Straw Hat Luffy and his pirate crew made sea-fall from the Island of Skypiea in the last arc, and more strangeness is around the corner. They have plenty of treasure in tow now, along with new Dial tech from the Skypiean people, but the Straw Hats are about to encounter real danger. As they land on the strange island of Long Ring Long Land, what might they find?
As a refresher, the Straw Hats were last seen floating down from the island of Skypiea high in the clouds. They land safely in the sea, but it’s obvious that Merry Go needs some desperate repairs. They head toward the next island on the Log Pose, not a clue of the danger they’re about to meet or secrets soon to be brought to light.
Long Ring Long Land
By far the strangest island the Straw Hats have visited so far, or at least the strangest island at sea level. Long Ring Long Land is composed of just that, a massive ring of land with more water in the middle. Turns out the “island” is made up of ten different mountains that act as small islands. The tide goes out once a year and allows the inhabitants of the island to travel between.
Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper end up on their own when they wander to explore the island. They eventually realize that everything on the island is stretched longer, whether height or length. Then they stumble onto a long house, a long horse, and two very long poles that move on their own.
Long Horse
It’s around here that the arc goes into classic One Piece goofiness at full speed. As only the idiot trio could do, they knock down the walking poles and find out who’s at the top. Turns out it’s some guy named Tonjit, and his horse named Shelley has been waiting for him to come down for ten whole years.
Ten entire years this guy stayed up on stilts, and somehow is still in perfect condition. Only in One Piece can something this ridiculous be considered as an everyday thing. The poor Tonjit was left behind as his people move to the next island every three years. Now he’ll have to cross the islands year by year to hopefully catch up with them. Tonjit and Shelley set off quickly so they don’t miss the low tide and get stuck for another year.
The Foxy Pirates
That’s where Foxy makes his debut and shoots Shelley almost point-blank. Chopper is able to save her, but Luffy is mad, and everyone knows what happens when Luffy gets mad. He takes off to fight Foxy, but that backfires when he suddenly moves in slow motion, unable to hit Foxy. Turns out the sly pirate ate a Devil Fruit, the Slow-Slow Fruit, that allows him to slow down objects and people. Seems pretty unbeatable, but when he offers a Davy Back Fight to Luffy, the idiot agrees immediately.
Of course, Luffy doesn’t know what a Davy Back Fight entails. The pirate crews will compete in three games, with the winner’s team able to take members of the loser’s crew as their own. It’s binding on pirate honor that the crew members stolen are now part of their new crew from here on out. Luffy’s confident that they won’t lose anyone, but he doesn’t realize how low the Foxy Pirates will go to win.
Teamwork Isn’t Enough
Despite their best efforts at teamwork, utilizing all their collective skills, Nami, Usopp, and Robin lose the first round. It was a close tie, as they had to build their own boat and race it. They used wind dials, Robin’s Devil Fruit powers, and Nami’s weather manipulation to get to just before the finish line. Then Foxy slowed them down and his team won. It can’t be stressed enough just how punchable Foxy is, and it’s on full display here.
This dude has no bottom to which he’ll sink, and it’s only about to get worse. Foxy picks Chopper as his first steal, with the crew helpless. Poor Chopper breaks down, and it completely upends their second-round team of Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper with the reindeer removed from the equation.
Chopper Grows Up
Chopper breaks as Foxy steals him and screams that he doesn’t want to. None of the crew can resist due to the Davy Back Fight, and Chopper is even worse off emotionally because of it. He finally pleads so much that Zoro shouts at him to shut up and sit down. Zoro assures him that they’ll win him back and he’ll be fine. Despite how harsh it seems, Chopper takes it to heart and puts himself together.
This is a very important moment in development for Chopper. Not only does it strengthen his resolve to fight for his friends, but his strength and work after this are vastly different. It will show in the Enies Lobby fights when Chopper faces down CP9, though for now it just gives him the strength to keep going.
Zoro vs Sanji
Next up is just the latest argument between the Wings of the Pirate King. Zoro and Sanji have had a rivalry going since around Little Garden, and though they work together, it’s usually against either’s will. This is one of those rare moments, as Groggy Ring turns out to be even more tricky than the race. The teams designate one player from each as the ball and compete to smash their opponent’s ball into the goal. It’s violent, despite the rule of no weapons.
Foxy Pirates are above such rules though, and the Groggy Monsters of the crew quickly overwhelm Sanji and Zoro with weapons. The two eventually team up after enough hits, and clean house to win Chopper back. Zoro kept his promise and really started to become the older brother figure to Chopper he is today.
Afro Luffy
This is honestly one of the dumbest, yet funniest things One Piece has ever pulled. The final contest of the Davy Back Fight is just that, a fight. The two captains spar in a match, Luffy vs. Foxy, and the Straw Hats know this is all or nothing. They spin a cannon to choose an arena and land conveniently on Foxy’s ship. The captains take their respective sides to prepare for the fight.
Usopp uses one of his lies on one of the most gullible crew, and Luffy walks into the fight with an afro wig on. Usopp convinced him it would make him a stronger fighter, but it didn’t change much for Luffy. Foxy’s powers slowed him down, literally, but eventually, Luffy had a flash of battle genius. Despite the traps and dangers of a fight on enemy turf, Luffy turns the tables, or moves a mirror. It reflects Foxy’s powers back on the captain, and Luffy can land a hit that launches him far away.
A Pirate’s Honor
Luffy chooses to stop Foxy from his constant poaching around the island, and instead of Foxy’s crew, he chooses to take their flag. The Jolly Roger is every pirate’s sign of honor, so a crew without one is a disgrace to pirates and looked down on. It’s the ultimate insult and injury to a pirate group, so Luffy invokes it to take the Foxy Pirates flag.
It’s not enough for Luffy, though, who redraws their flag in his own unique… art style. It looks hideous, and it really fits Foxy’s true personality of just absolute awfulness. The Foxy pirates finally disperse and the Straw Hats make sure Tonjit and Shelley are set on their way. That’s when things go even more wrong.
The Three Admirals
The only taste of the Navy so far has been fluffy and cute compared to the power of an Admiral. Long Ring Long Land goes from a comedy relief arc into the darker tone of the Water 7 saga to follow. Aokiji’s arrival signals a change for the crew as he confronts Robin, and explains how he saved her so many years ago at Ohara. There’s a slight flashback to Robin’s past before Aokiji finally freezes her solid to display the power of his Chilly-Chilly Fruit.
The Straw Hats spring into action to take her back but some end up with frozen limbs while the others steal Robin’s body. Luffy tells everyone to go and leave Aokiji to him, and they have a showdown. It’s a testament to Luffy’s determination that he faces down a Navy Admiral this early in the journey. It’s a dumb move still since he’s no match for him. Aokiji eventually decides to let Robin and the crew go free though, and leaves Luffy with a warning.
Aokiji and Robin
These two go way, way back to when Robin was just a child and Aokiji was a Vice-Admiral. There’s more to explore in Enies Lobby about Robin’s past, that she grew up in Ohara, an island of scholars. This is where she learned to read the Poneglyphs, and somehow acquired her Devil Fruit. For the time though, she’s only a Devil Child whom Aokiji regrets allowing to live.
That’s why he freezes Robin in the first place, but now he warns Luffy that she’s a killer. It’s obviously a scare tactic, but his explanation that everyone Robin falls in with is ends up dead isn’t a great look on the Navy. For now, Aokiji lets Luffy off with a warning and waves them off as not worth his time. He somewhat redeems himself though, and creates an ice bridge for Tonjit and Shelly to directly reach their tribe.
Dumbest Straw Hat Award
This is a silly arc, for the most part, so all of them have their stupid moments except for Nami and Robin. This time, Usopp really pulls out the win with his idea for Luffy’s afro. It’s really just the dumbest possible thing that could have happened, and since Usopp is such a convincing liar Luffy falls right for it. Classic, stupid Straw Hat fun.
Important Events
- Straw Hats lose and regain Chopper in the Davy Back.
- Aokiji debuts. He will become a central antagonistic character.
- Reveals some of Robin’s backstory.
- The Navy’s Three Admirals debut. Aokiji is the only one to debut on screen, but Akainu and Kizaru get mentions.
- Robin’s subsequent abandonment of the Straw Hats begins.
- Repairs to Merry Go become the top priority with their money from Skypiea.
- Luffy decides to find a Shipwright to join their crew on the next island.
- Zoro gives Chopper a pivotal pep talk, which raises their sibling-like relationship.
Where Next?
It’s time to continue the adventure on the Grand Line and find someone to make repairs to Merry Go. The poor ship has been through a lot in the past few arcs and is in desperate need of some real repairs by people who know what to do. Things look good when they end up on the island of Water 7, but Robin is about to do something nobody could have ever foreseen.
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