Chapter Summaries

Im ordered that Celestial Dragons who refused to stay would be killed, then weighed Bai Ye’s threat and decided to preserve his weapon for a chance to use it against him. The Five Elders began planning the battle lines, but worried that the Marines might rebel because the World Government lacked leverage over their families.

• Im ordered his subordinates to kill any Celestial Dragons who tried to leave, then dismissed them from the Flower Chamber.
• Im feared Bai Ye might surpass Joy Boy and decided not to use his weapon against Elbaf, saving it for a possible opening against Bai Ye.
• The Five Elders rejected putting all the pirates at the front and discussed mixing pirates, Marines, and CP forces across the battle lines.
• The Five Elders worried the Marines might rebel and recognized that the Navy soldiers’ families were not under the World Government’s control.

The Five Elders realized that Marine families gathered at Marine Headquarters could not easily be used to pressure the Marines, and decided to test their loyalty while seeking more combat strength. Doflamingo confronted them over their hypocrisy as they tried to recruit him, leaving their negotiations tense.

• Saint Saturn questioned whether the Marines would send their families to the Holy Land, and the Five Elders considered the request a way to probe the Marines' intentions.
• The Five Elders ordered action against Doflamingo first and planned to contact the Marines afterward.
• Doflamingo mocked the Five Elders when they returned, pointing out that they had once refused to let him return to the Holy Land but now wanted his help.
• Saint Saturn claimed the World Government was taking pity on Doflamingo and warned him against cooperating with Bai Ye.
• Doflamingo exposed the Five Elders' need for his combat strength and ridiculed their claim of pity, leaving them forced to face the prospect of cooperating with someone they considered beneath them.

Doflamingo used the public announcement of his return to the Holy Land to pressure the Five Elders into offering him greater benefits for joining the World Government. After negotiating, he returned to his room and reflected on how different the Holy Land felt from the home he had once longed to reclaim.

• Doflamingo told Saint Saturn that his return to the Holy Land was already known throughout the Underworld, making his death or expulsion a public blow to the World Government.
• Saint Jaygarcia Saturn realized that Doflamingo had tied himself to the World Government’s cause to strengthen his bargaining position.
• Doflamingo explained that he had no way back and intended to gain as much as possible from the alliance.
• The Five Elders asked Doflamingo what he wanted, and he said his demands would exceed their previous offer.
• Doflamingo returned to his prepared room, looked over the Holy Land, and felt an unexpected sense of loss despite having returned.

Doflamingo reflected on returning to the Holy Land and told Trebol that the World Government had accepted their demands, but its weakness made victory uncertain. He decided to focus on preparing for the coming battle and keeping his family alive.

• Trebol worried that Doflamingo's mood meant their negotiations had failed, but Doflamingo said he was sentimental about returning to the Holy Land.
• Trebol asked about their conditions, and Doflamingo said the World Government had agreed to them and offered favorable terms.
• Trebol and the others were pleased, but Doflamingo warned that the World Government was not sure it could win.
• Doflamingo concluded that they needed to change their strategy, prepare for the battlefield, and prioritize survival over future gains.

Sengoku decided to talk with Bai Ye before choosing how to respond to the World Government’s demand for Marines as hostages. In Wano Country, Bai Ye and the former Rocks Pirates argued over whether Blackbeard’s betrayal made him untrustworthy, then confronted their own past at God Valley.

• Tsuru urged Sengoku to speak with Bai Ye, and Sengoku agreed to try before making a decision about the World Government’s demand.
• Whitebeard read that Blackbeard had gathered many pirates, while Bai Ye explained that the World Government had exposed Blackbeard’s ambitions to keep his forces in check.
• Golden Lion, Kaido, and Big Mom agreed that betrayers could not be trusted, prompting Bai Ye to remind them that they had also betrayed Rocks by holding back and trying to escape at God Valley.
• Whitebeard denied being a betrayer, saying he had fought until defeat was inevitable, and Bai Ye argued that he had claimed his war trophy before joining the battle.
• Bai Ye recalled that he had joined the Rocks Pirates as the best available way to survive in the New World until the God Valley Incident.

Bai Ye and the former Rocks Pirates argued over their choices during Rocks's downfall before Shanks reminded them to visit Elbaf. Gion then privately approached Bai Ye about the Marines, leaving him to hear what they wanted.

• Kaido, Big Mom, Golden Lion, and Old John challenged Bai Ye's criticism of their actions during the God Valley Incident, and Whitebeard objected when Bai Ye dragged him into the argument.
• Red-Hair stopped the bickering and reminded Bai Ye that they had agreed to visit Elbaf after handling the remaining matters.
• Bai Ye agreed to give Red-Hair face, and Shanks asked whether they should set out for Elbaf immediately.
• Gion arrived and asked to speak with Bai Ye alone, prompting Hancock and the others to wonder what she wanted.
• Bai Ye left with Gion and guessed that the Marines had sent her to approach him; Gion confirmed he had understood her reason for coming.

Gion arranged a call between Bai Ye and Sengoku, who wanted to discuss the Marines’ future with him. Tsuru invited Bai Ye to Marine Headquarters and asked him to bring Garp and the others; Bai Ye agreed, and Sengoku and Tsuru concluded that he must be confident no one there could defeat him.

• Bai Ye asked Gion whether Sengoku wanted to join him, and Gion admitted she did not know what Sengoku intended to discuss.
• Gion called Sengoku, and Tsuru took over the conversation, inviting Bai Ye to Marine Headquarters to talk in person.
• Tsuru asked Bai Ye to bring Garp and the others, and Bai Ye agreed despite the risk of entering Marine Headquarters.
• Tsuru told Sengoku that Bai Ye’s quick agreement showed his confidence in his own strength, and Sengoku accepted that Bai Ye was immensely powerful.
• Bai Ye decided to bring only Garp and three others, while Gion felt relieved that the Marines might avoid a conflict and join Bai Ye.

Bai Ye agreed to take four imprisoned Marines back to Marine Headquarters for talks after Sengoku requested their return. Sengoku told them the meeting concerned the Marines’ future, and the four realized Bai Ye’s role in that decision was more significant than they had expected.

• Gion told Bai Ye that Sengoku wanted the Marines returned to Marine Headquarters, and Bai Ye confirmed he would take four of them.
• Bai Ye told the prisoners their return was temporary and they might be sent back if negotiations failed.
• Bai Ye brought Garp and the others to Marine Headquarters, where Sengoku explained they needed to discuss the Marines’ future.
• Garp thanked Sengoku for rescuing them, but Sengoku clarified that the meeting was about the Marines’ fate.
• The four Marines understood that Bai Ye’s involvement in deciding the Marines’ future was significant.

Sengoku invited Bai Ye to discuss the Navy’s future after seeing how life in Wano Country differed from World Government rule. The Marines debated whether Sengoku was considering surrender, but he insisted that no decision had been made before the negotiations began.

• Garp reflected that Wano Country’s prosperity had changed how he understood Gion’s choice and the World Government’s failures.
• Kizaru and Akainu guessed that Sengoku wanted to surrender to pirates, but Sengoku clarified that he had only invited Bai Ye to talk.
• Aokiji supported discussing a future like Wano Country, while Akainu remained uneasy about the idea.
• Tsuru urged everyone to speak with Bai Ye, and Gion stayed quiet as she felt awkward about her past undercover mission.
• Garp dismissed the need to catch up, and Sengoku composed himself to negotiate with Bai Ye despite knowing he was at a disadvantage.

Bai Ye clarified that his meeting with Sengoku was only a discussion about Wano Country, and that he would take the four defeated Marines with him if they failed to agree. Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru, Kizaru, Aokiji, and Akainu discussed whether the Marines should break with the World Government, with the officers confirming that Wano Country offered its people a far better life.

• Bai Ye told Sengoku that the meeting was not yet a negotiation and that he would take the four Marines back as spoils of war if they reached no agreement.
• Sengoku admitted he felt troubled about acting against the Marines' traditions, while Garp argued that reform was necessary and Sengoku told him to be quiet.
• Tsuru asked whether Gion's reports about Wano Country were true, and Garp, Kizaru, Aokiji, and Akainu affirmed that conditions there were good.
• Tsuru and Kizaru expressed surprise that Akainu agreed, and Akainu insisted they should focus on the negotiations while acknowledging that Bai Ye's territory was unlike the World Government's.

Sengoku explained that the World Government had demanded the Marines’ families be moved to the Holy Land, effectively taking them hostage and prompting him to turn to Bai Ye. The Marines acknowledged that Bai Ye’s actions had weakened them and disrupted the world’s balance, leaving their cooperation with him as the World Government’s situation worsened.

• Tsuru remarked that Akainu had changed after what he experienced in Wano Country, while Garp teased him about what he had admitted in prison.
• Bai Ye asked why Sengoku had decided to cooperate, and Sengoku confirmed that the World Government had changed for the worse.
• Sengoku revealed that the World Government had ordered the Marines to move their families to the Holy Land, which he believed was an attempt to hold them hostage.
• Bai Ye pointed out that the Marines had lost much of their combat strength, and Sengoku conceded that only he and Tsuru remained among their stronger fighters.
• Tsuru told Sengoku that Bai Ye understood the Marines’ condition because his actions had weakened them and provoked the World Government.
• Sengoku stopped denying Bai Ye’s role, calling him the King of Destruction who had shattered the world’s balance.

Bai Ye rejected Sengoku’s belief that the existing order should be preserved and denied that he intended to replace the Celestial Dragons. Tsuru doubted that Bai Ye could prevent nobles from rising again after his death.

• Bai Ye condemned Sengoku’s balance strategy for preserving a system built on exploiting ordinary people.
• Sengoku acknowledged the system’s injustices but suspected Bai Ye wanted to become a new Celestial Dragon and rule the world.
• Bai Ye denied that ambition and explained that he had promised his followers that no one would become a Celestial Dragon, even though some had wanted that privilege.
• Bai Ye said there would be no more nobles, but Tsuru argued that they would inevitably return after he died.

Tsuru questioned whether Bai Ye could prevent a new ruling class from emerging, then stopped probing him about immortality. Sengoku asked how Bai Ye planned to connect the islands, and Bai Ye suggested the world had once been a single continent, leaving Sengoku to suspect Roger had told him the secret of Laugh Tale and the events of eight hundred years ago.

• Tsuru wondered whether Bai Ye’s followers might become Celestial Dragons and asked if he possessed Pure Gold, but then refused to continue discussing immortality.
• Bai Ye said the Marines saw matters differently from him, and Sengoku urged Tsuru to stop probing and speak plainly.
• Sengoku asked how Bai Ye intended to connect the islands and acknowledged that the World Government had begun plans to eliminate him.
• Bai Ye suggested the world might originally have been one continent that was split apart, perhaps by an event eight hundred years ago.
• Sengoku speculated that Roger had told Bai Ye what happened at Laugh Tale and considered whether that knowledge explained Bai Ye’s actions.

Bai Ye offered to tell the Marines the truth about what happened eight hundred years ago, but Sengoku, Tsuru, and Garp concluded that knowing it mattered less than having the strength to change the present. The discussion drifted from history to the alliance with Bai Ye, and Garp urged Sengoku to settle the deal before they had to return to prison.

• Bai Ye asked whether the Marines were afraid to learn the secret of Laugh Tale and said he would not force them to listen or join him.
• Sengoku said the truth of eight hundred years ago did not matter much under their uncertain circumstances, and Bai Ye agreed that strength was what could change history.
• Tsuru inferred that the World Government feared the ideals and events of the past because they threatened its rule, while Garp said its leaders likely wanted to hide their shameful deeds.
• Kizaru complained that the group was talking about history instead of discussing its alliance with Bai Ye, and Sengoku grew frustrated with him.
• Garp told Sengoku to stop overthinking and settle the cooperation with Bai Ye quickly, warning that they would have to go back to prison if no agreement was reached.

Sengoku gathered the Marines to discuss whether they would cooperate with Bai Ye and join his side, while Garp's teasing repeatedly irritated him. Sengoku made clear that joining was optional and depended on whether Bai Ye offered the Marines a workable new path, leaving the others to consider the choice.

• Sengoku lost his temper when Garp teased him with a phrase he had learned from Bai Ye, and Tsuru steered them back to the discussion.
• Bai Ye asked directly whether the Marines wanted to join his side, and Sengoku confirmed that they did but said joining was not mandatory.
• Sengoku explained that the Marines would cooperate only if Bai Ye's path offered them a viable future; otherwise, they would remain Marines and fight as before.
• Aokiji considered how the World Government had abandoned the Marines after Bai Ye captured them, while Garp hoped the talks would lead to change.
• Akainu reacted uneasily as Sengoku's proposal made the prospect of cooperation with Bai Ye explicit.

Sengoku told Akainu that he intended to abandon the World Government and join Bai Ye’s side to spare Marines from dying for the Celestial Dragons. Bai Ye then revealed that the World Government had released the pirates in Impel Down, and Akainu demanded confirmation from Sengoku.

• Akainu challenged Sengoku to say whether he had already decided to join Bai Ye’s side.
• Sengoku said the World Government had changed and he did not want Marines to die to preserve the Celestial Dragons’ rule.
• Akainu argued that switching sides would not prevent deaths and would reject the Navy’s past actions.
• Bai Ye pointed out that the World Government had released pirates from Impel Down and blamed him for it.
• Akainu grew furious at the news and asked Sengoku whether the World Government had truly released the pirates.

Akainu learned from Sengoku that the World Government had arranged for Blackbeard to release Impel Down prisoners and send them against Bai Ye. As Sengoku confirmed that Whitebeard had joined Bai Ye, the Marines realized how powerful Bai Ye’s alliance had become.

• Akainu confronted Sengoku about Bai Ye’s claim that the World Government had released Impel Down’s prisoners, and Sengoku’s answer dispelled Akainu’s last hope that the claim was false.
• Kizaru and Garp questioned why the prisoners would help the World Government, and Sengoku explained that the arrangement involved other transactions rather than direct cooperation.
• Sengoku identified Blackbeard, a Whitebeard Pirates traitor, as the man who took the prisoners from Impel Down and led them against Bai Ye on the World Government’s behalf.
• Bai Ye explained that Blackbeard and the World Government had become his enemies after Whitebeard joined him, and said he would deal with escaped pirates who opposed his rule.
• Sengoku and the others realized that Whitebeard and other New World powers had joined Bai Ye, and Tsuru wondered whether Shanks had joined him as well.

Sengoku and the Marines discussed Bai Ye’s growing power and the possibility of joining his fight against the World Government. Sengoku appeared ready to cooperate, but he asked Akainu for his opinion, leaving the Marines’ decision unresolved.

• Sengoku realized Bai Ye had united formidable New World forces, while Gion explained that the Marines lacked intelligence there because their forces had withdrawn.
• Garp accepted Gion’s explanation, then searched Sengoku’s office for senbei as Sengoku considered Bai Ye’s allies and the possible benefits of supporting him.
• Tsuru questioned whether Bai Ye needed the weakened Marines, and Bai Ye said they could join his fight against the World Government if Sengoku persuaded them.
• Aokiji questioned how quickly Sengoku seemed to accept cooperation, while Kizaru worried that Akainu would oppose an alliance with pirates.
• Sengoku asked Akainu what he thought, considering how he would respond if Akainu rejected the plan.

Akainu struggled to decide whether to join Bai Ye’s side, while Sengoku and Tsuru urged him to consider how the Marines needed to change. Bai Ye made clear that Akainu would either join and fight the pirates released from Impel Down or be imprisoned, leaving Akainu to weigh his choices.

• Sengoku asked Akainu whether he would join, and Akainu hesitated as he considered how the Marines’ situation had changed.
• Bai Ye said he had not expected Akainu to join and would not release him, since he would not send a powerful captive back to the World Government.
• Akainu challenged Bai Ye’s attempt to make him submit, and Bai Ye called him a trophy he would keep rather than return.
• Tsuru suggested Akainu could join and deal with the pirates from Impel Down, giving him a way to fight pirates while serving alongside Bai Ye.
• Akainu considered abandoning his old principles and changing with the Marines, while the others waited for him to choose between joining and prison.

Akainu agreed to fight the pirates in Impel Down while insisting he was not cooperating with Bai Ye. The Marines accepted the alliance, and Tsuru, Garp, and Sengoku reassured Gion that her earlier defection was not something they blamed her for.

• Sengoku realized Akainu was struggling with the choice, and Akainu refused to join the pirates.
• Akainu agreed to kill the pirates in Impel Down, claiming he acted only because he wanted them dead and was not cooperating with Bai Ye.
• Garp recognized that Akainu was helping them despite his words, while Sengoku and Tsuru felt relieved that the alliance could proceed.
• Tsuru told Gion they would fight side by side again, and Gion admitted she felt ashamed of defecting after being sent to spy.
• Garp and Sengoku told Gion she had simply understood the situation before they did, and Gion held back her further apologies.