Summary:
Before going to Whole Cake Island, Jinbe consulted with his crew about leaving to join the Straw Hat Pirates. His crew supported him, but Aladine’s wife and Big Mom’s daughter Charlotte Praline warned him that no one who tried to leave her mother’s crew made it out alive. Back in the present, Big Mom takes Jinbe to her castle and he seems fine as she leaves, but then says that she will have to lose something in return. He then draws a roulette wheel to determine what he will lose.
As night falls, the Sanji Retrieval Team becomes stranded in the mizuame sea. As they attempt to break free, Pedro reveals that he once sailed with the Pekoms as explorers looking for the Poneglyphs. However, he met his defeat here, though he is now willing to return, knowing how much Inuarashi and Nekomamushi think of the Straw Hats. He now wants to help the Straw Hats get to Big Mom’s Road Poneglyph and offers to sneak in and get it while the others rescue Sanji.
The next morning, the team finally reaches Whole Cake Island. He approaches the shore and is shocked to see Sanji standing on it.
Several children gather around Moscat’s body and cry out in grief, but are chased away when two black misty beings approach. As some of the soldiers placed Moscat’s body on a stretcher, Mont-d’Or told the beings to collect every last second from him. The child asks Mont-d’Or if Big Mom will kill Jinbe like Moscato, but Mont-d’Or can’t answer because he knows no one is safe if he angers her.
Meanwhile, Jinbe and Big Mom are about to enter her castle, and Jinbe remembers what happened a few hours ago when he summoned all the Sun Pirates. Jinbe told his crew that he wanted to join the Straw Hat Pirates because he believed that Luffy had the best chance of becoming the Pirate King. The Sun Pirates supported his wish as they had heard Jinbe talk about Luffy repeatedly over the past two years. They thanked Jinbe for his years of service to them and their kingdom and said that he should have the opportunity to do something for himself one day. Jinbe was shocked by their words and bowed in gratitude, but one of the crew pointed out that Big Mom might not take Jinbe’s departure so well. The Sun Pirates were prepared to flee from her if things took a turn for the worse, but they were interested in Aladdin because of his marriage to Big Mom’s daughter Charlotte Praline. Praline overheard their conversation and angrily confronted her husband, believing he was planning to leave her. However, Aladine denied this and Praline gave him a loving hug as she declared that she would leave her mother behind and go anywhere with him. Jinbe apologized to Wadatsumi for leaving him so soon, but Wadatsumi was fine because he liked the Sun Pirates. Jinbe then asked Praline if anyone had left Big Mom’s crew before, and Praline replied that people had tried before, but no one had successfully left alive. Back in the present, Jinbe talks to Big Mom in her throne room about abandoning her crew. Big Mom seems receptive to his request, but then states that in return for having to lose a good subordinate like him, he will have to lose something important in return. She then pulls out a roulette wheel to determine what Jinbe will lose, much to his shock.
That night, the Sanji Retrieval Team got stuck in a sea of mizuame that solidified around their ship, preventing it from moving. The team is forced to melt it down extremely slowly with torches, unwilling to wait for dawn due to the possibility that the horde of giant ants they defeated earlier will return and eat their ship. Pedro reveals that his ship was once eaten by these ants, and the Straw Hats wonder what he was doing here in the past. Carrot then reveals that Pedro used to be a pirate with Pekoms, and Pedro clarifies this, explaining that the two were sailing as explorers in search of Poneglyphs for the Zou ruler. But they still received bounties on their heads, and Pedro accompanied Pekoms only halfway, for it was here that he met his defeat five years before. The Straw Hats are surprised that he would come back here, but Pedro reveals that he is determined to help them since Inuarashi and Nekomamushi showed them the Road Poneglyph on Zou. The only other foreigner they showed it to was Gol D. Roger 26 years ago. The Straw Hats saw the Road Poneglyph because it resembled Lord Roger, so the Norse believed they were on their way to becoming the Pirate King. Pedro points out that getting Big Mom’s Road Poneglyph is a must to reach the Laugh Tale, and offers to go in and get it while the others rescue Sanji. Luffy offers to help them, but Pedro encourages them to focus on their goal, and his determination pleases the team. However, the ants gain consciousness and attack the team, trying to overpower the giant insects and protect Sunny.
The next day, Sunny is floating again and the team wakes up nursing injuries from the battle with the ants. However, they get excited when they see Whole Cake Island right in front of them and they sail ahead to the coast, which Pudding told them was the only unguarded landing point. As they approach the island, they are suddenly surprised to see Sanji standing on the shore.