Chapter Summaries

Lorne and Shanks fought across a deserted island, with Lorne’s durability, regeneration, and tactics impressing the Red Hair Pirates’ officers. Shanks unleashed Divine Departure at full power, and the chapter ended as the attack bore down on Lorne.

• Lorne blocked Shanks’s sword with his bare fist and used Crushing Blow to pull Shanks into another close-range clash.
• Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and Benn Beckman watched from the Red Force and marveled at Lorne’s strength, defenses, and regeneration.
• Lorne combined Soru, lightning, Haki, and the island’s terrain to pressure Shanks, while Shanks recognized that Lorne grew stronger as the fight continued.
• Benn Beckman judged Lorne’s skill and potential exceptional as the battle devastated the island.
• Shanks took a sword-drawing stance and unleashed Divine Departure, directing a concentrated slash that sealed off Lorne’s escape routes.

Lorne endured Shanks’s Divine Departure, recovered from its devastating wound, and unleashed a fully charged Haymaker at Shanks. The punch penetrated Shanks’s Haki defenses, leaving the two locked in a destructive clash.

• Lorne took Shanks’s Divine Departure head-on, suffering a bone-deep chest wound but remaining on his feet.
• Lorne’s Battlefield Valor rapidly healed his wound, and Shanks asked what kind of body he had.
• Lorne’s Grit filled completely, and he charged Shanks with Soru before striking with Haymaker.
• Shanks blocked Lorne’s punch with Gryphon and poured Haki into his defense, but the impact penetrated both his Armament and Conqueror’s Haki and injured him.

Lorne drove Shanks back with his defense-piercing punches, forcing the Red-Haired Pirates to reconsider his strength and what his rise meant for the era. As the two prepared to fight seriously, Shanks asked Lorne about justice and drew his Haki inward, setting off Lorne’s Observation Haki warnings.

• Lorne struck Shanks repeatedly, pushing him backward across the beach and leaving him panting on a rock.
• Benn Beckman, Yasopp, and Lucky Roux reacted to Lorne overpowering Shanks and discussed the threat his growing strength posed to the emperors and the World Government.
• Shanks declared that their warm-up was over, and Lorne answered by readying his fists for the serious fight.
• Shanks asked Lorne what justice meant, and Lorne said he became a Marine to protect his people and punish anyone who threatened them.
• Shanks drew the dark-red Haki around Gryphon inward until it went quiet, while Lorne’s Observation Haki began warning him.

Lorne and Shanks pushed their battle to its limits, with Lorne surviving Shanks’s near-decapitating Instant Slash by trading wounds for a counterattack. They launched their final attacks, and their clash sent Shanks reeling as the chapter ended.

• Shanks used Divine Departure: Instant Slash, and Lorne shielded his neck with Grit while striking back with Crushing Blow.
• Lorne’s wound began healing as he and Shanks resumed their fierce battle, leaving both fighters badly injured and exhausting themselves.
• The Marines and Red Hair Pirates watched the fight, while Kuina vowed to become strong enough to fight beside Lorne.
• Benn Beckman said neither fighter had won and both had reached their limits, and Shanks proposed a final move.
• Lorne charged with Soru and struck with Haymaker as Shanks compressed his Haki into Gryphon to block.
• Lorne’s True Damage traveled through Gryphon, and the collision’s shock waves tore apart the island and drove Shanks backward.

Lorne battled Shanks, using the pressure of the clash to master his newly acquired Divine Dragon power while his wounds healed and his strength grew. By dusk, Shanks was tiring, but he refused to yield as Lorne prepared to continue fighting.

• Lorne charged Shanks with a barrage of armor-breaking punches, and Shanks blocked them with Gryphon and his Conqueror’s Haki.
• Benn Beckman noticed that Lorne’s golden lightning rapidly healed his wounds and that he grew stronger as he took damage.
• Kuina realized Lorne was using Shanks’s pressure to integrate his Divine Dragon power, while Carrot admired his lightning.
• Lorne and Shanks fought across the island as Shanks warned that Lorne’s plan to go to Wano could spark war with the Four Emperors; Lorne said he welcomed the conflict.
• Shanks cut Lorne’s arm, but Lorne healed and counterattacked, and the two fought until dusk, devastating the island.
• Shanks admitted that Lorne’s stamina was monstrous but vowed he would not be easily defeated, and Lorne readied himself to keep fighting.

Lorne and Shanks fought until their battle destroyed the island, and Lorne broke through to a new level of power. After they fought to a draw, Shanks let the Marines pass, leaving Lorne free to continue toward Wano Country.

• Lorne found harmony between Divine Dragon Power and Conqueror's Haki, creating destructive dark golden lightning as the island began to collapse beneath their battle.
• Lorne and Shanks exchanged their final attacks, destroying the island and unleashing a massive shock wave across the sea.
• Both fighters survived the clash, and Shanks called the result a draw after admitting he would tire before he could defeat Lorne.
• Shanks told Lorne he had passed the test and ordered the Red Hair Pirates to clear the route to Wano Country.
• Lorne returned to the Fearless, and the Marines cheered as Ryan set sail toward Wano Country.

Lorne sailed toward Wano Country to face Kaido while Ace grew suspicious of Teach aboard the Moby Dick. Feeling exposed and unwilling to keep waiting for the Dark-Dark Fruit, Teach decided to leave and seek the Munch-Munch Fruit instead.

• Lorne told Carrot and Kuina that they would face Kaido and encouraged them to train as the Fearless headed toward Wano Country.
• Marco told Whitebeard and the crew that Lorne had drawn with Shanks and was now heading toward Kaido’s territory.
• Ace remembered Lorne’s warning about Teach, watched him closely, and questioned him about his years aboard the ship and his interest in Devil Fruits.
• Teach became uneasy after Ace’s probing and worried that Lorne’s rise and Ace’s suspicion had made it dangerous to keep waiting.
• Teach resolved to leave the Moby Dick and pursue Wapol’s Munch-Munch Fruit as a possible alternative to the Dark-Dark Fruit.

Teach asked Whitebeard for permission to take a small fleet out, while Ace questioned his sudden urgency and suspected he was hiding something. Whitebeard struck his Naginata against the deck before giving his response.

• Teach decided to seek Whitebeard's approval to leave the Moby Dick and invited Ace to come with him.
• Teach told Whitebeard he wanted to lead a small fleet and patrol the Whitebeard Pirates' territory.
• Ace challenged Teach's sudden change of heart and pressed him about where and when he planned to go.
• Teach insisted he wanted to prove himself, while the commanders debated whether his request was suspicious.
• Ace admitted he had no evidence of betrayal, and Thatch defended Teach's record with the family.
• Whitebeard listened without interrupting, then struck his Naginata against the deck.

Whitebeard approved Teach’s request to lead a small fleet, while Ace remained suspicious and was ordered to stay behind. Teach departed with more than twenty crew members, leaving Ace and Marco watching him closely.

• Teach asked Whitebeard to let him venture out as a commander, and Whitebeard agreed while warning him about the dangers at sea.
• Ace offered to accompany Teach, but Whitebeard and Marco persuaded him to remain with the 2nd Division and monitor Teach’s daily reports.
• More than twenty crew members joined Teach, and Marco, Thatch, and Vista helped prepare three ships with supplies and charts.
• Ace told Marco that Teach was hiding his strength and knowledge of Devil Fruits, and Marco agreed to watch Teach without condemning him too quickly.
• Teach and his crew sailed away from the Moby Dick as Whitebeard wished them a safe return.

Teach secretly changed course to Drum Island to seek the Munch-Munch Fruit, but his ships encountered Admiral Sakazuki’s flagship. Teach tried to avoid a fight without alerting the Whitebeard Pirates, while Sakazuki prepared to attack.

• Teach studied his maps and planned to take the Munch-Munch Fruit from Wapol before searching for the Dark-Dark Fruit.
• Teach concealed his goal from his crew and redirected the ships toward the first half of the Grand Line.
• Teach’s crew spotted Admiral Sakazuki’s warship, and Teach refused to contact the main ship so Ace would not learn they had gone off course.
• Teach told his crew to put away their weapons and attempted to negotiate with Sakazuki by invoking Whitebeard’s name.
• Sakazuki dismissed the Whitebeard Pirates as trash and began melting his right hand into magma as Teach addressed him.

Sakazuki devastated Teach’s fleet with magma attacks, leaving Teach badly burned and unable to fight. Marines captured Teach and the surviving pirates, then set course for Marineford with Teach imprisoned and still useful to Sakazuki.

• Sakazuki unleashed Great Eruption at Teach’s Main Ship, scorching the sea and setting the pirate ships ablaze.
• Sakazuki struck Teach with Canine Red Lotus, burning his arms and hurling him into the flaming wreckage.
• Marine soldiers clamped Seastone Handcuffs around the helpless Teach as the other two ships sank and the surviving pirates were captured.
• Sakazuki ordered Teach and the prisoners locked in the warship’s lower deck, then commanded the ship to return to Marineford.

Akainu returned to Marineford with the badly injured Teach, whom he considered a suspiciously powerful member of the Whitebeard Pirates. He urged Sengoku to use Teach as bait for a decisive battle, but Sengoku doubted Whitebeard would come to rescue an ordinary crew member.

• Akainu learned that Teach had unusually tough bones and Armament Haki that protected his heart, but insisted the Marines should kill pirates without exception.
• Akainu brought the chained Teach to Marineford and ordered him locked in the deepest part of the dungeon.
• Akainu told Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru that Teach had hidden his strength for over twenty years and had a Route Map to Drum Island.
• Akainu proposed publicly executing Teach to lure Whitebeard to Marineford, and Vice Admiral Tsuru supported using him as bait.
• Sengoku warned that Akainu’s actions could further destabilize the New World and questioned whether Whitebeard would come for a crew member without a bounty.

Sengoku announced that Marshall D. Teach would be publicly executed at Marineford in one month, intending to draw out Whitebeard and end the old era. Teach despaired in his cell while Whitebeard and his crew learned the news and prepared to rescue him.

• Sengoku ordered Teach’s public execution at Marineford and requested the Shichibukai’s assistance.
• News of the execution spread worldwide, alarming civilians and exciting pirates; Wapol learned that Teach had once planned to visit Drum Island.
• A Marine guard showed Teach the announcement in his cell, and Teach panicked over his capture, unfinished plans, and whether Whitebeard would come to save him.
• Marco brought the news to Whitebeard aboard the Moby Dick, prompting Whitebeard to unleash his Conqueror’s Haki in anger.
• Thatch, Jozu, Vista, and the crew called for Whitebeard to gather his allied pirates and sail to Marineford to rescue Teach.

Ace stopped Whitebeard from launching a rescue for Teach, revealing that Teach was a dangerous traitor and Rocks D. Xebec’s son. The crew began to take Ace’s warning seriously after learning that Lorne had also uncovered Ace’s secret, and Ace started explaining the Dark-Dark Fruit.

• Whitebeard ordered the Whitebeard Pirates to assemble and head to Marineford to save Teach, but Ace objected and said Teach did not deserve to be called their brother.
• Ace accused Teach of hiding his ambitions for twenty years and pointed to Teach’s suspicious voyage toward Drum Island as evidence.
• Ace warned that Teach’s true identity would bring the World Government and Navy down on the Whitebeard Pirates, then revealed Teach was the son of Rocks D. Xebec.
• Ace said Lorne had warned him about Teach and revealed that Lorne knew Ace was Gol D. Roger’s son, persuading Marco to consider the warning credible.
• Vista asked what made the Dark-Dark Fruit special, and Ace said Lorne had called it the Most Evil Logia Devil Fruit.

Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates debated whether to risk war to rescue Teach after learning of his hidden motives and dangerous Devil Fruit. Whitebeard refused to abandon Teach, and the crew committed to an all-out assault on Marineford.

• Ace explained that Teach had sought the darkness-gravity fruit, which could nullify other Devil Fruit abilities, and Thatch recalled Teach's suspicious knowledge and careful choices in battle.
• Jozu, Vista, and Ace urged Whitebeard to call off the expedition, while Marco described Marineford's defenses and warned that the Marines' strongest fighters would make the battle perilous.
• Whitebeard said Lorne had been expelled from the Marines and was pursuing Kaido, then recalled that he had taken Teach in as a homeless boy and treated him as family despite his resemblance to Rocks.
• Whitebeard declared that neither Teach's bloodline nor his possible ambitions justified abandoning a son who had not yet betrayed or harmed the crew.
• The crew renewed its resolve to stand by Whitebeard, and he ordered every affiliated pirate crew in the New World summoned for an all-out war to bring Teach home.

After Ace revealed Teach’s connection to Rocks, the Whitebeard Pirates prepared to rescue him while Morgans learned of the revelation through a planted Listening Dial. Morgans replaced the Navy execution story with a sensational headline about Teach’s bloodline and ordered the paper distributed across the Four Blues.

• Jozu ordered the divisions to count their forces, while Marco organized allied contacts and supplies and took Ace to review intelligence about Teach.
• Whitebeard insisted that the Navy had no right to use Teach as bait and ordered his crew to bring Teach back so his family could judge him.
• An information broker sold a recording of the Whitebeard Pirates discussing Teach, Rocks, the Dark-Dark Fruit, and Lorne’s warning to the World Economy News Paper.
• Morgans heard the recording, scrapped the planned front page, and ordered a headline revealing Teach as Rocks’s son.
• Morgans ordered the presses to run at full speed and sent newspapers bearing the revelation across the Four Blues.

Morgans's extra edition revealed Teach's Rocks lineage, setting off panic across the seas and exposing Whitebeard's planned rescue. Whitebeard chose to proceed with the mission and accept treatment, while Ace prepared to rescue Teach and confront him.

• Morgans sent extra editions announcing Teach's parentage across the seas, prompting flight from Sabaody and speculation among pirates and prisoners.
• Ace brought the newspaper to Marco on the Moby Dick, and the crew found a Listening Dial hidden inside a spare Den Den Mushi.
• Marco warned that the World Government would not tolerate Rocks's bloodline and that the leak had made their plans public.
• Ace urged Whitebeard to cancel the operation, but Whitebeard said he would bring Teach back and judge him himself.
• Whitebeard agreed to resume treatment, and Ace declared that he would fight into Marineford to rescue Teach and make him explain himself.

Whitebeard rallied his subordinate crews to rescue Teach despite the leaked revelation that Teach was the son of Rocks. In Marineford, Teach lost hope of escape and tried to bargain with the Marines, while Sengoku learned that Whitebeard’s forces were mobilizing in full.

• Whitebeard told his captains that the rescue mission had become more dangerous and invited them to join or stay behind; every contacted captain pledged to come.
• Teach read the newspaper revealing his origins and learned Lorne had told Ace, then begged the guard to let him speak with Sengoku and the Five Elders.
• Teach offered to betray Whitebeard and later asked to join the Shichibukai, but the guard rejected him and left him to believe the World Government would execute him.
• A Marine intelligence officer recorded Teach’s offer and ordered his security increased, restricting access to Sengoku, the Admirals, and special envoys.
• A messenger reported to Sengoku that twenty-seven fleets under Whitebeard’s flag had left their bases, and Sengoku crushed his teacup as the mobilization confirmed Whitebeard would come.

Sengoku mobilized Marineford for an expected assault by Whitebeard and ordered the Shichibukai to report under threat of losing their titles. As the Marines prepared their defenses, Jinbe refused to fight Whitebeard and set out to demand that Sengoku cancel Ace’s execution.

• Sengoku ordered Marineford to enter its highest state of combat readiness and recalled forces after Morgans revealed Teach was Rocks’s son.
• Tsuru explained that Lorne had leaked the information to Ace to provoke Whitebeard, while Akainu argued that Teach could become a threat to the world.
• Sengoku requested a compulsory summons for every Shichibukai, threatening to strip the title from anyone who refused.
• Amazon Lily reluctantly agreed to send forces after the Marines threatened its status, Gecko Moria accepted in exchange for Marine corpses, and Dracule Mihawk agreed to arrive on time.
• Jinbe refused to fight Whitebeard and said he was going to Marineford to ask Sengoku to cancel the execution; Akainu stripped him of his title and ordered an ambush at the harbor.
• Marineford sounded its alarms as Marines assembled heavy guns, ammunition, and Seastone nets to prepare for battle.

Marineford prepared to face Whitebeard’s forces as the Five Elders turned Teach’s execution into a secret campaign to destroy Rocks’s bloodline and secretly dispatched the Holy Knights Reserves. In Marineford’s dungeon, battered Teach remained defiant, insisting Whitebeard and Ace would come for him.

• Doberman urged the Marines to hold the defensive line, while Sentomaru prepared the Pacifistas and the Encircling Wall for battle.
• Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu discussed the Whitebeard Pirates, the summoned Shichibukai, and Lorne’s whereabouts as Marine forces gathered at Marineford.
• The Five Elders blamed Lorne for exposing Teach’s identity and ordered Sengoku to treat the execution as a secret holy war against Teach and Whitebeard.
• The Five Elders ordered the Holy Knights Reserves to blockade Marineford’s surrounding waters and kill anyone who tried to escape the execution platform.
• Teach, chained and bloodied in Marineford’s dungeon, taunted his guards and vowed that Whitebeard and Ace would come for him.
• Tattered pirate flags began rising across several dark stretches of sea in the New World.