Recaps

Kuzan joined the Land of Grass and was appointed its first Fleet Admiral, though he suspected the easy recruitment and prestigious role concealed a scheme. The king introduced a familiar, blind assistant, leaving Kuzan speechless.

• Kuzan offered to join the Land of Grass, and the king hired him immediately without asking for a pledge of loyalty.
• Kuzan asked what work he would do, and the king assured him the country would not ask him to betray the Marines or commit crimes.
• The king gave Kuzan a prepared appointment naming him the Land of Grass's first Fleet Admiral and said the country needed a navy to protect its waters and people.
• Kuzan suggested killing a Celestial Dragon to prove his sincerity, but the king refused and promised him full support and a capable assistant.
• A blind man approached Kuzan and greeted him as Admiral Aokiji, leaving Kuzan silent again.

Kuzan was recruited by the King of the Land of Grass immediately and appointed Fleet Admiral of its Navy, leaving him unsure how to explain the situation to Sengoku. When he reported his unexpected success, Sengoku mistook the appointment for a powerless post and proposed ways to advance his infiltration, until Kuzan revealed his new rank.

• Kuzan left the King's office with a Talent Introduction form and an appointment letter naming him Fleet Admiral of the Land of Grass Navy, while Issho warned that he would watch him closely.
• Kuzan answered Sengoku's secret call and was formally assigned to infiltrate the Land of Grass as a traitor to Navy Headquarters, with Sengoku as his sole contact.
• Kuzan told Sengoku that the King had accepted his application immediately, without any negotiation or trial mission.
• Sengoku guessed that the King had given Kuzan a marginal position to humiliate Navy Headquarters, then assumed he could still rise through the ranks.
• Kuzan revealed that he was already Fleet Admiral of the Land of Grass Navy, prompting Sengoku to ask whether he had betrayed the Navy and World Government.

Kuzan told Sengoku that the Land of Grass had made him its Fleet Admiral, while Sengoku mistook his assistant Issho for a suspicious outsider and offered to help Kuzan take control of the new navy. The chapter ended with the seas reacting to a wave of changes, including Kuzan’s public defection, Akainu’s appointment, and the Land of Grass establishing its own navy with Kuzan at its head.

• Kuzan told Sengoku he suspected the Land of Grass had appointed him Fleet Admiral as a figurehead and assigned Issho to watch him.
• Sengoku promised Navy Headquarters would secretly help Kuzan gain control of the Land of Grass navy, then asked about Issho and offered to have him removed.
• Kuzan described Issho’s appearance and mentioned he was blind before ending the call; Sengoku wondered whether Kuzan had truly defected.
• Sengoku learned that the World Government’s appointment letter had arrived, as the chapter reported that he resigned and Akainu became Fleet Admiral.
• The World Government announced that Marshall D. Teach and Trafalgar Law would become Shichibukai and that it would begin a World Conscription.
• The Land of Grass announced its own navy and named Kuzan its first Fleet Admiral, stunning people across the seas.

Akainu and Sengoku discussed Aokiji becoming Fleet Admiral of the Land of Grass, the Navy’s planned World Conscription, and the World Government’s effort to control public opinion through BBC News Agency. As Sengoku went to meet the agency’s president, an estranged father and son faced each other at Marineford Harbor and silently judged that the World Government was doomed to fall.

• Akainu angrily condemned Aokiji’s appointment as Fleet Admiral of the Land of Grass, while Sengoku urged him not to doubt Kuzan’s justice.
• Sengoku explained that the Navy would launch a massive World Conscription to strengthen its forces against the Land of Grass and rising pirates.
• Sengoku told Akainu that the World Government had hired BBC News Agency to promote the Navy and that its president had arrived at Marineford.
• Sengoku left to check on the delayed visitors, while a father and son who had not met in a long time silently faced each other at Marineford Harbor.

Kabuto’s Navy role appeared in the World Government’s conscription film, astonishing the ninjas of the Land of Grass, while Kusana claimed he had sent out a trump card. At Marineford, four elderly newcomers arrived to enlist and introduced themselves as Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu, leaving Sengoku convinced they were no ordinary people.

• Mujie recognized his son Kabuto at Navy Headquarters, but kept their relationship hidden while Sengoku praised Kabuto’s promotion and tragic family history.
• Sengoku and Mujie arranged for Kabuto to feature prominently in the World Conscription film, and Kabuto left without revealing his feelings to his father.
• The Land of Grass’s ninjas watched Kabuto appear as a Navy poster figure, and Kusana said he had already sent out their trump card.
• A few days later, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu arrived at Marineford to join the conscription.
• The four elders introduced themselves to Sengoku, whose impression of their imposing presence was that they were no ordinary people.

Kusana sent Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu away, apparently hoping Danzō would join the World Government and give the Land of Grass a worthy opponent. As the four elders continued their spy mission, Danzō asked whether they truly wanted to keep going as before.

• Kusana wrote a Spirit of Grass edition of the Navy Training Manual and planned for Kuzan to use it to train the Land of Grass navy.
• Robin warned Kusana that Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu might break their agreement and oppose the Land of Grass by joining the World Government.
• Kusana denied that he would harm his dear friends, but his excitement at the prospect of fighting Danzō again made Robin doubt his sincerity.
• Danzō sneezed while walking with Hiruzen, who was in a wheelchair, and the two wondered whether people in Konoha still remembered them.
• Hiruzen said the four elders would continue their spy mission, but Danzō turned to Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu and asked if they merely wanted to carry on as before.

Danzo rallied Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura to regain hope and fight the Land of Grass, and Sengoku welcomed them as powerful recruits for the Marines. Their renewed resolve faltered when two Grass bandits appeared at Navy Headquarters, leaving the six staring at one another in dismay.

• Danzo reminded his companions of Konoha’s humiliation and invoked the Will of Fire to persuade them not to give up.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu agreed to fight alongside Danzo and regained their determination.
• Sengoku praised the four as extraordinary recruits and offered them Navy Rear Admiral ranks while asking them to promote the World Conscription.
• Two Grass bandits arrived, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others realized that their supposed chance to fight the Land of Grass had brought them face-to-face with their captors.

Kuzan struggled with the Land of Grass Navy’s tiny size while studying its Spirit of Grass, then met the King’s new recruits and learned how the navy would begin training. The chapter left Black Zetsu serving under Kuzan and Issho, concealing his resentment for his mother’s sake.

• Kuzan read about Navy Headquarters’ recruitment and reflected on how the Land of Grass Navy had only himself and Issho.
• Kuzan studied the Spirit of Grass and concluded that it served as the Land of Grass’s guiding belief.
• Kuzan met Kusana, Pakura, and Black Zetsu at the navy headquarters, recognizing Pakura as the woman at the center of the Celestial Dragon incident.
• Kusana gave Kuzan the Land of Grass Navy Training Manual and appointed Pakura to assist with naval training.
• Kusana introduced Black Zetsu as an inheritor of the Spirit of Grass and told Kuzan and Issho to discipline him if necessary.
• Black Zetsu introduced himself as Little Black and agreed to work under Kuzan and Issho for his mother’s sake.

Black Zetsu joined the newly forming Navy to gather energy for another Divine Tree, hoping to help save his mother. Kuzan and Issho suspected he was closely connected to the King of the Land of Grass, while Kuzan later received a trembling Den Den Mushi and called Sengoku with important intelligence.

• Black Zetsu recalled that the King of the Land of Grass had given him the goal of gathering energy to nourish another Divine Tree, and he joined the Navy to do it.
• Kuzan and Issho watched Black Zetsu linger after the King left and suspected that he had a special connection to the King.
• Kuzan called Black Zetsu Little Black and questioned him about his relationship with the King and his mother.
• Black Zetsu insisted he had no father and praised his mother as the most beautiful, reinforcing Kuzan's suspicion that their family ties were unusual.
• Kuzan noticed a Den Den Mushi trembling in his clothes, excused himself, and called Sengoku from a secluded room to report important intelligence.

Kusana returned to the ninja world to bring the remaining ninja forces into the Land of Grass's East Blue Overlord Plan and visited Kaguya on the moon. After gathering the ninjas in Kusagakure, he ordered them to set off for the sea.

• Kusana planned to send most of the ninja villages' forces to the East Blue, recruit Water Release users for the navy, and establish a Navy Academy.
• Kusana visited Mrs. Kaguya on the moon and told her that Black Zetsu was serving at the Land of Grass's Navy Headquarters.
• Kusana returned to Kusagakure, where the ninjas from the Four Great Ninja Villages and Robin were assembled.
• Jiraiya teased Kusana about visiting a lonely woman, and Kusana claimed he had visited the family of a hardworking subordinate.
• Jiraiya asked Kusana to spare his teachers, but Kusana insisted that Hiruzen, Danzō, and the others were his close friends and had a mission to complete at sea.
• Kusana asked Robin about the ninja world's situation, then ordered the assembled ninjas to set off.

Kusana settled the newly arrived ninjas into the Land of Grass and checked on the training and research underway before visiting the pregnant Kushina. Meanwhile, Obito brought Kakashi to a street on the island to wait for Afei.

• Kusana handed the ninjas he had brought across the sea to Kusagakure staff and left their transition and training to them.
• Kusana noted that Naruto, Sasuke, and others were training Haki and Sage Curse Marks while the Research Institute studied life energy and ways to improve training.
• Kusana visited the resting Kushina, told her Kakashi had arrived, and suggested naming their expected daughter Little Jiu.
• Obito brought Kakashi to a busy street and explained that they were waiting there for Afei to join them.

Kakashi, Obito, and Tobi encountered Hashirama and Tobirama, who revealed that Madara had created Tobi using Hashirama’s cells. The Hokage brothers left to pursue another task, and Kakashi was left wondering what mission awaited him in the unfamiliar world.

• Kakashi greeted Hashirama and Tobirama when they approached the group.
• Tobirama and Hashirama recognized Tobi as someone Madara had created using Hashirama’s cells, and Hashirama thanked Tobi for keeping Madara company.
• Hashirama and Tobirama set off to stop someone from escaping, while Tobirama assured Kakashi that Hiruzen and the others were safe.
• Obito asked Kakashi what they should do next, and Kakashi walked ahead, considering whether he would begin a new mission in this world.

After the World Conscription ended, Navy Headquarters grew concerned about the Land of Grass’s expanding navy and its recruits preparing for live-combat training. Both Sengoku and Kusana held emergency meetings as the Land of Grass faced a severe budget shortage, and Fleet Admiral Kuzan was asked for a solution.

• The World Conscription brought Navy Headquarters four veteran recruits and one new Marine Admiral, while the Whitebeard Pirates put a kill order on Marshall D. Teach.
• The BBC Daily rose to challenge Morgans’s news agency after gaining support from the World Government.
• Sengoku reviewed reports that the Land of Grass’s navy was preparing live-combat training and that the nation was nearly out of money.
• Sengoku convened the secret anti-Land of Grass task force and asked Danzo for his opinion.
• Kusana held a meeting about the Land of Grass’s looming financial crisis and asked Fleet Admiral Kuzan what they should do.

At the Anti-Grass Special Task Force’s first meeting, Danzo misread the Grass leader’s refusal to stay in contact as a challenge to a final showdown. He offered Sengoku a plan to hurt the Land of Grass: divert disaster elsewhere and sow discord.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others learned that the Land of Grass had told them to handle the mission themselves and would not contact them again.
• Danzo recalled that the Grass leader had hung up on him, and he grew angry at what he took to be a slight.
• Kabuto reassured Danzo that the Grass leader wanted an honorable final battle and reminded him of their past encounter in the Land of Rain.
• Danzo decided to accept the supposed challenge and, after Sengoku called him back to the meeting, proposed diverting disaster and sowing discord.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other Konoha elders accepted Kusana’s challenge and resolved to rise again. Meanwhile, Kusana planned to fund Grass Navy training by catching pirates and mining Sky Island gold, while Kuzan struggled with his loyalty and ended by asking Sengoku for better Navy Headquarters pay and benefits.

• Danzo assured Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other elders that Kusana had genuinely released them, and they decided to accept his challenge and renew their resolve.
• Kusana rejected Kuzan’s suggestion to suspend Grass Navy training and planned to make pirates suffer while the Land of Grass mined Sky Island gold.
• Robin asked whether Kuzan should be watched, but Kusana insisted the cadres should trust him and focus outward.
• Kuzan reflected on how rapidly the Grass Navy had grown and considered recruiting Kisame Hoshigaki for Navy Headquarters, but Kisame asked about pay, benefits, and working hours instead.
• Kuzan received a call from Sengoku and immediately asked whether Navy Headquarters could improve its salaries and benefits.

Sengoku weighed the risks of recruiting from the Land of Grass and praised Hiruzen, Danzo, Homura, and Lady Koharu as new Navy talents before assigning Kuzan a plan to sow discord. At the Land of Grass Navy’s live-combat training, Kusana introduced an unexpected group from Navy Headquarters led by a cigar-smoking figure who greeted Kuzan.

• Sengoku decided that Navy Headquarters should be cautious about poaching recruits from the Land of Grass and admired the four former Konoha leaders Danzo had recruited.
• Sengoku told Kuzan to carry out the next stage of the plan to sow discord.
• Kusana inspected the Land of Grass Navy’s assembled recruits and praised Kuzan for training them well.
• Kusana told Kuzan that a senior had come to help with the live-combat training and summoned a group in Navy Headquarters uniforms.
• A cigar-smoking figure at the head of the group approached Kuzan and greeted him after a long time.

Kuzan joined the Land of Grass Navy as its Fleet Admiral and sailed with its recruits on their first open-sea operation, while Smoker questioned his loyalties and asked about Navy Headquarters’ plans. Kuzan told Smoker to stay out of the operation, but the fleet stopped to camp with several hundred kilometers still to go.

• The Land of Grass Navy set sail on its first open-sea operation, accompanied by Kuzan, Smoker, and Tashigi aboard a Navy Headquarters warship.
• Smoker confronted Kuzan about joining the Land of Grass, and Kuzan hinted that his reasons were already known to the people who needed to know.
• Smoker explained that cooperation with the Land of Grass could help Loguetown and nearby islands, and Kuzan told him to do as he pleased while reminding him to follow his justice.
• Smoker asked about Navy Headquarters’ plans and whether to report the King of the Land of Grass, but Kuzan said the operation concerned a search for Sky Island and ordered him not to intervene.
• A Marine reported that the Land of Grass Navy had decided to camp despite being three islands, and several hundred kilometers, from their destination.

Kusana’s group searched for the Knock Up Stream while Kusana tried to recruit Nami to the Land of Grass, and Tobirama questioned whether the Grass Ninja Navy could withstand the Navy. Meanwhile, Kuzan and Smoker found a newly built fortress where the Grass Ninja Navy had stopped, and Kuzan demanded to know why they were there.

• Kusana’s group reached the sea region where the Knock Up Stream was supposed to appear, but the sea remained calm and Nami complained about being made to search for it.
• Kusana offered to fund Nami’s dream of drawing a nautical chart, prompting Nami, Vivi, and Robin to suspect he was trying to trick her.
• Tobirama asked whether Kusana feared the Navy would destroy the Grass Ninja Navy, and Kusana replied that Tobirama did not understand Grass Ninja.
• Kuzan and Smoker arrived at the Grass Ninja Navy’s station and saw a crude fortress that a Navy soldier claimed had appeared moments earlier.
• Kuzan wondered whether the Grass Ninja Navy had uncovered his secret mission, then asked why they had stopped there.

Kuzan questioned why the Land of Grass Navy had stopped short of its target, then discovered they had already devised a cautious plan and captured the pirate captain. The chapter left him baffled when the soldiers claimed their ruthless tactics came from the Spirit of Grass and said he had not studied it deeply enough.

• Kuzan found the Land of Grass Navy setting up camp before reaching their destination and challenged them about delaying their mission.
• The soldiers explained that they feared an ambush and refused to rely on Iron Body alone, citing the dangers of pirates and possible spies.
• The Land of Grass Navy revealed plans to infiltrate the pirates, capture their captain, threaten the crew, and use advanced weapons if needed.
• A Den Den Mushi call confirmed that the soldiers had already captured the pirate captain, stunning Kuzan and Colonel Smoker.
• The soldiers told Kuzan their tactics came from the Spirit of Grass and insisted he had not studied the book deeply enough.

While undercover as a Marine Admiral, Kuzan watched the Land of Grass Marines capture the Prisoner Pirate Group through an unorthodox operation, then learned the fight had disrupted the Navy's original plan. He left the chapter suspecting that the Marines had read a different version of Spirit of Grass than he had.

• A Land of Grass warship dragged the Prisoner Pirate Group's captain behind it while a Marine taunted the pirates pursuing them.
• Kuzan denied training the Marines to fight this way, while Issho and Kisame Hoshigaki refused to interfere and Kisame insisted the tactics matched Spirit of Grass.
• The Land of Grass Marines quickly captured the pirate crew, seized its wealth, and planned to exchange the captain for his bounty.
• The Marines credited Kuzan with teaching them their methods, and he told them not to claim he had taught them this.
• Kuzan reported to the Navy that the pirate group had already been defeated, disrupting the original plan involving the Donquixote Family and Beasts Pirates.
• Kuzan blamed his underestimation on the Marines' Spirit of Grass and wondered whether they had read a different version.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku considered denying the Land of Grass Navy its bounty money until Danzo persuaded him that paying them could help turn pirates against the Land of Grass. Meanwhile, Kusana and his crew spotted an updraft that could lead to Sky Island, and Madara carried their boat into the sky with Susanoo.

• Fleet Admiral Sengoku learned from Kuzan that the Land of Grass Navy had captured pirates and planned to claim their bounties, and he considered forbidding the Navy Branches from paying them.
• Danzo invoked Konoha's destruction to explain his hatred of the Grass bandits, then argued that bounty money could lure the Land of Grass into conflict with pirates.
• Fleet Admiral Sengoku agreed to seek the Gorosei's instructions about allowing or raising the bounties, while Danzo prepared another plan to divide the Land of Grass and the pirates.
• Kusana sensed that he might soon get rich just as a powerful updraft appeared, and Nami recognized it as a possible route to Sky Island.
• Kusana asked Madara to use Susanoo to carry the boat into the sky, prompting Nami to complain that he could have done so earlier.

Kusana and Robin finished stripping the Golden Land while Gan Fall warned them about Enel’s power. Madara and the others defeated Enel with ease, and Gan Fall offered to lead them to the rest of Enel’s gold.

• Robin and Kusana surveyed the ruined Golden Land as Robin used her powers to move its gold into Obito’s space.
• Kusana dismissed Robin’s concerns about Enel, and Gan Fall emerged from the sky to warn that the Thunder God was overwhelmingly powerful.
• Kusana took Nami’s sack of gold and claimed he would keep it safe for her, then asked Gan Fall to repeat his warning.
• Madara, Hashirama, and their companion landed after defeating Enel, whom Madara said could not break Hashirama’s Wood Release.
• Gan Fall silently regarded the unconscious Enel, then offered to show Kusana and the others where Enel had hidden more gold.

After taking Sky Island and the Ark Maxim, Kusana learned that the Land of Grass Navy’s training had captured a slave ship tied to Donquixote Doflamingo and claimed a bounty for one of his men. Kusana decided the Donquixote Family would pay for challenging the Land of Grass, while Sengoku’s attempt to recruit Doflamingo into a plan against Kaido was derailed when Doflamingo learned the Land of Grass had declared war.

• Kusana and his companions secured Enel and the Ark Maxim, and Gan Fall became governor of Sky Island under the Land of Grass.
• Nami complained about Kusana taking her money, while Vivi said Kusana only liked married women.
• Robin told Kusana the Land of Grass Navy had captured a Donquixote Family slave ship, killed an officer, and been refused a bounty because the family was a Shichibukai force.
• Kusana said the Donquixote Family would have to suffer for taking the Land of Grass’s Devil Fruit and bounty.
• Sengoku tried to persuade Doflamingo to help draw the Beasts Pirates into a conflict, but Doflamingo told him the Land of Grass had already declared war.
• Doflamingo cursed the Land of Grass after Sengoku hung up on him.

Doflamingo learned that the Land of Grass had destroyed his pirate crew and killed Gladius, and he prepared the Donquixote Family for a confrontation. Meanwhile, Trafalgar Law arrived to offer help against the Donquixote Family, but the Land of Grass Navy focused on the fact that he was a pirate.

• Trebol told Doflamingo that Gladius had been sacrificed, the crew had been wiped out, and the Land of Grass had taken the plunder and the Slippery-Slippery Fruit.
• Doflamingo suspected Navy Headquarters had set up the encounter, but Trebol said the Land of Grass had ignored their warnings and captured the family’s negotiators.
• Doflamingo ordered the World Government to address the trouble and told the family to seal off Dressrosa and prepare for battle.
• Trafalgar Law arrived at the Land of Grass Navy fleet and offered to help destroy the Donquixote Family.
• The Land of Grass soldiers learned that Law was captain of the Heart Pirates, called him another Shichibukai, and treated him with disgust.

The Land of Grass rejected Trafalgar Law’s attempt to share intelligence about the Donquixote Family and sent him away for forced labor, while the Navy plotted to use Doflamingo’s likely death to provoke a war with the Beasts Pirates. The chapter ended with Danzō and three others aboard a Navy ship bound for the New World, uncertain what to do next.

• A Grass ninja dismissed Trafalgar Law’s request to meet Leader Mang and dragged him off to be sent to the East Blue for reform and brick-hauling.
• Kuzan warned the King of the Land of Grass about Donquixote Doflamingo’s importance, but the King repeatedly compared the danger to a Celestial Dragon’s death and told Kuzan he had spoken too much.
• At Navy Headquarters, Sakazuki berated Sengoku over the trouble surrounding the Land of Grass and Doflamingo.
• Danzō proposed letting Doflamingo die, or making it appear that the Land of Grass had killed him, to provoke the Beasts Pirates into fighting the Land of Grass.
• Sengoku deferred the decision to the World Government and suggested Danzō could be promoted to vice admiral.
• The next morning, Danzō and three others sailed from Marineford toward the New World, and one man asked Danzō what they should do.