Summary:
Luffy’s victory takes Chopper back, but he foolishly accepts Foxy’s next challenge.
Luffy wins the final round of a roller coaster race against Foxy and his crew in a Davy Back Fight for three coins. He then brings Chopper back to the Straw Hat crew. Declaring that there should be no ties in the pirate world, Foxy asks for three coins in retaliation. Luffy accepts and Robin and Sanji question his motives for doing this, wondering if he is trying to find the shipwright. Nami and Usopp are angry at Luffy but also scared, convinced that the Foxy Pirates will take them until some members of the Foxy crew tell them otherwise.
Hit & Dead ball, the first event in a three-coin match, is basically a game of dodgeball. The goal is to knock out all of the opponent’s players. Whichever team loses all of their members first loses the entire first round. The game has a long history and therefore also has many rules. Nami assumes that the rules are set up to give Foxy’s team an advantage, but with strict consequences and a change of referees, she realizes that everyone must play fair. The Foxy Pirates greatly outnumber the Straw Hats, so it seems as if the Straw Hats are at a disadvantage. Two players from Foxy’s team, as well as Luffy and Chopper, board and prepare for a double jump start. The two opponents attack, but Luffy and Chopper dodge them, grab the balls and aim at Foxy, who is hit in the face. The referee thinks it’s safe because according to the rules, hits to the face don’t count. The balls are then passed to Zoro and Sanji, who eliminate a total of 18 players. The balls are passed back to Luffy, who disqualifies 10 players, and Chopper, whose ball is stopped by Hamburg.
Big Pan of the Foxy Pirates has both balls, but ends up disqualifying Usopp and 22 players from his own team. There are few left on Foxy’s team and it doesn’t look like the Straw Hats have any disadvantage anymore. Hamburg and Foxy decide to use a secret weapon to win, but then Robin overpowers Hamburg. The referee will attempt to declare it safe before being corrected and cautioned. Sanji is passed the ball, but some women trick him into giving them the ball and letting them get him out. Foxy pulls out a secret weapon, the “Dead Hit” cannon. Robin notes that according to the rulebook, Dead Hit is the only weapon allowed.
Porche and Foxy try to trick Zoro, who in turn slashes the ball with his bare hands to avoid being hit. He is then disqualified because cutting the ball is against the rules. The only players left on the field are Luffy, Chopper and Foxy. Luffy dodges another ball from Foxy, but Chopper notices it bounce back and shields him. He’s assumed to be out until he reveals it was a hit to the face and gets the audience’s support. Although the referee agrees, Chopper went out of bounds and is therefore disqualified. Luffy goes to thank Chopper and then continues the game. He reaches out to throw his ball at Dead Hit, but Porche takes the ball away. She and other spectators mix up the real ball with the fake ones, making it impossible to tell which is which. Luffy tries to catch all the balls thrown at him in case one is real, but Foxy fires his own ball as well. Nami tells Luffy to let him punch him in the face when his hands are full, but he ends up taking it in his mouth and swallowing it. The referee declares that Luffy is now disqualified as well. According to the rules, it is not allowed to swallow balls. The strawmen are outraged, but the rule is real. The Foxy Pirates won the first round of the Davy Back Fight.