Return to Sabaody Arc

The Return to Sabaody Arc, also referred to as the Return to Sabaody Archipelago Arc, Second Sabaody Archipelago Arc and Second Sabaody Arc, is the twenty-fourth story arc of the manga and anime One Piece, the first story arc of the Fish-Man Island Saga, continuing from the Post-War Arc and Summit War Saga, and the first story arc of the second half of the series.

Two years after their separation, the Straw Hat Pirates reunite on Sabaody Archipelago. There, they have to deal with the Fake Straw Hat Crew and Pacifista.

Two Years Later


Two years have passed, and Luffy retrieves his straw hat just as Hancock and the Kuja Pirates arrive to take him back to the Sabaody Archipelago. Luffy displays his increased strength when he shows that he has made friends with the wildlife and warns the animals not to hurt his friends. Hancock is even more infatuated with Luffy, though he tells her that he is not marrying her. With that, he places his hat on his head and prepares to leave Rusukaina.

Meanwhile, the Sabaody Archipelago has become much more lawless due to Marineford having switched locations to an area in the New World and their old base now being a common Marine base called G-1 that used to be on the other side of the Red Line. Rumors of the Straw Hats suddenly reappearing and recruiting new members have circulated. Brook is now a superstar, touring the Grand Line as the "Soul King." The Longarm Tribe that captured him are now his managers. Sabaody is the final stop on Brook's tour, as well as his farewell concert to his fans.

Next, Sanji arrives with some of the okama. Right after he sets foot on the island, he is overjoyed to see real women again. He gives the okama a quick goodbye (while also flipping them off), thanking them for bringing him to Sabaody and telling them to give Iva his best before he runs off to try to find Nami and Robin. Meanwhile, in a bar, a woman is talking with the bartender about what has happened with Marineford. The talk is interrupted when a shot rings out, coming from a bunch of pirates who claim to be the "Straw Hat Pirates." Those pirates, however, do not resemble the actual Straw Hat Pirates at all. The commotion from before was "Luffy" along with "Nami", "Franky" and "Sogeking." They have shot a captain who was trying to join them when they found out he was only worth 55,000,000, commenting that they wanted pirates with a bounty of at least 70,000,000. They have managed to recruit three pirate groups with 10 men that have bounties. Among them are "Wet-Hair" Caribou and "Blood-Splatterer" Coribou who have 210,000,000 and 190,000,000 on their heads.

As "Luffy" calls for more drinks, he notices the woman from before and invites her over. She politely refuses, which quickly gains the ire of the "Straw Hats." It is actually the real Nami, who is then warned by the bartender to choose her words carefully, pointing out that it was a very bad idea to provoke the "Straw Hats." Nami ignores them and proceeds to enjoy her drink. The Fake Nami tries to threaten her but a carnivorous plant suddenly appears from out of nowhere and chomps on her and the Fake Luffy, as well as the other fake Straw Hats. Nami finds that the culprit for this deed is none other than Usopp, whom she instantly hugs upon seeing. Nami and Usopp leave the bar as the Fake Straw Hats try to go after them, but are stopped when black bubbles suddenly appear, forming into a cloud, and shock them. Fake Luffy recovers and orders his group to search for and kill the two.

Meanwhile, over at Grove 13 and Shakky's Bar, Sanji has arrived and found out that Zoro arrived on the island first. Franky arrived ten days later and made his way to the Thousand Sunny, which had been guarded by Duval and his men, for which Sanji expressed gratitude. Sanji also learns that Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook have arrived as well. This leaves Luffy and Robin as the only two unaccounted for. Rayleigh, who is also present in the bar, states that he only trained Luffy for a year and a half before leaving him and has not seen him since.

In another part of the island, Robin, who has recently arrived, discovers that she is being followed by unknown men and is perplexed by Brook's concert and the Straw Hats' recruitment of new members.

In Grove 47, Chopper is following who he thinks is Zoro and Sanji, but in reality, is more of the Fake Straw Hats; this group is comprised of the former two as well as a Robin and Chopper, who are a short woman and fox, respectively. Fake Zoro and Fake Sanji recognize Chopper as a real Straw Hat. Thinking he is abandoned by his crew and believing he is their "pet," they plan to lure him over to their side to make the Fake Straw Hats look more credible. Fake Robin tries to entice Chopper with a cucumber, but the men who were following Robin rush in and grab the fake one, along with the Fake Chopper, in a sack before fleeing.

Luffy vs. Fake Luffy


Meanwhile in G-1, the rumors of the Straw Hats reach the Marines. Vice Admiral Momonga quickly deploys his troops to the island. Back on Sabaody, Fake Luffy has shot an innocent bystander thinking it was Nami and Usopp. When her friend protests, he is shot as well. Fake Luffy orders his crew to find the real Nami and Usopp, but is suddenly knocked down by the figure from before. The said figure apologizes to him and starts to head off, but when Fake Luffy calls out to him, the figure turns around to answer him, which is actually the real Luffy in disguise.

In a flashback, Luffy says his goodbyes to the Kuja Pirates. Hancock suggests that Luffy wear a hood to conceal his identity, as she knows the Marines are still looking for him even after two years. She also gives him an overpacked sack of clothes and goodies, much to Nyon's annoyance. Luffy then bids farewell to Hancock and the Kujas, promising they'll meet again (though Hancock takes it as another proposal). Back in the present day, Fake Luffy is threatening Luffy with his pistol and trying to get Luffy to fear him. The rest of Fake Luffy's crew join in to intimidate Luffy, with the crowd hoping he will go along with their wishes. However, Luffy simply brushes them off and turns to leave. Fake Luffy goes to shoot him, but Luffy manages to dodge the bullet at point blank range and then uses Haoshoku Haki on the Fake Straw Hats causing them to faint, which astonishes the crowd.



Meanwhile, Robin arrives at the Thousand Sunny, and finds Franky, who has transformed into a much more robotic figure. She comes aboard and finds that the ship has been coated and is ready for underwater travel. She also finds out that the rest of the Straw Hats have arrived on the island, except for Luffy. When Robin asks about Brook's concert, Franky answers that he's been touring, and has risen to become a superstar since they first found him in the Florian Triangle and even doubts Brook will rejoin the crew.

In Grove 47, Fake Zoro and Fake Sanji, along with the real Chopper, have regrouped with the Fake Straw Hats, who are recovering. They report Fake Robin's (whose real name is Cocoa) kidnapping to the Fake Luffy, with Chopper frantically trying to get the group to go after them. Fake Luffy, however, dismisses his crewmate's kidnapping. He orders the bunch to gather up their recruited pirates to track down the real Luffy, Nami, and Usopp, starting from Grove 46. Chopper runs off, unable to believe they would just abandon "Robin," and goes off to try to rescue her himself. Unbeknownst to him and the Fake Straw Hats, some Marines have been monitoring them.



They report this to Grove 66, another Marine base, which causes the Marines to mobilize. They are ordered to direct the civilians away from the Grove which will soon become a battlefield as reinforcements from G-1 would later arrive. Among them is Sentomaru, who decides to bring along two Pacifistas. He warns his troops not to underestimate the crew as they may have gotten stronger in the last two years, especially their captain, Luffy, whom he declares to be an entirely different caliber than the usual over 100,000,000 bounty rookies that gather at the Archipelago.

Meanwhile, in Grove 42, Sanji comes across a fisherman and tries to buy some fish, but the man is panicking because he had a client who wanted to go fishing. The fisherman told him to get on the boat, but instead the man got on a pirate ship by mistake, which took off underwater. When Sanji hears the description of the man, he realizes who it is and tells the fisherman not to panic as the man can take care of himself.



However, as he says that, a pirate ship suddenly floats back up from underwater, now cut in half. The captain of the ship yells at an individual on the mast, bemoaning how he ruined their dream to get to the New World. The said figure is not fazed and just tells him it was their bad luck to meet him. It is then revealed that the person on the mast is none other than Zoro, who grumbles about getting on the wrong ship.

Chopper gallops through Sabaody Archipelago's Grove 35 in his reindeer form, yelling wildly for Robin (the fake one that was kidnapped) while also questioning the actions of the Straw Hats (the fake ones). He abruptly stops as Usopp and Nami ride by on one of the Archipelago's bubble contraptions, calling to him. Finally reunited on the island, they embrace as long-seen old friends. Both Usopp and Nami comment on how big and fluffy Chopper has become as he tries to separate the fake Nami from the real one before him in his mind. Catching himself, Chopper informs them of Robin's kidnapping. Revelations abound as all three ride the bubble, and Chopper is brought up to speed on what's going on. He realizes that the kidnapped Robin is a fake (as the real one would not be easy to catch) and that the Straw Hats he met before were also fakes. Chopper, though, swoons at the idea of how famous he is, motivating him to want to create a signature. Usopp comments that he's already created his own, while Nami adds that they are famous in a bad way.

Meanwhile, Fake Zoro and Fake Sanji chase after the real Chopper, after their Captain makes the realization that it was the real "pet," but run into Luffy (also the real one), whose identity they are still ignorant of. Upon his last run-in and Hancock's suggestion, he finally dons the fake mustache given to him and mistakes the fakes for the real ones, though they question whether he is the "kid" they are looking for.

In Grove 41, the real Zoro states his intention to fish at the beach. The real Sanji responds by yelling at him, explaining they do not have time to search for a "wayward marimo" (should Zoro's incredible talent for getting lost remain intact), and that they, together, should head to the ship as everyone will gather there soon. Turning away from Sanji, Zoro complains to himself that #7 thinks he's so high and mighty over #1, with the numbers being a reference to the order the Straw Hats arrived on the archipelago. Sanji, now beyond annoyed by Zoro, starts a fight.



In Grove 46, a Marine is spying on the new rookies trying to join the "Straw Hats." He confirms four of them: Gashed Albion at a bounty of 92,000,000, Lip Service Doughty at a bounty of 88,000,000 and the brothers Caribou, Wet-Hair, and Blood-Splatterer at bounties of 210,000,000 and 190,000,000, respectively. As the Marine is speaking on the Den Den Mushi, he further adds how unthinkable it would be for the future if this company of people were to be united as one crew with "Straw Hat Luffy" as their Captain, when Wet-Hair Caribou suddenly looms over from behind the fractured wall that the Marine was leaning against. The Marine falls back on the ground in horror as the Caribou Brothers intimidate him, prompting his superiors to bring him back up upon realizing that their mole had been spotted at the other end of the Den Den Mushi line. Frightened, the Marine reaches for his gun, causing Wet-Hair to stab him with a spear. To add to the gravity of their actions, Blood-Splatterer begins digging a grave while his older brother preaches to God about the "sins" this Marine has committed. Tensions rise as a confrontational statement is heard: "That's as far as you go, Caribou!"



Voices roar as Fake Luffy boosts the spirits of his followers, who all believe that following him will lead their pirating careers to greater heights, having achieved such notoriety in the past for inflicting massive damage on the World Government's three prominent facilities (Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and Marineford). Some of them even root for him as a worthy candidate for the next Pirate King, and being part of his crew meant some shared glory in the future. He appropriates them as extensions of himself, his "hands" and "legs." His orders are to find and crush the real Straw Hats that humiliated him. During his rant, Fake Zoro and Fake Sanji return with the real Luffy. Luffy speaks to the fakes, assuming them to be the real ones, yet noticing that they are more friendly than he remembers. The fakes call for their captain's attention, and the target, Luffy, stands before his eyes.

"Encore! Encore!" the crowd yells at Brook's farewell concert. Unfortunately, the Marines and his former managers have flanked him. The Marines confirm him as "Humming Brook," with a 33,000,000 bounty, and a member of the Straw Hat crew. Brook's fans are distressed by the news, while others silently ponder whether Brook should be granted leniency, even if he truly was a member of the Straw Hats, which were long thought to be dead and gone. His managers explained that, by telling them honestly that Brook would be retiring, it would be the end of the business exploit, hence inciting them to have Brook die with them. In fact, this incites Brook to call on his band and dancers to help him declare that the rumors were false. "Straw Hat Luffy... Dead? Ridiculous! Tell This to the World. The Pirate Straw Hat Luffy is ALIVE!" The Marines are held by the fans as Brook rocks the concert, ready to go to the New World.



Back on the newly coated Thousand Sunny, newly refurbished, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper meet up with the rest of the crew. Usopp holds Chopper as he gawks at the new upgrades on Franky, who now sports concealable hands within his giant ones and a hair-frizz feature. Nami is overjoyed to see the real Robin again and, to a lesser extent, the real Franky. Rayleigh and Shakky show up. Shakky updates the current crew on deck, where the others are, and the situations on the archipelago. Rayleigh approaches Nami, intent on teaching her how to navigate a coated ship. Usopp, worried since Luffy has not shown up, asks about him. Rayleigh responds with a smile that Luffy has already arrived.

Reunited at Last! Show the Training Results!
Meanwhile, in Grove 33, one of the Marines reports that they are unable to capture Brook as the crowd has held them back and the musician has run off during the chaos. We soon find that he was with the Flying Fish Riders, who comment that Shakky told them to pick him up. Brook is more than grateful and excited to reunite with the Straw Hats.

In Grove 41, Franky contacts Sanji with Zoro, telling him where to meet up. When Zoro asks what's going on, Sanji slowly spells it out for him, causing a brief argument. However, it's interrupted when they notice some noise coming from a nearby island. In Grove 46, Fake Luffy is about to sic his pirates on the real Luffy, commenting that it'll serve as a warning to whomever crosses him, while Luffy asks Fake Zoro and Fake Sanji if he (Fake Luffy) is a friend of theirs. Before anything can happen, the Marines arrive and surround the pirates, ordering Fake Luffy's surrender. Fake Luffy orders Caribou and Coribou to use the Marine they wounded earlier as a shield to make an exit. Caribou, however, comments that it's too tall an order and kills the Marine right then and there, claiming it was punishment for lying about not calling the Marines.



With their bargaining chip gone, the Marines rush the pirates, who attack in kind. The real Luffy wonders what the heck is going on as his fake self quickly loses control of the situation. If that is not bad enough, the Pacifistas arrive and begin shooting at the pirates. Doughty is caught in the blast and knocked out, shocking the pirates how an 88,000,000 bounty did not stand a chance. They soon start calling for "Luffy" to help them. But the Fake Straw Hats and he are fleeing the scene, knowing they do not stand a chance. It does them little good as they are confronted by Sentomaru and a Pacifista. The pirates believe that Fake Luffy will easily defeat them. Fake Luffy nervously tries to threaten the Marine captain but is quickly hammered into the ground and taken out, much to his crew's surprise.

Sentomaru realizes that Fake Luffy has tricked the pirates present and orders the Pacifista to identify him. It does, revealing he is a lowly-26,000,000 Bounty pirate named "Three-Tongued" Demaro Black. Their ruse exposed, the rest of the Fake Straw Hats make a run for it while their now-former subordinates are outraged at being deceived. The real Luffy quickly figures out what's going on too, though he comments that "Zoro" and "Sanji" looked like the real deal. Sentomaru orders the arrest of every pirate there, commenting that he knows the real Luffy is in the crowd and has his Pacifista aimed for him.

Luffy manages to jump away as the other pirates are caught in the blast. However, his disguise is knocked off, revealing himself to everyone in the area. The Fakes foam at the mouth when they realize they had actually threatened the real deal. The Marine quickly runs, while Sentomaru confronts Luffy, ordering his Pacifista to fire another shot.



Luffy, however, dodges the blast and goes into Gear 2, then takes to the air and hits the Pacifista as it tries to fire again, knocking it out in one hit. Everyone is shocked by the feat, especially Sentomaru, as he noticed that Luffy had Haki equipped. As Luffy leaves the area, he sees the real Zoro and Sanji running towards him. However, another Pacifista gets in their way and prepares to fire. But both instantly hit it with their attacks, cutting and breaking Pacifista's neck in the process. The pirates soon realize that these Straw Hats are indeed the real deal.

As Zoro and Sanji prepare to exit the area, they notice Luffy has not moved yet. Luffy yells out to Rayleigh, who is on a far-off hill observing the area and making sure Luffy is alright. Luffy thanks him for everything over the last two years and yells that he is going to be the Pirate King. The pirates are left speechless while Sanji, Zoro, and Rayleigh just smile, the latter with tears in his eyes.

The Marines closing in snap Luffy back to attention, and he continues to run, thanking Rayleigh one more time. Rayleigh, remembering their training together, tells Luffy to go straight for the top. He then gets in the Marines' way and draws a line in the ground, warning them not to cross it. Meanwhile, Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro continue to flee but find themselves surrounded by more Marines. However, negative ghosts suddenly appear and stop them, revealing Perona to the trio. She chides Zoro when he asks why she is still there, revealing that she was the one who brought him to Sabaody. She then warns the three that Marine ships are near the island.



Back in Grove 42, Brook has reunited with the other Straw Hats on the Thousand Sunny, immediately asking to see Nami's panties once on board (and once more getting kicked for his trouble). Chopper returns, having gone on to get Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji using the Sayin Goabird from the Torino Kingdom. The group is more than overjoyed to see their captain after so long. Sanji is especially happy to see Nami and Robin, so much so that he gets a gushing nosebleed, which Usopp ordered Chopper to fix. Luffy then starts to marvel at Franky's new body, but Nami tells him it is not the time. Marine ships suddenly arrive and start firing cannonballs at Sunny. But they are suddenly stopped by Slave Arrows. Hancock's ship gets in front of the Marines, forcing them to stop firing. Hancock demands to know why there is a Marine ship in their path and winks at Luffy, obviously creating a diversion for him. The others are surprised that a Warlord of the Sea is helping them. Luffy explains that she is a friend of his, earning Sanji's jealousy.

Franky opens the valves under the ship, letting air into the coating jelly and expanding it, turning it into a giant dome that covers Sunny's deck. As it does, Usopp notices that no Marines from the mainland are chasing them anymore. It is soon explained why, as the Straw Hats' allies from during their separation are keeping the Marines at bay. Heracles uses giant horned beetles against them, wishing Usopp luck on his journey. Haredas and his fellow weather scientists manufacture rain over the island, soaking the Marines' gunpowder. Perona uses more of her Negative Ghosts on the Marines. The okamas are dealing with another bunch of Marines, trying to break their hearts.



As all this goes on, Nami explains how the coating works, Telling the crew that it works against water pressure but that the ship will no longer be buoyant. Once the floating bag is removed, the ship will sink. Franky then removes the bag, and Nami orders everyone to raise the sail, which confuses Usopp. Robin explains that the underwater currents work similarly to wind on a coated ship. Once Luffy is told they are ready to leave, he thanks the crew for putting up with his "selfish wish" for the last two years. With that, the Thousand Sunny dives underwater. The crew on the Marine ship frantically tries to get their captain to go after them, but he is too smitten by Hancock to notice.

Luffy then gives the order to set sail, and the Straw Hats, reunited after two years, continue their journey to the New World. Their next stop: Fish-Man Island!

Story Impact

 * Many characters make their first appearance after the timeskip. The characters (in the order they were reintroduced) are: Monkey D. Luffy, Marguerite, Boa Hancock, Boa Sandersonia, Gloriosa, Boa Marigold, Brook, Sancrin, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Shakuyaku, Silvers Rayleigh, Duval, Nico Robin, Tony Tony Chopper, Momonga, Salome, Ran, Daisy, Cosmos, Rindo, Sweet Pea, Aphelandra, Yuda, Franky, Sentomaru, Roronoa Zoro, Perona, Heracles, Haredas and Tibany.
 * This is the first arc after the two-year timeskip and many things in the world have changed.
 * The Marines getting a new fleet admiral (revealed in the Fish-Man Island Arc) who has decided to move the Marines' Headquarters from Marineford to G-1 in order to challenge the Four Emperors.
 * Luffy has received a 400,000,000 bounty for war crimes against the Marines.
 * Since the Sabaody Archipelago Arc and two years of training, the Straw Hat Pirates have reunited on Sabaody Archipelago to pick up where they left off and to head to Fish-Man Island which they have been planning to do since the Post-Enies Lobby Arc.
 * The Caribou Pirates, a group of pirates who have joined the Fake Straw Hat Crew, later reveal in the next arc that they had planned to join the Straw Hat Pirates so that they could kill them, which later leads to them following the Straw Hats to Fish-Man Island.
 * Brook is acknowledged by the Marines not only for his previous affiliations with the Rumbar Pirates as "Humming Brook," but also as a member of the Straw Hats.

Trivia

 * Sanji's left eye and left eyebrow are shown (intentionally, not an artist error) for the first time.
 * This, the Loguetown Arc and the Reverse Mountain Arc, with five chapters each, are the shortest arcs in the manga.
 * This is the current shortest arc in the second half of the series.

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