Gyukimaru! Zoro Fights a Duel on Oihagi Bridge

On the road to Udon, Big Mom and Tama gush about red bean soup, and Chopper dreads that she might snap back to her former self should she learn there is none around. The irony is that Queen is gulping down bowl after bowl of it, proof that Udon has the dish in plenty. Within the ring, the Pleasures keep collapsing, so Queen sends in the Gifters. A duo strikes at once, Batman, armed with a bow and granted sharp hearing and flight, paired with the speed-built Gazelleman. Luffy still drops them in short order using Haki-laden strikes, yet it nags at him that he cannot fell a foe without contact the way Rayleigh once did.

At the Ringo span, the robber, given the name Gyukimaru here, trades blows with Zoro and bristles with fury upon learning that Zoro had once met Ryuma. He spells out the swordsman's importance, recalling how nobles repeatedly schemed to seize Wano, only to be turned back by a samurai of peerless skill. Their duel breaks off when Komurasaki appears, having somehow endured Kyoshiro's blow, fleeing the news-famous slasher Hitokiri Kamazo. The assassin carries a double purpose, to silence Toko for her laughter and to make Komurasaki pay for slighting the shogun. Zoro consents to step in, his fee being food and sake.

Zoro and Kamazo lock blades and grind to an even standoff, which drives Zoro to strip off his outer garment and press harder. The entry introduces a Gazelleman move exclusive to the anime, the Bikyaku Mawashigeri. Additions made for the broadcast include Batman and Gazelleman joining the trial and falling quickly to Luffy, plus a stretched-out Zoro and Kamazo clash. For the flashback where Ryuma lops off the dragon's head, the studio reused footage from Monsters, an early one-shot by Oda.