Chapters · Water Seven › Enies Lobby

Chapter 404: Franky vs. Fukuro

Arc: Enies Lobby · Saga: Water Seven · Released:

Summary

Luffy — comically shrunk into a child after Gear Third — pelts back through the underwater passage from the World-Government door, vowing to beat “that pigeon guy” (Rob Lucci) and reach Robin. In the CP9 corridor of the Tower of Law, his footsteps and the blown-open steel doors tip off Robin’s escort that someone is coming. Meanwhile, in the Pantry Front Passage, Franky (running low on cola) is chased by the owl-themed CP9 agent Fukuro, who hammers him with the Six Powers (Tempest Kick, Iron Body) and an “Owl Strike.” Sanji — recovered from his loss to Kalifa — has been trading blows with the kabuki-styled Kumadori, the two needling each other over whose punch is “wimpier” (the “panties / amateur punch” running gag). The fighters converge on a “ridiculously huge fridge”; Franky needs three bottles of cola to refuel and power up. Tony Tony Chopper arrives and, while Fukuro scrambles to lock the fridge shut, tosses Franky the cola; Franky guzzles it, declares himself “REFRESHED,” and his strength visibly surges. Franky and Sanji agree to team up — argue briefly over who cares about saving Robin and “who gets stronger from drinking cola?!” — and turn the tide. Fukuro insists “drinking cola’s not going to change anything,” but Franky’s now-heavy punch lands clean; Fukuro admits “My punches up to now… were real wimpy” and concedes Franky is “amazing.” The chapter is a comedic mid-rescue brawl that gates Franky’s cola-fuel mechanic into a one-on-one boss fight.

New reveals

• Franky’s cola-fuel mechanic is operationalized as a fight stake. Running “out of cola” (p. 6), Franky must reach the giant fridge; drinking three bottles visibly refuels and powers him up — “REFRESHED…!!!” (p. 15), then he overpowers Fukuro. First time the cola mechanic decides a combat exchange in real time (pays off the Ch. 338 fuel/refuel tell; builds on the Ch. 368 built-in cola-fridge detail).
• Fukuro’s combat toolkit (first on-page fight). The owl-themed CP9 agent uses the Six Powers (Rokushiki) — Tempest Kick (p. 17) and Iron Body (p. 8) — plus a named “Owl Strike” (p. 14), and tries to lock the fridge shut (“If I open the fridge for just one second, then close it, he can’t come out!!”, p. 14) to deny Franky his fuel. (No Devil Fruit shown — his fruit is still a forward reveal; do not set devil_fruit.)
• Kumadori’s combat register (first on-page fight). The kabuki/lion-themed agent deploys theatrical “healthy”-themed strikes — “Solid Beast,” “Solid Beast Supreme Technique,” “Vegetable Punch” / “Vegetable Juice” — against Sanji, framed by his “have a nice cup of tea / sit down” melodrama. (Again no Devil Fruit named — forward.)
• Franky + Sanji team-up. The two formally agree to fight together against Fukuro and Kumadori (“I’m on your side, Gorilla!”), with Tony Tony Chopper feeding Franky the cola — a three-way Straw-Hat coordination beat inside the Tower of Law.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Appear / fight: Franky · Fukuro · Sanji · Kumadori · Tony Tony Chopper · Luffy (child-shrunk, in the passage)
• Shown briefly / present in the escort corridor: Rob Lucci (the “pigeon guy” Luffy is chasing; with the pigeon Hattori “koo koo!”), Nico Robin (Robin’s escort discusses pursuit)
• Mentioned, off-page: Nami (the cuffs/key rescue context), Usopp (“Because of you, Usopp left us!” — Sanji to Franky, p. 13)
• Groups / lore: CP9 · Six Powers (Rokushiki) · Cyborg
• Locations: Enies Lobby — Tower of Law: Underwater Passage / Tower of Law Basement (p. 2), the CP9 escort corridor (pp. 3-4), the Pantry Front Passage + giant fridge (pp. 4-19)
• Cover story (Vol 35, “Ms. Golden Week’s Plan, A Baroque Reunion”): Miss Goldenweek, Mr. 3, Mr. 5 — “Color Trap: Rainbow-Colored Dreams! The Ideal Transformation!”

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Chapter title splash (B&W): “FRANKY VS. FUKURÔ” over the Baroque Works prison-comic cover; cover-story caption underneath. (Decorative cover-story art, not a foreshadowing color spread.)
• Page 2 — Luffy, shrunk to child size, bolts back through the Underwater Passage / Tower of Law Basement: “I’M BACK!” / “I’ll beat that pigeon guy for sure!” / “Awright, wait for me, Robin!!!” (“TA-DA!!”).
• Page 3 — Robin’s CP9 escort hears the blown-open steel doors; Hattori the pigeon “koo koo!”; “You didn’t… give me the order…” / “Does that mean… someone is coming after us?!”
• Page 4 — Caption “Pantry Front Passage — Franky vs. Fukurô”; “You’re pretty good at running away.” / “Franky Triangle…” — Fukuro dodges.
• Pages 6-9 — Franky low on cola (“I’m running out of cola…”); Fukuro’s “Solid Beast” / “Iron Body!!” / “Hammer!!!” exchange; the “wimpy / old man’s / baby / dansy / panties” punch-insult gag between Fukuro and Sanji (“No one calls me panties!!”).
• Page 11 — “There it is… a ridiculously huge fridge!!”; Chopper recognized as “the transforming gorilla… The three minutes are already over!” (Rumble Ball window referenced).
• Page 14 — Fukuro: “Owl Strike!!!”; “If I open the fridge for just one second, then close it, he can’t come out!!” — the lock-the-fridge tactic to deny Franky cola.
• Pages 15-17 — Chopper tosses Franky the cola; Franky guzzles (“GULP GULP”), “REFRESHED…!!!”; Fukuro nervous it’s “all psycho-somatic”; “TH-THIS IS COLA!! REALLY AND TRULY COLA!!”; Fukuro’s “Tempest Kick.”
• Pages 18-19 — Fukuro: “drinking cola’s not going to change anything…”; Franky’s heavy hit lands; Fukuro concedes “My punches up to now… were real wimpy” / “Sorry about that. You were right.” / “Wow… that’s amazing…!!”

Open questions raised

• What Devil Fruit (if any) do Fukuro and Kumadori eat? (Powers shown are Rokushiki/theatrical; fruit names still withheld.)
• Will the cola-refuel let Franky finish Fukuro, and can the team reach Robin’s escort before Lucci does?