Chapters · Alabasta › Drum Island
Chapter 135: Lapins
This chapter's foreshadowing ledger — what it plants, what it pays off, and what debuts here. Locked seeds pay off beyond your ⚓ progress; tap one to reveal it anyway.
- Plants
- 7 seeds🌱 name-etymology🌱 combat-grammar-install🌱 thematic-contrast-install🌱 tech-axis-install🌱 character-install🌱 negative-space🌱 bystander-articulation
- Firsts
- **Chapter title — *Chapter 135: LAPINS*** (page 1). The title is the on-page name for the **giant snow-rabbit predators** the Straw Hats encounter on Drum Island's mountainside. The title-as-creature-name grammar (the chapter named after the arc's introductory environmental threat rather than a thematic figure) installs the *Lapins* (French for *rabbits*) as the snow-country's **apex pack-predator**. First on-page Drum Island wildlife — pre-loads the *hostile-island-ecosystem-as-arc-gatekeeper* register: the Straw Hats must survive the local megafauna before they reach civilization (cf. Little Garden's dinosaurs).
- ***Lapins* identified on-page** (pages 4-6). The white furry mountain creatures the party first mistakes for *gorillas*, then *rabbits*, then *polar bears* (page 5) are canonized by Sanji as **Lapins** — *'They must be Lapins! Those things Dalton told us about!!!'* (page 5). They are giant, white, snow-adapted, move at terrifying speed (*'Did you see that move!!?'*), travel in large packs (*'CRAP! There's a lot of 'em!!'*), and are explicitly **well-adapted to the snow country** giving the Straw Hats a terrain disadvantage (page 6). First on-page named Drum Island fauna; first reference to off-page exposition Dalton gave the crew about the island.
- **Drum Island is a kingdom that has lost its doctors** (pages 2-3). Dalton's traveling party (the bighorn-ram-sled riders) discuss the lone doctor: *'I got word that the doctor had come down from the mountain yesterday... so I didn't think she'd come again so soon!!'* / *'If the doctor's here in Cocoaweed... we'll just have to ask her to return to her castle.'* / *'If only this country had more doctors.'* First on-page articulation that Drum Island has **exactly one doctor left** — a woman who lives in a castle on the mountain. Pre-loads the entire Drum Island arc-premise (a former kingdom of doctors, now medically destitute) and the off-page identity of Doctor Kureha (*Doctorine*).
- **Dalton named and shown as the people's protector** (pages 2-3, 16-17). Dalton leads the ram-sled rescue party, is repeatedly reassured by the villagers (*'It's okay! It wasn't your fault!!'* / *'There's no need to apologize, Dalton!'*), and at chapter's end is the man the panicked villagers run to for protection (*'Dalton, please save us!! We need your strength!!'*). First substantial on-page Dalton characterization: he is the de-facto authority and protector-figure of the Drum villages.
- **Wapol named and shown returning to reclaim Drum Kingdom** (pages 11-17). The submersible warship that *'suddenly appeared out of the sea'* (page 17) carries the deposed king. Wapol (page 13): *'I'm no longer a pirate!! I am a king once again!!'* / *'Then on to the castle!! My dear castle!!!'* He has been at sea as a pirate and is now landing to retake the throne. First on-page Wapol — the deposed tyrant-king of Drum, returning. He also vows revenge on the Straw Hats (page 14): *'I won't forget what they did to me!! How I suffered!!! ... Those Straw Hats are in my kingdom!!? ... Kill them all!!!'* — establishing he has a prior off-page grudge against the crew.
- **Chess and Kuromarimo named — Wapol's two surviving officers** (page 15). Caption-boxes formally introduce **Chess — *Former Drum Kingdom Evil Chief-of-Staff*** (the slim archer-figure, holding a bow) and **Kuromarimo — *Former Drum Kingdom Evil Magistrate*** (the burly afro-figure with pom-poms). They report to Wapol on the Straw Hats' tracks (*'Upon inspection of the footprints leading from the ship... We believe they headed for Bighorn'*). First on-page Wapol Pirates officer roster.
- **Robson — Wapol's bighorn-hippo mount** (page 13). Wapol rides a large white-and-black hippo-like beast formally captioned **Robson White Walky (alias Wooly Hippo)**. Wapol speaks to it gently (*'Are you still upset...? Because I killed your brothers!!? There, there...'*) — establishing Wapol both as an animal-eating tyrant and as sentimentally attached to this one mount. First on-page Robson appearance.
- **Wapol's warship is a submersible** (pages 11, 17). The vessel that lands Wapol on Drum *'suddenly appeared out of the sea'* — an underwater-capable pirate warship with paddlewheels. First on-page submersible warship in the series; pre-loads the broader *underwater-vessel* tech-axis.
- **Three Drum villages named — Cocoaweed, Bighorn, Gyasta** (pages 3, 4, 15). Cocoaweed (the lakeside store-town where the doctor was last seen, signposted alongside Bighorn at a crossroads, page 3), Bighorn (the town the Straw Hats and Wapol are both converging on, page 15), and Gyasta (*'a lakeside town just north of here... They like to ice skate there'*, page 16) — the doctor's reported destination. First on-page Drum Island town-geography.
- **Sanji cannot fight properly in deep snow** (pages 6-8). Sanji repeatedly fails his kicks in the snow: *'Crap! I can't even do a decent kick... with all this snow around my feet.'* (page 8). First on-page terrain-disadvantage beat for Sanji — his kick-based fighting style is environment-dependent.
- **Sanji forbids Luffy from fighting the Lapins — to protect Nami** (pages 6-7). Sanji: *'Listen, Luffy, don't try to fight them!! ...If you mix it up with them... every blow you give or take... will be felt by Nami!! I'm serious. She'll die.'* Luffy agrees (*'I won't fight!!'*). First on-page articulation that Nami (carried, gravely ill) cannot survive the shock of combat — establishes the *carry-the-dying-navigator-to-the-doctor* arc-stakes.
- **Wapol's *unchanging, ever-beautiful nature* register** (pages 12-13). Landing back on Drum, Wapol rapturously declares the landscape *'Unchanging, ever-beautiful nature!!!'* and *'It hasn't changed.'* — a tyrant who aestheticizes the kingdom he abandoned/ruined. First on-page Wapol-sentimentality beat, contrasting his cruelty with a nostalgic attachment to Drum.
Arc: Drum Island · Saga: Alabasta · Volume: 15
Summary
Cover-art opens the chapter (p. 1): Django’s Dance Paradise, Vol. 8 — Django rows up to Mirror-Ball Island, “the East Blue’s most popular destination,” a disco-themed resort island with a FUNKY! dome.
On Drum Island (p. 2), Dalton leads a rescue party of villagers riding bighorn-ram-pulled sleds (KLOP KLOP KLOP) across the snow. Dalton apologizes — he heard the island’s lone doctor had come down from the mountain yesterday and so didn’t expect her back so soon; the villagers reassure him (“It’s okay! It wasn’t your fault!!”). They reason that if the doctor is in Cocoaweed, they will simply ask her to return to her mountain castle (pp. 2-3). Dalton laments: “If only this country had more doctors.” — establishing Drum as a medically destitute land with one doctor left.
Cut to the Straw Hats (pp. 4-6): Sanji carries the gravely ill Nami on his back and Luffy carries the supplies as they climb the snow-mountain. A giant white furry creature dive-bombs them (WHOMP!!) — they cycle through guesses (gorilla? rabbit? polar bear?) before Sanji identifies them as Lapins — “Those things Dalton told us about!!!” A whole pack of the giant snow-rabbits closes in (“CRAP! There’s a lot of ‘em!!”).
Sanji forbids Luffy from fighting (pp. 6-7): “If they can move around like that!! …Those things are well adapted to the snow country… we’re at a big disadvantage.” And critically — “If you mix it up with them… every blow you give or take… will be felt by Nami!! I’m serious. She’ll die.” Luffy agrees: “I won’t fight!!” They resolve to dodge and run the Lapins instead.
The chase set-piece runs pp. 7-10. Sanji can’t kick properly in the deep snow (“Crap! I can’t even do a decent kick… with all this snow around my feet.”); Luffy can’t punch back without endangering Nami. The Lapin pack stampedes (WHOOM!!). The two protect Nami, scramble for the woods, and finally bolt straight uphill — “Just run!! All the way to the top!!!” — as the herd thunders behind (DOOM!!).
Meanwhile (pp. 11-17), a submersible warship surfaces and lands at the Drum coastline (DOOM!! …DRUM KINGDOM!!!). Aboard is King Wapol, the deposed tyrant-king, returning from his pirate exile. Wapol rapturously surveys the snowscape — “Unchanging, ever-beautiful nature!!!” — and declares “I’m no longer a pirate!! I am a king once again!! Then on to the castle!! My dear castle!!!” He rides his black-and-white hippo-mount Robson (captioned Robson White Walky, alias Wooly Hippo), speaking gently to it about having killed its brothers.
Wapol’s two officers — Chess (Former Drum Kingdom Evil Chief-of-Staff, a slim archer) and Kuromarimo (Former Drum Kingdom Evil Magistrate, a burly afro-figure) — report that they tracked footprints from a pirate ship on the riverbank, the ship the crew met “yesterday” (p. 14). Wapol erupts: “Those Straw Hats are in my kingdom!!? I won’t forget what they did to me!! How I suffered!!! … Kill them all!!!” The party heads for Bighorn.
Final scene at Cocoaweed (pp. 16-17): Dalton’s party searches the town for the doctor and learns she has already left, heading for Gyasta, a lakeside ice-skating town to the north. As they prepare to set out, a panicked man bursts in (SLAM!!): “A submersible ship suddenly appeared out of the sea and its crew killed everybody!! All the other guards are dead!!!” — “He’s back!!!! WAPOL!” Chapter ends on Wapol’s return shattering the kingdom’s fragile peace.
Page 18 — back-matter: Usopp’s Pirate Gallery, a reader fan-art feature.
New reveals
- Chapter title — Chapter 135: Lapins — the snow-rabbit predators named in the title; first Drum Island wildlife (p. 1).
- Lapins canonized on-page — giant white snow-adapted pack-predators, fast-moving, terrain-advantaged over the Straw Hats; named off the back of Dalton’s earlier off-page exposition (pp. 4-6).
- Drum Island is a former kingdom of doctors with one doctor left — a woman who lives in a mountain castle; the villages have no other medical care (pp. 2-3).
- Dalton — named, shown as the people’s protector — leads the rescue party, is the figure villagers turn to for help (pp. 2-3, 16-17).
- Wapol — named, shown returning to reclaim Drum Kingdom — the deposed tyrant-king, ex-pirate, landing to retake the throne; holds a prior grudge against the Straw Hats (pp. 11-17).
- Chess and Kuromarimo — Wapol’s two surviving officers, captioned Former Drum Kingdom Evil Chief-of-Staff and Former Drum Kingdom Evil Magistrate respectively (p. 15).
- Robson — Wapol’s bighorn-hippo mount (Robson White Walky, alias Wooly Hippo) (p. 13).
- Wapol’s warship is a submersible — surfaced “out of the sea” to land him on Drum; first on-page submersible warship (pp. 11, 17).
- Three Drum villages named — Cocoaweed, Bighorn, Gyasta — establishing Drum’s town-geography (pp. 3, 15, 16).
- Sanji cannot fight properly in deep snow — terrain-dependent kicking style; first on-page Sanji terrain-disadvantage beat (pp. 6-8).
- Nami’s illness can’t survive combat shock — Sanji forbids Luffy from fighting because any blow given or taken “will be felt by Nami” (pp. 6-7).
- Wapol aestheticizes the kingdom’s nature — “Unchanging, ever-beautiful nature!!!” — tyrant-sentimentality register (pp. 12-13).
- Cover story — Django’s Dance Paradise, Vol. 8 — Django at Mirror-Ball Island (p. 1).
- Usopp’s Pirate Gallery — reader fan-art back-matter (p. 18).
Foreshadowing seeds planted
Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)
Mentions / appearances
- Characters present: Dalton (pp. 2-3, 16-17 — leads the ram-sled rescue party, learns the doctor left for Gyasta, is the man villagers run to when Wapol returns), Sanji (pp. 4-10 — carries the ill Nami, identifies the Lapins, forbids Luffy from fighting, fails his kicks in the snow), Luffy (pp. 4-10 — carries supplies, agrees not to fight to protect Nami, leads the run uphill), Nami (pp. 4-10 — gravely ill, carried on Sanji’s back; non-speaking), Wapol (pp. 11-17 — returning deposed king, “I am a king once again!!”, vows to kill the Straw Hats), Chess (p. 15 — Wapol’s Former Drum Kingdom Evil Chief-of-Staff, archer; reports the footprint-tracking), Kuromarimo (p. 15 — Wapol’s Former Drum Kingdom Evil Magistrate, afro-figure with pom-poms), Robson (p. 13 — Wapol’s bighorn-hippo mount, Robson White Walky / Wooly Hippo).
- Cover-art appearances: Django (Django’s Dance Paradise Vol. 8 cover-story, arriving at Mirror-Ball Island).
- Mentioned (not appearing): Dr. Kureha (referenced throughout pp. 2-3, 16 as “the doctor” / “she” — the lone mountain-castle physician of Drum; Doctorine / the Witch is an alias of the canonical Dr. Kureha note; not named on-page this chapter), Vivi, Zoro, Usopp (the off-island Straw Hats — Usopp hosts the back-matter Pirate Gallery; not in-story).
- Crews/Groups: Straw Hat Pirates (Luffy, Sanji, Nami climbing to find a doctor), Tin Tyrant Pirates (Wapol, Chess, Kuromarimo and the submersible-warship crew — Wapol Pirates is an alias of this canonical crew note), Black Cat Pirates (Django cover-story).
- Races/Groups: Lapins — giant snow-rabbit pack-predators of Drum Island (tracked in Lapins Bear-Sized Pack-Hunting Rabbits Named).
- Locations: Drum Kingdom (the snow-kingdom — mountainside, coastline; Drum Island is an alias), Cocoaweed (lakeside store-town where the doctor was last seen), Big Horn (the town the Straw Hats and Wapol both head toward — Bighorn in this chapter’s spelling). Also named in passing: Gyasta (lakeside ice-skating town to the north, the doctor’s reported destination) and Drum Castle (Wapol’s “dear castle” on the mountain, also the lone doctor’s home) — both folded into Drum Kingdom as settlements rather than separate notes.
Notable panels
- Page 1 — Cover-splash + chapter-title-spread: Chapter 135: LAPINS. Below: Django’s Dance Paradise, Vol. 8 — Django (cape, hypnosis-ring) rowing toward Mirror-Ball Island with its FUNKY! disco-dome and WELCOME arch. Caption: “The East Blue’s most popular destination, Mirror-Ball Island.”
- Page 2 — Dalton’s ram-sled rescue party racing through snow (KLOP KLOP KLOP). Dalton: “Forgive me. I made a mistake!! …I didn’t think she’d come again so soon!! But I was wrong!!” Villagers: “It’s okay! It wasn’t your fault!!”
- Page 3 — A COCOAWEED / BIGHORN signpost crossroads. Dalton: “If only this country had more doctors.” Party sleds onward (SLOOSH).
- Page 4 — A giant white Lapin dive-bombs the Straw Hats from above (WHOMP!!) — “IT’S FLYING!!!” — landing on Luffy. Page foliated 176.
- Page 5 — Confusion over the creature: “gorillas! … rabbits! … polar bears!!!” Sanji: “They must be LAPINS! Those things Dalton told us about!!!” Wide bottom panel: a huge pack of Lapins (DOOM!!) — “There’s a lot of ‘em!!”
- Page 6 — Sanji: “…if they can move around like that!! Those things are well adapted to the snow country… we’re at a big disadvantage.”
- Page 7 — Sanji: “If you mix it up with them… every blow you give or take… will be felt by Nami!! I’m serious. She’ll die.” Luffy (gulping): “I won’t fight!! I-I got it.” A Lapin roars (GRAAAR!!!).
- Page 8 — Sanji fails his kick (SHOOM): “Crap! I can’t even do a decent kick… with all this snow around my feet.” Big bottom panel: the Lapin pack stampedes (WHOOM!!) — “They’re coming all at once!!”
- Page 9 — Luffy and Sanji shake off Lapins (WHOP / KRAK KRAK): “It’d be dark before I could beat up so many!!” Sanji: “Idiot! I told you to let me handle them!!!”
- Page 10 — The pair break for the woods and bolt straight uphill — “Just run!! All the way to the top!!!” — Lapins thundering behind (DOOM!!).
- Page 11 — A submersible warship looms over the snowy Drum coast (DOOM!!) — “We’re here!!! …DRUM KINGDOM!!!” / “BWA HA HA HA!!” / “My dear…” Page foliated 183.
- Page 12 — Wapol’s party crashes through the guards (TA-DOOM!!). Wapol: “What were they thinking, shooting at us?” and rapturously: “Unchanging, ever-beautiful nature!!!”
- Page 13 — Wapol laughing (BWA HA HA HA HA): “I’m no longer a pirate!! I am a king once again!! Then on to the castle!! My dear castle!!!” Caption-box introduces his mount: Robson White Walky (alias Wooly Hippo). Wapol: “…because I killed your brothers!!? There, there… are you still upset…”
- Page 14 — An officer brings news (“What is it!? … There over there on the riverbank!!! It’s the ship of those pirates we met yesterday!”). Wapol (close-up, gritting teeth): “Those Straw Hats are in my kingdom!!? I won’t forget what they did to me!! How I suffered!!!” — “Kill them all!!!”
- Page 15 — Caption-boxes formally introduce Kuromarimo — Former Drum Kingdom Evil Magistrate (burly, afro, pom-poms) and Chess — Former Drum Kingdom Evil Chief-of-Staff (slim, bow). They report tracking the Straw Hats’ footprints toward Bighorn (BA-DOOM!!). Wapol: “Then let’s go to Bighorn…”
- Page 16 — COCOAWEED — Dalton’s party reaches the town and learns the doctor already left: “I heard someone say she was heading for Gyasta.” — “Gyasta? Where’s that?” — “It’s a lakeside town just north of here. They like to ice skate there.” Page foliated 188.
- Page 17 — A man bursts in (SLAM!!): “Dalton, please save us!! We need your strength!! A submersible ship suddenly appeared out of the sea and its crew killed everybody!! All the other guards are dead!!!” — “He’s back!!!! WAPOL!”
- Page 18 — Back-matter: Usopp’s Pirate Gallery (“Now it’s the monster’s brother!!”) — six reader fan-art submissions. Page foliated 192.
Open questions raised
- Who is the lone doctor of Drum Island? Referenced only as “the doctor” / “she” — a woman living in a mountain castle. Forward-canon: Doctor Kureha (Doctorine). Not named on-page in Ch. 135.
- Why does Wapol have a grudge against the Straw Hats? Wapol says “I won’t forget what they did to me!! How I suffered!!!” — referencing an off-page prior encounter (the crew “met” Wapol’s people “yesterday”, per p. 14). The exact prior encounter is not shown in this chapter.
- How did Wapol lose Drum Kingdom, and how was he a pirate? Wapol calls himself “no longer a pirate” and “a king once again” — implying he was deposed and then went to sea. The how/when of his fall is not yet explained.
- Will the Straw Hats reach the doctor before Nami dies? Sanji establishes Nami cannot survive combat shock; the doctor has moved twice (down the mountain, then toward Gyasta). The race-to-the-doctor stakes are now set but unresolved.
- What happens when Wapol’s forces reach Bighorn? Both Wapol’s party and the Straw Hats are converging on Bighorn — a collision is set up but not yet shown.
- What is the cherry-blossom / “beautiful nature” thread? Wapol’s hollow “ever-beautiful nature” register is planted; its thematic counterweight (Hiriluk’s cherry-blossom dream) is not yet on-page.