G8 Arc
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G8 Arc is the third filler arc in the anime and manga One Piece. It comes after the end of the Jaya/Skypiea saga. Instead of splashing down in open sea, the Going Merry (also known as Merry Go) is trapped within the enclosed and heavily fortified waters of a Naval base, where the crew must scatter to survive before attempting to retake their ship and escape.
This filler arc is currently the longest filler arc, containing 11 episodes. When the Straw Hats land in the middle of the Naval base G8, they are forced to abandon their ship, as many Marines immediately spring upon it. Separated, the crewmates are forced to disguise themselves and try to find a way out of the base, which is comprised of a huge mountain surrounded by water, and then a ring of sheer rock cliffs that form a wall of sorts.
Sanji and Luffy get by whilst impersonating the a pair of famous cooks named the Marley Brothers, who arrived at G8 around the same time as the Straw Hats. There they meet Jessica, the head cook, whom Sanji promptly falls in love with and begins to fawn over. When she insults his cooking, however, he decides to show her the true meaning of "cooking from the heart." He impresses all of the cooking Marines with his skills and shows Jessica that a good chef avoids wasting food.
Meanwhile, Nami escapes on her Waver and disguises herself as a janitor. In this disguise, she manages to give the real Marley Brothers improper directions to the kitchen, causing them to become lost in the huge, mazelike fortress. She also accidentally gets Zoro captured by the Commander of G8, a laid-back man named Johnathan.
Usopp and Robin wind up in the same place, and while Usopp wants to quickly run away and find the Going Merry, Robin decides that they would be better off gathering information about G8. Usopp refuses, and the two go their separate ways. At the same time, a Special Investigator named Shepard has arrived from Naval Headquarters with plans to reveal G8's uselessness. G8 is considered a "peace crazy" naval base because it is so massive, yet rarely has to deal with any trouble. Before he can meet with Commander Johnathan, however, he is attacked by Robin and left unconscious in a hallway.
Usopp steals some clothes and disguises himself as a marine rookie. He finds the Going Merry but is stalled by an shipwright named Makao, who chats with Usopp about how the Going Merry needs serious repairs or it will be unable to sail. Suddenly, Lieutenant Drake appears, one of Johnathan's subordinates. He tricks Usopp into admitting he's a pirate. Usopp tries to lie his way out of the predicament several times, but ends up blundering each attempt. When Robin arrives in the Commander's office disguised as Shepard, Usopp pretends to be her assistant. She says he's lying and Usopp is thrown in the brig with Zoro.
Chopper is discovered by some marines who think he is a "good luck tanuki" and pursue him. He manages to hide in a box full of medical supplies, which is then brought to the medical center. All of the doctors have been called away from G8 except for one, a pediatrist named Dr. Kobata who can't stand the sight of blood. Unfortunetely, a ship full of injured Marines has docked at G8 and she has to operate on them. Seeing her dilemma, Chopper disguises himself and helps her. Nami, who is now disguised as a nurse, reunites with Chopper and also assists Kobata.
Because of Sanji's foolishness, he and Luffy are still working in the kitchen. When Jessica asks Luffy to deliver a plate of food to her husband, neither of them thinks anything of it, until they learn that Jessica's husband is none other than Commander Johnathan! He sees Luffy and recognizes him as the 100,000,000 berry bounty. Sanji and Luffy are surrounded by cooks and must flee, their cover blown.
The real Agent Shepard is found unconscious in the hallway and assumed to be a Straw Hat. When he's dragged down to the dungeons and thrown in jail with Usopp and Zoro, Usopp lies and says that Shepard is their crewmate, "Condoriano." Shepard continues to claim he's really a Naval officer, so Zoro KOs him with his forehead.
Luffy and Sanji at this point have learned Zoro is in jail and go to free him. However, Johnathan has predicted this and has Lieutenant Drake set up an ambush. When the two arrive, they are surrounded, and Luffy cannot break the jail's bars because they're made of seastone. Usopp and Sanji work together and blow up the prison cell, escaping with Zoro and Luffy in tow. They try to cross a huge bridge connecting the mountain to the cliffs, but are attacked by a group of marines called the "Hot Wind Marines." Luffy breaks part of the bridge and everyone falls into the ocean.
At this point, everyone except Robin is heading toward Dock 88, the Going Merry's location. When Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji arrive, they discover that Johnathan has predicted this move as well, and sent Drake ahead. They are vastly outnumbered, and things get worse when Luffy is trapped into a net made of seastone. Luckily, Chopper and Nami arrive at that moment with Dr. Kobata, and use her as a hostage to get onboard the Going Merry. Makao sees this all play out and decides to release the Going Merry into the water. It turns out that Makao is Kobata's father. One of Drake's men grabs Kobata but since Nami is dressed like a nurse, the marines think Luffy and crew still have a hostage, and let them go.
Robin shows up with a map of the base and the Straw Hats hide Going Merry in an abandoned dock, since there are so many. Usopp uses junk in the dock to disguise Merry as a Naval ship, and then splits the crew into two teams: one team to recover the treasure gained in the Skypiea arc. The other team goes to retrieve Nami's Waver. Chopper is left behind to guard the Merry.
Johnathan tricks the crew into another ambush, this one in a huge room that is locked from the outside. Drake is once again leading the attack, with countless marines backing him up, and things look bleak until Agent Shepard foolishly opens the doors and allows Luffy, Robin, Zoro, and Usopp to escape.
Nami and Sanji get the Waver and go back to Merry; Nami orders Sanji and Chopper to bring the ship out into the waters and wait for the others to return. She goes looking for Luffy and finds him, only to discover that they still don't have the gold. Nami suspects that it's in the Commander's office, so she and Luffy go alone while everyone else goes back to the boat. Using the Waver, she and Luffy scale the main mountain and break into Johnathan's office. Marines fill the room but Nami uses her Thunder Tempo attack to electrocute them all. She and Luffy grab the treasure and head back to the boat.
However, Johnathan is not worried, because at 9 PM the "fangs of G8" will appear. What he means is the inner lake becomes so shallow that the Going Merry is stranded on a reef. With no water, the Merry is stuck in the mud while the marines mobilize.
Usopp produces an Impact Dial and Luffy produces the same octopus that the Straw Hats used to exit Skypiea in the first place. Along with a Breath Dial and a Flame Dial, they manage to blast the Going Merry into the sky and use the octopus as a balloon once more, sailing over the cliffs of G8 and escaping, once and for all. While Commander Johnathan is disappointed, he explains to his wife that the pirates brought G8 and its inhabitants together, and gave them some much needed exercise.
Episodes 196-206
196. Emergency Official Announcement! Notorious Pirate Ship Infiltration!
197. Sanji the Cook! The Real Value of the Navy Dining-room!
198. Zoro's imprisonment and Chopper's Emergency Operation!
199. The Search of the Approaching Marines! The Second Person Who Was Captured!
200. Luffy and Sanji's Desperate Decision! Large Rescue Maneuvers!
201. Hot Blood Special Unit Participation! Bridge Offensive and Defensive Battle!
202. Smash the Barricade! The Going Merry is Recovered!
203. The Missing pirate Ship! 2nd Round Assault on the Fortress
204. The Gold Recovery Plan and the Waver Recovery Plan!
205. Catch Them All in One Net! Jonathon's Secret Scheme!
206. So Long, Navy Base! The Final Battle for Freedom
