Chapter Summaries

Sephiroth joined the Marines as a recruit and traveled aboard Garp’s warship to Marine G-3 Branch. Garp noticed Sephiroth’s record of defeating a high-bounty pirate, but the voyage left the recruits scrubbing the ship while Garp ate donuts and slept.

• Garp arrived at the City of Water Marine base to collect the recruits, then immediately boarded his warship with a crate of Water Water donuts.
• Sephiroth boarded with his sword and suitcase, which held his savings, while the Devil Fruit he had obtained remained secretly buried beneath his villa.
• Garp recognized Sephiroth as the recruit who had defeated a pirate with a 35 million Belly bounty and praised his potential.
• Bogard ordered the warship to sail for Marine G-3 Branch, and the recruits were assigned bunks and cleaning duties.
• Sephiroth scrubbed the deck while Garp repeatedly fell asleep between bouts of eating donuts.

Garp’s warship encountered Paul Frode’s thirteen-ship pirate fleet, and Garp sank nearly all of them with volleys of thrown cannonballs. With the remaining flagship still afloat and the cannonballs exhausted, the Marines prepared to board, and Sephiroth joined the coming fight.

• A Marine lookout spotted Paul Frode’s thirteen pirate ships, and Garp ordered cannonballs brought to the deck.
• Paul Frode learned that Garp commanded the approaching warship and ordered his fleet to open fire.
• Garp intercepted the pirates’ cannonballs and battered their ships with his own throws while Sephiroth watched the deck get soaked.
• Garp sank twelve pirate ships, but ran out of cannonballs after learning the warship had not been restocked.
• Bogard told Sephiroth to stay out of the battle, but Sephiroth transformed and drew the Autumn Leaf Blade, and Garp allowed him to fight.

Garp’s Marines defeated Paul Frode’s Lion Pirates, and Sephiroth secretly used his life force to save two gravely wounded Marines after the battle. The old military doctor praised Sephiroth’s medical skill and invited him to join the medical department, but Sephiroth chose to remain in a frontline combat unit.

• Paul Frode rallied his pirates to fight as they boarded the Lion-Head Three-Masted Sailing Ship, while Garp led the Marines in a charge.
• Garp defeated Frode, and Sephiroth killed a pirate who stabbed him by using his bat transformation to evade the sword.
• The Marines captured the surviving pirates and treated their casualties; Sephiroth ordered recruits to move two severely wounded soldiers into a nearby medical room.
• Sephiroth operated on the soldiers and secretly used the Vampire Fruit’s Life Reversal to stabilize them, while Garp watched from outside the curtain.
• An old military doctor joined Sephiroth in treating the soldiers, then offered him a place in the medical department, but Sephiroth declined.

Sephiroth continued his sword training aboard Garp’s warship, where Bogard taught him combat techniques after recognizing his Observation Haki and lack of experience. The warship arrived at Marine G-3 Branch, where Sephiroth and the other recruits were assigned to a squad led by Kong Ming.

• Sephiroth practiced sword swings on the deck while Garp and Bogard watched.
• Garp had Bogard spar with Sephiroth, and Bogard exposed his lack of combat technique despite his ability to predict attacks with Observation Haki.
• Bogard explained feints, probing attacks, and other combat fundamentals, then continued training Sephiroth.
• The Dog-Head Warship arrived at Marine G-3 Branch, where Garp handed over the captured pirates and reported seven Marine deaths.
• Corporal Kong Ming introduced himself as the recruits’ squad leader, and Sephiroth wondered whether he was the future Marine Vice Admiral.

Sephiroth settled into an intense training routine at the Marine G-3 Branch while learning about the competition for Marineford Military Academy enrollment and the Marines’ ties to the World Government. His strength steadily improved, and his daily life remained focused on training and studying medical books.

• Sephiroth woke before dawn and joined Komei and other Marines in morning training, performing his sword swings on the drill ground.
• Sephiroth learned that G-3 Branch soldiers could compete for ten annual Marineford Military Academy slots based primarily on strength, and he told Komei he wanted to attend.
• Komei advised Sephiroth to spend more time on physical training before leaving to organize the recruits’ morning run.
• After the morning drills, Sephiroth dismissed a major’s lecture about Marine justice and reflected on the Marines’ role as the World Government’s armed force.
• Sephiroth continued training with Bogard and on his own, improving his sword-drawing speed, stamina, and flying ability while reading borrowed medical books.

At the Marine G-3 Branch, Sephiroth received a promotion and bounty reward before honoring Marines killed in battle. Afterward, Garp tested Sephiroth in a brutal training session and announced he would train him every day, leaving Sephiroth vowing to defeat him someday.

• At a promotion ceremony, Sephiroth was promoted to corporal and received six million Beli for killing a pirate swordsman.
• Garp led the Marines in a funeral for the thirty-four soldiers who died in battle, and they honored the fallen with flowers, a salute, and the song “Guidance of the Sea.”
• Garp took Sephiroth to a beach and challenged him to attack, effortlessly blocking his sword with Armament Haki and knocking him down.
• Garp urged Sephiroth to keep attacking and focus his will, while Sephiroth fought with his sword and then his fists but could not break through Garp’s defense.
• After an hour, Sephiroth collapsed, and Garp declared that he would spend an hour each day training him.
• Sephiroth used a year of life force to heal his injuries and vowed to beat Garp someday.

Sephiroth boarded a warship bound for Marineford Military Academy, where Maynard challenged him over his direct recommendation. Sephiroth knocked Maynard out with one punch and revealed he had once defeated a pirate with a 35 million Belly bounty.

• Sephiroth and nine other noncommissioned officers boarded a warship after the Marine G-3 Branch lieutenant wished them success at the academy.
• Maynard confronted Sephiroth, questioned his recommendation, and challenged him to a sparring match.
• Sephiroth agreed to spar as the other Marines watched, resentful that he had skipped the selection test.
• Sephiroth evaded Maynard’s punches with his improved Observation Haki, then knocked him out with a single uppercut when Maynard demanded he stop dodging.
• Sephiroth revealed that he had defeated a pirate with a 35 million Belly bounty before enlisting, and the Marines who had encouraged Maynard to challenge him avoided his glare.

Sephiroth arrived at Marineford and began Marineford Military Academy training under Chief Instructor Zephyr. Zephyr selected thirty cadets, including Sephiroth, for a special class, while the recruits continued their grueling run.

• Sephiroth and the other recruits arrived at Marineford, crossed Oris Plaza, and gathered at the academy training field.
• Three hundred cadets assembled, and Zephyr ordered them to run two hundred laps within an hour or face extra laps and the loss of lunch.
• Tokikake and Gion used Soru to race ahead, while Sephiroth ran hard and abandoned the idea of transforming into a vampire.
• Zephyr called out Smoker and Hellinger for using their abilities to make the run easier.
• After Tokikake and Gion completed one hundred laps, Zephyr selected thirty cadets for a class that Shuzo was ordered to organize.

After completing the academy’s grueling running task, Sephiroth joined the other students for lunch and discussed his unusual appetite with Gion. Their conversation ended with Gion warning him against asking a woman’s age, and the two remained at the cafeteria.

• Shuzo ordered the students who had finished their laps to eat while the others continued running without lunch.
• The exhausted students, including Tokikake, rushed to the cafeteria and devoured the food.
• Gion sat across from Sephiroth and questioned why he was eating so little, prompting him to explain his blood-powered energy production.
• Gion introduced herself and learned that Sephiroth came from G-3 Branch; they discussed Vice Admiral Garp and Vice Admiral Tsuru.
• When Sephiroth asked Gion’s age, she sliced his apple in half with her dining knife and warned him that asking a woman’s age was impolite.

Sephiroth settled into Marineford Military Academy, where he was assigned to Class One and met Smoker in their dormitory. As they smoked together, Smoker recalled witnessing Roger’s execution and explained why he blamed Roger for unleashing the Great Pirate Era.

• Tokikake confessed to Gion in the cafeteria, but she decisively rejected him.
• Shuzo posted the students’ assignments, and Sephiroth discovered he was in Class One with Tokikake, Gion, Smoker, Hina, and others.
• Sephiroth toured the academy, checked into his double dorm room, and found Smoker smoking cigars across from Tokikake and Maynard’s room.
• Sephiroth asked Smoker for a cigar, and the two introduced themselves and discussed where they were from.
• Smoker recalled seeing Roger smile on the execution platform and declared that Roger’s final words had deliberately started the Great Pirate Era.

Zephyr taught Class One about the Marines’ Six Powers and Haki, demonstrating their combined strength to capture the cadets’ attention. Sephiroth began considering how to improve Nine Serpent Island’s Haki training methods using his medical knowledge.

• Zephyr introduced the Six Powers and explained how they prepared Marines to master Armament and Observation Haki.
• Shuzo demonstrated Life Return by controlling his hair, and Zephyr described how advanced Six Powers training enabled control over the body.
• Zephyr used Iron Body and Armament Haki to punch through a thick steel plate without hitting Shuzo, impressing the cadets.
• Smoker, Tokikake, and other sleepy cadets were ordered to run two hundred laps when they dozed off during the lesson.
• Sephiroth connected Armament Haki to martial arts concepts from his previous life and considered improving Nine Serpent Island’s training methods.

Zephyr pushed the Marineford Military Academy cadets through punishing physical training and rebuked one who protested, while Sephiroth concealed his unusual recovery from Gion. Afterward, Tsuru taught military theory to a mostly exhausted, inattentive class.

• Sephiroth finished sword practice and joined his class, where Tokikake asked Gion out and she refused him.
• Zephyr ordered the cadets through an exhausting regimen of running, push-ups, rope climbs, and frog jumps.
• When a burly cadet protested the harsh training, Zephyr warned him about powerful New World pirates, and the cadet apologized and resumed exercising.
• Gion questioned why Sephiroth seemed so little affected by the workout, and he attributed his recovery to being a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.
• Tsuru taught military theory and naval strategy, while most of the exhausted cadets fell asleep or lost focus.

Vice Admiral Tsuru’s class ended, and Commodore Onigumo taught swordsmanship to the Military Academy students before sparring with Zephyr. Gion challenged Sephiroth to a practice bout, leaving him reflecting that he had not yet reached the level of a true swordsman.

• Tsuru dismissed class, and Sephiroth hurried Smoker to the swordsmanship dojo while criticizing his lack of attention in military theory.
• Zephyr introduced Commodore Onigumo as the students’ swordsmanship instructor, and Onigumo explained that speed, strength, and timing mattered more than flashy techniques.
• Onigumo demonstrated his Eight-Sword Style against Zephyr, who tangled the swords held by Onigumo’s hair and pointed out the openings created by controlling many weapons.
• Zephyr ordered the students to pair up for practical training, and Gion used Sephiroth as a shield to brush off Tokikake before challenging him to spar.
• Sephiroth considered Gion’s claim that she was a swordsman and judged that he himself still had not mastered Flying Slashes.

Sephiroth sparred with Gion and learned from her swordsmanship, while their teasing confused Tokikake and distracted him during his own match. After class, Tokikake challenged Sephiroth over Gion, and Zephyr arranged for them to face each other in the next hand-to-hand combat class.

• Sephiroth sparred with Gion, who overwhelmed him with a carefully planned barrage until his gaze distracted her and he struck her neck.
• Gion and Sephiroth continued sparring and trading suggestive taunts as Sephiroth absorbed her techniques and counterattacked when her stamina waned.
• Tokikake became distracted by their banter and let Maynard hit him several times during their sparring match.
• Tokikake challenged Sephiroth to a duel, proposing that the winner could pursue Gion and the loser would give up.
• Gion teased Sephiroth about his earlier remarks, and Zephyr told him and Tokikake they would pair up for the next hand-to-hand combat class.

Sephiroth defeated Tokikake in a brutal unarmed duel at Marineford Military Academy, after which Tokikake declared he had found his destined partner in nurse Liliana. Sephiroth visited the infirmary, where he checked on Smoker and learned that Vegapunk had developed medicine that rapidly healed injuries.

• Sephiroth and Tokikake exchanged hundreds of punches without dodging until Sephiroth knocked Tokikake unconscious and won their duel.
• Zephyr ordered the students to resume sparring and challenged Smoker, beating him badly before class ended.
• Tokikake confessed to nurse Liliana in the infirmary, was rejected, and told Sephiroth he had given up on Gion.
• Sephiroth found Smoker recovering from Zephyr's blows and explained that Armament Haki could hit Logia users.
• A nurse explained that Vegapunk's medicine had quickly treated Smoker's injuries, prompting Sephiroth to wonder about Vegapunk's research.

Sephiroth and his companions traveled to the Sabaody Archipelago for a break, where he reflected on the World Government’s tolerance of crime. Their dinner was interrupted when the lively street outside suddenly fell silent.

• Vice Admiral Tsuru dismissed the class and announced a comprehensive military theory and navigation examination for Monday.
• Tokikake invited Sephiroth to visit the Sabaody Archipelago, and Sephiroth, Smoker, Gion, Hina, and their companions agreed to go.
• The six boarded a commercial sailing ship and reached the Sabaody Archipelago after more than an hour.
• Sephiroth considered the island’s criminal underworld and the World Government’s complicity as the group traveled to a restaurant on Island 79.
• Tokikake treated the group to dinner and expensive West Blue wine, while Gion dismissed his talk of being in love with nurse Liliana.
• Sephiroth was about to taste his seafood chowder when the street outside abruptly fell silent, and Tokikake reacted with disgust.

After witnessing Saint Charlos kill a woman and her baby, Sephiroth stopped Smoker from attacking and warned him that the Celestial Dragons were protected by powerful agents. The injustice shook the group’s faith in Marine justice and sparked Sephiroth’s resolve to gain strength and build power of his own; afterward, he left to seek the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia on Sabaody.

• Saint Charlos shot a woman and her baby after the infant’s crying annoyed him.
• Sephiroth tackled Smoker and restrained him before he could attack Saint Charlos, then explained that the Celestial Dragon’s CP0 guards would have killed him.
• Smoker questioned whether the Marines’ justice could justify the deaths, and Sephiroth said the World Government had the power to define justice and evil.
• Sephiroth realized that living freely required strength and influence, and decided he needed a force of his own.
• After dinner, Sephiroth left the group and headed for the Lawless Zone on Islands 20 through 29 to search for the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.

Sephiroth found the Door-Door Fruit listed in an encyclopedia, then met Gild Tesoro as he tried to buy Stella’s freedom. He offered to pay the price in exchange for Tesoro’s loyalty, and Tesoro accepted as Sephiroth flew off to get the money.

• Sephiroth bought a Devil Fruit encyclopedia and found an entry for the Door-Door Fruit, though it did not list the Vampire Fruit he had eaten.
• Sephiroth saw Tesoro singing to Stella, a slave he hoped to free, and learned he had saved only half of her thirty-eight-million-Beli price.
• Sephiroth offered to pay for Stella’s freedom if Tesoro became his subordinate, and Tesoro agreed.
• Sephiroth revealed his Devil Fruit powers and flew away to retrieve the money while Tesoro and Stella waited together.

Zephyr’s concerns about Sephiroth’s suspicious background led Steel Bone Kong to take responsibility for investigating and monitoring him. After Zephyr caught Sephiroth returning to the dormitory late at night, Sephiroth slipped away with his money, using his newly developed Black Mist to conceal his flight.

• Zephyr presented Steel Bone Kong with files on Tokikake, Gion, and Sephiroth, and warned that Sephiroth might be a pirate spy.
• Steel Bone Kong told Zephyr not to discard a promising recruit based on suspicion and promised to investigate Sephiroth himself.
• Zephyr intercepted Sephiroth outside the dormitory late at night, and Sephiroth gave him a box of cigars before returning inside.
• Sephiroth retrieved his belongings and more than seventy million Belly, then flew away beneath Black Mist to avoid patrolling Marines.
• Sephiroth reflected on how Black Mist obscured vision but could not block Observation Haki, and considered the limits of Devil Fruit abilities.

Sephiroth used Gild Tesoro’s money to free Stella from slavery and recruited him into a new company called Umbrella Corporation. Stella revealed that pirates had conquered her homeland, but Sephiroth recognized their leader as Paul Frode, who had been defeated by Garp and sent to Impel Down.

• Sephiroth arrived at the Human Trafficking Shop with the money, and the owner completed Stella’s purchase and removed her Explosive Collar.
• Stella reunited with Gild Tesoro, and Sephiroth asked Tesoro to work for him.
• Sephiroth named himself Chairman and Tesoro Vice Chairman of Umbrella Corporation, outlining plans to enter several industries.
• Stella explained that Pirate Admiral Paul Frode and his Lions Grand Fleet had attacked Salto Kingdom and sold her into slavery.
• Sephiroth told Stella that Garp had defeated Paul Frode and sent him to Impel Down, and Stella cried with relief.