Short Summary
This "new era" they talk about is a load of shit. The age where pirates dream is over!? Eh!? Oi! Zehahahaha! PEOPLE'S DREAMS... DON'T EVER END! AM I RIGHT!?
— Marshall D. Teach, Chapter 225
With Vivi safely back in her homeland and Nico Robin, a former Baroque Works member, now part of the crew, the Straw Hats' next adventure literally falls out of the sky as a ship crashes down from the air into the ocean. Exploring the sunken remains reveals a map to an island in the sky. Seeking more information, the crew stop off in the pirate-run island of Jaya where they run afoul of a arrogant pirate rookie named Bellamy and find a descendant of a legendary historical figure of the past.
Long Summary
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Just as Robin has succeeded in winning over everyone from the crew (except for Zoro) to her presence, they notice pieces of wood raining down on them; just then, a ship falls from the sky, upside-down, and sinks into the ocean nearby. Nami also sees that the Log Pose is now pointing up towards the sky. She wonders if it's broken, but Robin assures her that, no matter what else is wrong in the seas, being able to trust the Log Pose is an iron-clad rule. She then mentions that she's heard rumors of an island in the sky that could have caused the Log Pose to change, but doesn't know any details about how to get there. The crew decides to explore the sunken ship to try to find more information, sending the Monster Trio down to the wreckage in special diving suits that Usopp made.
Shortly after they've submerged, a much-larger pirate ship, led by the very monkey-like Masira, shows up. After Masira explains that his pirate crew is a professional group of salvagers, and that this is their territory, the remaining four Straw Hats on the ship do their best to conceal the fact that they've sent divers down themselves in order to avoid getting into a fight with the Masira pirates. Masira and crew begin to raise the ship out of the water, and Masira encounters the Monster Trio, who have found little of value. The newly-raised ship is eaten by a turtle, but then spat back out; Masira ends up on the Going Merry, which gets separated from his own ship, and the Monster Trio angrily kicks him off the Merry (literally) and into the water before sailing away.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji empty the bags of stuff they brought up, which is mostly worthless due to rust from old age, but Luffy has struck gold (so to speak) by finding a map of Skypeia, a country in the sky. Luffy is eager to go, but the others point out that they have no idea how to actually get there; however, Robin reveals that she stole an Eternal Pose to the nearby Jaya Island from Masira's ship (just in case), so the crew goes there in the hopes of obtaining more information. After arriving on the island, Luffy and Zoro leave to explore the town; Nami, knowing that the two are almost certain to get into a fight if they go alone, tags along with them. Sanji wants to go with her, but Chopper and Usopp beg him to stay in case someone attacks the ship. They then notice that Robin is gone, too. In town, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami come across quite a few violent vagabonds, and Nami, despite making Zoro and Luffy promise not to fight anyone (not wanting to be kicked out of town before finding the information they need), has a difficult time keeping them to it. The trio finally manages to reach a nice hotel outside the downtown area, but are almost immediately forced to leave, since the hotel is being rented out to the Bellamy pirates (whose captain has a 55 million Berry bounty and was seen earlier killing a guy who was beating him at cards). Some of Bellamy's crew members show up and rudely demand that the three of them leave; they comply, but are pissed off. After they leave, one of Bellamy's crew recognizes Luffy from his (now outdated) 30 million Berry Wanted poster, and decides to tell Bellamy about it. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami head to a bar downtown, where they meet a man who immediately further annoys Luffy (and the feeling is mutual) by liking the bar's cherry pies that Luffy hates, and hating the drink that Luffy loves. They get into a brief, childish competition before the man leaves.
Shortly after, Bellamy arrives looking for Luffy (having learned of his bounty), and pretends to play nice with him before attacking him. Luffy and Zoro both prepare to fight him, so Nami quickly tries to get the information they need from the bartender before the fight starts; however, when she asks him about Sky Island, all of the bar's other patrons begin to laugh at her (much to her embarrassment), saying that Sky Island is just a ridiculous myth and those who believe it exists are idiots. Bellamy then goes further, stating that pirates who journey to follow their dreams are pathetic, and that in the "New Era" of pirates, those who journey to find treasure will be the ones to come out on top. Nami, livid, releases Luffy and Zoro from the promise and encourages them to fight Bellamy, only to find that, to her dismay, neither of them has any desire to fight back anymore.note Both of them take a beating from Bellamy and his pirates, who offer to "buy" Nami off of them on top of that; Nami just responds with cold refusal before leaving with the guys. Outside the bar, they meet the man from earlier, who assures Nami that Luffy and Zoro "won that fight" with the Bellamy pirates, and adds that Sky Island exists, the "New Age" Bellamy was talking about is bullshit, and men must continue to follow their dreams no matter what.
Despite his words, Nami is still very angry when they get back to the Merry, demanding to know why Luffy and Zoro didn't fight, but they are merely perplexed by her attitude. Robin then comes back, revealing that she not only got provisions for the crew, but also found the information they were looking for, as well as a map of Jaya Island; on the other side of the island lives a man named Montblanc Cricket, who supposedly can tell them what they need to know about Sky Island, so the crew sets sail. Along the way, they run into the also-very-monkey-like Shoujou, Masira's sworn brother, whose crew of pirates rules the territory surrounding Jaya; when Shoujou learns of what the Straw Hats did to his brother, he tries to attack them using high-powered sonar abilities, but this just ends up doing more damage to his own ship than to the Merry, and the Straw Hats escape successfully. Soon after they leave, Bellamy overhears a man in the bar telling his table about Robin's inquiries, who assumed that she simply wanted the gold that Cricket supposedly possesses. Upon hearing this, Bellamy decides to go visit Cricket as well to steal the gold for himself.
When the Straw Hats arrive at Cricket's home, he initially attacks them, but quickly collapses due to pressure sickness caused by improperly diving too often. While Chopper cares for him, Nami finds a book about someone called "Noland the Liar", a classic kids' story from North Blue, which details the life of a man from over 400 years ago. According to the story, Montblanc Noland (who, like Usopp, had a reputation as a perpetual liar) found treasure on Jaya Island, but when the king of Noland's country came there searching for it, they found nothing, and put Noland to death for his lies; Noland then claimed that the part of the island that contained the treasure must have sunk below the ocean, but no one believed him. Cricket wakes up, and once he realizes that the Straw Hats are not there to steal his gold as he initially thought, he befriends them. Masira and Shoujou also show up and are revealed to be friends of Cricket's, and Luffy manages to make friends with them as well. Cricket initially scorns the crew's efforts to travel to Sky Island, but once he realizes that they are truly serious in their desire to find it, he reveals that he himself has been diving to try to find the treasure and the rest of the "sunken island", since he has been ridiculed all his life due to being Noland's descendant and thus wants to finish Noland's business himself. He, Masira, and Shoujou, all of whom have taken a liking to the Straw Hats (especially Luffy) resolve to help them reach Sky Island.
While the group is partying that evening, Cricket shows them the gold he's managed to find so far: three bell-shaped ingots and a golden statue of the island's native Southbird. He then tells them of his plan to get them to Sky Island; five times a month in the general area, the sky turns dark and a superheated current of water from below the ocean floor bursts to the surface and up into the clouds in a huge jet; if the Straw Hats can ride one of these jets into the sky, they can reach Sky Island. He is expecting the next jet to occur the following day due south of the island, and thus, he sends the crew into the nearby woods to find a Southbird, which possess both unique bird calls that make them easy to identify and a strong sense of direction that causes their heads to always point to the south; this will ensure that they head in the right direction the next day to catch the stream. In the meantime, he, Masira, Shoujou, and their crews plan to fix up the Going Merry to ensure that the ship will be in good enough shape to make the difficult trip. Unfortunately, not too long after the Straw Hats head into the woods, the Bellamy pirates attack, and Bellamy single-handedly beats up Cricket, Masira, and Shoujou quite badly before stealing Cricket's gold.
After some struggles in the forest due to numerous insect attacks, the Straw Hats are finally able to capture a Southbird thanks to Robin's powers. However, when they get back to Cricket's home and find their new friends beaten bloody, Luffy is furious; after Zoro finds Bellamy's jolly roger drawn nearby, Luffy resolves to go find Bellamy and get Cricket's treasure back for him (despite protests from Cricket himself) while the rest of the crew stays behind to help repair the Merry. Back in town, a drunken member of Bellamy's crew sees a new batch of Wanted posters arrive, and upon seeing Luffy's and Zoro's new bounties of 100 million and 60 million Berries, respectively, immediately rushes to the bar to warn his captain. Bellamy just laughs it off, convinced the posters are fake, but Luffy shows up and challenges him, proceeding to defeat him easily in one punch, to the terror of the onlookers. Luffy takes Cricket's treasure back and heads back to his crew, arriving slightly (but not irreparably) late, and returns it to him before thanking him for the help and bidding him farewell, promising to find Sky Island for him. The Straw Hats set off towards the expected location of the jet eruption on the newly refurbished Going Merry, accompanied by the Shoujou and Masira pirates.
Elsewhere, other powerful entities around the world have begun to take action. Portgas D. Ace, Luffy's brother, accidentally ends up on the pirate ship of Buggy the Clown and "Iron Mace" Alvida after being attracted to the scent of their food. Buggy's crewmates suggest attacking him, but when Buggy sees that he's a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, he refuses to do so for fear of incurring Whitebeard's wrath. When Ace hears they're looking for Luffy, he offers to help them find him, not knowing that they want to attack Luffy. They, in turn, do not realize that Ace is Luffy's brother, and invite him to party with them, which he happily accepts. At Navy Headquarters, the World Government has received word that one of the Four Emperors (Shanks) has contacted another (Edward Newgate, a.k.a. Whitebeard himself, Ace's captain and the most powerful man in the world), which deeply concerns them due to the enormous levels of strength and influence both of them hold. A messenger from Shanks arrives on Whitebeard's ship to deliver an important letter, but to his dismay, Whitebeard dismissively tears it up and tells the messenger to have Shanks come speak with him in person; when Shanks learns of this, he laughs it off, figuring that Whitebeard would react that way, and leaves with his crew to do just that, while remaining unconcerned about the actions that the government may take.
The World Government is also worried about the instability that will be caused by the gap left by Crocodile among the Seven Warlords of the Sea (Shichibukai), so Fleet Admiral Sengoku calls a meeting of the remaining six members to discuss the situation, despite not expecting very many of them to actually show up. Sure enough, the initial count is only two of them—whose names are Bartholomew Kuma and Donquixote Doflamingo—but unexpectedly, a third member arrives: Dracule Mihawk, whose initial interest was piqued when he learned of the bounties on Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro, two of the pirates who will be discussed at the meeting and in whom Mihawk has taken a personal interest. Another unexpected guest shows up: a pirate named Lafitte, who has come to nominate his captain, "Blackbeard" Marshall D. Teach (the former Whitebeard pirate who attacked Drum Kingdom and whom Ace is hunting) for the now-open position of Warlord of the Sea. Back on Jaya, the previously-unknown man whom Luffy, Zoro, and Nami met earlier is revealed to be Blackbeard, and several other people they met from around town are actually his other crew members; once Blackbeard learns of Luffy's new bounty, he decides to chase after and capture him, since he figures that defeating a pirate worth at least 100 million Berries and turning him/her in to the government would be enough to win him the position of Warlord of the Sea. He and his men, remembering Luffy's plans to go to Sky Island, leave Jaya in pursuit of the Straw Hats.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hats and the Shoujou and Masira pirates successfully reach the correct area of the sea and find the giant whirlpool they're expecting, from which the current will erupt. Despite protests from Usopp and Nami, Luffy boldly sails towards the center of the whirlpool, only for the seas to suddenly go calm once they reach it; however, Nami correctly predicts that the jet is moments away from erupting. Blackbeard and co. show up to capture Luffy, and the Straw Hats finally learn of the new bounties on Luffy and Zoro; Usopp seems appreciative, Sanji is upset at not having a bounty as well, Nami is chagrined, and naturally, Luffy and Zoro are thrilled (though Zoro also jokes that he wishes his were higher), to Nami's annoyance. Before Blackbeard and his crew can attack, the jet finally erupts, carrying the Going Merry into the sky; though it initially appears that the ship may "lose its footing" and crash back down into the sea, Nami is able to use her navigational skills to get them through it, and the crew successfully reaches the sea in the sky, with Cricket watching from a distance, the Masira and Shoujou pirates cheering them on, and Blackbeard good-naturedly admitting that Luffy and crew got away while still planning on capturing him sometime in the future.
Shortly after they've submerged, a much-larger pirate ship, led by the very monkey-like Masira, shows up. After Masira explains that his pirate crew is a professional group of salvagers, and that this is their territory, the remaining four Straw Hats on the ship do their best to conceal the fact that they've sent divers down themselves in order to avoid getting into a fight with the Masira pirates. Masira and crew begin to raise the ship out of the water, and Masira encounters the Monster Trio, who have found little of value. The newly-raised ship is eaten by a turtle, but then spat back out; Masira ends up on the Going Merry, which gets separated from his own ship, and the Monster Trio angrily kicks him off the Merry (literally) and into the water before sailing away.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji empty the bags of stuff they brought up, which is mostly worthless due to rust from old age, but Luffy has struck gold (so to speak) by finding a map of Skypeia, a country in the sky. Luffy is eager to go, but the others point out that they have no idea how to actually get there; however, Robin reveals that she stole an Eternal Pose to the nearby Jaya Island from Masira's ship (just in case), so the crew goes there in the hopes of obtaining more information. After arriving on the island, Luffy and Zoro leave to explore the town; Nami, knowing that the two are almost certain to get into a fight if they go alone, tags along with them. Sanji wants to go with her, but Chopper and Usopp beg him to stay in case someone attacks the ship. They then notice that Robin is gone, too. In town, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami come across quite a few violent vagabonds, and Nami, despite making Zoro and Luffy promise not to fight anyone (not wanting to be kicked out of town before finding the information they need), has a difficult time keeping them to it. The trio finally manages to reach a nice hotel outside the downtown area, but are almost immediately forced to leave, since the hotel is being rented out to the Bellamy pirates (whose captain has a 55 million Berry bounty and was seen earlier killing a guy who was beating him at cards). Some of Bellamy's crew members show up and rudely demand that the three of them leave; they comply, but are pissed off. After they leave, one of Bellamy's crew recognizes Luffy from his (now outdated) 30 million Berry Wanted poster, and decides to tell Bellamy about it. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami head to a bar downtown, where they meet a man who immediately further annoys Luffy (and the feeling is mutual) by liking the bar's cherry pies that Luffy hates, and hating the drink that Luffy loves. They get into a brief, childish competition before the man leaves.
Shortly after, Bellamy arrives looking for Luffy (having learned of his bounty), and pretends to play nice with him before attacking him. Luffy and Zoro both prepare to fight him, so Nami quickly tries to get the information they need from the bartender before the fight starts; however, when she asks him about Sky Island, all of the bar's other patrons begin to laugh at her (much to her embarrassment), saying that Sky Island is just a ridiculous myth and those who believe it exists are idiots. Bellamy then goes further, stating that pirates who journey to follow their dreams are pathetic, and that in the "New Era" of pirates, those who journey to find treasure will be the ones to come out on top. Nami, livid, releases Luffy and Zoro from the promise and encourages them to fight Bellamy, only to find that, to her dismay, neither of them has any desire to fight back anymore.note Both of them take a beating from Bellamy and his pirates, who offer to "buy" Nami off of them on top of that; Nami just responds with cold refusal before leaving with the guys. Outside the bar, they meet the man from earlier, who assures Nami that Luffy and Zoro "won that fight" with the Bellamy pirates, and adds that Sky Island exists, the "New Age" Bellamy was talking about is bullshit, and men must continue to follow their dreams no matter what.
Despite his words, Nami is still very angry when they get back to the Merry, demanding to know why Luffy and Zoro didn't fight, but they are merely perplexed by her attitude. Robin then comes back, revealing that she not only got provisions for the crew, but also found the information they were looking for, as well as a map of Jaya Island; on the other side of the island lives a man named Montblanc Cricket, who supposedly can tell them what they need to know about Sky Island, so the crew sets sail. Along the way, they run into the also-very-monkey-like Shoujou, Masira's sworn brother, whose crew of pirates rules the territory surrounding Jaya; when Shoujou learns of what the Straw Hats did to his brother, he tries to attack them using high-powered sonar abilities, but this just ends up doing more damage to his own ship than to the Merry, and the Straw Hats escape successfully. Soon after they leave, Bellamy overhears a man in the bar telling his table about Robin's inquiries, who assumed that she simply wanted the gold that Cricket supposedly possesses. Upon hearing this, Bellamy decides to go visit Cricket as well to steal the gold for himself.
When the Straw Hats arrive at Cricket's home, he initially attacks them, but quickly collapses due to pressure sickness caused by improperly diving too often. While Chopper cares for him, Nami finds a book about someone called "Noland the Liar", a classic kids' story from North Blue, which details the life of a man from over 400 years ago. According to the story, Montblanc Noland (who, like Usopp, had a reputation as a perpetual liar) found treasure on Jaya Island, but when the king of Noland's country came there searching for it, they found nothing, and put Noland to death for his lies; Noland then claimed that the part of the island that contained the treasure must have sunk below the ocean, but no one believed him. Cricket wakes up, and once he realizes that the Straw Hats are not there to steal his gold as he initially thought, he befriends them. Masira and Shoujou also show up and are revealed to be friends of Cricket's, and Luffy manages to make friends with them as well. Cricket initially scorns the crew's efforts to travel to Sky Island, but once he realizes that they are truly serious in their desire to find it, he reveals that he himself has been diving to try to find the treasure and the rest of the "sunken island", since he has been ridiculed all his life due to being Noland's descendant and thus wants to finish Noland's business himself. He, Masira, and Shoujou, all of whom have taken a liking to the Straw Hats (especially Luffy) resolve to help them reach Sky Island.
While the group is partying that evening, Cricket shows them the gold he's managed to find so far: three bell-shaped ingots and a golden statue of the island's native Southbird. He then tells them of his plan to get them to Sky Island; five times a month in the general area, the sky turns dark and a superheated current of water from below the ocean floor bursts to the surface and up into the clouds in a huge jet; if the Straw Hats can ride one of these jets into the sky, they can reach Sky Island. He is expecting the next jet to occur the following day due south of the island, and thus, he sends the crew into the nearby woods to find a Southbird, which possess both unique bird calls that make them easy to identify and a strong sense of direction that causes their heads to always point to the south; this will ensure that they head in the right direction the next day to catch the stream. In the meantime, he, Masira, Shoujou, and their crews plan to fix up the Going Merry to ensure that the ship will be in good enough shape to make the difficult trip. Unfortunately, not too long after the Straw Hats head into the woods, the Bellamy pirates attack, and Bellamy single-handedly beats up Cricket, Masira, and Shoujou quite badly before stealing Cricket's gold.
After some struggles in the forest due to numerous insect attacks, the Straw Hats are finally able to capture a Southbird thanks to Robin's powers. However, when they get back to Cricket's home and find their new friends beaten bloody, Luffy is furious; after Zoro finds Bellamy's jolly roger drawn nearby, Luffy resolves to go find Bellamy and get Cricket's treasure back for him (despite protests from Cricket himself) while the rest of the crew stays behind to help repair the Merry. Back in town, a drunken member of Bellamy's crew sees a new batch of Wanted posters arrive, and upon seeing Luffy's and Zoro's new bounties of 100 million and 60 million Berries, respectively, immediately rushes to the bar to warn his captain. Bellamy just laughs it off, convinced the posters are fake, but Luffy shows up and challenges him, proceeding to defeat him easily in one punch, to the terror of the onlookers. Luffy takes Cricket's treasure back and heads back to his crew, arriving slightly (but not irreparably) late, and returns it to him before thanking him for the help and bidding him farewell, promising to find Sky Island for him. The Straw Hats set off towards the expected location of the jet eruption on the newly refurbished Going Merry, accompanied by the Shoujou and Masira pirates.
Elsewhere, other powerful entities around the world have begun to take action. Portgas D. Ace, Luffy's brother, accidentally ends up on the pirate ship of Buggy the Clown and "Iron Mace" Alvida after being attracted to the scent of their food. Buggy's crewmates suggest attacking him, but when Buggy sees that he's a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, he refuses to do so for fear of incurring Whitebeard's wrath. When Ace hears they're looking for Luffy, he offers to help them find him, not knowing that they want to attack Luffy. They, in turn, do not realize that Ace is Luffy's brother, and invite him to party with them, which he happily accepts. At Navy Headquarters, the World Government has received word that one of the Four Emperors (Shanks) has contacted another (Edward Newgate, a.k.a. Whitebeard himself, Ace's captain and the most powerful man in the world), which deeply concerns them due to the enormous levels of strength and influence both of them hold. A messenger from Shanks arrives on Whitebeard's ship to deliver an important letter, but to his dismay, Whitebeard dismissively tears it up and tells the messenger to have Shanks come speak with him in person; when Shanks learns of this, he laughs it off, figuring that Whitebeard would react that way, and leaves with his crew to do just that, while remaining unconcerned about the actions that the government may take.
The World Government is also worried about the instability that will be caused by the gap left by Crocodile among the Seven Warlords of the Sea (Shichibukai), so Fleet Admiral Sengoku calls a meeting of the remaining six members to discuss the situation, despite not expecting very many of them to actually show up. Sure enough, the initial count is only two of them—whose names are Bartholomew Kuma and Donquixote Doflamingo—but unexpectedly, a third member arrives: Dracule Mihawk, whose initial interest was piqued when he learned of the bounties on Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro, two of the pirates who will be discussed at the meeting and in whom Mihawk has taken a personal interest. Another unexpected guest shows up: a pirate named Lafitte, who has come to nominate his captain, "Blackbeard" Marshall D. Teach (the former Whitebeard pirate who attacked Drum Kingdom and whom Ace is hunting) for the now-open position of Warlord of the Sea. Back on Jaya, the previously-unknown man whom Luffy, Zoro, and Nami met earlier is revealed to be Blackbeard, and several other people they met from around town are actually his other crew members; once Blackbeard learns of Luffy's new bounty, he decides to chase after and capture him, since he figures that defeating a pirate worth at least 100 million Berries and turning him/her in to the government would be enough to win him the position of Warlord of the Sea. He and his men, remembering Luffy's plans to go to Sky Island, leave Jaya in pursuit of the Straw Hats.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hats and the Shoujou and Masira pirates successfully reach the correct area of the sea and find the giant whirlpool they're expecting, from which the current will erupt. Despite protests from Usopp and Nami, Luffy boldly sails towards the center of the whirlpool, only for the seas to suddenly go calm once they reach it; however, Nami correctly predicts that the jet is moments away from erupting. Blackbeard and co. show up to capture Luffy, and the Straw Hats finally learn of the new bounties on Luffy and Zoro; Usopp seems appreciative, Sanji is upset at not having a bounty as well, Nami is chagrined, and naturally, Luffy and Zoro are thrilled (though Zoro also jokes that he wishes his were higher), to Nami's annoyance. Before Blackbeard and his crew can attack, the jet finally erupts, carrying the Going Merry into the sky; though it initially appears that the ship may "lose its footing" and crash back down into the sea, Nami is able to use her navigational skills to get them through it, and the crew successfully reaches the sea in the sky, with Cricket watching from a distance, the Masira and Shoujou pirates cheering them on, and Blackbeard good-naturedly admitting that Luffy and crew got away while still planning on capturing him sometime in the future.
Jaya Arc has the following tropes
- Anticlimax: After all the build-up given, Bellamy goes down in a single punch to Luffy.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: The majority of Mock Town, but the Bellamy Pirates in particular. They're in the Grand Line, which screws up natural law so often that it is bluntly stated that anything is possible on this sea, yet they laugh at the notion of an island in the sky; which, to be quite honest, is small potatoes compared to everything that happens in the series after this point. And this was in the first half of the Grand Line.
- Arc Villain: Bellamy (if you can call him one).
- Big Bad Ensemble: There's also the much-more-powerful Marshall D. Teach, a.k.a. "Blackbeard", who wants to capture Luffy to earn a Warlord position.
- Ascended Fanboys: Masira and Shoujou, who were fans of the Noland tale and were more than happy to meet and help out a descendant of his.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Masira and Shoujou.
- Baddie Flattery: Teach has nothing but praise for Luffy and Zoro for how they handle the situation with Bellamy at the bar.
- Bait the Dog: That old bar patron that Luffy almost has a fight with actually seems to be an okay guy, telling Luffy to never give up his dreams. Then you realize he is actually Marshall D. Teach, the guy whom Ace is looking for, who left the Whitebeard Pirates after killing his own crewmate for power.
- Balance of Power: It's very subtle, but this is the arc where the Three Great Powers (the Marines, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the Four Emperors) and the influence they hold in the world's politics are established. The Five Elders are introduced in this arc as well.
- Bar Brawl: Bellamy's crew decides to beat up Luffy and Zoro for the fun of it. But because the crew is much weaker than both of them and Luffy knows there's no point in fighting someone with Bellamy's philosophy, he and Zoro allow themselves to be beaten up, and are hardly hurt.
- Berserk Button: Nami is rather pissed when Sarkiss offers to buy her off. She also quickly tells Zoro and Luffy to forget their promise not to fight when she's laughed at for asking about Sky Island.
- Breather Episode: After the tension-fueled roller coaster that was Alabasta, this arc is a welcomed cool-down from it, focusing more on exploration and world-building. The "threat" here isn't even all that serious and way below the caliber of the Straw Hats.
- Bowdlerize: A minor instance, but the argument between Bellamy and Roshio is toned down quite a bit in the anime.
- Call-Back: Many liken the bar encounter to Shanks's refusal to fight Higuma at the beginning of the series.
- Came from the Sky: A huge galleon comes crashing down from the sky in front of the Straw Hats, nearly capsizing them. When they recover, they immediately go to investigate the wreckage and begin to find clues that set them up for their adventure to Skypiea.
- Chekhov's Gunman: There are three men whom Luffy, Zoro, and Nami interact with on separate occasions during their visit to Mock Town on Jaya. They turn out to be members of the Blackbeard Pirates, an incredibly powerful pirate crew who previously tore up Drum Island and whose captain Ace is looking for. And the guy whom Luffy almost gets into a bar brawl with? He is Blackbeard himself, and he is shaping up to be the series Big Bad.
- Cool Old Guy: Cricket.
- Cold Sniper: Van Augur, who can shoot a seagull from hundreds of miles away. Usopp remarks that he doesn't even know what island the shot came from.
- Cosmopolitan Council: The Five Elders.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: A rather literal version. For all the flair and bravado he puts on, Bellamy gets stopped cold by a single punch from Luffy, caving his face in the pavement.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Luffy, his crew, and those they meet on Jaya Island act under the assumption that Luffy's bounty is still 30 million Berries, since none of them are aware that it's increased (and that Zoro now has one too) after Alabasta. The Straw Hats themselves don't find out about the increase until the very end of the arc when Blackbeard tells them so.
- Ace tells Buggy and co. that he knows where to find Luffy and offers to help them do so, unaware that these guys are enemies of Luffy's who are looking for him to try to kill him. They likewise don't know that this random stranger from Whitebeard's crew who knows where to find Straw Hat is actually his brother. They should be enemies thanks to their wildly different intentions...and yet, because of this lack of knowledge, they instead become pals and party happily together.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- The first thing we see Doflamingo do is use his powers to force two Marines to fight each other for his own amusement.
- After much discussion establishing Whitebeard as an extremely powerful and feared figure in the world, his first actual appearance has him harshly declining Shanks's offer for a discussion while also being depicted as an old man hooked up to multiple IVs and being tended to by nurses, establishing him as a man of intense power and character who is nevertheless still wasting away physically from time and illness.
- Foil: While he does mirror Luffy in many ways, Teach is really this for Bellamy. They're both rookie captains in the Great Pirate Era, but while the latter likes to boast about being a "Big-Time Rookie" and throws his weight around, generally being a braggart, the former prefers to hide his true power and had a part in doing unthinkable things while remaining completely unknown to the world at large, making all those who encounter him (save for Luffy) underestimate him. He doesn't even give out his name. Their views on dreams are also mirrored: while Bellamy is dismissive of them and disrespects those who hold them, Teach wholeheartedly believes in dreams and praises people who pursue them.
- Foreshadowing:
- The "giants" appearing in the ocean, and Blackbeard and his crew making their appearance.
- Also, the damage Bellamy's crew does to the Going Merry, plus Sanji's comment about how they should just buy a new ship and Usopp's reaction, all of which will come to a head in the Water 7 arc.
- Montblanc Cricket's house is just half of a hut built directly on the very edge of a cliff. There's a second floor, but no stairs to reach it. The fate of the other half of the building won't be known until the following arc.
- Shanks' decision to meet with Whitebeard, which doesn't lead to anywhere good.
- Lafitte mentions to Sengoku during the meeting with the Warlords that Marshall D. Teach, while unknown, has a plan that will definitely get him accepted into the Seven Warlords....
- That little squabble between Luffy and that random guy at the bar over tastes in food and drink becomes even more interesting later when the latter is revealed to Marshall D. Teach, who is very much Luffy's Evil Counterpart.
- Teach is hardly surprised when he reads Luffy's new bounty of 100 million Berries, saying that 30 million is hardly worthy of Luffy's "haki".
- The Five Elders mention the "Three World Powers" years before the concepts of the Emperors is properly established.
- Sanji mentions offhandedly that, despite meeting Luffy and co. in the East Blue when he joined them, he was actually born in the North Blue, something that surprises the others; this line turns out to have a major impact on the story hundreds of chapters later, and even receives a Call-Back.
- For the Evulz: Doflamingo considers forcing two high-ranking Marines into a swordfight via his Devil Fruit ability to be merely a good way to pass the time.
- Friend to Bugs: Usopp is revealed to be one in this arc.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Bellamy himself sails under the flag of Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and acts following Doflamingo's philosophy of a new age of piracy, although in his own interpretation of it. This is revealed only after the conclusion of Skypiea though.
- I Gave My Word: Luffy and Zoro promise Nami that they won't fight anyone and cause trouble in Mock Town. Despite a few close calls, the two honor this promise even after she rescinds it. Both Luffy's and Zoro's dreams are built on a promise, so it's only natural they'd keep their word.
- I Warned You: The town drunk who receives the new bounties of Luffy and Zoro tries to tell Bellamy about them. Bellamy dismisses the posters as fakes that Luffy and Zoro made to trick him. However, once Luffy arrives and effortlessly knocks out Bellamy, the man tells the rest of the crew that he did warn them.
- Internal Reveal: The Straw Hats learn at the end of this arc that Luffy's bounty has increased from 30 million to 100 million Berries, and that Zoro has also earned his first bounty of 60 million. The audience has known this since the end of Alabasta.
- Kick the Dog: Bellamy and his crew decide to have some fun beating up Cricket and his friends, and then steal all their hard-earned gold.
- Law of Conservation of Detail: Even though the main plot is the conflict with the Bellamy Pirates, multiple scenes are dedicated to showing some pirates at Mock Town, and the crew's encounter with a Boisterous Bruiser who carries very similar ideals to Luffy himself. Sure enough, this all turns out to be very important.
- The Legend of Chekhov: A "Sky Island" and the City of Gold that features in the North Blue tale about Montblanc Noland.
- Lost in Translation: In Chapter 234, Haki was first mentioned by Blackbeard after remarking Luffy’s new bounty; however, it’s only mentioned in the Japan dub of the manga, whereas the English dub doesn’t mention it AT ALL!
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": All of Bellamy's crew when they learn that Luffy can indeed fight. Sarkiss in particular gets this when Luffy's new bounty poster blows into his face, and he reacts in horror as he realizes that they aren't fakes. If that isn't enough, the majority of Bellamy's crew runs away when Luffy gives them a Death Glare while demanding Cricket's gold back.
- Megaton Kick: Luffy and Shoujou take turns punting Masira as a challenge.
- Mugging the Monster:
- Luffy and Zoro let Bellamy's crew beat them up before they get word that Luffy's bounty is 100 million Berries and Zoro's is 60 million. Luffy later shows them how he earned a bounty that high.
- Even his Dragon Sarkiss gets in on it, bumping into and mocking Teach and getting a face full of pavement for his trouble.
- Not What It Looks Like: Usopp assumes that Masira and Shoujou won't believe that the Straw Hats are treating the wounded Montblanc Cricket. Fortunately, Poor Communication Kills is subverted - the big lugs immediately believe him and befriend the crew.
- Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The Five Elders. We don't even learn their individual names for eight hundred chapters.
- One-Hit KO: Bellamy's fate.
- Paper Tiger: Bellamy talks tough and likes to pick on the weak, but when he comes up against a real "big-time" rookie pirate (one that defeated a Warlord, no less), he can't back it up, and gets downed easily.
- Pest Controller: Jaya's Southbird has this power over the island's insects, to the point where he arguably gives Luffy's party a harder time than Bellamy and his goons ever do.
- Pragmatic Villainy: This seems to be how Teach does things, not minding that he basically missed the Straw Hats getting away.
- The Psycho Rangers: The Blackbeard Pirates.
- The Quiet One: In the anime, Tsuru and Kuma don't even speak at the meeting in Mariejois.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Bellamy gives them both to Cricket and Luffy. Doesn't take.Bellamy: You really should grow up, old-timer. The City of Gold is nothing but a myth made up by Noland. In the New Age, there'll be no one to chase dreams!Bellamy: (to Luffy) I thought you said you were going to take the gold back! All you do is talk trash, and you're too powerless to do anything. Pathetic!...Oh, I see. The monkeys and the old-timer are the same species as you! A pack of idiots believing a 400-year old lie! What 'Sky Island'? What 'City of Gold'? The age of dreams is over! YOU'RE A DISGRACE OF A PIRATE!!
- Rewatch Bonus: Sengoku is surprised that even 2 of the Seven Warlords of the Sea actually showed up to the meeting about Crocodile's defeat by Luffy; once you know that Kuma knows Luffy's father while Doflamingo is a former Celestial Dragon, and as such interested in a D wreaking havoc, their attendance makes a lot more sense.
- Serious Business: Luffy gets more pissed at Blackbeard's taste in food than he ever does at Bellamy's crew laughing at his dream.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: The core theme of the arc. The Straw Hats subscribe to a slowly dying ideology of pirates as people who live as free spirits of adventure. By contrast, the pirates at Mock Town, especially the Bellamy Pirates, are a bunch of violent thugs who believe that dreams mean nothing. Greying the issue somewhat are the Blackbeard Pirates, who subscribe to the same mentality as the Straw Hats, but are very different in terms of morals.
- The Smart Guy: Nico Robin really pulls her weight in her first (non-anime filler) arc as a Straw Hat: she provides quite a bit of exposition, steals the Eternal Pose to Jaya and then gains the needed information about Montblanc Cricket during the Straw Hats' quest to find out more info about Sky Island, and is the one who finally succeeds in catching the Southbird. She and Luffy also work together to save Usopp when he falls through the clouds.
- Smug Snake: The Bellamy Pirates think way too highly of themselves.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Subverted. Luffy lost twice to previous Big Bad Crocodile and only won the third time thanks to a combination of determination, Crocodile having a mental breakdown in the face of said determination, blood, and pure, dumb luck. Compare this to the following Big Bad Bellamy, who, for all his bravado, gets defeated by a single punch. To drive the point home further, Bellamy uses his Devil Fruit abilities for almost the entirety of their "fight" — yet he never finds out that Luffy has Devil Fruit powers of his own since that one punch isn't even stretched.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Lafitte, one of the Blackbeard Pirates, somehow manages to break in a highly-secure private meeting with the Seven Warlords. More impressively, he's wearing tap-dancing shoes. Although he could have flown in through an open window.
- Stunned Silence: Throughout most of the "fight", the Bellamy Pirates are watching from the sidelines, laughing (save for one member who is taking the new bounty posters seriously) and mocking Luffy. However, once Luffy downs Bellamy with one hit, that instantly comes to an abrupt halt.
- Super-Scream: Shoujou uses sonar to explore the ocean floor, and also utilizes sound as a form of attack.
- Swallowed Whole: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Masira by a turtle Sea King, though they get spit back out.
- Tempting Fate: "Can you even throw a punch?"
- Underestimating Badassery:
- Played straight with Bellamy and his crew, who judge Luffy purely on looks alone and antagonize him just for wanting any information about a Sky Island. During the scuffle at the bar, Luffy doesn't think it's worth it to get into a fight over meaningless words, showing his strength of character. However, when Bellamy makes it personal by wounding Cricket and the Saruyama Alliance and damaging the Merry, the gloves are off. And indeed, during the "fight", Luffy just knocks Bellamy out without taking any hits at all in the manga, and even in the anime, he mostly just dodges Bellamy's attacks and isn't even wounded from the one hit he does get. When Bellamy tries to go in for the killing blow, the one hit he gets from Luffy knocks him out instantly.
- Inverted with Teach to Luffy: they almost get into a fight, and Teach asks Luffy if he's a pirate. He then asks what his bounty is, and when Luffy says it's 30 million Berries (as he isn't yet aware of his bounty increase since the Alabasta incident), Teach accuses him of lying. Not because he thinks it's too high of a bounty for Luffy, as most people assume when they look at him, but because Teach thinks it's too low for someone of Luffy's caliber.
Considering that Teach is a pirate who hides how strong he really is to fly under the radar, it makes sense that he might think Luffy is doing the same.
- The World Is Just Awesome: When the Going Merry is blasted up the Knock-Up Stream into the Sky Island.
- Wretched Hive: Mock Town is a pirate run-area and home to some of the most ruthless customers (though the barkeep who serves Luffy and Blackbeard mentions that the pirates rarely bother the civilians and shopkeepers, since there's no point in having a town where you can't spend your gold).
Story Impact
- Bellamy would disappear until Dressrosa, when he could re-emerge again under Doflamingo's charge.
- This is the first connection between Luffy and Blackbeard, and establishes Blackbeard beginning a grudge with the Straw Hats. This would indirectly re-connect them once Luffy involves himself in the Marineford arc and the Paramount War.
- The heavy damage that Going Merry is taking is highlighted, and the crew's lack of a proper shipwright begins to play a part in the plot. The damage is temporarily downplayed because of the improvements made for Merry to "fly" to Skypiea.
