Gyukimaru on Oihagi Bridge

On the road from Kuri to Udon, both Big Mom and Tama fantasize about shiruko, which unsettles Chopper; he fears that without the sweet in the mines, Big Mom's memory could return and send her after Luffy. Inside the Prisoner Mine, Luffy clears the Pleasures from the ring with ease, drilling himself to knock foes back with Armament Haki from a distance, echoing a technique Rayleigh once demonstrated for him. Daifugo remarks the execution would already be over had Queen stepped in, but the All-Star favors a long, crowded fight and keeps devouring bowls of the shiruko he treasures.

At Oihagi Bridge in Ringo, Zoro claims to Gyukimaru that he encountered Ryuma, a claim the thief rejects outright. Trading strikes, Gyukimaru recounts that Wano was once the City of Gold, defended by Ryuma until both the swordsman and Shusui became national treasures.

According to Gyukimaru, a man of Zoro's sort does not deserve to wield a Kokuto, the black sword Shusui grew into over many battles. The mention piques Zoro, but before he can ask more, an injured woman shielding Toko cries out for help. The assassin Kamazo springs at the pair, and Zoro parries the scythe even as Gyukimaru refuses to break off the duel. The woman reveals Kamazo is no ordinary street murderer but a killer in Orochi's service, and Zoro agrees to defend them in return for food and drink.

Pinned between two enemies, Zoro takes Kamazo's scythe through the shoulder. The assassin cannot wrench it loose, so Zoro pulls the blade himself, grips it in his teeth to resume Three Sword Style, and cuts Kamazo down.

Luffy trains to sharpen his Armament Haki, and it emerges that an advanced use lets a wielder project it a short distance, a technique Sentomaru first showed in Chapter 511. Gyukimaru receives a proper introduction. Wano's past as a gold-rich country pursued by outsiders, saved when Ryuma slew a dragon, is recounted, along with how Shusui turned into a Kokuto. Kamazo debuts as the assassin Orochi sent to kill Toko, who appears alongside an unnamed woman, and Zoro battles him. The color spread depicts the Straw Hats with assorted birds poring over maps beneath the tagline planning new adventures.