Chapters · Summit War › Sabaody Archipelago

Chapter 504: Pirate Front Line on the Move!!

Arc: Sabaody Archipelago · Saga: Summit War · Released: (Weekly Shōnen Jump, 2008)

Summary

Word that Straw Hat Luffy beat up the Celestial Dragons at the Grove 1 Auction House races across Sabaody, and the rookie crews — X Drake, Jewelry Bonney, Scratchmen Apoo, Basil Hawkins — rush to set sail for Fish-Man Island before the Marines descend, their ships now coated. At Mariejois, Sengoku and Kizaru treat the assault on three World Nobles (the Roswald family, taken hostage) as an atrocious incident; Kizaru volunteers to deploy. Backstage, the panicking auctioneer Disco phones Doflamingo, who abandons the slave shop — “Slave trading is getting old… this is the era of the Smile!” — and lets slip that he’s been summoned by the Navy for the Seven Warlords versus the Whitebeard Pirates. Inside the hall, the old man frees Camie’s exploding collar with his bare hands; the crowd realizes he dropped every guard at once with a force Chopper names “Haki,” and a rookie identifies him as “Dark King” Silvers Rayleigh, who also turns out to know Hachi. With Marines surrounding the building, Luffy, Kid, and Law agree to break out together; the three captains reveal their Devil-Fruit powers as the Marines open fire.

New reveals

• The attack on the Celestial Dragons triggers a Marine HQ response: Kizaru (Admiral) is dispatched to Sabaody; Sengoku frames it as hostages taken (pages 4–5).
• Doflamingo drops the Human Auction House and the slave trade — “Slave trading is getting old, idiot!” — and proclaims “This is the era of the Smile!” (pages 6–7).
• Doflamingo has been summoned by the Navy: “The Seven Warlords of the Sea …versus… The Whitebeard Pirates” (page 7).
• The crowd-dropping force from the auction hall is named “Haki” by Chopper (page 11).
• “Dark King” Silvers Rayleigh is named on-page; he plays it down (“an old soldier… a coating craftsman… people call me Ray”) and personally knows Hachi (pages 12–13).
• Three captains — Kid (315M), Luffy (300M), Law (200M) — break out together; all three are confirmed Devil-Fruit users (pages 15–19).
• Mariejois tally: 13 bounties confirmed at the scene, five rookies over 100 million (page 4); the Human Auction Hall’s cover name is the “Employment Assistance Office.”

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Brook, Nami, Nico Robin, Usopp, Franky, Camie, Hatchan, Silvers Rayleigh, Trafalgar Law, Eustass Kid, Jewelry Bonney, X Drake, Scratchmen Apoo, Basil Hawkins, Sengoku, Kizaru (first appearance), Doflamingo, Disco, Saint Roswald (referenced — “the Roswald family,” hostages)
• Crews/Groups: Straw Hat Pirates, Marines, Whitebeard Pirates, Eleven Supernovas, Celestial Dragons, Seven Warlords of the Sea
• Locations: Sabaody Archipelago (Grove 1 Auction House; meeting point Grove 13), Mariejois (“Sacred Land of Marijoa”), Fish-Man Island (destination), Human Auction House
• World-Building: Haki, Ship Coating

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Cover: chapter title page; cover story “CP9’s Independent Report, Vol. 13: ‘Waiting for Them to Finish Shopping’” — Lucci, Kaku and a round figure (Fukurou) at a Parisian café.
• Page 3 — Supernova roll-call cameo: X Drake (“I’ll kick their butts”), Bonney (calling Luffy and his captain idiots), Apoo (vest reads “SOUND,” “let’s run!”), Hawkins (“I didn’t get a reading that today is the date of my death”).
• Page 5 — Mariejois: “Sengoku… Kizaru…”; Kizaru (glowing, RMRM) — “I’ll go. I’ll be back right away… of that you can be assured.”
• Page 7 — Doflamingo splash: his glasses/eyes fill the panel over a “DOOM!!” as he names the Warlords-vs-Whitebeard war.
• Pages 9–10 — Rayleigh removes Camie’s exploding slave-collar and handcuffs with his bare hands.
• Page 11 — Full-width panel of the entire auction crowd knocked out at once; Chopper names the force “Haki.”
• Page 12 — A rookie names him: “Dark King Silvers Rayleigh!!!”
• Page 15 — Three-captain standoff at the entrance: bounties called as “300 million, 315 million, and 200 million.”
• Pages 17–19 — Powers on display: Luffy’s “Gum-Gum Balloon” repels the mortars; Kid’s “Repel”; Law’s “Room”/“Shambles”/“Slice.”
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner (Vol 51): cockroach Moon Walk gag; Charlos’s “nose bubble” is a Sabaody bubble; Brook/Nami underwear gag.

Open questions raised

• What is the “era of the Smile” Doflamingo is so confident about?
• Who exactly is “Dark King” Silvers Rayleigh, and why did he seek Luffy out?
• What did the Marine mean by “that family’s bloodline” — how much does the World Government know about the Monkey/Dragon line?
• Will the convened Warlords-vs-Whitebeard war actually happen, and what is its trigger?