the Four Seas and the Grand Line to the New World.
• Dragon told Bai Ye that the World Government had blamed him for releasing the Impel Down prisoners, and Bai Ye condemned the government for using them to fight.
• Dragon warned that the World Government might still possess formidable hidden assets, especially after Vegapunk developed the Mother Seed.

Bai Ye told Dragon that he planned to settle matters in Elbaf before gathering allies and going to war with the World Government. He persuaded Big Mom to join the coming war, but stopped her when she tried to bring up having his children.

• Bai Ye told Dragon that he would handle Elbaf first, then gather willing allies and launch a war against the World Government.
• Dragon agreed to leave Elbaf to Bai Ye and went to find Vegapunk.
• Bai Ye visited Big Mom and said he wanted to accomplish what the Rocks Pirates had failed to do at God Valley.
• Big Mom decided to join the war and said she wanted to see the world Bai Ye would build.
• Big Mom tried to persuade Bai Ye to have children with her, and Bai Ye cut her off.