Summary:
The chapter begins in “no man’s land” in the Sabaody Archipelago. Caribou, Coribou and their crew have somehow escaped the battle and are holding the Straw Hats captive to the Imposter (except for Black, Coco, and the Fake Cleaver). The fakes beg for their lives as Coribou and the Caribou pirates dig holes and prepare to bury the frauds alive. Caribou reveals that he never intended to follow the Straw Hats and planned to kill them from the inside, and is very angry that he met the fakes instead. The impostors continue to beg for mercy and Caribou then grabs the fake Sanji and begins to choke him with his Devil Fruit powers. The fake Sogeking tries to stop Caribou with a bazooka, but fails as the shot is just absorbed into Caribou’s body. The con men are horrified to discover that Caribou is Logia. Caribou then orders his crew to bury the fakes and happily states that he has been able to confirm the real Luffy’s Straw Hat.
Sentomaru is then seen talking to his superiors about the escape of the Straw Hat crew and their newfound power with Demaru Black lying on the ground, bound and unconscious. Shakky and Rayleigh are then seen conversing on the shore where the Straw Hats left. Rayleigh then recalls the day he first met Gol D. Roger. This flashback also reveals that Luffy’s straw hat once belonged to Roger. Rayleigh then says that Luffy has taken another step towards becoming a man worthy of the hat he wears.
As the Thousand Sunny sails underwater, the crew marvels at the location of the underwater world. Luffy and Zoro attempt to catch some fish only to be stopped by Usopp and Chopper. Sanji asks Nami about what the crew needs to know about the coating. As Nami begins to explain, Sanji gets another massive nosebleed just by seeing Nami’s body move. Sanji stormed out of the ship and Luffy had to grab him and pull him back. Chopper immediately begins treating Sanji while Brook expresses his interest in the chef and wonders what will happen when he sees the mermaids on Fish-Man Island. Nami then explains that the coated ship has all the same properties as the bubbles on the Sabaody Archipelago where they will expand to a certain point before letting the object pass through the bubble. If it has too many holes, it will crack. Luffy and Zoro try to catch the fish again only to be stopped again by Usopp and Chopper. With Sanji out of commission, Luffy and his team start eating the special lunch boxes given to Luffy by Boa Hancock. Franky explains to the crew how the Thousand Sunny was kept safe for two whole years. He stated that during the battle with the marines, Hatchan and Duval were seriously injured and Bartholomew Kuma took over as the ship’s protector. It is revealed that Kuma was allowed by Dr. Vegapunk included a single mission of its own in the programming, “to protect the Straw Hat Pirates’ ship until the day one of their members returns”. The Straw Hats agree that they are indebted to Kuma. The chapter ends with the Straw Hats unknowingly following the Caribou Pirates.