Summary:
After hearing that the small village has fake Rebel Army bodyguards keeping the peace, Vivi asks Luffy and the others to test if they are worthy to stay. They stand their ground and can stay when the straw men back off.
Luffy and his crew say goodbye to the sand pirates. As they leave, Zoro asks where Luffy’s brother Ace is. Luffy claims that Ace eventually appears out of nowhere and the crew begin their journey to Ido City.
Meanwhile, in Idu, Camu’s group of rebels have lunch with the mayor, discussing the strength of their troops and how the rebel and royal armies will soon have to face off. Suddenly, one of Camu’s men rushes up to him, calling out for the arrival of the Sand Pirates. Camu’s decision was to run and hide to the surprise of the others. As Camu starts to leave, the lizard that Ace was accompanying appears and behind them Ace is sitting at the table eating their food. The men call Ace a “food thief” and Ace beats the living crap out of them. Camu watches, petrified, and bows to Ace in fear, begging for his help against the sand pirates. Ace agrees to this, but on a condition.
While riding a lizard to defeat the sand pirates, he runs into Luffy and his crew and says how the rebels believed they were sand pirates. Ace explains to Vivi how there are “rebels” in town, but they’re really just hoodlums. Vivi gets upset and says there’s nothing wrong with the villagers wanting to protect their village, even if it means posing as rebels. She brings up the idea of testing them to see if they are strong enough to carry the burden of protecting the village on their shoulders.
Camu and his men are seen hiding in barrels, questioning whether or not Ace defeated the sand pirates. As Camu starts to leave again, all the villagers appear at his door and cheer him on in the upcoming battle against the sand pirates. The mayor approaches them and wishes them the best against the sea pirates. Camu is confused because he was sure they were sand pirates. The mayor then goes to show him the Beli30,000,000 wanted poster on Luffy’s head and he freaks out. They begin secretly devising a plan to escape the pirates once they leave the city, but when they open the gates, they are menacingly surrounded by the Straw Hat Pirates [ゴゴゴゴ]. The Rebels stand still as the Straw Hats begin their attack. Camu and his men decide to stop being cowards and stand up for themselves. Vivi is pleased with this and signals the Straw Hats to back off. At the end of the episode, Luffy and his crew deem the “rebels” worthy of staying to protect the city.