Summary:
When his marines find the Straw Pirates, Vice Admiral Garp sails his ship to Scrap Island. He and his crew are annoyed by Fleet Admiral Sengoku’s order to wipe out the Straw Hats there on Water 7, but with Admiral Aokiji aboard his ship, they had no choice in the matter. As the Franky Family says goodbye to Franky, the Straw Hats set sail on their new ship. But some crew members are worried because one person is missing. Luffy knows.
A flashback to a few days before at the Galley-La headquarters where Sanji told Luffy about Usopp’s plan to ask him to rejoin the crew. At first, Luffy is eager to take Usopp back, but Zoro speaks up to object. He says it’s not right for Usopp to come back without at least an apology after he originally quit, especially in the duel he had with Luffy over the Going Merry. Zoro says it’s not right for Usopp to be taken back so easily after a duel and he has to respect his result. He insists that allowing Usopp back without it would be an affront to Luffy’s authority as captain, and that he will quit if Luffy lets himself go around like this. He says that it’s time they stop treating piracy as a game and that Usopp needs to learn how not to stop so easily. Luffy understands Zoro’s point and agrees.
Back in the present, Luffy is convinced (at least on the outside) that Usopp isn’t coming back, but he’s sure they’ll meet again in the future. Meanwhile, Usopp runs through Water 7, eager to get back to the crew and sure they’ll welcome him back with open arms. On the ship, Nami asks Luffy to wait a little longer, but a cannonball splashing in the water signals that their time is up. Vice Admiral Garp caught up with them. Everyone, especially Luffy, is surprised that Garp is attacking them. Garp uses a megaphone to call out to his grandson. Garp apologizes for changing the situation as he said earlier that he would let Luffy leave Water 7, but says he will take care of it himself.
With this, Garp uses his superhuman strength to hurl cannonballs at the ship much harder than a cannon would fire, an attack he calls the Genkotsu Meteor. He fires a warning shot that explodes on the shore near the ship, throwing it into the open water. He demands more cannonballs to continue with the Genkotsu Ryūseigun: he plans rapid-fire cannonballs on Luffy’s ship. Luffy’s crew prepares to repel the attack. Chopper sniffs the air and senses that Usopp has arrived at the shore of Water 7.
Usopp reaches the shore above Scrap Island and runs through the gathered crowd to see what’s going on. Zambai asks him what he is still doing here. He looks up to see a new ship sailing away. Usopp panics as he doesn’t know why they left without him after helping him in Enies Lobby. They couldn’t forget that he really was the Sogeking, could they? Seeing the attack begin, he jumps onto the scrap island and runs after the ship along the coast, trying to get their attention as he fends off Garp’s constant barrage of cannonballs. Chopper tries to tell them that Usopp has arrived, but they are too busy defending the ship.
Usopp calls out to his fellow passengers, trying to get their attention. All the while, he denies that they could have taken his resignation from the crew seriously, which is why they leave without him. He reaches the shore of Scrap Island and tells them to stop fooling around. Chopper tries once more to get Luffy and Zoro to listen to Usopp, but they claim they can’t hear him. Usopp watches in growing despair as the ship sails on under Garp’s attack. Usopp remembers the circumstances of his departure and falls to his knees as he finally realizes what his hasty resignation will cost him.
Usopp tearfully yells at the ship that he’s sorry. Luffy finally stops and hears his mea culpa. Usopp apologizes for being so selfish and stubborn and that he wishes he could take back what he said when he was leaving. He begs to be allowed back into the crew. With that, Luffy reaches out to the shore and yells at Usopp to grab him. He drags Usopp back to the ship, tears streaming down his face, while the rest of the crew splits their time between rejoicing at the cordial reunion and continuing to defend their ship. When their crew is finally complete, Luffy orders his men to fend off the bombardment so they can continue their journey.