Whiskey Peak Arc

The Whiskey Peak Arc is the eighth story arc of the anime and manga series, One Piece, and is the second arc in the Alabasta Saga. With a Log Pose now in hand, the Straw Hat Pirates are directed toward Whiskey Peak, a town that welcomes pirates with open arms and treats them like celebrities. Obviously, it is too good to be true and the island's residents soon show their true colors. What is more, an even bigger surprise is about to be uncovered. Whiskey Peak is on the first island that the Straw Hat Pirates encounter on the Grand Line. The arc begins with the Straw Hat crew out in the ocean on the starting leg of the Grand Line. They are quickly introduced to the abnormality of the place, as they experience first-hand the ever-changing weather, the shifting of the winds, and the tides constantly keeping the crew (save for Zoro who sleeps through the whole thing) on their toes. Eventually, the weather stabilizes and the crew spot an island on the horizon, the cactus town Whiskey Peak. Once there, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday thank the crew and jump ship, much to the crew's confusion. Since the Log Pose needs time to reset, the crew have no choice but to dock at the mysterious island. Much to their surprise, the residents welcome them as if they are heroes. Soon they meet the town's leader, Igarappoi, who treats them to a party. The crew quickly takes to the place, eating, drinking, and flirting (in Sanji and Usopp's case) into the night, until eventually they all fell asleep. However, Igarappoi, as well as a few other operatives in disguise, turn out to be agents of the elusive Baroque Works criminal syndicate, but both Zoro and Nami had faked passing out, thwarting their surprise attack. This syndicate operates only with the assignments that are delegated to its agents by the leader, who, like every other member with number agent status, remains secret and anonymous. When the town bounty hunters (aka Millions) are discovered, they hunt and attempt to murder Zoro who, without much effort, picks them off little by little, leaving an anxious Mr. 8, Mr. 9, Miss Monday, and Miss Wednesday to be dealt with. Zoro is then ambushed again by other bounty hunters when Miss Monday throws barrels at the pirate. Zoro slices it up and continues to fight the Baroque Works agents, until Miss Monday swings a ladder in his direction. Zoro manages to dodge the ladder, but is caught and punched by Miss Monday. Zoro then defeats her by clamping his palm on her head with brute force.

After the defeat of Miss Monday, Zoro is faced by Mr. 8, Mr. 9, and Miss Wednesday. Miss Wednesday summons Carue as Zoro is chased by Mr. 9. Zoro engages with him and defeats him with ease. Miss Wednesday then tries to hypnotize Zoro, and attacks him after that. Fortunately for Zoro, her attack misses because of Carue going the wrong way. After escaping Mr. 8, Zoro is found by Mr. 9, who seals Zoro's left arm using an iron wire. Miss Wednesday then shows up holding Luffy hostage, but is then hit by a defeated Mr. 9, after Zoro uses him as a shield for Mr. 8's attack. Zoro then brings the final hit on Mr. 8, defeating him. Soon after, Mr. 5 and his lady partner Miss Valentine arrive, but are not present to aid the other, less capable agents of the organization. They reveal that the leader of Baroque Works (Mr. 0) has discovered a spy, who has somehow successfully infiltrated its ranks, and that they have been sent to dispatch them. The spies are none other than Igaram (Mr. 8, who used the alias Igarappoi as the town's leader) and Princess Nefeltari Vivi (Ms. Wednesday) of the Alabasta kingdom. Mr. 9 and Ms. Monday, despite being rather unaware of the situation to their own admission, decide to hold off the Mr. 5 pair so that Vivi can escape, but are quickly defeated. In a twist of fate, the pirates that Vivi was meant to kill in her role as a double-agent are now her protectors, when Igaram promises Nami Beli1,000,000,000 to ensure her safety back to Alabasta. When Zoro comes to Vivi's rescue, however, Luffy arrives at the scene and attacks him,[6] under the assumption Zoro killed everyone in the town because they did not make his favorite food. After fighting for a bit, they unintentionally defeat the Mr. 5 pair and stop fighting when they are hit by Nami. At this point, Vivi explains that her kingdom is being ruined by a civil war started by Baroque Works, and if she can confront the rebel army with the information on the true cause of the war, she can end it. The leader of Baroque Works, according to her, wants to take over Alabasta and turn it into an "ideal nation" ruled by him, and she reveals the name of the leader - Crocodile of the Shichibukai. Unfortunately, by revealing his name, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami are added to the Baroque Works hit list by the nearby Mr. 13, causing Nami to throttle her. Afterwards, Igaram appears dressed as Vivi and explains that he will act as a decoy. He departs from Whiskey Peak, only to have his ship be blown up as soon as he leaves, apparently killing him. The Straw Hats and Vivi run to the Going Merry only to find Miss All Sunday, the highest ranking female Baroque Works agent, waiting for them. As it turns out, she was the one who let Vivi find out the boss's identity, yet she was also the one who revealed that she and Igaram were double-agents and blew up the ship, so the crew is not sure whose side she is on. Ms. All Sunday gives them an Eternal Pose (a permanent Log Pose) to Nanimonai Island, which is supposedly very close to Alabasta, but Luffy destroys it, claiming that she does not decide their course. As Ms. All Sunday leaves, the crew leave for Little Garden, the next island of the Grand Line.