Ep. 39

Summary

Source-backed · Version: v1 · Original

Zoro fights Hatchan, an octopus fish-man who wields six swords and boasts that his many arms make him a superior swordsman. Zoro is still recovering from Mihawk's slash and can barely remain upright, but he hides his weakness behind aggression. After borrowing Johnny and Yosaku's swords, he counters Hatchan's spinning attacks and defeats him with a three-sword technique. The victory leaves Zoro close to collapse. Sanji initially attempts to free Luffy by diving into the pool, but Kuroobi follows and exploits the fish-man advantage underwater. Sanji realizes he cannot win in that environment and provokes Kuroobi into returning to land by attacking his gills. Meanwhile, Usopp runs from Chew and is ashamed that the villagers may see him as a coward. He briefly considers pretending to be injured until he imagines how his crewmates would judge him. Nojiko and Genzo keep Luffy's stretched neck above water, but Arlong moves to interfere. Zoro attacks the captain to buy time, and Arlong is startled by his endurance. The battle becomes a race between the crew's individual victories and Luffy's rapidly failing strength.