Last week we introduced a whole new colorful cast with all the participants in Doflamingo’s big coliseum. And let’s not forget what’s on the line: The Mera Mera no Mi. Ace’s old devil fruit grew somewhere and then Doflamingo got his hands on it. Luffy of course doesn’t want this fruit to go to the wrong person and there are plenty of shady people in the arena, so it’s up to him to figure out how to get his own hands on this treasure.
Let’s start with Sanji though. One thing that I wish Oda did less of is allow his unbearable womanizing to keep paying off in some way. I know that Violet is actually not a bad person, and she shows us that in this chapter, but Sanji has no real way of knowing this. He just believes her because she’s a woman who is in tears. As much as her pain might be real, the tears she showed Sanji were most definitely fake as she was still playing her role. She wouldn’t have led him into a trap otherwise. He simply got lucky that she decided to turn tail and warn him due to him believing her so seriously, but one day this will backfire. We now learn what we already expected. Doflamingo never truly stepped down from the warlords and as king of Dressrosa, but he made a deal with the navy to make it seem like he did. They really are his lap dogs, aren’t they. It must be pretty high up knowing that even an admiral like Fujitora had no idea what was happening. Either way, the plan is in jeopardy and Law needs to get the hell out of there.
A few things are happening all at once here. Law, Fujitora and Doflamingo clash while Usopp and Robin spend time with the Tontatta, the small folk living on Greenbit. THey’re planning an attack on Doflamingo. Nami, Brook and Chopper are being attacked by Giolla who has weird artsy powers and while all this is happening in the background, Franky is taking a stroll through the streets as he makes his way to the toy factory that he’s planning to destroy.
Back in the coliseum, we slowly start to weed out the less important characters. Hajrudin gets taken out by Luffy and we take a moment to focus on Don Chin Jao, Boo and Sai, who are from a crime family in the east. Things escalate quickly and we move down to a top four of Ideo, Sai, Chin Jao and Luffy. Sai and Ideo get walloped to the side by Luffy and Chin Jao respectively and we prepare for the final clash between the two surviving competitors. We learn more about Chin Jao’s backstory as well. He was once a fearsome pirate who hid his treasure in thick ice. When he clashed with Garp, his pointy head got dented – like your average League of Legends player – and he could no longer get to his treasure. He gave up the pirating life and cursed Garp’s family for generations. During their clash, Luffy punches his dent so hard it jumps back up and he’s back to his former glory. He does lose the fight to Luffy who advances to the final.
Meanwhile Zoro, Franky, Usopp and Robin have all joined up with the talking soldier and the tontatta army. Franky has also learned about the dark secret of the island. A person named Sugar has the terrifying power to turn people into toys. The people are then completely forgotten about, which is how this dual society is created. Your toy dog that talks might have been your father at some point and you have no idea. Out of all the devil fruit powers introduced in this story, it’s probably one of the most terrifying there is. Doflamingo has a hell of a subordinate, and this has all been going on for a decade already. Now is the time to fight back.
One person who’s been under Doflamingo’s cruel rule for a long time is Rebecca. She tries to kill Luffy but fails miserably, crying afterwards. Luffy is much more perceptive and smart than he seems and quickly figures out she is just backed into a corner. That or the fact that she gave him food is more important than his life, it’s hard to say. We learn that she has been working with former Riku army soldiers, who get their freedom after 1000 fight wins. They all look miserable missing limbs. Rebecca herself has had a rough time of it too. She was living peacefully with her mother until things went horribly wrong in the kingdom. One day, a one-legged toy soldier appeared with the corpse of her mother, saying he couldn’t save her. She hates him at first but he takes good care of her and she quickly comes to see him as a father figure. Foreshadowing is a narrative tool that….
Rebecca is then revealed to be the granddaughter of the previous king of Dressrosa as she gets ready to fight in Block D of the coliseum.
Opal Kaharis 