Chapter 1118

One last splinter of Dr. Vegapunk's broadcast pierces through before the feed dies again, and the battered robot Emet, wounded by the previous strike, tips toward the water. On its way down, the Iron Giant wonders aloud where Joy Boy has gone, insisting it could feel his presence and had ached to see him. Elsewhere, people across the world are left confused: the transmission ended before the scientist finished, and his death splits opinion. Some accept that the World Government erased him over the sins he admitted to, while others reject that outright, blaming Luffy instead because the news had cast him as Vegapunk's captor.

On Egghead, the Elders demand from York a tally of the surviving satellites. Only Lilith and Atlas still link to Punk Records, she answers, and once she gives their locations the Elders set out to destroy them, confident the archive will keep expanding through her even now that its creator is gone. The giants push off as Dorry, Brogy, and Luffy scramble aboard. Any Marines who try to stop them, including Doll and Bluegrass with the Sea Beast Weapon one of them rode, have already been shrunk into children by Bonney, who jeers at them. Over the transponder, Sanji tells Nami he will pluck her, Robin, and Lilith from any failed drop off the clouds, gladly letting the men plunge, which sours Usopp's mood.

Mars glides over the vessel and breathes fire down at the giants, who raise their shields; even so, flames catch part of the ship and the crew hurries to smother them. He vows that not one of them will get away. With both giant captains squaring up to face him, Luffy tops up on their cooking and reawakens Gear Fifth. He asks Bonney to join the fight, but the sheer might of the Elders makes her hesitate. Luffy reminds her that Gear Fifth is simply what he becomes when he is free, and he swears he trusts her power. That reassurance moves Bonney to invoke a Distortion Future technique whose name declares she will claim the freest future of all, transforming into her own take on Nika. The other Elders detect the pair and ready themselves, while the descending Iron Giant, feeling the same pulse, stirs.

Sinking beneath the surface, Emet had wanted only to reunite with Joy Boy, and Vegapunk's message glitched out just as it neared naming something. The Elders open their pursuit of Lilith and Atlas, while York notes Edison has ceased connecting to Punk Records, his fate left unknown. Luffy, Dorry, and Brogy reach the Giant Warrior Pirates' ship, Bonney defeats Vice Admirals Doll and Bluegrass, and Mars begins his aerial assault, with Warcury and Ju Peter, both confirmed users of Observation Haki, joining in. Spurred on by Gear 5 Luffy, Bonney completes her transformation into Nika, and the submerged giant, stirred yet again by the Drums of Liberation, believes Joy Boy has been found.