Chapter 171

Word reaches Chaka that the king has slipped out of his heavily guarded chambers, and he sends out search parties only to hear that Cobra has surfaced in Nanohana. Koza, already alerted by troubling rumors, is galloping toward that very spot. Along the ride his memories surface: his father urging him never to lose faith in the king, the rebel numbers climbing toward a hundred thousand, the drought, and the falling-out that ultimately turned him against the crown.

At Nanohana the counterfeit king stands ringed by armed escorts, announcing that he intends to level the town as an act of apology, and his guards begin gunning down the townsfolk. A child who steps up to challenge him is simply kicked away. Koza arrives demanding to know what is happening, and the impostor calmly states that he hoarded the kingdom's rain around the capital using Dance Powder, a confession that pushes the rebel leader over the edge.

A soldier shoots Koza while the royal party retreats, and the rebel leader takes the bullet as nothing less than a declaration of war. The man behind the disguise is actually Mr. 2, tasked with provoking the riot needed to justify the revolt. As terror sweeps the town, two more Baroque Works officers, Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger, drive an enormous vessel straight into the Nanohana harbor, piling on the devastation.

Operation Utopia is now underway, and the marine officer Hina appears for the first time, debuting on the cover. Notably, this is the earliest chapter in which no member of the Straw Hats shows up at all. The cover continues Jango's Dance Paradise, where the tearful goodbye between Jango and Fullbody is derailed by a passing female marine who leaves both of them lovestruck.