Summary:
After entering the Tranquil Belt, the Going Merry ends up on top of the Sea King and is surrounded by other Sea Kings, Zoro suggests that no one move or make a sound, hoping the beasts will ignore them so they can paddle back. Usopp screams in fear at the suggestion, which the Sea King hears, causing him to attack the ship.
Apis falls off the ship but is saved by Luffy before being swallowed. She noticed Luffy’s hand reach out as he saved her. While being pulled to the ship, she sees the sea king’s nose and asks Luffy to turn her back down. As it descends, Apis grabs the sea king’s nostril hairs and pulls them out. Luffy eventually pulls her back to the ship and Apis is caught by Zoro. The other Straw Hats realize that she’s pulled the hair out of her nostril and panic as the Sea King is about to sneeze, causing the ship to fall off his head. The force of the sneeze launches the ship through the Belt of Calm past the Sea Kings and back to where they started outside the Belt of Calm.
The crew continues sailing towards the warship island. They spot what appears to be a huge ship in the thick fog and are amazed at its gigantic size. Apis tells them that it’s not a ship, but actually Warship Island, and that it’s called that because it resembles a warship.
As they approach the island’s harbor, the residents see their ship and panic when they see their pirate flag. Fearing a pirate invasion, some residents meet them on shore with weapons. Apis descends from the ship and welcomes them. The townspeople are surprised that Apis is with the pirates and ask her why she brought them to the island.
The rest of the crew exits the ship. Apis tells the residents to relax because they are not bad pirates, but they are nice and helpful. Still skeptical of the crew, the townspeople continue to question Apis about how she ended up with them when they last saw her captured by the Marines. She explains how she escaped, got stuck in the ocean and was rescued by the Straw Hats. The residents continue to question Apis as to why she was kidnapped in the first place and that it is not safe for her to stay on the island since the marines are still lurking around. The old man calls Apis and tells her to come to his house. Nami asks who the man is as Apis runs to him and tells her that he is her grandfather Bokuden. Her grandfather thanks the crew for rescuing his granddaughter and invites them to a celebration in honor of Apis’ safe return, to which they are accepted.
Meanwhile, the marines continue to patrol around the island and see the Going Merry, the Straw Hats, and the Apis. This is reported to Nelson Royale, who was under the impression that the girl was lost at sea. She checks with Erik, who confirms that she is indeed lost at sea. Nelson Royale tells him he’s wrong and relays the news to Eric that Apis is back on Warship Island and orders him to recapture her.
Back on Bokuden Island, he prepares pork buns for the celebration, but says they won’t be ready for at least 4 to 5 hours. While waiting, Nami asks Bokuden why the marines are after Apis. Bokuden directs the question back to Apis, to which he replies that he doesn’t know. Nami notes that Apis mentioned earlier that she knew why they were after her, but refused to tell them. Apis brushes it off and tells them she lied. Bokuden then says that he really doesn’t know of any reason for the marines to go after Apis, and there is nothing significant on the island except for an old legend.
Legend has it that the people of Warship Island are descendants of the Lost Island, which sank into the sea thousands of years ago, which was also home to thousand-year-old dragons. The bones of these dragons are called dragonite, also known as the Elixir of Immortality. The Straw Hats say that doesn’t explain why the Marines are after the girl and that they must be overlooking something and that it must have something to do with the legend.
Bokuden then tells the legend from the very beginning, which bores Apis and made her leave her grandfather’s house. The old man continues for a while, and some of the crew have already fallen asleep. Luffy wakes up hungry and leaves. On the way out, he smells the pork buns that the old man used to prepare and goes to meet the smell. However, Apis bags them all. Afraid of being caught, Apis hides and is about to hit Luffy in the head, but he stumbles to the floor and falls asleep before Apis can hit him.
Nami notices that Luffy has been gone for a while and decides to sneak out as well and go look for him as an excuse. He finds him in the kitchen and notices the trail left by the sack that Apis was pulling out. Luffy and Nami follow a path that leads them over a cliff to the other side of the mountain to a cave.
Inside the cave, Apis talks to someone he calls Grandpa Ryu. She recounts how Luffy and his crew saved her from the marines. She goes ahead and gives him the pork buns she brought with her, knowing he must have been hungry. Luffy and Nami hear her talking to someone and Luffy approaches her and asks her where she got the pork buns. Apis asks them to stay away and protect something with their small body. Looking closer, Nami and Luffy see that Ryu’s grandfather is actually a dragon. Luffy is excited to see the legendary dragon and asks where it came from. Although no response is heard, Luffy seems to understand the dragon. Apis tells Luffy that Ryu tells her that Luffy can be his friend and that he can say that he is a good person. Apis says that she is able to read Ryu’s mind and asks how Luffy can understand him, to which Luffy replies that he doesn’t know and that it just happened.
Nami asks if Apis got her ability from the devil fruit. She replies that she once ate Hiso Hiso no Mi and has been able to read any animal’s mind ever since. She tells how she met Ryu, that one day when she was playing in the fields, she heard a voice in the mountains. She followed the voice into the cave and saw Ryu. He was helpless and used up the last of his energy searching for his friends. He told her that he got separated from them on the way to their dragon’s nest on Lost Island. Nami says she thought the island was underwater, but Apis says Ryu is sure it will resurface any day now. However, the problem is that Ryu cannot remember where the Lost Island is due to his old age, and Apis helps him by searching for where it might be. Some marines were on the warship island and she made the mistake of asking them if they knew where it was. The Marines saw her pendant, which is shaped like a thousand-year-old dragon claw, and took her to question her about everything she knew about the whereabouts of the Lost Isle because of the dragonite it may contain, but she refused to tell them anything. Apis is determined to help Ryu get back to his dragon nest, as it will restore his energy. After hearing this, Luffy says that he is going to help Ryu return to his home. Nami initially protests due to the legend that the island is underwater and that they have no map to said island, but Luffy is determined to help the dragon, to which he agrees.
Eric is seen walking towards Warship Island, convinced that due to Apis’ possession of the pendant, he must know all about the dragonite and its whereabouts.