Utter Defeat

The Marines cannot fathom how the Going Merry slipped through their warships unseen. Kokoro hurls Luffy, Robin, and Chopper onto the deck, and Zoro defers command to Nami. When Luffy tries to thank Robin for shielding him, she silences him with a sprouted hand and a smile before rising to thank the whole crew. Spandam orders Robin and the pirates wiped out, falsely crediting the command to Admiral Aokiji, but the Marines' shots go wild and strike one of their own vessels as the Gates of Justice quietly begin to close.

The closing gates churn whirlpools that throw off the fleet's steering and aim. Sanji, who had pulled the lever, tells Usopp this enemy had to be outwitted rather than simply beaten. Zoro and Sanji stretch Luffy between them to catch incoming cannonballs in his rubber belly and slingshot them back into a pursuing ship, while Nami rides the whirlpool's edge for extra speed. Robin spots Spandam and snaps his spine with Clutch, and Franky's Coup de Vent launches the ship clear before Usopp's smokescreen covers their escape. The Franky Family, Galley-La foremen, and giants flee aboard the Puffing Tom.

The crew escapes Enies Lobby, Robin breaks Spandam's spine, Sanji shuts the Gates of Justice, and Aokiji arrives to watch from a distance on his bicycle, summing up the outcome as the Marines' total defeat. Franky scolds the crew for torching a World Government flag, but Luffy answers that they only reclaimed a stolen friend, and the celebration begins. The cover continues Enel's space saga as he reaches the barren moon.