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Chapter 344: Opposing Force

Arc: Water Seven · Saga: Water Seven · Released:

Summary

On the third floor of the mansion, the bewildered shipwrights find that the masked intruder has wiped out Kaku and Lucci too — but Tilestone, raging “You—!! How could you…to Kaku and Lucci!!,” swings his giant hammer and is told to “check for yourself” as the bear/dog-masked CP9 agent (inferred Blueno) hardens with “IRON BODY” — shattering the hammer with a fist and downing three Dock One foremen in one blow (“Are you proud of your strength?”, “He broke it with his fist!!”). Outside, the town mob spots Zoro (“There’s Roronoa Zolo!!”) and the rest of the crew amid cannon fire (“It’s the Straw Hat Pirates!!”), and at last Luffy comes flying in — ”…ROCKET!!!” “GUM-GUM…” — blasting toward the mansion to “catch Robin this time.” Inside the mayor’s quarters, a wounded, bandana’d, goateed man — Iceberg, who has dragged himself from his bed — confronts Robin at gunpoint: “…we’d be meeting here, Nico Robin… I’ve always… wanted to meet you.” He lays out everything he knows about her: she is the lone child who escaped the Ohara incident 20 years ago, “the only person in the world who can decipher the writing” on the Poneglyphs, and therefore “the only person who can reactivate… the Ancient Weapons” — which is exactly why the government put such a high bounty on her head even when she was “only an 8-year-old girl.” He names what CP9 are truly after: “I hold the blueprints… for a weapon of the ancient world, the PLUTON!” — an ancient battleship “built on this island a long time ago” whose makers, fearing it was “too powerful” and had “gone out of control,” believed “an opposing force would be needed,” and so passed the plans down “from shipwright to shipwright for generations.” The plans came to Iceberg from Tom, “the man who entrusted the blueprints to me.” Iceberg argues that reactivating Pluton “won’t matter if the one who possesses it is just or evil” — “you can’t expect weapons to bring peace to the world of mankind” — and that the evils of the past “should not be reawakened.” Robin coldly answers that the result will be the same whether or not he dies. CP9 close in (“Your resistance against us is futile… hand it over… before you get blood all over it”). Then Iceberg springs his trap: dragging himself up, bleeding (“Curse you! I thought I could win!”), he reveals that the blueprints CP9 are about to take are fake, telling the foreman Totter to “throw it away and run” — “because the blueprints… are fake.”

New reveals

• “PLUTON” is named on-page. Iceberg names the hidden ship as “a weapon of the ancient world, the PLUTON” — “Pluton is the name of a battleship that was built on this island a long time ago” (pp. 13–15). This is the on-page debut of the Ancient Weapon’s name in Water Seven and the confirmation that the “blueprints for a certain ship” from Ch. 343 are the Pluton plans. Feeds Ancient Weapons (do not fork).
• The wounded man confronting Robin is Iceberg. Mayor Iceberg — shot in the leg the night before — has dragged himself from his sickbed to face Robin and CP9 personally, holding a gun and the blueprints (pp. 8–19). It is he, not Paulie, who guards the plans in the showdown shown here. (VIZ on-page spelling “Iceberg”; vault wikilink convention [[Characters/Iceberg]].)
• Tom entrusted the Pluton blueprints to Iceberg. “Tom, the man who entrusted the blueprints to me…” (p. 15). First on-page naming of Tom and the master→apprentice handoff of the Pluton plans that the prior chapter described abstractly. ([[Characters/Tom]])
• Iceberg knows Robin’s whole history. He identifies her as the child who escaped “the Ohara incident 20 years ago,” “the only person in the world who can decipher the writing” on the Poneglyphs, hence “the only person who can reactivate… the Ancient Weapons” — the reason the government put a huge bounty on her at age 8 (pp. 10–15). The “WANTED — NICO ROBIN” child bounty poster is shown (p. 11). Feeds True History Ohara Was Killed For, Nico Robin.
• CP9 use Iron Body (Tekkai). The masked agent (inferred Blueno) hardens his body — “IRON BODY.” — to break Tilestone’s giant steel hammer with a bare fist and fell three Dock One foremen in a single blow (pp. 2–4). First on-page Rokushiki technique demonstrated in the arc. (Named on-page as the technique “Iron Body,” not the Rokushiki schema, which is unnamed here.)
• The chapter’s title is the Pluton lore. “The ancient shipwrighting engineers thought that an OPPOSING FORCE would be needed” because the weapon “was too powerful” and “went out of control” — the plans were preserved across generations to serve as a counter-weapon, but the government’s interest perverts that intent (pp. 14–15). This explains the chapter title “Opposing Force.” Feeds Ancient Weapons.
• Robin’s stated stance. She concedes she is “the only person who can reactivate” the weapons but insists “that’s got nothing to do with me,” that “you can’t expect weapons to bring peace,” and that “the evils of the past should not be reawakened” (pp. 12–13).
• The blueprints are fake. Iceberg’s last gambit: the plans CP9 are seizing are decoys — “throw it away and run… because the blueprints… are fake” (pp. 19–20). Sets up CP9’s next move and the question of where the real plans are.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Iceberg: Iceberg — wounded, bandana’d; confronts Robin at gunpoint, recounts the Pluton/Tom/Ohara history, reveals the blueprints are fake (pp. 8–20). (On-page VIZ spelling “Iceberg”; vault link [[Characters/Iceberg]].)
• Nico Robin: Nico Robin — cornered by Iceberg’s gun; states her stance on the weapons; her child WANTED poster shown (pp. 8–18)
• CP9 (masked): CP9 — the bear/dog-masked Iron-Body agent (pp. 2–4, 18–19) (inferred Blueno, masked/unnamed on-page); Rob Lucci and Kaku referenced as also taken down off-panel (p. 2)
• Galley-La / townsfolk: Tilestone (named/shown p. 2 — hammer broken by the agent); three unnamed Dock One foremen downed (pp. 2–4); a foreman “Totter” addressed (p. 19); the town mob (Galley-La Company)
• Straw Hats: Luffy (Gum-Gum Rocket into the mansion, pp. 7–8), Zoro (spotted by the mob, charges the front, pp. 5–6), Nami, Sanji, Chopper (in the crowd, pp. 5–6) (Straw Hat Pirates)
• Referenced (not shown): Tom (the shipwright who entrusted the Pluton blueprints to Iceberg, p. 15)
• Devil Fruits / techniques: Gomu Gomu no Mi (Luffy’s “Gum-Gum Rocket,” pp. 7–8); Hana Hana no Mi (Robin, present); “Iron Body” / Tekkai (CP9 agent, p. 2)
• Lore: Ancient Weapons (Pluton, named pp. 13–15), Poneglyph (Poneglyphs Robin alone can read, pp. 10–11), True History Ohara Was Killed For (the “Ohara incident 20 years ago,” p. 15)
• Location: Water Seven (Galley-La HQ / the mayor’s mansion)
• Cover serial: Gedatsu — “Gedatsu’s Unexpected Life on the Blue Sea, Vol. 28: ‘The Men’s Bath‘“

Notable panels

• p. 1 — Title page: “Chapter 344: OPPOSING FORCE.” Cover serial: “GEDATSU’S UNEXPECTED LIFE ON THE BLUE SEA, VOL. 28: ‘THE MEN’S BATH.’” A communal hot-spring/bathhouse scene — bathers in steaming pools, the men’s-bath wall, Gedatsu and entourage, a duck-billed figure at the front.
• p. 2 — “WOO” / “MAYOR ICEBERG HAD BETTER BE SAFE!!” / Tilestone: “You—!! How could you…to Kaku and Lucci!!” / Masked agent: “Why not check for yourself?” / “CLENCH…” → “IRON BODY.” / “BAM—!!” (hammer meets a hardened body).
• p. 3 — “I can’t move! I can’t… I’m losing to N STRENGTH!” / “Are you proud of your strength?” / “No way!! Mr. Tilestone’s giant hammer…!! He broke it with his fist!!” / “DOOM!!”
• p. 4 — Foremen scattered, hammer in pieces (“KLANG KLANG…”). “Three Dock One foremen are down for the count!” / “With one blow…!” / “Argh! Call downstairs for backup!!” — the masked agent stands over them.
• p. 5 — Town reacts to the Straw Hats: “He’s finally shown himself!!” / “There’s Roronoa Zolo!!” / “Don’t let the criminals escape!!” / “It’s the Straw Hat Pirates!!” / “I saw the woman this afternoon too!!” / Nami: “Wait! Zolo, what are you doing?!” / Zoro: ”…It’ll look like they’ve caught us red-handed!!”
• p. 6 — Crew debate: “But we’re dealing with shipwrights!! They aren’t the enemy!!” / Zoro: “We’re going to charge in through the front entrance… and look for Robin!” / “OUTTA MY WAY!!” / “You can still kill people like that, you know!!” / “I’ll use the sword backs!!”
• p. 7 — Zoro breaks through (“I got out, finally!”). “BWOING!” / Luffy: “I’m gonna catch Robin… I’m gonna charge in this time!!” / “DOOM!” / ”…ROCKET!!! GUM-GUM… SHOOM!!” (Luffy launches himself at the mansion).
• p. 8 — Inside the mansion: a wounded man (“HUFF… HUFF…”) faces Robin (”…”) — “This is certainly a surprise. Honestly, I never dreamed… we’d be meeting here, Nico Robin.” Wide shot of the bedroom, Robin seated against the wall.
• p. 9 — “…but I’ve always… wanted to meet you.” / “Last night was the first time…” / Robin: “Have we met before?” / ”?!!” / “KA-CHAK!!!” — the gun (or Robin’s reaction) snaps up.
• p. 10 — “So you could kill me… before you… DESTROY THE WHOLE WORLD!!” / “…has been classified by the government as a global high crime. You must know that!! Since antiquity, searching for, researching and decoding the Poneglifs…”
• p. 11 — “…in all likelihood, the only person in the world who can decipher the writing… is you.” / “How do you know about the Poneglifs?” / “In all the world, you’re the only one… even though, at the time, you were only an 8-year-old girl…” — child “WANTED — NICO ROBIN” poster shown. / “That’s precisely why the government put such a high bounty on your head… the only person who can reactivate…”
• p. 12 — ”…THE ANCIENT WEAPONS.” / “So CP9 was an actual organization… You even knew about the weapons.” / “That means you’ve already left the Straw Hat Pirates… and are working for the government, doesn’t it?” / Iceberg: “If, through the decoding of the Poneglifs, the weapon is reactivated… it won’t matter if the one who possesses it is just or evil.” / Robin: “But that’s got nothing to do with me.” / “You can’t expect weapons to bring peace to the world of mankind.” / “The result will be the same.” — gun barrel close-up.
• p. 13 — “The whole world will be destroyed.” / “The evils of the past… should not be reawakened!!” / Robin: “That’s not true. In a way… I’m in the same position you are.” / “…to tell me how I should research history!” / “You’re right. I think that myself, but you’re way out of line! You don’t know me at all. You have no right…”
• p. 14 — “…for a weapon of the ancient world, the PLUTON! I hold the blueprints…” (extreme close-up of Iceberg’s eyes). / “…that was built on this island a long time ago.” / “Pluton is the name of a battleship…” / Robin: “The blueprints for a weapon?!”
• p. 15 — “So they passed the blueprints down through the generations… in the unlikely event that it went out of control. The government wants them…” / “The ancient shipwrighting engineers thought that an opposing force would be needed… the weapon they made was too powerful… and they ended up going to extreme measures to get them.” / “Tom, the man who entrusted the blueprints to me…” / “…the Ohara incident 20 years ago.” / “always worried about a lone girl who’d escaped from…” / “Now that the government is aware that the blueprints exist… it would be better simply to burn them. But…” / “He thought she was a threat, despite her age, because she shared the ideas of the demons of Ohara.”
• p. 16 — “…because there’s still the chance you might find a way to reactivate the weapon!!” / “…doing that won’t be enough because… you’re alive!!” / “WHAP!!” / “FWOOM!” / “GRAB!!” / “THUD…!” / “GAAH!!” / “UGH…!!” — a struggle; Iceberg slammed down.
• p. 17 — “FWIP…!!” / “CHAK…!!” / “I beg to differ. Even if you had killed me… your blueprints would’ve been stolen, and the result the same.” / “Is that all you want to say… before you die?” / “…who’ve fallen for my ruse… you’re the ones…?!” / “Then, let me just say… one more thing…” — Iceberg cornered, the masked agent looming.
• p. 18 — “PLIP… PLIP…” (dripping blood) / hall shots / “SLUMP…!!” — Iceberg collapses against a wall hung with framed designs. Masked agent: “Your resistance against us is futile…” / “Hand it over… come now… before you get blood all over it.” / “GLARE…” (Iceberg’s eye).
• p. 19 — “THUMP…” / “ROLL…” (a rolled blueprint) / Iceberg: “Totter… curse you! I thought I could win!” / a slumped figure (“…did tell me to… run away at once… Mayor Iceberg… huff”). / “…throw it away and run… just…” / “…are fake.” / “Because the blueprints…” / ”?!!” (the masked agent’s shock).
• p. 20 — SBS “Question Corner”: Q about Ch. 297 (Vol. 32) “Kingdom Come” lightning/electric discharge; Oda explains thunderclouds, sheet lightning, gold conducting electricity, and how Luffy’s plunge discharged Kingdom Come. “Here ends the Question Corner!!”

Open questions raised

• Where are the real Pluton blueprints? Iceberg declares the seized plans fake (pp. 19–20) — the location and survival of the genuine blueprints are now an open thread.
• Is the wounded man Iceberg himself, or a stand-in? The chapter shows a single wounded bandana’d man holding the plans and confronting Robin, addressed/named as Mayor Iceberg (pp. 8, 19), but the “Totter… run away” exchange on p. 19 reads ambiguously about who exactly is collapsed. (Inference: the bandana’d man is Iceberg, who dragged himself from his sickbed.)
• Why is Robin working with CP9? She is shown allied with them and stating she has “left the Straw Hat Pirates” (p. 12), but the leverage CP9 holds over her is still not stated.
• Will Iceberg survive the showdown? He collapses bleeding heavily (pp. 18–19) after revealing the ruse; his fate is unresolved.
• What is the masked agent’s identity and full power? Iron Body is shown (p. 2) but the agent remains masked. (Inference: Blueno, the Door-Door user from Ch. 343.)
• How does the “opposing force” concept resolve? The blueprints were meant as a counter-weapon to Pluton, not a weapon for the government — what becomes of that intent is left open (pp. 14–15).