Recaps

Zesi defeated Airo, Gao Luo, and Aden, then recruited them as Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor Palace. When a World Government scheme drove prices up across the Azure Emperor Territory and blamed the Azure Emperor Pirates, Zesi ordered countermeasures and began a plan to challenge the World Government’s monetary dominance.

• Zesi overwhelmed Airo, Gao Luo, and Aden with his Tremor-Tremor Fruit and invited them to become Shichibukai.
• Buyers flooded the Azure Emperor Territory with Beli, bought up daily necessities, and drove prices up more than tenfold as rumors blamed the Azure Emperor Pirates.
• Spencer warned Zesi that shortages, inflation, and public suspicion could throw the territory into chaos.
• Zesi identified the World Government as the likely force behind the scheme and rejected robbing the buyers’ goods as a trap.
• Zesi ordered fewer outbound cargo ships, expanded supply purchases from other seas, and plans for a bank and currency to replace Beli in the Azure Emperor Territory.
• Zesi planned to spread news that the World Government was printing unlimited money and promote his currency to challenge its monetary dominance.

The Azure Emperor Pirates issued Azure Dragon Coins and opened banks and supermarkets to counter the World Government’s inflation campaign, while using new shipping routes to bring supplies into the Azure Emperor Territory. The Five Elders recognized that the Pirates had an expert behind them and planned to undermine their banks with a run.

• At Zesi's command, the Azure Emperor Pirates opened banks and supermarkets, exchanged Beli for Azure Dragon Coins, and sold goods at prices from before inflation.
• The Azure Emperor Pirates used their Secret Affairs Unit, led by Sebast, to prepare for the World Government’s money-printing campaign and arrange banks, supermarkets, currency, and Seastone ships.
• The Pirates brought supplies into the Azure Emperor Territory from the Grand Line, North Blue, and West Blue, easing shortages and reducing the risk of unrest.
• After receiving a report, one of the Five Elders suspected an expert was helping the Azure Emperor Pirates, while another argued that their supply routes were limited and vulnerable.
• One of the Five Elders ordered the World Government’s agents to accelerate purchases of Azure Emperor Territory goods and trigger a bank run against the Pirates.

Zesi set out with a cargo shipment to deal with the Azure Emperor Territory’s worsening supply crisis, alarming Marine Headquarters and Mary Geoise. The Five Elders decided it was time to seek an audience with Lord Imu, with war still a possibility.

• Sebas and Spencer told Zesi that surging demand and limited shipping capacity threatened to plunge the Azure Emperor Territory into chaos.
• Zesi announced that he would accompany a cargo shipment and open a passage while flexing his muscles.
• Momousagi reported to Sengoku that Zesi had boarded a cargo ship bound from Hachinosu for the first half of the Grand Line.
• Sengoku ordered Garp to accompany him to Mary Geoise and recalled Demon Sheep and Thunder Python from the New World.
• Sengoku and Garp reached Mary Geoise, where the Five Elders weighed the pressure of confronting Zesi and decided to seek an audience with Lord Imu.

Zesi flew to the Red Line and unleashed his Tremor-Tremor Fruit Awakening to carve a shipping passage through it. His dragon-shaped sword strike slammed into the landmass, shaking the world as the chapter ended.

• Zesi told his crew he would clear a path through the Red Line and flew ahead of their ship.
• Marine soldiers spotted Zesi approaching and alerted Sengoku, while the Five Elders and Marine leaders prepared to confront him.
• Zesi examined the Red Line and chose a route to cut through with the Azure Emperor Sword.
• Zesi condensed his Vibration Domain into his sword and unleashed Azure Dragon's Roar, Proud Dragon Repents.
• Zesi's enormous divine dragon struck the Red Line with devastating vibrations, shaking the world.

Zesi used the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to destroy the Red Line from within, opening a passage between the New World and the first half of the Grand Line. He named it Azure Dragon Pass and claimed it for the Azure Emperor Pirates, allowing passage in exchange for a ticket or a one-percent customs duty.

• Sengoku and the others heard Zesi’s terrifying dragon roar and felt the Red Line shake after his sword strike.
• World Government personnel and CP0 agents mocked Zesi when the Red Line appeared unmarked, but Garp warned that it was about to split.
• Cracks spread through the Red Line from within, and a huge section collapsed into the sea, opening an enormous passage.
• The Five Elders realized that the breach would let New World pirates reach the first half of the Grand Line and the Four Blues, changing the world’s balance of power.
• Zesi named the passage Azure Dragon Pass, claimed it for the Azure Emperor Pirates, and announced a passage ticket or one-percent customs duty for anyone using it.

Zesi claimed the newly opened Azure Dragon Pass for the Azure Emperor Pirates and bluffed the World Government into agreeing to negotiate. He escaped to a deserted island, where he recovered from the immense toll of his sword technique.

• Zesi told the Five Elders that Azure Dragon Pass belonged to the Azure Emperor Pirates and challenged them to attack him.
• Sengoku proposed negotiations, and Zesi agreed to send the Fifth Division to guard the pass while a representative spoke with the World Government.
• Zesi flew away, and Garp realized that Zesi's powerful attack had left him badly depleted and that his intimidating Haki had fooled them.
• Sengoku and the Five Elders decided to return and discuss negotiations and the changes the new passage through the Red Line would bring.
• Zesi landed on a deserted island and reflected that Proud Dragon Repents consumed enormous power and mental energy, confirming that he had been bluffing at the Red Line.

Zesi carved Azure Dragon Pass through the Red Line and ordered the Azure Emperor Pirates to garrison it and negotiate with the World Government over control and customs revenue. Shanks and Mihawk arrived to find the Fifth Division collecting duties as a flood of merchants headed for the New World, and they were stunned by the enormous passage Zesi had opened.

• Zesi contacted Spencer, named the Red Line passage Azure Dragon Pass, ordered the Fifth Division to garrison it, and told Spencer to negotiate with the World Government.
• Spencer considered who should represent the pirates, and Shanks volunteered, confident he could handle the World Government and eager to face its strongest Marines.
• The Azure Emperor Pirates chose Shanks to negotiate, and Mihawk joined him as they set out for the Red Line.
• Pipikar's Fifth Division established its garrison at Azure Dragon Pass and collected customs duties from ships leaving the passage while waiving fees for incoming supplies.
• Shanks and Mihawk arrived to see thousands of ships heading toward the New World and realized Zesi had cut through a vast stretch of the Red Line, not merely opened a small hole.

Mihawk tested his strength against the Red Line and saw how far he fell short of Zesi, while Shanks explained the role the Tremor-Tremor Fruit had played in opening Azure Dragon Pass. Shanks and his crew reached Mary Geoise to negotiate as the World Government halted its ten-trillion-Beli plan and prepared to address the changes caused by the new passage.

• Mihawk cleaved the sea and cut a shallow gash into the Red Line, but could not open it like Zesi had.
• Shanks told Mihawk that Zesi’s Tremor-Tremor Fruit had likely been essential to carving Azure Dragon Pass through the Red Line.
• Shanks led his crew toward Mary Geoise to negotiate with the World Government on behalf of the Azure Emperor Pirates.
• The Five Elders recognized that Azure Dragon Pass had opened the New World to traffic and would reshape the world.
• The World Government halted its ten-trillion-Beli plan because continued spending could devalue the Beli, and turned its attention to the changes brought by the passage.

Shanks arrived at Mary Geoise to negotiate with the World Government, silently incapacitating Marine and government personnel with his controlled Conqueror’s Haki. After Thunder Python escorted him onward, the Five Elders considered whether to keep him there permanently.

• Shanks arrived at the bridgehead island, where Thunder Python and a grand reception awaited him.
• Shanks’s Conqueror’s Haki silently knocked out elite Marines and World Government personnel, astonishing the onlookers.
• Thunder Python recognized that Shanks had become a top-tier fighter since their last encounter and ordered him to proceed to the meeting.
• Shanks joked that he was frightened to be in enemy territory while his Haki continued making people collapse, forcing Thunder Python to clear the route.
• The Five Elders discussed Shanks’s growing strength and wondered whether they should keep him at Mary Geoise forever.

Zesi learned that the World Government was watching Shanks during the negotiations and took steps to distract it. He then appeared unexpectedly before the Marine leadership at G-1 Fortress to pressure them into speeding up the talks over Azure Dragon Pass.

• Spencer told Zesi that the World Government seemed to be probing Shanks, so Zesi ordered the Third and Fourth Divisions to conduct naval exercises and left Hachinosu.
• Marine officers at G-1 Branch debated whether the Marines should fear or fight the Azure Emperor Pirates, and their disagreement reflected tensions between veteran and newly conscripted officers.
• Zesi appeared in the G-1 Fortress conference room, shocking Sakazuki and the other Marine Vice Admirals.
• Zesi said he had grown impatient with the negotiations at Mary Geoise and asked the Marines to hurry them along, warning the Five Elders against provoking an all-out war.

Zesi confronted the Marines at G-1 Branch to warn the World Government against targeting Shanks, but Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Issho attacked him. Zesi emerged unharmed, shattering their combined magma, ice, and gravity assault.

• Zesi went to G-1 Branch to warn the World Government not to make a move against Shanks.
• Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino rejected Zesi’s demand, while Sakazuki accused him of threatening the World Government through the Marines.
• Sakazuki launched Great Eruption and Kuzan unleashed Ice Block: Pheasant Beak as Issho’s gravity pressed down on Zesi.
• The Marines believed their strengthened fighters could injure Zesi, but he tore through the ice and fire with his tremor power and shattered the attack.

Zesi withstood Sakazuki and Kuzan’s combined magma-and-ice assault, then mocked their elemental battlefield as an incomplete Logia awakening. As Zesi began shaking the surrounding space, Borsalino launched a surprise beam and all three Admirals attacked him at once.

• Marine officers watched Zesi destroy Sakazuki and Kuzan’s combined attack with one palm strike, leaving him unharmed.
• Sakazuki spread magma across the ground while Kuzan froze the surroundings, creating a clash of ice and fire around Zesi.
• Yixiao raised rocks with his Cane Sword to give himself and the retreating Vice Admirals safe footing while Borsalino flew above them.
• Zesi enveloped himself in vibrations, shattered the magma and ice, and asked whether Sakazuki and Kuzan’s technique was their Logia Devil Fruit Awakening.
• Zesi shook the surrounding space as Sakazuki merged with the magma and Kuzan prepared another freezing attack.
• Borsalino fired a surprise beam, and Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino struck Zesi simultaneously with their strongest attacks.

Zesi survived the combined attacks of Sakazuki and the other Vice Admirals, then used his Tremor-Tremor Fruit to shake apart the G-1 Branch. He declared that the base should be destroyed and unleashed his Thirty-Six Divine Space Strike.

• Sakazuki and the other two Logia Vice Admirals attacked Zesi with lava, ice, and beams, but his vibrations shattered their attacks without harming him.
• Zesi formed a dense ball of light and sent the Vice Admirals flying when they tried to stop him.
• Zesi pressed the ball of light into the ground and rose into the air as tremors began spreading through the base.
• The Marines realized the shaking was destroying the entire island, and they panicked when they saw the Azure Emperor overhead.
• Zesi said he could not tolerate anyone offending the Azure Emperor and launched his Thirty-Six Divine Space Strike.

Zesi attacked the G-1 Branch with the Thirty-Six Divine Space Strike, sinking the island despite the Marines’ desperate resistance. Sengoku learned that only eight Marines, including Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, and Issho, survived, and wondered whether Zesi had held back.

• Issho rallied the Marines, while Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, and the Vice Admirals prepared to stop Zesi’s attack.
• The Marines’ strongest attacks failed to stop the Thirty-Six Divine Space Strike, and the G-1 Branch crumbled and sank into the sea.
• A report told Sengoku that the branch had suffered heavy casualties and that only eight Marines had survived, all but one of the Vice Admirals falling.
• Sengoku learned that Zesi had attacked because the World Government was delaying negotiations and had threatened to go to Mary Geoise if they remained unresolved by the next day.
• Sengoku suspected the clash stemmed from the World Government’s interest in Shanks and wondered whether Zesi had held back or whether his attack was less powerful than it seemed.

After Zesi sank the Marine G-1 Branch, Sengoku urged the Five Elders to settle negotiations before the Azure Emperor came to Mary Geoise, while they blamed Sakazuki and the Vice Admirals for provoking the fight. News of the destruction alarmed the New World, but the Azure Dragon Pass Treaty was signed, recognizing the pass as the Azure Emperor Pirates’ property in return for annual customs payments.

• Tsuru explained that the island’s collapse and the sea had weakened the Thirty-Six Divine Space Strike, allowing many Vice Admirals to survive, and Sengoku ordered Garp to retrieve Sakazuki and the others.
• Tsuru warned Sengoku that unresolved negotiations could bring the Azure Emperor to Mary Geoise, so Sengoku went to the Five Elders to press for a decision.
• The Five Elders said they had ordered the treaty signed and blamed Sakazuki and the other Vice Admirals for provoking the Azure Emperor, deciding to keep them out of the New World and focus Marine strength on the Four Blues.
• News that the Azure Emperor had sunk Marine G-1 spread across the New World, leaving people and nations fearful of war between the Marines and the Azure Emperor Pirates.
• The Azure Emperor Pirates and the World Government signed the Azure Dragon Pass Treaty, recognizing the pass as the pirates’ property and allowing them to station a division there in exchange for ten percent of its customs duties each year.

The Hancock Sisters arrived at Hachinosu and learned that the Azure Emperor's Apostles were returning to the island, raising suspicions that he was planning a major move. The sisters then climbed the steps to the Azure Emperor Palace, and the crowd assumed they meant to challenge him.

• The Hancock Sisters arrived at Hachinosu after a journey of roughly half a year and marveled at the island's prosperity.
• The sisters saw Kanjuro fly overhead on a skylark he had drawn with the Brush-Brush Fruit.
• People noted that Kanjuro and Kiku had returned, joining Kuma and Kirikage Saizo, while Shinobu was still absent.
• Momousagi suspected the Azure Emperor had recalled his Apostles because he was preparing a major move.
• The Hancock Sisters climbed the steps to the Azure Emperor Palace, and onlookers thought they were going to challenge the Azure Emperor.

The Hancock Sisters arrived at the Azure Emperor Palace, where Boa Hancock was appointed a Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor. Alarmed by the Azure Emperor Pirates’ rapid growth, the World Government abandoned its plan to attack the other major crews and instead began supporting them against the Azure Emperor Pirates.

• The Hancock Sisters reached the Azure Emperor Palace, and Kuma let them enter without a fight.
• The Azure Emperor appointed Amazon Empress Hancock as one of the Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai, completing the roster.
• Sengoku and Tsuru discussed the return of the Azure Emperor’s Apostles, the Marines’ withdrawal, and Big Mom’s recovery.
• The World Government recognized that the Azure Emperor Pirates had grown into a major force, with over thirty thousand crew members and twenty thousand Death Army members.
• The Five Elders changed their strategy, deciding to support the three major pirate crews against the Azure Emperor Pirates.
• World Government agents set out to contact the three major pirate crews.

Zesi sent the Azure Emperor Apostles on diplomatic missions to invite New World kingdoms into the Azure Emperor Territory. Meanwhile, Big Mom killed a CP0 agent who came seeking an alliance against the Azure Emperor, but she remained open to cooperating with the World Government while holding it responsible for past wrongs.

• Zesi told Kanjuro and the other Apostles to formally invite New World countries to join the Azure Emperor Territory without forcing them.
• Big Mom confronted a CP0 agent who asked her to cooperate with the World Government against the Azure Emperor Pirates.
• Big Mom intimidated the agent with her Haki and Soul Pocus, drew out his soul, and killed him.
• A member of the Charlotte Family warned Big Mom that the Azure Emperor Pirates had expanded to tens of thousands of troops and could overpower them alone.
• Big Mom said killing the agent did not prevent cooperation with the World Government, but she still intended to make the Government and Marines pay for their past actions.

Whitebeard rejected the World Government’s offer to join its plan against the Azure Emperor Pirates, choosing to face any threat without becoming its pawn. The Navy then learned the World Government was considering releasing seven Level 6 prisoners to create its own Shichibukai.

• A Cipher Pol 0 agent urged Whitebeard to accept a privateering license and help the Navy curb the Azure Emperor Pirates, warning that his large fleet and territory depended on him.
• Whitebeard rejected the offer, declaring that he would wait for the Azure Emperor to attack rather than serve the World Government.
• The CP0 agent warned that the Azure Emperor Pirates, including Bullet and Red-Haired Shanks, could defeat Whitebeard’s forces, provoking Whitebeard’s Haki.
• Sengoku and Garp discussed Big Mom and Kaido agreeing to cooperate, while Navy officers questioned whether the World Government could trust them.
• Navy personnel learned of a proposal to release seven great pirates from Impel Down and form a World Government Shichibukai, prompting them to condemn the plan as foolish.

Sengoku and the Five Elders agreed to use CP0 member Ficknos and his Contract Fruit to bind released Impel Down prisoners to the World Government. Meanwhile, Zesi learned that the Big Mom Pirates and Beasts Pirates had seized his cargo ships, and he prepared to respond.

• Sengoku argued that the Marines needed the Shichibukai to oppose the Azure Emperor Pirates and proposed recruiting powerful prisoners from Impel Down.
• A Five Elder introduced CP0 member Ficknos, whose Contract Fruit could bind people who signed his contracts.
• Sengoku and the Five Elders decided to offer the prisoners especially favorable contract terms to maximize their binding force.
• Spencer told Zesi that the Big Mom Pirates and Beasts Pirates had retaken former territories and seized Azure Emperor Pirates cargo ships over unpaid shipping profits.
• Zesi recognized the seizures as a threat to his crew's shipping and prestige and challenged Big Mom and Kaido for growing bolder.

After the Big Mom Pirates seized an Azure Emperor Shipping cargo ship, Les announced suspended routes and warned that the Azure Emperor Pirates would declare war if the crew, ship, and goods were not released within three days. He also promised one-time compensation and introduced plans for shipping insurance, leaving Hachinosu bracing for a possible war.

• News spread through Hachinosu that the Big Mom Pirates had seized an Azure Emperor Shipping cargo ship, alarming merchants and travelers.
• Les addressed the crowd at Azure Emperor Central Plaza and announced the suspension of routes through the Yamei, LUOSI, and YUELUO Sea Areas.
• Les demanded that the Big Mom Pirates release the detained crew, ship, and goods within three days, warning that failure to do so would prompt the Azure Emperor Pirates to declare war.
• Les promised to compensate losses from the seizure this time and announced that Azure Emperor Shipping would offer insurance for future losses.

Big Mom weighed Totto Land’s position in the looming conflict, while Zesi and Shanks prepared to spar at the Azure Emperor Military Academy. The cadets gathered to watch, but Bullet warned that getting close could be fatal as Zesi began drawing his sword.

• Big Mom dismissed Wenlai Zesi’s threat and said Totto Land could join the Azure Emperor or turn against the Beasts Pirates and World Government if they failed to support her.
• Perospero warned Big Mom not to trust either ally, reminding her that the Beasts Pirates still resented the Big Mom Pirates for abandoning them during the attack on Marine G-1.
• Cadets at the Azure Emperor Military Academy recognized Zesi and Shanks heading into an arena and rushed to watch them spar.
• Bullet stopped the cadets and warned that even a spar between Zesi and Shanks could kill anyone who got too close.
• Zesi began drawing his sword, and dragon-shaped sword energy emerged from the blade.

Zesi tested Shanks with his sword techniques, and Shanks revealed that he had awakened Future Sight to evade Zesi’s devastating Azure Dragon’s Roar: Sword-Draw Slash. Zesi challenged Shanks to prove himself against his strengths and launched Dragon Battles in the Wild.

• Zesi sent sword-energy dragons after Shanks, who dodged them with precise movements that made Zesi suspect Future Sight.
• Zesi drew his sword and unleashed Azure Dragon’s Roar: Sword-Draw Slash, while Shanks cut through the distorted aura and evaded the attack.
• The military academy students watched in awe as Bullet explained that advanced Observation Haki could allow someone to see fragments of the future.
• Zesi asked when Shanks had awakened Future Sight, and Shanks said he had focused on Observation Haki so he could beat Zesi.
• Zesi dismissed Shanks’s ambition to surpass him only at his weak point, then attacked with Dragon Battles in the Wild.

Zesi tested Shanks and, satisfied with his strength, assigned him to lead an attack on Big Mom’s territory after the Azure Emperor Pirates declared war over a seized cargo ship. Shanks and Bullet departed Hachinosu on separate missions as the New World reacted to the announcement.

• Zesi and Shanks fought a fierce sparring match that left the arena devastated, and Zesi told Shanks he was ready to take on an important mission.
• Zesi explained that Big Mom had seized an Azure Emperor Pirates cargo ship and that the crew would declare war unless it and its cargo and crew were released within three days.
• Zesi ordered Shanks to lead the First Division against Big Mom, explaining that the attack would help Shanks grow stronger while Bullet watched the Beasts Pirates and Zesi watched the World Government.
• Shanks agreed to face Big Mom, and the next day he left Hachinosu with the First Division, Fourth Division, ten thousand Death Army members, and Kuma.
• Bullet departed Hachinosu alone in a steel submarine to hold off the Beasts Pirates, while the Azure Emperor Pirates officially declared war on Big Mom.
• News of the war declaration spread through the New World, where pirates and others reacted with uproar.

Big Mom dismissed the Azure Emperor Pirates’ threat after learning that only Red-Haired Shanks was coming, despite the World Government warning her not to underestimate him. Shanks then struck immediately, wiping out the Big Mom Pirates’ branches outside Totto Land.

• Big Mom learned the Azure Emperor Pirates had declared war and believed the World Government and Beasts Pirates would support her if needed.
• Perospero told Big Mom that Red-Haired Shanks, not the Azure Emperor, was leading the attack, and the Big Mom Pirates concluded the threat was only a show.
• Katakuri doubted the Azure Emperor would let matters end so easily, while Kaido stopped paying attention to the threat.
• The World Government warned Big Mom that Shanks had reached the ranks of the world’s strongest, but Big Mom took offense and hung up on them.
• Shanks wiped out every Big Mom Pirates branch outside Totto Land in a single day.