Summary:
Luffy breaks through his third bounty hunter in the Sabaody Archipelago to the applause of Hatchan, Camie, and Pappag, while Chopper and Brook continue their journey with them. When asked why there are suddenly so many bounty hunters, Hatchan explains that they are currently in the archipelago’s “lawless zone”, a collection of twenty-nine mangroves that are usually inhabited by pirates and bounty hunters instead of the usual tourists. Chopper remarks that Sanji or Zoro could have gone with them, but the Fishman Octopus assures them that they are approaching Grove 13, where his bubble-coated friend is waiting. The two bounty hunters leave, commenting that Luffy’s bounty of Beli 300,000,000 is impressive, but there are “other picks” on the island that they can choose from instead.
At Grove 13, the group arrives at a bar that appears to be an underground bar run by Hatchan’s friends, whom Camie trusts despite not having been there before. Arriving at the bar, he sees the owner of the bar, Shakuyaku, an attractive woman with a cigarette in her mouth and a bloodied customer who was trying not to pay the bill in her grip. Shakky recognizes the Fishman and happily greets Hatchan when he sees him, stating that it’s been a long time. After learning that Hatchan has ended his piracy days, she expresses her delight after learning that Hatchan has ended his piracy days (believing that his health comes first), she offers food and drink to the Straw Hats, only to find Luffy and Brook already attacking the fridge, despite Chopper warning that he might be a rogue, but she assures them all that since they’re Hatchan’s friends, they can do it, and even gives Chopper some cotton candy. Luffy suspects that he knows something about them, which Shakky admits, claiming that he is a well-informed person, before questioning him about the Enies Lobby incident and his relationship with his grandfather, Monkey D. Garp. Shakky then reveals that she is a former pirate, which is why she knows Garp, who hunted her down forty years ago (this part surprised Luffy and left him wondering how old she actually is).
Hatchan soon asks for their friend “Rayleigh the Bubble Coater”‘s place to have the Thousand Sunny coated, but she claims that he’s been gone for half a year and as a former pirate, he could take care of himself. He gives them various hints about Rayleigh’s whereabouts, including the “Lawless Zone” and Sabaody Park, but tells everyone to be careful when searching for him due to the presence of other powerful pirates. In particular, he notes that there are currently eleven pirates on the Sabaody Archipelago (including Luffy and Zoro) who have taken different paths to traverse the Great Line and become known as the Supernovas thanks to bounties worth over 100,000,000 Beli. one of those pirate bounties is even bigger than Luffy’s.
At this point, the story separates from the Straw Hats and introduces those nine other pirates and crew in the Sabaody Archipelago:
In Grove 24, a short mob suit wearing pirate named Capone Bege observes the terrifying gluttony of the pirate Jewelry Bonney, who consumes everything in sight and demands more food.
Nearby, a waiter apologizes to an underling pirate who is saved from death at the last moment by the mysterious card-dealing Captain Basil Hawkins, who also declares to his underling that his day has been unlucky, accentuated by the spaghetti spilled on his clothes.
In the middle of a lawless zone, a DJ-like pirate with abnormally long arms named Scratchmen Apoo taunts a tough-looking, rocker-themed pirate Eustace Kid (the one whose bounty is bigger than Luffy’s) during a battle.
In Grove 21, monk pirate and White Sea citizen Urouge’s battle with the deadly masked pirate Killer (a subordinate of Eustace Kid) is stopped by ex-marine turned pirate X Drake, who tells them to save hostilities for the New World. Urouge notes that it could only have been a narrow escape from death.
As Drake leaves them, a calm and stoic pirate named Trafalgar Law mysteriously asks him how many men he has killed.
Back at Shakky’s Bar, the owner notes that while many other crews have gone to sea, only the strongest, like the Straw Pirates and these other newcomers, have made it this far. She believes that everyone will get their way and that others like the Kid Pirates, notorious for injuring civilians (which is the main reason his bounty is higher than Luffy’s), are more violent than Luffy’s crew, thus rooting for the Straw Hats to succeed. Luffy, Brook, and Chopper worry about Rayleigh’s fate outside, but she claims that she will be fine as she is a hundred times stronger than any of the rookies.