Episode 470

"The Master Swordsman Mihawk - The Black Sword's Slash Draws Near Luffy" is the 470th episode of the One Piece anime.

Short Summary
Luffy stumbled upon Mihawk in which he tries to avoid. Switching to Gear Second, he has taken an alternative path to avoid the swordsman but with Mihawk having a sharp vision similar to his animal theme, Hawk. He then, attacks Luffy with his black sword from a distance. Jinbe arrives to the rescue but later failed to stop the swordsman from attacking Luffy. Then suddenly, a sandstorm released by Crocodile brings Buggy in front of Luffy and Mihawk. Luffy uses Buggy as a human-shield to escape from Mihawk. As Mihawk is about to catch up with Luffy, Vista coming out of nowhere, blocks him with his two swords. As the time ticks, the Marine seems to be in a good progress of their plans, after Sengoku claims their need on being victorious, an army of Pacifista led by Sentomaru arrives at the bay destroying a number of pirate ships.

Long Summary
The episode starts off with Luffy being shown running towards Ace, with Mihawk standing directly in his path. Deciding that he doesn't have the time to deal with someone as strong as Mihawk, Luffy activates Gear Second to avoid him. Ivankov continues his fight with Kuma, as two of his Newkama soldiers try to hold off Mihawk from attacking Luffy. They hint towards some sort of past experience with the swordsman, who replies with "I don't remember the face of every worm" after defeating them both with a single swing of his sword. As Luffy nears Ace, Mihawk uses his incredible vision to spot Luffy's fast movements, and then attacks him with his sword from a distance, pinning him to a wall. Jinbe then steps into the scene, commenting on Luffy's durability and defending him from a potential follow-up attack from Mihawk.

The two discuss the state of the war, and as nearby cannons point at Jinbe and fire, he uses his Fishman Karate to stop the cannonballs in mid-air, as Mihawk slices them in all half with a single stroke. The two then begin fighting. Luffy frees himself from the rubble of the collapsed wall and begins to attack Mihawk with a Gomu Gomu no Jet Bazooka, but his Haki activates, and he foresees his wrists getting cut off by Mihawk's sword, prompting him to rapidly redirect his arms. Mihawk then slashes at Luffy, who narrowly dodges, but the shockwave from the sword cuts in half a frozen wave at the perimeter of the battlefield. While this is happening, Buggy quietly recaps his plan, dubbed "Make Captain Buggy a Star in Front of Everyone", to his crew, a plan involving stealing a Visual Den Den Mushi.

Crocodile is then seen confronting Doflamingo who is standing atop an incapacitated Jozu, telling him that he doesn't like the idea of teaming up with Doflamongo's "New Era". He then uses his Sables attack on Doflamingo and Jozu, sending them away in a sandy whirlwind that Buggy and his crew happen to get caught in. Hancock is then seen confronting Smoker, but when she refers to Luffy as her "husband" and he inquires about it, she goes into a daydream-sequence involving the honeymoon of herself and Luffy, and the joy of having to cook for him. The daydream ends, leaving Hancock in a state of trance-like infatuation, and Smoker a bit confused.

He is quickly reminded of his objective after seeing Luffy and Mihawk out of the corner of his vision, effectively snapping Hancock out of her daze and angering her. Luffy is then seen running from Mihawk, clumsily dodging a barrage of slashes. Luffy begins charging at him, but is distracted by Crocodile's sand tornado, so he quickly grabs Buggy by the lapels and uses him as a shield against Mihawk's sword, which separates his legs from his torso. Luffy then throws Buggy's torso towards Mihawk, who slashes it into many thin strips.

Buggy angrily reforms his upper half, and with his lower half, launches a Muggy Ball at Mihawk, who effectively redirects it at the embarrassed clown, who cracks a joke before becoming victim to the explosion. Luffy runs away, but is attacked by another of Mihawk's long-range slashes. Marco notices this, and sends Vista to protect Luffy by combating Mihawk. Contrast to the prior fight with the Newkama Soldiers, Mihawk gives Vista a dignified acknowledgement, despite the fact that the two had never met face-to-face before. Luffy continues towards Ace, with a blurred effect on the screen as he runs. Mihawk observes him as he and Vista continue to fight, and observes the fact that "Among all the people on the sea, he [Luffy] has the most formidable ability". Buggy is seen lying on the ice with his head literally knocked off, as his subordinates praise him for yet another coincidental success; one of the men prop up his beheaded body, which is holding the Visual Den Den Mushi in its hands.

The narrator then cues in, followed by a fast-cut montage in which everything has a monochromatic color scheme (first red, then blue, then yellow). After the montage, the two guards standing on either side of Ace cross their blades in the traditional execution style, and both the onlookers of Sabaody Archipelago and the members of the Whitebeard Pirates are struck with confusion and anger realizing that the execution will take place ahead of schedule. Luffy continues to make his way towards the execution platform, and Sengoku comments on his conviction of the outcome of the battle to be a victory for the Marines. Sentomaru then shows up, accompanied by seven Pacifistas which attack Whitebeard's ships from behind, causing much confusion for the Whitebeard pirates, their allies, and most of all, Ivankov. The episode ends with Sentomaru striking a battle-pose and exclaiming "I'm tired of waiting! It's showtime!"

Anime Notes

 * Jinbe fought Mihawk in this episode while he didn't in the manga.
 * In the anime, Hancock's fight with Smoker and her daydreams are elaborated.