The Oath

Luffy, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku recoil at the gash Mihawk has opened across Zoro, while the Krieg Pirates struggle to accept that a fighter this strong stood no chance against the might bred on the Grand Line. Sanji turns over Zoro's earlier claim that his ambition left him no regard for his own survival, and cannot understand why the swordsman would refuse to throw away a life headed toward certain death. As Zoro slips beneath the waves, a raging Luffy hurls his arm the full distance to Mihawk, astonishing the onlookers who had no idea he carried a Devil Fruit's power. Mihawk slides aside with ease, works out that the boy is one of Zoro's companions, and, declining the fight, simply tells him Zoro has not died.

While Johnny and Yosaku pull Zoro back from the sea, Mihawk reintroduces himself and warns the wounded swordsman that dying now would be far too premature. He presses Zoro to study both the world and his own self, to forge real strength, and pledges that however long it takes, he will be waiting at the peak in his sharpest form. He then asks Luffy what he is after, and on hearing "Pirate King," grins that the goal will prove tougher still than overtaking him.

Spitting up blood, Zoro raises his sword and apologizes to Luffy for the worry he caused. He delivers his vow in pieces: from this moment he refuses to taste defeat again, and that streak holds until the day Mihawk falls and the title of finest blade in the world is his own. He asks his future Pirate King whether any of this is a problem, and Luffy happily says it is not. Content with their spirit, Mihawk leaves, barely glancing at the very Krieg crew he came hunting, and shatters more of their galleon when the don opens fire. Aboard the restored Baratie, Luffy dispatches Usopp to fetch Nami, agrees the crew will reach the Grand Line at five members, and cuts a deal with Zeff to settle his debt by clearing out Krieg's men.

The chapter locks in Mihawk's faith in the Straw Hats' future and recasts Zoro's dream, which began as a vow to his fallen friend Kuina, into something he now also carries for his captain's sake. The crew commits to sailing for the Grand Line once five members stand together, and Zeff agrees to drop all charges for the damage if Luffy beats Krieg's crew. In its first Weekly Shonen Jump printing the opening story page appeared in full color, and Boichi later redrew the cover image for a one-shot marking the 22 years since the manga began, contributed to the Cover Comic Project.