Axe-Carrying Sentomaru

Worn out after bringing down PX-4, the Straw Hats tense up as Usopp cautions that they are done for should it stand again. Franky wonders aloud why the machine looks so much like Bartholomew Kuma, floating the idea of a twin or a stand-in, while Sanji spots the PX-4 stamp on its collar. At that point Sentomaru turns up with a second Pacifista, voicing regret over the wreck and remarking that a single unit runs as costly as a Marine warship. Tight-lipped to the extreme, he declines to share anything with the pirates and then commands the PX-1 to open fire, its beam gathering in the palm instead of the mouth.

Luffy ducks the blast and orders a three-way split: Nami pairs with Sanji and Franky; Brook joins Zoro and Usopp; and the captain takes Robin and Chopper along. He sets a meeting back at the Thousand Sunny three days out. A super smoke star from Usopp screens their getaway, even though Sentomaru had ordered them held inside Grove 12. The PX-1 gives chase to Nami's group and tears apart a bridge.

Sentomaru cuts Luffy off, turns aside his Gomu Gomu no Gatling, and slams him into a wall, mentioning that no Devil Fruit power lies behind his own strength. Off across the battlefield, Luffy hears Usopp crying out for Zoro, who lies badly hurt beneath a looming shape. That figure proves to be Kizaru, who mocks the downed swordsman before powering up a leg beam to end him. Brook and Usopp strike to no avail as their attacks slip straight through the man of light, who reveals the Logia power of his Pika Pika no Mi.

Drawing on the Hana Hana no Mi, Robin tries to pull Zoro clear of harm, only for Kizaru to plant a foot on him. Just as the Admiral readies the finishing blow, Rayleigh's kick blocks it. Kizaru dryly observes that the Dark King has finally appeared, and Rayleigh warns him off the youngsters, telling him their age has only just started.

The cover advances CP9's Independent Report, showing Rob Lucci booting the Candy Pirates' captain to save the townspeople. Sentomaru is set up as the head of the World Government's science division and the bodyguard of Dr. Vegapunk, and his knack for repelling even the rubber-bodied Luffy stands as an early, unnamed display of Armament Haki, just as Rayleigh's parry of Kizaru's strike does.