The Wait is Over! The Return of Captain Buggy!

Alvida and Buggy steer toward their next stop, chiefly hunting for Buggy's misplaced followers. Driven out of Orange Town by angry residents, those pirates had fled with their captain's severed pieces, certain he was gone for good. On a remote island they stage a funeral, and Mohji and Cabaji promptly quarrel over who should inherit command. Their lengthy duel stretches into the night before a sleepwalking Richie flattens them both, earning the lion the title of new captain.

The squabbling is cut short when the carnivorous Kumate Tribe descends, overpowering the crew and dragging them off. Just as the tribe readies a boiling pot, Buggy and Alvida spot the docked flagship and storm in. Between the four of them they rout the tribe and free the captives, and with Buggy whole once more, the alliance sets a course after Luffy.

Mohji and Cabaji fight for hours over the captaincy, only to be knocked out together by Richie. The Kumate Tribe captures the entire Buggy crew and prepares to cook them. Buggy and Alvida arrive in time, defeat the tribe, and reassemble Buggy's body. The Buggy and Alvida Alliance then sails off in pursuit of Luffy, whose own crew is nearing Loguetown.

This installment marks the final use of We Are! as the series opening, and it was left out of the remastered edition entirely. During the Mohji versus Cabaji bout, a supporting member of the Buggy Pirates flashes a rude gesture, the first appearance of that gesture in the anime. The episode introduces the Kumate Tribe, plus the locations of Kumate Island and Loguetown.