One Piece episode 1043: Brook encounters his old friends, Robin battles Black Maria, and Luffy starts recovering

One Piece episode 1043, titled Slash the Nightmare - Brook Draws his Freezing Sword, continues the Straw Hat Pirates' war in Wano against Kaido and his Animal Kingdom Pirates. This episode focuses on Brook, an underrated member of Luffy's crew who finds a way to shine in battle.

Beginning with Chopper, Jinbe, Robin, and now Brook, the Wano arc has graciously portrayed each member of the Straw Hat Pirates, highlighting their distinct strengths and motivations. They have all done an excellent job of carrying on the fight despite the absence of two of the strongest members, Zoro and Luffy.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the One Piece anime.

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Brook and Robin steal the show while Luffy recovers his health in One Piece episode 1043

Brook gets a taste of the Illusion Mist

Brook, as seen in One Piece episode 1043 (Image via Toei Animation)

While being pursued by Black Maria in One Piece episode 1043, Brook admits that the Illusion Mist is a cruel weapon to use. He sees his former captain, Yorky from the Rumbar Pirates, while under the influence of the Illusion Mist. His crewmates and Laboon appear to be singing and playing musical instruments when Brooke joins them to play the piano and violin. At this point, Captain Yorky, who is one of Black Maria's subordinates, attempts to attack him but is stopped.

Brook claims that while sailing in the mist for fifty years, he wished that his friends' deaths were only a dream. He used to have hallucinations daily and would be upset whenever he regained his senses. He grieves as he comments that he has to witness their deaths again, which is why the Illusion Mist is so cruel. After this, Brook uses Cold Soul, followed by Soul Parade, to freeze the Animal Kingdom pirate Wanyudo and the burning castle.

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Robin vs Black Maria

Robin's Gigante Fleur as seen in One Piece episode 1043 (Image via Toei Animation)

In One Piece episode 1043, Black Maria tries to emotionally manipulate Robin by convincing her that Sanji betrayed her. She claims that because the Straw Hats' archeologist is wanted by powerful people all over the world, she has become a burden to the crew. Brook is amused by the idea and entrusts Black Maria to Robin while he deals with her subordinates.

The latter creates a giant version of herself with many limbs using her Devil Fruit abilities. However, Black Maria begins slashing the limbs with her blades and trapping Robin in webs, which causes physical damage to the latter.

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Luffy gets some of his strength back

Luffy as seen in One Piece episode 1043 (Image via Toei Animation)

Meanwhile, in One Piece episode 1043, Luffy has finished the Heart Pirates' supplies but continues to demand more meat. Momonosuke and Shinobou, who are nearby, hear him yell and rush over to him.

The former breaks down and tells Luffy how Kaido brutally defeated Kiku and Kin'emon. Luffy tells him to save his crying for later and to act like the future Shogun of Wano. He claims that their fight will not be over until Kaido is defeated.

He then starts demanding meat again, leaving the Heart Pirates perplexed about where they can get him more food. However, Caribou, who needs Luffy to win in order to leave the island, arrives bearing a massive amount of meat and other food items.

The episode concludes with Luffy requesting that Momonosuke transform into a dragon and fly him up to Onigashima to defeat Kaido.

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A short summary of the previous episode

Robin as a little girl (Image via Toei Animation)

The ongoing battles between the Straw Hat Pirates and the Animal Kingdom Pirates were the focus of One Piece episode 1042. This included Yamato, who had been valiantly resisting the formidable Kaido until Luffy healed and returned to fight, and Franky, who discovered Sasaki's weakness was his stomach.

The previous episode also focused on Robin, who appeared to be trapped in her memories due to Black Maria's Illusion Mist. However, she quickly proved this was not the case and easily defeated Black Maria's subordinates disguised as Saul, Dr. Clover, and Robin's mother, Olivia.