Chapter 498

Chapter 498 is titled "The Eleven Supernovas".

Cover Page
CP9's Independent Report Vol. 8: "Earning Medical Fees - Jabra & Blueno's Wild Animal Show"

As part of the fund-raising for Lucci's operation, Jabra jumps through a hoop while Blueno gets the crowd's attention.

Short Summary
The Straw Hat Pirates arrive at Shakky's Rip-off Bar, after managing to get to Grove 13. There, they inquire about Rayleigh. Shakky informs the Straw Hat Pirates about the Eleven Supernovas, a group of rookie pirates with bounties of over 100,000,000 that arrived at Sabaody Archipelago at the same time.

Long Summary
Luffy pummels through his third bounty-hunter at Sabaody Archipelago to the applause of Hatchan, Keimi and Pappag as Chopper and Brook continue the journey with them. When someone asks why there are suddenly so many bounty hunters, Hatchan explains that they are currently at the "Lawless Zone" of the archipelago, a collection of twenty nine mangroves that pirates and bounty hunters usually occupy instead of the usual tourists. Chopper remarks that Sanji or Zoro could have come with them, but the fishman octopus assures them that they are nearing Grove 13, where his bubble coating friend awaits. The two bounty hunters left, remark that Luffy's 300,000,000 bounty is impressive but there are "other pickings" on the island they could choose from instead.

At Grove 13, the group arrives at what appears to be a rip-off bar run by Hatchan's friends, whom Keimi trusts despite not having been there before. Upon arriving at the bar, they see the bar owner, Shakuyaku, an attractive looking woman with a cigarette in her mouth and a bloody customer, who tried to not pay his bill, in her grip. Shakky recognizes the Fishman and happily greets Hatchan when she sees him, claiming it to have been a long time. After expressing her delight after learning about Hatchan ending his days of piracy (believing that his health comes first), she offers food and drinks to the Straw Hats, only to find Luffy and Brook already raiding the fridge, despite Chopper's warnings of her possibly being a rip-off, but she assures them all that since they're friends of Hatchan, they can do as the like and even gives Chopper some cotton candy. Luffy suspects she knows something about them which Shakky admits so, claiming to be a well-informed person, before questioning him about the Enies Lobby incident and his relation to his grandfather Monkey D. Garp. Shakky then reveals that she is a former pirate, which is why she knows Garp, who used to chase her forty years ago (surprising Luffy at that part, leaving him to wonder how old she really is).

Hatchan soon asks about the location of their friend "Rayleigh the Bubble Coater" to get the Thousand Sunny coated, but she claims that he has been gone for half a year and as a former pirate, he could look after himself. She gives them various hints regarding Rayleigh's whereabouts including the "Lawless Zone" and Sabaody Park, but tells everyone to be careful while searching for him due to the presence of other powerful pirates. In particular, she notes that at this point, there are eleven pirates (including Luffy and Zoro) on Sabaody Archipelago who had taken different routes to pass through the Grand Line and became known as Supernovas due to having bounties worth over 100,000,000, with one of those pirates' bounty being even greater than that of Luffy's.

At this moment, the story cuts away from the Straw Hats to introduce those nine other pirates and crews whithin Sabaody Archipelago:
 * At Grove 29, a short mafia suit wearing pirate named Capone Bege is noting the horrific gluttony of the binge-eating female pirate Jewelry Bonney, who is consuming everything in sight and demanding more food.
 * Nearby, a waiter apologizes to a subordinate pirate,   who is saved by the last of moment from death by the mysterious, card-reading captain Basil Hawkins, who also states to his subordinate that his day was unlucky, further emphasized by the spaghetti that was spilled on his clothes.
 * In the midst of the lawless zone, a DJ-like pirate with abnormally long arms named Scratchmen Apoo is taunting a tough-looking rocker-themed pirate Eustass Kid (the one whose bounty is bigger than Luffy's) during battle.
 * At Grove 21, a monk-like pirate and White Sea citizen Urouge's battle with the deadly masked pirate Killer (a subordinate of Eustass Kid) is stopped by former Marine turned pirate X Drake, who tells them to save the hostilities for the New World. Urouge notes this may have been a narrow escape from death.
 * As Drake leaves them, a calm and stoic pirate named Trafalgar Law enigmatically asks him how many men he has killed.

Back at Shakky's bar, the owner notes that while many other crews have set out to sea, only the strongest such as the Straw Hat Pirates and these other rookies have made it this far. She believes that they will all make their mark and that others such as the Kid Pirates, infamous for injuring civilians (which is the main reason why his bounty is higher than Luffy's), are more violent than Luffy's crew, thus making her root for the Straw Hats to succeed. Luffy, Brook and Chopper worry about Rayleigh's fate outside but she claims that he will be fine as he is a hundred times stronger than any of the rookies.

Chapter Notes

 * Shakuyaku is introduced.
 * Ray is first mentioned.
 * Shakuyaku reveals that forty years ago, when she was a pirate, Garp always chased after her.
 * The Eleven Supernovas excluding Luffy and Zoro are introduced.
 * X Drake is revealed to be a former Marine.
 * Scratchman Apoo possesses unusually long arms, while one of Trafalgar Law's crew members is an anthromorphic polar bear.
 * The reason Eustass Kid's bounty is bigger than Luffy's, is because him and his crew have hurt innocent civilians, sometimes killing them (this is a complete contrast to Luffy and his crew).
 * Shakuyaku says that Ray is a hundred times stronger than Luffy and the other Supernovas.

Characters

 * First introduction


 * First appearance

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