One Piece, Volume 51

Chapter 492
The chapter begins with the Straw Hats discussing battle strategies to bring down the Flying Fish Riders. Usopp suggests using cannons to shoot them down, while Camie and Pappag are worrying about Hatchan.

The scene shifts to the Flying Fish Riders' base where the riders are wondering why they were called back. Duval says that this was because he wants the pirates alive. Duval then rants about why he hates a certain man with all of his subordinates agreeing. He then calls for the Macro Pirates and they are introduced. Macro, a gulper eel fish-man, Tansui, an arowana fish-man, and Gyaro a demekin goldfish fish-man. Duval thanks them for capturing Hatchan because now the Straw Hat Pirates are coming. Duval is very pleased because the man he wants to kill is on that ship. When Hatchan, who is in a cage, hears this, he fears the worst, due to his unfortunate past with them. He is concerned as to whether they have captured Camie or not. Hatchan is afraid that the Straw Hats will cause trouble for him. Finally the Straw Hats arrive to the Flying Fish Riders' base. Duval is even more pleased when his subordinates report the siting of the man he is looking for.

At the Thousand Sunny, Camie sees Hatchan and begins screaming his name. The Straw Hats note that the base is very ominous and silent. Hatchan covers himself with ink when he sees Camie and the Straw Hats, the Straw Hats recognize his voice, but not his appearance, which leads Sanji to ask him how Arlong has been, which Hatchan reveals Arlong and the rest of his crew were captured by the Marines, and that he managed to break out, and achieved his dream of starting his own Takoyaki stand. The Straw Hats conclude that the enemy is all around them, beginning to aim. Luffy and Hatchan begin to calmly have a talk when Luffy suddenly realizes who he is. Luffy remarks "I knew it was you!" much to the surprise of Hatchan. Usopp then begins to explain to the other crewmates about Nami's past and how the Arlong Pirates occupied her hometown. Zoro and Nami begin to realize that this was Camie's friend and many of them have regrets about promising to save him. Suddenly Camie jumps off the ship exclaiming that she will save Hatchan. The Macro Pirates who were underwater come up and capture Camie. It is also revealed that all of the Flying Fish Riders are underwater as well. Sanji is determined to at least save Camie when Nami says the Hatchan is innocent and that they should save him as well, because they did promise to save him while Sanji comments that he adore her forgiving self. Meanwhile Luffy's eyes have turned into octopus fritters at the thought of Hatchan's octopus fritters. Luffy then swings into action, revealing his Devil Fruit powers when he jumps out of the boat and stretches his arms to save Camie and Pappag. Luffy orders Zoro to cut the bars on Hatchan's cage. Immediately afterwards the Flying Fish Riders exclaim that this was a trap and the Straw Hats are completely surrounded. Duval orders an attack and the Straw Hats get ready for battle.

Chapter 493
Hatchan warns Camie and Pappag to get back, and Luffy eagerly anticipates the Macro Pirates' impending attack. The Flying Fish Riders emerge from the sea, but Luffy manages to grab onto one of them. Another rider drops bombs on the Thousand Sunny, but Sanji redirects all of them with a whirlwind kick. As Luffy successfully hijacks one of the flying fish, a rider orders everyone to dive, causing Luffy to be taken underwater. Chopper and Brook jump in to save him, causing Nami and Franky to have to rescue the three Devil Fruit users, whom they proceed to berate for their stupidity.

With Camie and Pappag left alone, the Macro Pirates attempt to kidnap them again, but Zoro then cuts Hatchan out of his cage. The Macro Pirates prepare to attack Hatchan, but he sends them flying with a single three-armed punch. Camie and Pappag embrace and thank Hatchan, and a Flying Fish Rider attempts to attack them, but is cut down by Zoro. Zoro tells Hatchan's group to leave this to the Straw Hats, and Hatchan apologizes for his actions against the swordsman in Arlong Park.

Usopp fires a cannon at the Flying Fish Riders, and Duval asks his men if any of them wants to take part in the "Zero Fight", promising them reimbursement for medical costs. One rider accepts, and rides his fish towards the Sunny, spinning around a massive club for a kamikaze attack. The Straw Hats note that such an attack will demolish the Sunny, and Sanji tells Luffy to take out the fish. Luffy stops the flying fish with Gomu Gomu no Fusen while Sanji kicks the rider in the face, and Luffy slams the unconscious fish onto the Sunny's deck to cook for dinner later. However, there are still many Flying Fish Riders attacking in the sky, and Brook gets up after recovering from his sea dive, intent on proving his worth to the crew. He jumps very high into the air and swings his sword across his violin, creating music that puts the riders to sleep. Brook then runs across the water and cuts down the riders as they fall down. Luffy pulls himself onto a flying fish again, only to find out that both the fish and rider are asleep. The fish then crashes through the roof of Duval's room, and Luffy sees Duval's face. Duval notices that Luffy has seen him, and notes that Luffy likely knows who he is as he puts his mask on and confronts the pirate.

Chapter 494
Luffy's pain and fatigue that Zoro absorbed in Thriller Bark starts taking a toll on his body as he faces discomfort and pain. Brook, lively as always continues his attack on the Flying Fish Riders and joins up with Zoro, a bit tired. Brook notices Zoro in pain but Zoro tells him not to worry about it.

Hachi advises Zoro to keep his guard up as he defends them from an enemy attack, Hachi is then distracted by the compliments of Camie and Pappag. Zoro and Brook protect Hachi from an enemy attack repaying the favor. Meanwhile the Flying Fish Riders attack the crewmates on the Thousand Sunny. Nami, Robin, Chopper and Franky defeat their attackers easily.

Luffy appears running from poisoned harpoons and shouts to everyone at the dock to run as a guy in a mask and a "cow" was chasing him. Out of the rubble just created appears the leader of the Flying Fish Rider's, Duval and his bison Motobaro. He is disgusted at the performance of his group, he then announces that the day he has been waiting for a long time has finally come, the day he can take revenge on a certain man that is responsible for sending him to hell, the man whom he wants to kill turns out to be Sanji.

Duval is so angry that he starts speaking in a different "accent", Sanji is confused and tries to figure out who can hold a grudge against him, as there are many people he has angered in his past. Duval attacks Sanji with harpoons which were coated with scorpion poisons, Nami and the rest of the crew on the ship also get in the way of this attack angering Sanji. Meanwhile Luffy talks to Zoro saying that he saw the face under the mask, Zoro is curious and Luffy says that he'll show the face hidden below the mask soon and that it's a face that Zoro knows too.

Luffy kicks off the mask from Duval's face, shocking everyone and angering Sanji. The face hidden below the mask was that of the poorly drawn face in Sanji's wanted poster. Duval continues to speak and demands his life back, Sanji not caring about Duval's feelings kicks him right in the face.

Chapter 495
Sanji and Duval argue about why Sanji's wanted poster has the same hairstyle and face like Duval's. The Straw Hat Pirates except Sanji comments about the coincidence of Duval's hairstyle and Sanji's bounty poster. Sanji tells Duval to change his hairstyle, beard or something else. Duval proceeds to tell Sanji about his history and how he had to escape from the Marines. Sanji then asks Duval why he attacked Nami and the others. Duval replies that the crew and ship is the reason Sanji had become a famous pirate, and he wants to get revenge.

Duval proceeds to attack Sanji by using his harpoon gun. Luckily, Sanji quickly finds out that the weapons are poisonous and manages to dodge them. Unfortunately, two other members of the Rosy Life Riders trap Sanji using a steel net, and drags him into the sea. The Straw Hats try to warn Sanji to get off the net but to no avail. Luffy tries to save him, but is stopped by Zoro. Hatchan tells them that he will go and save Sanji.

Duval informs the other Straw Hats that the two riders have air canisters, so they can stay in the water as long as they can, and Sanji, without having any air canisters, will drown and by the time the Straw Hats see Sanji again, they would just see a drowned body.

Sanji's attempt to escape remains futile. Just as one of the riders tells Sanji to feel the wrath of Duval, Camie jumps into the water, attempting to save Sanji. Pappag compares the speed of fish-men to the Flying Fish, saying the Flying Fish are ranked as one of the fastest creatures in the sea, outranking even the fish-men. However, the creatures that are ranked as the world's fastest creatures in the sea are the Merfolk.

In the sea, Camie tells Sanji not to worry and that she is going to save him. Meanwhile, Luffy asks Pappag if Camie is really that incredible, and Pappag replies that as long as the merfolk keep their guard, they are incredibly hard to catch in the sea. After that, something emerges from the sea.

Luffy thinks that Camie had successfully rescued Sanji, however, after a while, he and his crew are shocked to see an anchor floating in the sky. A rider, who was the one who got the anchor, tells the other riders to head for the Thousand Sunny dead-on and sink it. They mention that some of them are Devil Fruit users, and they will drown if landed into the water. The Straw Hats are shocked at this and has to plan something.

Just as the anchor is about to drop, Franky uses the ship's secret weapon, the Chicken Voyage just in time to escape the anchor. The riders are shocked that a ship could go in reverse. Franky retaliates by using the Gaon Cannon and blasting away as many riders as possible. However, he too destroys some of the infrastructure in the surroundings and took out almost all of the riders. Some of the Straw Hats commended the Sunny for its ability. Franky explains to them that the Gaon Cannon uses a full three barrels to prevent the ship itself from being blown away, and at the same time releases two barrels worth of Coup De Burst from the cannon, so it uses up to a ton of cola and tells them not to overuse it.

In the sea, Camie ties the two riders who attempted to drown Sanji with the net and prepares to rescue Sanji of the water. After a while, she emerges with Sanji. Nami and Chopper asks if Sanji is okay, but Camie replies saying that Sanji is having a nosebleed.

Duval is shocked about the riders' defeats, and Sanji is still alive after all, and then attempts to attack Luffy and his crew with Motobaro, his pet bison. He mentions that countless fools had fallen victim to it, tore holes in village dams, even when caged it will just break straight back out. Men have also called it the heart-smashing horn.

Luffy says he will stop it, and Chopper warns Luffy to be careful. He is worried that the horns will attack Luffy, but Luffy just stops it with an unknown power. The bison gets scared and then runs away. After that, it passes out.

Duval finally attacks on his own, and Sanji says he wants to finish him off. However, Duval rebuts that he is not going to die as long as Sanji is alive. Duval attacks Sanji with his harpoon gun again, and Sanji dodges it. Sanji attacks Duval while calling him the bad stuff. He finally uses Parage Shot to conduct a massive beauty operation on Duval.

Chapter 496
The Straw Hats enjoy a free meal from Hatchan, Camie, and Pappag as a thanks for saving their lives. Hatchan asks Nami what she thinks of the food, which creates an air of tension. Nami establishes that she does not forgive Hatchan for their past, but nevertheless assures him that she likes the food - much to the crew's joy. The Takoyaki 8 proprietors encourage the Straw Hats to eat their fill, to which they happily oblige. Sanji is denied the opportunity to learn more about the takoyaki sauce, as the group is soon approached by the Rosy Life Riders. Luffy doesn't recognize Duval - to which Sanji confirms that he altered the bone structure of his face. Duval is extremely grateful to Sanji to the point he now calls him "Young Master", as he believes his newly acquired looks will mean a life of peace. As a way of returning the favor Duval offers the crew assistance on their travels, knowing that the Straw Hats are new to the area. Sanji states that Duval having no hard feelings is enough for him, however the latter is revealed to be fawning over himself in the mirror rather than listening. After mistakenly believing that Sanji had called him "handsome", he makes eye contact with Nami as she wipes her mouth, thinking that she is blowing him a kiss. After more antics with the Straw Hats over his looks, Duval offers the crew his Den Den Mushi and implores them to call should they ever need help. With a final apology for the trouble they have caused, Duval and the Rosy Life Riders go on their way, much to the crew's relief. Brook notes that this was his first time having takoyaki, and couldn't be more pleased. He passes gas with no regard to his surroundings, and Nami berates him for his lack of manners. As the Takoyaki 8  crew finally is able to rest, Sanji invites them aboard the Thousand Sunny for tea. 

The group discusses their potential routes to Fish-Man Island, with Hatchan clarifying that only fish-men and merfolk are able to survive the pressure of such deep water. Pappag elects to enlighten them on their 2 options; however only one of them is feasible for the crew due to them being pirates. One way would involve climbing the Red Line and going through the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, seeking the permission of the World Government. This would not be possible due to the crew's reputation, but more importantly, it would require leaving the Thousand Sunny behind in order to cross the Red Line. The notion makes Franky incredibly upset, to which Pappag notes that this is unequivocally the safer option of the two. The alternative involves traveling through the ocean floor, which often leads to ships being attacked by Sea Kings. While Chopper and Usopp reconsider if they actually want to go to Fish-Man Island in light of this, Nami and Robin wonder just how a ship can travel through the depths of the ocean. Camie and Hatchan explain that there is a small hole in the Red Line about ten thousand meters underwater, and this is where Fish-Man Island is located. In fact, it is essentially directly beneath Mary Geoise. While Zoro notes that the Sky Islands were also about ten thousand meters in the opposite direction, Camie and Hatchan further explain that the ship needs to be "coated"  at the island they are headed to in order to dive to such depths. As they speak on this, the crew marvels at their new location, having arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago. 

Usopp immediately calls out the large bubbles that constantly appear and float upwards, wondering if they come from the island itself. Camie confirms they do, however Robin interrupts the explanation to ask about the status of their log pose. Nami shares her concern, wondering if it will change course now that they've stopped at an island. Hatchan assuages their concern, noting that the Sabaody Archipelago is just a huge growth of trees and thus doesn't have magnetic pull. Hatchan further explains mangrove trees, noting that the ones of Sabaody are a special case since the water never rises above their roots. The Sabaody Archipelago is a forest of the world's biggest mangrove trees, which are known as the Yarukiman Mangrove. Each tree constitutes its own "island", of which there are 79 in total. The 79 islands together form the archipelago, and it is here that people venture to when they wish to cross over into the New World. The crew arrives to Sabaody at the "civilian" entrance Grove 44, though Hatchan has them sail further in and drop anchor at Grove 41. Pappag informs them the islands are all connected by bridges, so as long as they remember their grove number, they won't get lost. Usopp and Chopper muse over the potential of someone still getting lost, much to Zoro's annoyance. 

With the crew finally stepping ashore, the bubbles immediately pique Luffy's interest; as he demonstrates that he can stand on them. Pappag explains that the Yarukiman Mangrove tree roots secrete a special kind of resin, and when the roots "breathe out" they push this resin into bubbles that float off into the sky. Luffy climbs several bubbles high into the air, and tells his crew he can see an amusement park. Camie notes that this is Sabaody Park, and she's always dreamed of riding the Ferris Wheel. Chopper questions this, and Pappag admonishes her for having a such a thought, slightly puzzling the reindeer. Nami questions just why they are here in the first place, and Hatchan reminds them that they need to have their ship coated in resin by a mechanic. They could all be killed by the pressure of the ocean if the job is not done properly, so Hatchan assures them he can take them to a mechanic that he'd trust with his life. In exchange for this however, Hatchan has the crew promise him that they won't get involved in the affairs of the World Nobles at any cost.

Chapter 497
While most of the Straw Hat Pirates have left to explore the wonders of Sabaody Archipelago, Franky and Usopp have stayed behind to repair the ship and Sanji has stayed to protect the ship on Nami's request. Zoro then leaves to explore by himself, but Usopp and Sanji object to it, saying that he will get lost due to his poor sense of direction. Zoro states that since all the trees are numbered, he will just have to remember the grove number and ask for directions to get back. Sanji and Usopp agree to his logic but as Zoro leaves the ship he misreads the grove number as Grove 1 instead of Grove 41 due to a passing bubble.

Elsewhere on the archipelago, Hatchan, accompanied by Camie and Pappag, explains to the rest of the Straw Hats what he knows about the Celestial Dragons. He states that they wear masks to avoid breathing the same air as "common folk", that they are incredibly proud, that one should never defy them and makes Luffy promise him to not go up against them. He also warns Luffy that since there are many pirates aiming for the New World as well as bounty hunters and kidnappers, they should not do anything that attracts attention. Luffy asks Hatchan where he received the wound on his head but Hatchan tells him to ignore it and further warns him that due to their close proximity to Marine Headquarters, the Marines and bounty hunters are all very strong. He continues by saying that he and Camie should not be regarded as mermaids or fish-men and Robin backs him up. Luffy then sticks his head through a bubble and manages to pull the rest of his body in. A vendor then offers Luffy a device that allows him to drive the bubble around and explains that that it will cost 500 to rent and 10,000 to buy.

Luffy wants to buy it, but Hatchan talks him out of it, stating that he will explain later. As the Straw Hats drive around on their new toys, Hatchan tells Luffy that the bubbles will pop outside of Sabaody Archipelago, so it is useless to buy one of the devices. Luffy is disappointed, but Camie tells him that they can also use these devices on Fish-Man Island, as they have similar bubbles.

While Luffy and Chopper find some food to eat, Pappag tells Brook that the person to see in the island is the Mermaid Princess and promises to hook them up as he is her best friend. Robin notices that there are a lot of hotels in Grove 35 and Hatchan explains that those are there for sailors awaiting approval to pass over the Red Line from Mary Geoise. Meanwhile, Nami spots a shopping mall, as Brook, Chopper and Luffy pick up some souvenirs. As Nami and Robin depart to go shopping, Nami says that Camie has become more reserved since they arrived and Robin states that she may have a bad history associated with the island.

Luffy and Hatchan race across the archipelago, but as they near Grove 31, Luffy spots something odd. A pirate is standing in the middle of the road asking for an axe or a saw to get his neck-ring off, stating that he will not hurt anyone and that he has a baby son waiting for him at home. Hatchan observes that the man is most likely a slave that ran away from his masters but states that it is useless to do so. As the man tries to get his neck ring off, it explodes, which Hatchan says is the same for all slaves; if they try to escape, the ring explodes, likely killing them. The Straw Hats look on in horror, unable to do anything as Hatchan instructs Luffy to get out of his bon chari. On top of a building, a shadowed figure with a broadaxe states that the man is Devil Dias, a 60,000,000 bounty pirate whom he thinks would have never made it in the New World.

A small dog walks up to the collapsed man and urinates on his body and Hatchan tells Luffy to get down on his knees because the Celestial Dragons are right behind their pet dog. Two Celestial Dragons appear, one with a gigantic man chained behind him and the other stating that she will simply have to buy another slave. The woman states that she is disgusted by the "useless" man and shoots him. Luffy is outraged to see her treat him like dirt, especially when he can't even move, and tries to stop them, but Hatchan grabs him before can do anything. As she walks off, she states that she would like a giant as a slave but her father tells her that she should have a young child to hone her disciplinary skills. As the Straw Hats leave, they discuss over the cruelty of those two Celestial Dragons, and wonder why Devil Dias couldn't stand up to them, especially when he seemed more powerful than them. Pappag states that if someone defies a Celestial Dragon, that person will be the target of a Marine admiral. Chopper asks Pappag about what makes them so special. Pappag explains that the Celestial Dragons are descendants of the twenty kings who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago. Over the years, they grossly abused their power and influence because of their lineage.

Chapter 498
Luffy pummels through his third bounty-hunter at Sabaody Archipelago to the applause of Hatchan, Camie and Pappag as Chopper and Brook continue the journey with them. When someone asks why there are suddenly so many bounty hunters, Hatchan explains that they are currently at the "Lawless Zone" of the archipelago, a collection of twenty nine mangroves that pirates and bounty hunters usually occupy instead of the usual tourists. Chopper remarks that Sanji or Zoro could have come with them, but the fish-man octopus assures them that they are nearing Grove 13, where his bubble coating friend awaits. The two bounty hunters left, remark that Luffy's 300,000,000 bounty is impressive but there are "other pickings" on the island they could choose from instead.

At Grove 13, the group arrives at what appears to be a rip-off bar run by Hatchan's friends, whom Camie trusts despite not having been there before. Upon arriving at the bar, they see the bar owner, Shakuyaku, an attractive looking woman with a cigarette in her mouth and a bloody customer, who tried to not pay his bill, in her grip. Shakky recognizes the Fish-Man and happily greets Hatchan when she sees him, claiming it to have been a long time. After expressing her delight after learning about Hatchan ending his days of piracy (believing that his health comes first), she offers food and drinks to the Straw Hats, only to find Luffy and Brook already raiding the fridge, despite Chopper's warnings of her possibly being a rip-off, but she assures them all that since they're friends of Hatchan, they can do as the like and even gives Chopper some cotton candy. Luffy suspects she knows something about them which Shakky admits so, claiming to be a well-informed person, before questioning him about the Enies Lobby incident and his relation to his grandfather Monkey D. Garp. Shakky then reveals that she is a former pirate, which is why she knows Garp, who used to chase her forty years ago (surprising Luffy at that part, leaving him to wonder how old she really is).

Hatchan soon asks about the location of their friend "Rayleigh the Bubble Coater" to get the Thousand Sunny coated, but she claims that he has been gone for half a year and as a former pirate, he could look after himself.  She gives them various hints regarding Rayleigh's whereabouts including the "Lawless Zone" and Sabaody Park, but tells everyone to be careful while searching for him due to the presence of other powerful pirates. In particular, she notes that at this point, there are eleven pirates (including Luffy and Zoro) on Sabaody Archipelago who had taken different routes to pass through the Grand Line and became known as Supernovas due to having bounties worth over 100,000,000, with one of those pirates' bounty being even greater than that of Luffy's.

At this moment, the story cuts away from the Straw Hats to introduce those nine other pirates and crews within Sabaody Archipelago:
At Grove 24, a short mafia suit wearing pirate named Capone Bege is noting the horrific gluttony of the binge-eating female pirate Jewelry Bonney, who is consuming everything in sight and demanding more food.
Nearby, a waiter apologizes to a subordinate pirate, who is saved by the last of moment from death by the mysterious, card-reading captain Basil Hawkins, who also states to his subordinate that his day was unlucky, further emphasized by the spaghetti that was spilled on his clothes.
In the midst of the lawless zone, a DJ-like pirate with abnormally long arms named Scratchmen Apoo is taunting a tough-looking rocker-themed pirate Eustass Kid (the one whose bounty is bigger than Luffy's) during battle.
At Grove 21, a monk-like pirate and White Sea citizen Urouge's battle with the deadly masked pirate Killer (a subordinate of Eustass Kid) is stopped by former Marine turned pirate X Drake, who tells them to save the hostilities for the New World. Urouge notes this may have been a narrow escape from death.
As Drake leaves them, a calm and stoic pirate named Trafalgar Law enigmatically asks him how many men he has killed.

Back at Shakky's bar, the owner notes that while many other crews have set out to sea, only the strongest such as the Straw Hat Pirates and these other rookies have made it this far. She believes that they will all make their mark and that others such as the Kid Pirates, infamous for injuring civilians (which is the main reason why his bounty is higher than Luffy's), are more violent than Luffy's crew, thus making her root for the Straw Hats to succeed. Luffy, Brook and Chopper worry about Rayleigh's fate outside but she claims that he will be fine as he is a hundred times stronger than any of the rookies.

Chapter 499
The chapter opens with Shakuyaku saying goodbye to the Straw Hats, who are off to find a coating mechanic. The scene shifts to bounty hunters, Minoruba and Kairiken, who are discussing about the mermaid who was seen with Luffy. The head of the kidnapping team, Peterman, promises ten percent of the money they would get for Camie to the bounty hunters who brought him that information. Meanwhile, Luffy and the others arrive at Sabaody Park and start to enjoy the amusements there.

The scene shifts to Groove 24 with the arrival of a Celestial Dragon, namely Saint Charlos. He kills a badly injured human being and decides to make an engaged nurse (Marie) his sixth wife by shooting her fiancée. Zoro, wondering whether he is lost and not knowing about the situation, walks towards the Celestial Dragon, upsetting him. The Noble tries to shoot Zoro who dodges it before the bullet can connect. Zoro tries attacking Charlos, but Jewelry Bonney tackles him away and fakes Zoro's death using her Devil Fruit powers and some tomato juice, knowing that attacking a World Noble would result in an Admiral having to come to the island. After being informed of the situation by Bonney, Zoro takes the injured man to a hospital, to the surprise of some of the other Supernovas who are nearby, with Scratchmen Apoo remarking that Zoro let off a very high killing intent just moments earlier.

At the Thousand Sunny, Sanji, Usopp and Franky receive a call on a Den Den Mushi telling them that Camie has been kidnapped. Sanji replies that he will inform the Flying Fish Riders.

Chapter 500
The chapter opens with Duval greeting Sanji. He tells Duval about Camie being kidnapped and Duval agrees to help them. He gets on Motobaro, saying he has a few ideas as to who might have grabbed her. At Sabaody Park, Chopper worries about the Camie getting kidnapped. Meanwhile, Brook acts so calm that Chopper is by shocked by his demeanor. The Rosy Life Riders find the Straw Hats around the archipelago and pick up them. They find Chopper and Brook, who were relaxing themselves. They split up to find information about the various kidnapping groups and find the rest of the group. Sanji is annoyed that Motobaro will not go any faster.

The scene shifts to Grove 22 in a human shop, where Luffy asks the shopkeeper about mermaids being bought and sold. The guy tries to sell Luffy a fake mermaid, but he isn't fooled and refuses. Luffy, Hatchan, and Pappag go outside and start calling Camie's name out. All the yelling makes other pirates notice and recognize Luffy. Pappag regrets going to the park and taking Camie. He then adds that everyone on the island have it out for Camie and Hatchan.

The scene changes to Robin and Nami riding on a bon-chari with several shopping bags. Robin is explaining to Nami about how two hundred years ago the World Government made a treaty with Fish-Man Island, ending the enslavement of fish-men and merfolk, who up until then were only considered another type of fish. The slave trade is a remnant of the way things were before the treaty and even though it has been supposedly abolished, it still exists on the archipelago. Robin is about to explain more, when they are interrupted by Franky. He tells them to get on the flying fish, as Camie has been kidnapped.

Luffy is consoling Hatchan and Pappag, seeing Rosy Life Riders and decide to go with them.

The scene changes to Grove 1, the site of a human auction house. Elegantly dressed nobles are entering the building. In the building's back entrance, Peterman is leaving, telling the attendant to be sure they get a good price. The attendant thanks him and tells Peterman to come back later for his share of the selling price. Two World Nobles appear. A man greets them at the door and asks them if they would be alright being on equal standings with commoners. Rosward says he does not care since he is not going to bid. Shalria remarks that her brother, Charlos, is late as they enter the building. Rosward replies that it is because he is riding on a human, and should get a fish-man.

Inside the auction house, Eustass Kid is talking about the World Nobles and slavery, saying that it makes the rest of the world seem humane by comparison. He adds that it is because of them that the world is in such turmoil, saying that pirates at least have a nice side to them, asking Killer if he agrees. One of the pirates points someone out to Kid, and Kid recognizes the person as Trafalgar Law, adding that he has heard unpleasant rumors about him, to which Law gives his middle finger at Kid.

Backstage, a guard asks the auctioneer, Disco, if he heard about what they were given today. Disco says that the special feature today is a giant. The guard tells him about Camie. Disco then goes to the holding area, where two guards are manhandling Camie. Disco inspects Camie and says that Peterman has outdone himself. Camie sticks her tongue out at him and Disco slaps her. He is about to kick her when the guards tell him not to, as she will not sell as high if she is injured, saying he should hit her where her clothes will hide it. Camie tearfully tells them that Hatchan will show up and make them regret their actions. Disco then suddenly passes out. While the workers are rushing to find a doctor, two slaves watch from their holding cell. The giant tells the other to stop messing around, asking if he was responsible for the burst of "spirit". The man laughs and tells the giant he is simply an old man in the coating business, who cannot ignore a pretty girl. The chapter ends with the old man being introduced as the first mate of the Roger Pirates, Silvers Rayleigh.

Chapter 501
At the Marine Headquarters, Garp receives news that the "Dark King", Silvers Rayleigh, is being sold at the auction at the Sabaody Archipelago. Garp decides to do nothing: if the marines go, they will have to face two legends.

Meanwhile, down at the auction house, the monthly auction commences. Camie is seen sitting on a bench handcuffed and neckcuffed. The first slave is put up for auction. Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law both along with their crews are seen sitting in the auction.

At the same time, Duval is transporting Sanji to the house. Sanji looks down at the list of prices for the classes of slaves and their prices. Camie, who is a mermaid, costs around 70,000,000. After Usopp interrogates another kidnapping team, the news is relayed to the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates. The Hound Pets' headquarters is located at Grove 1.

Approaching the house, Sanji panics because half an hour has passed since the auction started. Luckily, Duval mentions that Camie would be a spotlight "item" and would not be put up for sale until the very end. When they arrive at the house, Franky, Nami, Chopper, Hatchan, and Pappag are there, trying to convince the guards to give Camie back. They refuse, of course, stating that the Straw Hats' actions are obstructing their business. No matter what they try to do, they decide that they will have to win Camie by winning her legally, by purchasing her back.

As they enter the house, Eustass sees them. He is disappointed that Luffy is not there as he wants to see how "big" of an idiot he is. A dancing girl named Pascia is put up. Sanji asks if they can bid on her too only to be kicked by Chopper and elbowed by Nami.

Meanwhile Luffy, Zoro, Robin, Brook, and Usopp are heading towards the house.

At Grove 24, the daily newspaper comes out and all of the pirates are shocked by the news that has just been announced. X Drake mentions that the marines are so short on hand, despite for the fact that their headquarters are so close to the archipelago, and that now he knows why; Portgas D. Ace has been sentenced to a public execution. Drake mentions that Whitebeard will retaliate for sure and that the Marines are asking for a war with the Whitebeard Pirates.

Chapter 502
From the outside, the auction is going on for a dancing girl named Pascia who is sold for 7,200,000. Meanwhile, a very frustrated Saint Charlos kicks his slave for being so slow, causing him to miss "half of the fun". He decides to sell his slave because he is "useless". He reveals that he would like to have a mermaid, despite for the fact that they are extremely difficult to catch. As he enters, the next slave is up for auction.

An ex-pirate named Lacuba, who was feared as a devious tactician. Suddenly, his mouth fills with blood and the crowd screams. The curtain is lowered and he is dragged backstage. Nami is confused about what had just transpired. Sanji explains that he bit his tongue to kill himself instead of living the life of a Celestial Dragon slave.

The Straw Hats wait patiently for Camie, who will be on auction soon. Disco comes out and announces that Camie will be up next for sale. The Straw Hates are confident that they will win with 200,000,000. Seeing them, Camie begins to relax, confident that she will be saved by them. Unfortunately, Charlos is very excited to see a mermaid and immediately bids 500,000,000 on Camie, much to the Straw Hats' disbelief. The entire auction house is stunned into silence since no one could match that price. Saint Rosward ask his son why he needs one when he has a tank full of piranhas. Charlos says that he simply wants her to race his piranhas. Camie tries to scream out to Hatchan, but her cries fall of deaf ears because her tank is soundproof. Hatchan gets angry and says that if they cannot win with money, then he will get Camie by force. Pappag warns him that she has an exploding collar and requires the keys for them, if they are to save her. After Disco regains his composure, he announces that Saint Charlos wins Camie.

Eustass Kid decides to leave, mentioning the "screwed-up" world that he lives in. Suddenly, Luffy makes a dramatic entrance into the auction house with Zoro by crashing into the wall on a flying fish. Luffy immediately sees Camie and runs to her tank. Hatchan intervenes and grabs Luffy. Unfortunately, to restrain Luffy, Hatchan uses all six of his arms. This alarms the people, once they realize that he is a fish-man. They begin to spew about how "disgusting" and "creepy" he is. Telling him to get away and naming him a sea monster. Realizing the truth, the Straw Hats witness the discrimination of merfolk first-hand.

As Luffy runs down the aisle, the guards attempt to restrain him. Suddenly, two gunshots go off. As he turns around, Charlos can be seen holding a gun while Hatchan is lying on the ground bleeding. Celebrating his "extermination" he begins to gloat his successful fish-man capture for free. The other auctioneers begin to give off a sigh of relief because now they will not get any "diseases" from him. Luffy, in his fury, walks toward the saint. Hatchan tries to stop Luffy and blames himself for what had happened. He mentions to Luffy the promise they made, to not attack the Celestial Dragons even if a person is shot in front of them. He curses his fate and regrets not being able to repay Nami for what he did back in Cocoyasi Village.

Charlos fires off another shot to silence Hatchan. As Luffy approaches Charlos, all of the people in the auction watches him thinking he is crazy to stand up to a Celestial Dragon. Charlos tries to shoot Luffy but he misses which Luffy punches him hard in the face, leaving a fist imprint on his face.