The Last Lesson

Chapter 1088 begins with a flashback at the former Marine headquarters. Garp gives Lesson 1: imagine being on a boat that can only hold two people, with an old man and a baby also aboard, and asks what the Marine cadets would do. A cadet answers that he would get off the boat so the old man and baby could reach safety, but Garp roars that he is wrong and calls him a fool. When told it is better to leave the old man because he does not have long to live, Garp rejects the logic completely. He insists that the two younger lives have more future ahead of them, telling the cadets that the future of the youngsters is limitless and that all lives are equal. He still frames the lesson around protecting the people and making the baby live on.

Several weeks earlier on Amazon Lily, Marines beg Vice Admiral Garp to save them from Pirate Island because they do not know what the Blackbeard Pirates will do to them. Garp asks permission from the top brass but is told that they cannot act because the enemy is one of the Four Emperors. At Hachinosu, the pirates mock the Marines and ask why they should wage a full-scale war if the captive is only Koby the hero. Koby steps forward and offers himself instead: in exchange for releasing the eight hundred Marine soldiers and the battleship they are about to take, he asks the pirates to take him alone. The Marines are shocked, calling him Captain Koby and saying he cannot be serious, while Blackbeard laughs that Koby is badly overestimating his own value.

Back in the present on Pirate Island, Hachinosu, Marines panic as an enormous arm rises from the island itself and reaches toward the escaping battleship. They shout that there is a hand coming out of the island, while cannon fire proves useless: the shots do not even make a dent in it. As the giant hand bears down, the crew realizes it is impossible to evade and prepares to jump toward the sea with everyone on board. Kujaku orders them to protect the civilians, while other Marines call for every person to get to the deck. The page shows Avalo Pizarro's island-sized power turning the very ground of Hachinosu into a weapon, with the ship and evacuees trapped in its path.

Within Pirate Island, the scale of Pizarro's attack becomes clear. Marines ask what they should do, because if the gigantic hand comes down, hundreds of civilians and Marines will die. Garp, lying wounded but still smiling, tells them plainly that they can save everyone. He says he will create a quick opening and gives each young Marine a task. Captain Koby must destroy the island monster's hand. Rear Admiral Grus must protect the ship from the debris caused by that destruction. Lieutenant Commander Helmeppo must make sure no one gets in the way of those two. Koby doubts whether he can really do it against a thing that huge, but Garp's lesson is not a suggestion: he is ordering the next generation to act.

Garp warns the young Marines that they must be able to make a decision in a snap, and they answer, "Yes sir!" He leaps into motion, creating the opening himself despite his wounds. The pirates watching from the island mock Koby, calling him a so-called hero and just a brat. Others say the attempt is useless without Garp and that Koby cannot do anything. On the ground, Koby and Helmeppo run while Koby admits he does not have a bomb or any obvious way to destroy the hand. He starts to panic, saying he does not know what to do, but Helmeppo reminds him that Garp specifically said Koby would destroy it. The page builds the pressure around Koby's lack of confidence and Garp's absolute trust in him.

Koby stares at the enormous hand and tries to steady himself. He thinks about what he can do against a giant hand capable of crushing an entire battleship. Ahead of him, pirates shout that he will not escape, while Helmeppo keeps enemies away and tells Koby not to look back. Koby says he must hit it, but the path is crowded with attackers and panic. Garp's order echoes in the background: make sure no one gets in the way of those two. Helmeppo calls out to Koby and throws himself into the job of clearing the route, trusting Koby to handle the impossible strike. The page focuses on the split assignment working in real time: Helmeppo protects the attempt while Koby gathers courage for the punch.

Kuzan blocks Garp's path and asks where he thinks he is going. Marines worry about Garp's severe wounds, but Garp grins through the blood and says they are just flesh wounds. He admits he had been worrying about Kuzan, then calls him too naive and blasts forward with tremendous force. The shock of Garp's attack sends pirates flying and makes them cry out for Kuzan. SFX like wobble and drip drip show Garp staggering and bleeding, but his power is still enough to shake the battlefield. The page makes Garp's sacrifice explicit: while the younger Marines move to save the ship, he uses the last of his strength to hold off his former student and the Blackbeard Pirates.

Garp launches a huge attack called "Galaxy Divide" and smashes through the skull-shaped cliff face of Hachinosu, sending a massive shockwave through the island. The impact lifts Pizarro's arm and creates the quick opening Garp promised. Marines below shout that this is it, the arm has lifted, and ask what Koby will do. Pizarro reels, stunned that the blast came from a punch, while others cry out to Pizarro. Blackbeard's crew wonders why Garp is heading toward them and asks whether he even cares what happens to the ship. Garp's answer is in the action itself: he is betting on Koby, Grus, and Helmeppo to use the opening and save everyone.

Koby dashes toward the lifted arm and declares that he will answer Garp's expectations. Garp tells him to look closely at what he is about to do, while Pizarro grows furious and says he is really angry now. Helmeppo notices Koby moving, and the pirates laugh that being called a hero has gone to the brat's head. Garp observes that Koby has improved very quickly but always wraps bandages around his hands because they and his shoulders are full of wounds. The page cuts between the present danger and Garp's understanding of Koby's hidden effort: he can see that Koby's strength came from painful, obsessive training that almost no one else noticed.

A flashback reveals that Koby once quietly asked Garp not to tell anyone about his training. He called himself a normal person with no talent for fighting and said he would have to put in ten, no, one hundred or two hundred times more effort than anyone else. Koby trains brutally after everyone else is done, punching the battleship bag with blood-soaked hands. He says that if he trains harder he can become an outstanding Marine and protect everyone, even while crying that it hurts. Others ask Garp to look at Koby because he keeps training even at night, and Garp tells him enough. In the present, Garp laughs as Koby faces an "ant" against a "hand," recognizing the result of that relentless work.

Pizarro screams that Koby is dangerous and that everyone on the ship should get away from Hachinosu. He threatens that if the Marines escape to sea, Kuzan will freeze them and they will see terrible deaths, and if he cannot destroy the battleship then everyone will die because of him. Koby, sweating and gasping, decides that this is not good but that even if they escape, the sea is not safe. The Marines call for him to retreat, but Koby charges anyway. Pizarro swings the island hand down and asks what Koby is doing. Koby answers with a single devastating punch named "Honesty Impact," shattering the enormous hand while pirates and Pizarro scream in disbelief.

The shattered hand breaks apart above the ship, and Marines cry out for Captain Koby. Hibari calls him Koby-kun, while other Marines say Koby-senpai is amazing and incredible. Koby himself immediately worries about the debris, asking what they are going to do about it. Pizarro laughs in pain and disbelief, asking since when Koby had that kind of power. Grus then performs his assigned role and unleashes "Clay Nest," creating a huge lattice of clay to catch the falling rubble before it crushes the ship. The page completes Garp's three-part plan: Koby destroys the hand, Grus protects the ship from debris, and the Marines get a real chance to survive.

With the rubble stopped, Garp praises the young Marines, telling them, "Well done!!" and calling Koby incredible. Koby falls back exhausted, and the others call out to Helmeppo, who says he did it. The ship rocks but survives; the civilians shout in relief that Koby destroyed a hand the size of a mountain and thank the Marines for saving them. On board, the rescued people cry, "Thank you, Koby!" and ask whether Hibari is all right. Over the transponder snail, Tashigi reports that the mission to save Captain Koby has been accomplished, but adds that they now need to rescue Vice Admiral Garp so they can escape. The success is real, but the chapter keeps the focus on the price Garp is paying.

Garp orders everyone on the ship to get away from Hachinosu now. When they protest, he tells Prince to turn the ship back and says he will do something about himself. He insists the most important thing is that all of them are safe, and he sends them forward as a threat to all pirates. Surrounded by enemies, Garp calls the young Marines the future of the Marines while Blackbeard's commanders close in and Kuzan stands over him. Garp laughs even as ice and enemy weapons pin him down. The next day's newspapers announce the return of the young hero Captain Koby, the unknown fate of the legendary hero Vice Admiral Garp on Hachinosu, and the siege barricade incident at the future island Egghead by Emperor Straw Hat Luffy. The stage returns to the future island; end break, next week.

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