A filler arc that takes place between the Punk Hazard Arc and the Dressrosa Arc.
Short Summary
After leaving Punk Hazard, the crew, along with Trafalgar Law, Kinemon, Momonosuke, and their captive, Caesar Clown, are resting for the night when they're suddenly attacked by animals who have strange green collars on their necks. In the midst of the attack, a man named Breed captures Caesar and departs. Luffy, Chopper, and Law go after him and find themselves on Breed's boat where they must contend against his controlled animals if they wish to get Caesar back.
Long Summary.
As the crew rests for the night, something seems amiss. Soon they are set upon by strange, violent animals with odd, glowing green collars on their necks. To everyone's dismay, the animals manage to capture Caesar Clown and escape. As they need Caesar for the deal with Doflamingo, Law, Chopper, and Luffy take a submarine to follow the animals and get him back. As they descend, Chopper reveals that the animals who were attacking claimed they did not want to do it, but were being forced to.
Luffy, Chopper, and Law eventually end up in a massive ship. Law urges caution, which Luffy quickly throws to the wind despite Chopper's protests. Soon the find themselves face to face with tons of giant rabbits, all wearing the collars, and a Kung-Fu Dugong Luffy recognizes from Alabasta. The Dugong tries to warn them, but the animals are forced to fight by Breed, whose powers allow him to control anyone he can collar with his Pet-Pet Fruit abilities. During the battle, Chopper is collared and forced to attack Luffy and Law. Law moves to counter him, but Luffy is afraid Law will hurt Chopper and stops him. Alas, the distraction was all breed needed to collar them as well.
Luffy and Law initially ignore the collars and move to attack Breed, only for him to demonstrate his powers first by forcing them to stop their attacks and then to sit and pose like dogs. Meanwhile, an exhausted Chopper reverts to his chibi form and Breed is immediately enthralled by "Choppy's" cuteness. Luffy and Law are thrown in a Seastone cell, and soon spot Caesar Clown, leashed to a wall nearby. Caesar confirms that Breed is not working with Doflamingo in any way. Breed then asserts his authority over his prisoners by using a speaker system to make Caesar sit and then lie down. Law seems interested in the speakers, but says nothing.
Breed comes in with Chopper in tow. Poor Chopper has been dressed up like a doll and is utterly humiliated. Breed has decided what he wants to do with Law and Luffy: force them into an arena fight to the death!
With a panicked Chopper and a leashed Caesar at his side, Breed loudly commands Luffy and Law to fight to the death. Despite their attempts to resist, Luffy is dismayed to find his body is moving on its own. Law gets pummeled across the arena, barely managing to keep up with Luffy's frenzied attacks, though he does manage to steer the fight into Breed's viewing pedestal, destroying it. Caesar escapes in the chaos, while the Kung Fu Dugong begs Breed to let Luffy and Law stop. Breed allows it, and Luffy and Law sag with exhaustion...until the Dugong is ordered to kill them both!
Luffy assures the Dugong that it's okay, but the poor creature can only weep as it punches Law and Luffy out a window towards the ocean below. Chopper, unable to take it anymore as they hear the splash, unloads on Breed, claiming that he'd rather die than continue being Breed's pet. An incensed Breed attacks him, when we hear familiar voices.
Law and Luffy are all right, as Law used his Shambles technique to swap them with rocks inside the base. They also have recaptured Caesar, much to his annoyance. It turns out Law was never forced to fight at all, as soon as he saw the speakers he put in earplugs as he realized he can't obey Breed's commands if he can't hear them. Luffy, on the other hand, was controlled during the fight, and is pissed off at Breed for what he made him do. Breed tries futilely to command them for a few moments, but Law made sure everyone had earplugs and so it doesn't work.
Breed them uses his powers on himself, to force himself to become stronger. While this initially works, it also loosens the hold he had on anyone he collared, and the animals fight back, pinning him in place so Luffy and the Kung Fu Dugong can punch him into the sky. With Breed out of range, the collars break and everyone is freed. The Kung Fu Dugong and the rabbits, all part of the Sea Beast Pirates, leave to continue their own adventures.
A new newspaper comes out. Law and Luffy's alliance has been revealed, and more importantly, Dofamingo has taken the bait and given up his title as a Warlord! While the people of Dressrosa are confused, Law is satisfied that thins are all going according to plan...
''Caesar Retrieval Arc has the following tropes
- And Call Him "George": Breed's reaction to Chopper is this mixed with Cuteness Proximity. He dubs him "Choppy" and dresses him in an overly cutesy outfit, and seemingly cannot resist cooing over him.
- A Twinkle in the Sky: How Breed is defeated when Luffy and the Dugong double team him with the help of the animals.
- Awesome by Analysis: Law figures out how Breed's powers work pretty quickly once he sees the speakers, and then figures a way around them.
- Badass Boast: Luffy. "I came to get Chopper back. Oh, and to give you a good punch in the gut."
- Bottle Episode: The majority of the arc takes place on Breed's ship in the span of a single night with only Luffy, Law, Chopper, and the Dugong as the main protagonists.
- Butt-Monkey: Caesar Clown spends the whole arc chain and leashed.
- Clipped-Wing Angel: Breed's super form, used by commanding himself to become more powerful. While a physical powerhouse, in that form he loses his ability to command the people wearing the collars.
- Cool Ship: Breed's, the thing is massive, with an indoor aquarium and spacious enough to fight around.
- Continuity Nod: One of the animals is a Dugong that Luffy had met back in the Alabasta Arc. He's master Color of Armaments Haki since then and started his own pirate crew.
- Members of said Dugong's crew are aquatic variations of the bear-sized bunnies from the Drum Kingdom, as discussed between Chopper and Luffy.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Luffy spends most of the time during his and Law's forced duel kicking Law's ass to an unusual degree. Justified as Law was holding back, because he had earplugs and wasn't being forced to fight like Luffy was.
- Evil Laugh: Breed has "Petopeto" for his unique laugh.
- Evil Plan: Breed plans to force Caesar to manufacture more artificial Zoan Fruits so he can force all humans to become animals under his control in his new kingdom.
- Foreshadowing: When Breed gives commands through the speakers, Law is seen to instantly take notice. During their ordered duel to the death, he spends almost the entire time getting smacked around by Luffy without using any of his techniques that could easily take Luffy out, and somehow managed to steer his dodges towards Breed despite Luffy stating his own body is moving entirely of its own accord. It's revealed ever since he noticed the speakers he's been wearing earplugs and faking obedience.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Once he powered himself up Breed starts using the Sea Lapins as clubs.
- Idiot Ball: Luffy stops Law from using his "room" powers on a rampaging Chopper because he doesn't want Chopper to be hurt. Forgetting that Law's powers are such that he can slice people to pieces without hurting them if he wishes, making him uniquely capable of stopping someone without harming them. As a result, both Law and Luffy are given collars by Breed and forced to obey as well.
- Breed doesn't try to order Law to do anything when Law pulls out one of his earplugs for a bit, even though Law could hear him then. Also, Law himself for removing the earplug, the only thing protecting him from Breed's powers.
- It never occurs to either Luffy or Law to use their Haki to resist Breed's power.
- Logical Weakness: Breed's powers are to give commands. Naturally not being able to hear the commands stops this from working.
- Never My Fault: Breed firmly believes Humans Are Bastards and that friendship is a farce because his old crew mutinied and left him for dead adrift at sea. However, a second flashback to that scene demonstrates he was ousted because his Control Freak nature and Lack of Empathy alienated them and that they told him this. He vehemently denies this as the problem and flies into a rage.
- People Puppets: Breed ate the Peto-Peto (Pet) Fruit, which forms itself as a green goo-like substance on his hand. Whomever gets hit with it forms a collar around their neck and becomes his unwitting slave forced to obey his commands.
