Summary:
Now that Rebecca has reached the flower field, Leo leaves with Kabu to rescue Mansherry. Rebecca stays waiting for Luffy, but her brief respite turns to horror when she sees her mother’s killer, Diamante, in front of her. Gladius first attacks with several rupturing balls sent at Luffy, but Bartolomeo blocks them with a large barrier, which he then transforms into a long staircase towards the 4th level.
Sabo’s fight with Fujitora continues as the admiral creates a horizontal gravity force that pushes Sabo back. Sabo, on the other hand, wonders if the admiral is hiding something.
As Luffy climbs the stairs, Gladius attacks him again, but Bartolomeo counters it, leaving him injured. Robin thanks him for helping Luffy, as the Straw Hats have always known Luffy as their trump card. Cavendish stays behind to stop the nutcrackers while Kyros advances to level 4.
In the flower fields, Rebekah’s group makes it while she takes care of Robin, but Leo assures her that she and the crew are strong. Leo says he has to go save Mansherry and asks Rebecca if she’ll be okay on her own. He says it will be fine that Luffy and his friends will be in the fields any minute. As Leo and Kabu leave, Rebecca notices that her father is also outside. Just then, there is a noise in the fields as a figure rises from the dense flower field. The figure is revealed to be Diamante, who smiles at Rebecca’s sudden appearance, while Rebecca is horrified by his presence.
On level 3 of the Royal Palace Plateau, Gladius fires several Rupture Balls at Luffy’s party, but Bartolomeo blocks them with a barrier. He then uses the barrier to create a staircase and excitedly tells an excited Luffy to use it. Luffy thanks Bartolomeo and the latter reflects on the fact that he adores the former and thanks him for his mere existence.
Elsewhere, the fight between Fujitora and Sabo continues. The Admiral questions Sabo about his goals, but Sabo knows that he is not serious. Fujitora asks Sab to sympathize with him since he is blind, but the Revolutionary says that he will not treat him any differently than any other enemy. Declaring that he must keep his title, Fujitora decides to be serious and launches Gravity Sword: Fierce Tiger, which creates a gravitational force that pushes everything to his left. Sabo rushes to attack Fujitora, thrilled that he was able to take the admiral seriously, while wondering what his real plan is. Fujitora is able to counter his punch and says that if Sabo wants to play this “game” against him, he must be prepared to lose his life if he loses.
In the flower fields, Diamante explains that the top managers are guarding the palace and think no one can get to them, but is surprised to see Rebecca. He laughs with delight when he sees Rebecca while she can’t say anything too horrified by Diamante’s appearance.
Luffy picks up the still handcuffed Law and runs up the stairs, but the nutcrackers try to climb the sides and block them. However, Kyros charges forward and chops their heads off at their mouths before continuing forward up the stairs first. Cavendish tells the three that he will take care of the rest of the Nutcrackers while they go forward, citing his desire to avenge Farul as the reason.
Suddenly, Gladius throws several balls at the stairs, but Bartolomeo blocks them, this time using his body instead of barriers. Cavendish angrily asks him why he didn’t use barriers, but Bartolomeo explains that the surface area of his barriers is limited and the stairs took it all up. He states that he would gladly do anything for Luffy, even give up his life. Cavendish is angry, but says he will fight alongside the fighter until he can use his barriers again. Suddenly, the Nutcracker tries to attack Bartolomeo, but Nico Robin quickly ends it with a Cinco Mano: Spank without looking. Robin empathizes with Bartolomeo and says that Luffy was worth risking their lives for, before declaring that he is the winning trump card. As Robin makes his statement, scenes of various allies and crew members in the middle of their battles are shown. Robin then uses Mil Fleur: Gigantesco Mano, which surrounds Gladius with giant arms, knocking several nutcrackers aside as Robin declares that she won’t let him lay a hand on her captain.