Chapter 1149: One Second

Still bound, the Straw Hats marvel that Gaban managed to wound Sommers, whose immortality keeps him conscious through the pain. Gaban remarks that he has grown rusty, then charges, only for Sommers to throw up a thorn barrier and retreat. Nami recounts meeting the swordsman at the castle, where even Luffy and Zoro were outmatched, and adds that he is Colon's father. Robin places him, Jinbe vouches for his standing as the left-hand man of Roger, and Brook puzzles over his presence. When Sommers carpets the area in thorns leaving no safe footing, Gaban cleaves him in two and bolts to save his son, leaving the Knight impaled on his own spikes. Chopper slips from Saul's hair to chase after him and learn how the immortal was hurt.

At the settlement, a reluctant Ange has put the Walrus School to the torch, and the Owl Library is set ablaze by Killingham himself. Reaching Gunko, Gaban condemns her for stripping a people of their culture, history, and children. He silently begs Colon to keep their bond hidden, but the boy cries out to his father anyway, and Gunko overhears. She dodges Gaban's strike and presses an arrow sword to Colon's throat. Gaban asks for a single second to finish everything, recalling the day his son was born, but his advanced Observation Haki reveals that the boy cannot be reached in time. Letting his axes fall, he gives himself up, and Gunko pierces him with arrows before flinging him off the branch, with Chopper diving down after him.

Colon's cries stir a buried memory in Gunko of Brook from when he still lived, and Brook in turn senses she resembles someone from his past. As she races toward the Soul King, Imu stops her telepathically, demanding to know why the three Knights are so slow while the Holy Land burns and giant strength is needed. It is confirmed here that the Knights know of Imu's existence, and the chapter closes as Imu remotely seizes Gunko's body, gives her matching eyes, and vows to show a god's power. A trivia note flags that Gaban's flashback scar was drawn in error and left uncorrected for the volume.