One Piece, Volume 19

Chapter 167
Vivi shows the Straw Hat Pirates a map to Rainbase, where Crocodile resides. She says it will take a day to get there from Yuba, and that it is a gambling town, which excites Nami. They are interrupted by Luffy and Usopp fighting over their water, with Luffy refusing to let Toto's hard-earned water be consumed right away. The group then sets off for Rainbase. As they walk, Vivi thanks Luffy for encouraging her to set off on this course of action, and Luffy demands that he be fed in return after he beats Crocodile, which Vivi happily agrees to do.

In Katorea, a young shoe shiner named Kappa begs Koza to let him join the rebel army, but Koza refuses. He has Farafra show Kappa his missing forearm, and asks Kappa if he wants to see the hospital and graveyard. Kappa responds that he is not afraid of any of that, and badly wants to fight against the king because of his sick friend in a town near Erumalu that will soon dry up as well. However, Koza says that Kappa's goals are the opposite of the army's, as none of them want to fight, but have been forced into doing so. He then shouts at the boy to go home. Later, a rebel asks Koza if anything is wrong, as it is not like him to shout at a kid. Koza replies that he was exactly like Kappa years ago, and it made him sick. He asks about the weapons they have obtained, and hears that the effort was not extremely successful due to the royal army preventing them from getting to the warehouse. Koza tells them to notify the rebels in all the towns that once all the weapons are ready, they will begin their attack on Alubarna.

In the Alubarna Palace, Nefertari Cobra rejects Pell and Chaka's request to initiate a go-ahead attack on the rebel army, saying that taking action against them without understanding the cause of the unrest would tear the country apart. He says their real enemy is the figure who is responsible for the Dance Powder, and Chaka replies that it may be too late for the country before they can find that person, but Cobra refuses to relent. Pell and Chaka later sit together, and Pell remarks that they will soon be unable to keep their soldiers in line. He wishes Igaram were here, but Chaka is confident that he and Vivi are working to help the country. A messenger then comes and tells them that Karoo has arrived. As Karoo consumes water after his long journey, Cobra, Pell, and Chaka read Vivi's letter and find out that Crocodile is behind the country's unrest, as well as about Igaram's death. Chaka notices the bandages on Karoo's wing and asks if he is injured, but Karoo refuses to let him examine it. Cobra then orders Chaka to prepare a military campaign to attack Rainbase and Crocodile. However, Pell warns against this, saying Rainbase is too far for their forces to reach covertly and that attacking a public hero like Crocodile would only incur more hatred and rebellion against them. However, Cobra does not care what becomes of them, saying that the people would rebuild the country if Crocodile fell, while fighting against the rebels would do nothing but help the Warlord. He orders Chaka to gather his officers and Pell to scout out the enemy's location, saying their forces will depart tomorrow morning. 17 hours remain until Baroque Works' Operation Utopia begins.

Chapter 168
With one hour until Operation: Utopia starts, the Straw Hat Pirates make it to Rainbase, while Usopp gives Nami her new weapon: the Clima-Tact which causes Sanji to comment that Nami and Vivi do not need weapons and that all they need is him. He then asks them to call him Mr. Prince, which causes Zoro to mockingly call him Mr. Prince, much to the annoyance of Sanji. Vivi then comments that the Baroque Works agents probably know that they are there and that they should be careful. The Straw Hat Pirates debates on what to do once they encounter the Baroque Works.

At Rainbase, Smoker and Tashigi are in a bar. Smoker is saying that he feels that something will happen in Rainbase, when, Luffy and Usopp comically arrive, demanding for water. As each duo recognizes the other, Luffy and Usopp comically spews out their water at Smoker and Tashigi and then flee from the bar.

The rest of the Straw Hat Pirates are waiting for Luffy and Usopp when they see the pair running towards them, with Smoker and Tashigi chasing after them. Nami screams at the pair not to run towards them, and Vivi is worried about Chopper but Zoro tells her not to worry about him. The Marines spot the Straw Hat Pirates and start to chase after them as well. Unfortunately, this causes several Baroque Works agents to notice the events and they recognize the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy then tells them all to meet up at Croc's house. Smoker decides to chase Luffy, while Sanji decides not to run but to fight as well as Zoro, but he runs at the sight of Tashigi. Meanwhile Usopp and Nami are being chased by several Baroque Works members but manage to lose them, only to encounter another group, but they are quickly defeated by Zoro who shows up. All the Straw Hats then show up in front of Raindinners and enter it while being chased by Marines, Crocodile who has been informed of this, is pleased.

Chapter 169
Luffy noisily enters the casino and demands that Crocodile show himself which disturbs a lot of the people in there. Smoker then runs into the casino as well. While Luffy takes care of the security, the Straw Hats are then escorted to the V.I.P room but this turns out to be a ruse as they fall into a trap. The trapped members of the Straw Hats then start fighting along with Smoker who explains that the prison is made of sea stone, an item that is basically a solid form of the sea which hampers devil fruit power. Crocodile then appears to the prisoners, saying that he is awaiting Vivi and has sent for Miss All Sunday to pick her up. Meanwhile, Vivi is fighting several members of Baroque Works. When Pell arrives and defeats the Baroque Works members, he is then confronted by Miss All Sunday.

Chapter 170
Miss All Sunday confronts Vivi and Pell, and is promptly attacked by Vivi for killing Igaram but to no avail. Miss All Sunday then "impales" Vivi with her hand, which enrages Pell and he attacks but it is no use against Miss All Sunday's devil fruit ability. She then explains that she ate the Hana Hana no Mi a devil fruit which grants her the ability to sprout limbs, she then says that she has no more time to waste on him which angers Pell and he attacks but it is useless and he goes down easily. When Vivi arrives at Crocodile's lair she attacks him but due to his devil fruit ability granted to him by the Suna Suna no Mi the attack goes right through him. He then remarks it is time for the plan to begin, which Miss All Sunday confirms as it is past seven o'clock.

Chapter 171
A guard alerts Chaka that the king has disappeared, Chaka then wonders how the king disappeared as there are guards around his room all the time, he then decides to send out search parties. A guard then returns to report to Chaka and tells him that they have found the king "in a way", Koza apparently has heard some disturbing news and is rushing towards where the king supposedly is. As he rides he remembers when his father told him not to give up on the king, the news about the rebels reaching 100,000 men, the fighting, the lack of water, his father's faith, his argument with the king, and his change of heart and support of the rebels. At Nanohana the "king" is there with an escort of armed guards saying that he has an apology to make and that he will destroy Nanohana, the guards then start to attack as a child confronts the kings. "Cobra" merely kicks the child, as Koza arrives, he demands what is going on and "Cobra" replies that he is apologizing for using Dance Powder, which enrages Koza, he is then shot by one of the soldiers while the king and his men leave. A giant ship then crashes into port as Mr.1 and Miss Doublefinger walk away, it is then revealed that the king was actually Mr. 2.

Chapter 172
The town of Nanohana is in an uproar as the citizens attempt to put out the fires started by the 'Royal Guards'. Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger move to meet Mr. 2 at the edge of town. While Mr. 2 is escaping the ensuing chaos, he is spotted by a young boy, Kappa, who realizes that the 'King' is in fact an imposter. However, before he can alert anyone, he bumps into Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger, who decide to take action to prevent the word from getting out. A citizen finds the boy's near lifeless body, but mistakes Kappa's attempts to convey the deception as cries of pain. Upon seeing the wounded boy, a wounded Koza makes the decision to attack immediately. Seemingly serendipitously, the ship that crashed into the harbor was carrying weapons. Koza orders an all-out attack on Alubarna. Meanwhile, in the palace, Chaka is in disbelief at the message brought to him regarding the king appearing in Nanohana. The situation rapidly declining, and the number of rebels rising as news of what happened in Nanohana spread throughout the country, Chaka steels himself and makes the decision to defend the capital and push back the rebellion.

In Rainbase, Crocodile perversely explains his scheme in front of a distraught Vivi, the captured Straw Hat Pirates and Smoker. He recounts the many years of planning and dedication it took to reach where he is today. Vivi, tied to a chair, knocks herself down and attempts to crawl away, still set on cutting off the rebels before they reach Alubarna and preventing the bloodshed. An amused Crocodile tells Vivi that he and Miss All Sunday are on their way to the capital to meet her father. Showing her the key to the cage that holds Luffy and his crew, he tells her she is free to join them if she wishes, then throws the key down a trap-door into a pit of Bananawani.

Chapter 173
Before leaving, Crocodile explains to Vivi about the solutions she has got: either she tries to reach the rebels which is impossible in the time that remains now or she tries to save her friends which is also very hard because he threw the key of the cell into the Bananawani pool where one of them ate it. Moreover the building will self destruct in a short time. To make her despair even more, he reveals that he was the responsible of the sandstorm that came one after the others to Yuba oasis and mocks Toto's stupidity. This angers Luffy, causing him to beg Vivi to help them so that he can beat Crocodile. However, the destruction mechanism made the water level in the Bananawani's pool increase. The Bananawani come out of the pool one after the other and start to hunt Vivi who barely escapes these powerful animals.

Meanwhile Crocodile receives a phone call, from the Den Den Mushi he uses to contact the Billions. The voice and the speech of the person speaking reminds him of a certain previous conversation.

Chapter 174
Sanji, calling himself Mr. Prince, is talking to Crocodile on a Den Den Mushi, and is antagonizing him, Sanji then convinces Crocodile that he has been beaten by a Million and that they are outside the casino. Vivi tries to escape but is stopped by Crocodile, Crocodile then leaves with a parting remark that he will bring Mr. Princes' corpse as a farewell gift to the Straw Hat Pirates in the cage, Vivi does however manage to get out of the room. However when Crocodile leaves the casino he finds his minions defeated, and learns that it was "Mr. Prince" that defeated the Millions, he then spots a figure running away from the scene and assumes that it is Mr. Prince so he follows him. As he starts chasing the figure, the bridge to the casino collapses which Vivi views as meaning that she can not get away, but Sanji who is playing at the slots says that it means enemies can not get in, he then asks her to lead the way.

Chapter 175
The chapter begins with Chopper dashing while Sanji explains to Vivi that Chopper is their decoy. When Vivi asks what happened, Sanji has a flashback of him and one of the Millions talking to Crocodile. After he makes Crocodile believe Sanji was captured by the Millions and was beaten up, Sanji tells Chopper to go on a rampage, shouting out that he is Mr. Prince, which Chopper does. When Crocodile comes to the scene, he sees Chopper and tries to kill him, but Chopper switches from Heavy Point to Brain Point and quietly tiptoes past the enraged Crocodile.

Meanwhile, the trapped Straw Hats are screaming because of the room that is quickly filling with water. Nami tells everyone to make the Bananawani mad so that it would chomp the cage apart, but they find out that the cage is able to resist even the Bananawani's jaws, much to their horror. Usopp and Luffy yell at Smoker asking why he was so calm in such a situation, but Smoker responds by asking how much of Crocodile's plan the Straw Hats know. He reveals that Miss All-Sunday has been running from the government for over 20 years, he then tells them that Crocodile and Miss All Sunday's plan may shake the entire world, but Luffy says that no reasons are needed to beat Crocodile up. When Smoker asks how they are going to escape, the Straw Hats remember their situation and start panicking again, and Luffy starts to feel weak because of the seawater touching him.

When everyone becomes desperate, Sanji finally appears, defeating a Bananawani with a single kick, to everyone's surprise. Everyone becomes full of hope once again, and Luffy gives Vivi a thumbs-up, saying she did a good job. As more Bananawanis close in, Smoker tells the Straw Hats that the third Bananawani that came in is the one that ate the key. When Luffy asks how he knows, Smoker says the growl is the same. Elsewhere, a frustrated Crocodile walks back to where the cage is saying it was smart of the Straw Hats to think of a decoy.

Miss All Sunday asks what if the Straw Hat Pirates already found the key, and Crocodile answers by saying that the key was a fake in the first place and he has the real one. By the time Crocodile arrives in the room, the cage is swinging open underwater, while beaten up Bananawanis and a beaten up Mr. 3 floats in the water with a piece of paper on him that says "See ya, shitty Croc - Mr Prince" on it, much to Crocodile's enragement.

Chapter 176
A bananawani just spat out a wax ball, while the Straw Hats wonder what it is, Mr. 3 then appears from the inside of the ball, overjoyed at his freedom which surprises everyone. He then notices a key attached to his ball, to which the straw hats shout that it is the key to their cage, Sanji then demands that he hand it over, which just makes him throw it away. Sanji, angered at this prepares to attack, but it stopped by Usopp who reasons that Mr. 3 could just create another key using his powers, Sanji then forced Mr. 3 to make another key to free his friends, which he does. After freeing everyone Sanji says that they have to get out quick, but Vivi says that will be hard with all the bananawani, but much to her shock they are already defeated. Unfortunately the walls then break and water gets through, though luckily the straw hats are able to get out alive, as well as Smoker who was saved by Zoro on Luffy's orders. Vivi then asks Nami to put on her perfume, while the Marines found the straw hats and rushed over to capture them, while Smoker decided to let them go. The straw hats then run away, while Smoker calls the marines back and asks one to call in more reinforcements, meanwhile Chopper has found Nami's scent and located the straw hats while riding on top a giant crab. The crew gets on as Chopper explains that the crab is one of Matsuge's friends, suddenly Vivi is grabbed by Crocodile's hook, but Luffy is able to unhook her and grabs on himself, telling the crew to go on without him as he prepares to fight Crocodile.