Caesar Retrieval Arc

This filler arc, the eleventh in the series and the second to air following the time skip, unfolds between the Punk Hazard and Dressrosa storylines. Its plot centers on the intruder Breed, whose Devil Fruit lets him dominate animals as obedient pets. He boards the Thousand Sunny to abduct Caesar Clown, whom the crew had already taken prisoner, threatening the alliance's scheme to topple Kaidou and Donquixote Doflamingo alike.

Having departed Punk Hazard with Caesar in tow, Trafalgar Law and the Straw Hats stayed on guard against a possible strike by Doflamingo. Shadowy attackers boarded the Sunny and only halted at the word of Breed, who had seized Caesar. Law, Luffy, and Chopper pursued him aboard the Shark Submerge III, then slipped onto Breed's vessel. There, Breed confined Caesar and explained that he had no ties to Doflamingo but was connected to the underworld, wanting the scientist to help build his ideal world. As Luffy's group pressed into the ship's aquarium-like core, they were set upon again by the shadowy figures, who turned out to be beasts placed under Breed's mental control. Their leader was none other than a Kung-Fu Dugong that Luffy had befriended back in Arabasta; the creature had gathered a crew of sea animals in imitation of Luffy's dream before Breed subjugated them.

Breed turned his ability on Chopper, forcing the reindeer to attack his allies, and soon fastened control collars onto both Luffy and Law. Imprisoned beside Caesar, the captives endured Breed's cruelty as he dressed Chopper up and whipped him, enraging Luffy. Breed then ordered Luffy and Law to fight to the death and commanded the reluctant Dugong to strike them both, sending the pair crashing through the glass into the water. The Dugong wept over his supposedly slain friends, but Luffy and Law returned very much alive, having recaptured Caesar. Breed's commands failed on them because they wore earplugs, since his orders only work when heard, and Law admitted he had merely feigned obedience earlier. Maddened, Breed commanded himself and his beasts to destroy the pirates, but the animals broke free and pinned him, letting Luffy and the Dugong defeat him together. As Luffy and Law bid the Dugong farewell and returned to the Sunny, the morning paper reported that Doflamingo had resigned from the Seven Warlords.

The recovery of Caesar preserved the alliance's plans heading into Dressrosa, and Doflamingo's supposed resignation from the Warlord ranks became the cliffhanger leading into that storyline. Among the New World filler stories, this one stands apart as the first in the second half of the series without a movie tie-in. In terms of length it ranks among the briefest filler entries, shorter only than a couple of others such as the Cidre Guild story.