Chapters · Fish-Man Island › Return to Sabaody
Chapter 599: Nine Pirates
This chapter's foreshadowing ledger — what it plants, what it pays off, and what debuts here. Locked seeds pay off beyond your ⚓ progress; tap one to reveal it anyway.
- Plants
- 2 seeds🌱 chekhov-explicit🌱 chekhov-explicit
- Firsts
- Franky returns with a vastly rebuilt cyborg body (chassis stenciled 'BF-37')
- Zoro returns bearing a new scar over his closed left eye
- The Thousand Sunny has been re-coated by Rayleigh and refitted with new weaponry
- Brook is now a world-famous touring musician (his recordings sold everywhere)
- Impostor 'Straw Hat Pirates' have been recruiting ~100 pirates at Grove 46
- Sentomaru deploys Pacifistas PX-5 and PX-7; the Marines mobilize believing the fakes are real
- Robin is the 8th of the nine to reach the Sunny — Luffy will be last
Arc: Return to Sabaody · Saga: Fish-Man Island · Released: 2010-11-29 (est.)
Summary
Two years after the war, the Straw Hats converge on the Sabaody Archipelago. Luffy parts from Boa Hancock and the Kuja Pirates within sight of the islands, disguised in a furred cloak so no one learns he is alive. At Grove 47 a band of impostors styling themselves the “Straw Hat Pirates” — a fake Luffy boasting a 400-million bounty plus fake Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Robin (real name “Cocoa”), a long-nosed gunner, a strange “pet,” and others — bullies passersby and announces it has recruited a hundred pirates to assemble at Grove 46. Meanwhile, at Grove 17, Nico Robin arrives at the coated Thousand Sunny and reunites with a radically rebuilt Franky (now stencilled “BF-37”); Franky reports he visited Rayleigh, who re-coated the ship, and that he has installed new weapons — Robin is the eighth to return, leaving only Luffy. Usopp and Sanji have already passed through; Brook has become a famous touring star. The Marines, mistaking the impostors for the real crew, blockade groves and mobilize, while Sentomaru rolls out Pacifistas PX-5 and PX-7, musing that he always knew “Straw” would come back. At Grove 42, Sanji learns Zoro wandered off fishing and fell asleep aboard a pirate galleon that was coated and submerged toward Fish-Man Island — only for Zoro to slice the entire ship in half from below and stroll back, now scarred over one eye.
New reveals
- Franky’s new body: he returns with a far larger, heavily modified cyborg chassis stencilled “BF-37”; he brags it is “the greatest transformation of all time” and “beyond human comprehension.” (Pages 9-10)
- Zoro’s new scar: Zoro reappears with a long vertical scar over his now-permanently-closed left eye — origin unexplained. (Page 19)
- The Sunny was re-coated by Rayleigh, and Franky has finished maintenance and installed “all the new weaponry.” The fresh coating is described as “like jelly.” (Page 10)
- Brook is now a celebrity musician — “standing on a glorious stage cheered by an army of adoring fans,” with his recordings (“TD’s”) sold everywhere. (Page 11)
- Impostor Straw Hat Pirates: a fake crew (fake Luffy claims a ฿400,000,000 bounty) has been impersonating the Straw Hats and has recruited ~100 pirates to muster at Grove 46. The fake Robin’s real name is “Cocoa.” (Pages 4-5, 12-14)
- Marine mobilization: taking the fakes for the genuine article, the Marines confirm “Straw Hat Pirates” sightings, blockade Groves and declare a lawless zone, with reinforcements inbound from G-1. (Page 14)
- Sentomaru + Pacifistas: Sentomaru is en route with PX-5 and PX-7, and notes the Marines never learned Kuma’s true intentions two years ago. (Page 15)
- Reunion count: Robin states she is the eighth crewmate to reach the ship; Luffy will be the last. (Page 10)
Foreshadowing seeds planted
Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)
Mentions / appearances
- Characters: Luffy (departs Amazon Lily, disguised; off-page final arrival pending), Hancock, Nico Robin, Franky, Sanji, Zoro, Brook (shown on a concert screen/poster), Usopp (mentioned — gone for fuel), Sentomaru, Silvers Rayleigh (mentioned), Kuma (mentioned), Camie (mentioned).
- Impostors (no individual notes): the Fake Straw Hat Crew — fake Luffy, fake Zoro, fake Nami, fake Sanji, fake Usopp/“Sniper King,” a fake “pet,” and fake Robin “Cocoa.”
- Crews/Groups: Kuja Pirates, Straw Hat Pirates, Marines.
- Ships: Thousand Sunny (re-coated), the Kuja vessel, Zoro’s borrowed pirate galleon.
- Locations: Sabaody Archipelago (Groves 17, 42, 46, 47, 66; Naval Station), Amazon Lily (departure), Fish-Man Island (destination, mentioned).
- Lore: Ship Coating, Pacifista (PX-5, PX-7).
Notable panels
- Page 1 — Chapter title splash “NINE PIRATES” with a B&W “Request” gag panel (Luffy counting sheep that steal his food). Not a color spread; reader-request cover series.
- Pages 2-3 — Hancock’s tearful farewell; she misreads Luffy’s “I never say goodbye — I always plan to see them again” as a marriage proposal (“Does that mean… we’re engaged?!”).
- Pages 9-10 — Franky’s rebuilt “BF-37” body revealed to Robin; mentions Rayleigh re-coated the Sunny.
- Page 11 — Brook as a stadium-filling music star.
- Page 15 — Sentomaru with the Pacifistas; the “Kuma’s true intentions” line.
- Pages 18-19 — Zoro halves a pirate galleon underwater and reveals his scarred left eye.
- Page 20 — SBS Question Corner (Vol 61): Florian/“Bermuda” Triangle inspiration; the deserted island Rusukaina and its poison-emitting “Daft Green”-like tree.
Open questions raised
- What caused the scar over Zoro’s left eye, and is the eye actually blind?
- What is the full extent of Franky’s “BF-37” upgrade, and where did he rebuild himself?
- Who is behind the impostor Straw Hat Pirates, and what do they gain from recruiting 100 pirates at Grove 46?
- What were Kuma’s “true intentions,” and how much of his personality survives?