Chapter Summaries

Monkey D. Luffy arrived to face Blackbeard’s crew after they badly wounded his friends, unleashing overwhelming Conqueror’s Haki. He challenged Blackbeard to answer for attacking his friends, leaving a confrontation poised to begin.

• Shiryu urged Burgess to keep Zoro alive so he could torture him, and Burgess charged toward the rock wall.
• Luffy’s voice stopped Burgess as a tremendous wave of Conqueror’s Haki erupted from the dust and shook Blackbeard’s crew.
• Blackbeard and the others recognized that Luffy had become a true Emperor-level fighter, while Zoro welcomed his arrival.
• Luffy recalled finding Nami distraught and Sanji and Jinbe gravely wounded, and his anger over his friends’ suffering intensified.
• Luffy faced Blackbeard and demanded to know whether he was ready to face the consequences of harming his friends.

Luffy faced Blackbeard and Kuzan on the shore, transforming into Gear Fifth to counter Kuzan’s ice and overwhelm the Blackbeard Pirates. He scattered the crew with a giant sweep, then struck Blackbeard with White Whip and sent him flying off the battlefield.

• Blackbeard taunted Luffy about Ace, then ordered Kuzan to test Luffy’s strength.
• Kuzan used Freeze Capsule, but Luffy transformed into Gear Fifth and turned the frozen ground around him rubbery.
• Luffy grew into a giant and swept the Blackbeard Pirates aside, scattering the crew across the shore.
• Luffy returned to his normal Gear Fifth form, caught up with the airborne Blackbeard, and struck him with White Whip.
• Blackbeard was launched away from the shore and deep into the island.

Luffy fought Blackbeard on Egghead Island and turned the Dark-Dark Fruit’s Black Vortex into a powerful counterattack. After sending Blackbeard flying again, Luffy bounced after him to continue the battle.

• Luffy struck Blackbeard with White Whip, leaving him writhing in pain before he recovered enough to taunt Luffy about Ace and the Nika fruit.
• Blackbeard used Black Vortex to drag Luffy toward him, hoping to touch him and suppress his Devil Fruit powers.
• Luffy stopped resisting, released his anchors, and used the suction and his stretched rubber body to launch a Conqueror’s Haki-charged Jet White Gun at Blackbeard.
• Luffy’s fists smashed Blackbeard’s face and sent him flying toward the island’s ruins.
• Luffy used Nika: Bounce to race after Blackbeard.

Luffy used Gear Fifth’s playful transformations to turn Blackbeard’s attacks into a spectacle and repeatedly bypass his defenses. He blasted Blackbeard away for the third time, but remained eager to fight as Blackbeard’s full strength remained unknown.

• Blackbeard unleashed an earthquake and combined his Dark-Dark and Tremor-Tremor powers, but Luffy bounced through the rubble and disrupted the darkness with the drums of liberation.
• Blackbeard silenced the area with a black hole, but Luffy taunted him through exaggerated gestures before launching himself with a boulder as a slingshot.
• Luffy grabbed lightning from the storm clouds and threw it at Blackbeard, who absorbed it and prepared to trap Luffy with darkness and spatial tremors.
• Luffy’s flaming fists appeared to be swallowed by Blackbeard’s black hole, then emerged from its edge and struck Blackbeard in the face.
• Blackbeard was hurled away again, while Luffy stretched his arms in preparation to keep fighting.

Van Augur, Burgess, and Shiryu regrouped while Blackbeard fought Luffy, then came under attack from an unknown swordsman. Dracule Mihawk emerged from the ruins, leaving the Blackbeard Pirates’ officers facing a far more dangerous obstacle.

• Van Augur proposed using his Teleportation ability to take the officers to Blackbeard, while Burgess agreed and Shiryu remained silent.
• Burgess tried to placate Shiryu by promising he could deal with Zoro and the other Straw Hat Pirates after Blackbeard defeated Luffy.
• A powerful Flying Slash struck Van Augur and Burgess, and Burgess blocked it with a massive boulder before accusing Shiryu of attacking them.
• Shiryu denied launching the slash and pointed toward the ruins, where Dracule Mihawk emerged carrying the Black Blade Yoru.
• Mihawk dismissed the three Blackbeard Pirates officers as pitiful weaklings, and they realized he stood between them and their plan to support Blackbeard.

Samuel Kronos questioned Kuzan about his motives for joining the Blackbeard Pirates after Kuzan challenged Samuel’s apparent loyalty to Teach. Kuzan dismissed Samuel’s mycelium and declared that neither he nor the Blackbeard Pirates had the right to question him.

• Samuel rose from the rubble and urged Kuzan to help Teach against Luffy, but Kuzan stayed put.
• Kuzan pointed out that Samuel had joined Teach after Impel Down and questioned why he acted like a loyal follower.
• Samuel recalled being crushed by Gern Reginald Sigma and said Teach’s ambition and power offered him a chance to gain wealth, power, and fame.
• Samuel asked Kuzan what purpose he had in joining the Blackbeard Pirates and rejected the idea that Kuzan had done it for freedom.
• Kuzan told Samuel to put away his mycelium and said that neither Samuel nor the entire Blackbeard Pirates had the right to question him.

Kizaru arrived on Egghead and confronted Kuzan and Samuel, revealing their bounties before Enel attacked. Kizaru kicked Kuzan into the ruins, leaving Samuel facing Kizaru and Enel as the Marines took control of the encounter.

• Samuel left Kuzan to reach Blackbeard, but retreated when Kizaru appeared and returned to Kuzan’s side.
• Kizaru identified Samuel as the Blackbeard Pirates’ eighth ship captain with a 1.61 billion Beli bounty and Kuzan as their tenth ship captain with a 3.5 billion Beli bounty.
• Kuzan asked whether Gern had come to Egghead, but Enel interrupted with a lightning attack that Kuzan and Samuel blocked.
• Kuzan prepared to attack Enel, but Kizaru appeared beside him and demanded to know why he had never called him senior.
• Kizaru kicked Kuzan into the ruins, then turned toward Samuel and Enel as Enel aimed his Golden Staff at Samuel.

Kizaru fought Kuzan while Samuel Kronos spread a dangerous mycelium forest, and Enel watched from above while mocking them. Kizaru confronted Enel, then disappeared, leaving Kuzan and Samuel bewildered as Enel remained alone in the air.

• Kuzan fired Ice Bullets at Kizaru, who evaded them and prepared to continue their fight.
• Samuel Kronos unleashed Mycelial Carpet: Myriad Forms, spreading parasitic mycelium and spores across the battlefield.
• Enel watched from above and criticized Kizaru, Kuzan, and Samuel while refusing to join the battle.
• Kizaru fired Yasakani no Magatama at Kuzan and Samuel, then challenged Enel to fight him.
• Kizaru suddenly vanished, and Kuzan, Enel, and Samuel were left bewildered as Kuzan wondered if Kizaru had really run away.

Enel joined Kizaru and Kuzan in attacking Samuel’s mycelium forest, while Kuzan and Samuel secretly coordinated to limit Kizaru’s speed and set a trap. Enel sensed their plan and unleashed a massive lightning strike on all three men.

• Enel used Mamaragan and the Thunder Dragon to burn huge holes through Samuel’s mycelium network.
• Kizaru and Enel launched repeated attacks that scorched broad areas of mycelium, while Samuel altered its growth to withstand them.
• Kuzan and Samuel coordinated without speaking: Kuzan created an ice maze to restrict Kizaru, and Samuel filled it with paralyzing, hallucinogenic spore mist.
• Samuel’s mycelium forced Kizaru toward a predictable route as Kuzan prepared an ice spear and watched for an opening.
• Enel detected the trap, halted his attacks, and unleashed El Thor: Heavenly Calamity against Samuel, Kuzan, and Kizaru.

Gern searched Egghead Island for Luffy and found him severely weakened after his battle with Blackbeard, leaving the outcome of their fight uncertain. He gave Luffy emergency rations and asked what had happened between them.

• Gern reasoned that Blackbeard was more likely to retreat than risk his life against Luffy.
• Gern found Luffy slumped beneath a rock, exhausted and barely able to speak.
• Luffy asked Gern for meat, and Gern returned with a warm emergency ration.
• Gern gave Luffy the meat and asked how his battle with Blackbeard had ended.

Brook attacked Gern to protect the weakened Luffy, using underworld frost in two powerful sword techniques, but Gern broke free unharmed. Brook and Luffy remained in danger as Gern advanced.

• Brook struck Gern from behind with Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri, but Gern's Armament Haki blocked the underworld frost.
• Brook shielded Luffy and unleashed Plunder Song: Blizzard Slash, freezing Gern and the surrounding space.
• Brook tried to help Luffy escape, but Luffy kept eating and was too weakened to leave quickly.
• Gern broke out of the ice unharmed and told Brook that his attacks could not stop him.

Robin, Franky, and Brook mistook Gern for the person who had weakened Luffy and attacked him, but Gern effortlessly defeated their assaults. He told them he had not injured Luffy and suggested that Luffy would be unable to eat if he had.

• Brook sensed Gern's overwhelming strength as Robin, Franky, and Brook moved to protect the weakened Luffy.
• Robin restrained Gern with thirty arms, but he broke free and shattered her created limbs, injuring her through the backlash.
• Franky launched his Strong Right at Gern, who flicked the rocket-powered fist back and sent Franky crashing into rubble.
• Brook attacked with Sake Cup Dance: Chain Strike, but Gern deflected every thrust with one finger and brought Brook to his knees without touching him.
• Gern told the Straw Hat Pirates that he had not injured Luffy, who finished eating meat and began to recover.

Gern questioned Luffy about his battle with Blackbeard, learning that Blackbeard fled after testing Luffy and that an invisible blow prevented Luffy from chasing him. Gern suspected Saint Saturn had intervened and concluded that Saturn and Blackbeard had likely met on Egghead, leaving their plans uncertain.

• Luffy recovered after eating Gern’s food, reunited with Brook, Franky, and Robin, and thanked Gern.
• Gern asked Luffy for details about his fight with Blackbeard, and Luffy described countering Blackbeard’s powers with Gear Fifth before losing stamina.
• Luffy said Blackbeard fled rather than risk a costly fight, then recounted being struck by an invisible impact that stopped his pursuit.
• Gern recognized the attack as a likely use of Saint Saturn’s Evil Eye and inferred that Saturn had helped Blackbeard escape.
• Gern combined Luffy’s account with other reports and concluded that Blackbeard had probably met Saint Saturn on Egghead.

Luffy refused to hand Vegapunk over to Gern and challenged him despite his exhaustion. After their Haki clash, Gern vanished, and Luffy recognized the immense gap between their strength before turning to regroup with his crew and escape the island.

• Gern asked where Vegapunk was, and Luffy said he would not hand Old Man Apple over.
• Luffy recalled yielding to Gern in Wano Country and transformed into Gear Fifth to defend Vegapunk.
• Luffy and Gern collided fists coated in Conqueror's Haki, unleashing a devastating shockwave.
• Luffy dropped out of Gear Fifth, while Gern disappeared from the battlefield.
• Luffy told Robin, Franky, and Brook that Gern was stronger than him and Blackbeard, then called for them to find the rest of the crew and leave with Vegapunk.

At the empty site of Vegapunk's Brain, Saint Saturn confronted Blackbeard over his failures and attacks on World Government forces. After revealing that the Marines had pinned down Blackbeard's officers, Saint Saturn forced him to choose between fleeing and cooperating to find Vegapunk's relocated data core; Blackbeard agreed to work with him.

• Saint Saturn found that Vegapunk's data core had been moved and questioned Blackbeard about failing to find Vegapunk.
• Blackbeard defended his attacks on Aramaki and CP0, blaming them and accusing Stussy of aiding the Straw Hat Pirates.
• Saint Saturn said Blackbeard would have been killed by Luffy without his intervention, but Blackbeard insisted his officers would have come to help.
• Saint Saturn revealed that Kizaru, Enel, and Dracule Mihawk had joined the Marines and pinned down Blackbeard's officers.
• Saint Saturn offered Blackbeard a choice between becoming prey and cooperating to locate Vegapunk's real data core.
• Blackbeard agreed to work with Saint Saturn.

News of upheavals across the seas spread as the Cross Guild expanded its power and the Red Count escaped the Navy. On Elbaf, Dorry and Brogy recognized Luffy’s smile and set sail with the Giant Warrior Pirates for Egghead Island to help him and meet the Sun God.

• The World Economy News Paper reported that the Straw Hat Pirates had allegedly kidnapped Vegapunk from Egghead Island.
• The Cross Guild announced that it would take in and protect Totto Land and the surviving Big Mom Pirates, boosting its influence and power.
• The Red Count escaped after Akainu and Douglas Bullet attempted to capture him, and the Cross Guild publicized the escape as a victory.
• Dorry and Brogy recognized Luffy’s smile in the newspaper and decided to go to Egghead Island to help him.
• Dorry and Brogy rallied the Giant Warrior Pirates and sailed for Egghead Island, seeking Luffy and the Sun God.

York panicked after betraying Vegapunk and killing Shaka, but decided the Straw Hat Pirates, the World Government, and the Blackbeard Pirates would all punish him. He chose to seek refuge with the Independent Navy and asked Vegapunk how to contact Gern Reginald Sigma.

• Vegapunk urged York to return to the Straw Hat Pirates, confess, and apologize, but York refused, convinced they would kill him for murdering Shaka and betraying them.
• Vegapunk warned York that the World Government would abandon or eliminate him once he was no longer useful, while Blackbeard's crew also posed a threat.
• York spotted Vegapunk's Den Den Mushi and remembered that it had carried Sentomaru's warning about the Blackbeard Pirates landing.
• York recalled Gern Reginald Sigma's earlier words and decided the Independent Navy might accept him because he possessed valuable knowledge of Vegapunk's technology.
• York reached for the Den Den Mushi and demanded that Vegapunk tell him how to contact Marine Headquarters or Gern directly.

York forced Vegapunk to unlock the encrypted Den Den Mushi so she could seek help from Gern Reginald Sigma, dismissing Vegapunk’s warnings about fate and the Marines. The device instead connected to Marine captain Koby, a member of the classified unit Blade.

• Vegapunk explained that the Den Den Mushi could contact Sentomaru or a few Marine leaders authenticated as trustworthy by Vegapunk, but could not directly reach anyone York chose.
• Vegapunk warned York that Gern Reginald Sigma was calculating and would treat people as tools, and said he was not the destined liberator described in ancient texts.
• York argued that survival mattered more than fate and that Gern was her only possible way to escape the World Government, Blackbeard, and the Straw Hat Pirates.
• York restrained Vegapunk and forced him to crack the Den Den Mushi’s restrictions while Vegapunk continued speaking about Luffy, Nika, and the will of D.
• The Den Den Mushi connected to Koby, a Marine Headquarters captain in the classified special unit Blade, who asked what Vegapunk needed.

Saint Saturn explained that he had been steering Blackbeard away from Heavenquake Gern by using Egghead’s surveillance network to track Gern’s movements. After learning Gern was searching for him and would soon pass nearby, Blackbeard abandoned his plans and hurried after Saturn.

• Blackbeard urged Saint Saturn to search for Vegapunk, attack the Straw Hat Pirates, or rescue his crew, but Saturn ignored his demands.
• Saint Saturn revealed that their route had avoided surveillance zones and that he had used Egghead’s cameras to monitor Gern and evade his search.
• Saturn told Blackbeard that Gern was looking for him and was expected to pass through their corridor in about twenty minutes.
• Blackbeard recalled Gern’s past strength and decided he could not defeat him, so he followed Saint Saturn to stay out of danger.
• Saint Saturn continued toward a secluded passage and privately thought that the Five-Pointed Star Formation should have been set up there earlier.

Saint Saturn led Blackbeard to Egghead’s hidden Five-Pointed Star Formation, where Gern confronted them after tracking them over Vegapunk’s missing Database. The three realized Vegapunk had likely moved the real data, and Gern prepared to settle old scores with Blackbeard.

• Saint Saturn led Blackbeard into a sealed, ancient Egghead hall containing the Five-Pointed Star Formation and an abandoned Ancient Robot.
• Gern’s Conqueror’s Haki swept through the hall, and he appeared above Saint Saturn and Blackbeard.
• Gern asked Saint Saturn whether he had taken Vegapunk’s Database, and Saint Saturn asked whether the Navy had taken it.
• Blackbeard realized that he and Saint Saturn had both mistaken Gern for the thief, while Gern had tracked them based on the same suspicion.
• Gern concluded that Vegapunk had probably moved the real data and drew his attention to Blackbeard, ready to settle their old scores.