Chapters · Fish-Man Island › Return to Sabaody

Chapter 601: Romance Dawn for the New World

Arc: Return to Sabaody · Saga: Fish-Man Island · Released: 2010-09-13 (est.)

Summary

Two years after Sabaody, the Straw Hats begin reconverging on the Archipelago. Brook — now the superstar musician “Soul King” — flees his concert at the Sabao Dome (Grove 33) when the Navy moves to arrest him and his exposed pirate identity sparks a riot; a helper sent by Shakky points him to the crew rendezvous at Grove 42 (p.2). Zoro and Sanji bicker over the meeting grove (p.3). At Grove 46, a mob of 100+ pirates recruited under a fake “Straw Hat Luffy” is blockaded by the Navy and a squad of Pacifistas; the bloodthirsty new recruit Caribou disobeys orders and opens fire, the human weapons cut down recruits like “Lip ‘Service’ Doughty” (88 million), and Sentomaru punches out the fraud captain, whom PX-5 identifies as 26-million-berry impostor “Triple-Tongued” Demalo Black (pp.4-11). PX-5 then picks up the real Straw Hat’s signal: the genuine Luffy is on the island, and he flattens a Pacifista with a single Haki-charged Gear Two Jet Pistol (pp.12-14). Reuniting with Zoro and Sanji (pp.15-17), Luffy is sent off by Silvers Rayleigh, who confirms his powers are “even more refined” (p.18). The chapter closes on Luffy re-declaring he’ll be King of the Pirates (p.19), a deliberate echo of Chapter 1.

New reveals

• The two-year timeskip has ended; the crew is reuniting at Sabaody, returned far stronger.
• Brook is a globally famous musician (“Soul King”); his pirate past is now public (“Brook the musician was a pirate! Dirty traitor!”).
• A 100+-strong crew was recruited at Grove 46 under a counterfeit Luffy — “Triple-Tongued” Demalo Black (bounty 26 million), who exploited a rumor that the real Straw Hat was dead.
• Caribou (a bloodthirsty psychopath who “smells blood”) and his brother debut among the fakes’ recruits.
• Real Luffy one-shots a Pacifista with a Haki-imbued Gear Two Jet Pistol — his first post-timeskip combat showcase (“He used Haki!”).
• Sentomaru is now formally a Marine and leads the Sabaody Pacifista operation.
• Silvers Rayleigh checks on Luffy and confirms his training paid off (“powers are even more refined”).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Luffy · Zoro · Sanji · Brook · Silvers Rayleigh · Sentomaru · Shakky (mentioned) · Demalo Black (first appearance) · Caribou (first appearance) · Doughty (first appearance) · Dragon (mentioned) · Garp (mentioned) · Sabaody Archipelago (Sabao Dome / Grove 33, Groves 41, 42, 46) · Straw Hat Pirates · Marines · Fake Straw Hat Crew · Pacifista (PX-5 and squad) · Haki · Gomu Gomu no Mi · Paramount War of Marineford (referenced — “the human weapons from the Paramount War”)

Threads advanced: Worlds Greatest Swordsman (Zoro’s post-timeskip cutting power — cuts through the Grove 46 mob, p. 16).

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Chapter title page. B&W reader-request illustration: “Nami playing cards in a casino with some unscrupulous herons” (by Anonymous). Post-timeskip Nami design. Not a color spread.
• Page 2 — Brook (“Soul King”) flees the Sabao Dome on his costumed motorcycle prop; the crowd brands him a “dirty traitor.” Shakky’s courier directs him to Grove 42.
• Pages 7-8 — Pacifistas deploy; one obliterates recruit “Lip ‘Service’ Doughty” (bounty 88 million).
• Pages 10-11 — Sentomaru punches the fake Luffy; PX-5 identifies him as “Triple-Tongued Demalo Black, bounty 26 million.”
• Pages 13-14 — Real Luffy: “Gear Two!! Gum-Gum… Jet Pistol!!” downs a Pacifista in one hit — “He used Haki!”
• Page 18 — Silvers Rayleigh (“The Dark King?!”) appears to see Luffy off.
• Page 19 — Splash: Luffy “I’m gonna be… King of the Pirates!!” — mirrors his Chapter 1 declaration .
• Page 20 — “3D2Y Section, Part 2”: Oda’s timeskip character-redesign sketches (Sanji, Nami, Robin, Franky, Brook, etc.). Volume/SBS paratext, not a cover B-plot.

Open questions raised

• How strong is the rest of the reunited crew? (Only Luffy, Zoro and Sanji’s growth is glimpsed here.)
• What is Caribou’s game — is he a true recruit or an opportunist working his own angle?
• Where did the rumor that “the real Straw Hat is dead” come from, and how widespread is it?