Chapter 1173 Summary
Short Summary:
Zoro attacks several of the demon Giant Warrior Pirates from above and gets Dorry and Brogy to accidentally strike each other. Meanwhile, Brook calls out to Gunko, whom he recognizes as the spitting image of a princess he once knew named Shuri. This triggers Gunko's repressed memories and causes her arrows to loosen, forcing Imu to fight to maintain possession of her. Nearby, Sommers has almost brought the Walrus School children to an escape ship when the children's parents arrive to rescue them. A Nika MMA comes and attacks, but is brought down by Gerd, Goldberg, and Road, destroying the ship in the process.
Detailed Summary
The demonized Giants prepare to fight and kill Jarul while the latter laments what happened to Dorry and Brogy. Hajrudin asks Zoro what his plan is, but Zoro first asks Hajrudin if it is okay for him to cut down the Giants. Hajrudin admits their current opponents are all members of the Giant Warrior Pirates, and both he and Stansen respect them immensely, so even though protecting Jarul is the goal, they do feel conflicted about striking them down. However, two of the demonized Giants spot Hajrudin and Stansen and mock them for their dream of uniting all giant-kind, which enrages the both of them to the point that they allow Zoro to cut loose. With that, Zoro jumps into the air, the two of them realizing that his plan was to stay above them as much as he can to avoid getting stuck between them and demonized, a plan they admit is very clever. The two move to flank the demonized Giants as Zoro jumps off their heads and high into the air, where he unleashes a powerful attack that cuts them all up. Dorry and Brogy then try to get between Zoro but he manages to get out of the air while the two co-captains end up slashing each other, to everyone's shock.
Brook meanwhile, manages to crawl all the way to where Gunko, still possessed by Imu, is, and when he reaches her, he calls her "Princess Shuri". Imu turns to face Brook as he reasons Gunko is not the same person he is thinking of, instead believing Gunko is related to Shuri, and figuring if she were still alive, she would have to be around eighty years old, and even then she would not have been able to recognize him since he is a skeleton now, but despite that, she has all the physical traits of Shuri; her hair color, mismatched eyes color, connection to Mary Geoise, and love of Brook's music match Brook's description. Brook then gets angry and yells that he never wanted to remember her, calling her the "Father-Killing Princess" who took the life of the man that Brook was indebted to. Brooks words, though, cause Gunko to break free of Imu's influence, and she quickly yells at Brook to run away as she loosens the arrows he is wrapped in. Brook manages to escape the arrows before Imu reassures dominance, which causes the arrows to tighten around Brook's leg. Brook ask why Gunko told him to run since he came to settle the score with her, and demands to know who exactly is she. Imu, however, attacks Brook, who protects himself with a shield, as the former demands to know what his connection to Gunko is.
Back with the Straw Hats, Usopp, Nami, and Jinbe manage to escape Gunko's arrows as well when she briefly regained control. They try to free Robin but are unable to due to Sommers's thorns, but she tells them to forget about her and save the children, just as Sanji arrives on the scene. As for the captive children, Colon angrily tells Sommers he will regret invading Elbaph because the Giants are strong, only for Sommers to point out that their strength is what they want. The kids continue to try and pick a fight but Sommers ignores them, just as they finally reach the ship the knights plan on using to escape to the Holy Land. The children beg to be freed as Sommers contacts Imu and Killingham to inform them that the mission is almost complete and if there is anything else he needs to do.
Sommers then hears the Giants led by Ripley charging from behind, to his annoyance since he thought the MMAs were keeping them at bay. Just then, a Nika MMA blocks the Giants, but the warriors, mainly comprised of the children's parents, are unafraid of it and attack it. Goldberg, Gerd, and Road see the attacking MMA and realize they cannot get there in time to help, so they decide to attack it from afar, with all three of them unleashing a powerful attack that blasts a hole through it and causing it to fall on top of Sommers. Sommers uses his spiked club to deflect it away, but to his misfortune, he accidentally knocks it onto the ship, which completely destroys it, and leaving Sommers with a look of horror on his face.
