Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 913: The Crane Returns the Favor

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2018-08-27

Summary

In the poisoned Kuri wasteland, the Animal Kingdom Pirates’ Headliner Basil Hawkins confronts the disguised Luffy and Zoro — warning them not to “sightsee” in a country ruled “from the shadows,” and reading their one-month survival probability at 19%. Luffy nearly blurts that they came to whoop the Emperor Kaido before Zoro shushes him. When Hawkins’s footmen grab at Zoro’s borrowed sword the fight erupts, and Hawkins reveals his long-mysterious Devil Fruit at last: his Straw-Straw powers infuse his subordinates’ spirits into straw stand-in dolls, so every clean hit only costs him “one life” of the ten he has stored (“Minus one life”). He opens a fortune-teller’s “game,” drawing tarot cards (The Fool reversed, Card of Pursuit, Hierophant reversed, The Tower) to power up a giant strawman and chase the fleeing trio, who ride away on the lion-dog Komachiyo when Otama’s poison-fever forces them to break off. Luffy finally smashes the strawman with a “Ripple,” and Hawkins is left standing, lives spent, as his men ask whether to pursue. A grateful woman steps in: Otsuru, the Okobore teahouse owner Zoro saved from bandits earlier — “the crane” who now returns the favor, leading them to her teahouse and a special herb that counteracts the river’s poison. Intercut, that teahouse is harassed by the self-styled yokozuna Urashima, who pressures the dignified waitress Okiku to be his wife. Far off, atop a mountain, the Heart Pirates (Bepo and crew) spot the Straw Hats and argue over breaking cover.

New reveals

• Hawkins’s Devil Fruit is NAMED: “Straw-Straw powers” (Paramecia). “With my Straw-Straw powers, I infuse my body with my subordinates’ spirits.” “My strawman is a stand-in for my followers’ lives.” “When I have ten infused… I can die ten times.” Each clean hit registers as “Minus one life.” (pp. 7–8)
• Hawkins’s tarot “game.” He draws cards that expand the strawman’s power at inherent risk: The Fool, reversed (“card of in-fighting”), Card of Pursuit, The Hierophant, reversed, The Tower (“Tower Climb”), and a Card of Reinforcements (“The Hierophant… someone will lead them to a clean escape”). (pp. 9–14)
• Hawkins driven back, survives. Zoro (“Nigiri”) and Luffy (“Ripple”) burn through several stand-in lives and destroy the strawman; the trio escapes on Komachiyo. Hawkins survives on his remaining stored lives; his subordinates ask, “Sh-shall we go after them…?” (pp. 12–14)
• Otsuru — owner of an Okobore Town teahouse, the kindly “crane” of the title; the woman Zoro saved earlier (from bandits). Had been hiding in Komachiyo’s tail. Knows a special herb that counteracts the river’s poison; offers to tend Zoro’s wounds and cure Otama “to return the favor.” (pp. 14–17)
• Okobore Town, “the town of leftover scraps,” in Kuri — impoverished, its residents extorted for a “protection tax.” (pp. 15–17)
• Okiku (teahouse waitress; dignified, composed) and Urashima (self-styled yokozuna, “the greatest sumo wrestler in Wano,” from “the big city”) introduced; Urashima badgers Okiku to marry him and sneers at the town’s “leftover scraps.” (pp. 15–16)
• The Heart Pirates (Bepo et al.) are in Wano, watching the Straw Hats from atop a mountain and debating intervention (“Should we go get them before trouble starts?!” / “You’re gonna stick out if you do, Bepo!”). (p. 17)
• Otama has collapsed feverish from drinking the poisoned river; her condition is what forces the trio to flee Hawkins. (pp. 10, 17)

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Appears: Luffy (disguised), Zoro (VIZ “Zolo”; disguise “Zorojuro”), Basil Hawkins (Headliner; driven off), Otama (feverish, poisoned), Komachiyo (the lion-dog mount; bites/grabs Luffy & Zoro (its riders) to alert them Otama is feverish, hid Otsuru in its tail) , Otsuru (debut), Okiku (debut), Urashima (debut), Bepo + the Heart Pirates (atop a mountain), Hawkins’s footmen of the Animal Kingdom Pirates.
• Mentioned (not shown): Kaido (“Emperor of the Sea”; the hidden ruler of Wano “from the shadows”), Kin’emon (“Kin’emon said…” — the low-profile order Luffy nearly ignores), Amigasa Village (Otama’s home village).
• Locations: Okobore Town (in Kuri), Kuri, Wano Country.
• Concepts: Wara Wara no Mi (Straw-Straw powers), the “protection tax,” the poisoned river / “evil-purging” antidote herb.
• Cover: Orlumbus — “The Saga of the Self-Proclaimed Straw Hat Fleet,” Vol. 41.

Notable panels

• p. 1 — Title splash “Chapter 913: THE CRANE RETURNS THE FAVOR”: a harbor crowded with ships giving a hero’s send-off, with a thought-bubble silhouette of an old bearded pirate captain. Cover-serial footer: “THE SAGA OF THE SELF-PROCLAIMED STRAW HAT FLEET, VOL. 41, ORLUMBUS — ‘5 P.M.: GIVEN A HERO’S SEND-OFF — MY BIG PIRATE DEBUT WAS A FAILURE.’”
• p. 2 — Hawkins title card: “WORST GENERATION — BASIL HAWKINS — BOUNTY: 320,000,000 BERRIES”; he reads Luffy & Zoro’s one-month survival probability at 19%. Luffy blurts “It’s Kaido!!” / “I’m here to whoop that Emperor of the Sea!!” before being shushed.
• pp. 3–6 — The brawl erupts over Zoro’s borrowed sword; Luffy fights with a sword he can’t use (“A gun’s not a sword!! Pistol!!!”); Komachiyo joins in.
• p. 7 — The “Minus one life” reveal: Luffy’s hit lands on a straw stand-in that crumbles (“THUD”).
• p. 8 — Hawkins explains the Straw-Straw stand-in-lives mechanic and produces his strawman and “strawman cards,” declaring “Now… let us begin a game.”
• pp. 9–12 — The tarot mechanic in motion: The Fool reversed (in-fighting), Card of Pursuit, Hierophant reversed, The Tower (“Tower Climb”), nail attacks; Komachiyo carries the trio away while Otama burns up with fever; Zoro answers with “Nigiri.”
• p. 13 — Luffy’s “Ripple” destroys the strawman; Hawkins is left standing, lives spent.
• p. 14 — Otsuru title card: “TEAHOUSE OWNER — OTSURU”; “I am the woman you saved earlier, Green One. My name is Tsuru.” She was hiding in Komachiyo’s tail; recognizes Otama of Amigasa Village.
• pp. 15–16 — Okobore Town named (“Okobore, the town of leftover scraps, Kuri”); Okiku title card (“TEAHOUSE WAITRESS — OKIKU”) and Urashima’s self-introduction (“I’m Urashima, the greatest sumo wrestler in Wano!!”).
• p. 17 — “Brew up some of the evil-purging herbs!!” — the group reaches the teahouse; “Otama drank from the poisoned river!!” Final panel — atop a mountain, the Heart Pirates (Bepo et al.) spot the Straw Hats. “To be continued…”

Open questions raised

• Is Okiku more than a teahouse waitress — what explains her samurai-like poise against a yokozuna?
• Will Hawkins, lives spent, regroup and report the disguised Straw Hats to Kaido, or hold the report back as before?
• Will the Heart Pirates break cover to help the Straw Hats — and why are they in Wano?
• Can Otsuru’s “evil-purging herbs” actually cure Otama’s river poisoning in time?