Chapters · Sky Island › Skypiea

Chapter 263: Pirate Nami and the Weird Knight vs. Heavenly Warriors Subcommanders Hotori and Kotori

Arc: Skypiea · Saga: Sky Island · Released: 2002-12-09

Summary

The Upper Yard survival game splits across three fronts. First, comedy: Usopp — having sunk himself into a bog while fleeing Tony Tony Chopper — climbs out declaring “now I’m a REAL pirate!!”, resolves to find “the gold” and surprise everyone himself, and sets off toward a stretch of ruins he has “a hunch” about (pp. 2-4). Second, the war front: the Shandian warrior Kamakiri races to the Giant Jack and finds Enel seated atop “the ruins of Shandora,” guarded; Enel mockingly invites the attack, vowing to stand stock-still for five minutes and “not lift a finger” to “teach you how futile it is to defy a god” (pp. 5-8). Third, the chapter’s main bout: Nami and the “Weird Knight” (Gan Fall) fight Satori’s twin brothers, the priest-class subcommanders Hotori and Kotori, who fight with a four-dial arsenal (Scent, Impact, Axe, Flame) and a “Surprise Dial Illusion” shell-game (pp. 9-13). Nami debuts Cyclone Tempo to drop Hotori (pp. 14-15); Gan Fall, wounded, hands her his heavy iron gauntlet — an Impact Dial forged from Blue-Sea iron — and a Cool Ball to chill the air against Kotori’s Flame Dial (pp. 15-17). Nami fogs the field (Fog Tempo) and finishes Kotori with a gauntlet Impact blow (pp. 17-18). Nami protected the Going Merry and crew; in the closing panels, Nico Robin — bruised and panting in the ruins, having reached a great bell-shaped structure ringing in the wind — is cornered by an unseen attacker (“Not so tough, are you?” / “Well, well, young lady…”) (pp. 19).

New reveals

• Hotori and Kotori named. Satori’s twin priest brothers (Satori was defeated earlier in the survival game), Enel’s Heavenly Warrior subcommanders, fight Nami and Gan Fall. (title page; pp. 9-16)
• The priests’ four dial types enumerated: Scent, Impact, Axe, Flame — “they have four types of dials!” The brothers’ kit is itemized on-page for the reader. (pp. 10, p. 16)
• Gan Fall’s gauntlet is an Impact Dial forged of Blue-Sea iron. “It’s made of iron from the Blue Sea… it’s heavy… there is an Impact Dial in the palm.” A rare on-page note that Skypiea preserves metal salvaged from the surface (“Blue Sea”). (pp. 15-16)
• The Upper Yard ruins are named on-page as “the ruins of Shandora.” Kamakiri: “the ruins of Shandora are close by!!” — and Enel sits atop them at the Giant Jack. First on-page utterance tying the Upper Yard ruins to the name Shandora. (pp. 5-6)
• Enel’s god-complex on display. He demands to be addressed as “the Almighty Kami,” promises to not move for five minutes, and frames defiance as futile against a god — a tell toward his Mantra/observation power and Goro Goro confidence (neither named this chapter). (pp. 6-8)
• Nami’s combat techniques named: Cyclone Tempo, Fog Tempo, Cool Ball, plus the gauntlet Impact. (pp. 14-18)

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Nami — on-page; defeats Hotori (Cyclone Tempo) and Kotori (gauntlet Impact); protects the Going Merry. Title-page cover art.
• Gan Fall — on-page (“the Weird Knight”); wounded, gives Nami his Blue-Sea-iron gauntlet (Impact Dial) and a Cool Ball.
• Hotori — on-page; Satori’s twin brother, Heavenly Warrior subcommander; defeated. (first named this chapter)
• Kotori — on-page; Satori’s twin brother, Heavenly Warrior subcommander; defeated. (first named this chapter)
• Satori — referenced (“these two beat brother Satori!”; “first big brother Satori, now kid brother Kotori!”).
• Usopp — on-page; solo comedy beat, sets off toward the Shandora ruins.
• Tony Tony Chopper — referenced (“a raccoon got the better of me”); Usopp’s prior pursuer.
• Enel — on-page; atop the ruins of Shandora at the Giant Jack; confronted by Kamakiri.
• Kamakiri — on-page; Shandian warrior who reaches and challenges Enel (recurring; first named Ch. 249).
• Nico Robin — on-page (closing); wounded in the Shandora ruins at a great bell-structure, cornered by an unseen attacker.
• Pierre — on-page (Gan Fall’s mount; “PIEE!!”).
• Upper Yard, Skypiea — setting. Shandora ruins (within Upper Yard) named on-page.

Notable panels

• Page 1 (title spread): Chapter title page — Nami kneeling on a forest mat with a large owl (left) and a cat (right), sandals and a book beside her. Decorative ink art, not a B-plot cover and not foreshadowing.
• Pages 5-6: Kamakiri races up the Giant Jack to “the ruins of Shandora”; Enel revealed seated atop them — the chapter’s establishing tie of the name Shandora to the physical ruins.
• Pages 14-15: Nami’s Cyclone Tempo — big “WHAM!!” downing Hotori.
• Pages 17-18: Nami’s Fog Tempo + Cool Ball set-up into the gauntlet Impact finisher; full-width “DOOM!!” on Kotori.
• Page 19: Robin, bruised and panting, before a great ribbed bell-shaped structure ringing in the wind in the Shandora ruins — cornered by an unseen voice. Gold/bell-relevant; arc cliffhanger.
• Page 20: SBS “Question Corner” column (Q&A), not a story page. Notable Q&A: Oda affirms the Jaya arc’s “a man’s dreams” theme applies to women too (“manly as an adjective”); a reader respects Luffy.

Open questions raised

• Who has cornered Robin in the Shandora ruins, and is the bell-shaped structure behind her the legendary Golden Bell of Shandora?
• Can Kamakiri (or anyone) land a blow on a stationary Enel — what makes Enel so certain he is untouchable?
• What will Usopp find at the ruins he has “a hunch” about — the gold he wants to surprise the crew with?