Cover

Color Spread: Dressed in kimonos, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Sanji eat Japanese dumplings called dangos with hippos.

Storyline

Part of the Straw Hat Pirates is still on their way to Zou together with the two samurai from Wano Country as well as Trafalgar Law on board the Barto Club, whereby the sea causes them and their ship some problems. For example, they get caught in a hailstorm of hailstones the size of human heads. As it turns out, the Bartolomeo pirate gang doesn’t have a navigator, so they contact their “grandmother” via Den-den Mushi for help. However, she offers little helpful advice, causing Bartolomeo to transfer protection to the Straw Hat Pirates.

Meanwhile, back at naval headquarters, Admiral Kizaru has just been told that Edward Weevil, one of The Seven Warlords of the Seas, has broken up the crew of the former ally Whitebeard’s A.O.. This would make it 16 gangs from Whitebeard’s alliance already. When asked if the Navy should actually tolerate Weevil wreaking so much destruction as one of the 7 Samurai just because he was Whitebeard’s flesh and blood, Borsalino replied that that shouldn’t be the point they had to worry about. The Admiral sees Weevil’s frightening strength as a young version of Whitebeard, though it annoys him that these stories are repeated over and over again.

Weevil, who calls himself Whitebeard Jr., is at this moment standing next to the defeated pirate band of A.Os and a city in ruins from the battle, upset that Newgate only referred to his crew members as his family. With him is his mother Bakkin, who once again makes it clear that he is the son of the former strongest man in the world and she is his former lover. Next, he would have to track down Marco to finally destroy the last people who could dispute his inheritance. Although Weevil himself would rather take revenge on Blackbeard for his father’s death, Bakkin decides that they should seek out Garp’s grandson, since he was protected by Marco during the fight on Marine Ford and might know something about Marco’s whereabouts.

A week later aboard the Going Luffy: something large is visible from the crow’s nest, and the pirates head straight for it. As the gang is in dense fog, the object is first thought to be a mountain, however it turns out to be moving, albeit slowly. Trafalgar Law points out that the Vivre Card is pointing in that direction, which is why they should be heading towards the figure. He goes on to report that he heard of an island protected by heavy fog and a current that is very difficult to navigate. When visibility improves a bit, Luffy and company are shocked by what they see: a huge elephant is building up in front of them, with Zou on its back. Due to its movement, the island has no fixed location, and since it’s not land in the true sense, it can’t be found using a log port. When Kanjuro brings up that he’s heard of a tribe living on Zou that hates humanity, Law confirms this by telling them about the Minks. They’ve been living isolated from the rest of the world on Zou for 1,000 years, which means this giant elephant is already 1,000 years old too!

Miscellaneous

• The quote on the Color Spread “Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.” is a quote that goes back to the Hellenic philosopher Socrates, respectively Plato.
• In the SBS for volume 81, Oda explains that the “grandmother” isn’t really Gambia’s grandmother. In truth, she is not related to anyone in the Barto Club, but has known and supported him and the entire gang since they were little kids.