Episode 748

"An Underground Maze - Luffy vs. the Rail Car Human" is the 748th episode of the One Piece anime.

Short Summary
Inside the underground mines, Luffy and Bartolomeo are attacked by the Rail Car Man Aveyron. Desire is attacked as well, which shocks her, as Bill had rescued her crew after it was destroyed. The three are then sent plummeting further underground, where they discover members of the Silver Pirate Alliance who are enslaved as miners due to not pleasing Bill. Bartolomeo manages to free his hands, and Aveyron returns, unwittingly freeing Luffy from his silver ball with an attack. Luffy and Bartolomeo then work together to defeat Aveyron, and upon hearing about this, Bill orders the underground mine to be buried.

Long Summary
In an underground tunnel in Silver Mine, Bartolomeo frees himself from a pile of ore he was buried in after falling. He looks for Luffy, and thinks that he has fallen into a nearby chasm due to his straw hat being on the edge of it, but to his relief Luffy calls out from another pile of ore, which Bartolomeo frees him from. Desire then gets up from her fall, and sees her Battle Boat in ruins. As Bartolomeo gives Luffy his straw hat back, Desire petitions Bartolomeo to let her have Luffy, and Bartolomeo refuses, asking her why she is enemies with them. Luffy looks up and wonders why there are a lot of train tracks up above them, and Aveyron wheels down a set of tracks elsewhere. Desire attempts to contact someone, but gets no reception, and admits to Bartolomeo that she has no knowledge of the tracks despite being in the Silver Pirate Alliance. Suddenly, Aveyron alerts the trio that he is coming, and he rolls right toward Luffy.

Aveyron reveals that he ate the Koro Koro no Mi, allowing him to roll on the train tracks, and it is his duty to eliminate anyone who stumbles into the underground mines. Luffy, Bartolomeo, and Desire manage to get out of Aveyron's way as he speeds right past them, and Desire wonders why he tried to attack her as well. Aveyron turns around and turns his front wheels back into hands, reaching into the lid on his back and pulling out bombs. Bartolomeo and Desire push the encased Luffy along the tracks as they race away from Aveyron, who throws his bombs at them. Bartolomeo and Desire end up running in place on the rolling Luffy as they traverse the twists and jumps of the rail tracks. They eventually come to a fork in the tracks and decide to go right, but Aveyron reveals that they are headed for hell as the pirates roll and fall into a deep chasm. Aveyron reports to Bill where the pirates are headed as he prepares to follow them, and in his throne room, Bill assures Desire's crewmates that his units are searching for her.

Luffy, Bartolomeo, and Desire get up at the bottom of the chasm, and they hear Aveyron pursuing them. Luffy curses being trapped in a silver ball, and Desire brags that Bill's creations cannot be broken that easily, causing Bartolomeo to question why she is proud of Bill after his subordinate tried to kill her. However, Desire replies that a traitor like him has no right to say that, which confuses him. Desire tells her old friend that when they were younger they had promised to aim for the top together, but she set off alone with her friends after Bartolomeo decided to help Luffy become Pirate King instead. She reveals that her crew met with tragedy as all but four of them were shot down and killed by an enemy ship. As they were floating in the wreckage, they were approached by Bill, who rescued them and accepted them into his alliance, giving Desire his large Battle Boat. Desire says that she was glad to meet someone who shared her ideals and that everyone else in the alliance trusted Bill to. She captured Luffy in order to please Bill, and also because she knew about Bartolomeo's dedication to him. Bartolomeo still refuses to trust Bill and as Desire argues with him, the trio are suddenly approached by four miners.

The miners take them to a house in a mining colony, where Bartolomeo tries to get rid of the sticky substance binding his hands by dipping them in hot water. The miners find out that the pirates were also dropped into their location, but fail to break the silver ball Luffy is encased in. Luffy wonders what this place is, and the miners reveal that they were enslaved and forced to work in the underground mines by Bill after they failed to bring him treasure and wanted pirates. An appalled Desire runs out, struggling to reconcile her vision of Bill with the one the miners presented. Luffy asks if there is any way to escape, but the miners reveal that Aveyron always thwarts any of their attempts. Aveyron suddenly calls out as he gets closer to the mining colony, and Bartolomeo hurriedly tries to free his hands. As Aveyron reaches the bottom, Desire confronts him and asks if Bill really ordered him to kill her, which he affirms, causing Desire to rush and attack him. Aveyron throws many bombs at her, but she deflects all of them, and Bartolomeo frees his hands as the miners cheer for Desire.

Suddenly, Aveyron throws a bomb at Luffy, Bartolomeo, and the miners, throwing them to the ground. He then races toward Luffy and pulls out a drill Bill specially made for him, in order to impale Luffy with it. He plunges the spinning drill into Luffy's ball, but the attack is too low and only destroys the ball, freeing Luffy. As Luffy confronts Aveyron, the Rail Car Man pulls out his most powerful weapons and rushes at his opponent with a giant silver hammer, but Luffy shatters it. Aveyron then shoots cannonballs upward at Luffy, but he sends them flying back down with Jet Gatling, injuring Aveyron. Aveyron then escapes into the mine tunnels, and Luffy and Bartolomeo pursue him. He manages to keep an advantage by quickly changing direction, leaving bombs behind each time, but Luffy and Bartolomeo continue the chase. After Aveyron dodges a Jet Gatling attack, Bartolomeo tells Luffy to leave this to him, and he puts a barrier over the track that leads into a loop going back to them. Aveyron is sent flying toward Luffy by the loop, and Luffy finishes him off with Jet Bazooka, causing Aveyron to fly backward and set off the bombs he left behind, which cause him to fly back until he returns to the mining colony, dazed and defeated. The miners and Desire are shocked by Aveyron's defeat as Luffy and Bartolomeo return and prepare to leave the mining colony. In Bill's throne room, Bill and Peseta find out about Aveyron's defeat, and Bill decides to bury everyone inside the underground mine.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Bartolomeo
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Desire
 * Aveyron
 * Bill
 * Peseta

Anime Notes

 * Luffy, Bartolomeo, and Desire encounter Aveyron.
 * In the past, Bill saved Desire after her crew was annihilated.
 * It is revealed that Bill throws those he deems unworthy into the underground mineshaft.
 * Bartolomeo frees his hands and Aveyron inadvertently frees Luffy.
 * Luffy fights and defeats Aveyron.
 * Bill plans to bury everyone in the mineshaft.