The Treasure Ship of Provisions

The chapter opens outside Okobore Town in Kuri, where the cries of hunger are constant. Someone wails, "Waaaah, waaaah!! I'm huuunggry!!" and another voice says, "It sure is noisy in town..." Tsuru scolds the hungry child for looking unsightly and says a man who hails from Wano must never show weakness, but the child's hunger keeps spilling out. A worried person runs to Tsuru and asks, "O-Tsuru!! Do you have any jyagan grass?" because the child could not endure hunger and drank the river water. The scene immediately returns the story to the core problem of Wano: ordinary people are starving so badly that even children risk poison for water.

Deep within Bakura Town, at the Paradise Farm, harvest time is underway. Workers load crates of fruit, vegetables, and barrels while an overseer orders, "Fill up two of the harvesters!!" The farm is abundant, clean, and carefully managed, completely unlike Okobore Town outside. One laborer begs for more because his family cannot survive the rest of the week with only what he has, but the official tells him, "Don't talk back to me!!" Another order follows: "Leave immediately out the back gate! Go back to Okobore Town!!" The payment is only "Fi-five silver...!" The page shows the cruelty of the food system plainly: safe food exists in huge amounts, but the poor are allowed only scraps.

At the farm gate, the Beast Pirates Headliner Speed arrives, a Horse Smile user with a tall centaur-like body. She orders, "Open the gates!!" and announces, "We've got a great assortment of yummy food today too!! Hihin!" The gatekeepers hurry to welcome her, saying, "That's right, Master Speed. Please take a look. The food is over here!!" Speed says she is already looking at it because her field of vision is 350 degrees, then laughs that this is just what one would expect from a horse. Her smile is broad and horse-like as she asks, "Is that so?" The page frames Speed as an officer who can freely enter the abundance denied to the hungry town.

A fire bell rings through Bakura Town. O-Kiku hears it and asks, "Is that the fire bell?" People rush through the streets shouting, "Fire!! Fire...!!" and "Get out of the way!!" Ladders rise, buckets are passed, and someone orders, "Team one will handle the fire!!" Speed arrives near the destruction and sees the chaos around Holdem's house. She asks, "This is Master Holdem's house!!" and another person says, "What's with that path of destruction!?" Speed realizes the disaster is coming from the direction of the commotion and says she can already see it. The rescue of Tama has now set the whole official district into emergency motion.

Luffy, Zoro, and O-Kiku stand before Holdem's ruined house while Tama is trapped in the jaws of the lion on Holdem's stomach, Kamijiro. Holdem laughs from above, and Tama cries, "Big broooo!!!" Luffy demands, "You said you're gonna save her!? And how exactly do you plan on accomplishing that, eh!?" The lion growls that he "will rip her to pieces!!" while Tama screams. Luffy and Zoro stare up at the hostage situation, with O-Kiku beside them on Koma-chiyo. The layout makes the danger clear: Tama is not merely locked away, she is being held in the mouth of Holdem's living stomach, where one wrong move could crush her.

Tama calls for Luffy and Koma-chiyo while Luffy tries to calm her: "Let Tama go!! I'll beat that lion up if you don't!!" Holdem laughs and asks whether they know about the girl's ability. He says they are going to hold everyone hostage so they can lure out Shutenmaru, the leader of the gang of thieves. O-Kiku recognizes the name, and Holdem accuses the Atamayama thieves of being responsible for the theft at the farm. If they defeated someone as strong as Urashima, even by luck, then they must be one of Shutenmaru's top subordinates. Holdem has mistaken Luffy's group for thieves tied to a larger rebel force, and Tama becomes bait.

O-Kiku warns Luffy, "Luffytaro... whatever you do, don't make him angry." Luffy is confused because Holdem is already furious, but O-Kiku explains that they must avoid making him angrier because he is strong. More importantly, the people of the town fear the one who backs him. O-Kiku names him: Jack the Drought, the true ruler of Kuri, one of Kaido's most trusted warriors and a formidable member of the Beast Pirates. Luffy and Zoro realize he is the same Jack whose ship was sent to the bottom of the ocean by the elephant Zunesha. O-Kiku asks if they are talking about animals, and Luffy says he was sure Jack and his ship sank.

O-Kiku explains that they witnessed Jack's maritime accident, but there is no way he is dead because he was spotted in the area a few days ago. If they anger Holdem, then Jack, a Calamity, will come to take revenge and the town will become a wasteland. A townsman grumbles that the people of the town are basically hostages too. Holdem shouts down at them to hurry up and try to rescue Tama, but warns that the moment they move, she will be ripped to pieces. Tama cries that it hurts, and Luffy explodes, "Stop it, you bastard!!" The scene traps everyone between urgency and fear: save Tama now, or risk bringing Jack's destruction down on the town.

Holdem laughs that Luffy is not bad and says he loves the sorrowful screams of inferior commoners. The commotion is interrupted by the arrival of Speed's treasure ship of provisions. The citizens cry, "Yahoo!! It's Master Speed's treasure ship of provisions!! Today's food is here!!" The enormous load rolls into town, piled with food from the Paradise Farm. Luffy stares and asks, "What's with all the commotion, Holdem?" while others cheer for Master Speed. The contrast is sharp: Tama is being tortured over her power, Okobore is starving, and a mountain of clean food rolls past for the officials and Beast Pirates as if it were ordinary tribute.

Luffy looks at the provisions and realizes what they are: safe food, all grown from the pure, clear water at the Paradise Farm. He is stunned by how much there is, asking why only these people get to have it. Zoro tells him to rescue Tama while he takes care of the ones who die, and O-Kiku apologizes because her request to make a stealthy rescue has turned into a steal-and-run. She thinks he will surely get angry, but says it is better than sending him flying away somewhere. Luffy, however, is already thinking beyond one rescue. The food itself has become part of the target, because it belongs to the people being starved outside the gates.

At Bakura Town near the main gate, Hawkins arrives and looks for Holdem. His men report that Holdem is dealing with a problem in the plaza in the fourth district. Hawkins says he will have to ask Basil Hawkins to stop right there, because the situation is getting dangerous. He reflects that the enemy knows who they are, so he needs to get rid of him, while another figure watches from the shadows. The arrival of Hawkins tightens the battlefield from another direction. Luffy is in front of Holdem, Speed's provisions are in town, and Hawkins is entering the district, turning a rescue into a multi-front confrontation.

Law, hidden under a basket hat, steps into Hawkins' path. Hawkins recognizes that the woman has been chosen and tells Law to come forward, but Law answers that he does not need all three hostages. He says, "Let's go ahead and execute one of you right here and now!!" Hawkins' men flinch as Law draws his sword. The clash is quick and controlled: Law cuts through the group, and Holdem's side suddenly realizes someone has interfered. A man shouts, "Huh!? Where'd the girl go!?" The rescue begins before Holdem understands it. Law has created the opening, removing Tama from the hostage position while the enemies are still processing the first strike.

Tama suddenly appears in Luffy's arms, and Luffy tells her, "We're gonna make a run for it, Tama!! Sorry for taking so long!!" Koma-chiyo barks in surprise, and the enemies ask when Luffy got there. Holdem screams, "Kamijiro!! What the hell are you doing?!" while another order rings out: "Go get the girl back!!" Law slashes through pursuers, and O-Kiku rides with Koma-chiyo. She cries out that it is a komainu, while someone shouts, "Dog!! This way!!" The battlefield collapses into motion. Tama has been snatched from the lion's jaws, and the group now has to escape the town with the child alive.

Luffy tells Zoro to head straight out of town, while Zoro calls back, "Zorojuro!!" Tama is safe in Luffy's arms but asks what happened to his cheek. Luffy says he is fine and explains that Holdem only pinched his cheek with pliers. Even though Holdem would not be able to get any kibidango using them, the detail enrages Luffy. Holdem answers with fire, opening the lion's mouth and roaring, "Lion Fire!!" A blast shoots toward them. Luffy turns, recognizing the insult and pain done to Tama, and the word "pliers" becomes enough to push him from escape into punishment.

Luffy launches his answer at Holdem. He strikes with "Red Hawk!!!!" and the flaming punch crashes through the lion fire and into Holdem. The impact blasts him back while Tama calls, "Big bro! I'm..." and Luffy says, "I feel you've already saved me!!" Holdem shouts for Kamijiro Sword, but Luffy's blow lands first. The chapter ends with Holdem burning and tumbling from the strike, while Luffy has rescued Tama and taken revenge for the pliers. The treasure ship of provisions remains in play, and the rescue has become a direct attack on the officer who abused her.

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