The Straw Hats’ time in the Grand Line so far has all led to this moment, the fight to free Alabasta! Now that Nami’s illness is better and Chopper joined the crew, they’re prepared to face a Warlord of the Sea. What they don’t know is there’s more than just the kingdom at stake when Nico Robin reveals new information. So, time to sail off into the world of One Piece again with the Alabasta Arc!
When the Straw Hats left Drum Island, Chopper now in tow, they knew civil unrest had taken root in Alabasta. They’re not going to be able to just waltz into the country though. They’ll need a strategy to get through the desert, and maybe some unlikely friends they run into before they reach the island. This is going to be a long one, and go pretty in-depth with characters and setup for future arcs.
Bon Clay: BFF
One Piece’s first genderfluid character does things his own way. Bon Clay is Number Two when it comes to Baroque Works, but number one when it comes to Luffy’s friends, not on his crew. He’s just a delightful character, and using his powers to disguise himself and change faces comes into play more times than anyone would expect.
While he still fights Sanji in the final showdowns of Alabasta, he loses admirably and shows back up to help the Straw Hats escape the Navy. This of course gets him arrested, but the two will reunite later in Impel Down.
Brothers Reunite
Luffy’s brother made his debut in Alabasta by falling asleep while he ate at a restaurant. Luffy would later pick up the same habit, but Fire Fist Ace has another bad habit of skipping out on his meal tab. He sticks around briefly to catch up and fills Luffy in on his hunt for Blackbeard. Ace, a member of Whitebeard’s crew and a division leader of the fleet, is in pursuit of Blackbeard, a former crewmate. Blackbeard murdered one of their fellow crewmates and fled, so Ace vowed to bring justice.
They part not long after, but not before Ace gives his Vivre card to Luffy. Vivre cards will become incredibly important later, and Ace’s will eventually kick off Luffy’s journey to Marineford. There’s a lot more to cover for Ace, but he’ll get his own profile later.
The Old Man’s Dream
When the Straw Hats pass through the Sandora River (and defeat an army of karate dugongs) they eventually hit the town of Yuba. It’s supposed to be an oasis where the rebel army lives, but all that’s left is sand and an old man named Toto. Toto is the father to Koza, the leader of the rebel army, and a lifelong friend to Vivi. He’s dug for weeks to find water under the ever-present sandstorms.
When he finally does, he gives it to Luffy, and that turns out to be a pivotal turning point for Alabasta. Crocodile chose Alabasta to take over for a reason, and that’s his Sand-Sand Fruit. He can control and transform into sand, as well as absorb any moisture from the environment or things around him.
Civil War
Crocodile has been the manipulator behind Alabasta’s struggles for a long time now. He trafficked in the Dance Power used to draw rain to Aluburna, the capital of Alabasta. This dried out the rest of the country and created unrest between the people and King Nefertari Cobra. Now, the young Koza, a childhood friend and vowed protector of Vivi, leads a rebel army against the king’s forces.
Crocodile wants to create some perfect utopia where everything follows his rules. It’s never quite spelled out here, but in Impel Down Croc reveals that he faced Whitebeard when he was young, and had his ass handed to him. This disillusioned him with the Grand Line, and lead to his Warlord status and covert operations.
Just a note: Considering the massive length and story density of the arc, the Straw Hats will each get their own journey outline to highlight their big moments.
Luffy
Luffy has his zany moments in this arc, but he turns serious quickly when the need arises. How he trained an army of karate dugongs in such a short time, nobody will ever know (probably Haki). His resolve and ability to bring Vivi back from the edge give him the standout status in the Alabasta arc though. As Vivi is finally overwhelmed by everything, Luffy smacks her back to earth, literally and figuratively, with a question of her resolve. It’s one of the best moments yet of Luffy’s encouragement in times of crisis, always able to see the best potential in people.
His fight with Croc actually gives Luffy a little brainpower in his fights. He loses twice trying to fight with raw power alone, constantly foiled by the Sand-Sand Fruit and Logia abilities it grants. Thankfully, the water he received from Toto gives him the vital key to saving the day. He finishes Croc off in grand fashion, saves Alabasta, and even rescues Nico Robin in the process. Just another in the string of kingdoms freed by Luffy. His character development is solid here, and his resolve strengthens arc after arc to become king.
Even when he takes his first loss he learns from it, although he takes another L to follow it up. Of course, he’s in a sea-prism stone cage that negates his powers immediately after. He may have the ability to think on his feet in battle now, but he’s no smarter than he was from the start. His fame in Alabasta ends up as a major problem for the Navy and leads to a massive coverup.
Zoro
Zoro hasn’t been much of a focus in the last few arcs but gets his moment in Alabasta. His fight against the assassin Daz Bones, otherwise known as Mr. One, gives Zoro a new ability. He learns to listen to his swords and uses them to cut through steel along with Daz Bone’s body. The villain was just the first of many blade-wielding adversaries Zoro would face, but would be a crucial point of advancement in his fighting style.
His determination grew as he faced Daz Bones down. Despite the Dice-Dice Fruits’ hard edge, Zoro finally harnessed the power he needed to get surpass his foe. He also cut through a building in the process, just as a testament to his new power level. He’s also one of the few Straw Hats still wary of Nico Robin’s intentions when she joins the crew.
Sanji
Sanji shows up and shows out as the crew’s quick thinker. He manages to evade capture with the rest. His “disguise” as Mr. Prince (foreshadowing) and subsequent save of the Straw Hats just before the disaster made Sanji essential. He’s smarter than most of the other crew (thankfully) and even gains the respect of Bon Clay after they fight.
His fight with Bon takes a lot for Sanji. He already refuses to hit women, so the Baroque Works agent and his powers of the Clone-Clone Fruit are a challenge. He overcomes it all though, even when Bon takes on Nami’s look, and defeats the Baroque Works’ Swan.
Usopp
Usopp comes into his own as the engineer and fighter in Alabasta. His dual fight alongside Chopper against Mr. Four, Lassoo, and Miss Merry Christmas made even two of the weakling trio dangerous. Even though they were against two Devil Fruit users, they used Miss Merry Christmas’ Dig-Dig Fruit against her. They’re able to connect the tunnels and turn Lassoo, a gun that ate the Mutt-Mutt Fruit (yes, it’s possible) against his allies. It’s a good thing Chopper was there since Usopp ended up heavily damaged thanks to the combined onslaught.
His expertise as an engineer finally got a chance to shine, though it was through Nami’s fight instead of his. The Climate Baton is one of Usopp’s greatest creations, and he keeps the weapon updated throughout the series. Without it, Nami may not have survived the battle of Alubarna.
Nami
When it comes to character development in Alabasta Nami takes the award. She supports Vivi unconditionally and goes to great lengths to defend her friend in her fight against Doublefinger. Although it was Usopp that made her the Climate Baton, it was Nami’s incredible knowledge of the weather that made it dangerous. There’s so much she was able to do, and it helped her avoid death more than once.
Climate tactics here are novice moves to Nami now, where she was only capable of small-scale Lighting Tempo and Mirage Tempo. The scene where she’s stabbed and it looks almost hopeless, only to reveal it was her Mirage Tempo, was a great show of her cunning. Nami is a thief first of all though, and manages to take off at the end with plenty of Alabastan treasure.
Chopper
Chopper didn’t get much of a chance to fight in Drum Kingdom, mostly focused on his emotional arc. This gives him a good chance to scrap though, and gives a chance to show off his Rumble Ball ability. He’s a competent doctor already, but this first fight really established his strategic ability.
Otherwise, Chopper got a little character development as he fell into his new crew role. For someone so used to rolling solo, he’s surprisingly friendly with the other members and starts to look up to the others as siblings. It’s a great bond he forms with the rest, but particularly he looks up to Zoro as a role model.
Not the End for Crocodile
Crocodile’s defeat at Luffy’s hand, and the reveal of his real plan to find the Ancient Weapon Pluton, bring Alabasta to an end. Don’t expect to see this Warlord go away though, as he ends up in the Navy’s strongest prison, Impel Down. He is a tantamount piece in Luffy’s journey to Marineford from the undersea jail Impel Down. He also has a longer history with Whitebeard to explore later. He’s brought to justice by Captain Smoker of the Navy, now a hero to the world.
Smoker’s Disillusionment
The Navy begins to falter in Smoker’s eyes at this point. Even after his presence at the Pirate King’s execution, he still chose the path of justice, but that failure begins to erode here. He witnesses Straw Hat save the kingdom and is locked inside the Sea Prism Stone cage in Rain Base along with the crew. He sees them for who they are, though doesn’t look past their pirate titles still.
It’s the Navy’s coverup of the Straw Hat’s good deeds that rocks him, although they give him the credit. He and Alabasta may know what happened there, but the rest of the world seeing him as a hero while he was essentially helpless tears Smoker apart inside. He’ll encounter a similar situation later on in Punk Hazard.
Foreshadowing
Luffy freed towns before, but this is his first mass-scale journey that saves a nation. He won’t do it for the last time either, and it becomes a runaway theme of the story that Luffy brings freedom wherever he goes. This is already a point toward the recent developments of Joyboy, something hinted at since early in the story but only now revealed.
The Reverie is also mentioned around this time, and that becomes a vital event in the journeys of Vivi and the Straw Hats eventually. Later in the story, the Reverie will bring together many of Luffy’s allies, as well as a few enemies.
Nico Robin
Alabasta’s end brings an end to Baroque Works but also frees Nico Robin to join the Merry Go. More by her own invitation, of course, but she joins nonetheless on the ship while the Straw Hats sail away. She reveals earlier during Luffy and Crocodile’s fight that she can read the Ponegliffs. She’s also on a mission to learn about the Void Century. Her history is in the spotlight more in Water 7 and Enies Lobby, but it gets intense.
Robin is a complex character, with a dark sense of humor and a tragic past to explain it. She is both the most intelligent and mature of the Straw Hat crew by a mile, and becomes one of the group’s parental figures when she officially joins alongside Franky. She’s a fantastic character, with a great deep dive profile to come later.
Dumbest Straw Hat Award
It’s hard in an arc this size to pull one dumbest moment from a Straw Hat. First is Luffy’s constant attempts to break the Sea Prism Stone cage, even though the slightest touch weakens him. Yet he keeps trying, and it would be admirable if he wasn’t so dumb.
The true star is the whole idiot trio, finally established by the end of this arc. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper are the quintessential idiots of the crew, and Nico Robin’s entrance on the Sunny solidified that. Usopp’s speech about how he won’t accept Robin immediately followed up with Luffy’s “Look, I’m Chopper!” reveal of Robin’s arms growing from his hat was beautiful. He was immediately onboard, and never questioned Robin again.
Vivi’s Invitation
Typically if Luffy asks someone seriously to join the crew, it eventually happens. In Vivi’s case, she had the option to meet the Straw Hats as they left Alabasta and go with them. She doesn’t take it, and instead only waves goodbye. The current manga seems to indicate she’ll follow up and join sooner than later though.
Vivi has a perpetual invitation to join the Straw Hats and only doesn’t take it to help Alabasta recover. It’s noble and gives a great show of Vivi as a princess and regal figure. In the current story, it seems that she’ll reunite with the Straw Hats. Especially now that the Gorosei have made their intentions known.
Important Events
- Vivi and Karoo leave the crew, for now.
- Baroque Works disbands, most are taken by the Navy.
- Luffy defeats his first Warlord of the Sea.
- Zoro earns his first bounty.
- The Ancient Weapons debut, Pluton specifically.
- Ponegliffs debut, with one scattered on each island in the Grand Line.
- The Straw Hats aid in Alabasta is covered up by the World Government, and credit is given to Smoker instead.
- Ace gives Luffy his Vivre Card.
- Bon Clay sacrifices himself to save the Straw Hats.
- Merry takes more damage when it escapes Vice-Admiral Hina.
The Straw Hats escape from Alabasta and adventure onward to the land of Jaya! They’ve heard strange myths about islands in the sky and are determined to find them, but will encounter unsavory characters in the process. More history of the Grand Line is revealed and even more powerful Devil Fruits in One Piece’s next saga, Skypeia, and it begins in the small country of Jaya!
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