Mont Blanc Cricket, the Last Boss of the Saruyama Allied Force

Masira and Shoujou rush in after hearing the gunshot, stunned to find the Straw Hats tending to a wounded Cricket. The mood softens as Luffy bonds easily with the two salvagers, who reveal their group calls itself the Saruyama Alliance. When Cricket wakes, he thanks the crew, having mistaken them for gold-hunting fools. Luffy asks how to reach the sky island, prompting Cricket to bring up the infamous liar Noland.

Cricket admits he is Noland's descendant and that the story unfolded on this very island. He explains his ancestor was an honest man who died desperate to be believed, and that the ridicule drove Cricket himself to become a pirate. A decade in, he reached Jaya and resolved to find Noland's gold, a choice that split him from his crew and left him diving alone ever since. He calls it a duel with the man who ruined his life. After handing Nami Noland's logbook, which describes the sky island as plainly real, Cricket steps outside, and the Saruyama Alliance decides to help the eager Straw Hats.

This Jaya arc chapter formalizes the Saruyama Alliance's pledge to aid the crew. The cover concludes Hatchan's Sea-Floor Stroll with the grand opening of the seagoing takoyaki shop Takoyaki 8.