“The Sea Is For Pirates! Raid! To Onigashima!”

Here, events are just moving forward, however, and a lot of action is on our doorstep here with what’s to come. With Kine’mon and his group having arrived at the port amid the storm and expecting the Straw Hats and over four thousand fellow fighters, they’re shocked at first by the lack of anyone there and the destruction of the port. But, with a bit of time, Kin’emon is able to rally them to what they must do but there’s an edge of something saying that none of this is right, that their plan must have been leaked for it to be like this. This has them suddenly wondering about each other, but even here Kin’emon makes it clear that any fault is his for not figuring it out and then excuses that person over it because they must have had a reason considering their long shared history. It’s a strong moment overall for the group and Kin’emon in particular.

But this, in turn, simply allows Kanjuro to reveal that he was the traitor all along, earning their trust from the beginning and savoring every moment of it. Kanjuro lays it all out clearly so there’s no real doubt and while it doe mean more flashback moments you also get to see just how much it hurts and angers everyone in the present with what he’s done and how he exploited them for so long. Of course, that has some justice being dished out on Kanjuro but even that doesn’t unfold as you’d expect because of his abilities and the whole thing turns even more chaotic, especially as he makes it clear that his final goal here is to bring Momonosuke to Orochi. It’s a nice bit of action and dramatic tension for the last couple of minutes of the episode before finally delivering us the moment that we’ve waited months and months for.

In Summary:

The Straw Hats and thousands of allies who were supposed to be there are nowhere to be found, but Kin’emon and the others decide to set sail to the stormy sea in a small boat. Kaido’s army that appears out of nowhere and a betrayal drive the Akazaya members into a corner.

Thanks for reading! See you next week!

乂⍱‿●乂