Chapter Summaries

The Big Mom Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates began claiming territory after the Azure Emperor established his own territory, while Zesi focused on developing the Azure Emperor Pirates and addressing their shortage of manpower. Zesi also decided to take over the Navy’s abandoned bases before rival pirate crews could claim them.

• The Big Mom Pirates learned that many countries had accepted the Azure Emperor Pirates’ protection, and Big Mom ordered her crew to claim nearby areas and territories tied to them by marriage.
• The Whitebeard Pirates also began claiming places they often visited as their territory.
• Spencer told Zesi that Big Mom and Whitebeard were expanding, but Zesi said the Azure Emperor Pirates needed to focus on development and recruit more people.
• Spencer proposed expanding the Death Camp and the pirate divisions, recruiting Minks from Zou and Fish-Men from Fish-Man Island; Zesi approved the plans and assigned Bullet to strengthen training at the Azure Emperor Military Academy.
• Zesi ordered the Azure Emperor Pirates to take over the Navy bases left empty after its withdrawal from the New World.

The Azure Emperor Pirates secured Zesi’s northern New World territory and expanded their forces to repel repeated pirate incursions. Meanwhile, Kaido returned with the Beasts Pirates, fought Whitebeard’s crew, and was proclaimed the New World’s fourth Emperor of the Sea.

• Countries in the northern New World sought protection under Zesi’s flag, while the Azure Emperor Pirates destroyed or hunted crews that attacked their territory.
• The Azure Emperor Pirates expanded the Death Camp and recruited members from Wano Country, the Mink Tribe, and Fish-Man Island to reinforce their depleted ranks.
• Kaido reappeared with a powerful Beasts Pirates crew and attacked the Whitebeard Pirates, killing three of their captains and taking territory.
• Whitebeard led his crew into three battles with the Beasts Pirates in one month, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.
• Whitebeard temporarily ceased hostilities with Kaido, and newspapers and New World powers declared Kaido the fourth Emperor of the Sea.

Zesi dismissed the threat of Kaido, believing he still feared the Divine Space Strikes, and turned to expanding the Azure Emperor Pirates’ command structure. He ordered crew-wide trials to choose commanders and deputies for the new divisions.

• Zesi considered Kaido’s strength and concluded that his lingering fear of the Eighteen Divine Space Strikes kept him from seeking revenge against the Azure Emperor Pirates.
• Spencer reported that Kaido had rebuilt his crew with powerful Zoan users, including Ancient Zoans, and outlined the Azure Emperor Pirates’ growing numbers.
• Spencer proposed expanding the Death Camp into a Death Army with five camps and establishing Fourth and Fifth Divisions, with the Fourth Division made up mainly of Fish-Men.
• Zesi rejected appointing the Azure Emperor Apostles as division commanders and ordered a crew-wide selection and tournament for the Fourth and Fifth Division commanders and their deputies.
• Zesi set the deputy commanders’ initial rank at probationary officer and described how the crew’s ranks would determine authority and mission command.

Pirate Hachinosu had become a prosperous, heavily guarded hub as the Azure Emperor Pirates prepared to expand their divisions. After hearing about the Azure Emperor and recalling his own losses, Kaido decided to go meet him.

• The Azure Emperor Pirates' rules and passenger service drew traders, nobles, and travelers to the newly completed Pirate Hachinosu.
• People on Hachinosu noticed powerful members had returned and speculated that the crew was selecting commanders for new Fourth and Fifth Divisions.
• On Kaido's island, a masked man and a fat man discussed how much Kaido feared the Azure Emperor.
• Kaido appeared and ordered King and Queen to prepare a ship so he could go meet the Azure Emperor.

Zesi rejected immediately promoting the seed crew members to division commanders and ordered an advanced training program to test their strength and Haki potential. He then learned that Kaido was heading for Hachinosu, seeking the Azure Emperor's recognition to secure his place as the fourth Emperor of the Sea.

• Zesi questioned whether the seed crew members were strong enough to lead the fourth and fifth divisions, and Spencer admitted their current strength was lacking.
• Zesi ordered the Azure Emperor Academy to create an advanced training class where the candidates would learn to awaken Haki and prove their abilities under pressure.
• Spencer supported the plan and suggested that future prospective officers attend the training class before taking their posts.
• Eugene reported that Kaido's ships were heading for Hachinosu, and Zesi reacted with surprise.
• Spencer explained that Kaido was seeking the Azure Emperor's recognition to silence doubts about his claim to be the fourth Emperor of the Sea.

Kaido and the Beasts Pirates approached Hachinosu, prompting panic among the island’s merchants and residents. Kirikage Saizo confronted Kaido with a question from Zesi, ending with a reminder of the Eighteen Divine Space Strikes and a threat of an even stronger attack.

• Spencer warned Zesi that Kaido was approaching Hachinosu with hostile intent, and Zesi said the island would welcome trade but punish troublemakers.
• News of the Beasts Pirates’ arrival spread through Hachinosu, causing nobles and merchants to panic and consider fleeing.
• As the Beasts Pirates entered the Azure Emperor Territory, Kaido remembered the Eighteen Divine Space Strikes and showed signs of unease.
• Kirikage Saizo arrived above the Beasts Pirates’ ship and identified himself as the Azure Emperor’s First Apostle.
• Kirikage asked whether Kaido had come to trade or wage war, then warned that Zesi would use the Twenty-Eight Divine Space Strikes if Kaido had forgotten the previous attack.

Kirikage challenged Kaido on behalf of the Azure Emperor, and Kaido claimed he had come to Hachinosu to make a deal. After learning Big Mom was also on her way, Zesi suspected that she and Kaido had already joined forces and wondered what they were targeting.

• Kaido intimidated Kirikage, who resisted his aura and asked whether he remembered the Eighteen Divine Space Strikes.
• Kirikage told Kaido that Hachinosu welcomed anyone who came to trade, and Kaido said he had come to make a deal with the Azure Emperor.
• Spencer informed Zesi that Big Mom was coming to Hachinosu to discuss something important.
• Spencer worried that the Big Mom Pirates and Beasts Pirates together might outmatch the Azure Emperor Pirates’ overall forces.
• Zesi concluded that Kaido and Big Mom had likely joined forces and wondered whether their target was him.

Zesi kept Kaido and the Beasts Pirates on a nearby island to protect Hachinosu from possible damage while Big Mom was expected to arrive. Kaido revealed he had a hundred-billion-Beli trade order for the Azure Emperor, and Zesi agreed to meet him after learning the order came with a condition.

• Kirikage explained that Zesi had arranged for Kaido and the Beasts Pirates to stay at a nearby island instead of entering Hachinosu, where construction and investment could be damaged by a fight.
• Kirikage described the Azure Emperor Pirates' retirement benefits, leaving Queen and the Beasts Pirates surprised and making Queen ask Kaido whether they had similar benefits.
• Kaido asked when Wenlai Zesi would meet him and insisted that his purpose differed from Big Mom's because he had an order worth a hundred billion Beli.
• News of the Beasts Pirates' hundred-billion-Beli trade order spread through Hachinosu, turning the merchants' fear into hopes of earning a share.
• After learning that Kaido's order depended on a condition he wanted to explain to Zesi in person, Zesi agreed to meet him as a major customer.

Kaido challenged Zesi to a fight without Divine Space Strike, hoping to strengthen his reputation and overcome its lingering intimidation, while placing a hundred-billion-Beli order with Zesi. After their day-long battle, Big Mom warned Zesi that the Marines and World Government were growing stronger and proposed an alliance.

• Kaido met Zesi with King and Queen, then demanded a fight without Divine Space Strike as the condition for his hundred-billion-Beli order.
• Zesi accepted Kaido's challenge, and they fought on a deserted island for a day and night until the island sank.
• Big Mom arrived in the Azure Emperor Territory, and Zesi received her together with Kaido in his palace.
• Big Mom told Zesi that the World Government had appointed Sengoku Fleet Admiral and recruited three new Admirals through a worldwide draft.
• Big Mom warned that the Marines might soon counterattack into the New World and proposed that she and Zesi form an alliance.

At Mary Geoise, Admirals Demon Sheep and Thunder Python discussed the New World pirates’ meeting and the Marines’ planned response, while wondering where Purple Foal had gone. Zesi rejected an alliance with Big Mom and Kaido but secured passage for Azure Emperor passenger ships through their territories, aiming to make Hachinosu the New World’s economic center.

• Demon Sheep and Thunder Python discussed Kaido’s hundred-billion-Beli order, the battle with Zesi, and the Marines’ preparations to act against the pirates.
• Demon Sheep and Thunder Python realized Purple Foal was missing and wondered whether he had gone to challenge Zesi alone.
• Zesi declined to ally with Big Mom and Kaido, though he agreed to unite with them against a Marine invasion.
• Zesi allowed Azure Emperor passenger ships to travel through Big Mom’s and Kaido’s territories, expanding the service beyond the Azure Emperor Territory.
• Zesi planned to extend passenger routes across the New World and bring wealthy visitors to Hachinosu so it could become the region’s economic center.

Admiral Purple Foal attacked Hachinosu with purple flames that consumed the life force of anyone living they touched. Zesi confronted him and sent him flying with shock waves, while Bullet demanded justice for the crew members and soldiers killed in the attack.

• Purple Foal launched a purple phoenix of life-burning flames at the Azure Emperor Palace from above Hachinosu.
• The palace guards and several Azure Emperor Pirates tried to stop the phoenix, but its flames turned them into mummies.
• Bullet struck the phoenix apart, but its scattered flames continued to burn living creatures while leaving inanimate objects untouched.
• Purple Foal descended and faced Bullet, and Zesi arrived, ordered the others to withdraw, and identified the attacker as Admiral Purple Foal.
• Zesi drove Purple Foal back with waves of tremors and said he would not let the fallen comrades die in vain, while Bullet insisted their deaths be avenged.

Zesi battled Marine Admiral Purple Foal, whose Purple Phoenix Fruit let him heal and escape through fire, but Zesi caught him and killed him with Twenty-Eight Divine Space Strikes. News then spread that Purple Foal had died in the Azure Emperor Territory after provoking Zesi.

• Purple Foal waited for Zesi to appear, and Zesi confirmed that the Admiral had come alone.
• Zesi opened with Azure Dragon's Roar: Sword Draw, and Purple Foal countered with Killing One Sword before the relentless vibrations overwhelmed him.
• Purple Foal used Phoenix nirvana, purple phoenix rebirth to heal his wounds and revealed his Mythical Zoan Purple Phoenix Fruit.
• Purple Foal tried to flee as a purple phoenix, but Zesi awakened his Devil Fruit and caught up to him.
• Zesi struck Purple Foal with Twenty-Eight Divine Space Strikes and blasted him into the sea, where he died.
• News spread that Purple Foal had died in the Azure Emperor Territory after provoking Zesi.

After Admiral Purple Foal attacked the Azure Emperor Palace alone, Zesi killed him in Azure Emperor Territory, dealing a major blow to the Marines. Sengoku warned his officers that the Azure Emperor would retaliate, leaving the Marines facing an Emperor of the Sea’s wrath.

• News spread worldwide that Zesi had killed the newly appointed Admiral Purple Foal in Azure Emperor Territory.
• Sengoku learned that Purple Foal had entered the New World without permission and lamented the damage to the Marines’ plans and prestige.
• Demon Sheep and Thunder Python explained that they had expected Purple Foal to survive after probing the Azure Emperor’s strength.
• Sengoku warned them not to provoke Zesi and said the Marines had planned to confront him only after dealing with the other Emperors and waiting for him to weaken.
• Sengoku ordered the Marines to prepare for the Azure Emperor’s wrath.

After Purple Foal’s death at Zesi’s hands, Sengoku worried about the Marines’ plans and the Azure Emperor Pirates’ possible retaliation. The World Government sent envoys to Zesi’s territory to secure a trade deal, and Zesi left Spencer to negotiate.

• Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard learned that Zesi had killed Admiral Purple Foal, and Kaido and Whitebeard dismissed the Marines’ judgment.
• Sengoku weighed whether to revise the Marines’ plan to eliminate the Emperors and how to protect against retaliation from Zesi.
• Sengoku met with the Five Elders, after which a World Government ship departed Mary Geoise for the Azure Emperor Territory.
• Zesi learned that World Government representatives had arrived, and Spencer suggested they had come to buy insurance against retaliation.
• Spencer revealed that the World Government had placed a hundred-billion order, including Wano Country weapons and goods from the Azure Emperor Territory.
• Zesi declined to meet the envoys and told Spencer to negotiate more purchases and ongoing trade to support Hachinosu.

World Government orders and trade agreements fueled Hachinosu’s growth, while Zesi expanded passenger and freight services across the New World. After hearing that Moria had agreed to serve him, Zesi considered starting his Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai plan.

• The Big Mom Pirates learned that the World Government had placed large orders with Hachinosu, and Perospero explained how the trade benefited both sides.
• Merchants and farmers in the Azure Emperor Territory profited as the World Government’s orders and later trade agreements brought business to Hachinosu.
• Zesi established passenger routes through Whitebeard’s territory and launched freight services within the Azure Emperor Territory.
• Kozuki Oden told Zesi that Moria had given in after two years working as a miner and agreed to become his subordinate.
• Zesi decided he might put his Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai plan into motion.

Zesi explained that his Shichibukai would guard the Grand Line’s seven routes so his passenger and freight services could expand beyond the New World. Moria accepted the position as the first Shichibukai, and Zesi tasked him with securing a route within three months.

• Zesi remarked that Moria had become more mature, but Moria insisted he had come to accept the Shichibukai plan.
• Zesi explained that his Shichibukai would serve as his subordinates and guard the Grand Line’s routes for his passenger and freight services.
• Moria was shocked when Zesi revealed that passenger services earned 4.9 billion Beli in monthly profit, while the routes brought Hachinosu over ten billion Beli in monthly economic benefits.
• Zesi offered Moria any one of the seven routes, a thousand Death Army soldiers, and thirty percent of its profits if he ensured its safety within three months.
• Moria asked Zesi to return his ship and crew, and Zesi agreed.

After Moria left to begin his Shichibukai career, Zesi considered recruiting new Shichibukai and identified Crocodile as a candidate. Crocodile attacked the Azure Emperor Palace, where Kirikage Saizo defeated him with Wano Country's Haki, Ryuo.

• Moria left with his pirate ship, crew, three pirate ships, and one thousand Death Army soldiers to begin his Shichibukai career.
• Zesi considered recruiting Kuma, Boa Hancock, Crocodile, and Doflamingo as Shichibukai, then sought two more candidates.
• Crocodile sailed to Hachinosu to challenge the Azure Emperor and attacked the Azure Emperor Palace, scattering its Death Army guards with his sand powers.
• Kirikage Saizo confronted Crocodile while the Death Army fought Crocodile's crew.
• Kirikage Saizo evaded Crocodile's sand blades and cut him down with Ryuo, leaving Crocodile unconscious.

Zesi planned to recruit Crocodile as one of the Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai to help guard the first half of the Grand Line’s trade routes. At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku and the Marines debated the plan’s implications, while Tsuru warned them that Red-Haired Shanks was becoming a growing threat.

• Zesi learned that Kirikage had defeated Crocodile and ordered him brought in alive and treated, explaining that Crocodile’s Logia powers and business skills made him useful for the Shichibukai plan.
• Zesi described appointing seven pirates to guard routes in the first half of the Grand Line and support Azure Emperor passenger and freight transport.
• Sengoku suspected the Shichibukai plan was a bid to extend the Azure Emperor Pirates’ influence, and the Marines debated whether to confront Moria or use his pirates to help suppress others.
• Tsuru warned the Marines that Red-Haired Shanks, the Azure Emperor Pirates’ first division commander, had become a serious concern after more than a year of rapid growth.

Shanks confronted Dracule Mihawk on Sabaody Archipelago after Mihawk challenged him to test the strength of the Azure Emperor Pirates’ first division commander. Their duel escalated as Shanks released a powerful aura, and the chapter ended before the fight’s outcome was decided.

• Shanks and his crew moved on after his Conqueror’s Haki knocked out a crowd of bounty hunters.
• Mihawk blocked Shanks’s path and challenged him to a sword fight, while a disguised Marine reported the encounter through a Den Den Mushi.
• Shanks drew his saber and deflected Mihawk’s powerful flying slash before the two clashed blades.
• Shanks asked Mihawk to join his crew, and Mihawk insisted Shanks defeat him first.
• Shanks released a terrifying aura that cracked the ground and knocked out hunters nearby.

Shanks fought Mihawk at the Sabaody Archipelago, drawing Mihawk’s curiosity about the Azure Emperor, while Sengoku sent Borsalino to observe the duel. Resentful of the Marines’ treatment of the Azure Emperor and eager to restore their standing, Thunder Python ignored Demon Sheep’s warning and went to confront Shanks.

• Shanks’s Conqueror’s Haki pushed Mihawk back and made him wonder what kind of person the Azure Emperor was.
• Shanks invited Mihawk to join the Azure Emperor Pirates, and Mihawk answered by attacking him again.
• Sengoku ordered Borsalino to watch Shanks and Mihawk’s fight, protect the Celestial Dragons, and assess Shanks’s strength.
• Demon Sheep and Thunder Python discussed confronting Shanks, amid resentment between the new Marine recruits and career officers.
• Thunder Python ignored Demon Sheep’s attempts to stop him and led his men from Mary Geoise to the Sabaody Archipelago.