The Man in the Straw Hat

"The Man in the Straw Hat" is the second episode of the One Piece live-action series.

Short Summary
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami find themselves imprisoned on an island overtaken by the deranged clown pirate, Buggy. Koby joins the Marines and proves his mettle.

Long Summary
Ten years prior to the present day, Luffy tested out his new Gum-Gum Fruit powers in the Partys Bar. Makino explained to him the nature of Devil Fruits, revealing that no two are alike and that they got their name because the consumption of one is effectively a "deal with the devil"; in return for gaining a supernatural power, the user is rejected by the sea and loses their ability to swim. Shanks then entered the bar, and as Luffy talked to him, more Red Hair Pirates arrived and announced that they have packed months' worth of rations. Luffy asked Shanks when he will be returning from this next voyage, and Shanks revealed that he will not be.

In the present day, Luffy is goofing off on the boat while Nami tries to keep him quiet so she can focus on breaking open Morgan's safe. She pushes Luffy at one point and nearly causes his straw hat to blow overboard, and Luffy tells her to not threaten the hat as it is his most cherished possession. Finally, Nami gets the safe open and brings out the map to the Grand Line. With Luffy knowing nothing about where the Grand Line is or the world's geography, Nami draws a basic map of the world. She reveals that she does not believe the One Piece actually exists, though Luffy is not swayed in his desire to find it. Suddenly, the trio are attacked by an approaching ship, which fires shots that spread a red gas around them. The gas causes the trio to lose consciousness, but Luffy sees a Jolly Roger flying from the attacking ship beforehand.

Luffy, Zoro, and Nami wake up inside a wooden crate, and Nami believes that they were captured by the Marines, but Luffy reveals that it was pirates due to the Jolly Roger he saw. The crate is then taken down, leaving the trio right in the middle of a circus performance by the Buggy Pirates. The circus is attended by ordinary citizens who are effectively enslaved, being chained to their seats and ordered to respond as the performers desire via cue cards. The crew's captain Buggy then makes his entrance, revealing that he too is after the map to the Grand Line, as he also dreams of finding the One Piece and becoming the Pirate King. Nami forces Luffy to inadvertently reveal his Devil Fruit ability, distracting Buggy enough to allow her to run out of the tent. However, she stops outside due to shock as she discovers that the town they are in, Orange Town, has been utterly demolished by Buggy's crew. This hesitation allows Buggy's men to catch up to her and bring her back inside. Buggy orders for Zoro and Nami to be taken into the green room while he interrogates Luffy about the map.

In Shells Town, Garp and Bogard have arrived at the 153rd Branch. Morgan explains to them what happened, lying that he was able to scare the invaders off although they were still able to make out with the map. Among the Marines standing at attention are Koby, who just enlisted that morning, as well as Helmeppo. Morgan blames his son for being unable to prevent the pirates from escaping, and commends Koby for saving Helmeppo. Later, Koby is summoned to Morgan's office where Garp and Bogard are stationed. Garp questions Koby's belonging in the Marines, revealing that he had been spotted with Luffy in the tavern before the pirate's invasion and was thus suspected of being a mole. Koby decides to tell the truth, revealing how he was captured by Alvida and liberated by Luffy. He affirms that it is his dream to be a Marine and bring pirates like Luffy to justice, and Garp accepts his answer, but makes clear that Koby will be assisting him in pursuing the straw hat pirate.

Back in Orange Town, Zoro has been tied to a wheel while Nami is locked up in a birdcage. Although Zoro does not trust Nami due to her abandoning them earlier, he reluctantly agrees to work with her to escape for lack of a better option; Nami works to free herself using a lockpick. Later, Buggy's crewmate Cabaji enters the room and introduces himself to Zoro, revealing that the swordsman killed his brother for the bounty. Zoro has no recollection of Cabaji or his brother, making Cabaji even angrier. The pirate starts playing a game with Zoro, throwing knives at him while he spins around on the wheel.

In the main area of the circus tent, Buggy has Luffy bound to a contraption that stretches his arms and legs all the way across the ring, although Luffy's rubber body has so far managed to nullify its purpose as a torture device. While wondering how Luffy decided to be a pirate, Buggy notices his straw hat and recognizes it as Shanks', revealing that he and Shanks knew each other as they served in the same pirate crew when they were around Luffy's age. Buggy says that although they were once friends, Shanks ended up betraying him, and asks if Luffy was also betrayed to which Luffy angrily denies. Buggy then decides to take a young boy from the audience and put him in the stretching device, but Luffy is able to pull himself out of his bonds and get free. He then punches Buggy in the face, which decapitates him to the crowd's abject horror. However, Buggy soon reveals that he is alive, as he like Luffy also ate a Devil Fruit, the Chop-Chop Fruit, which allows him to separate his body parts at will. Buggy splits off his hand and flies it behind Luffy's head, detonating a gas bomb that knocks Luffy out.

Ten years ago, Luffy was at the Partys Bar when Higuma and his gang returned demanding to finally get their drinks. Luffy angrily confronted Higuma for how he treated Shanks, causing Higuma to pick him up and prepare to punish him for his insolence. Shanks then arrived and told Higuma to let Luffy go, but he and his bandits refused to take the pirate seriously after their earlier encounter. However, Lucky Roux sniped a bandit holding Shanks at gunpoint, causing a brawl to break out as Shanks, Roux, Benn Beckman, and Yasopp easily overwhelmed the bandits. However, in the midst of the chaos, Higuma was able to escape with Luffy. He took Luffy on a rowboat out to sea to kill him, but a massive Sea King called the Lord of the Coast arrived from underwater and capsized the boat; it then ate Higuma while Luffy sank into the sea, unable to swim. However, Shanks then arrived and pulled Luffy out of the water, and the Lord of the Coast surfaced and lunged at the rowboat, which Shanks and Luffy barely dodged. Shanks then stared at the Lord of the Coast and told it to get lost, and his presence resulted in the massive beast obeying his command. Luffy embraced Shanks in relief, but then became sorrowful after realizing Shanks had lost his left arm from the Lord of the Coast's attack. However, Shanks was unfazed by it, only caring that Luffy was safe.

In the present, Luffy awakens inside a glass tank that is slowly filling up with seawater, causing him to struggle to just move. Buggy offers to let Luffy go if the pirate pledges allegiance to him, but Luffy refuses even as the tank fills up and he is submerged in the water. In the green room, Cabaji has so far not hit Zoro with his knives, with one of his throws loosening the ropes around one of Zoro's wrists. Cabaji's unwavering attention to Zoro allows Nami to pick her way out of the cage and launch a surprise attack on him, allowing Zoro to break his hand out of the weakened rope and put Cabaji in a chokehold, knocking him out. Nami unties Zoro's other hand, and the duo reacquire their weapons before heading out into the show area, ready to take out any clowns they see.

Zoro and Nami arrive at the stage, and Nami frees Luffy from the tank by throwing her staff at it, causing the glass to shatter. Luffy coughs up the map while purging the seawater from his lungs, and Buggy is able to seize it due to Luffy focusing on getting his hat back first. Zoro attacks Buggy, but his sword strikes do no damage against the clown's Devil Fruit power. Buggy splits his whole body into little pieces and flies them around the tent with great force, overwhelming the trio with a barrage of hits. With Zoro and Nami recovering to the side, Buggy turns his attention to Luffy and pins him to the ground by the neck with his hand, using his other hand to pierce through the straw hat. However, Luffy takes notice of some empty chests at the edge of the tent and gets an idea. Alerting Zoro and Nami to his plan, the trio work together to hit Buggy's various body parts so they fly into the chests, which Nami then closes, preventing Buggy from reassembling himself. Eventually, Buggy is reduced to just his head, hands, and feet, and Luffy stretches both his arms back to prepare his final blow. That blow, called Gum-Gum Bazooka, sends Buggy flying out of the tent and off the island. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami retake the map and prepare to head out, but first, Luffy works to liberate the Orange Town citizens from their chains, assuring them that he is freeing them rather than putting them under his rule.

Later, the trio depart Orange Town with the citizens giving them a warm goodbye. Luffy remembers the last time he saw Shanks. As the pirate and his crew were preparing to depart Windmill Village for good, he went up to Luffy, who told him that he had decided to stay and eventually form his own pirate crew, one that would eventually surpass Shanks'. Appreciating this decision, Shanks gave Luffy his straw hat, telling him he could return it once he had become strong like he promised.

In Shells Town, Garp speaks to the 153rd Branch in the clearing, with Morgan being tied up in front of them as punishment for lying about what had transpired during Luffy's invasion. Garp tells the forces that the Marines' war against pirates would not be hindered by their own corruption, and announces that the branch will be beginning a direct manhunt for Straw Hat Luffy. As Koby listens to Garp speak, he struggles with his conflicting loyalties. Meanwhile, as Luffy, Zoro, and Nami set sail toward the Grand Line, Nami enters the cabin and pulls out a special small Den Den Mushi that she puts in her ear. She makes a call to a certain person, telling them to tell someone else that she has acquired the map to the Grand Line.

Episode Notes

 * The live-action series changes the following from the canon series:
 * Luffy treating his Straw Hat as a treasure occurs on Nami's boat.
 * The Buggy Pirates kidnap Luffy, Zoro and Nami using knock-out gas. In the other media, Luffy is kidnapped by a Pinky and dragged to Orange Town.
 * Beast tamer Mohji appears only as a cameo, never battling Luffy. His lion, Richie, on the other hand, is only mentioned by Buggy.
 * Buggy now wants to find the One Piece and become King of the Pirates as well, rather than just looking for treasure in general.
 * Buggy destroys all of Orange Town and imprisons all of its citizens. In the other media, the citizens simply retreat to the outskirts, leaving the town mostly intact, albeit abandoned.
 * Koby and Helmeppo are enlisted into the Marines as cadets rather than as chore boys.
 * Morgan was not immediately arrested after his defeat to Luffy. Instead, he would lead the Marine branch alongside Garp until Garp arrested him.
 * Boodle's interaction with the Straw Hats is reduced, with the town's backstory never given. He only interacts with Luffy once to thank him for his deeds.
 * Cabaji's sword fight against Zoro is replaced with Zoro being bound to a wheel of death and Cabaji throwing knives at him.
 * Luffy's battle against the Buggy Pirates occurs in Buggy's circus tent, as opposed to the town outside.
 * Buggy's signature weapon, the Buggy Balls is more similar to their later appearance as hand grenades rather than their manga/anime arc appearance as cannon balls. However, rather than being explosives, they are rubber balls (similar to stress balls) that explode in a cloud of red sleeping powder when squeezed.
 * The scene where Buggy fired the Buggy ball at rows of houses is omitted.
 * Buggy is shown to have the ability to make his feet hover, removing a pivotal weakness of his power. Because of this, the weakness is not exploited in the battle.
 * Buggy stabbing Zoro in the back is skipped.
 * While they keep Buggy displaying contempt towards Shanks, the flashback of him and Shanks on Roger's ship was omitted.
 * Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban make no cameo appearances in the scene.
 * The north/south pole argument is omitted.
 * Nami trying to rob Buggy is skipped.
 * Luffy kicking Buggy in the balls is skipped.
 * Buggy is defeated by Luffy, Zoro and Nami locking his body parts into different chests rather than Nami tying together with rope.
 * Buggy is also aware that this is happening, rather than being blindsided after trying to prepare an attack.
 * Garp recruits more than just Koby and Helmeppo for training.
 * Chouchou makes a cameo but his backstory is omitted.
 * Hocker and Poro do not appear.
 * The live-action series adds the following:
 * Zoro and Nami being captured by the Buggy Pirates.
 * Garp visiting the 153rd Branch after Luffy's attack.
 * Zoro being bound to a wheel of death, and Nami being imprisoned in a cage.
 * Cabaji mentions he had a brother which was hunted down and killed by Zoro, developing a grudge against the swordsman.
 * Buggy attempting to torture Luffy by stretching him.
 * Makino explaining Devil Fruits to Luffy in his childhood.
 * Buggy attempting to drown Luffy in a tank of seawater.
 * Nami using an ear-piece Den Den Mushi to contact someone about the map.

Trivia

 * At one point, Luffy accidentally calls Buggy "Boogie." Boogie was Buggy's original name, but this was changed because the film The Nightmare Before Christmas had an antagonist with similar name.

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