Recaps

After Sengoku purged Victor’s allies from key Marine posts, Victor told Lite to strengthen the Blue Sea Society and take leave. Lite and the other leaders used the Society’s widespread influence to obstruct Sengoku’s orders, leaving the Marines divided and Sengoku unable to replace its many members quickly.

• Sengoku replaced Victor-affiliated officers with members of his dove faction, including commanders at the directly affiliated branches.
• Lite urged Victor to lead a fightback, but Victor advised him to strengthen the Blue Sea Society and continue doing his job before taking leave.
• Lite, Rodney, Felix, and the other core members agreed to use the Society’s presence throughout the branches to make Sengoku’s orders difficult to carry out.
• Blue Sea Society members picked fights and singled out outsiders at the Marine Academy, Headquarters, and branch bases.
• At the G1 Branch, soldiers complained about deteriorating meals after Victor’s subsidies stopped and delayed military funds left the branches short of money.
• Sengoku faced a growing internal conflict but could not quickly dismiss or replace the Blue Sea Society’s many members.

Sengoku investigated the Marines’ worsening response to pirate activity while Robin delivered Victor’s orders to Hancock and Crocodile. Robin then gave Crocodile a map of targets to attack, leaving him to carry out another operation for Victor.

• Woop Slap read that the Night Demon Pirates had raided the Kingdom of Goa before the Marines arrived.
• Sengoku reviewed complaints about Marine delays and manpower shortages, then ordered a secret investigation into the suspicious decline in pirate captures.
• Robin delivered Victor’s assassination orders and a perfume gift to Hancock, who eagerly accepted both.
• Robin traveled with Felix to Rain Dinners in Alabasta and met Crocodile, the casino owner and head of Baroque Works.
• Robin gave Crocodile a map marked with locations for his people to attack, and Crocodile asked whether Victor had calmed down.

Robin explained that Victor had deliberately let Crocodile discover his role in the attacks on World Government nations, while Crocodile remained focused on Victor’s promise concerning Pluton. Meanwhile, Hancock intercepted Reno’s SWORD unit as it traveled toward the East Blue and petrified the Marines, leaving her ready to report her success to Victor.

• Robin told Crocodile that Victor knew what he wanted and where to find Pluton, and Crocodile said he hoped Victor would keep his promise.
• A SWORD warship commanded by Reno departed for the East Blue, and its crew complained about being assigned to investigate the region.
• A Sea Serpent attacked the warship, and Hancock arrived on deck wearing a mask.
• Hancock revealed herself to Reno and the SWORD Marines and asked them for a favor.
• Hancock used her heart-shaped beams to petrify the SWORD unit and prepared to report her achievement to Victor.

Robin reported that the SWORD unit had vanished in the Calm Belt, while Sengoku struggled with the Navy’s finances and growing pirate attacks. On Punk Hazard, Lucci uncovered shocking human experiments and photographed the evidence.

• Robin told Victor that the SWORD unit’s people and ship had sunk into the Calm Belt, and Victor ordered Tesoro to expand into the New World.
• Carlisle brought Sengoku a 3.9-billion-Beli Science Unit expense request, which Sengoku approved after hearing Vegapunk would appeal to the Gorosei.
• Sengoku assigned Kizaru to investigate pirate attacks on the port cities and royal capitals of affiliated countries.
• Lucci photographed inhumane experiments at the Punk Hazard laboratory and escaped through a door Bruno opened.
• Lucci showed the photographs to Jabura, who was horrified by what they revealed.

Lucci delivered photographs of the World Government’s horrific human experiments to Victor, and Victor used them to provoke Aokiji into confronting the secret research base on Punk Hazard. Aokiji rode off in anger, while Victor left to continue his plan to remove dove-faction Marines from headquarters and turn them against the World Government.

• Lucci showed Victor photographs of the Science Unit’s inhumane experiments, which had deeply shaken Lucci and Jabura.
• Victor explained his strategy of intensifying the Navy’s internal conflict until the Gorosei intervened.
• Victor met Aokiji at sea and handed him photographs from an anonymous report.
• After seeing the images, Aokiji froze the surrounding sea and demanded to know where the experiments had occurred.
• Victor told Aokiji the photographs came from a secret Science Unit base on Punk Hazard, and Aokiji rode away.
• Victor reflected that provoking Aokiji and Zephyr would remove obstacles at headquarters and create trouble for the World Government, then flew away.

Aokiji confirmed that the Science Unit’s laboratory held children who matched missing-person reports, while Victor set out to deepen the rift between Aokiji, Zephyr, and Sengoku. The chapter ended with Victor telling Zephyr he had heard something about Kuzan.

• Aokiji searched Marine Headquarters’ missing-person archives and found that many missing children matched photographs from the laboratory.
• Momousagi and Chaton visited Victor to explain that Zephyr felt guilty about the fleet admiral decision, and Victor reassured them that he held no grudge against his teacher.
• Victor decided to visit Zephyr at the military academy and brought Sabo and Kuina along to see the grounds.
• Victor interrupted Zephyr’s attempt to apologize and told him that he had heard something about Kuzan.

Victor planted doubts in Zephyr about the Science Unit and promised to look after Kuzan. Meanwhile, Aokiji infiltrated a supply ship at Punk Hazard and watched Caesar Clown accept a delivery, leaving him closer to discovering what the laboratory was doing.

• Victor told Zephyr that Kuzan and Zephyr were vulnerable to people who exploited their good nature, then hinted that something was wrong with the Science Unit.
• Zephyr pressed Victor for details, but Victor claimed the matter was confidential and promised to take good care of Kuzan.
• Sengoku struggled to choose a successor to command the Science Unit while its research earned praise from the World Government.
• Aokiji secretly boarded a Science Unit M supply ship after months of watching its deliveries to Punk Hazard.
• Caesar Clown signed for the materials without checking them and resented Vegapunk for rejecting his proposals for earlier human experiments.

Aokiji entered Punk Hazard’s experimental base and found children being drugged and used in cruel experiments, prompting him to freeze workers and investigate the laboratories. He confronted Caesar, but Vice Admiral Carlisle arrived before Aokiji could act against him.

• Aokiji found drugged children in a storage room and froze four workers who arrived to collect them.
• Aokiji moved through the base, freezing workers as surveillance feeds went dark and the corridors grew cold.
• Carlisle received a call that abruptly cut off, then left his office with his saber to investigate.
• Aokiji questioned Caesar about his experiments, and Caesar proudly showed him a deformed child.
• Carlisle arrived as Aokiji darkened his expression and prepared to act.

Aokiji confronted Carlisle and Caesar over the experiments on Punk Hazard, where children had been used as test subjects. He halted the island’s experiments and learned that other experimental bases existed, then challenged Carlisle over the Marines’ claim to uphold justice.

• Aokiji froze the guards at Punk Hazard’s laboratory and questioned Carlisle about the experiments and the children in the cultivation tanks.
• Aokiji stopped Caesar from leaving and had Carlisle contact Sengoku, who claimed the Marines only secured experiments designed by Vegapunk.
• Aokiji told Sengoku that the children were nearly unresponsive; Sengoku promised an investigation, but Aokiji said he had already stopped the experiments.
• Aokiji ordered Carlisle to shut down all experiments on the island, then pressed Caesar for answers when Carlisle warned him about disobeying the World Government.
• Caesar blamed Vegapunk and said there were many other experimental bases, prompting Aokiji to freeze half of him and ask Carlisle whether Marines committing crimes could still carry out justice.

Aokiji fought Carlisle at Punk Hazard after rejecting the Navy’s justification for sacrificing people, then confronted Victor, who had been ordered by Sengoku to bring him back. Victor dismissed Aokiji’s question about justice, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Aokiji refused Carlisle’s defense of the Science Unit’s experiments and said he was prepared to fight him.
• Carlisle attacked Aokiji but was defeated in one move and held at swordpoint.
• Victor learned Sengoku’s conversation with Aokiji had driven a wedge between them, then received Sengoku’s order to bring Aokiji back.
• Victor arrived at Punk Hazard, found the base and its people frozen, and met Aokiji, who demanded to question Sengoku in person.
• Aokiji asked whether Victor believed Sengoku’s justice was right, and Victor laughed and called the question immature.

Victor persuaded Aokiji to stop criticizing others and act according to his own convictions, and Aokiji left Punk Hazard. Three months later, with Aokiji still missing, Zephyr visited Victor to ask what had happened, but Victor directed him to Sengoku.

• Victor told Aokiji that people acted according to their own interests and that changing them required strength rather than criticism.
• Aokiji thanked Victor and left Punk Hazard, and Victor was pleased that he had set Aokiji on a new path.
• Victor told Sengoku that Aokiji had left and that Punk Hazard's laboratory was frozen; Marines took over the island and treated the frostbitten Science Unit members.
• Aokiji remained out of contact for a month, leaving no admiral on duty at Marine Headquarters.
• Zephyr visited Victor's villa to ask about Aokiji, and Victor claimed the matter was classified and told him to ask Sengoku.

After three months traveling after the Punk Hazard incident, Aokiji saw how pirates and corrupt, burdensome taxes shaped ordinary people’s lives in a World Government-affiliated kingdom. He left the ship at Antares Port, aware that his identity as a Marine Admiral would not let him change what he had witnessed.

• Zephyr questioned Sengoku about Kuzan’s disappearance, but Sengoku refused to reveal the classified details and promised they would find Kuzan.
• Tsuru summoned Sengoku to Mary Geoise, then acknowledged that they needed to discuss Kuzan’s disappearance with Kong.
• Aokiji traveled aboard a cargo ship with Casly and watched its crew stay alert for pirates while carrying goods.
• At Antares Port, Rodria Kingdom tax officials demanded steep fees from shipowner Will, who paid after complaining that the charges left him little chance to profit.
• Aokiji reflected on how local officials collected Celestial Gold and Marine protection fees, then disembarked without revealing his identity.

Aokiji continued rescuing civilians and disrupting World Government operations, drawing CP0’s anger and forcing Sengoku to respond. Sengoku suspended Aokiji and appointed Kizaru as the new admiral, leaving Marines across Headquarters stunned.

• Aokiji rescued people and helped Marines while freezing CP0 agents during secret missions, prompting Rooney to threaten Sengoku over the matter.
• Sengoku received Victor’s message that Kizaru was being summoned to Headquarters, while Victor continued training Sabo, Kuina, and Luo.
• Sengoku told Kizaru about Aokiji’s clash with CP0 and asked him to bring Aokiji back.
• Sengoku offered Kizaru an admiral promotion, and Kizaru accepted the assignment despite worrying about the consequences of fighting Aokiji.
• Sengoku suspended Aokiji from his duties and appointed Kizaru as the new admiral, shocking Momonga, Momousagi, Chaton, and the others.

Zephyr visited Victor after learning that Aokiji had been suspended and asked what had happened. Victor revealed that the World Government’s Science Division had been experimenting on ordinary people and children to create powerful weapons, leaving Zephyr furious and suspecting that this was why Aokiji had left the Marines.

• Sengoku sent Kizaru on a mission immediately after his promotion, while Zephyr learned that Aokiji had been suspended.
• Zephyr went to Sabaody Archipelago to seek answers from Victor, whom he trusted more than Sengoku or Tsuru.
• Victor explained that MADS had discovered the Bloodline Factor and that the World Government had recruited Vegapunk to lead its Science Division.
• Victor told Zephyr that the Science Division was trying to combine traits from giants and Lunarians to create stronger killing machines.
• Victor revealed that researchers had begun experimenting on ordinary people, especially children, because developing suitable subjects took too long.
• Zephyr clenched his fists as he realized the experiments could explain Aokiji’s departure, while Victor said Sengoku had only followed the World Government’s orders.

Victor learned that Zephyr was heading to retrieve Aokiji and arranged both an assassination attempt and protection for his teacher. Aokiji continued attacking World Government agents, while Kizaru received orders to track him down.

• Zephyr understood that Aokiji had discovered the World Government’s experiments and left because his faith in the Marines had collapsed, but he insisted on guiding Victor toward justice.
• Aokiji searched a frozen CP7 ship near Natako Island and left after finding intelligence about the World Government’s dark deeds.
• Kizaru learned that Aokiji had attacked the CP7 ship, and Stolojerry relayed the news to Zephyr, who set out to bring Aokiji back.
• Victor learned of the attack through Spandine’s intelligence network and ordered Lucci to disguise himself as a CP9 agent and kill Aokiji with Seastone bullets.
• Victor ordered Wright to send nearby Marines to protect Zephyr and support him if necessary.

Kizaru led a Marine operation to capture Aokiji, while CP0 watched to ensure the Marines did not go easy on him. Kizaru attacked Aokiji on the deserted island, and the chapter ended with the two Admirals locked in an even sword clash as Lucci aimed a Seastone bullet at Aokiji.

• Kizaru delayed the operation while CP0 agents and Strooberry waited for him to give the order.
• Kizaru flew to the deserted island and attacked Aokiji with a laser and Yasakani no Magatama, leveling much of the island without injuring him.
• Kizaru charged Aokiji with Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, and Aokiji met him with an ice blade; their clash carved out a huge crater.
• Lucci aimed a Science Unit sniper rifle loaded with a Seastone bullet at Aokiji's heart.

Kizaru gained the upper hand against Aokiji with Lucci’s sniper support, but Zephyr arrived and tried to take Aokiji away. The CP0 agents ordered the Navy forces on the island to move against anyone who obstructed them, and a red flare signaled the impending attack.

• Lucci distracted Aokiji with his sniper rifle, allowing Kizaru to land a Light Speed Kick and press his attack.
• Kizaru broke through Aokiji’s ice defenses and blasted him apart with light bullets, though Aokiji re-formed with injuries.
• The CP0 agents praised Kizaru’s performance and discussed recruiting Lucci into CP0.
• Zephyr arrived by warship, broke up the fight, and announced that he would take Aokiji back despite Kizaru’s orders from Sengoku.
• The Matamata mask agent ordered the forces on the island to treat anyone who obstructed them as a deserter, and the Blue-demon mask agent fired a red signal flare.

Aokiji tried to break through the Marine and CP0 forces surrounding him on the deserted island, while Zephyr’s presence made it difficult for him to fight freely. Kizaru and the others pressed their attack, and Kizaru melted Aokiji’s spreading ice with his light powers.

• Strobbery led the Marines from ten warships onto the island after receiving the order to land.
• Mandy and four other old vice admirals confronted Zephyr and warned him to stop obstructing their mission to bring Aokiji back.
• Aokiji refused to return with Zephyr, and the Matamata mask agent and two other CP0 agents began attacking.
• Aokiji raised an ice wall to separate Zephyr from the fighting, but Kizaru, the CP0 agents, and the five vice admirals surrounded him.
• Aokiji froze the ground and sent hundreds of ice spikes toward his attackers.
• Kizaru transformed into a ball of light and melted the ice filling the air as Aokiji focused on escaping.

Aokiji and Kizaru fought while Zephyr intervened to protect his former student from CP0 and the Marines trying to take him away. As Zephyr’s students arrived to defend him, Felix accused the CP0 agents of being pirates plotting to assassinate Zephyr, and the agents landed amid raised guns and drawn blades.

• Aokiji unleashed Ice Age against Kizaru, who used his light and heat to melt the ice and protect those near him.
• Zephyr attacked Kizaru, then joined Aokiji in fighting him as the two Logia users clashed.
• Zephyr challenged Mandy and the other Marines and agents, accusing them of driving Kuzan away from justice, while they insisted they only wanted to take him to Headquarters.
• More than a dozen Blue Sea Society warships arrived, and Felix announced that they had come to protect Zephyr.
• Felix accused the CP0 agents of impersonating pirates who planned to assassinate Zephyr, and the agents charged onto his ship as the Marines raised guns and drew blades.

Rodney and the Marines captured the three CP0 agents and surrounded Vice Admiral Mandy’s forces, following Victor’s orders. Victor then protected Zephyr from being caught in the fight and allowed Kizaru and Kuzan to continue their duel elsewhere.

• Onigumo and Dogman defeated the Red-demon and Blue-demon mask agents while Rodney restrained the Cat-masked agent.
• Victor warned the Cat-masked agent over a Den Den Mushi, and Rodney handcuffed all three CP0 agents.
• Rodney’s Marines surrounded Vice Admiral Mandy and his forces, and Rodney arrested Mandy on Victor’s orders.
• Victor reassured Zephyr and told Kizaru he could pursue Kuzan but must keep Zephyr out of danger.
• Victor ordered Kizaru and Kuzan to move their duel elsewhere while the other Marines returned to their warships.

Victor defended his actions to Sengoku after Aokiji escaped, while CP0 pressured the Fleet Admiral to punish him. Victor reassured Zephyr that he would be safe, even if he had to establish a new Marine force.

• Sengoku confronted Victor over Aokiji’s escape, but Victor blamed Kizaru’s failure and invoked Zephyr to defend his actions.
• Victor offered to lead a Buster Call against Aokiji, leaving Sengoku unable to accept without undermining his authority and support.
• CP0 arrived to pressure Sengoku into punishing Victor, while Victor’s colleagues reassured themselves that they would protest any punishment.
• Akainu warned Victor that CP0’s mobilization could make the dispute difficult, but Victor said the World Government would avoid losing another admiral-level combatant.
• Victor returned to his villa, reassured Zephyr, and said he could establish a new Marine force if the World Government pursued responsibility.

Victor encouraged Zephyr to consider forming a new navy, then encountered Ain and her fellow trainees. At Pangaea Castle, Sengoku accepted responsibility for the clash and ordered Zephyr, Victor, and the participating marines suspended, leaving him at risk of losing support from both Navy factions.

• Victor suggested that Zephyr consider establishing a new navy and escorted him back to the academy.
• Victor met Ain and three other Blue Sea Society students, who admired him and hoped to serve beside him after graduation.
• The Gorosei reprimanded Sengoku over Aokiji and his failure to control the Navy, especially his handling of CP0.
• Sengoku ordered Zephyr, Victor, and the marines involved in the operation suspended and placed under investigation.
• Kong warned Sengoku that the incident would make his position at headquarters harder, while Sengoku realized the doves and hawks could both turn away from him and rally behind Victor.

Victor was summoned to the Military Police Department for an investigation, but he refused to be treated as a prisoner and overpowered the officials who tried to restrain him. At the department, he crushed Hayward’s three heads into the floor after Hayward transformed into a Cerberus.

• CP0 agents, military police, and Marine inspectors surrounded Victor’s villa and demanded that he come in for questioning.
• Victor seized the Matamata mask agent by the neck when the agents tried to put seastone handcuffs on him, and Spandine intervened to calm the confrontation.
• Victor told Stella and the others to remain at home, then went to the Military Police Department with Light, Connor, and the others.
• Hayward heard that Victor’s group had beaten the military police in the lobby and came downstairs with a whip to confront them.
• Hayward transformed into a Cerberus, but Victor turned into a gigantic Titan and slammed Hayward’s three heads into the floor.

Victor subdued Hayward at the Military Police Department and let Wilkin turn the investigation into a sham, while Zephyr was taken to Enies Lobby. Zephyr’s students sought Victor’s help, and Stella turned to Robin, who insisted on waiting three days before beginning Victor’s planned operation.

• Victor forced Hayward to the ground, then returned to human form and had Wilkin let him and his companions rest instead of questioning them.
• Zephyr accepted arrest by Enies Lobby’s judicial guards, and his students headed to Sabaody to seek Victor’s help.
• The students learned Victor was at the Military Police Department, so Stella offered to help them while they waited for his return.
• Stella contacted Robin, who said there was no need to act urgently and asked for three days.
• Robin showed Crocodile a map of targets and said they would begin operations in three days, following Victor’s plan.

While Victor and his allies awaited the Military Police Department’s investigation, Zephyr met Yuro, a tortured young Revolutionary Army recruit, in prison and heard why he had joined the fight. The chapter ended with Sengoku discovering a mass sit-in demanding the release of Zephyr and Victor.

• A military policeman secretly told Victor that everyone had gathered at the military academy and would reach headquarters the next day.
• Zephyr helped the badly injured Yuro after prison guards threw him into their cell.
• Yuro told Zephyr that the World Government had enslaved his hometown over unpaid Celestial Gold, and that he joined the Revolutionary Army to protect his family.
• Yuro admitted that he had been afraid in battle but refused to betray the Revolutionary Army because his two younger sisters depended on its protection.
• Sengoku heard the crowd outside Marine Headquarters and saw tens of thousands of people holding signs and banners demanding that Zephyr and Victor be released.