Saruyama Alliance

Etymology

Saruyama Alliance (JP 猿山連合軍 Saruyama Rengō-gun; VIZ “Monkey Mountain Allied Force”). Saruyama = 猿山, literally “Monkey Mountain” (saru 猿 “monkey” + yama 山 “mountain”); Rengō-gun = “Allied Force / Coalition Army.” The name pins the two simian salvage captains who anchor the alliance — Masira (マシラ, an archaic word for “monkey,” 猿) and Shoujou (ショウジョウ, 猩猩, the red-faced sake-loving ape / orangutan of folklore) — under leader Mont Blanc Cricket. In casual Japanese “saruyama” is also the monkey enclosure at a zoo, a wry tag for the comic ape-brothers. Source: One Piece Wiki; Wiktionary, 猿.

Roster over time

Crew lineage

Notable events

• Ch. 227 — Named on-page via Cricket’s debut epithet box. Masira appears in Cricket’s circle (p. 19), the first on-page tie between Cricket and the salvage apes.
• Ch. 228 — Confirmed: Masira and Shoujou are Mont Blanc Cricket’s two self-appointed henchmen; the three are devoted fans of the Noland story (pp. 15-16). Cricket commits the alliance to helping the Straw Hats reach the Sky Island — “It’ll be up to us… to help get them there” (pp. 19-20). See Sky Island Existence.
• Ch. 229 — The alliance commits to reinforcing the Going Merry so she can survive the Knock-Up Stream: Cricket assigns Masira and Shoujou to the work (page 10). The three host the Straw Hats at a feast on Cricket’s island; Cricket forgives Usopp’s outburst and welcomes the crew as comrades.
• Ch. 230 — The Alliance’s salvaged treasures are catalogued on-page — three bell-shaped gold ingots and a penguin statue fragment, the fruits of Cricket’s decade of diving. Masira and Shoujou move to defend it from Bellamy’s crew at night.
• Ch. 231 — The defense fails: the Bellamy Pirates overwhelm Masira and Shoujou (despite Shoujou’s “Havoc Sonar”), wreck Cricket’s house, and steal the salvaged gold (incl. the bell-shaped ingot proving the City of Gold) (pp. 8–16). Cricket insists the gold “doesn’t matter” — the ship can still be readied and the sky reached before sunrise (pp. 17–18). See Bell-Shaped Gold Ingot Proves the City of Gold.
• ⭐ Ch. 298 — On Jaya, the Saruyama Alliance — led by Mont Blanc Cricket — hears the toll of the rung Giant Golden Bell carried down from Skypiea (“Mister!! Can you hear it?”, “We found El Dorado!! …was in the sky!”, pp. 15-19). Their gold hunt’s premise (the lost City of Gold is real) is vindicated by sound. See The Noland Legend and the City of Gold, Song of the Island.
• ⭐ Ch. 299 — The Alliance hears the Golden Bell from Jaya. Mont Blanc Cricket, Masira, and Shoujou hear the toll of the Great Golden Bell of Shandora carry down from the sky to Jaya — “There’s only one bell that rings like that… from the sky” (pp. 9-10) — and break down weeping with joy: “EL DORADO IS REAL!! WE FOUND IT!!” The salvage gang on the Jaya shore strikes along (“KLIK KLIK”); Cricket collapses in relief (“I’m so glad they’re okay… I was so worried,” p. 14). On-page vindication of the Alliance’s lifelong quest to clear Mont Blanc Noland’s name. See The Noland Legend and the City of Gold, Song of the Island.
• ⭐ Ch. 303 — El Dorado search closed. In the Jaya epilogue, Mont Blanc Cricket calls off the seafloor search for El Dorado (“There’s nothing on the ocean floor… El Dorado was in the sky”) now that the Straw Hats proved the gold rose to Skypiea (pp. 2-3). Masira and Shoujou pledge to follow him on whatever adventure comes next (“We’ll follow you anywhere, Boss!!”). The Alliance’s lifelong quest is resolved. See The Noland Legend and the City of Gold.

Cross-links

• Mysteries the crew is involved in: The Noland Legend and the City of Gold · Sky Island Existence
• Allied crews: Masira Pirates · Shoujou Pirates · Straw Hat Pirates
• Base: Jaya

Resolved (Ch. 228): the second salvage ape (Shoujou / Shoujou Pirates) is confirmed part of the alliance — roster row added above.