Chapter Summaries

Plot points

• Werther pays Brown for a protective bubble and follows a Diving Guide, successfully taking his ship beneath the Sabaody Archipelago.
• As the ship descends through the striking underwater scenery, Werther notices Tuski acting suspiciously. He discovers Anita hiding aboard, having secretly joined the voyage.
• Anita says she came to help Werther reach Fish-Man Island. She reveals she ate the Logia Sun-Sun Fruit, which lets her fly without tiring and release extreme heat. Werther prevents her from transforming fully aboard the ship, fearing she will burn it.
• Impressed by her powers, Werther agrees she may travel with them, on the conditions that she trains with Tuski and stops presenting herself as one of the Dragon People.
• Werther confronts Anita about how Tuski got to Impel Down. She denies involvement, but her hurried attempt to escape suggests she may know more.
• Anita reunites enthusiastically with Tuski and meets Bonney, whom Werther introduces as a captured pirate. As Anita admires the underwater landscape, she asks whether there is anything dangerous on the route to Fish-Man Island. Werther realizes he has no answer.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther takes responsibility for Anita’s safety but recognizes her new strength and allows her to join the adventure. He also teases her and insists on training and caution.
• Anita is more powerful and confident after gaining the Sun-Sun Fruit, though she remains physically weak and resists Werther’s training rules. Her evasiveness over Tuski’s escape hints at a secret.
• Tuski appears guilty about Anita’s stowaway arrival but is delighted to see her again.
• Bonney is present aboard the ship, watching the descent; Anita dismisses her after Werther’s teasing introduction.

Significant themes

• Adventure and discovery: The underwater descent opens up a beautiful, unfamiliar world.
• Power and responsibility: Anita’s formidable new abilities come with risks, especially aboard a vulnerable ship.
• Trust and secrecy: Tuski’s suspicious behavior and Anita’s evasions leave questions about how events at Impel Down unfolded.
• Protection versus independence: Werther wants to keep Anita safe, while she insists she is strong enough to choose her own adventure.

Key plot points and events

• Anita reveals she has studied New World navigation and takes responsibility for choosing how the ship travels, while Werther chooses their destination.
• Werther admits he planned to reach Fish-Man Island by simply sinking straight down. Anita explains the dangers of the route and uses the ship’s underwater propulsion to avoid treacherous currents.
• They descend into the deep sea, passing through darkness and an undersea volcanic region, then reach Fish-Man Island without incident.
• At the island’s guarded entrance, Anita explains that forcing their way through could strip away the ship’s protective coating. Werther identifies himself as a Shichibukai and threatens to destroy the island if the passage is not opened.
• Alarmed soldiers report his arrival to the king. The mermaid captain decides to let Werther’s ship in rather than provoke immediate violence, and the group enters.

Character developments

• Anita proves herself a capable, practical navigator, turning her studies into a skill the crew needs. Her enthusiastic agreement with Werther’s threat also suggests she is becoming comfortable with his violent approach.
• Werther recognizes Anita’s value and trusts her with the ship’s course, but remains impatient and quick to threaten force when challenged.

Character interactions

• Werther and Anita negotiate their roles: he chooses destinations, while she directs the route.
• Anita corrects Werther’s dangerous assumptions about the journey and takes charge of the ship.
• At the entrance, Anita supports Werther’s threat rather than urging restraint.
• The guards and captain weigh the danger of admitting Werther against the more immediate risk of refusing him.

Significant themes

• Expertise and trust: Werther’s survival depends on accepting Anita’s knowledge in unfamiliar waters.
• Danger and preparation: The deep sea and Fish-Man Island’s defenses make seemingly simple travel perilous.
• Power through intimidation: Werther’s reputation and threats shape the island’s decision, even before he arrives.

Key plot points and events

• Werther arrives at Fish-Man Island and explores its unusual, apparently artificial environment.
• At Ryugu Palace, Neptune learns that Werther has landed. Big Mom’s envoys, Pekoms and Baron Tamago, fear that they cannot defeat him and decide to avoid a confrontation until he leaves.
• Pressured by the danger and lacking protection after Whitebeard’s death, Neptune agrees to Big Mom’s terms: Fish-Man Island will send sweets each month in exchange for protection.
• Werther wanders the island alone, samples its food, and notices the merfolk’s coolness toward humans.
• He enters the Mermaid Cafe, where the server Camie recognizes him and drops the food in fright. Werther remembers that the café’s manager is a fortune-telling mermaid and asks to have his fortune told.

Character developments and interactions

• Neptune shifts quickly from negotiating with Big Mom to prioritizing Fish-Man Island’s immediate safety. He agrees to the deal and plans to welcome Werther personally.
• Pekoms and Baron Tamago abandon their earlier confidence once they hear Werther is nearby. They discuss hiding in the palace and report his impending move into the New World to Big Mom.
• Werther remains relaxed and curious, exploring the island and treating his encounter with Camie casually, despite his reputation.
• Camie is visibly terrified because she connects Werther to Whitebeard’s death and the loss of Fish-Man Island’s protection.

Significant themes

• Power and protection: Whitebeard’s death leaves Fish-Man Island vulnerable, making it dependent on Big Mom’s protection.
• Fear and reputation: Werther’s name alone unsettles Big Mom’s envoys and alarms Camie.
• Racial tension: The merfolk’s reserve toward humans hints at the deep-seated hostility between the groups.

Key plot points and events

• Werther follows the frightened mermaid Camie to meet Madame Shyarly, the fortune-teller at the Mermaid Cafe.
• Shyarly insists she performs divinations, not ordinary fortune-telling, and warns that her visions are usually grim. Werther is intrigued by her unusual ability and wonders whether it is connected to the nature of Princess Shirahoshi.
• Though initially reluctant, Shyarly agrees to read Werther. His reflection fades from the crystal ball, which then slips from her trembling hands and shatters.
• Shyarly falls to her knees, begging Werther to spare Fish-Man Island. Her vision showed two possible futures: one in which he stands amid slaughtered mermaids beneath a scorching red sun, and another whose outcome she hopes to secure by appealing to him.

Character developments

• Werther is curious about Shyarly and her powers. Although he can be threatening, he decides not to force a reading and is genuinely baffled by her desperate reaction.
• Shyarly shifts from guarded confidence to terror after her vision. She acts strategically as well as emotionally, trying to steer events toward the more hopeful of the two futures.
• Camie remains intimidated by Werther and is stunned by Shyarly’s behavior.

Significant themes

• Fate and uncertainty: Shyarly sees multiple possible futures, suggesting that outcomes may not be fixed.
• Fear and misinterpretation: Werther’s reputation and Shyarly’s vision lead her to believe he may destroy the island, though he has made no such threat.
• Power and vulnerability: Shyarly’s ability gives her insight, but it also leaves her powerless to prevent what she sees except by pleading.

Character interactions

• Werther intimidates Camie into guiding him, then questions Shyarly about her ability.
• Shyarly and Werther discuss her origins and the possibility that she shares something unusual with Shirahoshi.
• After the vision, Shyarly clings to Werther and begs him to spare the island, leaving him confused and Camie speechless.

Plot points

• Madame Shyarly persuades Werther not to harm Fish-Man Island by asking to guide him around the island. He agrees and introduces himself as Werther, the Thunder Swordsman.
• Shyarly takes him to Gyoncorde Plaza and then to a renowned shellfish restaurant, hoping to keep him entertained and protect her home.
• As they talk, Werther says he judges people by their strength rather than their race. Shyarly also tells him the fearsome rumors surrounding him, including one true story about him wiping out a people.
• Over dinner, Werther bluntly asks how mermaids reproduce. Shyarly explains that after age thirty their tails can become legs, allowing them to reproduce like humans. His follow-up teasing embarrasses and irritates her, though she remains wary of confronting him.
• Werther enjoys the restaurant’s seafood, and Shyarly is relieved that the meal seems to be keeping him in good spirits.

Character developments and interactions

• Shyarly shifts from controlled reserve to pleading desperation, driven by her determination to safeguard Fish-Man Island. As the guide, she cautiously tests Werther’s character and tries to manage his mood.
• Werther is curious, casually provocative, and less prejudiced than Shyarly expected. He is candid about his violent reputation and shows little concern for how alarming his admissions sound.
• Their interaction mixes Shyarly’s anxiety and diplomacy with Werther’s bluntness and teasing. Despite her fear, she challenges his rude questions with sharp retorts.

Significant themes

• Protecting home under threat: Shyarly’s offer to guide Werther is an effort to influence a powerful potential danger.
• Rumor versus reality: Werther is not as relentlessly bloodthirsty as the stories suggest, but some of the worst rumors are true.
• Race and judgment: Werther claims to judge individuals by strength rather than species, surprising Shyarly.
• Uneasy comedy: His tactless questions clash with Shyarly’s careful attempts to keep the situation peaceful.

Plot points

• King Neptune meets Werther outside a restaurant, politely welcoming him to Fish-Man Island while privately disliking him.
• Werther asks whether the island has become Big Mom’s territory. Neptune says it remains independent and has been defending itself since Whitebeard’s death, but his evasiveness makes Werther suspect he is hiding something.
• When Werther asks to tour Ryugu Palace, Neptune tries to discourage him by claiming it is under renovation. Werther sees through the excuse and insists on going; Neptune reluctantly agrees and offers a banquet.
• Shyarly joins, saying she has foreseen something about the island’s future and needs to act. Neptune, aware of her often disastrous predictions, is uneasy.
• Werther calls Anita, who is shopping, and invites her to join him. She enthusiastically accepts. The group heads to Ryugu Palace and waits at its entrance for Anita and Tuski, who arrive in the distance.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther remains confident and perceptive: he spots Neptune’s suspicious behavior and presses ahead despite the king’s reluctance.
• Neptune tries to maintain diplomacy but grows increasingly uncomfortable as Werther probes the situation and decides to visit the palace.
• Shyarly quietly supports Werther’s visit, motivated by her vision and concern for Fish-Man Island. She avoids challenging him directly.
• Anita eagerly joins the outing, while Tuski accompanies her.

Themes

• Political tension and uneasy diplomacy: Neptune’s courteous welcome masks distrust and fear of being caught between Werther and Big Mom.
• Suspicion and concealed truths: Werther recognizes that Neptune’s account of Fish-Man Island may be incomplete.
• Forewarning and responsibility: Shyarly’s prediction suggests possible danger and drives her to take action.

Key plot points and events

• King Neptune escorts Werther, Anita, and Tuski into Ryugu Palace, giving Werther bubble coral so they can travel through the seawater.
• Neptune hosts a banquet. He explains that mermaids and Fish-Men are related but have different customs: mermaids avoid eating fish and meat, while many Fish-Men live in Fish-Man District and resent humans.
• Werther suspects Neptune is concealing something and uses Observation Haki to scan the palace. He detects the hidden Big Mom Pirates’ envoys, Pekoms and Baron Tamago, who decide to come out rather than keep hiding.
• Werther also senses an unusual presence in the Hard-Shell Tower and identifies it as the legendary Poseidon—Shirahoshi. Startled and frightened, Shirahoshi wakes from her nap.
• Werther says he wants to see the Sea Kings Poseidon can summon. Neptune confronts him with his trident, vowing to protect his daughter. Shyarly pleads for the confrontation to stop, fearing Fish-Man Island will be destroyed.

Character developments and interactions

• Neptune tries to balance the competing pressures of Werther and the Big Mom Pirates, welcoming Werther despite his misgivings. Once Shirahoshi is threatened, his polite composure gives way to fierce protectiveness.
• Werther moves from enjoying the banquet to probing Neptune’s secrecy. His curiosity about Poseidon becomes a direct threat to Shirahoshi, whether or not he intends to harm her.
• Pekoms and Baron Tamago emerge after Werther’s Haki exposes them; Pekoms takes the lead while Baron Tamago is reluctant.
• Shirahoshi is frightened by the powerful presence sweeping the palace, and Megalo tries to comfort her.
• Shyarly recognizes how dangerous the standoff is and urgently tries to prevent escalation.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Werther’s strength lets him uncover hidden presences, but his interest in Poseidon puts a vulnerable young princess at risk.
• Political pressure and neutrality: Neptune feels trapped between powerful outsiders and his duty to his people.
• Protection and responsibility: Neptune is prepared to risk his life for Shirahoshi, while Shyarly warns that their clash could endanger the whole island.
• Cultural differences: The banquet conversation highlights distinctions between mermaids and Fish-Men, including their diets, communities, and attitudes toward humans.

Key plot points and events

• As a confrontation at Ryugu Palace is about to begin, Pekoms steps forward to challenge Werther. Werther recognizes him as one of Big Mom’s crew and draws his newly upgraded Supreme Grade swords, Intent Blood.
• The swords now drain Life Force directly from living beings. Werther also senses they have gained a powerful new ability, though he does not use it here.
• Anita gives Werther and Tuski protection, then unleashes her new ability, Blazing Sun: a miniature sun that fills the banquet hall with intense heat.
• The heat overwhelms the gathered mermaids, Neptune, Pekoms, and Baron Tamago. Once the sun disappears, many of the mermaids have been severely dehydrated, and the others are left incapacitated.
• Tamago tries to escape, but Werther intercepts him and crushes his head. Werther then turns toward Pekoms and Neptune.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther displays confidence in his newly strengthened swords and treats the encounter as an opportunity to test his crew’s abilities. He admires Anita’s power and encourages her to build stamina.
• Anita reveals a devastating new power and shows little distress at the harm it causes. Werther thinks his own influence may be making her less softhearted—and approves.
• Pekoms bravely challenges Werther despite the overwhelming odds, but Anita’s attack leaves him too weak to continue.
• Neptune grieves for his people and confronts Anita, while trying to stand between Werther and the others.
• Tamago responds to danger by trying to flee; Werther kills him before he can escape.
• Anita protects Werther and Tuski from the heat, highlighting their close coordination.

Significant themes

• Power and its cost: Anita’s formidable ability drains her stamina and inflicts devastating collateral damage.
• Growing ruthlessness: Anita’s casual response to the victims suggests her adventures with Werther are shaping her temperament.
• Loyalty and courage: Pekoms faces Werther despite fear and physical weakness, contrasting with Tamago’s attempted escape.
• Escalating danger: Big Mom’s presence in Fish-Man Island, Werther’s upgraded weapons, and Anita’s new power all raise the stakes.

Key plot points and events

• Werther confronts the badly injured Pekoms and King Neptune at Ryugu Palace. Neptune apologizes for failing to protect Pekoms, while Pekoms praises Neptune’s loyalty.
• Pekoms uses a Den Den Mushi hidden in his shell to contact Big Mom. He reports that he encountered Werther on Fish-Man Island and believes he may be speaking to her for the last time.
• Big Mom surprises Werther by saying she does not intend to seek revenge on him. Instead, she credits him with giving her a “favorite daughter” and says she will leave him to her to kill.
• Big Mom’s new daughter, Launi Aileen, speaks to Werther. She reveals that she and Erin were once two people, and vows to kill him for what he did to her former “perfect self.”
• Werther recognizes Erin’s name but doubts she could threaten him, though he remains wary of Big Mom’s confidence in her.
• When Big Mom asks about her subordinates, Werther confirms that one is dead and Pekoms is near death. Pekoms weakly insists that he is a lion, not a turtle.
• Werther threatens to sink Fish-Man Island if Big Mom continues to claim it. Big Mom argues that the island is too strategically important to destroy, but Werther proposes a wager over whether he would actually do it.

Character developments and interactions

• Neptune and Pekoms form a bond through mutual loyalty: Neptune regrets endangering Pekoms, and Pekoms appreciates that Neptune did not betray him.
• Werther remains taunting and unrestrained, even while negotiating with one of the world’s most powerful pirates. He treats the danger to Fish-Man Island as leverage and seems unconcerned about the consequences.
• Big Mom shows unexpected restraint toward Werther, acknowledging his strength after his actions at the Summit War. She is also delighted by Launi Aileen’s transformation and sees her as a powerful future fighter.
• Launi Aileen emerges as a personal antagonist, framing Werther’s past actions as an unforgivable violation and making revenge her goal.
• Neptune is horrified as Werther and Big Mom turn Fish-Man Island into the center of their confrontation.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and solidarity: Neptune and Pekoms find mutual respect despite their desperate circumstances.
• Transformation and identity: Launi Aileen’s claim that she and Erin were once two people raises questions about what changed and who she is now.
• Power and threat: The conversation shifts from personal revenge to a high-stakes contest between Werther and Big Mom.
• Collateral danger: Fish-Man Island’s people are endangered by a feud they did not create.

Key plot points and events

• Big Mom learns that Werther belongs to Sword Intent Hall and threatens to have his masters’ graves disturbed unless he gives up Fish-Man Island.
• Enraged, Werther unleashes a terrifying aura and warns Big Mom that he will attack her territory—and devote himself to bringing her down—if the graves are touched. He also crushes Pekoms’ shell underfoot.
• Big Mom and Werther reach a deal: Big Mom takes control of Fish-Man Island, while she and her subordinates must stay out of Loguetown. Werther releases Pekoms but vows to confront Big Mom someday.
• Neptune recognizes that the agreement has spared Fish-Man Island and accepts that he and Pekoms are now allies.
• Big Mom explains to Laura Erin that Fish-Man Island is strategically valuable: it supplies desserts and gives her influence over pirates entering the New World. With rival powers gathering strength, she cannot let a competitor claim it.
• Werther, Tuski, and Anita leave Ryugu Palace and set sail through Fish-Man Island’s coating toward the surface. Werther abandons his plan to fight the enormous Sea Kings, judging them too dangerous, and looks forward to entering the New World.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther shows both fierce loyalty and restraint. He is willing to risk war to protect his masters’ graves, but honors his agreement not to harm Fish-Man Island and sensibly avoids a fight he may not survive.
• Big Mom reveals herself as a strategic thinker beneath her intimidating manner. She compromises to preserve her control of Fish-Man Island and prevent another Emperor from gaining it.
• Neptune accepts the bargain as the best available outcome and recognizes the new alliance with Pekoms.
• Laura Erin questions Big Mom’s concession, prompting Big Mom to explain her broader political aims.
• Shyarly, frightened by Werther’s aura, considers fleeing but stays because of her earlier prediction about Fish-Man Island.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and honor: Werther’s devotion to his masters and commitment to keep his word guide his choices.
• Power and deterrence: Both sides use threats to protect their interests, but the confrontation ends through negotiation rather than battle.
• Strategic ambition: Big Mom treats territory as a source of political, economic, and military advantage.
• Knowing one’s limits: Werther’s decision not to challenge the Sea Kings shows that courage does not mean recklessness.

Plot and events

• Werther’s ship ascends toward the New World, avoiding dangerous currents that could sweep it back to the seafloor or toward the surface.
• Werther realizes Bonney never rejoined the ship. He finds her Seastone collar in his room and concludes that she escaped by guessing its two-digit code.
• Bonney watches the ship depart, relieved to be free, though she feels conflicted about how her time with Werther changed her feelings. She does not realize he may have awakened a new side of her.
• The ship breaks through the ocean and reaches the New World. Just as Werther remarks that the weather seems calm, stones begin falling from the sky.
• Tuski’s thread defenses stop only the smaller stones. Werther uses his Thunder God Spear to clear a path through the barrage, and Anita steers the ship out of danger.
• Anita warns that the impacts are heating the sea and may create a massive whirlpool. Werther recognizes that her judgment prevents him from lingering in a dangerous area.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther is resourceful in combat but initially underestimates the New World’s hazards. He acknowledges Anita’s growing competence and his own limits after the encounter.
• Anita demonstrates knowledge, quick thinking, and decisive leadership, directing Tuski’s defenses and the ship’s escape. She rebukes Werther for treating the danger as a spectacle.
• Tuski contributes by spreading a web over the ship, though it can protect only against smaller stones.
• Bonney gains her freedom, but her relief is complicated by shame and confusion about her changed feelings toward Werther.
• Werther and Bonney’s relationship remains unresolved: Bonney escapes, while the narration hints that their next meeting may revive the effects of their past.

Significant themes

• The New World is presented as an environment where natural forces can be as deadly as enemies.
• Survival depends not only on strength, but also on judgment, teamwork, and heeding warnings.
• Bonney’s escape introduces themes of freedom, conflicted feelings, and the lasting consequences of an unequal relationship.

Key plot points and events

• Anita complains of hunger only an hour after lunch, prompting Werther to call Tuski to examine her.
• Tuski discovers that Anita’s body rapidly consumes energy while she trains. She can keep training, but needs substantial nourishment—and her unusual constitution makes her training more than ten times as effective as an ordinary person’s.
• Werther prepares an energy-rich dish using Sea King meat, fruit juice, and sweet-potato starch. Anita loves it and asks him to make it regularly, then eagerly returns to training.
• Werther reflects on Anita’s Sun-Sun Fruit and how Devil Fruit powers may develop through associations rather than ordinary physical rules.
• He senses an approaching ship and recognizes its famous flag, feeling excitement rather than alarm.

Character developments and interactions

• Anita is revealed to have a remarkable training advantage, though it comes with unusually high nutritional needs. Her appetite and delight in Werther’s cooking show how much she enjoys food, while her eagerness to resume training underscores her determination to grow stronger.
• Werther moves from concern about Anita’s sudden hunger to encouragement, supplying the food she needs and thinking about how to help her develop her abilities. He also stays alert to possible threats after the earlier stone attack.
• Tuski responds with concern and uses his transparent hairs to examine Anita. His findings reassure Werther and Anita that she can train safely if properly nourished.
• The exchange among the three is affectionate and familiar: Werther teases Anita, Tuski protects and checks on her, and Werther supports her ambitions.

Significant themes

• Growth through effort: Anita’s exceptional training efficiency gives her a path toward the strength she wants, but she must work and fuel her body.
• Care and support: Werther’s cooking and Tuski’s examination show the group helping Anita pursue her goals.
• Unpredictable power: Werther’s thoughts about Devil Fruits suggest that abilities can evolve in imaginative, unconventional ways.
• Anticipation of new encounters: The approaching ship and its renowned flag set up a potentially important meeting.

Plot and events

• Werther encounters a ship belonging to the Mysterious Troupe, a secretive New World trading company known for exchanging rare goods and gold rather than Beli. Its ships—and even its merchants—can self-destruct, making theft too costly and giving the troupe an untarnished reputation.
• Interested in its wares, Werther agrees to trade. A masked, gold-robed merchant approaches and invites him aboard, but Werther stays on his own ship because he knows the troupe’s vessels are rigged with explosives.
• Werther gathers gold and rare items to offer. Anita and Tuski join him on deck, and he invites them to choose anything that interests them.
• Tuski is drawn to a worn notebook said to contain a famous Drum Kingdom doctor’s lifetime of medical knowledge, including lost techniques. Werther agrees to buy it.
• The merchant explains that the troupe uses its own currency, Mysterious Coins, to value goods and simplify trades. Werther asks him to appraise his offerings; seeing the gold and rare items, the merchant expects a major deal.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther is curious about the troupe but remains cautious about its explosives. He is also generous toward his companions, readily agreeing to obtain Tuski’s chosen book.
• Tuski shows a strong interest in medical knowledge, recognizing the notebook’s value immediately.
• Anita joins the browsing and asks about the unfamiliar ship, but has not yet selected an item.
• The Mysterious Merchant is theatrical and persuasive, but admits he relies on explosives for protection because he cannot fight well. He deals courteously with Werther and explains the troupe’s pricing system.

Significant themes

• Security through deterrence: The troupe’s willingness to destroy its own ship and cargo prevents others from robbing it.
• Trust and caution in commerce: The merchants have a strong reputation, yet their extreme safeguards keep even friendly negotiations tense.
• Value beyond ordinary money: Rare knowledge, valuable objects, and gold matter more than standard currency in the troupe’s trade.

Key plot points and events

• Werther and the mysterious merchant finish appraising Werther’s goods, which are worth 40 Mysterious Coins.
• Tuski chooses a notebook containing a famous doctor’s life’s work for 3 coins. The merchant then offers him Death’s Kiss, an unusually sharp knife once owned by a famous assassin. Werther buys it for Tuski for 4 coins.
• Anita selects a bottle containing a Meilan Tree seed. The rare tree is prized for its delicious, nutritious fruit but is difficult to grow and vulnerable to animals. Werther agrees to pay 6 coins.
• Werther spots an unusual Eternal Pose, a crystal device with a metal hand pointing in a fixed direction. The merchant claims it leads to Endless Island, a legendary place the Mysterious Troupe has explored. Their expedition suffered heavy losses on the Tower of Passage’s third floor, so they abandoned it.
• Skeptical at first, Werther becomes intrigued and decides to buy the Eternal Pose.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther acts as the group’s buyer, readily spending his coins when Tuski or Anita finds something useful. His curiosity and appetite for adventure grow when he hears that Endless Island is real.
• Tuski’s choices reveal his medical priorities: he values the doctor’s notebook and the specialized cutting knife. Unable to speak, he communicates his interest to Werther through pleading looks.
• Anita shows a personal interest in the Meilan Tree seed, accepting the challenge of its demanding growing conditions.
• The merchant is an energetic, persuasive trader who tailors his pitches to each customer. He mistakes Werther for the captain, while treating him as the final authority on the others’ purchases.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and practical tools: Tuski invests in medical learning and equipment.
• Rarity and risk: The seed and legendary Eternal Pose are valuable partly because they are scarce or difficult to obtain.
• Curiosity and exploration: Werther’s skepticism gives way to excitement at the possibility of reaching a place long dismissed as myth.
• Trust in trade: The merchant’s assurances about the Pose’s authenticity must overcome Werther’s suspicion.

Key plot points and events

• Werther buys an Eternal Pose to the legendary Endless Island from the Mysterious Merchant for twenty Mysterious Coins. The merchant also gives him a gold customer card promising future discounts.
• Though the crew had planned to sail to Dressrosa, Werther changes course to investigate the island. Anita accepts the decision and takes charge of navigating, while Tuski remains absorbed in his notebook.
• After three days at sea, the crew encounters the Hungry Wolf Pirates, who mistake their unflagged ship for an easy merchant target and fire on it.
• Werther boards the pirate ship to avoid making a mess of his own deck. The pirates surround him, while Anita calls out that she is hungry and urges him to finish quickly so he can make lunch.
• Werther draws his Cursed Swords, which are hungry for Life Force, and prepares to fight.
• The first mate, Rayleigh, recognizes Werther and tries to warn the captain. Captain Brad dismisses him—until Rayleigh identifies Werther as the Thunder Swordsman. Brad drops his sword in fear, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

Character developments

• Werther is impulsive and curious, readily abandoning his original route to pursue a legend. He is also practical in a darkly comic way: he boards the enemy ship mainly to avoid cleaning blood off his own deck.
• Anita shows confidence in her navigation and is more concerned about lunch than Werther’s safety, reflecting her familiar teasing, food-focused dynamic with him.
• Tuski remains engrossed in his notebook and largely disengaged from the crew’s decisions.
• Rayleigh is cautious and perceptive, relying on intelligence rather than strength. His warning contrasts with Captain Brad’s arrogance.
• Brad is boastful and reckless, but his bravado collapses as soon as he learns Werther’s identity.

Significant themes

• Reputation and fear: Werther’s name is enough to break the pirates’ confidence before a fight begins.
• Curiosity and adventure: The promise of a legendary island redirects the crew’s journey.
• Comedy amid danger: The pirate attack is undercut by the crew’s mundane concerns—especially Anita’s hunger and Werther’s desire to avoid cleaning up.
• Caution versus arrogance: Rayleigh’s sound judgment clashes with Brad’s overconfidence.

Character interactions

• The Mysterious Merchant treats Werther as a valued customer, establishing a potential future connection through the trading company.
• Werther consults Anita and Tuski before changing course; Anita supports the plan and offers to navigate.
• Anita’s lunch demands irritate Werther, who tells her to eat leftover desserts.
• Rayleigh tries to persuade Brad to flee, but Brad insults him until the first mate reveals Werther’s identity.

Key plot points and events

• Hungry Wolf Brad’s crew confronts Werther, but Werther’s Sword Aura overwhelms them almost instantly, killing Vice-Captain Rayleigh and most of the pirates.
• Werther offers the remaining pirates a choice: kill Brad and be spared, or die. The crew turns on Brad, driven by fear and long-standing resentment over his selfish and abusive leadership.
• Brad survives the fight with his crew, but Werther kills him, clarifying that only the men who defeated their captain were promised their lives.
• The encounter prompts Werther to reflect on how the Summit War and his anger have pushed him toward violence that violates his own principles. He resolves not to lose himself again.
• Back aboard his ship, Werther reunites with Anita and cooks lunch. He advises her to stop trying to increase the heat of her Devil Fruit techniques for now and focus instead on uses that protect her.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther shows overwhelming strength and cold decisiveness, but the pirates’ selfishness makes him reconsider his own conduct. He recognizes the danger of becoming an executioner rather than the swordsman he wants to be.
• Brad reveals both cowardice and arrogance: he considers fleeing, then urges his crew to fight for him, but ultimately falls to the men he mistreated.
• The pirates shift from pleading for mercy to attacking Brad, choosing survival and revenge over loyalty.
• Anita is frustrated that her Devil Fruit moves are short-lived and less powerful than she hoped. Werther bluntly critiques her “Blazing Sun” technique but redirects her toward defensive applications suited to her stamina and age. Their teasing, familiar exchange lightens the mood after the battle.

Significant themes

• Moral limits and self-control: Werther fears that repeated violence is eroding the principles he set for himself.
• Survival, resentment, and betrayal: Brad’s crew turns on him when survival offers an excuse to act on years of accumulated grievances.
• Growth through realistic limits: Anita must adapt her training to her current abilities rather than pursue power she cannot yet sustain.

Key plot points and events

• After ten days at sea, Werther, Anita, and Tuski reach Endless Island, but thousands of Sea Kings prevent their ship from approaching. They anchor offshore and fly to the island.
• At the island’s center, they discover an immense black structure—the legendary Heaven-Reaching Tower. Its scale and seamless, unusually hard stone leave Werther wondering how it was built.
• The group spends hours following the wall in search of an entrance. Werther’s sword cannot break through it, and Anita tires of flying and persuades him to carry her.
• Werther finds vines covering part of the wall. When he touches them, they withdraw into the stone and reveal a dark passage.
• The trio cautiously enters. Anita lights the way with her Devil Fruit ability, and they eventually emerge into a vast forest—the Tower’s first floor.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther takes charge of the journey, prepares supplies, and remains practical and persistent as the group investigates the Tower. He tries to reassure Anita by recalling that the Mysterious Troupe reached the third floor.
• Anita playfully imitates Werther’s relaxed flying pose, then avoids his request to carry him. Later, tired from flying, she insists on riding on his back and bargains with him over what to call him. Despite her joking manner, she admits to feeling uneasy inside the passage.
• Tuski accompanies the others and uses wings grown from fur to fly; the chapter otherwise gives him little individual focus.
• The trio rely on one another: Werther leads and explores, Anita supplies light, and Tuski helps with the journey. Their banter contrasts with the growing mystery and danger of the Tower.

Significant themes

• Exploration and mystery: The island and Tower present unanswered questions about their origins, construction, and interior.
• Persistence in the face of obstacles: The group cannot approach by ship or break through the wall, but keeps searching until they find a way inside.
• Scale and wonder: The Tower’s enormous, seemingly ancient architecture inspires awe and challenges ordinary explanations.

Plot points and events

• Werther, Anita, and Tuski explore the tower’s first-floor forest, a thriving ecosystem that Werther senses is somehow abnormal.
• They encounter a gigantic ant dragging a large insect corpse. Werther avoids provoking it, suspecting it may have a colony nearby.
• They then find an elephant no larger than a cat. When Werther catches it, a herd of even tinier elephants emerges; Anita briefly holds the animal before letting it return to its group.
• Other creatures reinforce the forest’s strangeness: a butterfly with a wingspan exceeding ten meters and hippos small enough to fit in a puddle.
• Werther concludes that the forest reverses ordinary scale: normally small animals grow huge, while large animals become miniature. He suspects an unknown force maintains the ecosystem and warns that the creatures may not survive outside it.
• The Thunder Core within Werther reacts to a benevolent presence. He follows the sensation and discovers a shifting cloud of pale-blue mist with lightning inside. Anita and Tuski arrive and see it too.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther moves from assuming the animals are genetic mutations to recognizing a broader, systematic size-reversal phenomenon. His caution shows when he avoids the ant, while his curiosity drives him toward the mysterious presence.
• Anita is delighted by the miniature animals, especially the elephant, and suggests taking some home. She accepts Werther’s warning but remains fascinated. She is startled when he suddenly runs ahead.
• Tuski accompanies the exploration and follows with Anita when Werther senses something unusual.
• The pale-blue mist appears curious about Werther but hesitant to approach, suggesting a tentative connection between them.

Significant themes

• Nature defying expectations: The forest overturns familiar assumptions about animal size and ecology.
• Curiosity balanced with caution: The group investigates the strange ecosystem, but Werther recognizes the risks of disturbing or removing its inhabitants.
• Mystery and connection: The Thunder Core’s response and the mist’s apparent awareness introduce a new, unexplained force—and hint at a special relationship with Werther.

Key events

• A blue mist absorbs Werther’s lightning, becomes clearer, and forms an arrow. Sensing no danger, Werther follows it with Anita and Tuski.
• The mist leads them to two enormous, ancient trees. One introduces itself as Ye Lv, an Obit Tree that claims to be three thousand years old.
• Ye Lv explains that the blue mist is Blue Lightning, a technological product originating from the third floor. He knows little about the area’s strange environment and directs Werther to the other tree.
• The second tree, much older and extraordinarily slow-talking, says the environment results from a promise made with the King of the Sky, which has turned—or will turn—everything upside down. It begins recounting the area’s history, but the chapter ends before the explanation is complete.

Character developments and interactions

• Werther cautiously follows the mist, then questions the trees. His patience wears thin at the old tree’s painfully slow speech, and he silences Ye Lv by stuffing a mushroom into his mouth so he can hear the explanation.
• Anita and Tuski follow Werther and hide behind him when the tree first speaks. Anita later urges Werther to stay calm so they can get useful information.
• Ye Lv is boastful, excitable, and chatty, but quickly apologizes when Werther threatens to cut him down. He repeatedly interrupts the old tree.
• The old tree is sleepy and gentle, but its extremely slow speech frustrates the group.

Significant themes

• Ancient history and forgotten knowledge: Ye Lv recalls that humans once worshipped Obit Trees, while the old tree hints at a deeper history tied to the King of the Sky.
• Uncertainty and discovery: The blue mist and the inverted environment reveal that the Tower’s world holds unfamiliar, possibly technological secrets.
• Humor amid danger: Werther’s threats, Ye Lv’s interruption, and the mushroom gag make the search for answers comically frustrating.

Plot points and events

• After reaching the Ancient Tree’s crown, Werther, Anita, and Tuski climb the stairs to the second level. They miss the tree’s warning about the extreme cold.
• The level looks like a desert beneath a blazing sun, but its unnatural chill quickly overwhelms Werther, leaving him close to freezing to death.
• Tuski shelters the group inside Tibbers, his enormous fur creation. Anita’s warmth helps Werther recover.
• The travelers spot a struggling polar bear crossing the frozen ground. It approaches Tibbers and begs for food, saying it has not eaten in three days.
• Tuski brings the bear inside. Terrified by Werther and the others, it begs them not to eat it.

Character developments

• Werther is shown to be vulnerable to the second level’s strange cold, despite his strength. He recovers once sheltered, then begins to assess the danger and possible life in the desert.
• Anita stays close and uses her heat to help Werther, recognizing the seriousness of his condition.
• Tuski acts quickly to protect the group and shows his particular interest in intelligent animals.
• The polar bear appears unusually expressive and intelligent, but also hungry, desperate, and extremely timid.

Character interactions

• Anita comforts Werther while he recovers inside Tibbers.
• Tuski directs Tibbers toward the polar bear and brings it into the shelter.
• The bear first appeals to Tibbers as a fellow bear, then panics when it sees the humans and pleads for its life.

Significant themes

• Appearances can deceive: a sunlit desert is more dangerous than a frozen landscape.
• Cooperation and care: the group survives through Tuski’s shelter and Anita’s warmth.
• Absurdity and humor: Werther’s near-death from cold in a desert, and the bear’s comically fearful pleas, provide a contrast to the danger.