Chapter 63

Luffy runs after Don Krieg as he is upset for the way he has treated Gin. Meanwhile, Patty and Carne give Gin extracted antidote from a gas mask, as he is suffering from Krieg's poison bomb.

Don Krieg is amused by Luffy's move and fires several spikes at him from his weapon. Luffy does not waver and accepts the pain in order to get closer to the enemy. Finally, Luffy reaches Don Krieg after sustaining several stab wounds and readies an attack. Krieg protects himself behind a cape made of spikes at the last second. Despite this protection, Luffy lands a confident punch to Krieg's jaw through the spiked cape, sending him to the ground. Luffy proclaims he will not die here.

I Won't Die

After Don Krieg shoots the MH5 gas bomb, he further angers Luffy and Sanji by claiming that Gin is garbage and it's proper to die by his own hands as his commander. Krieg's crew cannot believe what is happening to Gin at Krieg's hands. Patty and Carne emerge from the restaurant, and Sanji immediately calls to them for any antidote the Baratie may have. They show a little hesitance to help an enemy, but Sanji urges them to comply. Zeff lets them know that they need to put a gas mask on him right away, to use whatever antitoxin might be left in it. Then take him up to the upper deck for clearer air, as this could be the only way to save him. Patty and Carne are amazed by this quickly-placed wisdom, until Sanji snaps them out of their stupor, and they rush to help. 

Luffy becomes angry with Krieg and tells Gin that he can't die and has to survive to spite his terrible captain. Krieg estimates that Gin has about an hour left to live. Luffy promises to beat Krieg no matter what, but Gin is still certain that he cannot beat Krieg. He gets carried off, and Luffy turns to confront the pirate captain, but he is held back by Sanji who doesn't want him to get killed. But Luffy brushes the hand away and firmly states, "I won't die," then rushes headlong toward Krieg, fearing no bullets or stakes. Sanji is forced to accept Luffy's decision, and Krieg smirks at Luffy's stubbornness - what he perceives to be reckless foolishness.

Don Krieg mocks his repeated attempts as he tosses bombs at the bridge in front of him, welcoming Luffy to his grave. The explosion again creates a wave that obscures the bridge in sheets of water, and Krieg fires another round of stakes. Sanji hears the stakes come in contact with Luffy, and Krieg notes how his enemy would rather die than retreat with mild intrigue. Defying all norms, Luffy crosses through the mist, now sporting a stake in his side and his left shoulder, but otherwise undeterred. He uses Krieg's tactic against him when he flips forward to crash the surface of the water with an outstretched leg. He stretches his arm behind him with the intent of punching him through the screen of water. Krieg sees that he is determined to land a hit no matter the cost, so he thinks fast and implements his porcupine cape, a cloth studded with spikes large enough to cover his whole body. He thinks himself invulnerable, but Luffy delivers a solid blow to his jaw, despite his fist meeting the field of spikes. For the first time in the fight, Krieg has been sent sprawling to the ground. 

Luffy asks Krieg then, if this is his grave or Krieg's, as he pulls the stake from his shoulder. He proclaims that he doesn't have sneaky weapons like Krieg, but he's still a viable fighter who won't die here. Sanji watches on and claims that Luffy is crazy, but Zeff tells him to watch Luffy fight. While Zeff talks to Sanji, the situation with Gin unfolds, as Patty and Carne tend to him on the top deck of the restaurant.  They try to make sure he breathes, and Patty suggests making some food for him, to which Carne replies that he has already been poisoned once today. They start arguing, but get interrupted upon hearing Gin start to hack and cough. Zeff continues relating to Sanji that it's not often that a person comes along who will not quit fighting once he has his eyes set on a particular goal. Regardless of if Luffy wins or loses this fight, that's the kind of man Zeff respects, and this gets Sanji thinking.

The Krieg pirates are getting nervous, and the chefs start cheering Luffy on, having been won over by his spirit. Krieg gets up off the ground and punches at Luffy in a rage, catching him on the shoulder guard, and smirking as he fires the built-in cannon. But he pays for this miscalculation, when Luffy escapes before the blast and hooks his foot around Krieg's neck, bringing him down a second time.

Mission 48

As Sickle-and-Chain Barnaby makes his way to Yor, Anya watches with apprehension. Anya knows Loid will see the battle if he steps outside the shop and will have even more reason to do so if he hears someone scream. Anya makes a wincing face, worried about the situation, and Loid cannot read her expression and asks himself what is going on in her head. He wonders if Anya was hurt when he initially refused to buy the keychain and misreads his daughter's mental state, flattering her as she reads his thoughts. He then remembers Sylvia telling him to treat the trip as part of Operation Strix and comes to believe that she anticipated this.

A shop employee approaches Loid and offers him souvenir apparel. Loid refuses, but Anya speaks up. She claims to be dragged down by Loid for not having fun, so he must be dressed like it if he wants her to have fun. Persuaded by her words, Loid decides to transform himself inside and out to become the quintessential fun and upbeat father. Loid asks for every article of clothing the shop has and heads into the fitting room to change. Anya gets ready to help Yor, but realizes that Loid has already finished getting dressed. Anya hears Loid thinking about reworking the outfit and leaves, knowing he will be busy.

While Barnaby is passing by the entourage, he crosses paths with Olka, Gram, Zeb and Yor, so he quickly swings his blade at them. Yor moves just as quickly, ducking the attack and moving the others with her. As they begin to fight, Yor tries to get into close range with Barnaby, but his skills with the chain prevent her from getting closer. A crowd gathers around the fighters, and Yor hears Anya among them, cheering her on. Yor is at first horrified but is relieved when Anya pretends not to recognize her and convinces the onlookers that the fight is a circus performance. Yor resumes the fight, trying to close the gap. Barnaby notices the crowd and decides to kill them next. He then freezes up when he sees Yor charging at him with a scary look on her face. A frightened Barnaby tries attacking her, but she weaves through the attacks and closes the distance. Yor grabs his chains, ties him up, then immobilizes him by striking his pressure points.

The crowd is impressed by the "performance" and cheers while Anya acknowledges how scary her mother is. After Yor leaves with an unconscious Barnaby, Anya hears Loid satisfied with his outfit and hurries back to the shop. Anya revels in knowing that she helped Yor without Loid suspecting a thing and is thrilled by the experience. Loid emerges from the fitting room, dressed in an outlandish combination of clothes and accessories, believing to have achieved his goal. To his shock, Anya is unimpressed and calls him uncool. Meanwhile, Yor returns to the group after ditching Barnaby at a seat.

Hun Batz

A grudge, like any wound, left untended will fester.

Hun Batz and his twin brother Hun Chouen, led a contented life with their grandmother. Artists and musicians, everything they created was beautiful and enchanting, but they lacked their father's talent for the ball game, Pitz. Summoned to the underworld, their father, Hun Hunapu never returned. Instead his new offspring, half-brothers to Hun Batz and Hun Chauen, appeared. The Hero Twins were everything the original twins were not, strong, athletic, and clever. And they were extremely gifted at playing Pitz.

A jealous rivalry formed between the two sets of twins. The more they played ball together, the more Hun Batz and his brother were defeated. Eventually, the original twins resorted to foul tricks, aggressive tactics, and out-right cheating. Frustrated with these antics, the Hero Twins kicked the ball into a tree, knowing Hun Batz and his brother considered themselves excellent climbers and would go after it. Yet, the higher they climbed, the taller the tree grew, until they could not get back down. Pleased with their magic thus far, The Hero Twins encouraged Hun Batz and Hun Chouen to use their belts like tails in order to escape the terrible height. However, upon doing so, they were mysteriously and humiliatingly transformed into monkeys.

Though the Monkey Twins, as they are now called, came to be worshipped as Gods of Art and Music, the animosity they hold for the Hero Twins remains. Time has only sharpened their combined cunning, and they eagerly await a chance to strike back. Like any wound, their grudge has festered, and what was once a brotherly rivalry has grown into a far more deadly game.

Lord of Hatred

Born from the seven heads of the great dragon Tathamet at the beginning of time, Mephisto is Lord Archdemon and Aspect of Hatred and one of Three Prime Evils and Seven Great Evils, alongside his younger brothers Baal and Diablo. He was known as the greatest tactician and most cunning of the seven Great Evils, unifying the Burning Hells as its true leader and manipulating both demon and mortal alike. Mephisto and his siblings waged a war against the Heavenly Host of the High Heavens that would last for all eternity until the Worldstone, the goal of their conflict, mysteriously disappeared and put the war on halt. In truth, the Worldstone was stolen by his renegade daughter, Lilith, and her lover angel, Inarius, to create the world of Sanctuary. Together with a group of like-minded renegade demons and angels who grew tired of the conflict, they fled the war and made Sanctuary their new home. The renegades mated and their offspring, unions of both demon and angel, would later become known as the nephalem. Terrified of their powers, Inarius used the Worldstone to weaken the nephalem with each generation. Their descendants eventually would turn into the mortal race of humans.

Thousands of years later, Mephisto learned of Sanctuary after humans summoned demons from the Burning Hells to Sanctuary, to learn their powers and use the demons to conquer the world. Sensing their partial demonic heritage, Mephisto planned to enslave the human race and use them as an army to tip the scales against the High Heavens in the Eternal Conflict. To achieve this, Mephisto created the cult of the Triune, masquerading himself as the benevolent Spirit of Love, Mephis, with Diablo being the Spirit of Determination, Dialon, and Baal being the Spirit of Creation, Bala. During the Sin War, the nephalem, Uldyssian and his fellow Edyrem, brought down the cult and its leaders, Mephisto's children, Lilith and Lucion. At the end of the Sin War, Sanctuary was discovered by the High Heavens, and Uldyssian sacrificed himself to prevent Sanctuary's destruction and removed the powers of the nephalem. Mephisto then met with the Angiris Council to sign an agreement, swearing that Sanctuary would stay neutral ground and to let humanity decide their own fate without any interference from either side. Shortly after, a truce between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells was reached.

Of course Mephisto never intended to uphold the agreement and kept working on his plan to invade Sanctuary and sway humanity to the Burning Hells' side. The Lesser Evils - Andariel, Duriel, Belial and Azmodan - who wanted to uphold the truce, however, grew sick and tired of Mephisto's schemes and led a rebellion that ended with the banishment of the Prime Evils to Sanctuary. As the Three Prime Evils appeared on Sanctuary, they were weak and roamed the world for forty years, spreading terror, destruction and hatred wherever they went. Eventually however, the Horadrim, a united order of mages created by Tyrael, hunted them down and imprisoned the Prime Evils within soulstones. Mephisto was the first to be captured and then taken to the city of Kurast, where the Zakarum church was entrusted with guarding him. However, this was part of Mephisto's plan. Within his prison, he worked to spread hatred and prejudice into the Zakarum faith, transforming the priesthood into his unwitting servants. Mephisto eventually sent Archbishop Lazarus to Khanduras to corrupt King Leoric and awaken Diablo, placing the pieces for all three brothers to return.

Freed from their prisons, the Dark Wanderer (possessed by Diablo) and Baal arrived at the temple of Zakarum and freed Mephisto from the soulstone. Diablo then returned to Hell to rally those still loyal to the Prime Evils, while Baal journeyed north to corrupt the Worldstone, to combine their forces into an army that would enslave all life on Sanctuary and burn the Heavens. Mephisto stayed at the temple, but was shortly after defeated by a group of mortals, amongst them Cassia and Xul, who were pursuing Diablo. Mephisto was returned to his prison, and his soulstone was then taken to the Hellforge, where it was destroyed, sending Mephisto's soul to the Black Abyss.

Suds

One night, SpongeBob has a dream about the sky raining Krabby Patties and realizes that he is hungry. He gets up to make himself a Sea-Nut Butter and jellyfish jelly sandwich, but falls asleep after taking the first bite and leaves the refrigerator open, causing his entire house to freeze overnight. By morning, he develops the suds, an illness that causes him to sneeze bubbles. Gary tells SpongeBob he should stay home, but SpongeBob stubbornly denies being sick and goes to work, anyway. However, SpongeBob is unable to keep up with his work and when Mr. Krabs learns from Gary that SpongeBob has the suds, he orders his fry cook to go home and rest and that he doesn't want him sneezing all over his food, which causes chaos at the restaurant and the customers leave.

Back at home, SpongeBob decides he needs help and calls upon Sandy to take him to the doctor. Shortly after, he is visited by Patrick, who gives him a third-hand account of the doctor's office, describing it as a horrible place full of torture devices and outdated magazines. Terrified, SpongeBob asks Patrick to be his doctor instead. "Doctor" Patrick starts by plugging up all of SpongeBob's holes to prevent bubbles from coming out, causing SpongeBob to inflate every time he sneezes.

After several more "treatments," Sandy arrives at the house and Patrick tries to hide SpongeBob to no avail. Sandy says that SpongeBob needs to see a real doctor, but Patrick assures her that his "patient" is fine, leading to a squabble. In the commotion SpongeBob is sent bouncing away and comes to a stop in front of the Krusty Krab. He sneezes violently, blasting the corks out of his holes and releasing a massive amount of bubbles, destroying the restaurant, much to Mr. Krabs' annoyance.

Sandy then takes SpongeBob to a real doctor, who prescribes the "sponge treatment," which is performed by a human hand named Hans. The treatment involves being rinsed with soap and used to scrub various objects and people, which SpongeBob enjoys greatly. In the aftermath, SpongeBob is cured and receives a giant lollipop. Wanting a lollipop of his own, Patrick pretends to also have the suds by blowing a bubble with SpongeBob's bubble jar to prove it, but the doctor is not fooled and sarcastically assures his "fellow doctor" that they have a "special treatment" awaiting him. Hans returns and uses Patrick to wash dishes in the sink (the same sink that Hans used for SpongeBob), clean a cactus, and a toilet, as punishment for telling SpongeBob about the doctor being horrible and worsening SpongeBob's illness by impersonating a doctor. Patrick ends the episode exclaiming "Wait! This doesn't seem right!"

Richie's Crew Adventure Chronicles

Conclusion: "The Pulverization of the Richie Crew"

リッチー一味冒険記最終話「リッチー一味粉砕」

Oda Eiichiro

I'm getting more and more letters with Tare Panda envelopes. Seems popular. But did you know if you look reeeally closely, that panda is actually droopy!!

貰う手紙に“たれぱんだ”の封筒が増えてる。流行りだ。でもよーく見るとあのパンダ、たれてるぞ!!

Chapter 64