The Royal Mausoleum

Having drained Luffy a second time, Crocodile lets the limp captain fall and tells him to rest, noting six minutes remain before the city blows. As the Warlord heads for the royal crypt where the poneglyph waits, the water Luffy had launched earlier rains back down on him, rehydrating his body and reviving him. Refreshed, Luffy gives chase. In western Alubarna, Cobra guides Miss All Sunday down a concealed stairway into an underground chamber, and she confirms she can decipher poneglyphs, the very reason Crocodile keeps her alive rather than killing her.

Miss All Sunday asks whether the stone marks the location of Pluton, but Cobra says he does not know, only that his family has guarded it for generations; the two reach the poneglyph deep below. On the surface the crew keeps searching, with Usopp clowning around as Crocodile, Chopper unable to single out the bomb amid town-wide gunpowder stink, Sanji deducing the cannon must sit near the palace square given its poor long-range accuracy, and Pell scanning the rooftops. A battered Tashigi, confronted by Luffy, hesitates over her shattered notions of justice before pointing him the way Crocodile went. Pushing on, Luffy collapses from his wounds and blacks out as Crocodile spots the hidden stairs.

The chapter delivers the first appearance of a poneglyph and confirms Sanji's reasoning that the bomb sits close to the square. Tashigi's defeat at Robin's hands is shown, along with her frustration at aiding Luffy. The countdown drops to four minutes. The cover continues Hatchan's Sea-Floor Stroll, with Hatchan racing across the sea toward the promise of legendary takoyaki.