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Chapter 332: Luffy vs. Usopp

Arc: Water Seven · Saga: Water Seven · Released:

Summary

The duel declared last chapter goes ahead. Aboard the Going Merry, Nami begs the others to stop the madness — “Two shipmates battling each other isn’t right!” — and pleads that Usopp only lost his temper because Luffy’s decision came so suddenly. Sanji says it’s too late to back out; Luffy agrees, flat: “It’s all over between you and me.” Chopper reports that he went after Usopp to treat his wounds, but Usopp brushed him off — “He said, ‘you and I are no longer shipmates, so go back to the ship!’” — and is staying at an inn in town. Sanji, gutted, says it feels like “our crew is falling apart.” At ten o’clock, with the tide of the Aqua Laguna rising around Water Seven, Usopp appears walking across the water; Luffy orders the crew to stay on board and not get off, then strides out to meet him. The two trade hard words — “You came. So you didn’t lose your nerve… You chose this fight!” / “I’ve already figured out how to bring you down!” — before the fight begins. Usopp opens with psychological warfare: he claims “I… have 8,000 henchmen!” and a “razor blade running between each of your teeth” (the old Usopp-Voodoo bluffs), then leans on the one advantage he truly has — he knows Luffy intimately: “We’ve known each other a long time. I know your powers well… they didn’t know your tricks, Luffy.” What follows is a clinic in Usopp’s whole arsenal: a faked-injury Ketchup Star to bait Luffy’s mercy, a blinding Flash Dial, thrown Egg Stars and a Deluxe Pepper Sauce Star, a field of Caltrop Hell spikes under Luffy’s bare feet, Shuriken Shooting Stars, and a Wind Dial. Luffy lands his Gum-Gum blows but Usopp “controls the fight,” declaring this is how he fights — by trickery, not strength. Usopp’s masterstroke: he coats Luffy in a cloud of rotten-egg gas, uses the Wind Dial so Luffy never smells it, then ignites the whole cloud with a Fire Star — “FABOOSH!!” — an explosion so large that townsfolk across Water Seven cry “What an explosion!!” The chapter cuts to its cliffhanger on a battered, bruised close-up of Luffy’s face, the duel’s outcome left hanging.

New reveals

• The duel happens on the Aqua Laguna tide off Water Seven, at 10 o’clock. Usopp walks out across the rising water to meet Luffy; Luffy orders the rest of the crew to stay aboard the Going Merry and not get off (pp. 7–10). The Merry is the prize and the stage at once.
• Usopp severed himself from the crew in word as well as deed. Per Chopper: Usopp refused treatment and said “you and I are no longer shipmates, so go back to the ship!” — and is staying at an inn in town (pp. 5–6).
• Usopp’s fighting doctrine, stated outright: he wins by deception, traps, and reading his opponent — “This… is how I fight!!” (p. 13) and “I won’t use an attack that won’t be effective against you!” (p. 15). He explicitly weaponizes his long friendship: “We’ve known each other a long time. I know your powers well… Don’t lump me in with enemies you’ve faced up till now. They didn’t know your tricks, Luffy.” (p. 10).
• Usopp’s full Star + Dial arsenal in one fight: the “8,000 henchmen” / Usopp-Voodoo bluff and “razor blade between your teeth” line (pp. 10–11), Ketchup Star (a faked wound to bait pity, p. 12), Flash Dial (p. 12), Egg Star ×many (p. 13), Deluxe Pepper Sauce Star (p. 13), Caltrop Hell (spikes under Luffy’s feet, p. 14), Shuriken Shooting Stars (p. 15), a Wind Dial (p. 16), and a concealed gas cloud (pp. 16–17). (Cross-link Dials Skypiean Sea-Shell Technology — Flash + Wind Dials reused from the Skypiea haul.)
• Usopp’s winning trick = gas + misdirection + fire. He surrounds Luffy in rotten-egg gas, then uses a Wind Dial “so [Luffy] won’t notice the smell of the rotten egg all over [him],” and finishes by igniting the cloud with a Fire Star — a colossal FABOOSH explosion (pp. 16–18).
• The explosion is visible across all of Water Seven — townspeople on the city’s terraces react (“What an explosion!!”), establishing how public this private crew schism has become (p. 18).
• The duel ends unresolved — cliffhanger on a bruised, battered close-up of Luffy’s face (p. 20). The on-page outcome (who wins) is deferred to the next chapter.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Straw Hats: Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Sanji, Zoro, Chopper (Straw Hat Pirates); Nico Robin referenced (“if something happened to Robin,” p. 6 — not on-page in the duel)
• Referenced groups: Franky Family (recalled as Usopp’s attackers — “Then Usopp wouldn’t have had the awful experience of being attacked by them!” / “The Franky Family!”, p. 4)
• Ship / prize: Going Merry (the stake of the duel; the crew waits aboard her)
• Tech: Dials Skypiean Sea-Shell Technology (Flash Dial p. 12, Wind Dial p. 16)
• Location: Water Seven (Aqua Laguna tide; the city skyline backdrops the duel and reacts to the blast)
• Cover serial: Gedatsu — “Gedatsu’s Unexpected Life on the Blue Sea, Vol. 17: ‘We Hit Paydirt—Hurrah!’”

Notable panels

• p. 1 — Title splash: “Chapter 332: LUFFY VS. USOPP.” Cover serial art “DOK AHN!!” — Gedatsu standing in a geyser-dotted marsh flashing peace signs, with two tiny human figures in the distance. Banner: “GEDATSU’S UNEXPECTED LIFE ON THE BLUE SEA, VOL. 17: ‘WE HIT PAYDIRT—HURRAH!’”
• pp. 2–4 — Crew aftermath aboard Merry: Nami pleads “Stop this craziness!”; “Two shipmates battling each other isn’t right!”; “Usopp just lost it because your decision came so unexpectedly!” Luffy: “It’s all over between you and me… I said… it’s too late.”
• p. 4 — Sanji/Nami flashback-recall of the Franky Family attack (“The Franky Family!”) as the root grievance.
• p. 5 — Zoro: “Stop fighting at a time like this!! URK!!” (gut-punched/halted). Chopper: “I wanted to treat his wounds… but he brushed me off.”
• pp. 5–6 — Chopper relays Usopp’s line: “you and I are no longer shipmates, so go back to the ship!” Sanji: “I feel like our crew… is falling apart.”
• p. 7 — “DO-OOM!!” the Water Seven clock/aqueduct tower; “It’s ten o’clock. Usopp will be here.” Luffy: “You guys stay on board. Do not get off.”
• p. 8 — Full-page: Luffy’s back, straw hat on, facing the tiny figure of Usopp across the rising water — “HY-OOOO-OOM!!”
• pp. 9–10 — Pre-fight words: “No matter what happens, don’t regret it! You chose this fight!” / Usopp: “I’ve already figured out how to bring you down!” / “We’ve known each other a long time. I know your powers well… They didn’t know your tricks, Luffy.”
• p. 11 — Usopp bluffs “I… have 8,000 henchmen!”; Luffy: “Usopp… VOODOO! I know you don’t have that many henchmen!” Zoro reacts “8,000 men?!” — Luffy charges (“Gum-Gum…”).
• p. 12 — Usopp fakes a hit: “Special attack… Ketchup Star!!” to bait Luffy (“Pity for your enemy?!”), then “Flash Dial!!” (FWASH).
• p. 13 — “Egg Star!!” “…and again!” (SPLAT) — rotten eggs; “Deluxe Pepper Sauce Star!!” Usopp: “This… is how I fight!!” / “Watch out or that gaping mouth of yours will get burned!”
• p. 14 — “Caltrop Hell!!” — spikes scattered under Luffy’s bare feet (STAB STAB; “Yikes! Owww!!”). Usopp: “No matter what it takes!! Luffy, I’m gonna beat you and take the Merry Go with me…” Crew: “Usopp’s controlling the fight!”
• p. 15 — “Shuriken Shooting Stars!!” (FWP FWP FWP) — Usopp: “I won’t use an attack that won’t be effective against you!”
• p. 16 — “Wind Dial!!” — Usopp: “A Wind Dial!! You didn’t notice the smell of the rotten egg all over you.” Luffy: “Smoke?!” / Usopp: “You’re currently surrounded by a cloud of gas.” (HISS)
• p. 17 — Usopp: “Sorry! Eat this!” / Sanji & Nami realize “Gas.” → “FABOOSH!! FIRE STAR!!” — the gas cloud detonates.
• p. 18 — The blast seen from afar: a ship rocked on the waves (“Whoa!!”); Water Seven townsfolk on the terraces — “What an explosion!!”; Nami’s anguished “Luffy, Usopp!”
• p. 19 — Aftermath panels of Usopp slumped and panting in the smoke (“Huff… Huff…”). Bottom tier is the Gedatsu cover serial: little frog/raft creatures, “Ha ha ha!” / “Go, Merry! Full speed ahead!!” — separate B-plot.
• p. 20 — Cliffhanger corner panel: a battered, bruised close-up of Luffy’s face, eyes open — duel outcome deferred. (Page-corner skull mark “106.”)

Open questions raised

• Who wins the duel? The chapter ends on Luffy’s beaten face but doesn’t show the resolution (p. 20).
• Does Usopp actually leave with the Merry if he wins — and what happens to the crew’s unity either way?
• After such a public blast, how does Water Seven (and Galley-La / the watching authorities) react to the Straw Hats? (p. 18 sets up the city’s attention.)