Punked!

Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hats have finally made their way into the New World, where the crew lands on a mysterious island covered in fire and ice—Punk Hazard! There they learn about Caesar Clown, the rogue scientist who is conducting illegal human experiments. But that's not their only concern—both Vice-Admiral Smoker and Trafalgar Law are also there. What'll happen when all these disparate forces clash?

The Doctor Is In...

The Straw Hats are all mixed up! And no, I'm not just talking about how Trafalgar Law switched up their minds and bodies with his Op-Op fruit power.

Law has a proposition for Luffy, one that calls for an alliance between the two pirates who are a part of what is known as the worst generation. Since the two are considered rivals in that both are striving to become the King of Pirates, logic dictates that this alliance should be a no-no. But, Luffy being Luffy, he spontaneously decides to agree with the proposition!

And his crew's reaction to his agreement is priceless! Just check out their facial expressions below...

Now that the two crews join forces, Law quickly learns that dealing with Luffy is a bit...difficult. Instead of going ahead with their plans, he reluctantly agrees to help the Straw Hats save a group of drugged-out kids. Apparently, the diabolical Caesar Clown has been experimenting on kids with "forced gigantism" in hopes of manufacturing an unstoppable army of giants. To do so, Caesar feeds the children a highly addictive drug he calls "candy," which alters their body radically, forcing them to grow exponentially.

I Want Candy

At this point, the kids themselves all crave candy to keep the pain away, not realizing the dangers they are exposing their bodies to. Though Luffy and friends want to save them, they'll have to also deal with the fallout of the drug's addiction. Half-crazed, the children all want candy badly, to the point where they'll even attack those who are willing to help them.

And of course, since their judgments are clouded, they all view Caesar as their master who can bring them relief from their pain.

But that's not all that Caesar has been up to for the duration of his residency at Punk Hazard. Four years ago, Punk Hazard was covered with toxic gas. Though most think Caesar saved the island by purifying the gas, the truth is he took the gas, altered and compressed its form into that of a monster simply known as Slime!

Smokin' Hot

As if battling a deranged scientist and a gaggle of crazy kids isn't enough, the Staw Hats also have to deal with Vice-Admiral Smoker, who followed the Straw Hats to the island. But Smoker and his crew get thrown for a loop by Trafalgar Law, who switches the minds and bodies of Smoker and the captain under his command, Tashigi! Though Luffy runs into Smoker and is itching to fight him, he'd much rather wait to duke it out when Smoker's back to normal. Besides, he's got a samurai to pull back together, a group of kids to save, and an emperor to take down with Law. Phew!

Can the Straw Hats successfully rescue and cure the drug-addled kids? Is their alliance with Law a good thing? Will Caesar Clown slime everyone?! The action's getting crazier and crazier with this release of One Piece. Don't miss out!

One Piece volume 68 is available from VIZ.com!

by Sean Baylor