Storyline
Usopp plays pirate captain, but the rest of the crew is unimpressed. Luffy tries to draw his Jolly Roger, Zoro sleeps, and Nami studies nautical charts. When Luffy finishes, however, his drawing is only mocked, so Usopp offers to paint the Jolly Roger. However, he paints himself as the Jolly Roger, after which he is beaten by Luffy and Zoro. He then paints Luffy’s Jolly Roger and everyone is delighted. Finally, he also paints the sail of the Going Merry.
A storm is coming, but Nami insists on staying the course, as there is said to be a legendary treasure on the island ahead. According to legend, if you get too close to the island, you will incur the wrath of God. But the crew is not dissuaded and sails off immediately.
Once on the island, Nami tells more strange stories about the island. Except for Usopp, these stories don’t bother anyone, so Zoro just goes to sleep. Luffy discovers a strange animal and wonders about its appearance. Nami and Usopp also discover two strange animals, but are frightened and scared of them. Suddenly, a voice is heard telling them to leave. He warns them to go further into the forest, however Nami and Luffy begin to wonder why the voice sounds so strange.
Luffy is bitten by a lion-pig and his skin stretches, at which point the voice asks what kind of creature he is. Luffy replies that he is a rubber man and has eaten of the gum-gum fruit. The voice, which claims to be a god of the forest, says he was once a pirate too, but doesn’t want to tell about it. Angry that he did tell about being a pirate, he blames the straw-hatted pirates and attacks them with wooden arrows and falling rocks. The supposed god then shoots a gun at Luffy, who easily takes the bullet and shoots it away.
The fake god runs away, pursued by Luffy. However, he loses sight of him for a moment. When he finds him again, he sees a treasure chest with a green “bush”. However, this box now runs away all at once, but against a tree and topples over.
The “god” in the box wants to be helped up again, because he can’t get himself up. As it becomes sunny again, his face can now be seen. After Nami, Luffy, and Usopp help him up, he tries to run away a third time, but is immediately stopped by Luffy. However, the little green-haired man pulls so hard on Luffy that he loses his grip and is flung towards the crate man, causing them both to fly over the cliff. Luffy is just able to grab onto a branch and fling himself and the crate man back up.
Back on the ground, the straw hats wonder why a man is stuck in a box. He tells them that he has been stuck in this box for 20 years and had no one to talk to. Also his hair was not always green, this came with time. Zoro reappears and first takes Usopp’s coffee. When he finishes it, he sees the box man and gets scared. After Zoro asks him the same thing as Luffy, which is if he was born into the box, they both try to pull him out of the box, but to no avail. He then asks what kind of pirates the Straw Hats actually are, since they are different than most pirates. Luffy introduces himself and talks about his dream of becoming a pirate king. The crate man tries to warn him about the Grand Line, as it is terrible there.
Luffy and the box man look at a map to find the Grand Line, but admit that neither of them can read maps. When Nami asks what makes Luffy so sure of finding the One Piece, he only replies that he simply knows. In response, the box man tells her that he used to be the same way. He talks about the time he came to the island with his crew.
The captain of the crate man was enraged that 200 men came to an island and no treasure was to be found. When the pirates wanted to leave again, young Gaimon, the box man, had the idea to search on an elevated mountain. When this reached the top, he found five treasure chests. The moment he was about to tell his crew about this find, he slipped and fell into a box. He tried to catch up with his crew, but they were already too far away at sea. He was therefore happy to be able to keep the treasure on his own, but could no longer climb the mountain.
Nami proposes to take Gaimon’s treasure, but Luffy and Usopp insinuate that she wants to take it herself. Nami promises that she will give him the treasure. They are carried to the treasure by a cow turtle. Arriving at the mountain, Luffy uses the gum-gum slingshot and flings himself into the air. He finds the five treasure chests, but refuses to give them to Gaimon. Gaimon, Usopp, and Nami complain about Luffy’s behavior. However, Gaimon realizes that there is no treasure hidden in his five treasure chests either. Gaimon begins to cry, as he has never and will never find any treasure as a pirate. Luffy suggests him to join his crew. Gaimon is very happy about this offer.
Arriving at the ship, Gaimon says that he would rather stay there to protect the animals, since they have also become his friends. He even feels very comfortable in his crate and doesn’t want to get rid of it at all. They say goodbye and hope to see each other again.
Difference to Manga
- In the manga, the Straw Hat Pirates reach this island before Usopp joins them.
| TV Episode Guide | Don War Arc (Anime) |
