One Piece hits the ground running as the Straw Hats emerge in the New World during the Punk Hazard arc. The island is a scarred battleground full of tragedy, and the events behind those tragedies will soon surface. The Straw Hat crew is about to clash with a mad scientist to uncover just the tip of a World Government conspiracy in the Punk Hazard arc!
When the Straw Hats were last seen, they were making their way from Fishman Island back to the surface. After they. heled to stop a fatal coup against King Neptune against Hody Jones, the Straw Hats are making waves again. It hasn’t been long since they reunited at Sabaody Archipelago, but they’re about to make headlines for the first of many times in the New World.
The Distress Call
The Straw Hats emerge near the flaming seas of Punk Hazard, and despite Nami and Usopp’s best attempt at dissuading Luffy, go in. The island has been blocked off for years due to a terrible accident at the lab there, but that was covered up by the government for the most part. Now, it sits abandoned and gated off, with nobody allowed or willing to pass through the gates. As the Straw Hats get near though, a distress call comes through the transponder snail.
It sounds like a marine unit, but they’re screaming about a samurai slicing them up. It’s not the strangest thing they’ll find on the island in regards to a samurai though, and the crew end up sending an updated Mini-Merry along a cloud current to get them over the flames and onto the island. Luffy, Zoro, Robin, and Usopp board and head to the burning island’s shore.
Vice-Admiral Smoker
Though the Straw Hats don’t know it, Smoker and his new Marine platoon are just on the other side, and they receive the distress call as well. their side of the island is a frozen wasteland though, and all they can find are the frozen lab doors. Smoker is going to have a major fight ahead of him later in the arc, which will shake the faith he has in the Navy alongside his already deep-seated doubts about pirates.
Where is Punk Hazard?
Punk Hazard is a small island a few kilometers off the coast of the Military Base G5. It’s not located too far away, as both Smoker and Vergo are able to get there easily. It’s also not too far from Dressrosa, as Doflamingo will later make his way there by using his String-String Fruit to swing from clouds. Really, Punk Hazard is the midpoint between G5 and Dressrosa, which makes a strategic lab for Doflamingo’s operation since he and Vergo can reach it quickly.
What Happened on Punk Hazard
It’s easier to ask what didn’t happen on Punk Hazard at this point, because the place is a mess. Initially, it was one of the Navy labs for Professor Vegapunk, before he outgrew it and moved on to Egghead Island. it’s here that Caesar Clown takes over on Punk Hazard and focuses on weapons research instead. Now, Caesar makes the S.A.D. that’s used to make Doflamingo’s artificial Devil Fruits, SMILE Fruits. His initial efforts with weapons research resulted in a massive incident that killed multiple people. The island has been “vacant” since, which is why Kuzan and Akainu choose it for their intense battle. Now, half the island is a frozen arctic wasteland, while the other is a hellscape of fire. This battle leads to Kuzan leaving the Navy, and he’s now a part of Blackbeard’s crew.
Warlord of the Sea Trafalgar Law
Law is a central character of the Wano Saga that starts at Punk Hazard. His plans aren’t clear from the start, or why he’s Warlord of the Sea despite his part in Marineford. For now, he shows off some wild powers while he tries to dissuade Smoker. Instead, he ends up switching Smoker and Tashigi’s hearts, switching around their minds with it. He’ll do the same for some of the Straw Hats later.
Who is Caesar Clown?
Caesar Clown is a former Navy scientist, fired and ousted after his horrible weapons malfunction on Punk Hazard years before. Of course, the Navy never expects that he would set up shop on the island he ruined. Now, he stays in the lab on Punk Hazard, producing the SAD that’s used in Doflamingo’s SMILE Fruit factories.
Dragons!?
It really doesn’t take the Straw Hats long before they run into Punk Hazard’s first oddity- a full-grown dragon. This thing is a classic Game of Thrones-style beast that tries to eat the Straw Hats. Zoro takes seconds to slice the creature apart with his sword Shusui. Almost like the original wielder Ryuma did long ago. That’s only the first oddity though. The Sunny team eventually realize that the other side of the island has snow clouds thanks to Nami.
It’s there that they run into the former menace Brownbeard. Except now he’s partially some centaur creature by Caesar’s experiments. He looks ridiculous, but he’s loyal to Caesar and says he saved his crew. Either way, Caesar appears as a hero, but he’s only using them for his experiments.
Samurai!?!
By far the strangest thing that the Straw Hats discover is the samurai they hear about over the distress call. At least, they find half of him. The bottom half of a samurai is running around, somehow speaking out of his ass. There’s no real explanation other than “he learned to do it” which is… a strange skill to pick up. He requests the help of the Straw Hats to find his upper half, which has been separated by Trafalgar Law and left in one of the labs.
Straw Hats Taken Captive
Once the Thousand Sunny reaches the other side of Punk Hazard, Sanji comes out with a special meal. The only problem is that the others are all passed out outside with the scent of gas heavy in the air. Sanji makes a spring for the Transponder Snail to get Luffy back, but passes out before he makes it. Caesar’s goons pick up all the passed-out Straw Hats. Except Brook of course, since they consider him to be already dead.
When they wake up they find quite the spectacle, as the top half of the samurai the others found greets them. The problem is, the top half is in quite a few pieces that the Straw Hats have to put together. Once they finally do, the samurai informs them that his name is Kine’mon, and that he came there to find his son Momonosuke. He says his son accidentally stowed away on a boat and ended up here, but when Kine’mon encountered Law, he split him in half. He can feel all of what his feet can, but has no idea what they’re doing or where they’re at. Franky busts all of them out of their holding cell with a well-timed beam. Meanwhile Kine’mon’s head notes that his torso and legs aren’t together, with his torso fighting someone.
New Mysteries on Punk Hazard
This is the greatest mystery of Punk Hazard the Straw Hats find. A room full of children, all varying in size from small to towering over Franky and Brook, the tallest Straw Hats. It’s a mystery as to what’s happening with them, but they tell the group of Nami, Chopper, Franky, and Brook that Caesar is trying to cure their illness. They know who Momonosuke is though, much to Kine’mon’s relief. As it turns out, Kine’mon’s torso has been fighting another Straw Hat.
Brook was slowly making his way along to find the torso when he got into a duel with it. It didn’t last long, but Brook got away quickly while Kine’mon’s torso continues its blind search.
Navy Enters Punk Hazard
Smoker and Tashigi approach Punk Hazard from the frozen side, right at the door to the lab. All they find is Warlord Trafalgar Law, who they have no power to interfere with thanks to his title! Law tries repeatedly to dissuade them to leave, but although Smoker doesn’t have any power over Law, they refuse. In return, Law uses the powers of his Op-Op Fruit to remove the hears to Smoker and Tashigi, switching their minds. It’s definitely something different, as the next time Tashigi and Smoker appear, Tashigi is chainsmoking cigars and Smoker is surprisingly kind.
Now, they’re locked up in Punk Hazard as Law leaves once more. The Straw Hats are trying their best to reunite, despite the interruption of Brownbeard’s centaur crew and other mutated monstrosities. Punk Hazard is setting the stage, with the all the factions in place and a wildcard in the mix with Law. Little do they know, this will set in motion an even greater series of events that leads to Luffy’s Emperor status.
So, now that all the players are in place on Punk Hazard, things are going to get wild when they cross. Caesar Clown has some terrifying plans and even more secrets in store. This arc is split into a couple of parts for the reviews since it’s so dense. That said, go ahead and click here to check out the next part!
One Piece is available on Netflix and.Crunchyroll in the United States. Both Sub and Dub versions are streaming with new subtitled episodes simulcast with Japan on Saturday nights!