WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1015, by Eiichiro Oda, available in English via Shueisha's official site and through Viz Media.
Chapter 1015 of One Piece picks up in the aftermath of Kaido's proclamation that Luffy has been defeated in battle and is now sinking to the bottom of the sea. Kaido is now on the hunt for Momonosuke, but Kin'emon attempts to fend him off long enough for Shinobi to escape with the young boy, who seems to be hearing a new voice in his head. Nami and Usopp have been saved by Captain Kid and try take Tama to safety after being struck by Ulti. Ulti, in turn, has been taken out by Big Mom for hitting the child. Chopper is struggling in his fight against Queen, with Perospero firing wave after wave of arrows. Sanji tried his best to mend Zolo's injuries, and is now carrying him through the battlefield until he can get to Chopper for proper treatment. With Luffy's fall, so too has the morale of everyone on the battlefield.
The chapter opens with Chopper and the others in the midst of battle, but things are beginning to look grim for the Straw Hats. With the announcement of Luffy's defeat at the hands of Kaido, hope begins to wane and the opposition starts gaining the upper-hand. "So is it pointless to keep fighting?!" someone asks. Chopper lets his emotions get the better of him, creating an opening for Queen and Perospero. Queen reveals that he hasn't been using his full strength against Chopper, saying that he just wanted to play games. Now, playtime is over, and he goes all in, bringing Chopper to his knees. Perospero unleashes a volley of arrows on the samurai, while Queen prepares to finish Chopper off with one last chomp. There's nowhere for the samurai to run, and it looks like Perospero's arrows might take them all out.
One Straw Hat hasn't let the news get to him, and Sanji manages to deflect Queen's bite attack with a Rotisserie Strike. The kick is strong enough to send Queen spinning, which in turn deflects the arrows before they reach the samurai. Sanji compliments Chopper on how well he fought, but Chopper's heart is shattered at the loss of his captain. Sanji chastises him, asking, "After all this time we've been together, how many miracles have you seen?" This seems to strike a chord with Chopper. The chef hands Zolo over to Chopper for proper medical treatment and makes a quip about Zolo having the strength of ten when fully healed, though the swordsman quickly corrects this as two thousand. Sanji steps up to the plate to face off against Queen, who recognizes him as Judge's son.
Meanwhile, Kaido is looms over a wounded Kin'emon, who tries to fend off the warlord while Shinobi escapes with Momonosuke. He reminisces about his relationship with the young boy as Kaido plunges his blade into the retainer's weakened body. Kaido then turns to follow Shinobi and Momonosuke. What nobody has realized is that Momonosuke was able to grab one of the Marys, a small frog. He uses it to announce that he is Kozuki Momonosuke, and that he has a message from Luffy. He states Luffy is alive and that he intends to return to battle. He urges everyone to keep fighting and not give up hope. Luffy is seen sinking in the sea, but he sends a mental message to the young lord that he's going to beat Kaido. Momonosuke's message has reinvigorated the fighters, breathing new life into their efforts. Kaido manages to catch up to Shinobi and Momo, and just as he lunges at them with his club, Shinobi is able to break the cliff they're standing on.
As his message reaches everyone, Luffy is discovered by the Heart Pirates in their submarine. They scramble to save the Straw Hat captain, wondering if he's even alive. Big Mom scoffs at Luffy's encouragement, claiming that it's just a bluff by Momo in an attempt to keep morale high. As Nami, Usopp, and Tama flee, Nami's Climate Baton seems to suddenly have the ability to speak, saying that it's glad that Luffy is still alive. It also has a face that closely resembles that of the fallen Zeus, who died protecting them from Big Mom and whose soul was fed to Hera.
The chapter comes to a close with Trafalgar approaching Kid, who thinks Trafalgar just wants to interfere with the fight, and offers an alliance with him against Big Mom. Yamato confronts Kaido, calling him by his name. He corrects him, but Yamato proclaims that he intends to cut those chains, implying he intends to fight his father to the death in Luffy's absence.
One Piece Chapter 1016 will release on June 14 through Viz Media.
