One Piece, Volume 94

Chapter 943
A few decades ago in Hakumai, Yasuie caught several followers of Oden, among them Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, Shutenmaru, Kawamatsu, and Denjiro, trying to steal money from him to give to Oden. Oden's band of followers awaited their execution, but Yasuie instead decided to give them the money they tried to steal as well as another bag, even though an associate of his said it would cause Hakumai to run out of money. He told them to spend the money on books to learn from, because in order for Oden to take over as shogun, his retainers would need to become the best samurai of Wano Country, as they would one day serve as its top guardians.

In the present day, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, Inuarashi, Shutenmaru, and Kawamatsu weep as they watch Yasuie fall dead on the Tanishi broadcasts. The Flower Capital citizens try to force the Ebisu Town citizens out of the area, and wonder why they are laughing hysterically. Hiyori tells Zoro that Orochi and the SMILEs are responsible for stripping them of their sadness, and Zoro is confused about the role of the SMILEs in this. As Hiyori mourns this scene as hell for the Ebisu Town citizens, the approaching Orochi relishes in Yasuie's death and the reaction to it, comparing the scene to heaven. Kanjuro, Shinobu, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Franky reach the Flower Capital, and Kanjuro and Shinobu lament their inability to save Yasuie while the Straw Hats are confused by the Ebisu citizens' reactions. In the Prisoner Mines, Queen enjoys the scene, and Luffy wonders about the reason for the citizens laughing; Hyougoro replies that it is a side effect of the SMILE that he has seen in the prison as well. On Onigashima, Kaidou chuckles at Orochi's brutality.

Shinobu then explains the side effects of the SMILEs to her group. Several years ago, Kaidou and Orochi started trading weapons to Caesar Clown and Donquixote Doflamingo in exchange for SMILEs, which Kaidou used to try to make his crew the strongest in the world. However, only one out of every ten people who ate a SMILE received an ability from it. Everyone else simply received the side effects of the fruit, losing the ability to swim as well as the ability to express negative emotions, causing them to only be able to express joy. Among the Beasts Pirates, the Waiters are those who have yet to consume SMILEs, the Gifters are those who have eaten the fruits and successfully gained powers, and the Pleasures are the larger group who have eaten a SMILE and received nothing except its side effects. Kaidou, Doflamingo, and Caesar named the fruit SMILE after its most notable side effect. The defective fruits still contained these side effects after being partially eaten, and so Orochi decided to use them to deal with the people of the leftovers towns, who were wracked with sorrow and grief on a daily basis due to the constant deaths among them. Finding this to be unpleasant, he mixed in the defective SMILEs with the other leftovers that were fed to the leftovers towns, causing these citizens to lose their ability to express sadness and anger.

Hiyori explains it as well to Zoro and Brook, when a commotion starts to stir up as Toko gets onto the execution platform and tries to save her father with some toad oil. Hiyori pleads for her to come back before Orochi spots her, and the Straw Hats are aghast to see her in danger. Orochi sees Toko and aims his rifle at her, intending to kill her for causing Komurasaki to die. He shoots bullets directly aimed for her head, but Zoro and Sanji simultaneously break through the barrier and neutralize the bullets. The citizens are shocked to see the two recently infamous men together, including Drake and Hawkins, and Zoro and Sanji react in surprise as they find themselves side by side for the first time in weeks.

Chapter 944
The citizens around Rasetsu Town are shocked to see the criminals Zoro-juurou and Sangoro together, and Zoro and Sanji are annoyed to see the other. Hiyori wonders if Sanji is Zoro's comrade, and X Drake enters his allosaurus hybrid form. Orochi expresses his anger at Zoro and Sanji getting in his way, and tells his samurai to kill them. Zoro hands Toko over to Sanji, and Shinobu tells Usopp and Franky that they need to retrieve Yasuie's body from being displayed on the execution platform. Nami and Robin think about where they should meet up after fleeing the Flower Capital, and to Sanji's shock, Zoro readies an attack against Orochi.

Remembering his first interactions with Yasu, Zoro unleashes spinning air slashes at Orochi, who freezes up in fear. However, Kyoshiro arrives and intercepts the attack with his sword, and as Sanji reprimands Zoro, Drake lunges at him in his full allosaurus form, forcing him to leap out of the way. Daikoku orders the samurai to shoot at Zoro, and he does nothing as Franky steps in and intercepts the bullets before overwhelming the samurai with Strong Right. The Rasetsu prisoners wonder what is happening as Franky takes Yasuie's body and Usopp, Nami, and Robin back him up from a distance. Meanwhile, Kyoshiro orders for Orochi to be taken back to his castle, and intercepts a charging Zoro to prevent him from reaching the shogun.

In the Prisoner Mines in Udon, Luffy cheers on his crewmates as he watched the broadcast of their rebellion. Queen then receives a report that two captured criminals have arrived at the mines, and Babanuki reveals that one of them is Kamazo, who has been left to their whims by Orochi after failing a mission, and the other one is Eustass Kid, whom they unexpectedly encountered on the way back. One of the guards reveals that Kid had rushed toward them, and did not provide any resistance when they shot him. Kid wonders why Kamazo, who is actually his crewmate Killer, is constantly laughing after having beaten up anyone who mocked his laugh and even masked his face to hide it in the past. Luffy is shocked to hear that this is Killer, and Hyougoro notes that the Supernova fell victim to a SMILE.

Kid and Killer are then strapped to chains by their ankles and briefly dunked into a tub of water. Queen then has their heads submerged again and starts the Sumo Inferno back up, saying that they will not be pulled out of the water until Luffy and Hyougoro die. Luffy gets mad at Queen and throws a punch at him, but Queen easily catches the punch and tosses it aside. He derides Luffy for thinking he has a chance to be victorious in this, and his subordinates grow worried at his cranky attitude, wondering if it is because he has not had any o-shiruko today. Luffy proclaims that he will decide where he dies when a sudden loud noise appears outside of the mines. Queen's subordinates reveal that they have lost all communication with the guards outside the gate as Big Mom, craving o-shiruko, reaches the entrance.

Chapter 945
Kurozumi Orochi eagerly orders his subordinates to apprehend all of Yasuie's allies and behead them as he is carried away from Rasetsu Town, and Roronoa Zoro continues trying to go after him, but Kyoshiro counters all his strikes and refuses to give up ground. Zoro wonders who Kyoshiro is, and the Orochi Oniwabanshu then arrive on the scene. Fukurokuju confirms Hawkins' report that these enemies are all the Straw Hat Pirates, and orders his ninja to make sure they at least capture just one of them to make them reveal information. One of them shoots bullets from her lute at Zoro, forcing him to quickly dodge. Sanji hands Toko over to Usopp while he takes on X Drake. Drake manages to hit Sanji with his allosaurus tail, sending him crashing into a house, and he recognizes Sanji as O-Soba Mask. He also reveals that he heard Sanji is a Vinsmoke, and Sanji shouts at him to never call him that again.

Meanwhile, Brook assures Hiyori that Toko is safe with their comrades as he once again scares off some of the Oniwabanshu with his Gashadokuro projection. However, Daikoku tells Fujin and Raijin to pursue Hiyori, as he had seen her with Zoro earlier. A short distance away, Trafalgar Law manages to blow his way through the fence and make it to the prison where his crewmates are, but Hawkins confronts him. Law notes that Bepo is missing, and Hawkins replies that they were not foolish enough to keep all their hostages in one place. He then says that Law cannot defeat him as he cuts his own arm, causing Shachi's arm to be cut in the same spot. Hawkins tells Law that he could not defeat him until he had killed his three subordinates. Hiyori screams as Fujin and Raijin attack her, and Sanji instantly locates her. However, Zoro suddenly comes, cuts Raijin, and races off with Hiyori, leaving Sanji aghast.

Just outside Bakura Town, Shutenmaru angrily attacks Kin'emon for framing him for robberies and causing Mt. Atama to be burned down. Inuarashi offers an apology, and Kin'emon reflects that his former comrade is right, as he had never taken the time to consider what he went through for the past 20 years and had only focused on the greater good of the upcoming fight. However, he does point out to Shutenmaru that Yasuie gave them the opportunity for their samurai allies to be freed, and they would likely come to their aid during the raid on the Fire Festival. He asks Shutenmaru again to join them in their fight, and in response, the bandit takes them somewhere to show them something.

In the Prisoner Mines, the Beasts Pirates receive reports that an intruder has broken through all three gates, and all of them are astonished that it is none other than Big Mom. Luffy is stunned as well, but Big Mom pays them no mind as she smells o-shiruko and calls Tama to come eat it with her. Tony Tony Chopper is shocked at the seeming presence of shiruko, and Kiku tells Tama and Momonosuke to stay behind while going with Chopper cautiously to infiltrate the prison. Inside, Queen is angered to hear Big Mom mention o-shiruko, wondering if she came to take his unknowingly nonexistent supply from him. Despite Babanuki's warning, Queen transforms into a brachiosaurus with the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Brachiosaurus and stands against Big Mom. However, this causes Big Mom to grow impatient with him, and she leaps up and slams his head into the ground with monstrous force.

Chapter 946
Immediately after slamming his head into the ground, Big Mom picks Queen up by the neck and swings him around, yelling at him to give her his o-shiruko. She then hurls Queen into a wall with monstrous force, and Queen crashes into the contraption holding Kid and Killer in the process, knocking them out of the water. While Luffy asks the duo if they are still alive, Queen's subordinates watch in shock as Queen transforms back into a human while lying in defeat. They then notice that the door of the cell holding Kawamatsu has been broken open, and ask Babanuki what they should do. Babanuki tells them to not provoke Big Mom until they receive orders from Kaidou, but his men reveal that their Smart Tanishis are not working.

In the Executive Tower, Raizo remarks that their plan is going smoothly thanks to the commotion outside and recollects the plan that Caribou hatched. Earlier, Caribou had revealed that due to the Smart Tanishi's weak signal, its transmissions had to go through a Boss Tanishi to transmit to other locations. Thus, they could prevent the Beasts Pirates' communications from reaching out of Udon by taking out the Boss Tanishi, and he knew where it was after having been in the prison for a while. With Caribou having successfully smothered the Boss Tanishi, Raizo sets his sights on freeing Kawamatsu.

Back outside, Big Mom finds Queen's pot of o-shiruko, and is entranced by its fragrance. The Beasts Pirates silently worry over what will happen to them when she discovers that it is empty, and start running away after she opens it. Big Mom falls into a silent depression when she sees the lack of shiruko, and Luffy sympathizes with her by inadvertently thinking out loud, as he would have liked to eat more of it as well. This causes Big Mom to realize he ate it, and she attacks him in a fit of rage. Luffy tries to get her to stop before she knocks him and Hyougoro out of the ring, and he attributes Big Mom not recognizing him to him wearing a kimono. Luffy and Hyougoro are forced to the edge of the ring, with another attack from Big Mom guaranteed to set their collars off. Some of the Beasts Pirates offer to help Big Mom kill the duo if she spares their lives in return, but Big Mom throws a rock at them, angrily saying that she dearly wanted the o-shiruko in order to share it with the Okobore Town citizens. Enraged at Luffy for preventing her from doing this, she attacks him and Hyougoro, sending them flying out of the ring. Intent on not letting Hyougoro die, Luffy manages to rip off their collars in the heat of the moment before they explode. Babanuki and Daifugo are left shocked as Luffy and Hyo land on the ground safely, and Luffy immediately sets off to escape, but Hyo stops him. Saying that Luffy could only progress his power when backed into a corner, he tells the pirate to protect him from Big Mom, putting his life at stake in Luffy's training to advance his Haki.

Chapter 947
Luffy recognizes that what he did to remove his and Hyougoro's death collars was the same technique that he saw Silvers Rayleigh use to remove Camie's exploding collar on Sabaody two years ago. However, since he used it in the heat of the moment, he is not sure how to activate it at will. Hyougoro notes that what Luffy just did was superior to what he had been trying to teach him, and so if Luffy could do that, he should be able to protect him from the attacking Big Mom. Luffy attempts to have his Haki flow through his hands, but Big Mom instantly overwhelms him and sends him and Hyougoro crashing into a wall.

Luffy worriedly apologizes to Hyougoro as he pulls him out of the wall, but Hyougoro reveals he used Haki to protect himself just in case. He tells Luffy that there is another step in concentrating and projecting Haki, which is the ability to destroy objects from the inside. This is what Luffy did to destroy their collars, so he is certainly capable of using advanced Haki, he has just not realized how to do it. Luffy and Hyougoro are then separated by Big Mom, who pursues Luffy into the neighboring Prisoner Iron Factory. The Beasts Pirates left in the Mines worriedly wonder how Big Mom can be stopped when Queen suddenly gets up. Having no intention of giving up, Queen tells his subordinates his plan, with the idea that Big Mom in her rampage would eventually circle back around to where they were.

After some time, Queen is proven right as Big Mom chases Luffy back into the Prisoner Mines, and he waits on top of a cliff in his brachiosaurus form. Big Mom sees the o-shiruko bowl left as bait on the ground and stops to look in it, and Queen takes this chance to dive on her, landing headfirst on her with his immense weight. However, Big Mom does not give way from the impact, and the force of the blow causes her to regain her memories and realize what has happened. She then recognizes Queen, and with her aura completely different from before, the Beasts Pirates have no escape from her wrath. However, Big Mom then falls asleep, and Queen immediately orders for her to be bound in pure Seastone chains and injected with their heaviest anesthesia. Queen has most of his subordinates accompany him and Big Mom on a ship heading for Onigashima, leaving Babanuki to lead the small remainder of the crew in restoring order to the prison. As Queen's ship sets sail, the prison gate starts closing, and Tama decides to slip inside along with the unwilling Momonosuke. With communications still cut off, Luffy prepares to take down Babanuki and his forces. When Babanuki thinks out loud that Luffy was now free, Luffy remarks that he had always been free and will now take over the prison.

Chapter 948
In the Prisoner Mines, Luffy excitedly takes on the Beasts Pirates rushing to attack him as he works to advance his Armament Haki at will. Kiku asks Chopper about rescuing Big Mom, but he has no intention of going after her and says that getting Luffy is more important. Some pirates ask Babanuki if they should round the prisoners back into their cells, but Babanuki says that it will not be necessary, instead ordering the prisoners to help them subdue Luffy. The prisoners obey his command, and Luffy wonders why they are doing this when he is trying to help free them. They reply that they enjoyed seeing him rebel against the prison authorities, but they had no hope that they could overcome Kaidou and Orochi, having tried and failed to rebel against them 20 years ago and losing everything in the process. Their despair was renewed after watching Yasuie's execution, and none of them believed they would find freedom outside of the prison.

Daifugo shoots a prisoner some distance away, causing his body to burn all over. The vice warden reveals that these are "Excite Bullets", made by Queen, which will cause burning sensations that can be spread by making contact with the skin of someone who is shot by one. Daifugo then prepares to shoot at Luffy's group, saying he can subdue Luffy by shooting any of the prisoners grabbing him. As Luffy wonders how he can get the prisoners on his side, Kawamatsu shouts out from inside his cell, encouraging Luffy to tell the prisoners about their hope. The Beasts Pirates wonder who is talking, and Babanuki reveals that he is one of the Nine Red Scabbards, whom Orochi had ordered to be executed painfully by being fed a poisoned fish every day. The Beasts Pirates rush in to kill Kawamatsu, when Raizo suddenly jumps out of the Executive Tower and glides into the clearing. As he flies by Kawamatsu's cell, he hurls the key to Kawamatsu's handcuffs inside as well as the Scabbard's sword, Soto Muso. After freeing himself of his handcuffs, Kawamatsu asks the pirates around him if they like sumo wrestling.

Kawamatsu then repels the pirates out of his cell with a single attack before charging out and attacking them again, overpowering them with his sword style Kappa-ryu. Ready to re-enter the Kouzuki Family's service, Kawamatsu reunites with Raizo and Kiku, and the former is shocked to see the latter here. Kawamatsu throws up all the poisoned fish he ate, and Babanuki orders his subordinates to get into battle formation as Kiku forces the prisoners off of Luffy. Hyougoro then approaches Raizo and Kiku and tells them to show who they really are, saying they need to put their full identities on display in order to win their support. Kiku puts on a mask, and is recognized by the prisoners as Kikunojo much to Luffy and Chopper’s shock. Babanuki remarks that this feels very much like what Orochi has been paranoid about, and says that he will need to contact Kaidou, but Kikunojo says that they will silence him and his forces first.

Chapter 949
The Beasts Pirates in the Prisoner Mine attack Luffy, Chopper, Hyougoro, Raizo, Kikunojo, and Kawamatsu, but are unable to hit them with any Excite Bullets. However, Daifugo tells them that it does not matter where they shoot, as he instead shoots at the prisoners. Luffy's group easily overwhelms the Beasts Pirates, and Raizo tosses Kid and Killer the ring of keys to hopefully free them from their handcuffs. The guards continue shooting the prisoners with the Excite Bullets, which causes a fever and painful hemorrhaging to spread throughout their body. The prisoners end up transmitting the virus to others through physical contact, and Daifugo reveals that the virus is named Mummy.

Luffy's group finds themselves surrounded by several infected prisoners, who continue going after them on Babanuki's command to avoid being labeled as traitors. The prisoners tell Luffy's group to leave, saying that they have no chance of defeating Kaidou and pointing out the immense suffering caused by one of Queen's viruses alone. They say that they would never have had to go through this if Luffy's group did not rise up. However, Luffy then wraps his arms around the group of infected prisoners, shocking everyone. As Mummy is transmitted to him, Luffy claims that it has no effect at all. He then points out that the prisoners were not living normal lives, but were simply slaves working for kibi dango. He says that even though he is an outsider, he made a promise to Tama to make Wano Country into a prosperous place where no one would grow hungry again. If he did not do this, then Wano would remain in its current condition. Since Oden is dead, Luffy's movement is all the hope that Wano has left. He then tells the prisoners to make up their mind to either join his side or Kaidou's.

Hyougoro is greatly impressed with Luffy's leadership, and to deal with the crowd all at once, Babanuki brings out an Excite Shell, a piece of ammo with 200 times as much virus as an Excite Bullet, and prepares to fire it with his elephant's trunk. Kawamatsu and the Beasts Pirates notice what he is doing, but right as the elephant is about to sneeze, Luffy ties up its trunk, having seen a dangerous future. The elephant then sneezes, engulfing Babanuki in the Excite Shell's explosion. As Babanuki falls to the ground, Luffy tells the prisoners he will leave the rest to them as he points to Daifugo. Daifugo desperately tries bringing up the consequences of going against a warden, but the prisoners disregard that as they are now rebelling. They proceed to overwhelm Daifugo, and with eight days to go before the final battle, Luffy's group has successfully conquered Udon without any outside enemies finding out.

Chapter 950
Luffy offers Kid to form an alliance against Kaidou. Kid rejects the offer by stating that he was betrayed by his former allies Basil Hawkins and Scratchmen Apoo, and they rather fight Kaidou by themselves. He also blamed the betrayal of his former allies as the cause of Killer's suffering after eating a faulty SMILE. Kid and Killer free themselves and leave the prison to find their other members.

Meanwhile, Raizo, Kawamatsu, and Hyougoro try to persuade the Udon prisoners to join the alliance and support their cause. However, doubt reigned among the prisoners as they learned that Luffy is a pirate and they are unsure if they can trust him. However, the trio defend Luffy by saying that there are different kinds of pirates in the world and Luffy is one of the better pirates. One of the prisoners also doubted Raizo having traveled 20 years later by saying that "he always looked like an old man".

At one of the prison rooms, Luffy rests while Chopper tries to find a cure for the Mummy virus. He was seen by Tama and Momonosuke. Momonosuke insults and complements Luffy at the same time but Luffy only insulted him in return. He gets offended and intends to attack Luffy but Tama restrains him to prevent further trouble as well as getting himself infected. Tama fails to do so and Luffy throws rocks at Momonosuke and tells him to leave. Momonosuke gets noticed by the prisoners and they immediately kowtowed upon learning that their lord is alive and well. The trio realizes that the prisoners only lacked motivation and proof to fight with them. Kawamatsu temporarily leaves the group as his objective in Udon has been completed and his help would be needed somewhere else.

Kin'emon, Inuarashi, and the Mt. Atama Thieves arrive at a graveyard in Kuri. Ashura Doji shows Kin'emon what happened during the twenty years he was absent. These were the remains of the Kouzuki retainers who attacked Onigashima 10 years past. This was in revenge of 10 years of suffering under Kaidou's rule, having taken everything from them. Ashura wept over the loss of his men and wonders why it has to take 20 years. Inuarashi and Kin'emon agreed that they will understand why once the primary objectives of their alliance have been completed. After that, Ashura gathered his men to seek vengeance on Kaidou and his crew on the night of the Fire Festival.

At a forest outside the Flower Capital, Zoro defeats a group of ninjas belonging to the Orochi Oniwabanshu in order to protect Hiyori. Zoro asks Hiyori if they can return to the bridge where Gyukimaru resides to retrieve Shusui. Hiyori says that she can take him there anytime and is worried more about Toko. Zoro replies that Toko would be safe in the other Straw Hats' hands and worries more about his sword since he needs it before the final battle as he feels incomplete without it. Hiyori says that the house is in Oihagi Bridge in Ringo. Afterwards, they talked about avenging Tonoyasu's death with Hiyori wishes to kill Orochi herself.

In the Flower Capital, Hawkins intends to interrogate a restrained Law about the Straw Hats' plans in Wano with Drake accompanying him.

Chapter 951
In the Flower Capital, Orochi is angered to hear that his attackers escaped despite the presence of Fukurokuju and the Orochi Oniwabanshu. Fukurokuju apologizes, but reveals that they did successfully capture Law, which he believes will cause the pirate alliance to fight amongst themselves. Fukurokuju then states that their samurai force, the Mimawarigumi, and more ninja are patrolling the streets vigilantly looking for the criminals, and an official puts up wanted posters, saying that anyone caught trying to help them or not trying to capture them would be immediately arrested.

Sanji and Shinobu sit on a rooftop, and Shinobu states that although they would not escape danger by leaving the Flower Capital, they did accomplish their main task here by finding the people with crescent moon symbols on their ankles. Although Yasuie's ploy did not result in them being released from prison, Sanji and Shinobu are still intent on breaking them out at all costs, and unbeknownst to them, the guards believe the prisoners to be innocent and Orochi to be delusional, although they are too afraid to publicly question the shogun. Sanji then notices some people making lanterns from afar, and Shinobu reveals that those are Sky Ships being made for the Fire Festival. Since the Fire Festival mourns those who have died, preparations are going strong due to the recent recognized deaths of Komurasaki and Yasuie.

At the outskirts of the capital, Nami is relieved to see Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin freed from prison, and they claim they escaped through luck. Bepo then gives Nami the Kouzuki Family's secret message, and she notices that Yasuie drew two lines on the snake to change the meaning for the prisoners. Nami decides to go tell Kin'emon this, and heads toward Amigasa Village. Bepo then recalls how he and his two crewmates were freed. Hawkins had them released after Law threatened to kill the three of them just to kill Hawkins, and Law was imprisoned in return. Hawkins released Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin's lives from his straw dolls, and Law told the three of them to not tell their allies about him being caught. However, in the present, the Heart Pirates are greatly concerned about their captain and decide to prioritize saving him over following the plan.

In Ebisu Town, Kanjuro takes Yasuie's body to give it a memorial service in Kuri, and he, Nami, and Franky ride off. Meanwhile, Usopp, Robin, and Brook are riding a boat to Kuri when they are stopped at a wharf for inspection. Usopp and Robin avoid recognition by distorting their faces, and the guards desire to let them through quickly due to fearing Brook's presence. As they sail on, Robin takes the sleeping Toko from Brook to give her warmth.

Meanwhile, Ashura Doji takes Kin'emon's group to Kuri's abandoned southwestern port, where he shows them several boats that Kaidou damaged during the first attack on Onigashima. He says that they should hold thousands of fighters, and Kin'emon and Inuarashi are ecstatic as the former plans for Franky to repair them.

On Onigashima, the Beasts Pirates race to make sweets for Big Mom, and frantically rush back and forth as she eats them at a fast rate. King, Queen, and Jack watch her during this, and Queen expresses his anger at King for his lack of thoroughness in attacking the Big Mom Pirates outside Wano. Jack in turn wonders why Queen brought her here, and Queen justifies this by revealing the communications in Udon were cut off. Big Mom then tells King that she will forgive him for attacking her if he joins her crew, as there are three races currently missing from Totto Land's population and he is a member of one of them. King refuses, and Big Mom asks for her chains to be removed, which Queen angrily rejects. However, Kaidou then arrives and orders for Big Mom to be released as he faces his former crewmate for the first time in many years. Kaidou's subordinates try to find a way out of his command, but he affirms what he said and they remove Big Mom's chains. Big Mom then activates Napoleon's sword form as Napoleon refamiliarizes itself with her, and she and Kaidou engage in a clash so powerful it splits the heavens above the island. Everyone else is left in complete shock in terror, with many of them believing they need to flee Onigashima.

Chapter 952
Two days after his first encounter with Gyukimaru, Zoro has returned to Oihagi Bridge and overwhelms the warrior monk in his quest to get Shusui back. After forcing Gyukimaru to the ground, Zoro asks why the thief steals the weapons of passersby and why he is so adamant about not giving Shusui off. Gyukimaru forces Zoro off of him and says that Shusui is the one blade he cannot let anyone take, as he believes its theft angered the Sword God and spelled the misfortune that caused Wano to become overrun by enemies. Kawamatsu then suddenly comes in and intercepts Zoro, calling the fight between him and Gyukimaru a farce. Hiyori immediately recognizes Kawamatsu and calls out to him, and Gyukimaru expresses shock at seeing him as well.

At Onigashima, Kaidou and Big Mom continue fighting unabated, having been doing so all night. Kaidou's subordinates get more and more afraid about the condition of the island, and wonder if they should flee. Queen berates them for their cowardice, but then asks if there have been any reports from Udon. Upon hearing that there is still no Tanishi signal, he decides to go and check on it, prompting questions from his subordinates about his hypocrisy. Suddenly, Queen receives a call on his Tanishi from Babanuki, who says that communications have been restored. Queen asks if he needs backup, and Babanuki says that there is no need, as Luffy, Kid, and all the prisoners have been put back in their cells. This disappoints Queen, as he wanted a reason to leave Onigashima. Back in the Prisoner Mines, Babanuki hangs up and is praised by Tama, who has tamed him with her power. Caribou looks forward to surprising the Beasts Pirates during the final battle. The freed prisoners thank Chopper for curing them of the Mummy virus and promise to repay him with their lives if necessary, although Chopper downplays his accomplishment and points them to the rejuvenated Luffy.

Hyougoro is then approached by the four regional yakuza bosses: Omasa, Tsunagoro, Cho, and Yatappe. The bosses are extremely happy to see him again and reverently promise to gather the remaining rebels from Wano's regions. Luffy laughs at their reverence and refers to Hyougoro casually, causing the yakuza bosses to angrily grab him with the intent to mutilate him. Hyougoro immediately tells them to stop, and the bosses head off, telling Luffy to be more careful in the future. Raizo then says that they can report all this to Kin'emon. At Port Itachi in Kuri, Kin'emon is ecstatic when Ashura Doji reveals the blueprints for Kaidou's fortress are in his possession. Kin'emon then receives a call from Raizo, who reveals to him that they have taken over Udon, freed both Luffy and Kawamatsu, and recruited 3,500 soldiers for the battle. However, he does point out that they still have an issue regarding finding weapons for the soldiers, as they are very hard to obtain due to Orochi's prohibition on them. Kin'emon then prepares to go back to Amigasa Village, telling Raizo to gather as much information as possible while he officially sets up a base of operations.

Back on Oihagi Bridge, Hiyori tearfully embraces Kawamatsu, being overjoyed to get the chance to see him again. She confesses that she ran away from him 13 years ago because he always gave the food to her, and she had hoped this would help him survive. Kawamatsu understands her reason, praising it as thoughtful. Suddenly, Gyukimaru notices a group of Beasts Pirates riding toward Oihagi Bridge, but one of them manages to shoot him before he can do anything. The pirates have come to reclaim all the weapons Gyukimaru stole from them, and they decide to kill Zoro's group as well. Zoro and Kawamatsu then draw their swords and take out the pirates in one fell swoop, and Zoro sees Gyukimaru running away again. As he runs, Gyukimaru says that he is so glad to see Kawamatsu alive and well.

Chapter 953
13 years ago, Kawamatsu received a note from Hiyori after she had run away from him, thanking him for everything he did and assuring him that she would be fine. Kawamatsu was distraught and ran all over Wano, unsuccessfully trying to find Hiyori. In the present day, Zoro chases after Gyukimaru, who runs into an abandoned town. Zoro struggles to keep up with the monk, but is able to follow his blood trail before noticing something. On Oihagi Bridge, Kawamatsu says that he and Hiyori should go on, and she asks him why he came here.

Kawamatsu replies that after searching for her 13 years ago, he had come here to commit seppuku. Ringo, like Hakumai, was once ruled by the Shimotsuki Family, with Shimotsuki Ushimaru ruling as daimyo with a komagitsune named Onimaru serving as his companion. Ringo has a burial practice known as the Eternal Grave, with the burial sites of the deceased being marked by their swords. Thus, the cemeteries frequently attract grave robbers. As Kawamatsu made his way into Ringo, he saw Onimaru chasing away some Beasts Pirates who were trying to steal the swords. Onimaru then collapsed from his wounds, and Kawamatsu was stunned to see that he had successfully protected the graves five years since Ushimaru died. Kawamatsu then bandaged Onimaru's wounds and gave him food to eat, helping him survive.

Afterwards, Onimaru went back outside to find Kawamatsu taking the swords from the graves, and he quickly became belligerent despite the kappa's pleas, ultimately biting his arm. Kawamatsu shook Onimaru off and revealed that he wished to collect the swords for the final battle against Kaidou, saying it was too early for the swords to rest and that they needed to be safeguarded against grave robbers. Kawamatsu was personally invested in accomplishing this task after failing to take care of Hiyori, but Onimaru only bit him again and refused to release his grip. Kawamatsu then shouted that the komagitsune could rip off his arm if he wished, but he would continue collecting the swords even without the arm. Onimaru released Kawamatsu's arm and licked the blood from his wound before sitting and watching, letting the kappa continue collecting the swords.

One day, Kawamatsu woke up to see Onimaru working to free a sword from a grave, and the komagitsune served as his companion from then on as they took the swords and built an underground room to store them in. At one point, they chased away some real grave robbers, and Kawamatsu disguised himself by wearing a cloth over his face and donning the alias of "Gyukimaru". After doing this for a while, he went into the Flower Capital to gather food and made a blunder, resulting in him being captured. In the present, Hiyori asks if he is here to see Onimaru again, but Kawamatsu does not expect him to be still around after 13 years. They catch up to Zoro, who reveals that Gyukimaru opened up a door before disappearing. Kawamatsu takes them through the door, where they enter an underground chamber filled with hundreds of swords. Kawamatsu contacts Kin'emon to tell him that they will be able to arm their allies, having Kin'emon send some forces to his location. Kawamatsu wonders if Onimaru was able to set this all up, but knows that a human had to have done all this. Back outside, Gyukimaru stands behind a house and transforms into Onimaru before walking away, content.

Meanwhile, Hiyori tells Zoro that he should give Shusui back to Wano. Zoro objects, but she tells him that she can give him a suitable replacement: Enma, a Famous Blade once wielded by Oden which gave Kaidou his lone scar.