Chapter 673

On a New World island, parents of the missing children plead for a search, only to be kicked and threatened by Commodore Yarisugi of G-5, who insists the youngsters died at sea, a story he says Vice Admiral Vergo has confirmed repeatedly. He vows to burn the village if they keep protesting. The families, recalling Vergo as once a gentle protector, refuse to accept the lie and cling to the belief that their children are still alive.

Back on Punk Hazard, the freed children wake in a frenzy, immune now to Usopp's sleeping drug as withdrawal overwhelms them. Caesar appears holding a sack of the craved candy and lures them back toward the lab, leaving Nami and Usopp stunned. At the central lake, Slime reshapes into an axolotl form after eating the Sara Sara no Mi, Model: Axolotl, driving Zoro, Sanji, Brook, and Kin'emon to flee for the facility. Out front, the G-5 marines batter the lab's door in vain trying to reach their trapped captain.

Inside, Vergo and Monet guard the caged captives: Luffy, Robin, the unconscious Franky, Law, Smoker, and Tashigi. Vergo announces all of them will die and be written off as accidents, and reveals himself as a vice admiral and head of the G-5 base, one of Joker's most trusted men. When Smoker probes the name Joker, Law explains that he too once served the broker, whose true identity is the Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo. The moment marks the second time Smoker has been caged alongside the Straw Hats, the first being in Arabasta.