Episode 869

"Wake Up - Kenbunshoku Able to Top The Strongest!" is the 869th episode of the One Piece anime.

Short Summary
Sanji and Pudding prepare to infiltrate Cacao Island, which Oven has stationed with thousands of his siblings and crewmates. In the Mirro-World, Luffy's Kenbunshoku Haki has developed to the point where he is able to foresee Katakuri's attacks and trade blows with him. With an hour to go before his planned rendezvous with the crew, Luffy activates a form of Gear Fourth known as Snakeman.

Long Summary
Luffy and Katakuri continue fighting. Each tries to gain an advantage as they work to overcome the other's attacks, and Luffy, with his Kenbunshoku Haki at a level higher than ever before, is ultimately able to foresee Katakuri's attacks as well and perfectly match the Sweet Commander's attacks. Katakuri manages to get the upper hand briefly by using Kuri Mochi to rapidly shoot mochi spikes, but as the two clash again, Luffy remembers his training on Rusukaina. He had difficulty dodging Rayleigh's Haki-imbued stick swings while blindfolded in order to train his Kenbunshoku Haki, and Rayleigh told him he could not eat until he had dodged 100 times. Night fell, and as Luffy lay hungry on the ground, some of the animals he tamed tried to bring him food, but he turned them down. However, he asked them to help him with his training, and they brought several other animals to attack him and develop his Haki. A giant, enraged lion then appeared, and Luffy initially had trouble dealing with it, but got close to it and realized something was hurting it. After the lion collapsed, Luffy found a stick lodged in its body and pulled it out. Rayleigh then came back and resumed Luffy's training, and Luffy successfully dodged 100 blows, even the last one when Rayleigh attempted to hide his presence completely, which Luffy had been able to sense because he felt his mentor smile.

Back in the present, Katakuri slams Luffy into the ground with a mochi fist and creates several Muso Donuts. Luffy then remembers eating with Rayleigh after completing his Haki training. Rayleigh noted that Luffy seemed to possess an unusual gift to be able to sense the emotions of people and animals. He then told Luffy that a few strong people in the world had advanced enough Kenbunshoku Haki that they could see a bit into the future, and asked Luffy how he would deal with them. Luffy replied that it would depend on their personality, and Rayleigh was intrigued by the answer as he and Luffy went to the next stage of training. In the present, Luffy is able to visualize Katakuri's next move, and is able to perfectly dodge the barrage of mochi punches. Katakuri shifts his attack and is able to overpower Luffy, but Luffy comes right back and lands some hits on the Sweet Commander. Katakuri uses Yaki Mochi to shoot his Haki-hardened mochi fist out, and the fist sends Luffy rocketing all the way through one of the Mirro-World's formations. Luffy gets back up, however, and the two of them exchange blows over and over again until they are both left panting. With neither of them defeated, however, Luffy and Katakuri resume fighting right away.

Meanwhile, Sanji and Pudding fly to Cacao Island, and Pudding's sadistic side is heavily conflicted about her close proximity to Sanji. Sanji makes preparations to get onto the island and rescue Luffy without being seen, and on Cacao Island, several of Oven's brothers and sisters arrive to join his cause. His army now numbers in the thousands, and includes former Sweet Commander Snack, which causes some of the members to deride the excessive force. With slightly less than an hour to go before the Straw Hats' rendezvous time, Katakuri stands over a downed Luffy, and as Luffy gets up once again, the two of them anticipate the rapidly approaching end of their fight. Luffy decides to end it by activating a new form of Gear Fourth: Snakeman.

Anime Notes

 * The anime adds the following:
 * During Luffy's flashback at Rusukaina, the animals helped Luffy with his Kenbunshoku Haki training and Luffy calmed down a giant lion.
 * Luffy successfully completing Rayleigh's challenge of dodging 100 times is shown.
 * The introduction of Chiboust, the 29th son of the Charlotte Family.
 * Unlike in the manga, Myukuru is also formally introduced in the anime.
 * Raisin commenting that the Big Mom Pirates should have killed Luffy back in the outskirts of Sweet City prior to the Tea Party.
 * Luffy and Katakuri exchanging blows is extended.
 * In the manga, Luffy and Katakuri's exchange of blows was interposed by the scenes of the Fire Tank Pirates fleeing from Big Mom and the Thousand Sunny dodging Smoothie's attacks. Both scenes were already shown in the previous episode.