Third Shift Musings - One Piece Episode #12

The pirates are coming (for real this time)!

The episode begins with Klahadore aka Captain Kuro walking alone walking back to the mansion. He looks back at the village, probably thinking about the chaos that will come to that place in the morning. At the shore, Usopp is devising a plan with Luffy and the gang. He tells them that if they defend a particular slope into the village, the pirates will never be able to attack. Luffy tells Usopp that it’ll be easy for them. Usopp asks what their strengths are and they tell him:

Zoro: Cut!

Luffy: Stretch!

Nami: Steal!

Usopp hears this and says he’ll hide! The gang grabs Usopp by the neck and tells him he’ll be fighting with them.

Back at the mansion, Klahadore arrives and is greeted by Merry, Kaya’s butler. He asks about Kaya and is informed of Usopp’s chaos earlier. Merry mentions that Usopp called Klahadore a pirate and thought it was hilarious since Klahadore seems like such an upright kind of guy. Klahadore smirks cuz he knows Merry is a trusting fool, poor thing. Just then, Klahadore notices the present on the table next to him. Merry tells him that it’s a present from Kaya and it’s a pair of custom glasses. The gift is to commemorate his three years at the mansion. Klahadore smirks again cuz he knows he’ll be taking that mansion, the hell with the glasses. The pirate notices that there’s a crescent moon and tells Merry that it “stirs his blood.” Klahadore then drops the glasses and steps on them, smashing them to bits. Merry clutches his imaginary pearls, visibly upset by the display. Then Klahadore reveals the craziest Freddy Kreuger gloves I’ve ever seen! I mean, Edward Scissorhands could NEVER! The blades are so long they skim the floor, and Klahadore looks like a tall guy. He slashes the chandelier that Merry was just working on. Then we see all in shadow Klahadore kill poor Merry. Klahadore then goes to Kaya’s room, who is sleeping soundly. (Seriously, what does she do to sleep so soundly because I need to know). Klahadore levels his blades against her sleeping head and it’s so quiet you can hear a pin drop. The shot then cuts to Klahadore leaving Kaya’s room and we see a small smirk on his face. Did he kill her or nah???

The Black Cat Pirates are on the water and ready to go. They wake Captain Jango, the moonwalking hypnotist and he is NOT happy. The man moonwalks out of his cabin and basically tells them all that he doesn’t want to hear any talking when he wakes up and I’ve never felt so seen! I am the same, I want absolute quiet when I wake up. Don’t say NOTHIN’. Once he sets them straight, Captain Jango hits the crew with some more Michael Jackson moves and then says, “GOOD MORNING!” confusing them all. He does a few more MJ moves and then tells them to set sail. This man is a whole chaotic fool and I love it!

Luffy and the gang oil the slope where the pirates are supposed to show up. Luffy is impressed that Usopp came up with such a decent plan. Then, they wait.

The pirates arrive and see the gang’s ships, but Jango ignores them because they don’t look like they would have any treasure on them. If they only knew!

The gang is still waiting for the pirates to show up, even thought the sun is fully up. Nami hears a noise but isn’t sure what it is. She listens again and hears what sounds like multiple voices saying, “YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” Usopp then mentions that there’s an identical shore for boats to pull up but on the north side of the village. Nami freaks out because that’s where their boats with the treasure are docked! They all begin to run for the other shore, with Luffy in the lead. Nami slips on the oil and grabs Zoro, bringing him down with her. She uses Zoro to pull herself up and steps on him to gain traction and leaves him to fend for himself. Cuz money before bros is Nami’s motto.

Back at the mansion, Kaya is still in bed. But is she sleeping or dead???

Usopp arrives at the slope first somehow and tries to fake his way into defeating the Black Cat Pirates. He tells them that he’ll give them Nami’s treasure if they just turn around and Jango is like, we’ll take the treasure and still raid the village. Before Usopp can come up with another plan, Nami cracks him over the head for offering up her treasure. The two begin to argue and the pirates just watch them wondering what the hell is happening. Jango tells his crew to end Usopp and Nami so they can continue with the raid. The men charge and at first, Usopp and Nami are too terrified to move. But then Usopp pulls out some caltrops (those spikey things used to puncture tire wheels) and they throw them up in the air.

Meanwhile, Zoro is fighting for his life trying to climb up the oiled slope. He finally uses his swords as ski poles and gets up the slope. Luffy, who somehow got lost on the way to the north shore, is still running in circles. These two are off their games!

Usopp and Nami hold off the pirates for a bit but then Jango says enough is enough. Usopp uses his slingshot and Nami decides this is her time to leave. Usopp turns to get her to come back and is smashed by a pirate’s weapon. Nami tries to step in but gets knocked down. The pirates run past Usopp and Nami, ready to raid the village. But then, they come flying back. Like, literally flying in the air. Luffy and Zoro have arrived and are ready to beat some pirate asses!

Back at the mansion, Klahadore is impatiently waiting for his crew, who are hella late. He’s not happy and promises to slaughter every one of them if they mess up his plans. He puts his claws in a bag and makes his way to the meeting spot. As he’s walking, we see one of Usopp’s Pirates, little Onion, hiding behind a tree. The little guy is wondering why Klahadore is out so early in the morning (kid, why are YOU out so early in the morning?) And that’s where our episode ends.

Will Luffy and the gang prevail? Will the Black Cat Pirates screw up Klahadore’s plans? IS KAYA DEAD OR ALIVE? Stay tuned for next week’s recap.