Chapters · Water Seven › Long Ring Long Land

Chapter 312: GOAL!!

Arc: Long Ring Long Land · Saga: Water Seven · Released:

Summary

Round 2 of the Davy Back Fight — the Groggy Ring — reaches its climax. MC Itomimizu narrates from atop the festival mast that “there’s no defeating our monsters” and “the winner is obvious,” declaring that the Straw Hats “fought valiantly, though in vain.” But Team Straw Hat — swordsman Zoro and cook Sanji (forced into the rotund “ball” role) — is still standing. The Foxy Pirates’ Groggy Monsters (the fish-giant Big Pan / VIZ “Big Bun,” the twin-sworded Pickles, and Hamburg) unleash their lethal three-step combo, the “Monster Burger” — Pickles dicing “like cheese” and “green lettuce,” Big Pan smashing the ball “between two slices of big bun,” Hamburg mincing what’s left. Sanji evades by backbending under the blades, then turns the monsters’ weapons against each other: he kicks Big Pan upright and into Pickles’ spinning swords, scattering the Groggy Monsters. As the referee moves to flag a red-card infraction, Robin lands a direct Hana-Hana strike on the ref and Nami pickpockets his whistle (“an old habit”), suppressing the call so Team Straw Hat can fight on. With the monsters reeling, Sanji launches Big Pan skyward with “Armée de l’Air,” and Zoro drives the airborne fish-giant down into the Foxy goal ring. Over Itomimizu’s protest that “the Groggy Monsters are invincible,” the ball crashes home — “GOOOAAALLL!!” The Straw Hats score, turning the “obvious” loss into a live contest.

New reveals

• Round 2 of the Davy Back Fight is the Groggy Ring (p. 2) — a violent team contact-sport in which a designated “ball” (here the rotund Sanji) must be carried/thrown into the opponents’ goal ring (pp. 16–19).
• The Foxy Pirates field the “Groggy Monsters,” billed by the crowd/MC as “invincible” (pp. 2, 17): the fish-giant Big Pan (VIZ “Big Bun”), the twin-spinning-sword Pickles, and Hamburg (pp. 3, 13, 14).
• Team Straw Hat for the Groggy Ring is Zoro + Sanji (p. 3, “These two are a tough pair… swordsman Roronoa! And cook Sanji!”); Sanji is the “ball” and Zoro the runner.
• A “No swords” restriction applies in the Groggy Ring role Zoro plays (“No swords style…”, p. 11) — Zoro is forced to wrestle/grapple rather than cut.
• The Groggy Monsters’ team-finisher is the three-step “Monster Burger” combo (pp. 4–6): Pickles slices the ball (“cut like the cheese!!”, “diced like green lettuce!!”, “like pickles!!”), Big Pan smashes it (“two slices of big bun!!”), Hamburg minces it — explicitly tagged “the decisively lethal, terminally terrible three-step deadly weapon attack.”
• Sanji’s named techniques here (French cooking/military register): “Beater!!”, “Bouquetière…”, “Armée de l’Air… Assault!!” (pp. 9, 16) and a “Kick Course” that knocks Big Pan upright (p. 13).
• Zoro’s named technique: “Dragon Twister” (pp. 11–12), used in the grapple.
• Robin + Nami illegally KO the referee to suppress a red card (pp. 14–15): Robin lands a direct Hana-Hana attack on the ref (“a direct attack on the stands… no, on the ref!!”, “BADOOM!!”) while Nami filches his whistle (“Huh? My cards… my whistle…”, “an old habit”), keeping Team Straw Hat in the match.
• The Straw Hats SCORE (pp. 16–19): Sanji launches Big Pan airborne (“Armée de l’Air”), Zoro slams the fish-giant into the goal ring — “GOOOAAALLL!!” — overturning the “obvious” defeat.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Straw Hats: Zoro (Groggy Ring runner), Sanji (the “ball”), Nico Robin, Nami (ref-sabotage), Luffy, Usopp, Chopper (cheering, pp. 3, 7, 19) (Straw Hat Pirates)
• Foxy Pirates / Groggy Monsters: Hamburg, Itomimizu (MC, narrating), Big Pan (VIZ “Big Bun”), Pickles — new (Foxy Pirates); Foxy referenced as captain of the spectating crew
• Events/concepts: Davy Back Fight (Groggy Ring, Round 2), Hana Hana no Mi (Robin’s ref-strike)
• Location: Long Ring Long Land (Davy Back Fight grounds)
• Cover/title splash: Nami (reading on a couch flanked by two large baboon-like primates — see Notable panels)

Notable panels

• p. 1 — Title splash: “Chapter 312: GOAL!!” Illustration of Nami in glasses sitting on a sofa reading a “ROMANCE” novel, flanked by two large baboon/mandrill-like primates also reading “LOVE STORY” books (one eating a banana) in a cozy checkered-ceiling room. Standalone gag title art (no ongoing cover serial running this chapter).
• p. 2 — Itomimizu narrates: “In this second round of the Davy Back Fight — the Groggy Ring… there’s no defeating our monsters!! …the winner is obvious!!” “The Straw Hats fought valiantly, though in vain.” He offers a round of applause — then a “BUZZ!!” interrupts.
• p. 3 — “Hey, look at that!!” — Team Straw Hat is still up: “And they’re on their feet! Team Straw Hat is standing!” / “These two are a tough pair… swordsman Roronoa! And cook Sanji!” (Big Pan towers, Zoro and the ball-form Sanji stand.)
• pp. 4–6 — Big Pan orders “One Monster Burger, please!!”; the Groggy Monsters launch the three-step finisher — Pickles (“cut like the cheese!!”, “diced like green lettuce!!”), Big Pan (“two slices of big bun!!”, “KLANG”), Hamburg minces. Caption: “the decisively lethal, terminally terrible three-step deadly weapon attack.”
• pp. 7–8 — Sanji evades with a backbend under the blades (“He doesn’t see a thing!”); Sanji counters with French-named kicks (“Hachis Hash!!”, “Troisième…”). “Poh poh poh! You’re mince meat!!”
• p. 9 — Sanji’s “Beater!!”, “Bouquetière…” kicks scatter the monsters; “Stop your crushing, Big Bun!!”
• pp. 11–12 — Zoro grapples under a “No swords” rule (“No swords style…”), uses “Dragon Twister”; “Don’t forget, this is a team sport.”
• p. 13 — “Big Bun… sliced by Pickles’ spinning swords!” — Sanji’s manipulation turns the monsters on each other; Sanji’s “Kick Course!!” (“WHAM WHAM!!”) knocks Big Pan upright. “Bad manners…”
• p. 14 — “…but Sanji kicked him upright! He’s groggy on his feet!” “Now swordsman Zolo rushes in…” (Big Pan’s target is the goal.)
• pp. 14–15 — Robin attacks the referee (“a direct attack on the stands… no, on the ref!!”, “BADOOM!!”) and Nami pickpockets his whistle (“Huh? My cards… my whistle…”); “Red ca—” is cut off. “What a naughty girl you are.” / “It’s an old habit.” / “They’re… gone!!”
• p. 16 — Sanji’s “Armée de l’Air… Assault!!” launches Big Pan skyward (“THWAK!!”); Zoro readies the slam.
• pp. 17–19 — “Zolo’s aiming for the goal ring!!” / “Impossible! The Groggy Monsters are invincible!!” — the fish-giant is driven into the goal: the crowd erupts “GOOOAAA—LLLLLL!!” as the Straw Hats score.
• p. 20 — Bonus page: “ONE PIECE Storyboard Preview!! #21” (Oda’s rough storyboard from pages 63–64 of Volume 32) — not story content.

Open questions raised

• Will the illegal ref-sabotage (Robin’s strike + Nami’s whistle theft, pp. 14–15) stand, or be caught/reversed — and does the score actually count under Davy Back rules?
• Does scoring put Team Straw Hat ahead, or merely back in contention in the Groggy Ring? (The match’s running score and win condition aren’t tallied on-page this chapter.)
• The Combat round (the third Davy Back game, listed @ Ch. 306) remains ahead — who fights, and what does it stake?
• What are Foxy’s and Porche’s still-unnamed Devil-Fruit powers? (Not addressed this chapter.)