Chapter 634

A few hours back at the Sea Forest, Jinbe walks the crew through their plan. He warns Luffy that any clash with Hody must be staged so the people see Luffy as their hero, a notion Luffy dislikes since, to him, pirates are never heroes. The setup calls for Jinbe and Megalo to be captured deliberately, smuggling Luffy into the plaza inside the shark, with Nami and Robin offering to retrieve the cuff keys and the Celestial Dragon's letter while everyone else frees the captives in the palace. Luffy complains that being cheered will only ruin his rhythm, and Hatchan backs the scheme.

In the present, Hody rises after Luffy's kick sends him back, and the watching citizens hail Luffy exactly as Jinbe intended. Hody declares he will drown this year's Levely in royal blood at Mary Geoise, enslave the humans above, and become the genuine Pirate King, then sneers at what ten fighters could possibly do against a force a hundred thousand strong. Stepping forward, Luffy flattens half of them, fifty thousand pirates, with a single surge of Conqueror's Haki, then asserts the world has room for only one Pirate King before downing still more with Gear Third. As the crew readies for the fray, Franky prepares to unveil a fresh weapon.

The flashback confirms how Luffy and Jinbe reached their accord to rescue Fish-Man Island, and how Zoro, Usopp, and Brook slipped out of the palace with Pappag's guidance. Because of the plan, the citizens stop treating the Straw Hats as foes. Hody announces his intent to murder the assembled kings at the Levely and claim the title of Pirate King for himself. Luffy drops fifty thousand of the enemy with his Conqueror's will, and it is shown that Robin, Sanji, and Zoro all grasp Haki. Luffy also uses Gear Third without any accompanying shrinking.

The color spread depicts the Straw Hats swimming alongside Camie, Pappag, Shirahoshi, Megalo, and friends. Luffy pins yet another nickname on the princess, calling her "Weakhoshi." Pandaman turns up as a cameo among the pirates rushing the Thousand Sunny. The chapter's lopsided title underscores how far the crew has grown across the two-year gap.