Monsters Appear! Don't Mess with the Whitebeard Pirates!

The enormous turtle that surfaced near the Merry has the diving trio's air hoses caught in its mouth, leading Robin to fear Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro have been swallowed. The beast drags the ship by those hoses, and just as Nami moves to cut them, daylight snaps into night. Masira's superstitious crew panics at the omen and reels their captain back aboard. Luffy, then Zoro and Sanji, bob to the surface, and the group urges an immediate retreat. The sudden darkness proves to be cast by gigantic figures eclipsing the sun, sending the Straw Hats fleeing.

After kicking Masira off their deck, the crew laments finding no clues during the salvage, though Sanji observes the wreck looked ravaged by battle. Robin reveals she lifted an Eternal Pose for the island of Jaya from the Masira Pirates, so Luffy orders the ship turned toward it, with the catch that a long stay would let the Log Pose readjust and cost them their shot at the sky. On a skull-shaped island, Mohji and Cabaji hunt fruitlessly for Captain John's treasure. Aboard Buggy's ship, Buggy schemes to let Luffy build fame so that beating him later brings greater glory. Portgas D. Ace then arrives, dozes off mid-visit, and Buggy refuses Mohji's suggestion to strike him down, terrified of how Whitebeard would retaliate. Ace wakes and turns the deck into a party.

The episode is part of the Jaya Arc and debuts the Master, the salvage ape associated with the giant turtle. It advances the Skypiea search and seeds the looming clash between Shanks and Whitebeard through Ace's presence on Buggy's vessel.