Chapter Summaries

Borsalino watched Shanks and Dracule Mihawk fight on Sabaody, then realized Marine Admiral Thunder Python had arrived and blocked attempts to contact Sengoku. Thunder Python attacked the two swordsmen under the pretext of protecting the Celestial Dragons, and their battle began.

• Borsalino arrived at Sabaody and watched Shanks and Dracule Mihawk clash, recognizing their strength as that of great pirates.
• A heavy aura announced Thunder Python's arrival, and Borsalino failed to reach Sengoku because Thunder Python controlled radio waves.
• Benn Beckman warned Shanks as Shanks and Mihawk stopped fighting and identified the newcomer as Marine Admiral Thunder Python, wielder of the Electricity Fruit.
• Thunder Python accused Shanks and Mihawk of disturbing the Celestial Dragons and charged at them.
• Shanks and Mihawk struck Thunder Python with simultaneous slashes, but he knocked them aside and continued his assault.
• Shanks and Mihawk charged Thunder Python together, beginning a fierce battle.

Thunder Python gained the upper hand against Shanks and Dracule Mihawk while Borsalino kept Shanks’s crew from intervening. The Azure Emperor arrived and challenged the Marines over their fight with the Azure Emperor Pirates.

• Borsalino stopped Benn Beckman and the First Division from joining Shanks’s battle, warning that they would risk their lives against Thunder Python.
• Thunder Python forced Shanks and Dracule Mihawk onto the defensive, then used Furious Thunder, Swift Lightning to knock them back and pursue them.
• A white ball of light struck Thunder Python and drove him back before he could attack Shanks and Dracule Mihawk.
• The Azure Emperor arrived, asked why the Marines were holding up Shanks, and questioned whether they intended to go to war with the Azure Emperor Pirates.

Zesi arrived at Sabaody after learning Shanks had run into trouble and confronted Thunder Python, a powerful Marine Admiral. After Thunder Python attacked, Zesi struck back with his Vibration Fruit power, leaving their fight underway.

• Zesi had persuaded Crocodile to join the Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai by revealing that he knew Crocodile's secret.
• Zesi went to Sabaody to see Rayleigh and Shanks, then headed to the commotion after Shanks failed to appear.
• Zesi revealed himself to Thunder Python and challenged his confidence that the Marines could surround and kill him.
• Thunder Python used Furious Thunder, Swift Lightning: Second Stage and struck Zesi with a lightning-wreathed punch.
• Zesi blocked Thunder Python's attack, focused his Conqueror's Haki through his eyes, and punched with the Vibration Fruit's power.

Zesi condensed his Conqueror's Haki through his gaze and used it to stagger Thunder Python before striking him with a Tremor-Tremor Fruit attack. Thunder Python survived without visible injury, and Zesi charged in again with Quake Annihilation Hammer.

• Zesi used his gaze to condense Conqueror's Haki, briefly dazing Thunder Python and letting him land a powerful punch.
• Lucky Roux and the others learned from Yamaarashi that Zesi's punch was an ordinary attack and that his Divine Space Strike was far stronger.
• Borsalino turned into light and fled to report Zesi's arrival, despite Thunder Python having stopped blocking the Den Den Mushi radio waves.
• Thunder Python survived Zesi's punch unharmed, while Shanks and Mihawk explained that his lightning flames protected and empowered him.
• Zesi, excited to find someone who could withstand his attacks, flashed in front of Thunder Python and began unleashing Quake Annihilation Hammer.

After Zesi defeated and captured Admiral Thunder Python, Sengoku arrived at Dragon Hall to negotiate his release. Zesi agreed to hand Thunder Python over in exchange for slaves from Amazon Lily, and Sengoku accepted.

• Borsalino reported Thunder Python’s fight with Zesi to Sengoku, who ordered Garp and Demon Sheep to hurry to Sabaody Archipelago.
• Sengoku and the others reached Sabaody after the battle and followed a Dragon Hall disciple to the Adam Smith Hotel.
• Sengoku found Thunder Python bloodied, shackled, and hanging from a pillar while Zesi drank with Rayleigh, Gaban, and Shanks.
• Demon Sheep challenged Zesi, but Zesi’s gaze overwhelmed him with terror and left him drenched in cold sweat.
• Sengoku asked to take Thunder Python away, and Zesi demanded slaves from Amazon Lily in exchange.
• Sengoku agreed to the exchange, judging the slaves a lesser cost than losing Thunder Python.

After defeating Thunder Python, Zesi agreed to exchange envoys with the World Government to improve communication with the Azure Emperor Territory. Back at Marine Headquarters, Thunder Python described how Zesi had overwhelmed him with a barrage of attacks, leaving the Marines shaken by the Azure Emperor's strength.

• Zesi warned Sengoku not to keep him waiting and threatened to approach the Celestial Dragons, then agreed to exchange envoys with the World Government.
• At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku questioned Thunder Python about how Zesi had defeated him.
• Thunder Python recalled that Zesi struck him with more than a hundred Quake Annihilation Hammers in rapid succession, distorting the surrounding space and making him spit blood.
• Zesi followed the barrage by testing a variety of other abilities on Thunder Python until he was beaten unconscious.

Zesi brought the rescued Boa Sisters and other Amazon Lily slaves under his protection, intending to train Hancock as one of the Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai. Rayleigh doubted Hancock’s potential until she resisted Zesi’s Conqueror’s Haki, revealing that she had the makings of a ruler.

• Sengoku had the Marines gather Amazon Lily’s enslaved warriors and deliver them to Zesi, who kept the Hancock Sisters and sent the others to Bullet with Shanks.
• Rayleigh recognized the Boa Sisters and explained that Gloriosa had asked him to find them.
• Zesi told Rayleigh he wanted Hancock to become a Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor Palace and explained the plan to expand Azure Emperor Shipping into the first half of the Grand Line.
• Rayleigh doubted that the young, timid Hancock could serve as a deterrent, so Zesi released his Conqueror’s Haki against her.
• Hancock resisted Zesi’s Haki with her own, surprising Rayleigh and convincing him she had the qualifications.

Zesi began training Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold to qualify for the Azure Emperor Palace Shichibukai, giving them the Azure Emperor’s Will. After Thunder Python’s defeat hurt Marine prestige, Sengoku launched the Marines’ plan to retake the New World, and the Marines reclaimed G-1 Fortress by defeating the Ochoku Pirates.

• Zesi told Hancock and her sisters they needed to prove their strength before becoming Shichibukai and offered them the dangerous Azure Emperor’s Will.
• Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold accepted the Azure Emperor’s Will, which Zesi infused into their bodies.
• News spread that Zesi had defeated Marine Admiral Thunder Python at Sabaody, damaging Marine prestige and encouraging pirates to attack Marine bases.
• The Marines sent Thunder Python and Demon Sheep to capture pirates, restoring confidence in their strength.
• Sengoku ordered the plan to retake the New World, and the Marines attacked G-1 Fortress, defeating the Ochoku Pirates and killing Ochoku.

Big Mom allied with Kaido and the Beasts Pirates to confront the Marines as they advanced into the New World. Meanwhile, Zesi took Hancock and her sisters to the North Blue, training them on the journey before ordering them to find the Donquixote Family.

• Big Mom, Perospero, and Katakuri discussed the Marines’ strength and agreed that the Big Mom Pirates should join forces with Kaido against them.
• Big Mom ordered her crew to notify Kaido, and the Big Mom and Beasts Pirates went to war against the Marines.
• Zesi sailed toward the North Blue with Hancock and her sisters, propelling their sturdy flying fish boat with vibrations and crossing the first half of the Grand Line in ten days.
• Zesi trained Hancock and her sisters to stay on their feet aboard the speeding, pitching boat, and they gradually learned to keep their balance.
• After reaching the North Blue through Reverse Mountain, Zesi stopped powering the boat and told Hancock and her sisters to find the Donquixote Family.

Trafalgar Law joined the Donquixote Family, where Corazon repeatedly tormented him, while Doflamingo discussed the Marines’ war against the Four Emperors and planned to exploit their distraction. The Hancock Sisters and Zesi arrived at Spider Miles to find Doflamingo, with Zesi leaving the search and any danger to the sisters.

• Ten-year-old Trafalgar Law arrived at the Donquixote Family’s headquarters and demanded to join so he could kill people before he died.
• Doflamingo took an interest in Law’s anger and desire for revenge, but Corazon repeatedly tormented the boy to drive him away.
• Doflamingo and Diamante discussed the Marines’ clashes with the Big Mom Pirates and Beasts Pirates, and Doflamingo said the Marines’ deployment left the Donquixote Family free to act.
• Zesi sent the Hancock Sisters to find Doflamingo and told them he would no longer intervene.
• After a month of fighting pirates and following leads across the North Blue, the Hancock Sisters reached Spider Miles while Zesi remained asleep on their boat.

The Hancock Sisters found Diamante at the harbor and demanded to meet Doflamingo. Meanwhile, Zesi confronted Doflamingo at the Donquixote Family headquarters and asked him to join the Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor Palace, leaving Doflamingo’s answer unresolved.

• Hancock, Sandersonia, and their sister met Diamante at the harbor, and Sandersonia identified him from a wanted poster.
• Hancock told Diamante that revealing who sent them would scare him, then insisted on meeting Doflamingo.
• At the Donquixote Family headquarters, Doflamingo stopped his men from attacking the unexpected visitor and identified him as Zesi, the Azure Emperor.
• Doflamingo’s family members, including Corazon, reacted with fear and disbelief at the Azure Emperor’s presence.
• Zesi dismissed the idea that the Marines would attack his territory while he was alive and said he had come to invite Doflamingo to join the Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor Palace.
• Doflamingo asked Zesi what would happen if he refused.

Zesi demonstrated a terrifying application of Conqueror’s Haki, leaving Doflamingo and the Donquixote Family shaken as he challenged Doflamingo’s refusal. Meanwhile, Hancock and her sisters confronted Diamante, who recognized their Amazon Lily techniques and drew his sword.

• Zesi asked Doflamingo whether he understood what it meant to be an Emperor of the Sea and warned that refusing him would challenge his authority.
• Zesi’s crimson gaze briefly froze the Donquixote Family’s souls, and Doflamingo realized the Azure Emperor had used Conqueror’s Haki in a way he had never encountered.
• Hancock ordered Sandersonia and Marigold to attack Diamante, and their explosive arrows blasted a hole where he had stood.
• Diamante recognized the sisters’ Armament Haki as an Amazon Lily technique, but refused to yield and drew his sword.

Hancock fought Diamante and pursued him after he fled toward the Donquixote Family's headquarters. There, Doflamingo accepted Zesi's offer to join the Azure Emperor Palace as a Shichibukai, but an alarm about an intruder interrupted their discussion.

• Diamante attacked Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold with his Flag-Flag Fruit, but Hancock countered with her own Devil Fruit powers.
• Hancock's Slave Arrows turned Diamante's cape to stone, so he discarded it and fled toward the Donquixote Family's location.
• Hancock pursued Diamante with Sandersonia and Marigold, expecting him to lead them to Doflamingo.
• Doflamingo accepted Zesi's offer to join the Azure Emperor Palace as a Shichibukai after realizing he could not resist.
• Zesi explained the roles of the Shichibukai, the main crew, and the Death Army, then challenged Doflamingo about his knowledge of the One Piece.
• Someone outside warned Doflamingo that a troublesome intruder had arrived.

Diamante fled to the Donquixote Family headquarters with Hancock and her sisters in pursuit, where Doflamingo met the three young warriors. After Hancock and Doflamingo clashed with Conqueror’s Haki, they recognized that the Azure Emperor had sent them to meet.

• Diamante raced toward the waste processing plant while Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold attacked him with arrows.
• Law rushed to help Diamante, but Hancock’s Slave Arrows petrified most of his body and left him unable to move.
• Diamante reached the Donquixote Family headquarters and warned Doflamingo that they were under attack.
• Zesi told Doflamingo that Hancock was from Amazon Lily and would become a Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor Palace.
• Doflamingo’s Conqueror’s Haki provoked Hancock’s, and their clash knocked Buffalo and several others unconscious.
• Hancock asked Doflamingo if he was the man they had been sent to find, and he confirmed that the Azure Emperor was inside.

Zesi welcomed Doflamingo and the Donquixote Family as Shichibukai under the Azure Emperor Palace and gave them a role in the Azure Emperor Pirates’ plans. He tasked Doflamingo with finding the Vinsmoke Family, whose head, Vinsmoke Judge, he wanted as a scientist, and warned that Judge would have no place in the world if he refused foolishly.

• Zesi praised Hancock and the Hancock Sisters for their mission, while Trebol explained to Diamante that the Donquixote Family would become the third Shichibukai crew under the Azure Emperor Palace.
• Doflamingo asked Hancock to undo the petrification of a young friend, and Zesi told her to help him.
• Zesi told Doflamingo to prepare to enter the Grand Line and become a deterrent before the Azure Emperor Pirates’ shipping plan began.
• Zesi asked Doflamingo to find the Vinsmoke Family in the North Blue, explaining that he wanted Vinsmoke Judge for his scientific skills and knowledge from working with Vegapunk.
• Doflamingo agreed to find Judge, and Zesi said that if Judge refused despite being approached, he was too foolish to live.

Big Mom and Kaido launched a joint assault on the Marines’ G-1 Fortress as the Marines sought to eliminate the Four Emperors and suppress piracy. Kuzan froze Big Mom’s massive wave, and Garp, Thunder Python, and Demon Sheep met the pirates as the battle began.

• Big Mom sent an enormous wave toward G-1 Fortress, but Kuzan froze the sea and stopped it.
• Kaido led the Big Mom Pirates and Beasts Pirates in a charge toward the Marine Base.
• Garp blocked Kaido and rallied the Marines, then clashed with him as Big Mom joined the fight.
• Thunder Python and Demon Sheep appeared to confront Big Mom, and the Marines and pirates began battling.

Zesi left the Donquixote Family to train the Hancock Sisters while waiting for news about the Vinsmokes, whom he hoped to recruit for their technology. A report that the Marines had crushed the Big Mom and Beasts Pirates and seriously wounded Big Mom forced Zesi to return to the New World to protect the Azure Emperor Pirates’ position.

• Zesi asked the Donquixote Family to locate the mobile Vinsmoke Family, then left contact information and departed with Hancock and the others.
• Zesi took the Hancock Sisters to a deserted prehistoric island to train them while planning to recruit the Vinsmokes for their Lineage Factor and raid suit technology.
• Zesi considered developing entertainment and modern technology, including cell phones and computers, and saw the Vinsmokes as a key source of expertise.
• Zesi received a Den Den Mushi call reporting that the Marines had ambushed Big Mom and Kaido, crushing their forces and seriously wounding Big Mom.
• Zesi learned that Big Mom and Kaido had fallen for a Marine scheme and decided to return to the New World to oversee the Azure Emperor Territory.

The Marines defeated the allied Big Mom and Beasts Pirates at G-1 after Sengoku and Demon Sheep severely injured Big Mom, forcing both crews to retreat. Zesi headed back to the New World to respond to the upheaval, but a bear-paw-shaped blast ambushed him over a deserted island.

• Garp and the Marine Admirals held Kaido and Big Mom in check as the Marines fought the two pirate crews at G-1.
• Sengoku ambushed Big Mom with a shock wave, then Demon Sheep struck her with his Death Scythe Fruit attack and filled her body with death energy.
• Katakuri and the Charlotte Family drove back the Marines and escaped with Big Mom, while Kaido retreated with his officers after the pirates suffered heavy losses.
• After learning of the defeat, Zesi assigned the Hancock Sisters training tasks, instructed Doflamingo by Den Den Mushi, and set off alone for the New World.
• A bear-paw-shaped mass of energy exploded and engulfed Zesi as he flew past a deserted island.

Zesi fought Kuma, who had tried to send him away with the Paw-Paw Fruit, and said he might visit the Sorbet Kingdom. Meanwhile, news that the Azure Emperor was missing from his territory stirred pirates to form alliances and target Hachinosu.

• Kuma asked Zesi who had sent him to intercept him, while Zesi asked Kuma to send him back to Hachinosu.
• Kuma attacked Zesi with his Ursus Shock and paw-powered strikes, but Zesi countered with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
• Zesi mentioned visiting the Sorbet Kingdom, shocking Kuma.
• Pirates kept attacking the weakened Big Mom and Beasts Pirates, though both crews repelled them and pulled back their forces.
• News spread that the Azure Emperor was missing, and pirates began forming alliances to seize Hachinosu and its wealth.

Kuma recalled how the World Government forced him to leave the Sorbet Kingdom and use his pirate reputation to protect it, then feared Zesi could threaten the kingdom. Meanwhile, pirate captains who believed the Azure Emperor was away rallied crews to attack Hachinosu, and the invasion began.

• Kuma remembered that the World Government had threatened to use a Buster Call against the Sorbet Kingdom after he overthrew its monarchy, forcing him to flee and become Tyrant Kuma.
• Kuma feared that Zesi’s knowledge of the Sorbet Kingdom could lead the Azure Emperor to retaliate against it.
• Pirate captains claimed the Azure Emperor was absent from Hachinosu and urged others to raid the island for its riches.
• The pirates agreed to attack Hachinosu and keep whatever they seized, then a large number of crews entered the Azure Emperor’s territory.