Ch. 661Shadow of Poseidon!

Key plot points and events

  • A gigantic golden Sea King bursts through the ice in the strait, launching Marines and Pirates into the air and destroying ships. Aokiji drives it away by freezing the sea, then rescues survivors.
  • The Sea King returns and smashes through the ice again, retreating before Aokiji can stop it. Aokiji realizes its attacks are deliberate and suspects the Ancient Weapon Poseidon is controlling it.
  • Far below, Hawkins’s coated ship travels underwater through the battle zone, avoiding the fighting and the Marine fleet. Hawkins had anticipated the danger through divination and is steering toward the Great Trench.
  • Kid’s Pirates also reach the underwater route. Hawkins lets their ship catch up and claims Kid owes him a favor for helping them pass safely. Neither crew risks a fight, since damage to their coatings would let the crushing seawater in.
  • The two crews head toward the trench, where hungry Sea Beasts with glowing red eyes block their path.

Character developments and interactions

  • Aokiji remains composed and resourceful, saving soldiers and freezing the sea to counter the Sea King. But its repeated, purposeful attacks leave him deeply concerned that Poseidon is involved.
  • Hawkins shows both foresight and caution: he uses divination to evade the surface battle and takes a calculated risk by traveling underwater. He remains calm when Kid appears and frames their safe passage as fate—and as a debt.
  • Kid is skeptical of Hawkins’s mystical claims but recognizes the practical value of his plan. His crew cooperates rather than risk a deadly confrontation underwater.
  • Hawkins and Kid maintain a wary, transactional alliance: Hawkins expects gratitude, while Kid accepts the benefit without embracing Hawkins’s explanation.

Significant themes

  • Fate versus choice: Hawkins trusts his divination, yet describes himself as having taken a risk and changed destiny.
  • Power and scale: The Sea King’s immense size makes both Marines and Pirates seem helpless, though Aokiji’s strength can still challenge it.
  • Strategy and survival: The crews avoid combat because, underwater, a single damaged coating would be fatal.
  • Hidden forces: The Sea King’s behavior suggests that a greater power—possibly Poseidon—is shaping events beneath the surface.

Ch. 662Christopher!

Plot points and events

  • The navy narrowly wins a three-day battle at the Red Line, opening the blood-soaked Red River Valley, but suffers enormous losses. The pirates fare even worse, and the navy’s authority across the seas is weakened.
  • Loa remains secluded on Turtle Island, prompting speculation that he is injured or training. With the former Yonko era over, he is regarded as the New World’s sole emperor: the Ice Emperor.
  • While Robin tends to Loa’s motionless body, he meditates in Between Dreams. After learning he is the Ancient Weapon Poseidon, he had tried unsuccessfully to contact Edith. Following the Paramount War, he felt the One Piece World rejecting him and Between Dreams calling him.
  • The Golden Dragon Guardian explains that Loa’s power grew beyond what the world could contain after his fight with Whitebeard. The world expelled his body, leaving only his soul in Between Dreams; the Guardian calls this “ascending in broad daylight.”
  • Loa fears being permanently separated from Robin and asks how he can return. The Guardian directs him to the glowing figure behind him.
  • Edith reveals that Poseidon is a later translation of an ancient name associated with “death and darkness.” She calls herself Ivy, a name she chose and loves.
  • Loa connects the name Christopher to his own surname and realizes his identity may be tied to Ivy. She confirms that his body came from her, leaving him stunned.

Character developments and interactions

  • Loa confronts helplessness for the first time in years: without his body and powers, he feels almost ordinary. Despite his confusion, he remains focused on returning to Robin and finishing what he left undone.
  • Robin shows quiet devotion, caring for Loa’s body and trusting Ulysses’s assurance that he is safe.
  • Ivy/Edith shifts from a mysterious dream guardian to a deeply personal figure in Loa’s past, revealing that she gave him his body. She greets him affectionately, while Loa struggles to process the revelation.
  • The Golden Dragon Guardian offers an explanation for Loa’s expulsion and then leaves him to speak with Ivy.

Significant themes

  • Power and vulnerability: Loa’s loss of strength exposes how unfamiliar—and unsettling—ordinary weakness is to him.
  • Identity and origins: His name, body, and connection to Poseidon suggest that his past is more complicated than he believed.
  • Separation and attachment: Loa’s fear of being cut off from Robin emphasizes his ties to the life he may be forced to leave.
  • The cost of surpassing limits: Loa’s extraordinary power has made him incompatible with the world he inhabits.

Ch. 663The Collapse of the Illusion!

Key plot points and events

  • Ivy explains that Loa’s obsessions could bring him into the One Piece illusion and grant him Ice Dragon Slayer magic, but they could not account for his powerful Frost Dragon body. That body is part of Ivy herself, and Loa must merge with it.
  • Ivy reveals that roughly 300 years ago she was expelled from the illusion after losing control. Her remaining body in the One Piece World has continued acting on instinct and is now trying to kill its other half—Loa’s dragon body—so it can become whole again.
  • Ivy outlines four ways an illusion can end. The current crisis is the dangerous kind: an illusion collapsing under irresistible force. Such a collapse can harm its real-world creator, so she intends to prevent the One Piece World from being destroyed.
  • Ivy plans to stop her soulless body from rampaging. Since the illusion has now expelled Loa, she expects her counterpart inside the world to make her move soon.

Character developments and interactions

  • Loa shifts from puzzlement to alarm as he realizes his dragon body is connected to Ivy and could be hunted by her counterpart. He presses Ivy for an explanation and reassurance, then lets her take charge.
  • Ivy is affectionate and teasing, treating Loa like a child, but also shows herself to be a knowledgeable guardian with a concrete plan. Her irreverent manner—including her blunt comments about the One Piece author—contrasts with her refined appearance.
  • Their mother-son dynamic is playful but exasperating: Ivy reads Loa’s thoughts and jokes with him, while Loa questions her assumptions and worries about the consequences.

Significant themes

  • Identity and wholeness: Loa’s dragon body is not merely a power source but part of Ivy, and the soulless body seeks reunion by instinct.
  • Illusion and reality: The chapter distinguishes ordinary endings of an illusion from a catastrophic collapse that can affect its creator.
  • Instinct versus reason: Even without a soul, a Great Dragon’s body remains powerful and purposeful, though its behavior is uncontrolled.
  • Responsibility and protection: Ivy’s role as guardian compels her to save both the illusion and the people within it—even the author whose work she criticizes.

Ch. 664Two Months Later

Key plot points and events

  • Ivy explains that Loa and Whitebeard were both expelled from the One Piece illusion because their power exceeded its limits. To fulfill his vow to become a guardian, Loa must return what he brought out; Ivy has already dealt with the Great Dragon’s body and says the Fairy Tail magic can wait.
  • Whitebeard’s Tremor-Tremor power was expelled too. Ivy removes its curse and makes Loa absorb it into his soul, since he cannot carry it physically. The absorption causes violent vibrations across Between Dreams.
  • Ivy uses those vibrations to loosen an illusion-door, then throws it against the door to the One Piece World. The smaller door breaks, and its energy is absorbed by the golden door. She explains that illusions can consume one another, leaving lasting damage even if they are later rebuilt.
  • Two months pass while Loa recovers. The Battle of Red River Valley has created a dangerous canyon passage, the “Road of Hope,” now crowded with Sea Kings; even Jones’s Undead Legion cannot safely establish an outpost there.
  • Luffy is rescued from Impel Down with Ace and Whitebeard Pirates’ help. Soon after, Blackbeard enters the prison, frees Level 6 prisoners, recruits Shiryu, and rebuilds his crew into a force rivaling the Yonko. Turtle Island must spread its forces to pursue escaped prisoners and Blackbeard, who stays mobile and evades capture.
  • Intelligence reports on the New World’s shifting powers reach leaders across the organizations.

Character developments and interactions

  • Loa accepts his guardian’s duty and cooperates with Ivy, though he is dismayed to find himself taking on more debt. Their exchange mixes affection with Ivy’s teasing, forceful maternal authority.
  • Ivy acts decisively as Loa’s guide and protector: she removes the curse, supervises his absorption of the power, and uses it to advance her plan.
  • The Great Dragon quietly watches the reunion and lets Ivy and Loa spend time together, though it finds Loa’s screams irritating.
  • Robin looks after Loa by cleaning him while he is incapacitated.
  • Blackbeard demonstrates his familiar cunning, while Luffy and Ace’s successful rescue becomes a major public event.

Significant themes

  • Responsibility and repayment: Loa’s path to becoming a guardian requires returning what he has taken from illusions.
  • Power and sacrifice: Gaining Whitebeard’s strength is painful, and its use has consequences beyond Loa himself.
  • Family and care: Ivy’s stern guidance and the Dragon’s quiet indulgence frame Loa’s ordeal as part of a family bond.
  • A changing world: The new passage, prison breakouts, and rising pirate forces show how quickly the balance of power can shift.
  • Lasting consequences: Even when an illusion survives being consumed, the damage remains and may eventually make it accessible.

Ch. 665Sengoku Assassinated? (Happy New Year, Everyone!)

Plot points and events

  • While Loa remains in a deep, likely prolonged sleep, Robin acts as Turtle Island’s public leader.
  • Aokiji, newly appointed Fleet Admiral after Sengoku resigns in the wake of the Paramount War, visits to ask for help dealing with Akainu and the Marines’ crisis.
  • Akainu and the Hawk Faction have left Marine Headquarters, apparently planning to join him. Aokiji ordered their arrest, but the World Government and the Five Elders intervened to prevent the Marines from growing stronger. After days of fighting, the Marines retreated to Marineford.
  • The World Government takes Robin’s silence as a sign that Loa will not protect the Marines and begins probing the possibility of retaking Marine Headquarters. Aokiji fears the Marines cannot resist alone and that submission would let the Government dismantle them before Loa awakens.
  • Robin promises that Turtle Island will provide military support when needed, buying the Marines time without openly disrupting Loa’s plans.
  • A spy’s report then arrives:

Sengoku has been assassinated.

Character developments and interactions

  • Robin demonstrates authority as Turtle Island’s acting public leader. She balances caution about Loa’s plans with a promise to support the Marines, and shares a reflective, peaceful moment with Aokiji.
  • Aokiji is anxious about the Marines’ survival and reluctant to act in a way that might undermine Loa. He recalls sparing Robin at Ohara and reflects on how much she has changed.
  • Simon worries that the World Government’s move against Marine Headquarters will endanger his family, the Westin Family, and suggests taking action. Ulysses warns that openly confronting the Government would conflict with Loa’s larger plan.
  • Sengoku’s resignation marks a change in Marine leadership, while the news of his assassination abruptly raises the stakes.

Significant themes

  • Power and uncertainty: With Loa incapacitated, others must make decisions without knowing when—or whether—he will return.
  • Loyalty and political misreading: Robin’s silence is mistaken for indifference, encouraging the World Government to test the Marines.
  • Change and memory: Robin and Aokiji acknowledge how time and circumstance have transformed their relationship.
  • Compromise versus resistance: The Marines face a choice between temporary submission and risking destruction by standing alone.

Ch. 666Sengoku’s Purpose!

  • Sengoku’s death and Aokiji’s suspicions: At Marine Headquarters, Aokiji learns that Sengoku died from poison placed in his dinner. He doubts Sengoku could have been poisoned without noticing or using his Buddha powers to survive. Tsuru realizes Sengoku may have deliberately allowed himself to die as part of a larger plan. Aokiji orders the death kept secret from Garp and Zephyr and declares that “the war has begun.”
  • A public scandal: Akainu’s followers, backed by the World Government, claim Aokiji poisoned Sengoku to seize power. Their story spreads through the newspapers, turning public opinion against the Marines and deepening distrust already stirred by Sengoku’s actions during the Paramount War. Pirates exploit the outrage, mocking civilians and worsening the sense of fear.
  • Turtle Island identifies the trap: Simon and Ulysses explain the situation to Crocodile and the others. If the public believes Akainu’s accusation, the World Government gains a seemingly righteous pretext to attack the Marines—and Turtle Island risks being branded an ally of a corrupt leader if it intervenes. At the same time, lost confidence in the Marines will drive civilians to seek protection from Turtle Island’s forces, including the Undead Legion stationed at former Marine bases.
  • The strategic dilemma: Sengoku’s plan appears designed to keep Turtle Island occupied maintaining security across the Grand Line, preventing it from concentrating its strength against the World Government. Simon points out that Turtle Island could either protect the civilians—tying down its forces—or abandon them to fight the World Government directly.
    Character developments and interactions: Aokiji reacts with anger and grief, but quickly shifts into command mode. Tsuru recognizes that she overlooked Sengoku’s intentions while preoccupied with other crises. Simon and Ulysses silently coordinate before revealing their interpretation; Crocodile grasps the political implications, while Arudo initially misses them and then understands the trap. Their discussion highlights the tension between military strategy and responsibility toward ordinary people.
    Themes: The chapter explores manufactured public opinion, the fragility of trust in institutions, political manipulation, and the moral cost of choosing between protecting civilians and pursuing victory.

Ch. 667Akainu's Ultimatum

Key events

  • Robin approves Simon’s plan to send Turtle Island’s forces to the Grand Line’s First Half to crush pirate violence. With more than a dozen nations already destroyed, the pirates are exploiting the chaos while the Marines are stretched too thin to respond.
  • Turtle Island’s officers deploy, leaving Ulysses to defend the island and Jones to watch Fish-Man Island. Robin then learns from Ulysses that the crisis also serves Loa’s larger strategy: tying up Turtle Island’s forces prevents them from interfering with the World Government’s army, while the [Censored] Army’s popular ideals may help the living trust Turtle Island’s people, who are widely viewed as “dead.”
  • Ulysses says the Westin Family is unlikely to betray Turtle Island, and that Simon’s uncle, Kane, is working behind the scenes to keep the Marines and World Government from noticing the maneuver. However, they suspect the Marines may also have an insider and do not yet know who it is.
  • At Marine Headquarters, Akainu arrives with the World Government’s army and publicly accuses Aokiji of forcing Sengoku to resign and poisoning and murdering him. His speech stirs doubt among the Marines.
  • Tsuru confronts Aokiji privately, revealing that she and Sengoku saw through him. She asks to retire, but says she trusts Aokiji to lead the Marines. Aokiji accepts her judgment with a heartfelt bow.

Character developments and interactions

  • Robin recognizes Loa’s strategic thinking but feels displaced by his foresight, having once been central to the Shichibukai’s Country-Takeover Plan. She remains alert to the danger of a Marine insider.
  • Ulysses explains the hidden purpose behind Turtle Island’s deployment and Loa’s plan to win public trust through the [Censored] Army.
  • Akainu presents himself as grieving and righteous, using an emotional accusation to turn Marine opinion against Aokiji.
  • Aokiji stays outwardly composed under pressure. His exchange with Tsuru shows that trusted veterans understand his actions, even as the broader Marine ranks are unsettled.
  • Tsuru chooses to step aside, entrusting the Marines to Aokiji despite the upheaval. Her farewell marks a transition to the younger generation.

Significant themes

  • Public trust as political power: The [Censored] Army’s reputation may help overcome prejudice against the dead.
  • Manipulation and competing narratives: Akainu’s performance and Loa’s long-range planning both show how perception can shape events.
  • Loyalty and calculated alliances: Turtle Island, the Westin Family, and the Marines navigate uneasy cooperation amid suspicions of betrayal.
  • Generational change: Tsuru’s retirement signals that the future of the Marines rests with Aokiji’s generation.

Ch. 668Chaos Erupts! (Third Update!)

Plot points and events

  • Akainu tries to persuade the Marines that Aokiji poisoned Sengoku. The soldiers remain divided, so Akainu offers to let them attack him without defending himself.
  • A soldier stabs Akainu, followed by a Rear Admiral seeking revenge for Akainu’s execution of his brother. Akainu argues that his brother violated Marine law by helping a criminal, and accepts both attacks. He is badly wounded but continues to challenge the crowd.
  • Aboard a Steel Warship, Antonio Xin Luo speaks with Aokiji. Aokiji plans to wait until Akainu can no longer fight before making his move, while Xin Luo oversees the wider operation to bring the Marines under World Government control.
  • As Marine factions begin turning on one another, Akainu calls Aokiji out. Aokiji questions whether Akainu can prove his accusations, insisting that Marines need evidence and must answer to the law.
  • A planted instigator and a sudden gunshot spark open fighting. Akainu uses the chaos to attack Aokiji, who counters with cold.

Character developments and interactions

  • Akainu presents himself as willing to face judgment, but his motives are strategic: he wants to win the soldiers’ confidence and advance the takeover. His injuries leave him increasingly desperate.
  • Aokiji remains calm and cautious, waiting for the right moment rather than gambling on an early attack. He challenges Akainu’s claims on legal and evidentiary grounds.
  • Xin Luo reveals himself as the operation’s true commander and appears more calculating and cold-blooded than before. His lingering memory of Aokiji’s past attack suggests personal history beneath their current alliance.
  • The Marines are split between loyalty to Aokiji, anger at Akainu, and revenge for past grievances. Their uncertainty makes them vulnerable to manipulation.

Significant themes

  • Truth versus proof: The accusations may be true or false, but neither side can establish them with evidence.
  • Manipulation and divided loyalty: The plotters exploit old resentments and confusion to turn Marines against one another.
  • Law, justice, and moral compromise: Akainu invokes Marine rules to justify his actions, while his conduct and political aims complicate his claim to justice.
  • Leadership and risk: Aokiji favors patience; Akainu risks his life to shape the battle’s narrative.

Ch. 669No Mercy in War!

Key plot points and events

  • Xin Luo orders the Steel Warship to fire into the battle, intensifying the chaos as some Marines seize cannons and turn them on one another.
  • Aokiji fights the weakened Akainu while Atalante, a brainwashed spear-user, attacks Aokiji on Akainu’s orders. Aokiji confirms that Akainu is too injured to defeat him alone.
  • Acting on Xin Luo’s command, Atalante switches targets and wounds Akainu. Akainu realizes Xin Luo and Aokiji are cooperating and tries to escape, using molten rock to obscure his retreat.
  • Aokiji freezes and kills soldiers caught in his attack to prevent witnesses from exposing Xin Luo’s role. He cripples Akainu, then kills him with Atalante’s broken spear and an ice saber.
  • Aokiji announces Akainu’s death, momentarily halting the fighting. Tsuru and Onigumo then appear and promise to reveal the truth. Xin Luo orders his fleet to retreat, calling the operation a failure.
  • Tsuru explains that her power cleansed the “evil” from Onigumo’s heart. Onigumo then reveals that Akainu obtained the poison used against Sengoku from World Government agents as part of a plot to take the Fleet Admiral position—and that Aokiji was innocent.

Character developments and interactions

  • Aokiji shifts from seeming to fight Akainu to working with Xin Luo against him. He proves ruthless in protecting the plan, sacrificing soldiers to prevent them from revealing Xin Luo’s involvement.
  • Akainu is exposed as the plotter behind Sengoku’s poisoning. Even as he tries to escape, he remains defiant and blames the betrayal on Xin Luo and Aokiji.
  • Xin Luo directs the operation remotely, manipulating Atalante’s target and coordinating with Aokiji. He retreats once Tsuru’s disclosure changes the situation.
  • Atalante obeys Xin Luo’s orders without hesitation, first attacking Aokiji and then turning on Akainu.
  • Onigumo, whose violent disposition is softened by Tsuru’s power, chooses to testify despite knowing that doing so betrays Akainu.
  • Tsuru provides the public with a credible witness and a means to stop the battle from continuing.

Significant themes

  • Deception and shifting loyalties: The apparent conflict hides cooperation between Xin Luo and Aokiji, while Akainu’s own conspiracy is exposed.
  • The human cost of war: Soldiers are treated as expendable, both by the factions directing the battle and by Aokiji’s effort to conceal Xin Luo’s role.
  • Truth, guilt, and conscience: Tsuru’s power helps Onigumo overcome his impulse to hide the crime, allowing the truth to emerge.
  • Power and political ambition: Akainu’s attempt to seize the Fleet Admiral position drives the poisoning plot and the violent struggle.

Ch. 670For the Great Poseidon!

Key plot points and events

  • Caro’s plan to weaken the Marines backfires. The attempted infighting instead unites them and pushes them away from the World Government, effectively placing a powerful Marine force under Loa’s influence.
  • The Undead Legion also gains ground while suppressing pirate uprisings: thirteen Affiliated Nations seek to leave the World Government and accept the Legion’s protection. Caro recognizes that Dragon helped engineer the setbacks, but cannot determine who arranged Onigumo’s escape from Mary Geoise.
  • Caro orders the people responsible for the failed operation to accept punishment.
  • On Turtle Island, concern shifts to Loa, whose body now shows both immense vitality and spreading Death Aura. One side is withered, while the other remains healthy. Ulysses stays by him, and warns Robin that being near Loa is draining her Life Force.
  • Loa suddenly releases a powerful aura that destroys his room and cracks the Castle. The force triggers uncontrollable War Fever in Ulysses and causes the Undead across the island to go berserk.
  • Simon restrains and destroys attacking Undead, then tries to get Robin to shelter. Before they can escape, Ulysses crashes through a wall and threatens them, shouting, “For the great Poseidon!”

Character developments and interactions

  • Caro is furious and unsettled: for the first time, he feels events have escaped his control. He briefly suspects Xin Luo may have helped free Onigumo, but dismisses the idea without solving the mystery.
  • Ulysses shows both devotion and discipline, protecting Robin from Loa’s dangerous Death Aura. When the outburst overwhelms him, however, he loses control despite his experience and strength.
  • Robin recognizes that the Death Aura is weakening her and reluctantly leaves Loa’s side.
  • Simon acts quickly to protect Robin, using his Silver Lightning and powerful flying-dagger technique against the berserk Undead.
  • The Undead, previously functioning as a force for order, become a sudden threat to the island’s inhabitants.

Significant themes

  • Backfiring control: Caro’s effort to divide and weaken the Marines instead strengthens their unity and helps Loa.
  • Shifting political power: The Undead Legion’s growing acceptance challenges the World Government’s authority and exposes its loss of public confidence.
  • Life and death in conflict: Loa’s simultaneous Death Aura and enormous vitality make his condition both mysterious and dangerous.
  • Loyalty versus loss of control: Ulysses and Simon try to protect others, but Loa’s power overwhelms even those closest to him.

Ch. 671Ascension and Return!

Key plot points

  • Loa endures the Tremor-Tremor Fruit’s fusion in Between Dreams until his pain fades into numbness. Its power merges with his soul, creating a dark aura and uncontrolled vibrations that damage the surrounding space.
  • Ivy gathers Origin Power by repeatedly destroying nearby Illusion Realms, making the golden gate to the One Piece World solid enough for Loa’s return.
  • Ivy and the Golden Dragon explain that the One Piece World must undergo World Ascension: raising its limits so the now vastly more powerful Loa can enter without destabilizing it.
  • After the fusion is complete, Loa compares his strength with Ivy’s rampaging other half. He initially balks at the gap, but cheers up when told his own Dragon Body could bring him to the same level.
  • Ivy completes the ascension. The world radiates golden light, and Ivy receives a Mystic Mark that lets her travel freely in and out. Loa enters the world through the gate, followed by Ivy; the Golden Dragon remains behind.

Character developments and interactions

  • Loa grows from a powerless, suffering figure into a tremendously strong one, though his confidence is comically dependent on believing he can match Ivy’s other half. Ivy’s reassurance quickly turns his fear into swagger.
  • Ivy is resourceful and relentless, sacrificing other realms to prepare the world’s ascension. She treats Loa affectionately as her son, while teasing and encouraging him.
  • The Golden Dragon monitors Loa’s dangerous power and explains the mechanics of ascension. He shares a quiet farewell with Ivy after she leaves.

Significant themes

  • Power and its limits: Loa’s strength exceeds the world’s capacity, so the world itself must evolve to contain him.
  • Sacrifice and consequence: The world’s advancement depends on the destruction of other realms, framed with dark humor.
  • Confidence and self-deception: Loa’s bravery rises and falls with his perceived odds, while Ivy chooses to believe in him.
  • Separation and departure: Loa and Ivy move on together, leaving the Golden Dragon alone in Between Dreams.

Ch. 672The World in Motion! (End of Volume)

Key events

  • Loa returns to find Turtle Island split apart by its emergency separation system and surrounded by Undead driven into a violent frenzy.
  • Ivy explains that Loa’s recent world-ascension has awakened and strengthened powers that were previously restricted. Loa uses a vast Mass Dispel to clear the Undead’s abnormal mental state, and they immediately recognize and submit to him.
  • Turtle Island’s sections reconnect, and the survivors emerge from an escape pod. Robin, furious that she nearly died, beats Loa for leaving her in danger. Loa tries to blame Ulysses, who flees; Robin points out that the Undead cannot disobey Loa’s orders. Loa’s attempt to calm her with a kiss fails, and he ends up apologizing.
  • Simon briefs Loa on three major developments: the Straw Hat Pirates have broken up, though Luffy was rescued and his location is unknown; Blackbeard has taken Whitebeard’s territory and become a Yonko; and the World Government’s attack on Marine Headquarters has backfired, strengthening the Undead Legion and bringing the previously hidden [Censored] Army into the open.
  • Dragon has used the Ice Emperor’s name to retain his standing, and an Anti-World Government Alliance has formed. After several clashes, it and the World Government have paused open fighting to build their strength.
  • A report arrives that Kaido and Blackbeard are at war over each other’s Road Poneglyph. Loa seizes the opportunity and orders the army to march.

Character developments and interactions

  • Loa has become markedly more powerful through the world’s ascension, gaining enough control to dispel the Undead’s frenzy on a massive scale. Though he is confident and commanding, he remains playful and tactless with Robin.
  • Ivy acts as Loa’s guide to the consequences of ascension and reassures him that Robin survived.
  • Robin expresses how close she came to death through her anger at Loa; their reunion mixes genuine affection with comic conflict.
  • Ulysses is revealed as the one responsible for the crisis that endangered Robin, and he runs when Loa calls him out.
  • Simon serves as the reliable messenger, bringing Loa up to date on the shifting political landscape.

Significant themes

  • Power and responsibility: Loa’s new strength lets him restore order, but the crisis underscores the danger of his forces when he is absent.
  • A changing world order: The World Government, the new alliance, the Undead Legion, and the rising Blackbeard all compete to shape the world.
  • Fate and opportunity: Major events continue along familiar lines despite Loa’s interference, while leaders exploit openings created by wider conflicts.
  • Affection amid danger: Loa and Robin’s teasing reunion contrasts with the near-fatal violence of the crisis.

Ch. 673The Soul-Soul Fruit and the Wraith-Wraith Fruit!

Key plot points and events

  • After a costly alliance to seize Loa’s Road Poneglyph, Blackbeard and Kaido split their stolen prize. Both feared Loa’s retaliation and kept a low profile.
  • Kaido later considered attacking Blackbeard, whose rise to Yonko status—and recruitment of powerful Level 6 prisoners—had made him a formidable threat. Loa wonders what has prompted Kaido to act despite losing his artificial Devil Fruit army.
  • Loa decides to intervene, viewing the coming conflict as part of a larger struggle between himself and the hidden king in Mary Geoise.
  • In the spiritual world, Loa asks Ivy who once forced her beyond the world’s limits. She reveals that she fought a previous Soul-Soul Fruit user and a Wraith-Wraith Fruit user.
  • Ivy explains that the Wraith-Wraith Fruit arises from the resentment of people whose bodies are stolen by Soul-Soul Fruit users. That accumulated hatred can grow across centuries, and the wraith’s only purpose is revenge. After Ivy killed the Soul-Soul Fruit user, the wraith went berserk; Ivy defeated it but was then swept away by Illusion Nightmare. The Wraith-Wraith Fruit was destroyed, resetting its accumulated hatred.
  • Loa discovers that Gashara—the frozen woman serving as the Dragon Roar Cannon’s energy source—is a later Soul-Soul Fruit user, not the one Ivy fought.

Character developments and interactions

  • Loa carefully assesses the shifting balance between Kaido and Blackbeard, then commits to entering the conflict. He is horrified to learn the origins and danger of the Wraith-Wraith Fruit.
  • Ivy reveals her past battle and the history of the two linked Fruits. She claims she divided her body to prevent it from destroying the world while she was gone.
  • Loa and Ivy trade revelations with familiar, teasing familiarity: Ivy presents her decision as an act of peace, while Loa suspects she mainly wanted to find out how One Piece ends.
  • Kaido and Blackbeard, though not present, are shown as wary rivals: Blackbeard pressured Kaido for a Road Poneglyph, while Kaido now sees an opportunity to strike—if he can overcome Blackbeard’s strengthened crew.

Significant themes

  • Power and escalation: Blackbeard’s new recruits and the ancient forces behind the Devil Fruits raise the stakes beyond ordinary pirate rivalry.
  • Revenge and accumulated hatred: The Wraith-Wraith Fruit embodies the long-lasting consequences of stolen lives and unanswered vengeance.
  • Hidden history and uneasy control: Loa’s world is shaped by forgotten powers, while Ivy’s attempt to restrain her own destructive potential may be less selfless than she claims.

Ch. 674Whitebeard's Remnants' Plan!

Plot and events

  • The Beasts Pirates are gaining the upper hand in their war with the Blackbeard Pirates, largely because King excels at naval strategy. Teach nevertheless believes his side could win if its strongest fighters acted together, but he is avoiding heavy losses while wary of Kaido’s unknown trump card.
  • When Teach learns that unfamiliar pirate crews are approaching the flank, he rejects the idea that Kaido recruited them. Revealing the battle—and the Road Poneglyph Teach stole from Kaido—could attract Loa, the dominant power in the New World.
  • Teach suspects Whitebeard’s remnants are behind the new alliance and orders Avalo Pizarro to destroy the incoming crews and track down their organizers.
  • Meanwhile, Ace, Marco, and the remnants are hiding in plain sight on an island in former Whitebeard territory, now controlled by Teach. They intend to use the alliance’s attack and the war with Kaido to create an opening to search for the Road Poneglyph.
  • Marco narrows the likely search area to one island and instructs the group to report the Poneglyph’s location rather than try to seize it. Their plan is to tell Loa where it is, expecting him to eliminate Teach and Kaido. The chapter ends by questioning whether their search really will be easier than the Undead Legion’s.

Character developments and interactions

  • Teach shows caution and strategic awareness: his concern about Loa restrains him even while his forces appear to have the advantage. He and Pizarro clash, with Pizarro’s resentment of Teach surfacing in his dismissive attitude.
  • Ace remains driven by revenge against Teach and blames himself for his own weakness, but his eagerness to act is tempered by Marco, who reminds him of the consequences of his previous recklessness.
  • Marco takes the lead in planning, emphasizing caution and coordination. His brief, supportive gesture toward Ace shows their bond.
  • Pizarro eagerly accepts the mission to crush the allied pirates, revealing his hostility toward Whitebeard’s former crew.

Significant themes

  • Fear and power: Loa’s overwhelming strength shapes the choices of both Yonko crews and the remnants.
  • Strategy over brute force: King’s command, Teach’s restraint, and Marco’s careful search plan all influence the conflict.
  • Revenge and desperation: Ace’s quest to punish Teach drives the remnants, even as their plan depends on manipulating a far more powerful enemy.
  • Uncertain loyalties and hidden plans: The incoming alliance and the remnants’ disguise show how the war is being fought through secrecy as much as direct combat.

Ch. 675Only Half the Blueprints!

Key plot points and events

  • While Kaido and Teach wage war, the World Government leaves Loa’s team unopposed, distracted by other developments.
  • Caro inspects a newly completed ship believed to be Pluton. Though it is an exceptionally advanced warship, it lacks the features and power he expects from an Ancient Weapon.
  • Vegapunk identifies empty spaces and unexplained hull patterns that suggest the ship is incomplete. Caro realizes they possess only half the blueprints.
  • Vegapunk theorizes that Water 7 built the hull while another group supplied the missing technology, with each side retaining half the plans to prevent Pluton’s misuse.
  • Caro orders a search for the missing plans and the Straw Hat swordsman associated with them, but Vegapunk argues the swordsman likely destroyed his copy and Water 7 could not have built the missing components.
  • Caro sends a covert message to a black-robed agent, then orders Vegapunk back to work on the Pacifista. To protect the secret, Caro has the shipyard workers killed and the facility burned.
  • Xin Luo arrives with an alarming report. After discreetly communicating with Caro, he prompts his father to order an immediate retreat.

Character developments and interactions

  • Caro shifts from confidence to frustration when Pluton proves disappointing, then becomes calculating as he considers the missing plans. His willingness to kill loyal workers shows his deep mistrust and ruthlessness.
  • Vegapunk offers a measured technical assessment and a plausible explanation for Pluton’s incompleteness. His expertise earns Caro’s approval, though he remains unaware of the full danger until Xin Luo’s arrival.
  • Xin Luo shows caution by communicating privately rather than speaking in front of Vegapunk, and his news visibly rattles Caro.
  • Caro and Vegapunk discuss the ship’s flaws and the likely division of the blueprints; Caro accepts Vegapunk’s reasoning rather than reacting with anger.

Significant themes

  • Knowledge and power: Pluton’s threat lies not just in its hull but in the missing technology needed to activate its full capabilities.
  • Secrecy and distrust: Caro destroys evidence and eliminates witnesses, demonstrating how fear of powerful knowledge can breed cruelty.
  • Incomplete understanding: Even brilliant scientists and powerful leaders cannot reconstruct what has been deliberately divided or lost.

Ch. 677Arrival at the Battlefield

Key plot points and events

  • A giant, dragon-form Ivy compels Caro to open a gate between worlds. The Dragon Scale in Caro’s Pocket Watch breaks her influence long enough for him to realize that he lacks White Blade: Day and cannot control her outside.
  • Caro pretends to remain under Ivy’s spell, but deliberately avoids touching the gate with the Scale and escapes through it. Ivy’s attempted pursuit fails, leaving her roaring in fury.
  • Caro emerges injured before the family soldiers and the Five Elders. Xin Luo catches him, and a black-robed elder quickly teleports them away. The Five Elders are left frightened and puzzled by what happened.
  • After several days at sea, Loa’s Dragon Ship Fleet enters Whitebeard’s former territory, now controlled by Blackbeard. Loa is surprised to find the islands prosperous and peaceful.
  • Robin and Simon explain that the Yonko maintain order in their own territories: unlike ordinary raiders, they have holdings they cannot simply abandon, and Loa’s Undead Legion also deters them from attacking their own people.
  • Despite that prosperity, islanders panic at the sight of Loa’s fleet. Some prepare to resist; others offer valuables and women in hopes of being spared. Loa is frustrated by their fear but takes it as evidence that his influence has spread.
  • At the front line of the war between Kaido and Teach, both forces stop fighting and wait for Loa to address them.

Character developments and interactions

  • Caro shows resourcefulness and self-control: he recognizes Ivy’s hold over him, hides his recovered awareness, and risks injury to escape rather than lead her outside.
  • Ivy is presented as an imposing, emotionless figure whose bloodlike bond with Caro lets her command him. Her confidence turns to rage when he escapes.
  • Loa is both puzzled by the New World’s order and increasingly aware of his own authority. He recognizes that the fear his fleet inspires has consequences for ordinary people.
  • Robin and Simon clarify how Yonko rule works and correct Loa’s mistaken assumptions. Their teasing, practical explanations contrast with his immense power and occasional naivety.
  • Xin Luo reacts quickly to Caro’s condition, while the black-robed elder prioritizes getting him away. The Five Elders’ uncertainty marks a change in how secure they feel about Caro and Ivy.

Significant themes

  • Power and control: Caro’s escape hinges on resisting Ivy’s command, while Loa’s presence shapes behavior across the New World.
  • Order through deterrence: Yonko protection and Loa’s threat help maintain peace, though that peace is rooted in fear rather than trust.
  • The cost of authority: Prosperity can coexist with intimidation; the islanders’ terror shows the human impact of Loa’s reputation.
  • Appearances and hidden motives: Caro’s outward obedience conceals his plan, just as the calm islands conceal the power struggles underpinning their security.

Ch. 678Patrick Redfield!

Plot and events

  • The battle between Kaido’s and Teach’s forces has caused severe casualties. The Corrupt King is unconscious, and King has lost a hand and is badly wounded.
  • Loa arrives with the Dragon Ship Fleet, whose position gives him the power to threaten both armies. He rebukes Kaido and Teach for ignoring his wishes and makes clear that he spared them to preserve stability in the New World.
  • Teach argues that he only mobilized in self-defense and has not plundered civilians. Loa acknowledges his cleverness, but warns Kaido as well.
  • Before Kaido can answer, Patrick Redfield—“Red the Aloof” or “the Red Count”—appears from a swarm of crimson bats. His reputation as a legendary fighter who once stood alongside Roger and Whitebeard unsettles both sides.
  • Loa recognizes Redfield and questions why he is allied with Kaido. Teach learns Redfield’s history from Vasco Shot and realizes the threat he represents.
  • Ulysses, Loa’s former Blood Earl and now Blood Lord, silently recognizes Redfield as a possible chance to reclaim the Devil Fruit power he once possessed. Loa tells him to wait.
  • Shot privately reflects that Teach’s arrogance makes him an unreliable leader and hints that an even more frightening figure from the old era is present beside Loa.

Character developments and interactions

  • Loa asserts his authority without needing to fight, calmly controlling the confrontation through reputation and overwhelming power. He recognizes Redfield’s significance but remains composed.
  • Teach uses diplomacy and flattery to protect himself, though his curiosity about Redfield turns quickly toward calculating how Loa will respond.
  • Kaido is forced to back down, aware that his new strength still cannot match Loa.
  • Ulysses shows an unusually intense desire to regain his former powers, but obeys Loa’s instruction to be patient.
  • Vasco Shot reveals his knowledge of Redfield and his distrust of Teach, whom he serves mainly for protection.
  • Redfield’s arrival changes the balance of the standoff before he even acts; his legendary reputation gives Kaido’s alliance a new, formidable dimension.

Significant themes

  • Power and authority: Loa’s dominance is established through both force and the knowledge that either army is within his reach.
  • Reputation across generations: Redfield’s past achievements shape the present conflict, even for those who never witnessed them.
  • Self-interest and loyalty: Teach’s pragmatism and Shot’s guarded motives suggest that alliances may be built more on safety than trust.
  • Restraint and control: Loa’s decision to spare his enemies—and Ulysses’s willingness to wait—contrasts with the armies’ bloodlust.

Ch. 679The Duel!

Key plot points

  • Loa’s overwhelming presence unnerves Redfield, who realizes Loa’s power exceeds anything he has encountered. Redfield backs down from challenging him, confusing Kaido.
  • Loa learns that Kaido and Teach each hold one of the Road Poneglyphs taken from Turtle Island. To end their damaging conflict, he proposes settling ownership with a three-match duel on an uninhabited archipelago.
  • The matches will be captain against captain, officer against officer, and outside help against outside help. The winner claims the Poneglyph.
  • Teach initially refuses because Kaido’s side has Redfield, but Jot persuades him that rejecting Loa’s order could mean death. Teach reluctantly agrees.
  • Ulysses appears as Teach’s outside help and declares that he will face Redfield.

Character developments and interactions

  • Redfield discovers the immense gap between his strength and Loa’s, loses his nerve, and regrets joining Kaido’s plan.
  • Kaido is baffled by Redfield’s retreat, then embraces the duel as a chance to fight Teach and settle their grudge.
  • Teach is exposed as fearful and politically shortsighted: he clings to his status as a Yonko, but Jot reminds him Loa can replace him. He agrees only after recognizing the danger of refusal.
  • Jot proves perceptive and pragmatic. He understands Loa’s authority and persuades Teach to comply; Ulysses’s arrival also awakens Jot’s traumatic memories of the destruction of his home.
  • Ulysses takes the role of Teach’s outside help, apparently motivated by a personal connection to Redfield’s former Vampire Fruit power.

Significant themes

  • Power and authority: Loa’s strength lets him dictate terms to major pirate crews and enforce order.
  • Fear versus ambition: Teach’s dream of becoming Pirate King is undermined by his fear of stronger opponents.
  • Peace through controlled conflict: Loa seeks stability by replacing destructive skirmishes with a defined contest.
  • The past’s influence: Jot’s history with Ulysses, and Ulysses’s connection to Redfield’s former power, shape the coming confrontation.

Ch. 680The Insect and the Giant!

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

  • Ulysses joins Teach’s side, giving Teach renewed confidence against Kaido’s forces. Redfield recognizes Ulysses as the legendary “Blood Earl,” now called the “Blood Lord,” and eagerly welcomes the chance to prove his own mastery of his Devil Fruit.
  • The two sides travel to a barren, uninhabited archipelago chosen as their battleground. Loa knows of the islands through Ivy, who reveals that they are the site of an old, bizarre adventure: after getting drunk with an intelligent giant Sea King, she argued about which kind of animal tasted best, then roasted it. Its bones became Whale Island.
  • Both groups land and agree to begin with a match between their officers. Kaido’s side fields Becky; Teach’s side fields Sanjuan Wolf, whose enormous size gives him a clear physical advantage.
  • Becky ignores Kaido’s warning and transforms into her terrifying centipede-like form. Sanjuan Wolf, despite his gigantic stature, immediately panics: he is deeply afraid of insects, especially venomous ones.

Character developments

  • Teach grows more confident when Ulysses joins his side, believing the balance of power has shifted in his favor.
  • Redfield treats Ulysses as a formidable rival and is determined to demonstrate that he alone can draw out his Devil Fruit’s full power.
  • Loa becomes less fazed by Ivy’s outrageous history, suggesting that his conversations with her have made him more accepting of the bizarre.
  • Becky reveals the insect form behind her human appearance. Her Devil Fruit gave her human-level intelligence without removing her instincts as an insect.
  • Sanjuan Wolf is introduced as a colossal fighter whose most crippling weakness is his fear of insects.

Character interactions

  • Teach celebrates Ulysses’s arrival, while Redfield challenges Ulysses with an earnest declaration of confidence. Ulysses responds casually.
  • Loa observes the opposing forces and reflects on Ivy’s story, which links the strange islands to her past.
  • Kaido warns Becky about Sanjuan Wolf’s size, but she ignores him.
  • Zuwei voices concern that Becky’s insect instincts may be difficult to control.
  • Becky’s transformation terrifies Sanjuan Wolf, who cries out to Teach that he hates bugs.

Significant themes

  • Fear and apparent strength: Sanjuan Wolf’s immense size is undermined by a deeply personal fear, setting up a contrast between physical power and psychological vulnerability.
  • Instinct and identity: Becky’s humanlike intelligence coexists with her insect nature, raising the question of whether the Devil Fruit changed her or merely expressed what she already was.
  • The absurd and the grotesque: Ivy’s bizarre tale and Becky’s disturbing transformation give the chapter a darkly comic tone amid the preparations for a serious battle.
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