" Nami! Let's go here, I think this place is more fun! Hehe!"
"No!"
After leaving Fish-Man Island, the Thousand Sunny arrived in the New World without any major incidents. However, due to some unexpected events at sea, the Thousand Sunny's course was altered. Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Smoker, who was waiting for the Straw Hat Pirates at the New World exit, was caught off guard. Smoker thus avoided being defeated right at the start of the game!
Luffy looked at the Log Pose on Nami's wrist, pointed to the one that was spinning the most violently, and chuckled, while Nami looked utterly dejected!
Luffy didn't understand the meaning of the Log Pose spinning wildly, but Nami, as the navigator, knew perfectly well that the more violently the Log Pose spun, the more dangerous the island ahead was. However, Luffy found it more and more interesting. There was no way to explain it, since Luffy was the captain. As the navigator, her job was to take the captain to where he wanted to go!
Apart from the still timid Usopp and Chopper, who were howling like Kikoku, everyone else looked confident and eager to try. Perhaps they hadn't warmed up their bodies on Fish-Man Island and hadn't had a chance to use many of their skills yet, so they were really looking forward to the battle ahead!
Actually, the violently spinning pointer was pointing towards Raijin Island, an island that not just anyone can land on. In the end, the Straw Hat Pirates did not land on that island because they received an unknown distress call on their way, which attracted the enthusiastic and extremely curious Straw Hat Pirates to another island!
Because the distress signal was broadcast on a public channel, not only the Straw Hat Pirates received it, but also the Den Den Mushi on Smoker's warship. Moreover, he even heard Straw Hat Boy's voice on the Den Den Mushi. Isn't that a coincidence? They waited around in vain before, but now they even heard the exact location. What else is there to say but to go after them!
The Straw Hat Pirates was lucky, because the three islands pointed to by the Log Pose were not ordinary places, or rather, the islands on the three magnetic routes were all dangerous. The Straw Hat Pirates was fortunate enough to arrive at an island that was not on the magnetic route— Punk Hazard.
This place was originally an island belonging to the World Government. Vegapunk's experimental base was established here, and it was guarded by Kizaru, who was then Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, and Dark Dragon. If any pirates had broken in back then, they would most likely have never returned.
However, due to the wicked scientist Caesar Clown's machinations, a large amount of poisonous gas leaked from the experimental base on Punk Hazard, filling the entire island. Vegapunk was forced to lead his researchers to evacuate, and the island became uninhabited.
Originally, the island could have been reused once the poisonous gas dissipated. However, two years ago, Marine Admiral Akainu and Aokiji fought a fierce battle on the island in their struggle for the position of Fleet Admiral, which completely altered the island's climate. Spring Island was thus covered by glaciers and flames and was subsequently abandoned by the World Government.
Caesar Clown's years of planning have finally paid off. He got his hands on the massive experimental base that the World Government had built at great expense without spending a single penny. And the distress call that the Straw Hat Pirates received came from the island of Punk Hazard!
Of course, there was also an uninvited guest on the island: the newly appointed Shichibukai Trafalgar Law. In order to investigate Doflamingo's weakness, he gave his heart to Vergo and formed a temporary cooperation with the Donquixote Family.
However, this cooperation was only superficial. It was only achieved by Law using his own heart as a hostage. Among pirates, Law is probably one of the smartest. Knowing that he couldn't defeat the Donquixote Family head-on, he thought of using a scheme to save the country indirectly!
Law has never forgotten the deep-seated hatred of Doflamingo killing Corazon right next to him. To Doflamingo, Rosinante, his younger brother, was a traitorous Navy spy, and killing him was no big deal.
But for Law, Corazon changed his life, redeemed his soul, and allowed his life to continue. This was an immense favor. No matter how justifiable Doflamingo's reasons were when he killed Corazon, Law would never let Doflamingo go. That's the mindset of a pirate.
Becoming Shichibukai was only the first step in Law's revenge; he is now on the second. After a period of investigation, he has learned that Doflamingo is cooperating with Kaido of the Beasts, one of the Four Emperors of the Beasts, and the key to this lies with Caesar Clown. To be precise, it should be the SAD synthesized by Caesar. This substance is the key agent for Artificial Zoan Devil Fruit and the key to the cooperation between Doflamingo and Kaido!
Without Caesar and SAD, Doflamingo couldn't create Artificial Zoan Devil Fruit to complete his deal with Kaido. Doflamingo couldn't bear the consequences; he was terrified of Kaido. Law recognized this and planned to use someone else to do his dirty work!
However, his heart is still in Vergo's hands, and now is not the time for him to intervene and disrupt SAD's kidnapping of Caesar. He needs an external force to disrupt the balance of Punk Hazard so that he can get his heart back!
The Straw Hat Pirates and Marine Vice Admiral Smoker, summoned by the distress call, were exactly what Law needed. As for whether the distress call was also part of Law's plan, that remains unknown. In any case, it terrified the guards, and the severed samurai body that sent the distress signal was left behind by Law!
The Straw Hat Pirates arrived at Punk Hazard with a desperate desire to rescue the people. Upon seeing the burning island, the three cowardly members immediately wanted to back out, but Luffy, the captain, was even more excited, shouting and yelling. The adventurous atmosphere of the island in front of him was too strong, which was exactly what he loved.
"Adventure! Adventure!"
The entire Punk Hazard storyline feels like a farce, mainly serving as a prelude to the confrontation with the Donquixote Family in Dressrosa. Caesar, Monet, and Vergo aren't particularly strong enemies, and with Smoker adding to the chaos, the three sides create quite a stir on the island. This somewhat mitigates the weakness of the transitional arc's boss not being powerful enough; otherwise, with Law and the Straw Hat Pirates's strength, they could have easily swept through, making the arc too thin and lacking in suspense.
Although Doflamingo, the final boss, did appear in the end, the Straw Hat Pirates and Law had already left Punk Island Smoker, leaving only the unfortunate Smoker. If Aokiji hadn't appeared in time to save him, Smoker and his subordinates would have been silenced by Doflamingo!
But this is no longer relevant to the main characters; Doflamingo, the big boss, must be dealt with in the next major arc.
In fact, from the perspective of the long-term plot, even Doflamingo cannot be considered the big boss, because Momonosuke and Kin'emon traveled through time from twenty years ago and appeared in Punk Hazard.
The moment they appeared, the Straw Hat Pirates's adventure route completely changed. They headed straight for Kaido, Kaido the Four Emperors, and their adventure was no longer a routine sailing adventure. Their adventure had become utilitarian and purposeful, which was a sign of the Straw Hat Pirates becoming more mature after two years of training.
Law's ultimate goal was simply to defeat Doflamingo. His agreement with Luffy to ally with him and bring Kaido down was just an agreement at first; he never intended to keep it. As soon as the two of them joined forces to defeat Doflamingo, he immediately broke the agreement.
However, King Luffy's personal charm is too strong, and he even saved Law's life from Doflamingo along the way. Law, whose soul was saved by Corazon, can no longer allow him to break the contract. So even if it costs him his life, Law will follow the Straw Hat Pirates all the way to the end!
Although there were some twists and turns along the way, such as the major upheaval of Four Emperors Big Mom recruiting Sanji as her son-in-law, Luffy did not actually confront Big Mom. Instead, he learned the ability to Observation Haki the Future Sight from Katakuri using Observation Haki.
Oda probably knows that Luffy has no chance of winning against the Four Emperors directly right now. After all, he had some trouble fighting Caesar and Doflamingo before, so this is a side story to give him a boost.