We’re really here. We’re at the absolute apex of shonen storytelling. I’ve been a little bit sad this past week as I was waiting to continue my weekly One Piece journey. You see, I still love One Piece up until today, but there’s definitely a moment in the story where I think it peaked. And sure enough, upon rereading this Water 7 arc, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is as good as it gets. The city itself, the parties involved, the intrigue, the reveal, everything is just so damn good. I’m getting chills just thinking about it. But enough about me, let’s talk about all the things that happen in this volume, because there is a lot that happens!
Let’s start at the beginning, the showdown at the Galley-La docks. Luffy and friends are being suspected of attempted assassination of Iceberg, the mayor of Water Seven. The foremen attack Luffy and the fight seems to go poorly for a while as Luffy refuses to fight back seriously since he has no beef with them. Franky eventually gets enough of being ignored and blows up the entire dock with his Coup de Vent. We learn in this volume that not only is he a cyborg, he’s also being powered by Cola. Franky is based on Americans and if drinking Cola and being loud are what Oda thinks Americans’ worst stereotypes are then they got off light. Well, I guess he also has a built in gun in his arm, so maybe not.
While everyone is distracted, Nami and Luffy run away to meet up with Zoro and Chopper. Chopper tells the crew all about a run-in that he and Sanji had with Robin in which she said to forget about her. That obviously doesn’t sit well with Luffy, but Zoro does bring up the important question of if they’re going to stick by Robin or not. Fun or not, it’s a decision the crew will have to make. Meanwhile Sanji has gone off on his own. Before Sanji and Chopper split, they spoke very loudly about the coming storm within earshot of Usopp. They still care about their friend, after all. Speaking of Usopp, some of the Galley-La men try to attack him as well, but he’s too clever to be caught off guard like that. He is wondering what is going on but he’s more focused on fixing up the ship than anything else.
Before coming to a final conclusion on what to do, Luffy breaks into Iceberg’s office to talk to the man. Unfortunately the discussion breaks down but Luffy learns that it more than likely really was Robin who shot the mayor. The “why” is still very much unclear at this point, but there’s no denying Robin’s involvement. So after getting shot at by Iceberg, Luffy leaves and rendezvous with the rest of his crew. Well, whatever is left of his crew. Usopp has left the crew, Robin has left the crew and Sanji is off on his own. As the storm comes ever closer to shore, Kokoro and Chimney show up on the mainland to hide from the Aqua Laguna as well. They run into Franky who they apparently already know. Franky laments the things that have been happening in the past few days in Blueno’s bar while talking to Kokoro about how he also doesn’t believe pirates are responsible for shooting Iceberg. He thinks the government is somehow involved, and we learn later on in the volume why he probably thinks that way.
With security on high alert, it’s up to the Straw Hats to prevent disaster and find out where Robin is. And their best bet is the mayor’s room, since they’re likely going to finish the job tonight. As the foremen stand guard, four masked figures appear, alongside Nico Robin. The masked figures cause chaos with their intense fighting abilities. They seem to be made of steel, can walk on the air and have powerful abilities. In the midst of all this, Iceberg sends Paulie on an important mission. He needs to retrieve blueprints from his office. This is what the CP9 agents are looking for. At this point it’s revealed that Paulie has been given false blueprints and was told to run if he was attacked. It was all a ploy by Iceberg. As the masked figures try to take the blueprints, Nico Robin and Iceberg talk. He mentions the Ohara incident twenty years ago and explains why she’s too dangerous to be left alive. Unfortunately, Robin is far out of his league and doesn’t go down easily. The two wrestle for a little bit and we learn that Iceberg has blueprints to an ancient weapon called Pluton. Remember how Crocodile was looking for an ancient weapon? We have access to one right here in Water Seven. But no one seems to be able to figure out where it is.
The CP9 agents all reconvene in Iceberg’s bedroom, together with Nico Robin. We finally see the CP9 agents without their masks and I really wonder how many people were correctly speculating who they were. It turns out that Kalifa, Rob Lucci, Kaku and even Blueno the bar owner were all working for the government all along. Now they reveal their plan of finding the blueprints and they know just where to find them. There’s a name on the fake blueprints that they recognize, Cutty Flam. Cutty Flam is one of Tom the Shipwright’s former apprentices, alongside Iceberg. As careful as the two have been about not revealing who Cutty Flam is, they let it slip once that it was a man that has become known as Franky. After almost dying, Franky changed his name and started living as an outlaw on Water Seven. And CP9 believe that he’s the one who has the blueprints to Pluton. Things are heating up, and the storm is coming ever closer. It will be harder and harder for the crew to get out of this sticky situation. I can’t wait for next week’s volume, but I feel like I say that every week. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this recap and thanks for reading!
Opal Kaharis 