Chapter 303: Rich Pirates

On Jaya, Mont Blanc Cricket informs Shoujou and Masira that the search beneath the waves for Noland's claim is finished, and that at their own urging they now pursue a fresh dream. Over in Mock Town elsewhere on Jaya, a forced fight breaks out between Bellamy and Sarquiss, set off by the sudden return of their real boss, Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo. Enraged that his mark was dragged through shame in a fight mocking the notion of a golden sky city, Doflamingo ignores Bellamy's begging and uses the Ito Ito no Mi to puppet Sarquiss into the assault, announcing a New Age in which only worthy pirates have a place.

Returning safely to the Blue Sea, the crew watches the Octopus Balloon shrink down and feels that a dream has just ended. A surge bearing the grotesque faces of sea monkeys forces them to wrench the Going Merry aside. Testing their Skypiea goods, they discover Nami's waver and almost every dial still work below, all but the Cloud Dial. Nami stakes a claim to eighty percent of the gold as her crewmates clamor for cuts, yet everyone agrees the battered Merry needs repair. Because Usopp counts himself a sniper rather than its keeper, Luffy concludes the next recruit should be a shipwright to maintain their home, with a musician to follow.

Doflamingo's tie to Bellamy's crew comes out, along with the meaning of his Jolly Roger and his vision of a coming New Age of Pirates. The Straw Hats decide to pour their gold into mending the Going Merry, and Luffy commits to recruiting a shipwright. At Marine Headquarters, officers note one of their mightiest has slipped away, and the Five Elders dismiss it as his usual nature. He is Admiral Aokiji, coasting over the sea on a bicycle while eyeing Luffy's wanted poster. This installment also opens the Water 7 Saga, standing as the debut chapter for an arc named Long Ring Long Land.