Showdown in Ryuuguu Palace! Zoro VS Hody

Luffy and Shirahoshi press on toward the Sea Forest while chaos erupts at the palace. Neptune pleads for someone to shield his daughter, but Hody scoffs at his weakness, admitting he recruited the king only for military strength and knowledge. Declaring he will resurrect Arlong's ambition, Hody begins flooding the hall, a speech that lets a shaken Nami slip away with Camie. When Zoro tries to strike, Hody uses one of his own men as a shield.

Zoro orders Usopp and Brook to free the guards and join the defense, then resolves to hold Hody back so the rest can flee, taking the fight underwater. On the coast, Chopper tends to the injured Hatchan as Sanji notices a hostile crowd gathering, convinced the Straw Hats are behind the mermaid abductions. Luffy descends to investigate and hears Hatchan beg him to leave the island. The citizens doubt anyone could have stolen the enormous princess, until Megalo reaches his limit and spits Shirahoshi out in plain view, seeming to confirm their suspicions.

An anime-only flashback shows a young Dosun being abducted by pirates, with Hody and the future officers failing to save him before Arlong intervened, a sequence that clashes with Hody's later claim of never suffering personally at human hands. Zoro's clash with Hody runs longer and includes Santoryu: Tatsu Maki, a pre-timeskip move he had not used since training. The citizen count of missing mermaids shifts from two to three. Hody's Yabusame is shown working both on land, spraying water droplets that become arrows, and underwater using air bubbles, and a silhouette of Arlong briefly overlays Hody as Zoro recognizes the technique.