Cover
Color Spread. You can see all the members of the Straw Hat Pirates in the scenes where they first appeared in the manga. The drawing style and the design of the characters are up to date.
Storyline
Jungle, Amazon Lily: Luffy thanks Marguerite for taking the flowers and all other accessories off his shirt. Marguerite finds it surprising that men don’t like adornments. Luffy, meanwhile, removes his bandages and announces that he must leave now, as he would not have a quiet minute in his life until he found his friends. He gets carried away with the thought of one day defeating Bartholomew Kuma, Sentomaru, and Kizaru. In order for him to become stronger, he sets a goal to run all the way back to the Sabaody Archipelago on his hands. So while sprinting off on his hands, he remembers that he doesn’t own a ship and asks Marguerite if she could lend him one.
Marguerite then enlightens Luffy that they have no boats and they are in the Calm Belt! The island is surrounded by many gigantic sea kings, which is why almost no one can get to the island. If someone does make it, he’s closer to death than life.
Marguerite, however, now steers the conversation to Luffy and his pirate crew and tells of Boa Hancock’s ship being propelled by yuda (poisonous sea serpents) as the serpents pull the ship. This is the only ship on this island. Luffy realizes the huge problem as they have no ship or wind. He makes a crazy plan to build a raft and row to the archipelago. Some time later, Luffy is standing on logs tied together. However, only for a few seconds, then the disastrous structure sinks down and Luffy falls into the sea! Marguerite rescues him and then wonders why she’s doing this at all and why men can’t swim.
However, Luffy just muses about missing Franky, who could have saved him. Marguerite then makes the decision to kill Luffy, as she is getting into too much trouble with him! She cocks her snake bow and aims it at the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy begs her not to shoot and jumps away. Luffy wonders why these ordinary arrows can knock down stone walls. They are incredibly strong, he says. Marguerite thinks it’s perfectly normal, since the arrows are filled with haki! Before Luffy gets around to figuring out exactly how this is possible, the rest of the Amazons arrive and Luffy takes flight. Sweet Pea now informs Marguerite that they really need to get rid of the man, as Boa Hancock will be arriving soon.
Calm Belt, near Amazon Lily: two ships anchor side by side, with a dead sea king floating next to them. A conversation takes place between the ships. The voice on the smaller ship warns of the pitfalls of the Calm Belt. On the larger ship, the captain replies that they were surprised by the Sea King and had to defend themselves. However, since the world government has made a treaty with the Kuja that forbids anyone from coming within three kilometers of the island, they must anchor here. It now becomes clear that a naval ship is there negotiating with the Kuja warriors. Some of the marines are whispering. One claims that the Kuja can turn people to stone.
An Amazon now wants to know who killed the sea king. The captain explains that it was him because the cannons had no effect. He now explains that all this waiting bores him. He is Vice Admiral Momonga and wants to see the Samurai of the Seas, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, immediately!
The Amazons, however, deny this. The pirate empress is not to be spoken to, followed by some derogatory remarks about the men on the naval ship. In response, Momonga states that he has already received a verbal reply. “I will answer the call immediately,” he quotes the pirate empress as saying. However, words and deeds do not seem to match. He now throws a newspaper over to the Amazon ship. On it, the execution has been set by the commander of the second division of Whitebeard’s gang, Portgas D. Ace! The mandatory assembly of the Samurai of the Seas is an order of the World Government and allows no leeway. If Boa Hancock does not comply with this order, her status as a samurai will be revoked!
This threat now lures Boa Hancock from inside the ship. When a small kitten gets in her way, she kicks it away relentlessly. The marines seem to have fallen in love with the pirate empress right off the bat. Hancock, along with her two sisters Boa Marigold and Boa Sandersonia, confronts the Vice Admiral. She states flatly that her answer was a lie and she certainly has no intention of participating in the war. She would, however, like it if she continued to be a samurai …. and, moreover, that the cargo of the naval ship would be transferred to her ship!
Momonga is losing his temper now! He takes Boa Hancock’s exorbitant demands as a bad joke. In contrast to his subordinates, who, drunk with love, willingly drag the treasures out of the navy ship and hand them over to Boa Hancock. Momonga yells at his men, causing some to come to their senses. Momonga now declares that “Firefist” Portgas D. Ace will be executed in Marine Ford – hometown of Marine HQ – in a week! Whitebeard will definitely have done something by then. The Navy – led by the three admirals – will take the fight to Whitebeard. Boa Hancock is now to decide whether to fight Whitebeard or lose her samurai status.
Hancock now explains that she enjoys being a samurai, but doesn’t want to attend the fight. She paints a new scenario for Momonga: What if the Vice Admiral’s ship succumbs to a mysterious accident, is completely destroyed, and the men are turned to stone? Momonga, of course, rejects Hancock’s selfish, childish wishes. This behavior shall not go unpunished.
Boa Sandersonia now explains that while it’s true that Hancock’s character takes a little getting used to, her actions always go unpunished. Marigold confirms that this is so and that there is a reason for it. Hancock then reveals the reason herself: no matter what she does, however vile, the world forgives her because she is beautiful! Both the Amazons and the Marines fall in love with Boa Hancock!
Hancock now reveals what her devil fruit can do: all those who fall in love with it, it can turn into stone. She now uses the Mero-Mero fruit and petrifies the entire naval crew. Only Momonga can escape this by inflicting pain on himself with a dagger, so that the pain suppresses the love. The crew is now dwindled down to just him.
Momonga says that one is not the same as none. He will not return empty-handed. If she doesn’t report back within two days, the treaty with the Kuja is nullified. Boa Hancock is not impressed, and the Amazons set sail for the peaceful Isle of Women.
| Manga volumes | Amazon Lily Arc (Manga) |
