Ace and Luffy! Warm Memories and Brotherly Bonds

As the Straw Hats race for the Going Merry, Ace keeps Smoker occupied long enough for them to escape. Luffy slips away to watch the fight, reunites with his brother, and brings him before the crew. Ace then wrecks a pack of Baroque Works pursuers before parting ways with his own goal in mind.

With the crew sprinting toward the ship, Nami asks whether Ace truly is Luffy's brother, and Luffy confirms it. At a fork in the road he peels off to keep watching the duel while the others load supplies, only to realize their captain has vanished. Ace finds Luffy perched on a barrel in an alley and drops down to greet him. The pair arm wrestle until the barrel splits and the water inside sprays out, and they admit they are evenly matched. Ace pitches the idea of the brothers joining Whitebeard's crew, but Luffy turns it down.

Aboard Smoker's vessel, the bound Mr. 11 begs some visiting Billions to release him and is shot for his trouble. Word reaches them that Fire Fist Ace walks the town, and the agents scheme to win promotion by taking him out. They mob Luffy and Ace, who plow ahead unbothered until a brawl erupts. Luffy launches the ringleader with Gomu Gomu no Bazooka, then stretches aboard the Going Merry, crashing into Sanji and Chopper. When five Billions ships close in, Ace boards his small craft, propels it with his flames, and unleashes a Hiken that rips through all five in a row. Smoker, meanwhile, puzzles over Vivi traveling so comfortably with the pirates and senses a larger plot brewing. Over drinks, Ace clarifies he is not enlisting with his brother; he hunts Blackbeard for murdering a crewmate and is bound for Yuba, the very town the Straw Hats are headed to.

Pandaman makes hidden cameos behind a market stall and among the fleeing Billions. Luffy claims here that Ace also chases the One Piece, a statement the series later contradicts, since Ace simply wished to become a great pirate and learn whether he deserved to be born. The smiley faces on Ace's hat both grin while he drinks with the crew. This marks the first use of Fish as the ending theme. Mr. Mellow and Geronimo debut, and the episode falls within the Arabasta arc.