Recaps

Xie Wen and the Dudu reached the skies above Shiki’s flying island, where Xie Wen hesitated to attack because the island’s natives would die if it fell. Shiki approached to recruit him as an ally, but Xie Wen pretended not to recognize him.

• Hua Mei Meow pointed out that Gran Tesoro’s location was public and could be reached with an Eternal Pose, but Xie Wen changed course and had the Dudu fly upward to search for Shiki’s islands.
• Xie Wen found Shiki’s small flying island and realized that killing him could send it crashing down on the natives living there, so he abandoned plans to attack or secretly follow him.
• Shiki spotted the Dudu and worried about Xie Wen’s team and its ability to control the weather, which countered his Float-Float Fruit.
• Shiki flew over to Xie Wen and greeted him warmly, hoping to recruit him as an ally against the World Government.
• Xie Wen pretended he did not know Shiki and asked who he was.

Xie Wen met Golden Lion Shiki, who tried to recruit him into a plan to challenge the World Government and revealed that a plant called iq was his real trump card. Xie Wen and Ai Haibara Meow accepted Shiki’s invitation to visit his secret sky base, though Xie Wen had not expected the meeting to reach that point so quickly.

• Shiki introduced himself as the captain of the Flying Pirates, Golden Lion Shiki, after confusingly calling himself a rooster.
• Xie Wen recognized Shiki as the pirate who had escaped Impel Down and learned that Shiki was willing to give him the swords Kogarashi and Oto to secure his alliance.
• Shiki invited Xie Wen to join him in overturning the world, and Xie Wen questioned whether they had enough strength to threaten the World Government.
• Shiki explained that he had recruited pirates for an alliance and revealed that the miraculous plant iq was his true trump card.
• Shiki invited Xie Wen to tour his secret sky base, and Ai Haibara Meow tugged Xie Wen along as he agreed to go.

Xie Wen agreed to follow Shiki to his base, intending to investigate the IQ plant before deciding whether to cooperate with him. Shiki brought the Dudu to Merveille, his floating island base on the edge of the Calm Belt, and offered Ai Haibara Meow access to IQ and his research materials.

• Xie Wen accepted Shiki's invitation, while Klee Meow warned him that she disliked the pirate's voice.
• Xie Wen told Klee Meow he wanted Ai Haibara Meow to inspect the IQ plant before making any decisions about Shiki.
• Xie Wen checked the Hunter's Notes map and realized Shiki was taking them toward the Calm Belt.
• Klee Meow spotted islands in the sky, and Shiki announced that they were the base of his Flying Pirates, Strong World.
• Ai Haibara Meow asked about the IQ plant's growing conditions, and Shiki explained that Merveille had originally been a high-altitude mountainous island.
• Shiki promised Ai Haibara Meow access to IQ and his research materials, privately doubting she could understand Dr. Indigo's work.

Xie Wen and the Felines arrived at Shiki’s floating archipelago, where Shiki openly explained his plans and showed off his engineered army of beasts to win Xie Wen’s alliance. Xie Wen withheld his decision and asked to inspect the beasts first.

• Xie Wen noticed the archipelago’s islands had distinct landscapes and seasons, while Shiki explained that the village’s inhabitants were the island’s original people whom he had abducted for labor.
• The Felines smelled the foul Daft-Green trees, and Ai Haibara Meow questioned why Shiki had planted them around the palace and village.
• As the Ark Maxims landed, Shiki explained that IQ and SIQ had produced fierce animals capable of helping him destroy Marine Base and Saint Mary Geoise.
• Xie Wen said he would inspect the beasts before deciding whether to ally with Shiki, who believed the demonstration would convince him.

Xie Wen and his companions visited Shiki’s laboratory so Ai Haibara Meow could examine IQ, while Klee Meow and Shirahoshi demonstrated their ability to understand Dr. Indigo’s gestures. After seeing Ai Haibara Meow’s advanced analyzers and learning how the group obtained their blueprints, Indigo eagerly urged Xie Wen to join Shiki, leaving Shiki even more keen to ally with him.

• Xie Wen asked Shiki to let Ai Haibara Meow inspect IQ, and Shiki sent Dr. Indigo to guide them to his laboratory.
• Klee Meow and Shirahoshi understood Indigo’s gestures, while Link Meow scorned Indigo’s claim that his gestures were meaningful.
• Ai Haibara Meow examined IQ and collected samples from its leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and stamens.
• Indigo envied Ai Haibara Meow’s five Portable Composition Analyzers, and Xie Wen explained that the group had found their blueprints at Punk Hazard.
• Indigo pleaded with Xie Wen to join Shiki, and Shiki became more eager to ally with Xie Wen.

Ai Haibara Meow reviewed Indigo’s SIQ research and exposed major flaws in its approach, arguing that preserving the test subjects’ reason would make them more useful and that a remotely activated berserk drug could provide strength when needed. Shiki and Indigo were left shaken by her criticism, while Indigo collapsed under the weight of her suggestions.

• Indigo brought Ai Haibara Meow his SIQ research notes and observation logs.
• Ai Haibara Meow suggested ways to improve Indigo’s formulas, and Indigo realized her proposals were better than his own methods.
• Ai Haibara Meow called SIQ’s development direction crude and inefficient, criticizing its sacrifice of reason for a modest increase in strength.
• Shiki admitted he would prefer weaker subordinates who obeyed orders over stronger, uncontrollable ones.
• Ai Haibara Meow argued that intelligent animals could follow commands and that a remote berserk drug could provide strength more effectively.
• Indigo admitted SIQ had increased strength by at most eleven percent, then collapsed after Ai Haibara Meow criticized his purification methods and proposed an alternative.

Xie Wen and the Felines explored the islands around Shiki’s Royal Palace after Ai Haibara Meow and Meowrah stayed behind to study the IQ plant. They split up to pursue their plans, and Xie Wen left with Robin and several Felines to continue scouting.

• Xie Wen asked to inspect what Shiki and Indigo had accomplished, while Ai Haibara Meow and Meowrah stayed at the Royal Palace to study the IQ plant.
• Xie Wen followed Shalmeow’s directions toward a nearby village and encountered a Giant Beetle, which he killed after learning it was edible but unpleasant to prepare.
• Jinx Meow and Shirahoshi decided to fight the island’s animals, while Klee Meow, Shalmeow, Sanji Meow, Robin, and Baby 5 chose to accompany Xie Wen.
• Hua Mei Meow stayed behind to watch over Jinx Meow and Shirahoshi, and Xie Wen slipped away with Robin and the others before she could confront him.

Xie Wen consulted Ai Haibara Meow about the natives’ incomplete evolution and decided not to risk provoking Shiki by testing her theory on them. He and his companions explored the islands, filled out the Monster Field Guide, and gained Summon Ticket Fragments before preparing to confront Shiki.

• Xie Wen called Ai Haibara Meow, who explained that IQ accelerated evolution but the natives still needed a survival threat to trigger their wings.
• Xie Wen rejected plans to test the natives’ ability to fly, left them food, and departed with Robin and the Felines.
• Xie Wen and his companions spent several days exploring the islands, where he catalogued their unusual animals in the Monster Field Guide.
• Ai Haibara Meow explained that many animals had evolved into distinct species, and the new entries expanded the guide by nearly a tenth.
• Xie Wen received two Summon Ticket Fragments from the new entries and decided it was time to return and challenge Shiki.

Xie Wen rejected Shiki’s offer of an alliance and defeated the Golden Lion in battle. Kaido Meow saved the main island from falling, and Xie Wen obtained Shiki’s Ship’s Helm.

• Shiki offered Xie Wen Oto and Kogarashi in exchange for an alliance, but Xie Wen refused and challenged him.
• Shiki attacked with his Devil Fruit powers, but Xie Wen’s swordsmanship overwhelmed him.
• Xie Wen struck Shiki with Spine-Scattering Ruinous Cyclone: Heaven, piercing his chest and killing him.
• Kaido Meow transformed into a Sakura Dragon and used flame clouds to stop the main island from falling.
• Xie Wen stabbed Shiki with the Hunter’s Knife and obtained the Ship’s Helm.

After Shiki’s defeat, Xie Wen collected Oto and Kogarashi and helped recover Indigo’s research and IQ. Meowrah asked for new technology, and Xie Wen promised to take her to Vegapunk’s hometown, while Klee Meow returned with a Poneglyph rubbing from Shiki’s vault.

• Xie Wen picked up Oto and Kogarashi and found no Weapon Pool Summoning Fragments in his Hunter’s Notes.
• Ai Haibara Meow and Meowrah showed Xie Wen the recovered research data and IQ, and Meowrah asked to raid Vegapunk’s base for technology.
• Xie Wen promised to take Meowrah to Baldimore, Vegapunk’s hometown, to find technical materials.
• Ai Haibara Meow told Xie Wen that Klee Meow had taken the Dudu to loot Shiki’s vault.
• Klee Meow returned with a cloth rubbing of a non-red Poneglyph, which Robin had identified.

After defeating Shiki, Xie Wen arranged protection and new homes for the island’s Winged People, then prepared to leave with the transplanted IQ and Daft-Green plants. He summoned a new Palico aboard the Dudu, where the little cat arrived mourning a fish that had been eaten.

• Xie Wen learned that a few Winged People had awakened the ability to fly, then arranged for some to remain on the island and others to join Morgans’s World Economy News Paper.
• Xie Wen called Morgans to arrange a visit and request an Eternal Pose for Karakuri Island, Baldimore; Morgans fixated on the news that Xie Wen had killed Shiki.
• Xie Wen and the others built specialized enclosures aboard the Dudu to cultivate the poisonous Daft-Green and fragile IQ plants.
• Ai Haibara Meow explained that Xie Wen could not gain special abilities from IQ without a new catalyst and decades of time, so he abandoned the idea.
• Morgans arrived in an airship modeled after Valstrax, and Xie Wen left after introducing him to the Winged People and showing off the Dudu’s Valstrax form.
• Xie Wen used a summon ticket, and a black-and-white Little Calico Cat landed on the Dudu, only to lament that something had eaten nearly all of its month-long fishing catch.

Xie Wen welcomed the newly summoned Kamijou Touma, a perpetually unlucky ordinary Palico who hoped to become his companion, and discovered that Touma had no special ability like Imagine Breaker. After Touma survived a series of mishaps and an accidental dose of Satan Potion, Xie Wen explained that he was no longer in his original world, leaving Touma convinced he might be dead.

• Little Plushie compared Touma Meow’s bad luck to Bennett’s, while Xie Wen wondered whether Touma had inherited traits from his original.
• Touma Meow rushed toward Xie Wen, tripped, and then fell from Shirahoshi’s palm onto his discarded fishhook.
• Xie Wen pulled the hook from Touma and gave him a potion, but Ai Haibara Meow revealed she had swapped Angel Potion for Satan Potion, which briefly knocked Touma out.
• After Touma recovered, he told Xie Wen that he had prayed to become his companion and described how bad luck and poor training had left him an ordinary village Palico.
• Xie Wen told Touma that he was in another world, and Touma mistakenly concluded that he had died and was experiencing a dream.

Xie Wen explained the dangers and Devil Fruit rules of the world to Touma Meow, who worried he was too weak to become a Felyne Companion. After Klee Meow demonstrated her power and Xie Wen introduced the other Research Commission members, Touma Meow asked about his own special talent and learned that Xie Wen considered his exceptionally bad luck one.

• Touma Meow lamented that he could not return home, then cheered up at the thought of being in another world and worried he was too weak to help Xie Wen.
• Xie Wen showed Touma Meow a Devil Fruit, caught him when he tripped toward it, and warned him that eating a second Devil Fruit could kill him.
• Xie Wen told Touma Meow to be careful in the dangerous world, and Klee Meow promised to protect him before demonstrating her strength by blasting the sea with a flaming dragon.
• Xie Wen introduced the Research Commission members, leaving Touma Meow discouraged by their abilities and convinced he was only suited to housework.
• When Touma Meow asked about his special talent, Xie Wen praised his exceptionally bad luck.

News of Xie Wen defeating Shiki reached the Four Emperors and their crews, prompting reactions ranging from Kaido’s desire to recruit and fight him to Shanks’s plan to seek him out. The chapter left Shanks’s crew preparing to contact Morgans for help finding Xie Wen.

• Charlotte Linlin regretted not forcing Xie Wen to stay with her and scolded her daughters for failing to win his interest.
• Kaido celebrated Xie Wen’s victory, attacked his All-Stars with Receive the Eight Precepts, and declared that he would recruit Xie Wen and make him fight for years.
• Whitebeard dismissed Shiki’s plan, while Izo regretted that Shiki would not help reclaim Wano Country and Marco and Ace held back their objections.
• Marshall D. Teach briefly questioned whether pursuing the Dark-Dark Fruit was the right choice, then reaffirmed his long-standing plan.
• Shanks decided that the Red Hair Pirates should seek out Xie Wen, and Benn Beckman urged him to ask Morgans for help locating him.

Xie Wen brought Touma Meow and the Research Commission to Karakuri Island to borrow Vegapunk’s notes, keeping their approach quiet to avoid drawing the World Government’s attention. They landed with a small group, while the rest of the commission waited aboard the Dudu.

• Touma Meow leaned over the transforming Dudu, was lifted by its protective barrier, and fell into another barrier after Xie Wen’s warning made Robin’s rescue miss.
• Xie Wen told Touma Meow to stay near trusted companions so they could protect him from his bad luck, and Touma Meow resolved to learn Haki.
• Xie Wen explained that Karakuri Island’s severe cold, surrounding ice, and Navy presence made a quiet approach important after his recent actions in Saint Mary Geoise.
• Xie Wen had the Dudu take Dire Miralis form and dive beneath the ice, then sent Klee Meow to burn a way through it.
• Xie Wen landed with Meowrah, Ai Haibara Meow, Klee Meow, Robin, and Link Meow, leaving the rest of the Research Commission aboard the Dudu.

Xie Wen and the cats reached Baldimore and secretly searched Vegapunk’s laboratory, where they found mostly impractical cultural inventions. After suspecting Franky’s combat technology came from another facility, Xie Wen sent Klee Meow to look for a hidden laboratory.

• Meowrah used her snow powers to stop a mechanical lion from attacking the group, and Xie Wen persuaded her to let it go.
• Xie Wen and the cats arrived in Baldimore, where Klee Meow spotted Vegapunk’s conspicuous laboratory.
• Meowrah raised a blizzard that drove the Marines indoors, allowing Xie Wen and the cats to enter the laboratory unseen while Robin went to explore the island’s history.
• Ai Haibara Meow and Meowrah examined Vegapunk’s blueprints and found mostly impractical cultural inventions, not the animal-modification research Xie Wen sought.
• Xie Wen realized Franky’s combat technology must have come from another laboratory and asked Klee Meow to find the hidden facility.

Xie Wen and the cats searched Karakuri Island’s research institute, disarmed hidden explosives, and realized Vegapunk’s secret research might be elsewhere. The chapter ended with Morgans revealing that Red-Haired Shanks was already on his way to meet Xie Wen.

• Klee Meow found a suspicious self-destruct button, and Xie Wen inferred that it might conceal access to Vegapunk’s secret research.
• Klee Meow sensed hidden explosives beneath floor tiles, and Xie Wen, Meowrah, and Klee Meow removed and disarmed them.
• Xie Wen tore down the wall around the button but found no entrance, then concluded with Ai Haibara Meow’s help that the other research facility might not be on-site.
• Xie Wen and the cats stayed to sort and record the institute’s research materials instead of taking them away.
• Hua Mei Meow told Xie Wen that Morgans wanted to speak with him, and Morgans admitted he had told Shanks where Xie Wen was.
• Xie Wen learned that Shanks was already heading to Karakuri Island and complained that Morgans had not warned him first.

Xie Wen and the Felines copied Vegapunk’s research on Karakuri Island, dismantled the institutes’ self-destruct systems, and gathered explosives. Shanks arrived looking for Xie Wen, but the Marines found only the altered research institute, and Shanks wondered whether he had caused trouble for him.

• Xie Wen, Robin, and the Felines found Vegapunk’s hidden institute beneath the Geothermal System and copied its combat research after Klee Meow uncovered its explosives.
• Meowrah determined that the Geothermal System lacked sufficient energy and suitable heat-distribution materials, so Xie Wen decided they could not get it working.
• Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates arrived at Karakuri Island, and Captain Masira tried to send them away while claiming Xie Wen was not there.
• Captain Masira rushed to Vegapunk’s institute and found its self-destruct mechanism and explosives removed, while the research and equipment remained intact.
• Marine Headquarters told Captain Masira to leave the matter alone, and Shanks asked Benn Beckman whether he had caused trouble for Xie Wen.

Xie Wen ignored Shanks’s attempts to draw him out while he and the Felines finished copying research materials, then met the Red Hair Pirates after emerging from the woods aboard Dudu Dire Miralis. He took Shanks to a nearby deserted island to talk, leaving Shanks’s question about how Xie Wen knew nothing unresolved.

• Xie Wen told Hua Mei Meow to ignore Shanks and continued copying materials at the Second Research Institute.
• Shanks used Conqueror’s Haki to announce his presence, but Xie Wen ignored him, leaving him waiting in the cold for over half an hour.
• Shanks and Benn Beckman decided to leave and arrange a meeting through Morgans, but heavy footsteps drew their attention to the woods.
• Xie Wen appeared atop a snow-white Mechanical Elephant with Robin and the Felines, then pretended he had not known Shanks was there.
• Xie Wen invited Shanks to a nearby deserted island, and Shanks questioned how Xie Wen could have missed his arrival while underwater.

Xie Wen told Yasopp how Usopp had grown up without him, prompting Yasopp to break down and decide to contact his son. When Shanks confronted Xie Wen after he hinted at Shanks’s origins, Xie Wen invoked Kuma’s connection to God Valley, and Shanks insisted that the West Blue was his only home.

• Xie Wen’s account of Usopp’s lonely childhood shamed Yasopp, and the cats condemned him for abandoning his family.
• Xie Wen added that Usopp was still proud of Yasopp, causing Yasopp to weep, thank Xie Wen, and run off to write his son a letter.
• Shanks asked Xie Wen to discuss a few matters, but Xie Wen teased him by hinting that his home was Saint Mary Geoise.
• Shanks unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki, knocking out Baby 5 and several of his own crew, while Hua Mei Meow answered with her own Haki and split the clouds.
• Shanks asked how Xie Wen knew about his origins, and Xie Wen cited Kuma and the God Valley survivors before Shanks declared that the West Blue was his only home.

Shanks warned Xie Wen about the Holy Knights and challenged him to a sword fight. Xie Wen opened the duel with a surprise attack, and Shanks prepared to answer with Divine Departure.

• Shanks explained that the Holy Knights were the Celestial Dragons’ elite and warned Xie Wen not to underestimate them.
• Shanks reassured Xie Wen about his strength and suggested he flee if the Marines, especially Akainu, came after him.
• Shanks challenged Xie Wen to show his swordsmanship, and Xie Wen accepted, eager to test himself against another Emperor.
• Shanks’s Conqueror’s Haki left Baby 5 and weaker Red Hair Pirates unconscious, while Klee Meow and Ai Haibara Meow remained unaffected.
• Xie Wen launched a surprise attack and sent Shanks flying with his Crimson Heaven Dragon Vengeful Slash.
• Shanks praised Xie Wen’s distinctive swordsmanship, warned him to be careful, and began his counterattack with Divine Departure.

Xie Wen fought Shanks and used the pressure of Shanks's Divine Departure to unlock Bushido Style, then adapted his tactics to Shanks's speed and Observation Haki. After landing a surprise shield-parry counter, Xie Wen conceded the spar and left Shanks frustrated.

• Xie Wen matched Shanks's Divine Departure with Iai: Sunbreak Eclipse, realizing his strength was closer to Shanks's than he had assumed.
• Shanks asked whether Xie Wen had grown stronger after fighting Kaido, and Xie Wen asked whether Shanks had held back.
• Xie Wen recognized that Shanks relied on speed, agility, and Haki rather than the overwhelming strength and durability of Kaido and Big Mom.
• Xie Wen switched to Sword and Shield and used Hunter's Dance to fight Shanks while avoiding another prolonged Long Sword exchange.
• Xie Wen used Perfect Shield Parry to stagger Shanks and cut his side, then conceded the bout before Shanks could continue attacking.

After Xie Wen ended his fight with Shanks, he asked Shanks to coach Hua Mei Meow in advanced fighting techniques. Xie Wen then revealed that Roger’s son Ace was alive, leaving Shanks eager to hear more about him.

• Xie Wen conceded his match with Shanks, and both their crews treated the fight as Xie Wen’s clever victory.
• Xie Wen asked Shanks to teach Hua Mei Meow about Observation Haki Killer and Divine Departure, and Shanks agreed without asking for payment.
• Shanks and Xie Wen discussed Rayleigh, Cat Viper, Luffy, and Ace, and Shanks admitted he had worried Xie Wen might be connected to Luffy.
• Xie Wen revealed that Roger’s son was alive and identified him as Ace, Luffy’s sworn older brother who had been entrusted to Garp.
• Shanks said that although he had met Ace, he still thought Luffy suited Roger’s straw hat better.

The Red Hair Pirates resumed their party, where the Felines outdid them in cooking, marksmanship, and swordsmanship. The pirates challenged the Felines to a drinking contest, and Suika Meow prepared to face Howling Gab.

• The Red Hair Pirates restarted their party, and Klee Meow, Sanji Meow, and Link Meow cooked for the crew, impressing them and leaving Lucky Roux feeling defeated.
• Shanks tried to recruit Klee Meow, Sanji Meow, and Link Meow, but all three refused; Link Meow hid behind Xie Wen after Shanks and the others crowded around him.
• Jinx Meow beat Yasopp in a shooting contest, while Meow Jūshirō defeated Benn Beckman in a swordsmanship spar.
• The Red Hair Pirates challenged the Felines to a drinking contest, and Suika Meow offered Howling Gab a dish of concentrated Ibuki Sake.

Suika Meow’s liquor won over much of the Red Hair Pirates, and Shanks traded lessons for Ibuki Sake. Shanks tested Hua Mei Meow’s Haki techniques, while his crew’s admiration for the Felines grew.

• The Red Hair Pirates woke up eager for Suika Meow’s Ibuki Sake, and Shanks asked Xie Wen to increase the payment for teaching Divine Departure and Observation Haki Killer.
• Xie Wen and Shanks made a deal for the liquor, but Beckman and the other officers caught Shanks trying to keep most of it, and the crew divided every drop.
• Xie Wen gave Shanks an extra bottle, prompting Shanks to begin teaching Hua Mei Meow and invite the other Felines to listen.
• Shanks tested Hua Mei Meow’s Conqueror’s Haki, and she demonstrated her mastery of Observation Haki Killer with a powerful sword attack.
• Hua Mei Meow attacked Shanks using only Observation Haki Killer, and he blocked her rapid strikes as the watching Red Hair Pirates cheered her on.