Fists Collide! A Battle of the Two Vice Admirals!

Smoker confronts Vergo over betraying men who admire him so deeply, then slips past the enforcer's exploding cane and hardened defense to plant a brutal strike across his face. He points out that the troops answer to him whenever they leave the base, and he challenges the traitor to harm even one of them again. Across in B block, Sanji leads Tashigi and the Marines through the corridor the dragon had set blazing, until two tanks burst, ripping the walls open and letting Shinokuni claim the wounded soldiers. Sanji orders Tashigi to run as he charges toward the gas himself.

From a concealed chamber one level above section R, occupying Vegapunk's old quarters, Caesar observes the slaughter and orders the C and D shutters lowered, herding everyone into one corridor he means to flood with gas piped in from outside. Weeping in front of his gathered men, he pins the disaster of four years ago on Vegapunk and swears he tried to prevent it, claiming he built this gas only to be recognized as the greatest scientist alive. The crowd erupts in cheers, yet a flashback exposes the truth: he designed the weapon himself, dismissed innocent islanders as an acceptable price, mocked Sengoku as too soft, and triggered the explosion the moment Vegapunk removed him from the team. With the shutters sealed, Luffy meets the talking dragon down in the basement, each demanding to know who the other is.

Adapting Chapter 684 and rated near 7.7, the episode introduces both Vegapunk and the Artificial Devil Fruit concept. Material folded in for the anime covers the start of the Monet standoff, the trio of Usopp, Brook, and Kin'emon peeling away from everyone else, Robin's on-screen request for Sea Stone cuffs, Vergo crushing Law's heart, and Luffy nearly hurling a slab of scrap at Momonosuke before noticing him.