Chapter 160

Now that Ace has departed, the pirates set their course for Yuba. Puzzled by the blank scrap of paper Ace handed him, Luffy refuses to part with it, so Nami sews the slip into the lining of his hat. Heat-resistant garments go on at Vivi's urging as she warns the others about the desert. Where the Sandora River empties out, she traces their path on a hand-drawn map: break from the water near Erumalu, drop anchor, then trek the dunes to the Yuba oasis where she will make her plea to the rebel leader. Her conviction that the syndicate can be stopped and her homeland spared holds firm. Elsewhere, Crocodile and Miss All Sunday finalize a scheme that ignites in two days at seven in the morning, with one hundred fifty Billions positioned at Nanohana and the remaining officer agents summoned to Spiders Cafe at eight that night.

Spiders Cafe is exposed as the syndicate's base of operations in the desert kingdom. The first arrivals are Miss Merry Christmas, who blames her slow-moving partner Mr. 4 for the aching journey, and the two are served by the cafe's owner, Paula. Mr. 2 Bon Kurei then waltzes in singing with his Billions in tow and asks for an octopus parfait the place does not stock. The full quartet of remaining officer agents is established here: the pairs led by Mr. 1 with Miss Doublefinger and by Mr. 4 with his companion, all of them bound for Rainbase to report to their boss, Mr. 0. Crocodile also notes Mr. 2's failure to deal with the missing Mr. 3, who spends the gathering spying from beyond a window.

The color spread stacks the syndicate's officer agents in two tiers, men up top and women below, while a clueless Luffy walks the camel Matsuge through the gap left by Mr. 2's absent female partner. Belonging to the desert-kingdom arc, the chapter pins down the timeline of the warlord's operation and assembles the villains ahead of the strike.