Chapter Summaries

On a scorching volcanic island, Sanji faced Lucky Roux of the Red Hair Pirates in a sparring match meant to prove the Straw Hat Pirates’ strength. Sanji stood ready to fight, determined to help Luffy reach Laugh Tale before Hua Country could fulfill its own ambitions.

• Sanji surveyed the volcanic battlefield and sized up Lucky Roux, whose powerful presence Sanji’s Observation Haki could not penetrate.
• Lucky Roux offered Sanji chilled liquor and roast turkey, then said he wanted to try Sanji’s cooking after the fight.
• Sanji rejected the food and drink, dismissed Lucky Roux’s casual roasting, and agreed to discuss cooking once the match ended.
• Sanji declared he would test Lucky Roux’s strength and resolved to win to prove the Straw Hat Pirates deserved to reach Laugh Tale.

Sanji faced Lucky Roux of the Red Hair Pirates in a spar meant to test the Straw Hat Pirates’ strength. Lucky Roux easily stood firm against Sanji’s powerful kick and warned that the fight would end quickly unless Sanji showed more.

• Lucky Roux introduced himself as a Red Hair Pirate with a bounty of one billion five hundred and thirty million Beli, while Sanji identified himself as a Straw Hat cook and a knight who protected his companions.
• Lucky Roux warned that he never held back and crossed the distance between them in an instant to punch Sanji.
• Sanji blocked the punch with an Armament Haki-coated kick, but the impact sent him sliding five meters and left his leg numb.
• Lucky Roux praised Sanji’s strength and speed but said his kick was not hard enough.
• Sanji steadied himself, recognized Lucky Roux as a monster, and prepared to continue the spar.
• Lucky Roux said he would be disappointed if Sanji could not make him take a single step.

Sanji used his speed and Observation Haki to find an opening in Lucky Roux’s defense, then struck him with a flaming, Haki-coated kick. Lucky Roux absorbed the attack without injury and advanced, leaving Sanji facing an opponent he could not seem to harm.

• Sanji circled Lucky Roux at high speed and searched for a weakness with his Observation Haki.
• Sanji spotted a brief thinning of the fat over Lucky Roux’s left ribs as he inhaled.
• Sanji landed a Diable Jambe Barbecue Jump Kick on the opening, but Lucky Roux’s shifting fat absorbed the heat and force.
• Sanji retreated and realized his speed, strength, Armament Haki, and ordinary Diable Jambe attacks had failed.
• Lucky Roux stepped toward Sanji, cracking the volcanic rock and spreading fractures across the plain.

Sanji unleashed his strongest kicks against Lucky Roux’s Fat Armament, but Lucky Roux absorbed the blows and remained virtually untouched. Sanji’s attacks failed to break through, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Lucky Roux covered himself in his specially trained Fat Armament and challenged Sanji to break through it.
• Sanji used Memories of Hell, but his kick sank only slightly into Lucky Roux’s defense before its recoil sent him back.
• Lucky Roux dismissed the attack, and Sanji immediately charged again with Dragon Ascent.
• Sanji unleashed dozens of rapid kicks and finished with a forceful blow to Lucky Roux’s chin, but Lucky Roux barely moved and showed no damage.

Sanji fought Lucky Roux at full strength, enduring devastating punches and using rapid, rotating kicks to penetrate Lucky Roux’s Fat Armament. The battle left Lucky Roux’s defense visibly dented, and he realized Sanji could break through it.

• Lucky Roux struck Sanji with a powerful Haki-coated punch, sending him through slabs of basalt and breaking several ribs.
• Sanji’s Lineage Factor-enhanced recovery helped him rise, and he charged back into the fight as Lucky Roux unleashed a storm of punches.
• Sanji used Diable Jambe and more than a hundred rapid kicks to dent Lucky Roux’s Fat Armament for the first time.
• Lucky Roux’s counterpunch missed Sanji and blasted a crater into the ground, exposing bubbling magma.
• Sanji followed with Party Table Kick Course, driving his rotating kicks deeper into Lucky Roux’s defense until Lucky Roux recognized the threat.

After Lucky Roux’s Meatball Tank badly injured him, Sanji accepted his Germa modifications and awakened their power to protect his friends. Lucky Roux responded by revealing his ultimate form, Compressed Fat Armament, setting the stage for their next clash.

• Lucky Roux struck Sanji with Meatball Tank, sending him through slabs of basalt and burying him beneath a shattered boulder.
• Sanji climbed from the rubble and realized that his power’s worth depended on how he chose to use it.
• Sanji’s Lineage Factor awakened, healing his injuries and greatly increasing his strength, speed, and stamina.
• Sanji accepted his enhancements as his own power and reaffirmed his resolve to protect his friends and Luffy’s dream.
• Lucky Roux compressed his Fat Armament into high-density armor and challenged Sanji to withstand his full strength.

Sanji and Lucky Roux fought to a draw in a devastating battle on the volcanic island, exhausting themselves and nearly destroying the plain. Lucky Roux acknowledged Sanji and the Straw Hat Pirates, leaving them approved to continue toward Laugh Tale.

• Sanji activated his Lineage Factor and clashed evenly with Lucky Roux, whose Compressed Fat Armament strengthened his defense and attacks.
• Sanji and Lucky Roux fought for an hour, wrecking the volcanic plain as magma spread and erupted around them.
• They struck each other simultaneously, with Sanji cracking Lucky Roux's armor before Lucky Roux sent him flying, and both collapsed from exhaustion.
• Lucky Roux praised Sanji's strength, and Sanji insisted that a cook's legs could protect his friends.
• Lucky Roux declared that he acknowledged the Straw Hat Pirates and considered them qualified to go to Laugh Tale.
• Sanji refused Lucky Roux's request to teach him to fight with his feet, and the two laughed together as the volcano settled.

On Ignorance Island, Benn Beckman challenged Zoro’s mastery of Conqueror’s Haki by demonstrating how Observation Haki and concentrated will could predict and restrict an opponent’s movements. Zoro survived Beckman’s calculated shots, but the duel continued as Beckman’s Haki-coated bullet struck with enough force to crater the ground.

• Zoro and Benn Beckman faced each other across Ignorance Island, and Beckman criticized Zoro’s shallow use of Conqueror’s Haki coating.
• Beckman explained that Conqueror’s Haki and top-tier Observation Haki could calculate an opponent’s possibilities, then fired a bullet at Zoro.
• Zoro dodged the first shot, but Beckman had predicted his movement and the bullet grazed his forehead.
• Beckman fired two calculated shots that sealed off Zoro’s usual escape routes, so Zoro drew Wado Ichimonji and cut both bullets in half.
• Beckman fired a Haki-coated bullet, and Zoro dodged as it struck the ground and blasted a deep crater.

Beckman used an Armament- and Conqueror’s Haki bullet to trap Zoro, but Zoro destroyed it with a powerful sword technique. Beckman then launched a close-range assault, and the duel continued with Zoro wounded after his counterattack was overpowered.

• Beckman fired a Haki-coated bullet that anticipated Zoro’s possible escapes and threatened to cut off every route.
• Zoro refused to dodge and used Three-Sword Style: Black Rope Dragon Twister to trap and destroy the bullet, exhausting himself in the process.
• Beckman rushed Zoro with Gun-Fu, and their clash pushed Zoro back as Beckman pressed him with relentless attacks.
• Zoro countered with Three-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt, but Beckman smashed the slash apart with Conqueror’s Fist: Army Breaker and drove Zoro back, leaving blood at his mouth.

Zoro broke Beckman’s Haki suppression with an all-directional slash, but the effort left him nearly spent. Beckman prepared his Overlord Bullet, and Zoro gathered everything he had into his swords as memories and promises surged through his mind.

• Beckman trapped Zoro inside five Conqueror’s Haki fields, disrupted his perception, and struck him hard after attacking from behind.
• Zoro realized he could not win by defending and unleashed One Great Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds in every direction, breaking Beckman’s suppression and grazing his hand.
• Beckman praised Zoro’s counter but warned that it had cost him far more than it had cost Beckman.
• Beckman loaded the Overlord Bullet, a shot designed to track Zoro and anticipate his defenses, and challenged him to shatter it head-on.
• Zoro accepted the challenge and poured all his Haki, stamina, and will into his three swords while recalling Kuina, his mentors, Luffy, and his past battles.

Zoro and Beckman’s clash ended with Zoro proving himself and the Straw Hat Pirates worthy of helping bring about change. Beckman revealed that the Red Hair Pirates were waiting for the right moment to support Luffy, while Zoro collapsed after Beckman departed.

• Zoro unleashed Asura Demon Nine Flash, and Beckman answered with Overlord Bullet, creating a vast crater as their attacks exhausted each other.
• Zoro and Beckman survived the clash severely wounded, and Beckman admitted he had fought at eighty percent to test Zoro rather than kill him.
• Beckman explained that the Red Hair Pirates were waiting for Luffy to become the force that could inspire the world to resist the World Government, and said the Straw Hat Pirates had passed their test.
• Beckman told Zoro that the Red Hair Pirates would be there when Luffy needed them, then walked toward the sea as Zoro collapsed and lost consciousness.
• Beckman set his ruined flintlock into the sea and headed toward the Red Force, reflecting on the coming new era and Hua Country.

Luffy reunited with Shanks on the showdown island and learned that winning a test would earn him Shanks’s Road Poneglyph rubbing and answers about Laugh Tale, Joy Boy, and the World Government. After declaring his dream and resolve to change the world, Luffy began the battle in Gear Fourth: Boundman.

• Luffy and Shanks met across the clearing and their Conqueror’s Haki tore open the clouds above them.
• Shanks asked Luffy why he wanted to become the Pirate King and showed that he carried a Road Poneglyph rubbing.
• Luffy said he wanted freedom, adventures with his companions, and the power to change the rotten world.
• Shanks set a one-hour challenge: Luffy had to take the rubbing to win and learn what Shanks knew, or Shanks would leave with it.
• Luffy accepted the challenge and transformed into Gear Fourth: Boundman.

Luffy fought Shanks with Gear Fourth, but Shanks’s superior swordsmanship and Conqueror’s Haki steadily wore him down. Luffy unleashed his strongest Boundman attack against Shanks’s ultimate slash, and their collision produced a devastating explosion.

• Luffy charged Shanks with a Gear Fourth King Kong Gun, but Shanks countered it with Divine Departure and sent him skidding backward.
• Shanks criticized Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki infusion, and Luffy attacked again with Lion Gatling while Shanks parried and cut his arms.
• Luffy realized that Gear Fourth and his Haki were draining his strength, so he leaped back and prepared a stronger attack.
• Luffy launched Gum-Gum-Lion Rocket from the sky as Shanks answered with Divine Departure: Heavenly Impact.
• Luffy’s strike and Shanks’s slashes collided, creating a massive blast that flattened nearby hills, pulverized reefs, and swept down distant woods.

Luffy awakened Gear Fifth, revealing the Nika form and recovering from his injuries as he fought Shanks for the rubbing. He landed a blow that forced Shanks back for the first time, and their battle continued with both fighters ready to escalate.

• After their devastating clash, Shanks told Luffy he needed a power strong enough to break through his defenses and urged him to reveal his hidden trump card.
• Luffy awakened the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika, and transformed into Gear Fifth.
• Luffy discovered that his Nika form let him reshape his body and surroundings, fly, and rapidly restore his stamina and Haki.
• Luffy charged Shanks with Gum-Gum-Thunder Punch, infusing his strike with Conqueror's Haki.
• Shanks blocked the punch with Griffon, but Luffy's blow dented the sword and drove Shanks five meters backward.

Luffy and Shanks fought with their strongest attacks, and Shanks challenged Luffy to withstand one final strike to claim the Road Poneglyph Copy. Luffy survived the clash and snatched the copy, but Gear Fifth left him gravely exhausted.

• Shanks's Divine Departure: Wild Dance slashes were softened and bounced back by Luffy's rubberized ground, and one cut Shanks's arm.
• Luffy's Gum-Gum-Giant's Fist and Shanks's Divine Departure: Sea-Cleaving collided evenly, sending both men flying back across the crater.
• Shanks told Luffy that he would have to withstand his final attack to take the Poneglyph Copy, while warning that failure would mean death.
• Luffy and Shanks launched Gum-Gum-Colossal God: Liberation Fist and Divine Departure: Finale at each other, and their powers met in a compressed clash.
• As the clash ended, Luffy snatched the Road Poneglyph Copy from Shanks's clothes, though Gear Fifth had left him bloodied and barely able to stand.

Luffy defeated Shanks and claimed the second Road Poneglyph rubbing, then reunited with his injured crew and vowed to reach Laugh Tale and become Pirate King. As the Thousand Sunny sailed on, Shanks left with the Red Force to confront the world’s remaining battles.

• Shanks acknowledged Luffy’s victory, gave him the rubbing, and urged him to gather the other three and fulfill Joy Boy’s promise by liberating the world.
• Luffy invited Shanks to join the journey, but Shanks declined and told him to go become Pirate King.
• Luffy’s injured crewmates arrived, and he announced that they had obtained the second Road Poneglyph rubbing and would find the remaining two before sailing to Laugh Tale together.
• The Straw Hat crew cheered, and Luffy ran toward his friends as the setting sun shone over the sea.
• Aboard the Red Force, Shanks told Beckman that Luffy had succeeded and declared it was time for his crew to deal the rotten world one final slash.

After conquering Justice Island, Chen Yu discovered a strange black stone slab in Blackbeard’s hidden Seastone chamber. Guo Jia sensed that its Ancient Script and power might reveal the world’s origins, older even than the Void Century.

• Jia Xu reported that the Empire had seized Blackbeard’s treasury and uncovered a heavily guarded secret chamber beneath the Royal Palace.
• Chen Yu led his officers into the chamber and found a black stone slab covered in dark-red Ancient Script.
• Chen Yu touched the slab and felt its chilling suction and black Conqueror’s Haki, which overwhelmed weaker soldiers.
• Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu assessed the slab’s strange power and warned that it was unlike an ordinary Poneglyph.
• Guo Jia sensed an ancient aura in the slab and said it might record the origins of the world, predating the Void Century.

After finding a mysterious Poneglyph slab in Blackbeard’s lair, Chen Yu contacted Luffy to propose a joint effort with the Straw Hat Pirates. The two sides agreed in principle to share their Red Road Poneglyphs and have Nico Robin help decipher the slab, which Chen Yu said contained the truth of the Void Century and Imu’s identity.

• Chen Yu learned that he and the Straw Hat Pirates each held two Red Road Poneglyphs, and decided he needed Nico Robin to read the slab found in Blackbeard’s lair.
• Jia Xu left to arrange contact with Luffy, while the Thousand Sunny sailed toward Laugh Tale and the Straw Hat Pirates discussed their voyage.
• Chen Yu called Luffy and revealed that he had killed Blackbeard and found a special Poneglyph slab bearing unusual Dark-Dark Fruit energy and Conqueror’s Haki.
• Robin took the Den Den Mushi and asked Chen Yu whether the slab truly recorded the Void Century and Imu’s identity.
• Chen Yu proposed sharing all four Red Road Poneglyphs to find Laugh Tale and having Robin and his scholars decipher the slab, with both sides receiving copies of the results.

Robin agreed to decipher Hua Country’s tablet in exchange for its two remaining Road Poneglyphs, and she uncovered a history linking the Devil Fruit Tree to Imu and the origins of the Nika and Nier fruits. The chapter ended with the two fruits escaping Imu and hiding in the East Blue and West Blue.

• Robin accepted Chen Yu’s deal, requiring that she receive every detail of the tablet without interference or omissions.
• The Straw Hat Pirates discussed the bargain, and Robin began deciphering the tablet with help from Chen Yu’s scholars.
• After working until midnight, Robin translated the final characters, revealing the tablet’s account of the world’s origins and Imu’s identity.
• Robin’s translation explained that Imu was the Devil Fruit Tree’s soul and that the first Devil Fruit, the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, was born from the tree’s power.
• Imu’s desires gave birth to the destructive Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nier, and both it and the Nika fruit escaped Imu.
• The Nika fruit hid as the Gum-Gum Fruit in the East Blue, while the Nier fruit hid as the Dark-Dark Fruit in the West Blue.

Imu’s origin and rise to power were revealed, along with its defeat of Joy Boy and the creation of the Will of D. After gaining eternal life through the Op-Op Fruit, Imu lost the fruit and its control over the life law, then unleashed its fury in the Flower Room.

• Imu awakened in a withered Devil Fruit Tree, possessed five-year-old Nefertari D. Lily, and used her identity to establish the World Government and rule from the Empty Throne.
• Joy Boy ate the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, led a worldwide rebellion, and fought Imu, but was defeated after a catastrophic battle.
• Before dying, Joy Boy hid the soul of the Nika fruit, and his followers’ descendants carried on his resistance as the D. Clan.
• As Lily’s body aged, Imu turned its remaining life law into the Op-Op Fruit and forced a doctor to perform the Perennial Youth Surgery, granting Imu eternal life.
• The Op-Op Fruit disappeared after the doctor died, and Imu’s rage crushed the guards and palace maids in the Flower Room.