The Straw Hats have been sent flying from the Sabaody Archipelago, separated to the corners of the earth. Luffy, after his dispatch by Bartholomew Kuma, is about to face troubles of his own. Now that he’s landed on Kuja, an aisle inhabited solely by women, will he survive the trip once the Snake Empress finds him? Time to dive in and see what makes One Piece’s Amazon Lily arc work!
As a refresher, the last time the Straw Hats were together on Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy punched. a celestial dragon. As if that’s not enough chaos, he then freed all the slaves from an auction house. The people in charge didn’t like that, and called in a Navy Admiral to help clean up the Straw Hats and any other Worst Generation left around. The Warlord Kuma manages to show up as well, and his Paw-Paw Fruit sends the Straw Hats soaring off in separate directions.
Luffy alone eating the Body Parasite Mushroom
When Luffy finally lands it’s in the middle of a massive jungle with no exit in sight. Good thing his grandpa put him through the worst training imaginable as a kid, because he uses those skills to find food. Then he accidentally eats a mushroom that he believes will make him laugh since he recognizes it from childhood.
It’s not the mushroom he thinks, and instead, more mushrooms pop up all over his body. He’s a bundle of shrooms laying on the ground until a few of the Amazonians come along. Thankfully they recognize him as a person, though in the process of picking off the mushrooms, they accidentally pull on Luffy’s… mushroom. They’re able to save him, but once they realize he’s a boy they know he has to faced justice by the Empress. No men can exist on Amazon Lily, under penalty of death.
The Snake Empress
Luffy doesn’t take that well and runs off after he grabs all of his clothes, but when makes his getaway he gets into more trouble. As he runs from the Amazons that are chasing him, he bursts through a bathhouse window to hide. Of course, that just lands him in more trouble as he encounters the Snake Empress herself! Boa Hancock, ruler of Amazon Lily and one of the Seven Warlords, is bathing. Luffy sees not only all of her, but the giant mark on her back as well.
There’s a rule on Amazon Lily that nobody may see the backs of Hancock or her sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold. Before the bathhouse, they were in negotiations with a Navy ship in the Calm Belt around the island. Hancock holds the powers of the Love-Love Fruit, and demonstrates that she can turn those attracted to her into stone. It’s a badass power, and works greatly in her favor since she’s the most beautiful woman alive in the Grand Line.
The Celestial Dragon’s Brand
The mark Luffy sees on Boa’s back is the Claw of the Celestial Dragon. It’s a brand on all slaves of the Celestial Dragons in Sacred Marijoa on the Grand Line. More about the slave trade there is in the Fishman Island arc, but suffice it to say it’s hell on earth for those unfortunate souls. The three sisters were branded, worked to the bone, and force fed Devil Fruits. Doing whatever the Celestial Dragons wanted and receiving beatings if they don’t comply.
Celestial Dragons one of the more shadowy villains behind the series. They only just made their presence known in Sabaody. There are a lot of awful, terrible things these people have done to others out of pride and arrogance. Thankfully, Hancock and her sisters got out when the legendary Fishman Pirates Captain Fisher Tiger, broke free from the slave camps.
Hancock and her sisters keep their marks covered under threat of death to any that sees it. They’re ashamed of it too, and instead of allowing any of their subjects to see it, they create a story. Supposedly there was a great Gorgon beast that would turn sailors to stone, and the sisters defeated it one day. In return, the Gorgon cursed them with a mark that will cause all that see it to die.
Luffy Saves the Boa Sisters
Straw Hat is finally caught by the sisters who, by law, have him put to death. They do this in a massive colosseum, Hancock at first attempting to turn Luffy to stone with her powers. Luffy doesn’t even know what a woman is, much less what attraction to them means, so the powers are totally useless. This almost makes Hancock fall for him right there, but she tries (terribly) to cover it.
She sends her sisters after him in the arena, both possessing reptilian Zoan Fruits. There’s a desperate fight as fire blazes around their colosseum thanks to the sisters’ attacks. Eventually, one attack burns off Marigold’s clothes. To make it worse, she falls toward the spike pit at the edge, exposing her back to all. In a quick moment that only Luffy would have, he jumps onto her back to hide the mark. He clings to her while telling everyone to run away from the curse mark.
A Sad History of Slavery
When the Boa sisters evacuate all their subjects from the arena, they take Luffy back to their home to speak with him. He hears their tragic history of slavery and the heroics of Fisher Tiger, but the three sisters now consider themselves indebted to him. Their grandmother also thinks that Luffy is particularly interesting, and may fulfill some long-forgotten prophecy for the island.
Hancock only became a Warlord so she could protect her island from the World Government, and keep others from her past. It’s working so far, but then she has to tell Luffy about her visit from the Navy. They want Hancock present along with the other Warlords for the execution of Ace one week from today. Hancock has no clue about their relationship, and Luffy won’t find out until he finds Ace’s Vivre Card, stuck in the band of his hat.
Ace in Danger
Vivre Cards are unique in that they can find the person they’re made for, but also indicate if they’re in danger. Luffy is taken off-guard when he sees that Ace’s card is starting to burn away, turning to dust as he gets closer to his execution date. Now, Luffy has a tough choice ahead of him, whether to save his crew, or save his brother. He knows that Ace is in deep trouble, and knows that his crew are more than capable of surviving on their own.
Luffy asks a great favor from Boa Hancock to take him to Impel Down, where Ace is currently. It’s a massive undertaking, as Impel Down is through the Gates of Justice at Enies Lobby. It’s an impenetrable underwater prison full of horrors. Ace is in there on one of the lower floors along with other criminals like Crocodile. Hancock agrees immediately and they begin to devise their plan, with no time to waste.
War Looms Closer
Meanwhile, at the Marineford Navy Headquarters, the Navy is preparing to take on the Whitebeard Pirates. This is the main goal of Ace’s execution, to lure out the aging Whitebeard, Emperor of the Sea, and finally kill him Garp thinks it’s a bad idea, and tells Sengoku as such, but it falls on deaf ears as Ace’s execution inches ever closer. Meanwhile, Whitebeard gathers his forces in turn, along with any allies he can round up to take back one of his many sons. The Paramount War is quickly catching fire, and threatens to burn everything around to cinders.
Where Are the Other Straw Hats?
Since Luffy is stuck on the island of Kuja with Hancock and her sisters, where did the other Straw Hats go? Everywhere, it turns out, as each one flies somewhere else in the world on their own.
- Zoro ends up in Muggy Kingdom, the wasteland ruled over by Dracule Mihawk and his newest underling, Perona.
- Nami flies into the skies, up to Weatheria which studies all weather known on a sky island.
- Usopp zips to the Boin Archipelago, and trains with the bug-knight Heracles.
- Sanji flies to the Kamabaka Kingdom, much to his horror.
- Chopper goes to the Torino Kingdom, where humans are slaves to massive birds.
- Robin flies off to a work camp on the bridge Tequila Wolf in East Blue. There she becomes a slave for the World Government.
- Franky jets off to Karakuri Island, a former research base of Dr. Vegapunk.
- Brook manages to land on Namakura Island just as some humans were summoning a demon to aid them in war. They get Brook instead, though he tries to convince them he’s not a demon.
Important Events that happends during Amazon Lily Arc
- Straw Hats land in their respective places.
- Luffy meets the Boa sisters.
- Navy announces Ace’s execution date..
- Luffy learns of the Celestial Dragons Claw
- Hancock and Luffy set out for Impel Down.
One Piece is about to be turned upside down in the two arcs to follow. Amazon Lily is mostly a connecting arc for the series to get from one place to the next, but Impel Down is the destination now. There’s a lot to explore, and some old familiar faces that may come to the rescue in the walls of the underwater prison. Luffy is going to do what he can to save Ace, but will he have what it takes to defeat the Warden Magellan?
One Piece is streaming on Netflix and Crunchyroll in the United States.
