The Name of the Sea

Garp leaves Water Seven on his own terms. "YOU'RE MY GRANDSON!!! THAT'S WHY I WON'T CAPTURE YOU ON THIS ISLAND!!!" he roars. He tells the Marines he will report that the Straw Hats got away, but someone objects, "THAT'S NOT AN EXCUSE AT ALL... LET'S JUST SAY, 'THEY GOT AWAY.'" Garp shrugs that he was only tagging along with Koby and Helmeppo anyway, and walks off. Luffy calls, "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? ALL YOU'VE DONE IS HIT ME," but Garp only says he still wants to be loved by his grandson. Nami and Chopper watch the selfish family logic and note that blood relation suddenly makes sense.

Inside the temporary quarters, the Straw Hats process what they learned. Sanji says, "HIS GRANDPA WAS LIKE A STORM..." and Nami admits, "I WAS REALLY SURPRISED ABOUT DRAGON. FROM THE HEREDITY, HE WASN'T JUST AN ORDINARY MAN." Sanji asks where Luffy is, and Chopper says he is outside talking with Koby and the other guy. Sanji wonders whether they are Luffy's friends too, while Robin quietly says, "IT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES... BUT IT WAS LUFFY WHO SAVED COBY." Nami, meanwhile, is at the swimming pool with Kokoro and the others, and Sanji instantly runs off shouting, "EEEH!? IS NAMI-SAN IN HER SWIMSUIT!? I'LL BRING HER SOME DRINKS!!"

Outside, Koby asks about the Straw Hats' route into the Grand Line. "SO, DID YOU GUYS ALSO GO OVER THAT MOUNTAIN TO ENTER THE GRAND LINE?" he asks. Luffy says no; they did not cross Reverse Mountain. Koby explains that Headquarters warships can cross the Calm Belts, though it is not one hundred percent guaranteed. Luffy remembers how dangerous the place was: "THERE ARE SO MANY SEA KINGS THAT ARE SEVERAL TIMES BIGGER THAN A WARSHIP IN THERE!!" Koby says the bottoms of the warships are patched with Kairoseki, stones that emit the same type of energy as the sea, so fish in the sea treat those ships as part of the water.

Koby continues the lesson while Nami listens from the pool and takes notes. "ENERGY OF THE SEA... I GOT IT!" she says. The Kairoseki lets ships pass above Sea Kings unnoticed, and Koby says, "MILITARY SCIENTISTS ARE DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB...!!" Sanji tries to enjoy the swimming pool, but Nami snaps that she is wire-tapping right now. The little exchange turns into worldbuilding: a technology hidden under Marine ships has changed how they travel through seas that terrified the Straw Hats.

Koby names the mind behind the technology. "THE MAN BEHIND SUCH AMAZING TECHNOLOGY IS NONE OTHER THAN DR. VEGAPUNK, THE MILITARY SCIENTIST," he says. Luffy recognizes the idea when Koby mentions the Devil Fruit he ate, and Koby explains that the transmission condition and ability of Devil Fruits, plus the technology to feed Devil Fruits to inanimate objects, are results of Vegapunk's recent work. Koby then looks back on the small world he once knew aboard Alvida's ship. He tells Luffy that until they met, he thought the sea he lived in was a small world, and jokes that if Luffy had not jumped out of the barrel that day, Koby would probably still be doing chores for Alvida.

Luffy and Koby laugh together, and Koby prepares to leave. Koby asks, "LUFFY-SAN!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE LATTER HALF OF THIS GRAND LINE IS CALLED...!?" He explains that people know the last part of the sea, beyond the Red Line, by one name. The answer hangs over the city: "THE 'NEW WORLD.'" It is the sea where people who will begin the next generation gather, and whoever conquers it will become the Pirate King.

Koby says he and Luffy should meet again in the New World. "LUFFY-SAN, LET'S MEET AGAIN OVER THERE!!!" he cries. "I'LL CAPTURE YOU NEXT TIME!!! I'LL BE MUCH, MUCH STRONGER!!" Luffy smiles and says, "THE NEW WORLD..." Koby answers that it is a sea where people who will begin the next generation gather, and Luffy answers with his own destination: "WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!!!" The promise turns their friendship into rivalry.

Koby's dream bursts out so loudly he embarrasses himself: "ONE DAY, I'LL BECOME A MARINE... A- ADMIRAL!!!" He collapses, stammering, "S-S-S-SORRY, I... GOT CARRIED AWAY." Luffy simply grins and says, "THEN YOU GOTTA BE ONE!! OF COURSE!!!" Koby asks if Luffy will fight him then, and Luffy answers as if it is obvious. Koby admits that when they meet next time, the Straw Hats will be stronger, so he and Helmeppo will be much, much stronger too.

Koby says seeing Luffy again makes his dream feel real just by speaking it aloud. Zoro asks, "ARE YOU STILL A CRYBABY, COBY?" but Koby is grateful: "I'M REALLY GLAD I GOT TO SEE YOU TWO AGAIN TODAY...!!" Then the Marines' farewell becomes a challenge. Koby, Helmeppo, and the others shout, "SO LET'S MEET AGAIN IN THE NEW WORLD!!! WE... WE'LL BE MUCH, MUCH STRONGER!!!" and promise to surprise the Straw Hats next time. Zoro dryly observes, "... LUFFY, DID YOU JUST... CREATE ANOTHER GREAT ENEMY?" Luffy only laughs: "SHISHI-SHISHI!! COBY'S A MAN OF HIS WORD. I KNOW IT."

Behind the Galley-La Company headquarters, the employee swimming pool becomes a feast ground. Sanji calls, "NAMI-SAAAN," and announces, "MIZU-MIZU-MEAT IS READY~~!!!" Kokoro swims in mermaid form, laughing, "NGAGAGA, IT SMELLS GWEAT!!" Nami relaxes by the pool, while Chimney, Gonbe, and Yokozuna splash around. After the heavy farewells and revelations, Water Seven fills with the smell of food, laughter, and the sound of people gathering.

The party swells. Sanji calls, "ALL RIGHT, EAT UP, GUYS!!!" while Luffy, Chopper, and Nami chew happily. Robin tastes the food and says, "YUP, IT'S DELICIOUS," while Sanji asks, "HOW IS IT, ROBIN-CHAN? DOES IT TASTE GREAT?" Luffy shouts for the Franky Family to come eat, and they charge in crying, "MY FAVORITE!! UHAH, BBQ!!!" Someone shouts for meat for Sodom and Gomorrah too, and the entire pool area becomes a banquet.

Galley-La workers, giants, the Franky Family, and the Straw Hats all crash the poolside celebration. People yell, "IT'S GALLEY-LA COMPANY!!!" "GIANTS--!!!" and "WUUOOO!! STRAWHAT! YOU'RE AWAKE!!!" Nami yells at everyone for charging into the swimming pool area, but the feast wins. Iceburg smells the food and arrives, and Luffy makes the final call: "IT'S A FEAST!!!" Sogeking announces himself like an entertainer: "HERE WE GO!! ENTRY NUMBER 1, SOGE-KING!!"

The celebration turns into a sprawling Water Seven party, with people flying, dancing, eating, and shouting through the streets. Yet at the edge of the noise, Robin suddenly hears a voice: "LISTEN AS I SPEAK... NICO ROBIN." She freezes, recognizing the speaker, while behind her the feast continues at full force. The page splits the mood in two: Water Seven roars with life, and Robin is pulled into a quiet, private conversation.

Robin sees Aokiji in the shadows and gasps, "AOKIJI...!!!" He asks, "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST RUN AWAY LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO? I'M SURE YOU COULD'VE RUN AWAY, EVEN FROM THE CP9, IF IT WERE ONLY YOU." Robin answers, "I COULDN'T LEAVE THEM," and Aokiji notes that she told him this time was different. He brings up Jaguar D. Saul, "THE GIANT WHO FOUGHT FOR OHARA 20 YEARS AGO," and says Saul was a very good friend. Because he respected Saul's will, Aokiji's duty is to observe what Robin does with her life and to let her get away from the island.

Aokiji admits he once thought Robin wanted to die, and most of all he thought she was still wandering even after twenty years, unable to find a place to harbor herself. He had intended to put everything about Ohara to an end this time, expecting CP9 would make her fall. Instead, Robin found an answer. He asks whether she finally found a place to harbor herself, and whether Saul's decision to let her live was correct. Robin answers, "YES." Aokiji says, "SHOW ME THE ANSWER," and Robin, still shaken, says, "... I INTEND TO..."

Aokiji leaves Robin with the command Saul once gave her: "... THEN LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST... OHARA... HASN'T FALLEN YET." Luffy calls from the party, "HEY, ROBIN!! LOOK, LOOK!! ROBIN, THIS WAY!!!" Robin turns back toward her crew, and Luffy grins with meat in his mouth. The moment is awkward and ordinary, but it gives the answer Aokiji asked to see: Robin has returned to the people she chose.

Far from Water Seven, in the Holy Land of Mariejoa on the Grand Line, the Gorosei receive emergency news: in the New World, one of the Yonko, Red-Haired Shanks, has broken through a military fleet and made contact with another Yonko, Whitebeard Edward Newgate. A messenger reports that Red Hair is asking to meet Whitebeard. The old pirate emperor hears it and answers, "AH... LET HIM... YOU'D BETTER BRING SOME GOOD BOOZE, BRAT." The chapter closes by turning from the Straw Hats' future to the movement of the world's greatest pirates.

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