Chapter 977

Chapter 977 is titled "The Party's Off!!!".

Cover Page
"Gang" Bege's Oh My Family Vol. 24: "Lola?! Chiffon?! The Sisters Are Reunited!"

Lola and Chiffon are reunited.

Short Summary
Law works with the Nine Red Scabbards to amend their invasion strategy, and they plan to sail to the back of the island in the Polar Tang while the other groups cause a distraction. As the alliance reaches Onigashima, Denjiro realizes that he did not warn them about the guards at the Torii Gate, but the guards are immediately beaten by the Straw Hats. The Straw Hats decide to celebrate Jinbe's arrival after beating their enemies, and in Kaidou's fortress, the Flying Six arrive to the Fire Festival.

Long Summary
The Straw Hats embrace Jinbe as he reveals he was tending to the injured Sun Pirates and then there was a farewell party that caused him to be late. Usopp expresses amazement that a former member of the Seven Warlords is now their crewmate and Robin says it is heartening. Nami and Chopper tell Franky that Jinbe is an amazing helmsman and the cyborg expresses joy that someone can draw out the Thousand Sunny's true potential. Jinbe asks a question and Franky finishes by asking if he wants a drink. Most of the crew agree while Sanji asks where the alcohol is supposed to come from, and Zoro says he can sense it. Kin'emon yells to the Straw Hats that he wants to coordinate with them once they make it into the island, but they don't listen and Law tells Kin'emon to forget it because it will be a waste of time.

Shishilian jumps onto the Polar Tang and says he will listen. He says to Inuarashi that because he is a member of the Nine Red Scabbards, he should fight with them and he can lead the Minks, which Inuarashi agrees too. Hyogoro speaks up and says that he will lead the samurai so the Scabbards can fight unhindered. With all that said, Kin'emon goes over his plan: He explains the layout of Onigashima and the front gate, and how inside the giant skull of the mountain is Kaidou's castle. Thanks to the blueprints, they will aim for the rear entrance and split their forces in two, going left and right, to meet up at the rear entrance and ambush Kaidou while he's drunk. Denjiro, believing this plan was the one meant to deceive Kanjuro, asks Kin'emon what his real plan is, leaving the Scabbard captain stumped while Raizo wonders how smart Denjiro really thinks Kin'emon is.

Law jumps in and says that if they assume the enemy knows they are coming, their priority targets are the samurai, Luffy, Eustass Kid, and himself, and no matter how planned out their strategy is, there will always be two idiots who won't follow and charge at the enemy head on. He decides they should use them as decoys while their troops will split up on the mountain paths, but he also adds they are decoys too. Hyogoro is surprised by this and asks where the Scabbards will go, and he says by sea using his submarine, and that he will use his powers to warp them to the rear entrance after avoiding the whirlpools. Kin'emon thanks Law for his consideration but he feels he should stay back and lead their men. Denjiro says he will go by the mountain paths too because both troops need a commander. Ashura agrees to this so they can save their energy for their fight with Kaidou. Kin'emon says they will proceed as planned now and Denjiro praises him for the cautiousness, while Law realizes the Straw Hats are gone.

After hearing an explosion at the front gate, Denjiro realizes he forgot to tell them about the guards stationed there during the Fire Festival, and if they know about the raid, it will be bad. The Scabbards panic at what will happen to the Straw Hats, but are left dumbfounded when they take out the guards with no issue while Usopp, Nami, and Chopper watch from afar. Luffy yells to Kin'emon that they took out the guys at the gate and he tells the troops to make their way to the island. With alcohol somehow in their possession, Luffy prepares to throw a party to celebrate Jinbe's arrival but immediately puts it on hold for after Kaidou, Orochi, and Big Mom are defeated.

Kid yells to Luffy that he won't let anyone else take down Kaidou, because he needs to avenge Killer, who had dawned his mask again. The rest of the Kid Pirates agree, and even laugh the same way as Killer to preserve his feelings. Unwilling to let them get ahead, Luffy tells his crew to catch up to them.

At Onigashima, the Beasts Pirates are shown celebrating and Orochi tries to get close to a geisha. Queen yells for the chefs to bring out oshikuro but his subordinates say they are bringing it to Big Mom, to which he yells he doesn't care. Kaidou yells that he wants his son to show up and his subordinates reply they will find him. He is then informed that the Tobiroppo have arrived and he decides to introduce them to Big Mom, where he learns she is changing into a kimono. The Tobiroppo are seen making their entrance.

Chapter Notes

 * Jinbe reveals that he arrived late because he had to help the injured members of the Sun Pirates and they gave him a send-off.
 * Law and the Scabbards form a plan to enter Onigashima.
 * Shishilian will lead the minks.
 * Hyogoro will lead the samurai.
 * A layout of Onigashima is shown.
 * The Straw Hats defeat the Beasts Pirates members at the port in front of Onigashima.
 * The Straw Hats manage to get sake to make Jinbe's joining official. However, Luffy decides to postpone the celebration until after the war.
 * Killer is wearing his mask again.
 * Out of consideration for Killer, the Kid Pirates are laughing in the same manner as him.
 * Kaidou mentions that he has a son.
 * The Tobiroppo have gathered in Onigashima.

Trivia

 * During the scene where the Straw Hats welcomed Jinbe to the crew, Wanda may be seen in the original artwork and certain publications while in others, she is cropped out.
 * In SBS Volume 98 fan said in the scene after Nami hugs Jinbe, he spotted Sanji biting on a handkerchief while going like "GHH–" out of jealousy. Eiichiro Oda confirmed this and stated that this moment was cut off due to the page format.