Chapter 28: Crescent Moon

Facing the incoming raid, the four defenders, two Straw Hats plus Nami and Usopp, commit to shielding the village. Each lists what he brings: cutting, stretching, and thieving, while a shaky Usopp insists his talent is concealment. They grease the slope that climbs from the water, hoping to bog the attackers down. Within Kaya's manor, the butler and her second servant trade words about Usopp's behavior that day. Turning over the spectacles intended as an anniversary gift, the butler grows strange, fixes his eyes on the slim moon above, and lets his real self emerge. He shatters the glasses and brings his cat claws to bear on the servant. Far out at sea, Jango is shaken awake and reminded that the scheme launches in only a few hours.

Morning comes and the raiders land, but at the northern cove rather than the slope Usopp had fortified. He belatedly recalls a second, identically shaped beach minutes away and realizes the enemy chose it. Nami notes the crew's own boats sit there as well. In the rush to reach the right shore she loses her footing on the oil, grabs Zoro to right herself, and leaves him sliding helplessly behind. Usopp gets there first and drives back several attackers with his slingshot, while Luffy, having taken a wrong turn, ends up lost and far from the clash.

A quick look at the butler's weapon appears as he wounds the servant Merry. Oda has explained that the color spread grew from a reader contest in the magazine, the winning idea (themed around a curry supper) being redrawn by his own hand. The lunar phase drawn here is a waning crescent, one example of how the author tracks elapsed time at sea through the moon. When the chapter first ran, its opening pair of story pages appeared in full color.