Ch. 81Adams vs. the Three Great Shichibukai (Part 2)
Plot points and events
- After Moria’s Armament Haki-enhanced attack fails to seriously pierce Adams, Crocodile and Hanafusa seize the opening and coordinate a sneak attack. Crocodile’s sand blade and Hanafusa’s air slashes target the red marks Moria left on Adams.
- Their combined assault finally draws blood, but Adams quickly stops the bleeding and shows no sign of being weakened. He tells his allies to stay back and dismisses the Shichibukai’s attack as insufficient.
- Adams immediately targets Crocodile, who initiated the ambush. Crocodile’s moisture-draining sand attack fails against the Armament Haki covering Adams’s entire body.
- Adams batters Crocodile with his club, launching him into the air and repeatedly striking him back and forth. Crocodile cannot escape or properly elementalize as the Haki-laced blows overwhelm him.
Character developments
- Adams remains composed despite being wounded and proves exceptionally durable, fast, and skilled with Armament Haki. His response is decisive and retaliatory.
- Crocodile demonstrates opportunism and tactical cunning, but becomes horrified when his strongest technique fails and is swiftly overwhelmed.
- Hanafusa acts in concert with Crocodile, striking precisely when Adams is distracted.
- Moria is stunned by Adams’s resilience after his own attack fails.
- The three women show concern and instinctively move to help, but obey Adams’s order to stay back.
Character interactions and themes
- Crocodile and Hanafusa exploit Moria’s failed attack, showing how cooperation can create a dangerous opening.
- Adams reassures his allies while refusing to let them interfere, then turns his attention directly to Crocodile.
- The chapter emphasizes resilience, overwhelming strength, and tactical opportunity: a coordinated attack can wound Adams, but his composure and power quickly reverse the advantage.