Episode 541

"Kizaru Appears! A Trap Aimed at Tiger!" is the 541st episode of the One Piece anime.

Short Summary
Entering a flashback, Neptune holds a baby Shirahoshi commenting on Tiger's attack on Mary Geoise, stating he would not be able to attend a summit for a long time because of it.

Elsewhere, the remaining citizens of Fish-Man Island celebrate the heroic efforts of Tiger, calling him a "hero", whilst Queen Otohime tries to gather signatures for people to migrate to the human world, but only gets ignored due to the news of Tiger. Hody Jones is seen briefly during his youth, wishing he could have seen it for himself.

The Sun Pirates are attacked by a Marine battleship led by Kadar who demands the fish-men return all the slaves Tiger had freed, only to be brutally assaulted by the angry fish-men, who reprimand the Marines for worrying more about reclaiming Celestial Dragon slaves rather than stopping slavery. The fish-men take all their belongings and Arlong secretly kills one of the Marines.

Vice Admiral Kizaru receives reports of the dangerous Sun Pirates and later issues the two most dangerous members, Jinbe and Tiger bounties. Back on the ship, Tiger scolds Arlong for killing the Marine and makes a speech about liberation and freedom over revenge, but later tells Jinbe that "demons" he has inside of him wishes he could kill humans.

The Sun Pirates then get asked to escort a scruffy human slave, Koala to her hometown, which Tiger grudgingly accepts. During their time with Koala, Arlong beats her for being a human and the crew are shocked at her demeanor and fear of them, taking pity on her. Tiger finally removes her slave mark and replaces it with a sun. Koala then finally shows emotion by crying.

Long Summary
The story now goes 15 years into the past, as Neptune, holding a baby Shirahoshi, comments on how Tiger's actions will stop Fish-Man Island from attending the World Summit for a while. Otohime comments that they could never have stopped him after hearing the voice in his heart. Tiger's attack on Mary Geoise is spread throughout the whole island and everyone celebrates his attack and freeing the slaves, calling him the hero of Fish-Man Island. Otohime tries to get others to sign her petition for migrating to the human world, only to be turned down by the people due to them celebrating Fisher Tiger and his attack and they all leave. At the Fish-Man District a young Hody Jones and New Fish-Man Pirates all comment on Tiger's attack, wishing to have joined them. They cheer them on believing that their goal is killing humans.

At the Sun Pirates, Hachi tells the boss that there is a Marine ship coming and the crew prepare for battle. Arlong leads the attack and the Marines are having a hard time attacking them due to them being underwater. Rear Admiral Kadar demands that they return the slaves and the Marines are being attacked under the ship. A Marine states to Jinbe that it's a crime for freeing slaves and that the Fish-Men should never go against humans. Jinbe, enraged, brutally assaults the human and asks why freeing slaves is a crime while slavery is not a crime and asks Otohime if this is the peace they can have with humans. Tiger begins his attack on the Marines and Kadar demands that he gives back the slaves only for Tiger to defeat him with a kick and ask what slaves are on the ship, stating that if they have a slave mark, then they should be found but due to the sun mark they cannot tell which is which. Tiger declares he will not have them killed, but will take their belongings and Arlong tries to kill a human for stating that being a human is sinful and Tiger tries to stop him but is too late.

At Marineford, Vice Admiral Borsalino is hearing a report from Rear Admiral Strawberry, about the crew and how powerful they are, for defeating Kadar and how dangerous they are in the water. Back at the Sun Pirates, Tiger is scolding Arlong for killing that Marine despite his protests. Jinbe states that they are out to kill the crew and they have to step up to be ready for them. Tiger states that killing them will make them as bad as the humans, stating this is not for revenge and neither what he did at Mary Geoise. He states that the Sun Pirates are about freedom and liberation and that they will never kill anyone. Arlong protests stating they should kill humans to make an example out of them and scare them only for Jinbe to punch him in the head for disobedience. At night, Tiger has a private talk with Jinbe and tells him that the "demons" that dwell within his heart are the most terrifying. Over time, as Otohime continues to try gaining supporters for her petition, Tiger and Jinbe gain bounties of 230 million and 76 million, respectively.

Three years later, on an island, Tiger would be asked by the people to take a former slave named Koala home and agreed while Koala would thank Tiger for what he did. Arlong is disgusted for having a human on board and assaults her for constantly smiling while Hachi holds him back. She gets up and rips some of her pants and starts cleaning the deck while blood is coming out of her nose, confusing the crew and even Arlong. Jinbe asks what she's doing and she just continually apologizes and states she will not stop working and will not cry so she will not be killed. Jinbe is shocked and takes pity on how traumatized she is and realizes how afraid she is of them because she wants to go home. Aladine states that she's acting like this because she may have seen other slaves been killed for taking breaks or not smiling and thinks she cannot trust anyone. Tiger decides to take her to his room and marks her with the sun symbol stating while it's harsh, she cannot forget the fact she was once a slave but can hide the mark. She later wakes up and apologizes for passing out, but did not cry, causing Tiger to yell stating it's alright to cry, stating they are not like the stupid World Nobles. He takes a gun and throws it overboard to prove a point and states that they will not kill anyone and tells his crew that they'll take her home no matter what, causing Koala to finally cry.

Anime Notes

 * The scene in which Arlong was telling Jinbe that he was beating already unconscious Marines is omitted in the anime.
 * The anime also added a scene in which a Marine provoked Jinbe.
 * Fisher Tiger's battle with Rear Admiral Kadar is extended. It is also shown that Tiger falsely threatened to throw the Rear Admiral into the sea.
 * The manga does not show Kadar to be afraid of Fisher Tiger.
 * The anime shows that the people of the island, where the Sun Pirates first met Koala, were also former slaves.
 * During Rear Admiral Strawberry's explanation on the Sun Pirates (which shows the silhouettes of Tiger, Jinbe, and Arlong), Jinbe's silhouette is incorrectly shown with its current appearance of 46 years instead of its appearance of 31 years as a member of the Sun Pirates.
 * This episode has no preview for the following episode, possibly because the next one is a crossover special.