Chapter Summaries

Blackbeard Teach defeated Ochoku and took his Flicker-Flicker Fruit ability, then used it to overpower Aramaki during the New Marines’ assault on Hachinosu. Mihawk arrived to confront Teach, while Aramaki escaped and the pirates were left facing a new battle.

• Teach covered himself and Ochoku in darkness, then emerged behind Aramaki and used the Flicker-Flicker Fruit’s teleportation to strike him.
• Teach grabbed Aramaki by the throat, nullifying his Devil Fruit ability, while the pirates recognized that Teach had taken Ochoku’s power and believed Ochoku was dead.
• Teach celebrated gaining a new ability and declared he was ready to pursue the title of Pirate King.
• A blue-green slash swept across the battlefield, killing many pirates and forcing Teach to release Aramaki.
• Mihawk arrived, ordered Aramaki to retreat, and charged Teach with his sword.

Blackbeard used the Flicker-Flicker and Dark-Dark Fruits to fight Mihawk, whose swordsmanship and Haki kept him from being overwhelmed. After Blackbeard revealed Haki powerful enough to block Mihawk's attack, Tsugikuni Yoriichi ordered Kuzan to hold back the troops and went to confront him before he could escape.

• Blackbeard teleported around Mihawk and used the Dark-Dark Fruit to absorb and return Mihawk's long-range slash, forcing Mihawk to seek close combat.
• Blackbeard spread darkness across the ground to disrupt Mihawk's footing, but Mihawk kicked off the air and attacked anyway.
• Blackbeard blocked Mihawk's sword with his Haki-coated palms, revealing Armament Haki comparable to Mihawk's.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi recognized Blackbeard as a major threat and told Kuzan to keep the troops from landing until the duel had a clear victor.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi left the ship to reach the battlefield, determined to stop Blackbeard from escaping.

Mihawk and Blackbeard fought at Rocky Port, where Blackbeard used the Dark-Dark Fruit and Flicker-Flicker Fruit together to trap and begin swallowing Mihawk. As Blackbeard believed he had won, Mihawk’s sudden change of expression preceded a blade strike that cut Blackbeard’s neck, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Mihawk overwhelmed Blackbeard in close combat, while Blackbeard’s heightened sensitivity made his wounds intensely painful.
• Blackbeard used expanding darkness to force Mihawk into the air, then attacked him with two Dark Water strikes.
• The second Dark Water struck Mihawk from behind and formed a net that restrained him, allowing Blackbeard to begin pulling him into the darkness.
• Blackbeard celebrated his apparent victory and considered using Mihawk as leverage in negotiations with the New Marines.
• Mihawk withdrew his Conqueror’s Haki and smiled, then a sudden blade strike cut the back of Blackbeard’s neck as he vanished.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi interrupted Blackbeard’s attack on Mihawk and freed him from the Dark-Dark Fruit’s restraints. As Mihawk and Aramaki led the New Marines against the pirates, Yoriichi stayed to face Blackbeard, who chose to fight him rather than retreat.

• Tsugikuni Yoriichi pursued Blackbeard with a flurry of slashes, but Blackbeard used the Flicker-Flicker Fruit to teleport clear of the attacks.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi cut through the darkness binding Mihawk, allowing Mihawk to break free and join him.
• Blackbeard recognized Tsugikuni Yoriichi and decided to challenge him, despite his wound and the danger.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi took Blackbeard as his opponent and sent Mihawk to fight alongside Aramaki against the pirates.
• Mihawk and Aramaki led the New Marines into battle as the disorganized pirates began to flee.
• Blackbeard told Tsugikuni Yoriichi that he had long wanted to fight him, and his envy and desire to kill Yoriichi intensified.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi fought Blackbeard seriously, outmaneuvering his paired Devil Fruit attacks and identifying the three hearts that enabled his unusual strength. After wounding one heart, Yoriichi exploited Blackbeard’s pain and struck another, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Tsugikuni Yoriichi acknowledged Blackbeard’s jealousy and challenged him as a serious opponent.
• Blackbeard attacked with Dark Water and the Flicker-Flicker Fruit, but Yoriichi deflected one attack and evaded the other before countering.
• Blackbeard used darkness to draw away the battlefield’s smoke, but Yoriichi stabbed him in the chest and revealed that he knew about Blackbeard’s three hearts.
• Yoriichi recognized that his first strike had pierced one heart and attacked again while Blackbeard’s pain hindered his reaction.
• Yoriichi plunged his blade into Blackbeard’s chest, piercing another intact heart.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi killed Blackbeard and left the New Marines to finish their assault on Hachinosu Island. After discussing their next plans with Mihawk, Yoriichi decided to seek out Dragon and investigate the Dark-Dark Fruit as the New Marines pursued their goal of unifying the world.

• Tsugikuni Yoriichi withdrew his sword from Blackbeard, who died after warning that Yoriichi could not change the world.
• Kuzan ordered the New Marines to purge Hachinosu Island, and the pirates’ resistance collapsed as the Marines captured or killed many of them.
• Kuzan regrouped the troops at Rocky Port and began questioning prisoners to uncover the island’s hidden dangers and remaining pirates.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi told Mihawk he would investigate where the Dark-Dark Fruit reappeared and continue unifying the New World.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi planned to return to Whole Cake Island and meet Dragon, despite Mihawk warning that the Revolutionary Army might oppose the New Marines’ United Kingdom plan.

After the New Marines destroyed Hachinosu Island, Sengoku convened Marine Headquarters’ senior officers to decide how to respond to their growing power. Borsalino argued that the Marines should focus on pirates and the Revolutionary Army, while Sakazuki warned that the New Marines threatened the world order, and the meeting ended in factional strife without a decision.

• The New Marines destroyed Hachinosu Island, and Zephyr arranged for Morgans’s newspapers to publicize the victory and restore their reputation.
• Sengoku called a meeting at Marineford after learning of the New Marines’ success, and Brannew presented intelligence that included photographs supplied by undercover Kujaku.
• Borsalino argued that Marine Headquarters should avoid confronting the New Marines and prioritize pirates and the Revolutionary Army, winning support from several officers.
• Sakazuki challenged Borsalino, warning that the New Marines would eventually move against the existing world order and that the Marines could not stand aside.
• Magellan agreed with Borsalino’s priorities, then left the meeting because of his stomach trouble.
• Marine officers split into opposing factions and argued fiercely while Sengoku watched without announcing a decision.

After the New Marines returned to Whole Cake Island, Tsugikuni Yoriichi arranged a covert mission to negotiate with the Revolutionary Army on Baldego. Mihawk and Yoriichi reached the impoverished island, where the Revolutionary Army struggled to feed its people despite overthrowing the old rulers.

• Sengoku ended Marine Headquarters’ divisive meeting without reaching a decision and suspected that Borsalino and Tsuru were preparing for coming changes.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi returned to Whole Cake Island with Mihawk while Kuzan and Kuma handled the rescued slaves from Hachinosu.
• After reviewing the New Marines’ resources, Yoriichi put plans to expand their influence into motion and sent Mihawk’s covert unit to negotiate with the Revolutionary Army.
• Mihawk led the New Marines’ disguised merchant ship to Baldego after nearly a month at sea.
• Yoriichi and Mihawk saw Baldego’s desolation and discussed how its mineral wealth had not prevented the Revolutionary Army from facing severe supply shortages.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi reconsidered the value of the Revolutionary Army's base at Baldego, then watched as armed locals boarded the New Marines' ship and robbed its supplies. When the impostors threatened Mason with prison, Yoriichi sent his Conqueror's Haki toward Dragon, leaving the real source of the deception to be uncovered.

• Tsugikuni Yoriichi judged Baldego's poor resources and location unsuitable for the Revolutionary Army's headquarters and considered moving its people elsewhere.
• Mihawk asked Tsugikuni Yoriichi whether to let Baldego's men inspect the ship, and Yoriichi agreed to cooperate.
• Mason identified the ship as a fleet from the Sorbé Kingdom, but the armed men did not recognize the name and ordered a search.
• Locals entered the cabin and emerged with the New Marines' food and supplies, while their leader accused the crew of carrying prohibited goods and threatened Mason with a sword.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi realized the inspectors were not Dragon's subordinates and directed his Conqueror's Haki toward Dragon on the island.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi’s return prompted Dragon to head personally to the harbor, while the New Marines used a dockside incident to gain leverage before negotiations with the Revolutionary Army. Belo Betty faced pressure to decide how to handle the civilians who had boarded and looted the New Marines’ ship.

• Tsugikuni Yoriichi released his Conqueror’s Haki, and Dragon recognized the familiar aura and decided to receive the New Marines personally.
• Mason and the New Marines subdued the islanders who had boarded their ship and waited at the harbor for Revolutionary Army officials.
• Belo Betty and Ashura arrived at the ship and identified Mihawk as the New Marines’ representative.
• Mason challenged Belo Betty to confirm whether the detained islanders belonged to the Revolutionary Army and explained that they had searched the ship and seized supplies.
• Belo Betty admitted the islanders had acted wrongly and apologized, then faced Mason’s question about what punishment the Revolutionary Army would impose.

Belo Betty and Dragon negotiated with the New Marines over islanders who had attacked their ship, and Dragon agreed to let the New Marines take them away. At the cooperation meeting, Tsugikuni Yoriichi demanded that the Revolutionary Army prove its worth, presenting Dragon with a sea chart centered on Enies Lobby.

• Belo Betty rejected Mason’s plan to take the islanders to Whole Cake Island, insisting Baldego should handle its own citizens.
• Dragon arrived and told Belo Betty to let the New Marines deal with the islanders, but Mihawk soon agreed to return them to their people as a favor to Dragon.
• Dragon welcomed Mihawk and the New Marines to the Revolutionary Army headquarters, where both sides began cooperation negotiations.
• Mason raised the harbor incident, and Dragon apologized on behalf of the Revolutionary Army while promising to punish the islanders.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi said the Revolutionary Army must prove its capabilities before the New Marines would cooperate, then handed Dragon a sea chart marking Enies Lobby.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi asked Dragon’s Revolutionary Army to attack Enies Lobby, but Dragon refused, limiting the New Marines’ support to selling food and weapons. That night, Dragon visited Yoriichi to mark Garp’s birthday and share his grief, leaving them quietly reflecting together.

• Tsugikuni Yoriichi proposed that the Revolutionary Army destroy Enies Lobby to draw the World Government’s attention, but Dragon rejected the plan because it risked devastating losses and would divert the army from helping oppressed people.
• Dragon and Tsugikuni Yoriichi continued their negotiations through Mason, and the New Marines agreed to sell the Revolutionary Army food and weapons at favorable prices.
• Kuma’s Paw-Paw Fruit allowed the New Marines to transport supplies quickly from Whole Cake Island without shipping costs.
• Dragon visited Tsugikuni Yoriichi with tea and Garp’s favorite senbei, explaining that it was Garp’s birthday and that he could not celebrate with him.
• Dragon told Yoriichi he did not blame him for Garp’s death, and the two drank tea and ate senbei together while looking at the moon.

The New Marines and Revolutionary Army reached a supply-and-weapons cooperation agreement, while Tsugikuni Yoriichi recognized the Revolutionary Army’s deep problems with governing liberated nations. As both forces expanded, Marine Headquarters reacted to the Revolutionary Army’s sudden growth and the New Marines’ victories, and Luffy became a pirate after disappearing in the East Blue.

• Tsugikuni Yoriichi examined the Revolutionary Army’s difficulties with shortages, weak administration, and corruption in the nations it had liberated.
• The New Marines and Revolutionary Army agreed to trade supplies and weapons for money, then stationed Major Mason in Baldego and Ashura in Whole Cake Island to coordinate their cooperation.
• By February 1519, Marine Headquarters noticed that the Revolutionary Army had gained stronger weapons and overthrown nearly thirty countries in two months, prompting Sengoku to investigate its rapid expansion.
• After Tsugikuni Yoriichi returned to Whole Cake Island, the New Marines’ senior fighters resumed leading campaigns against pirate crews throughout the New World.
• Sengoku planned to recall Ace and Sabo to help Marine Headquarters compete with the New Marines.
• Luffy returned home for his sixteenth birthday, disappeared while in Ace and Sabo’s care, and later became a pirate after injuring Colonel Morgan in Shells Town.

Sengoku confronted Ace and Sabo after learning that Luffy had escaped Marine Headquarters and become a pirate, but he realized the brothers had helped him leave. He issued Luffy a 2 million Beli bounty, while Ace and Sabo left happily discussing how to protect their younger brother.

• Sengoku summoned Ace and Sabo, accused them of letting Luffy escape, and inferred from their reactions that they had helped him.
• Sengoku told Ace and Sabo that Luffy was in the East Blue, had injured Colonel Morgan, and had become a pirate; Ace smiled at the news.
• Ace and Sabo read the report, learned Luffy was sailing without a crew, and offered to go to the East Blue to bring him back.
• Sengoku refused to send the brothers and announced that Luffy would receive a 2 million Beli wanted notice.
• Ace and Sabo left Sengoku's office smiling and discussing Luffy's bounty, while Sengoku looked at an old photograph of himself and Garp before returning to work.

Luffy and Koby sailed from Shells Town toward the Grand Line, where they encountered Kuina’s Pirate Hunters ship. After Luffy openly declared himself a pirate and the future Pirate King, Zoro attacked their small boat and focused on him.

• Luffy told Koby they would head for the Grand Line after finding suitable crew members and shouted that he would become Pirate King.
• Kuina introduced herself as a Pirate Hunter and asked Luffy and Koby about Shells Town and Marine Colonel Morgan.
• Luffy revealed that he had defeated Morgan and that the Marines had arrested him.
• Zoro questioned Luffy and Koby after hearing them claim to be pirates, and Luffy confirmed they were pirates and named himself the future Pirate King.
• Zoro drew his sword, leaped onto Luffy and Koby’s boat, and landed between them as Kuina called for him to stop.

Zoro attacked Luffy after hearing him claim to be the Pirate King, and the two fought aboard Luffy’s small boat. Kuina stopped Zoro because they could not verify Luffy was a pirate, leaving the group uncertain how to deal with the strange pair.

• Zoro landed on Luffy and Koby’s boat and tried to capture Luffy as a pirate, prompting Luffy to dodge with his rubber body.
• Luffy counterattacked with a Gum-Gum Headbutt, but Zoro blocked it with his sword coated in Armament Haki and evaded Luffy’s follow-up punch.
• Seawater splashed onto Luffy and weakened him, while Kuina shouted at Zoro to stop attacking an unverified ordinary person.
• Zoro stopped when Kuina reminded him of the New Marines’ rules, though he argued that Luffy had called himself a pirate.
• Luffy insisted again that he was a pirate, and Kuina concluded they could not capture him without verifying his identity.

Kuina and Zoro verified that Luffy had not acted like a pirate and set course for Orange Town to recruit a genius navigator, while Luffy and Koby began searching for companions. The story then shifted to Craft Island, where a biting disease had infected a third of the population, leaving Tsugikuni Yoriichi wondering whether it was an outbreak or an attack by someone with a strange ability.

• Kuina gave Luffy and Koby supplies before leaving, and Luffy promised to protect Koby and build a crew of companions.
• Koby suggested they seek a genius navigator in the East Blue, and Luffy eagerly asked where to find her.
• Kuina and Zoro confirmed in Shells Town that the young man who defeated Morgan was the same person they had encountered, then planned to leave for Orange Town.
• On Craft Island, a gaunt man died after coughing blood, then rose and wandered mindlessly around his room.
• Tensei told Tsugikuni Yoriichi that biting corpses had spread a strange disease across Craft Island, infecting a third of its population.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi questioned whether Craft Island faced an unknown disease or an attack by someone with an unknown ability.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi learned that a contagious, zombie-like illness had overwhelmed Craft Island, and he left the fate of its infected population to a vote by their families. As he worried over whether the outbreak was deliberate, Lord Lantern returned to Cake Island carrying Dr. Vegapunk, whose arrival was greeted by Issho.

• Tensei told Tsugikuni Yoriichi that Craft Island's rapidly spreading illness turned the infected into aggressive, apparently incurable monsters.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi ordered the New Marines to inform the infected people's families and soldiers from Craft Island, then let them vote on whether to abandon the island and relocate survivors.
• Tensei suspected pirates had deliberately caused the outbreak and warned that other New Marine islands might also be targeted.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi reviewed the outbreak evidence and wondered who was behind it while recognizing that Smoker might be better placed to uncover the truth.
• A gleaming, mechanical Sea Beast rose from the sea near Cake Island, triggering alarms across the harbor.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi recognized the returning Lord Lantern and Dr. Vegapunk, while Issho arrived and heard a mechanical voice greet him.

Lord Lantern released three humanoid weapons modeled after Mihawk, Kuma, and Abel, and the first attacked Issho at Cake Island’s harbor. As Mihawk arrived and recognized the clones, Lord Lantern unleashed a familiar burst of Conqueror’s Haki, leaving Issho alarmed by what might follow.

• Lord Lantern called Issho’s name, then launched Little Mihawk from its mouth, and the youth clashed with Issho.
• The New Marines mistook Little Mihawk for Mihawk’s son, while Issho defended himself and urged him to stop fighting.
• Tsugikuni Yoriichi recognized Lord Lantern and suspected Dr. Vegapunk had completed its modifications and created artificial humanoid Pacifistas.
• Lord Lantern launched S-Kuma and S-Abel, and Issho’s Raging Tiger sent all three clones flying over the sea.
• Mihawk arrived and recognized the children as clones, then Lord Lantern released Conqueror’s Haki that made Issho fear what was coming.

A powerful white-haired Seraphim modeled after Tsugikuni Yoriichi emerged from Lord Lantern and fought Mihawk alongside the other Seraphim. As Issho attacked Lord Lantern with a meteor, Dr. Vegapunk revealed the Seraphim project and ordered S-Little Kuma to stop it.

• S-Tsugikuni Yoriichi emerged from Lord Lantern and overwhelmed many New Marines with his Conqueror's Haki.
• Mihawk attacked S-Tsugikuni Yoriichi, wounded him, and then dodged Little Kuma's teleporting strike and counterattacked.
• Little Kuma, Little Mihawk, and Little Abel coordinated with S-Tsugikuni Yoriichi, who used Observation Killing to ambush Mihawk through the dust.
• Issho recognized Lord Lantern as the likely source of more Seraphim and sent a meteor toward the Mechanical Sea Beast.
• Dr. Vegapunk revealed that he had created the Seraphim using the Mother Seed and Lineage Factor research, then ordered S-Little Kuma to stop the meteor.