Episode 7

"Grand Duel! Zoro the Swordsman vs Cabaji the Acrobat!", known as "The Desperate Duel" in the 4Kids dub, is the seventh episode of the anime adaption of the manga One Piece, and the fourth episode of the Buggy The Clown Arc of the series. It covers the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th chapter of the manga. It originally aired in Japan on December 29, 1999.

Statistics

 * Air Date: 1999-12-29 (4Kids: 2004-10-30, Funimation DVD: 2008-05-27)
 * Manga Chapters: Chapter 15 (11-19/19), Chapter 16 (1-17/17), Chapter 17 (1-21/21), Chapter 18 (1-19/19), Chapter 19 (1-4/19)
 * Funimation Title: Epic Showdown! Swordsman Zoro Vs. Acrobat Cabaji!

Short Summary
Zoro fights Cabaji, the second mate of the Buggy Pirates and defeats him. Luffy goes after Buggy and learns Buggy hates Shanks and that they have been crewmates in the past.

Long Summary
Zoro and Nami arrive as well as the mayor declares that he will fight Buggy, but Luffy knocks him unconscious. After Luffy calls Buggy a big nose, Buggy orders that Luffy be blown to smithereens by a Buggy Balls, and so Luffy is fired at. Luffy uses Gomu Gomu no Balloon (Gum Gum Balloon) to bounce the bomb back at them, blowing up the building the Buggy Pirates are standing on. Buggy, however, protects himself with two of his men. Cabaji protects himself with Richie, making Mohji angry, and he attacks Cabaji. Cabaji sends him flying with a kick, and Luffy then knocks Mohji out of the air. Buggy orders Cabaji to attack Luffy, but as Cabaji charges on his unicycle, drawing his sword, Zoro blocks the attack, claiming that he will be Cabaji's opponent.

Cabaji and Zoro quickly get into a fight. Cabaji kicks Zoro in the side, who is still wounded, so he falls. Zoro gets up, though, refusing to lose, and the fight continues. Cabaji uses a series of Circus Specials, and he charges right at Zoro, slashing Zoro in the side. Zoro stays standing as Nami decides to leave. Cabaji uses a series of tops before riding up the side of a building and pointing his sword down at Zoro, using Single Flower Vase. Buggy then launches his hand to grab Zoro and hold him, but Luffy stomps on Buggy's hand to stop it. Zoro leaps out of the way of Cabaji's attack just in time. Meanwhile, Nami sneaks past a drunken pirate and starts stealing Buggy's treasure, knocking the drunk pirate out when he finds she is there.

Zoro gets up to face Cabaji one last time, and they charge at each other. Zoro uses Onigiri to take out Cabaji with one slash. He then collapses, and Luffy says he'll take care of the rest. He and Buggy face off, and Buggy says how Luffy's straw hat reminds him of a man he hates. Luffy realizes this is Shanks, and he will pound the answers of his questions out of Buggy. Buggy draws his knives and uses Bara Bara Japanese Cracker (Chop Chop Rice Cracker), but Luffy narrowly avoids it. Luffy uses Gomu Gomu no Pistol (Gum Gum Pistol), but Buggy avoids it, leaving Luffy wide open. Luffy then uses Gomu Gomu no Sickle (Gum Gum Sickle), and Buggy uses Bara Bara Emergency Escape (Chop Chop Quick Escape) to avoid it, sending Luffy smashing into a building. Luffy emerges from the rubble, and Buggy uses Bara Bara Cannon (Chop Chop Harpoon), knocking back Luffy.

Luffy becomes livid when he finds his hat was nicked. Buggy realizes the hat is precious to Luffy so he attacks again, and he manages to stab right through the hat and take it. Luffy remembers his past with Shanks, and hates Buggy more and more. Buggy then says how much he hates Shanks, and that he will curse him for the rest of his life as the episode ends.

4Kids Version
The 4Kids Version of this episode was dubbed "The Desperate Duel" and aired on October 30, 2004. It had the Pirate Rap as opening and the Pirate Rap Instrumental version as Ending.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Richie
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Chou-Chou
 * Mohji
 * Roronoa Zoro
 * Nami
 * Buggy
 * Boodle
 * Buggy's Unnamed Henchman
 * Cabaji
 * Shanks (Flashback)
 * Lord of the Coast (Flashback)
 * Lucky Roo (Flashback)
 * Yassop (Flashback)
 * Benn Beckman (Flashback)