Chapter 1088

Chapter 1088 is titled "Final Lesson".

Cover Page
Color Spread: The first five Straw Hats and the major characters who will appear in the live-action television series.

Short Summary
As flashbacks occur which shows Koby's training with Garp and how he was captured by the Blackbeard Pirates, Garp gives the order for Koby, Helmeppo and Grus as he attacks the giant hand created by Avalo Pizarro, allowing the three to protect the ship, thanks to the skills Koby developed under Garp's tutelage. However, Garp decides to remain behind to protect his comrades. As the narration details these events, elsewhere a fleet of Marines has surrounded Egghead.

Long Summary
In the past, Monkey D. Garp asks a class of Marine recruits what they would do if they were riding in a boat and could only bring either a baby or an old man onboard. Koby says he will let both of them ride in the boat while he gets off, but Garp throws a marker at him and tells him that answer is wrong. Garp explains that the baby should be saved because the old man does not have much time left to live. He adds that the most important thing that the Marines should be trying to protect is the future of the people, meaning that the survival of babies and young people like Koby is more important than that of an old man. Later, he gets scolded for his lecture and told that all lives are equal, but Garp insists that the future of the young people is limitless.

Several weeks ago on Amazon Lily, Blackbeard ended up abducting 800 Marine soldiers and stealing one battleship. Koby, however, approached Blackbeard with a proposition: to give himself up in exchange for the release of the soldiers and the ship, which Blackbeard ultimately accepted. In the present, all of the Marines on Garp’s ship are panicking because of Avalo Pizarro attempting to crush them with a giant hand made from the island. None of the cannons work against it, so Tashigi orders everyone to abandon ship and protect the civilians.

On the island, Koby is still panicking over Pizarro’s threat, but Garp tells him, Prince Grus, and Helmeppo that the three of them can save their allies together. Garp explains that he will provide an opening, Koby will destroy Pizarro’s hand, Grus will protect the ship from the debris of the resulting destruction, and Helmeppo must make sure no one interferes with Koby or Grus. Just as Koby is about to tell him that they cannot do something like this, Garp stops him and tells him that they need to be able to make decisions like this in a snap. Immediately, all three of them take off with the other pirates chasing after them. Grus asks if Koby has any weapons with which to stop Pizarro, to which Koby answers that he does not and will have to make do.

Helmeppo uses himself as a shield to keep Koby and Grus from getting hit by one of the pirates' cannon fire while Garp stands back up. Kuzan asks him where he plans on going with injuries like that, but Garp merely calls them scratches as he charges at his former pupil, knocking him down and swiftly making his way all the way to the large skull rock Pizarro was looking through. Pizarro tries to intimidate Garp into standing down but he fails, as Garp uses a powerful attack called Galaxy Divide to split the rock formation down the middle, while also simultaneously damaging Pizarro’s main body. With Pizarro's arm now raised, Koby is granted the opening he was promised and jumps into the air.

Meanwhile, Garp reminisces on a conversation he had with Helmeppo about how Koby has been improving but always has bandages wrapped around his hands. Helmeppo explains he was asked by Koby to keep quiet, but he ultimately reveals to Garp that he had been training intensely in private so he can be one of the best Marines there is. He even went as far as to use Garp’s battleship bags to hone his strength, punching them to the point that his fists bled. In the present, Koby comes face-to-face with Pizarro’s hand as all of his friends beg him to escape with them, but in a shocking turn of events, Koby unleashes Honesty Impact, a punch that splits Pizarro’s entire hand in half.

While Pizarro recoils from the pain, everyone else is left astonished by Koby’s incredible feat. Helmeppo catches him while Grus uses Gunyo no Su to create a clay spider web to catch the debris. The three of them get on board the ship and the Marines celebrate just as Garp calls them to report that the mission was a success. When Tashigi asks him to come back quickly, Garp instructs everyone to leave the island, assuring them that he can save himself and that their safety is the top priority. He also tells them that this event will become known as a threat to all pirates as he calls them the “future of the Marines”. Koby immediately wants to go back for him, but Grus refuses to disobey Garp's order.

Having been impaled by Kuzan with a sword of ice that is also freezing him, Garp lies on the ground but simply laughs as the other Blackbeard Pirates surround him. The narration then reveals that in tomorrow’s newspaper, the major headlines included Koby’s rescue, Garp’s disappearance, and Monkey D. Luffy barricading himself on Egghead Island, which is being approached by the fleet of Marine warships.

Chapter Notes

 * Part of Koby's Marine training is shown.
 * He, Helmeppo and Prince Grus sat in lectures taught by Garp.
 * Koby has secretly trained further by punching a decommissioned warship.
 * The circumstances behind Koby's kidnapping on Amazon Lily are shown.
 * It is revealed that Koby traded himself for 800 Marine soldiers and a battleship that Blackbeard intended to take hostage.
 * The battle on Hachinosu is resolved.
 * Avalo Pizarro's attack on the Marines' ship was stopped through a combined effort.
 * Garp attacked Pizarro's manifested face.
 * It's shown that a significant amount of damage can directly affect Pizarro's real body.
 * Koby destroyed his giant stone hand with a new technique.
 * Prince Grus caught the rubble with a net made of clay.
 * Helmeppo protected Koby and Grus from the other pirates' attacks.
 * Koby, Helmeppo, and Grus made it back to Garp's ship, which successfully escaped Hachinosu.
 * Garp alone stayed on Hachinosu and was last seen stabbed through the chest and being frozen by Kuzan surrounded by the Blackbeard Pirates.
 * Sanjuan Wolf did not drown and safely returned to land.
 * Koby's rescue and Garp's disappearance were reported in the newspaper along with Luffy's current predicament with the Marine blockade.
 * The scene then returns to Egghead, which is surrounded by several ships.