Ebisu Town

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The story turns back the clock a little and arrives in Ebisu Town, a settlement that lives off the leftovers of the Flower Capital. Even though the place is poor, laughter echoes out everywhere. When Tonoyasu returns, the people cheer, "Tonoyasu!" and "Oh! You're back, huh." Someone laughs, "Gyahahaha! I'm starvin' to death out here!" Another welcomes him with, "Yasu! Welcome back, but we still don't got any food!" Zoro stands beside him, puzzled by the mood. Tonoyasu explains it as if it were the simplest thing in the world: "Iyo! What an eye you've got, mister! Everyone does seem to be having fun, don't they? It's just that among all the animals on this green earth, the only one that can smile is man! Iyo! Makes ya feel like smilin', don't it?" Zoro, seeing poverty wrapped in laughter, thinks the atmosphere is very different from Leftover Town in Kuri.

The people of Ebisu Town crowd happily around Zoro and Tonoyasu. A child cries, "Mom! I'm hungry!" and another chimes in, "Me too!" A man laughs, "Dahaha! Ya don't need 'em anyway! There's nothin' to eat! I'm so nutrient deficient that my teeth are fallin' out!" Instead of despairing, everyone laughs. They notice Zoro's swords and ask, "He's got three swords in his belt! Tonoyasu! Who is this ronin?" Tonoyasu jokes, "Oi! Are you some kinda comedian! This is pretty funny! Wahaha! You're right! Three of 'em! And all of 'em are full length!" He also introduces himself proudly: "Oi, oi! I'm the one and only grand taiko drummer, you know!" When someone says he came back with the Ox-Three Boy, Zoro is only more confused, while the townspeople urge him, "Whatever you say! Look at this scary face! Come on now, smile! Something good happened to this town today!"

The townspeople explain the miracle that made them feast. Zoro asks, "Oxi-free?" and an old man tells him about the mysterious benefactor: "We don't know who he is or where he's from, but... he appears in the dead of night, at the third hour of the ox, steals money from the evil rich people of the capital, and scatters it around the longhouses of the poor district!" The people laugh as they say, "That's why we all went and bought a feast today!" and "They say fortune comes to a smiling family, don't they?!" One person says, "I wish I could thank him! Hahahaha! Who in the world is he, though?!" They spent the stolen money on clear water and drink, offering Zoro a glass: "Here, a glass! Have some, Mr. Ronin!" The poverty is still visible, but for one day the whole town drinks and laughs together.

Ebisu Town pulls Zoro into its strange code of happiness. A child says, "Yasu brought you here! So you must be a good person! Drink up! Everyone's got the right to have some!" Another assures him, "Your tummy won't hurt after, I promise!" and the people chant, "Clear water!" Zoro drinks, still trying to understand. The note explains that Ebisu is a god often depicted smiling, and the townspeople live by that idea. One man says, "If you don't smile, fortune'll never come your way!" Another tells Zoro, "It's yummy, isn't it? Soaks into ya! Come on, not that boring face again!" Tonoyasu says, "They call it the Ebisu smile, mister! That's why this place is Ebisu Town!" Zoro answers more soberly, "We ain't gonna lose to poverty! Even if we cry, we gotta smile! For good!"

At present time on Onigashima, Kaido's forces spot Big Mom's ship approaching from the southeastern seas. Guards shout, "They're approaching from the southeastern seas!" and "Shoot 'em full of holes! Don't you dare let her enter this country! That bloody hag!" Others panic because the Big Mom Pirates have tied ropes to the koi and are being towed in: "Who told them how to get up the waterfall?!" Kaido rages, "Big Mom's information network's the best in the business! Shut it! I don't care! We knew these idiots were coming! Sink them already!" But the ship keeps climbing through the surging water as Big Mom laughs, "Mamamama! Hahahahaha!"

The Big Mom Pirates climb the waterfall toward Wano. Perospero shouts, "It's no use! They're reflecting our cannon-fire!" Big Mom stands in triumph and announces, "Haaahaha haha! I'm here, Kaido! Just you wait, Straw Hat! Zeus! You're comin' back with me, too!" The crew behind her charges upward as the ship is formally shown as the Big Mom Pirates. They believe they are entering Wano, but the defenders see the danger: if Big Mom lands with her children and commanders, it will become all-out war. One of Kaido's men can only shout, "What are you idiots doing?! Don't let her in, damn it!"

The Big Mom Pirates reach the top of the waterfall. Their own crew is surprised: "She's actually going up the waterfall!" "We didn't expect this!" and "Are Linlin's little brats with her?! Quite a few, it seems!" Kaido shouts that if she comes ashore it will be war, but admits their defenses are not equipped to counterattack at the top of the falls. Big Mom commands, "Climb that waterfall!" as the koi drag the ship higher. Perospero marvels, "I never thought fish could climb a waterfall! It's hard to believe, perorin!" The ship crests the water, and for a moment it looks as if Big Mom has broken into Wano.

Before Big Mom's ship can safely enter Wano, King appears. He dives from the sky in pteranodon form, introduced as a Dragon-Dragon Fruit user, ancient type model pteranodon. With one violent strike, he kicks the ship off the waterfall. Kaido's men shout, "Lord King kicked them off!" while the Big Mom Pirates tumble back into the sea. One of them cries, "A pteranodon?!" Another yells, "Don't tell me-- King?!" Big Mom's invasion is stopped at the border, and the ship goes crashing down the falls with the crew scattered in shock.

Elsewhere in the Flower Capital, Law, Sanji, Usopp, and Franky run from the trouble caused by Sangoro's soba stall. Sanji complains, "Why do we have to run too?!" and Franky asks, "You knocked one out, didn't ya?" Law explains the stakes: "But the soba shopowner's the one they're after! No matter the pretext, if any of you are found, they'll turn the whole island upside down looking for everyone else! That's bad! Nami and Robin will be in danger!" Usopp snaps at Law's dryness, "You're insane! Luffy would never say something like that!" Law answers, "I'm a bit drier." Then he orders everyone to stay silent: "Everyone! If they catch you, don't you dare say a word about the samurai or the minks! Die without divulging a single secret!"

Usopp panics at Law's orders, shouting, "You're officially the worst captain ever!" Law presses the point: "A single wound could reduce our strength at the final battle! Don't fight now! If you're 100% sure you can win!" Shinobu objects to the plan: "What about hiding our faces and then fighting?" and Sanji is suddenly distracted when he realizes, "A lady?!" Shinobu cries, "Kyaaah!" and another voice asks, "What the hell is wrong with you two?!" Usopp insists, "Are you serious?! Fine, I'll just protect you!" Before they can settle anything, Page One smashes a house through the street. Sanji looks back and asks, "What's going on?!" as the whole street shakes.

Page One's dinosaur form tears through the Flower Capital while civilians scream, "Stop it!" and "We've got nothing to do with this!" The Kyoshiro men threaten the people anyway: "Our shop... we'll be kicked out of the capital!" and the civilians cry, "Yes, we sell soba, but..." Page One, chewing on a noodle stall, asks, "Yer a soba stall?" The enforcers demand, "Tell us where the other soba stalls are! Or scream out 'Sangoro' as loudly as you can! Call out for the idiot that raised his hand against the Kyoshiro Family!" Another shouts, "Sangoro! Get out here, damn it!" The strategy is clear: destroy innocent shops until Sanji reveals himself.

The townspeople call out, "Sangoro! Get out here!" and "Come out, Sangoro! Take responsibility for what you've done!" while Page One threatens to "eat some fruits next" if the coward never shows himself. Civilians plead, "Stop, please! We've got nothing to do with this either!" and one thug says, "Then bring him out! Sangoro the soba seller!" Sanji can no longer watch. He launches himself across the street and announces, "I'm right here!" He kicks Page One hard enough to knock the dinosaur back, drawing shocked cries from the crowd and stopping the destruction for the moment.

The people recognize the man who stepped forward: "It's him! Special soba Sangoro! He really showed up!" Page One groans, "Nnggh..." as another voice reports, "Yes, Page One here. Target confirmed, 6th Street, 2nd District!" Law realizes Sanji has exposed himself and moves to leave: "Roger. On my way." He tells Sanji, "Hihihi! So here you are. Don't waste my time." Sanji answers the dinosaur's challenge while Law warns, "What are you doing, Sangoro! Don't fight him! Once Drake and Hawkins get here, it's curtains! Thankfully this guy doesn't know who I am." Sanji shrugs off the warning and says, "Damn you! What took you so long? I'm finished!"

Sanji decides to handle Page One before help arrives. He tells the others, "I can deal with an idiot like this before you know it! And I won't let him find out! Or let myself get hurt!" Law recognizes the logic even while the situation is risky: "Increasing our strength is a good idea." Usopp cheers, "Go on ahead, guys!" and Law adds, "But reducing theirs ain't bad either!" Sanji pulls out the Germa raid suit canister, the power of science he once hated so much, and says, "It's fine as long as they don't find out, right? Who I really am." The chapter ends with Sanji ready to use the enemy technology he despises in order to protect his identity and fight Page One.

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