Storyline
The Straw Hat Pirates is taken to Nekomamushi on two crocodiles. Wanda rides one crocodile, Carrot rides the other, as she serves both kings like Wanda. While they are on their way to Nekomamushi, some of the Straw Hats notice that in the story Wanda told them, Sanji and Caesar were still on Zou, so they ask what happened to both of them. Brook wants to take over that part of the story since few Minks on Zou know what happened two days ago and Nami, Brook, and Chopper decided to leave it at that so the Minks don’t have to worry. Brook continues to explain that he also doubts Sanji will return to them. Luffy reacts angrily, as Sanji’s message left behind said that he would return. Zoro is less bothered by this, as it feels much more relaxed without Sanji, but Luffy denies this. Now, to calm Luffy down, Brook wants to tell the story and explains that they made two blunders that led to the events of two days ago. When they were attacked by Big Mom’s ship, they accidentally let the enemy hear that their next target was Zou. Since the island is actually a living thing and thus there is no log port for it, this would not have been a big mistake. However, a crew member of Big Mom’s pirate gang is from Zou, which is why they were able to follow them.
Flashback, two days earlier on Big Mom’s pirate ship: Pekoms explains to Big Mom via Den-den Mushi that only he and Capone would go to Zou and that this would be enough. Pekoms explains that he knows Zou best, after all it is his home.
Zou, Claugh: When Pekoms and Capone investigated the island and came to the capital, Pekoms saw a picture of horror before him as the city looked more like a ruin and seemed completely deserted. Panicked, Pekoms ran through the city shouting if anyone could hear him and explain what had happened here, but no one answered. Enraged, Pekoms punched a wall of a house believing that the Straw Hats were responsible for this nightmare. Capone didn’t care. He merely lit a cigar and smoked it in silence.
Ubala Forest: Meanwhile, Sanji prepared a big meal for the residents of Ubala Forest. When he was done, he immediately ran outside to be surrounded by the Mink women again, who snuggled up to him to show their gratitude. Meanwhile, Miyagi and Tristan were handing out Sanji’s food and Chopper’s medicine to the injured. Nami and Wanda, meanwhile, had exchanged clothes as a sign of their friendship. The pearls Nami got in the process are very valuable and a national treasure of the Minks. Sanji, meanwhile, ran from one Mink woman to the next to greet them according to Minkart. However, when some Mink men also wanted to greet him by cuddling up to him, Sanji immediately refused. Meanwhile, Chopper asked Brook where Momonosuke was, to which he explained that he had locked himself in his room, which is probably for the best. They should also try to keep his human form a secret for now in that regard, since the word samurai was taboo here. They went to their rooms where Caesar had already finished some medicine packs, but Chopper wanted him to make more since there were far more injured. When a cat-woman came in, Caesar quickly put on a pair of goggles and a mouth guard and called himself Cedar the Apothecary so no one would know he was the one who invented the poison gas, which had nearly killed them all. The cat-woman went on to mention that Brook’s fans were looking for him, by which she meant the dog-minks who wanted to chew on Brook’s bones, which the skeleton didn’t like at all.
Meanwhile, Pekoms had also reached the Ubala forest and saw the wounds of the guards. He immediately asked if this was the fault of the Straw Hat Pirates, but they told him that the Straw Hat Pirates had saved them. More and more Minks joined in to greet Pekoms, who wept with joy that his kin and friends were all right. When he heard that the Straw Hats had saved them and Jack had almost killed them all, he vowed to get revenge on Jack. Meanwhile, Nami & Co. had heard the commotion from their treehouse room and recognized Pekoms and Capone from a distance. Wanda explained to them that Pekoms was from here and was a bit of a troublemaker, but nothing serious. Caesar again requested Sanji’s protection, but he had to think this over, as Caesar was merely the trump card against Doflamingo and now had no use for them. Sanji hoped that they had only come for Caesar and not because Luffy was giving Big Mom a run for her money on Fish Man Island. Caesar then had an idea. Since there were only two opponents, he offered Sanji to fight Pekoms and Capone along with him. Together, they would have a real chance of defeating their opponents. However, when Sanji saw the civilians below who had just recovered from their recent battles, he declined. Sanji wanted Brook to accompany him while Nami stayed there with the rest.
That evening, Sanji and Brook had led Pekoms and Capone to a secluded forest where no one bothered them. Sanji wanted to know what they were doing here and explained that if they had anything to discuss, they should talk it over with him. To the surprise of everyone present, Pekoms ran up to Sanji to show him his gratitude on Minkart. He explained that he never thought he would see Zou in such a state, which is why he is grateful to the Straw Hats for saving his friends. He would also owe them something because of that. Normally, they had another mission besides getting Caesar, however, Pekoms refused to complete it and wanted to report it as a failure to Big Mom, thus paying off his debt. Still, they needed Caesar at the very least. Capone did not agree with this at all and demanded that Pekoms put his feelings aside. However, Pekoms was willing to take responsibility for it and receive a punishment from Big Mom. However, this made Capone so angry that he raised his hand, whereupon a machine gun fire came out of it, which Capone lowered on Pekoms’ back while calling him a coward.
| TV Episode Guide | Zou Arc (Anime) |
