Chapter Summaries

Nereus organized a new Neptune Army, arranged where his companions would live and train, and considered the Poneglyphs at the Sea Forest. He left the chapter contemplating whether the stones could make good weapons.

• Nereus recruited applicants for the Neptune Army and gave Tiger the standards, including rigorous training and higher pay.
• Nereus arranged for Ginny and Kuma to go to school on Delta Island, while Brook and Luna stayed on Fish-Man Island to train with him.
• Brook chose to complete his companions’ promise to sail around the Grand Line before returning to see Laboon, and Nereus agreed to arrange a voyage later.
• Nereus visited the treasury, where Nanamo and Hermes had left the Tamatebako untouched, and drained the water from Ryugu Palace.
• Nereus arrived early at the Sea Forest with Nanamo and his subordinates, identified the Road Poneglyph and Joy Boy’s apology, and wondered whether the stones could be weapons.

Nereus brought Nanamo to the Fish-Man District to assess volunteers for an expanded Neptune Army, using Conqueror’s Haki to identify the strongest recruits. He formed the First Legion and set challenges to assign its ranks, including a contest to defeat Nanamo for the position of legion commander.

• Nereus explained that Nanamo would help the Fish-Man District understand the strength of the wider world by defeating its recruits.
• Tiger reported that 37,572 eligible volunteers had gathered for the assessment.
• Nereus unleashed restrained Conqueror’s Haki, leaving about three thousand Fish-Men conscious and declaring them qualified.
• Nereus named the survivors the First Legion of the Neptune Army and challenged them to earn Fighting Fish partners and squad-leader positions by defeating their assigned opponents.
• Nereus declared that anyone who defeated Nanamo would become the new legion commander.

Nereus reorganized Fish-Man Island’s forces, expanded its infrastructure, and began building schools while its residents trained. Tiger joined a patrol that intercepted a Pirate ship and demanded a transit tax, leaving the Pirates to choose whether to pay or turn back.

• Nanamo worried she would have to fight more than three thousand people, but Nereus said he would train her himself.
• The Fish-Men formed the First Legion under Sebastian, with Fisher Tiger as deputy commander, while the existing Neptune Army continued domestic security duties.
• Fish-Man Island’s craftsmen began creating new bubble zones for schools, and Nanamo, Amphitrite, and others trained in Ryugu Palace.
• Tiger met Rachel and learned that she and the other female Mermaids wore masks for protection before joining a patrol with Sea Beasts.
• Tiger’s patrol stopped a Pirate ship near Fish-Man Island and demanded a transit tax of 100,000 Beli per person.

Rachel and the Sea Beasts enforced Fish-Man Island’s passage fees, defeating Pirates who resisted and towing their ship back. Hermes then sold the arriving Pirates supplies for the New World, showing how Fish-Man Island could profit from its position once it was protected.

• Rachel charged a Pirate crew one hundred thousand Beli per person, and the intimidated Pirates paid for passage.
• A second Pirate ship attacked Rachel, but she dodged its captain and defeated the crew with her electric fork while the Sea Beasts destroyed its coating.
• Rachel ordered the captured ship to be towed to Fish-Man Island and its treasure and leaders’ corpses collected for Bounties.
• The first Pirate crew realized that opposing Fish-Man Island’s guards could endanger them on their return journey and resolved to obey their orders.
• Hermes sold the Pirates New World goods, including a storm-shielding umbrella and a three-needle Log Pose, earning nearly all their Beli.

Nereus oversaw Fish-Man Island’s growing transit-tax revenue and development before taking a group to Dressrosa to exchange captured Pirates for bounties and discuss relations between nations. After Nereus flew to the Plateau of Kings, Nanamo jumped into the sea to look for a gift for Princess Scarlet.

• A group of Pirates abandoned their plan to reach the New World and decided to become bandits instead.
• The tax officer worked through Fish-Man Island’s accounts as Nanamo reminded him that the revenue would fund the military.
• Nereus decided to take captured Pirates to Dressrosa for bounty payments and left water-capable officers such as Sebastian to guard Fish-Man Island.
• Nereus traveled to Dressrosa with Nanamo, Brook, Amphitrite, Luna, and several human crew members, while inviting the others to explore the island.
• Nereus flew toward the Plateau of Kings to meet Riku Dold III and study exchanges between nations.
• Nanamo realized she had forgotten a gift for Scarlet and jumped into the ocean to search for a local specialty.

Nereus visited King Riku in Dressrosa, discussed their friendship and Fish-Man Island’s standing with the World Government, then traveled to Green Bit to seek the Tontatta Tribe’s help cultivating experimental seeds. The Tontattas agreed to find Patriarch Gancho and hear his request.

• Nereus met King Riku and asked him to handle bounties from pirates captured by Fish-Man Island.
• Nereus proposed opening a ship-coating company in Dressrosa, but King Riku declined because of the risks of associating his country with pirates.
• Nereus told King Riku he was going to Green Bit to seek the Tontatta Tribe’s help, while King Riku invited him and Nanamo to a banquet.
• Nereus reached Green Bit and called for Patriarch Gancho, reminding the Tontattas that he had returned one of their companions years earlier.
• Nereus asked the Tontattas to help sprout and grow Wobigon’s experimental seeds.

Nereus visited the Tontatta Tribe to entrust them with rare seeds, then attended a banquet in Dressrosa while Nanamo introduced Scarlet to the guests. The next day, a Navy ship carrying bounty money was diverted by CP0 agents investigating a suspected Lunarian sighting in Dressrosa.

• Gancho promised that the Tontatta Tribe would use its abilities to awaken and cultivate Nereus's seeds, and Nereus left Green Bit.
• Nanamo gave Scarlet a deep-sea coral tree as a gift, though Nereus recognized that Nanamo had hastily assembled it from salvaged parts.
• Nereus and Dold discussed changes in the seas while Nanamo introduced Scarlet to Luna and the other guests at the banquet.
• Dold told Nereus that nearby Navy branches would collect the captured Pirates and deliver their bounty money within a day or two.
• CP0 stopped a Navy transport ship headed to Dressrosa and asked its Vice Admiral to help investigate a suspected Lunarian sighting.
• The Vice Admiral accepted CP0's request after hearing that the investigation could earn his crew military merit.

Marine Vice Admiral Cormac asked King Riku to mobilize Dressrosa’s Royal Army to search for a suspected Lunarian, but Riku refused without reliable evidence. As CP agents began covertly watching Amphitrite, Nanamo realized her plan to exploit the World Government had likely fallen apart.

• Cormac asked King Riku to deploy the Royal Army across Dressrosa, but Riku refused to disrupt his people over an unconfirmed suspicion and warned Cormac not to disturb the country.
• After the Marines left the palace, Riku discreetly sent a guard to tell Scarlet to return home early.
• Hermes noticed suspicious people watching Amphitrite, and Nanamo suspected they were CP agents before stopping Amphitrite from reacting.
• Nanamo received the warning from the palace guard, ended her outing with Scarlet, and left to contact her father.
• Nanamo realized the World Government would stop investing in Amphitrite once it connected her to Nereus, ruining her plan to fleece them.

CP0 and Cipher Pol agents targeted Amphitrite in Dressrosa, but Nereus killed the CP0 agent directing the operation. Nanamo fled with Amphitrite as the agents pursued them, and the Royal Army moved to arrest the agents after mistaking them for Pirates.

• CP0 ordered its personnel to locate Amphitrite and capture her if she proved to be a Lunarian, despite the risk to civilians and Marines.
• Nereus appeared beside the CP0 agent and killed him by tearing out his heart.
• CP agents surrounded Nanamo and Amphitrite and attacked, intending to rip away Amphitrite’s bandages to check her race.
• Nanamo had Hermes carry them into the sky to avoid fighting in the crowded streets, while some agents pursued on foot and others used Geppo.
• The Royal Army encountered the pursuing agents and moved to arrest them after mistaking them for Pirates.

The group defeated the CP agents pursuing them in Dressrosa, then Nereus reassured Amphitrite that her Lunarian identity would not drive her away from the crew. He gave her the Bird-Bird Fruit: Model Phoenix, explaining its powers and its potential against the World Government’s ancient enemies.

• The CP agents complained about the abilities of their opponents, but Hermes and the others wiped them out before they could escape.
• Nereus and Nanamo joked about her love of money before the group left Dressrosa for Delta.
• Amphitrite considered leaving the ship because her Lunarian identity had brought trouble to Nereus and his crew.
• Nereus told Amphitrite that she should stay and focus on growing stronger, then gave her the Bird-Bird Fruit: Model Phoenix.
• Nereus explained that the Phoenix Fruit’s Regeneration Flame could scorch souls and might be effective against the World Government’s ancient enemies.

Amphitrite ate a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit and awakened its flame powers under Nereus's guidance. After arriving on Delta Island, Nereus arranged teachers for the island and agreed to help Ginny obtain Den Den Mushi for intelligence gathering.

• Nereus explained how the Regeneration Flame could complement Lunarian abilities, and Amphitrite trusted her instincts and ate the Devil Fruit.
• Amphitrite gained flaming wings and demonstrated control of an enhanced Zoan transformation while Nereus advised her to practice.
• After CP0's mission failed and Amphitrite joined Nereus, the World Government stopped targeting her and turned to handling Dressrosa's complaint.
• Nereus arrived on Delta Island, where Kuma and Ginny had settled with help from the residents and the island treasury.
• Nereus arranged for local teachers to assist Fish-Man Island and agreed to handle Ginny's request for special Den Den Mushi.

Nereus recruited Ginny to handle communications and intelligence, while Kuma chose to stay in the dorms rather than move in with her. As a new school took shape on the satellite island, Nereus agreed to investigate reports that Vander Decken VIII and the Flying Dutchman had plundered a licensed merchant ship.

• Nereus discussed Den Den Mushi equipment with Ginny and promised to arrange a private residence for her and Kuma.
• Kuma declined to move in with Ginny, choosing dorm life instead, and Ginny kicked him before storming off.
• Kuma's roommate took a photograph of the pair and teased Kuma about marrying Ginny, while Kuma insisted they were just friends.
• The Ryugu Kingdom's satellite island and school neared completion, and Nereus sought instructors skilled at teaching Fish-Man Karate and Merfolk Karate.
• A merchant reported that Vander Decken VIII and the Flying Dutchman had plundered his ship in the deep sea, and Nereus promised to recover the lost cargo.

Nereus arranged a public search for a merchant’s stolen cargo to reassure traders and improve Fish-Man Island’s reputation. He followed the deep-sea currents to the Flying Pirates and confronted Vander Decken VIII aboard his ship.

• Nereus heard a merchant’s account of the cargo stolen by Vander Decken and asked Sebastian for information about the Flying Pirates.
• Sebastian explained that Vander Decken’s crew had roamed near Fish-Man Island for centuries, and Nereus decided to handle the matter personally as a public performance.
• Nereus sent Neptune Army soldiers to conduct a conspicuous investigation, and merchants heard that he had gone searching for their cargo.
• Nereus followed the deep-sea currents and found the Flying Pirates’ battered ship being pulled by a Sea Beast.
• Nereus boarded the ship and asked for Vander Decken VIII, who appeared and knelt after learning why Nereus had come.

Nereus spared Vander Decken VIII after the pirate revealed his family’s secret about Poseidon and the rising sea, then quietly gathered corrected Poneglyph records at Ohara. With his preparations complete and his plan to evade Imu’s Black-Turn Domination confirmed, Nereus set his sights on the Red Line.

• Vander Decken VIII surrendered to Nereus and offered the first Vander Decken’s secret in exchange for mercy.
• Vander Decken VIII claimed the first Vander Decken had pursued the Mermaid Princess and predicted the rising sea would eventually swallow the world.
• Nereus dismissed the secret as useless but spared Vander Decken VIII, who asked him to make their encounter look like a fight.
• Vander Decken VIII told his crew he had fought Nereus and agreed to join him, while the returned cargo helped Fish-Man Island’s trade grow.
• Nereus traveled through God Valley to Ohara, translated Poneglyph records, and confirmed that souls from the River of Death could let him evade Imu’s Black-Turn Domination.
• By 1505, Nereus had finished preparing and chose the Red Line as his next target.

Nereus prepared to free the slaves on the Red Line as a forceful declaration of Fish-Man Island’s ambitions, while his trusted allies organized to secure the Red Port and support the operation. He left Amphitrite and Nanamo behind to guard Fish-Man Island and assigned Hermes and Big Pan roles in the mission.

• Nereus told Amphitrite that he planned to liberate the Red Line’s slaves to announce Fish-Man Island’s strength and seek recognition beyond his reputation as a Pirate.
• Nereus refused to let Amphitrite or Nanamo accompany him, told them to defend Fish-Man Island, and brought Hermes along for the operation.
• Nereus instructed his former Fish-Man Pirates to seize and hold the Red Port, sink approaching Navy warships, and withdraw if the situation went wrong.
• Babel supplied Dance Powder, while Sambel provided a radio-wave jammer intended to delay the Navy’s response.
• Nereus assigned Big Pan to accompany him on the Red Line and ordered Hermes to eat the Dance Powder so it could create and control rain clouds.

Nereus and his allies seized Red Port and launched a coordinated assault on Mary Geoise, setting fires and explosions to draw the guards away from the slaves. As the Celestial Dragons' forces scrambled to protect them, the attackers began freeing the prisoners and urging them to flee toward freedom.

• Hermes used Dance Powder to bring a torrential storm over Red Port.
• Nereus unleashed Conqueror's Haki while Sebastian's invisible Fish-Man squad decapitated officers and took control of Red Port and the Bubble Elevator.
• Nereus sent Big Pan to plant explosives and accelerants around Mary Geoise, then instructed the others to free the slaves while he handled the enemies.
• Big Pan ignited the granary, and delayed explosives set the armory and other parts of Mary Geoise ablaze as signal jammers cut off communications.
• The guards prioritized evacuating the Celestial Dragons, but their demands delayed the response while the slaves remained trapped.
• An unfamiliar Fish-Man opened a slave prison, gave the prisoners keys and weapons, and urged them to free others and run toward freedom.

Nereus fought Fleet Admiral Salazar while the freed slaves fled Mary Geoise. After Nereus shattered Salazar’s heart, Salazar revealed his family’s Marine legacy and transformed into a dead man through his Human-Human Fruit, Model: Necromancer.

• The freed slaves organized their escape toward the Bubble Elevators while Nereus waited for a powerful opponent to intervene.
• Salazar confronted Nereus in the name of Fleet Admiral Salazar and attacked, but Nereus’s Conqueror’s Haki shield stopped his punch.
• Nereus and Salazar exchanged blows as Big Pan raised an earth wall to protect the people fleeing at the elevators.
• Nereus used Secret Art: Blood Burst to shatter Salazar’s heart, but Salazar’s fatal wound disappeared.
• Salazar explained that his father had been a Fleet Admiral and his grandfather a Marine, then revealed that his Devil Fruit had made him a dead man.

Nereus drew Salazar into the River of Death, where Salazar’s undead state no longer protected him. Nereus defeated him inside the blood river and left Mary Geoise as the Navy and CP agents watched, unaware of what had happened.

• Salazar attacked Nereus with the chilling power of the Necromancer Fruit, while Nereus stood open to the blow.
• Salazar pierced Nereus, but Nereus revealed the strike had been a trap and used Salazar’s undead state to pull him into the River of Death.
• Nereus explained that Salazar could be killed in the world of the dead, while Nereus was protected by the River of Death.
• Salazar unleashed his Underworld Wail, but Nereus turned the blood river against him until Salazar disappeared.
• The Navy soldiers and CP agents saw Nereus leave and could only wonder whether Salazar had been eaten.

Nereus rescued the slaves from Mary Geoise and escaped with them to the deep sea, where the freed captives pledged their gratitude and offered to fight the World Government. The Five Elders discussed the raid, decided to replace the slain Marine Fleet Admiral, and postponed deciding how to retaliate against Nereus while preparing for the Reverie.

• Nereus and his allies destroyed the Bubble Elevator after the freed slaves were evacuated, then caught up with the ships taking them into the deep sea.
• The newly freed slaves celebrated their escape, while psychologists began tending to those traumatized by their enslavement.
• The slaves thanked Nereus and offered their lives and service to him, and he told them to recover before deciding what to do next.
• The Five Elders discussed Nereus’s raid and decided that Kong should replace the slain Marine Fleet Admiral, with Sengoku, Zephyr, and Garp promoted to Admirals.
• Peter proposed taking action against Fish-Man Island, but the Five Elders changed the subject and turned to repairing Mary Geoise before the Reverie.

After Nereus devastated Mary Geoise and killed Fleet Admiral Salazar, the Five Elders focused on repairing the city before the Reverie and delaying action against Fish-Man Island. Kong accepted the World Government’s plans, but Garp refused promotion to Admiral because he would not protect the Celestial Dragons.

• The Five Elders postponed dealing with Fish-Man Island and ordered Mary Geoise repaired before the Reverie.
• A CP0 agent told Kong to assemble shipwrights and logistics soldiers, and Kong agreed to go to Mary Geoise the next day.
• Kong met with the Five Elders, who promised to address Salazar’s death after the Reverie, fill the vacant Admiral positions, and pay Morgans to shape the news.
• Garp refused promotion to Admiral, saying he would not mobilize to protect the Celestial Dragons.
• Garp pointed out that the Marines could not present Salazar’s death as a heroic sacrifice after he was killed while opposing pirates who freed slaves.