A Giant Snake Bares Its Fangs! The Survival Game Begins!

The exploration party heads off to find the gold while the rest of the crew sails out. Pushing through the forest, Chopper notices a tree root stirring but stays quiet, fearing ridicule. Luffy then turns and spots the same movement, drawing the attention of the others, and the root rears up to reveal a giant python.

On the Milky Road, Gan Fall, traveling with the sailing group, recounts the conflict between the Shandia and the Sky Islanders. The Shandia, original residents of Upper Yard, were forced from their land, which the Sky Islanders claimed for their own gain, sparking the war that has run through Enel's reign. When Sanji asks why a Shandia attacked them on arrival, Gan Fall explains that enforcers seized by Enel sometimes flee by ship and are cut down by the Shandia, so the crew may have been mistaken for runaways. He also describes the Citizens' Sense of Crime triggered by outsiders in Skypiea, while admitting he does not understand what gold even is.

A flashback shows Gan Fall once attempting to negotiate with the Shandia, where an enraged Wyper would settle for nothing short of every scrap of land returned. Gan Fall refused, holding that the Vearth served the Sky Islanders too and that they were innocent of the old wrongs. Back in the present, Wyper rallies his warriors and renews his vow to kill Enel, telling them only those willing to abandon the wounded should follow. In the forest, the python's attack scatters the remaining Straw Hats as they scramble to escape, and the Shandia advance on Upper Yard toward the God Shrine.

Adapted from chapters 255 and 256, the episode introduces Nola, the Shandia Chief, and Isa, and marks the debut of Robin's Cinco Fleur. It is the final installment to use "Hikari e" as its opening and "FAITH" as its ending, and it belongs to the Skypiea storyline.