Short Summary
Main Summary
The story opens up with Koby now working at the Shell Town Marine base, along with Helmeppo. The two are now chore boys, which means doing the base's cleaning and such. While Helmeppo hopes to get revenge on Luffy, Koby befriends Rika. The two are then stationed on a Marine ship that will take the imprisoned and disgraced Axe-Hand Morgan to another ship which will take him to prison.During the transfer, Morgan attacks Vice-Admiral Garp, head of the transfer ship, and takes Helmeppo hostage for a boat. Garp's men prepare to fire a cannon at Morgan's dinghy, but Koby interferes, not wanting them to hurt his new friend. Vice-Admiral Garp then shatters the cannon and admits that Morgan got him because he was sleeping. Meanwhile, Helmeppo calls his father out on taking him hostage, escapes, and returns to the ship. The two chore boys prepare to face punishment for inadvertently letting Morgan escape, but Garp decides to take them under his wing.
Back at Shell Town, Rika learns what happened to her friends and is not happy. The two chore boys are taken to Marine Headquarters and put into training.
Koby and Helmeppo's Chronicle of Toil has the following tropes:
- Adaptation Expansion: One of the only cover stories to get animated. A shame they stopped them after this...
- Adaptation Induced Plothole: The anime sees the Straw Hats find out Coby and Helmeppo crossed into the Grand Line through Reverse Mountain, the same as they did. Much later, it turns out Marine ships put sea stone on their ships' hulls to safely pass through the Calm Belt wherever they want, so the Marine Cadets never used that route. Likewise, Luffy has no reaction to finding out that his grandfather is training his friend — because that plot twist was still several years off.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Helmeppo starts to become a better person then the Spoiled Brat he was introduced as, and even gains a drive of his own, in thanks to his friendship with Koby, especially after Koby risks his future at the Marines to save him.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Helmeppo lets his father know what he thinks of being used as a hostage. In the anime he also declares that, once he becomes a strong Marine, he will hunt Morgan down and arrest him.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Vice-Admiral Garp first shows up here, taking on Koby and Helmeppo as personal trainees. He becomes just as, if not more, prominent than his proteges when he makes his official appearance much later.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Since this is long before we knew anything about Garp other than that he was a high-ranking hero of the Marines, some of the expansions the anime made on his character don't fit any more. Most notably, the anime tried to say that Garp was caught sleeping because he had been on a five-day donut eating binge. Turns out, it's a familial trait.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Predictably, Helmeppo is the only one who gives a crap that Morgan will probably be sentenced to death. More pronounced in the anime, where he tearfully tries to reconcile this with Morgan's Social Darwinist philosophy.
- Grew a Spine: After being taken captive by Morgan so he can escape from the prison transfer Helmeppo stands up for himself and calls his father out on what he's done.
- Heel–Face Turn: While he could've went with Morgan once he escaped. Helmeppo decided to stay with Koby and the Marines, especially since Morgan practically tried to used him as a hostage.
- Secret-Keeper: In the anime adaptation Garp overhears Koby discussing his friendship with Luffy which as a Marine is something he could have reported. However after a Secret Test of Character Garp reveals that he never had any intention of telling anyone and decides to keep Koby's secret.
- Secret Test of Character: In the anime Garp performs one on Koby and Helmeppo to see if they really have the determination to be Marine's by threatening to reveal Koby's past acquaintance with Luffy unless they can beat him. While the young recruits are obviously no match against a seasoned veteran Garp is impressed with their tenacity and decides to directly take them under his wing to make them strong.
- Shoot the Hostage: Even after Morgan escaped with Helmeppo on board a dinghy the Marines decide to open fire with on them reasoning that the life of one chore boy is negligible compared to the danger Morgan possess. Fortunately Koby stops that from happening by jumping in front of the cannon and (in the manga) holding the Marine's at gunpoint to save his friend.
- Training from Hell: The end of the arc shows Koby and Helmeppo working hard in order to become strong Marines, which involves training even during sleeping hours.
- What You Are in the Dark: Helmeppo could have easily decided to stay with Morgan and through him regain something of the cushy life he lost with Morgan's defeat. However because of his disgust against his father holding him hostage, and in the anime being inspired by Koby's bravery and declaration of friendship, Helmeppo calls his father out and leaves him, returning to the much harder life of a Marine.
