Chapter 39

Kuro goes on slaughtering his own crew until Luffy forces the captain to deal with him instead. By coiling his stretched arms around Kuro so escape becomes impossible, Luffy finishes the duel with a headbutt. Meanwhile, having battered the young Usopp Pirates, Jango readies the killing blow for Kaya, only for Usopp and Zoro to burst in and save her.

Cut by Kuro, Luffy refuses to fall, seizes the captain's coat, and throws him to the dirt. Kuro sneers that keeping his crew alive only prolongs their suffering, then dives into his technique again, this time finding himself locked in Luffy's unbreakable hold.

Out among the trees, a deal is struck: Kaya will put her name to the will provided the Usopp Pirates are spared. She then snatches Jango's own hypnotic ring and threatens to take her own life, sending him into a panic since the signed document means nothing without her alive to deliver it. As the moment of execution nears, Zoro flings Usopp into place and trims away the branches obstructing his shot. The young pirates wedge a shovel into Jango's backside to buy time, and Usopp lets fly a clean projectile just as Luffy whips his head forward to drive Kuro into the ground.

The chapter's title alludes to Ernest Hemingway's novel of the same name. Mid-battle, the Black Cat Pirates start rooting for Luffy, but he rebuffs them, warning that they are next once he has finished their captain. The cover continues Buggy's Crew Adventure Chronicles, with Buggy fleeing in terror from an enormous parent bird whose chicks he had hoped to make a meal of.