Chapter 146: Battle to Defend the Kingdom

Stunned that anyone would strike the king of Drum, Chess and Kuromarimo rush to steady their dazed leader. Sanji nudges Luffy to actually recognize his opponents and even teases him about wearing shorts and a vest in the freezing cold. After a long pause Luffy grasps both blunders at once, leaving the crew dumbfounded by how slowly he processed it, and he dashes back inside to dig a jacket out of Nami's room.

Furious at the disrespect from his former subjects, Wapol finds Kureha and Chopper barring his entry. They proclaim the castle a tomb for Hiriluk and refuse to let anyone remove the late doctor's flag. Chopper shifts into his hulking human form to guard the place, and the invaders recognize him as the creature that once attacked them. Kuromarimo hurls a static charge built from his own hair while Chess looses flaming arrows, and when Chopper tries to punch Chess he is caught and chewed on by Wapol himself.

The cover establishes Jango as a genuinely gifted dancer. Kureha and Chopper take up positions defending Wapol's old castle as a grave for Hiriluk. Chess and Kuromarimo open their assault. Luffy returns wearing Nami's jacket, grabs onto Sanji's powerful kick to launch himself, and slams a fist into Wapol's gut, forcing the king to cough Chopper back out.

The Jango's Dance Paradise cover crowns Jango the contest winner, with Lieutenant Fullbody taking a gracious second place. The chapter leans heavily on slapstick, from Luffy's delayed reactions to Sanji getting Kuromarimo's hairy electric balls stuck to his suit, while still advancing the standoff at the castle gates.