Under Siege

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News races around the world. In Foosha Village in the East Blue, people hear that Garp is missing in action on Pirate Island and ask what that means, since the report does not say he is dead. Makino reassures everyone that there is no need to worry about him because the mayor is right and Garp is a living legend. Dadan and the mountain bandits panic anyway, shouting about Garp and Luffy and asking what they are doing. Makino holds her baby and says that, like Garp, Luffy is causing trouble on a large scale, while the baby recognizes Luffy's face from his wanted poster. The villagers' fear over Garp is paired with their anxious affection for Luffy.

Across the world, people are hit by an enormous earthquake and tsunami. In the East Blue, civilians cry out "Earthquake!" as buildings shake. In the South Blue, people shout that it is a tsunami and tell everyone to get to higher ground. In the West Blue and North Blue, ships and towns are tossed by violent waves while people scream that this is a big one. The narration explains that no earthquake in recorded history matched the one felt that day, and that it caused untold destruction across the entire world. The page shifts the chapter from personal news about Garp and Luffy into a global catastrophe.

The Grand Line also suffers the aftershock. People ask what is happening and no one can determine the epicenter, so the significance of the geological event goes unnoticed. The narration reveals what the people do not understand: a kingdom known as Lulusia was erased from the map only six days earlier. Where the kingdom once stood, observers find no trace, only a massive hole in the sea like a circular waterfall. They cannot sail any closer and say it does not look as if the hole will collapse in on itself. The ensuing earthquakes caused the global sea level to rise by approximately one meter, linking the disaster to the disappearance of Lulusia.

Many of the world's shores are swallowed by the rising sea. People shout that the tide has never been this high before and ask whether it will ever recede. Some islands are submerged entirely, while reports of flooded islands keep coming in. Civilians cry that everything is flooded, that they cannot stay, and that there is even a shark in someone's house. Another person notes that it should not be high tide yet, while a fisherman says he is sure to get a big catch on a day like this before someone warns him that going fishing now would be suicide. The page shows the sea-level rise turning ordinary coastlines into disaster zones.

The story moves to Egghead, the island of the future in the New World. Sea levels have risen worldwide, and a Marine reports that they are at a loss. A massive force has surrounded the island, possessing more than enough firepower to put a Buster Call to shame. The fleet consists of over one hundred ships of various sizes and classes, including twenty great warships, and a total of thirty thousand Marines. Mechanical Sea Beasts and armed vessels churn the waters around the Frontier Dome. The narration frames Egghead as completely besieged, with the Navy committing an overwhelming force against the Straw Hats and Vegapunk.

The Egghead operation is spearheaded by nine Navy Headquarters vice admirals. The battlefield begins with chaos as a Marine yells at his uncle not to lay a hand on the weaponized Sea Beasts, while another shouts that the enemy started it. The page introduces the vice admirals as the command layer of the assault, showing several of them in close-up with stern expressions and Marine caps. Their presence makes clear that this is not a small pursuit force but a large, coordinated World Government attack. Around them, warships and Sea Beast Weapons crowd the water as the Navy prepares to crack Egghead's defenses.

Admiral Kizaru, Borsalino, is aboard the fleet and eats while Sentomaru stands before him. Kizaru says Sentomaru is making the fight uneasy for him and asks whether they can just surrender. Sentomaru refuses, saying they will be ready if Kizaru tries something like that again. He explains that Grandpa Punk based the Pacifistas' lasers on the research Kizaru did on his powers, and another person calls the technology cool. Sentomaru cannot believe Kizaru is here to kill Vegapunk, but Kizaru answers that no one can protect a man from his own choice to research the Void Century. He calls himself only a cog in the machine, making his loyalty to orders clear despite his personal history with them.

Kizaru says the fight is not exactly in their best interest because everything they break is a net loss, but he assumes Rob Lucci and the others failed to complete their assassination mission. Sentomaru replies that this is thanks to the Straw Hats. Inside a certain warship, the Five Elder Planet Saint Jay Garcia Saturn sits hidden and orders the Marines to make sure no one knows he is present. Vice Admiral Doberman reports that they have not heard from Cipher Pol 0 about whether their mission succeeded, but based on Sentomaru's resistance they can draw conclusions. Saturn listens while the Navy prepares to act without full knowledge of what is happening inside the island.

A status chart summarizes the forces and targets inside Egghead. It is assumed that Dr. Vegapunk and his six satellites are in the Labophase, along with the four Seraphim assigned to protect them. The Mugiwara Pirates are also believed to be there, with Emperor Straw Hat Luffy and ten crew members. The Navy also counts CP0 members Rob Lucci, Kaku, and Stussy among the advanced guard. Other Cipher Pol agents are believed to be present in the Fabriophase, but the report says they appear to have been captured by Sentomaru and his battalion of Mark III Pacifista. The page lays out the siege as a layered standoff: Labophase above, Fabriophase below, and the Navy encircling both.

The Navy says the Frontier Dome is currently at 100 percent, so they can be certain nobody can enter or leave the Labophase. Unfortunately, they have no way of knowing what has happened inside the dome during the last day or so. Saturn asks where the researchers and workers of Egghead have gone, and Marines explain that they evacuated yesterday and that their ships have been tracked and confirmed. Saturn immediately orders that the ships be sunk if the evacuees might know something. A Marine then adds one more issue: Jewelry Bonney, the glutton, was reported on the island too. Saturn says they no longer have any use for her, but given that she is just a little girl, they can leave her be.

The Navy picks up a long-range transmission from Egghead. On Mary Geoise, the Holy Land of Mariejois, a transponder snail rings in the Room of Authority, where the Five Elders are gathered. The Marines realize that because Admiral Kizaru has a black transponder snail on his left arm, they can listen in. The call is from York, who bluntly tells the Five Elders that they are rude and asks why they are trying to kill her too. The sudden transmission shifts the entire operation: the traitor inside Egghead is calling the World Government directly, unaware that the Navy fleet can hear what is being said.

York complains that she went out of her way to tell the Five Elders about Stella's betrayal. The Elders challenge her, saying she did that, but she is Vegapunk just as much as Stella is. York argues that if she had any interest in the Void Century, why would she blab about it. One Elder concedes that this makes sense, while another asks what happened to the Straw Hat Pirates and whether CP0 paid her a visit. York says that since she is the one calling, they should take a wild guess, and asks whether they realize she has the Seraphim under her control. She frames her survival inside the island as proof that she still holds leverage.

Saint Jay Garcia Saturn asks whether York is trying to wage war on a little old man with the entire fleet buzzing around the island. York cries that Straw Hat Luffy is there and that he is going to kill her, but one of the Five Elders instead asks whether she can replicate the Mother Flame alone. York says that, as a matter of fact, she has had a change of heart and may be able to. She tells them they will have a deal if they promise not to lay a finger on her or her laboratory, and says she still wants to become a Celestial Dragon. The Elders agree in principle, but York says there is one more thing she needs them to do first.

York suddenly breaks down and screams for help, crying that Straw Hat Luffy is here and will kill her. She begs the World Government to save her and crush the psychos around her. The Five Elders, Saturn, and Kizaru react in shock as the truth becomes clear: the grand conspiracy has been foiled and the crew is all together. Inside Egghead, the Straw Hats, Vegapunk, Bonney, Stussy, and even the restrained CP0 agents are gathered in the same room. Luffy casually eats while holding York as a human shield and asks whether that means they are under siege. Usopp says they can use her to get away, Nami says everything is finally coming into focus, and the others stand ready. The chapter ends with the Straw Hats having turned York's call against her. Break next week.

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