Chapters · Summit War › Marineford

Chapter 558: Little Brother

Arc: Marineford · Saga: Summit War · Released: 2009-08-03

Summary

Luffy relays to Whitebeard the coded Marine intel he overheard — that the Navy intends to execute Ace ahead of schedule — and charges the plaza (“Here I come, Ace!”). Whitebeard’s commanders read the early-execution as bait deliberately leaked by Sengoku, but Whitebeard pushes on regardless. As Luffy fights toward the scaffold he runs a gauntlet of obstacles: Admiral Kizaru tries to laser him (twice deflected by Emporio Ivankov’s Death Wink), Buggy is goaded into the fray by his crew on the strength of his old Roger-crew reputation, a Kuma-lookalike Pacifista that “separated me and my crew,” the real Warlord Kuma (chided by Jinbei for firing on an “old friend”), Hina’s Kimono Sleeve Cage, and Gecko Moria’s zombie soldiers — which Jinbei dissolves with a wave of seawater, reminding Moria his zombies are vulnerable to salt. On the platform Ace screams at Luffy to leave — “There’s no place for you in my life… You think I’d let myself be rescued by a weakling like you?! Beat it, Luffy!!” — and Luffy answers by declaring before the whole battlefield: “I’m your… little brother!!” A flashback shows young Ace and Luffy sealing a sworn-brotherhood with sake cups. The Marines reel (“Then is he Roger’s…?!”), and Sengoku silences the speculation by revealing — and ordering broadcast to the entire world — that Luffy is the son of Dragon the Revolutionary. Luffy unleashes Gear Third’s Gum-Gum Giant Rifle at the scaffold, vowing to save Ace “even if it kills me,” and Whitebeard tells Marco: “Don’t you let him die.” The cover runs the final installment of Brook’s serial.

New reveals

• Sengoku publicly reveals Luffy is Dragon’s son. He outs Luffy’s bloodline to the entire battlefield and orders it broadcast worldwide (“Get ready to broadcast this to the whole world!!”), framing Dragon as “a menace to the future of humanity” (pp. 14-15). This is the first time Luffy’s parentage is made public (it had only been told privately by Garp Ch. 432 and sensed by Iva). Marines immediately connect it to Loguetown (“This explains what happened in Roguetown!”) and to Luffy recruiting “Ivankov of the Revolutionary Army” (p. 15).
• The sworn-brotherhood is made textual and visual. Luffy declares himself Ace’s “little brother” on-page (p. 12 — the chapter title), and a flashback shows the sake-cup brotherhood ritual of young Ace and Luffy: “Did you know that if we drink from each other’s cups, we’ll be brothers for life?” (p. 12). Marines confirm they are not blood brothers (“Ace’s parents died before Luffy was born… He can’t possibly be Ace’s brother by birth!”, p. 13).
• Moria’s zombies are salt-vulnerable — restated at Marineford. Jinbei wipes out Moria’s summoned zombie soldiers with a wave of seawater: “As I recall, your zombies are vulnerable to salt, eh, Moria?” (p. 13). The Thriller Bark mechanic is re-used on a new battlefield.
• Moria’s battlefield plan: he intends to “take your shadow again and use it to control Oars’s body,” and gloats that “the more corpses there are, the more zombies I can make” (p. 9).
• Hina fights at Marineford with the Ori Ori no Mi — “Kimono Sleeve Cage!!” / “Everything that passes through my body becomes imprisoned!” — but Luffy is too fast (“Hina failed!”, p. 7).
• Whitebeard assigns Marco to protect Luffy: “Don’t you let him die, Marco.” / “Aye aye, sir.” (p. 17).
• SBS (Vol. 57): Oda confirms the three Admirals are modeled on real Japanese actors — Aokiji = Yusaku Matsuda, Kizaru = Kunie Tanaka, Akainu = Bunta Sugawara (p. 18).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy, Ace, Whitebeard (“Pops”), Sengoku, Dragon (named, not shown), Jinbei, Gecko Moria, Hina, Buggy, Kuma (and a Kuma-lookalike Pacifista), Kizaru, Emporio Ivankov (“Iva”), Marco, Oars (referenced — “Oars’s body” on the battlefield), Roger (speculated — “is he Roger’s…?!”), Brook (cover)
• Locations: Marine Headquarters (Marineford), Loguetown (“Roguetown” — referenced), Sabaody Archipelago (HQ broadcast relay)
• Powers / fruits: Ori Ori no Mi (Hina — Kimono Sleeve Cage), Kage-Kage no Mi (Moria — zombie soldiers, shadow-control plan), Pika Pika no Mi (Kizaru — laser), Gomu Gomu no Mi (Luffy — Gear Third, Gum-Gum Giant Rifle), Horu Horu no Mi (Ivankov — Death Wink)
• Groups: Marines, Whitebeard Pirates, Revolutionary Army, Roger Pirates (Buggy’s “legendary crew”), Seven Warlords of the Sea, Fish-Men (Jinbei), D

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page. Chapter 558: “Little Brother.” Cover: Brook’s “Repayment for a Night’s Stay and Underwear” FINAL VOLUME — “The Demon Begins Composing.” Brook, beside a coffin and surrounded by masked tribal figures, composes music (final installment of his cover serial). [cover-story]
• Pages 2-3 — Luffy relays the early-execution intel to Whitebeard (“talking to Whitebeard like an equal!”); the commanders parse it as Sengoku’s deliberate bait; Kizaru targets Luffy.
• Page 4 — Ivankov’s Death Wink deflects Kizaru’s laser in a massive blast.
• Page 5 — Buggy comedy beat: his crew hypes his old Roger-crew pedigree (“you’re no slouch even compared to Admiral Kizaru”).
• Page 6 — Luffy spots a Kuma-lookalike Pacifista (“the guy who separated me and my crew”); a named attack — “ROLLING SPA!!” — erupts in a large blast (“A-BO-O-O-M!!!”) amid the Kuma/Pacifista clash (attacker not identifiable from the panel; first in-series naming of the move); Jinbei chides the real Bartholomew Kuma for firing “at an old friend… just because they made you a Warlord.”
• Page 7 — Hina — “Kimono Sleeve Cage!!”; Luffy escapes (“Hina failed!”).
• Pages 8-9 — Moria orders zombie soldiers to capture Luffy; “the more corpses… the more zombies I can make.”
• Pages 10-11 — Ace begs Luffy to leave; “you think I’d let myself be rescued by a weakling like you?! … Beat it, Luffy!!”
• Page 12 — “I’m your… little brother!!” (chapter-title beat); flashback — the sworn-brotherhood sake-cup ceremony.
• Page 13 — Marines speculate “is he Roger’s…?!”; Jinbei dissolves Moria’s zombies with seawater (salt weakness re-invoked).
• Pages 14-15 — Sengoku reveals Luffy is the son of Dragon the Revolutionary and orders it broadcast to the whole world; the news ripples to Sabaody HQ.
• Page 16 — Luffy Gear Third: “Gum-Gum… Giant Rifle!!” at the scaffold.
• Page 17 — “I’m gonna save you even if it kills me!!”; Whitebeard to Marco: “Don’t you let him die.”
• Page 18 — SBS Question Corner (Vol. 57): the three Admirals’ actor models confirmed (Aokiji = Yusaku Matsuda, Kizaru = Kunie Tanaka, Akainu = Bunta Sugawara); Bon Clay’s Mane Mane face-copy mechanic discussed.

Open questions raised

• Now that the whole world knows Luffy is Dragon’s son, how will it reshape his reputation and the Revolutionary Army’s profile?
• Will Whitebeard’s forces (and Marco) reach Ace before the scaffold, given Sengoku’s early-execution gambit was deliberate bait?
• Why is Bartholomew Kuma — a Warlord Jinbei calls an “old friend” — firing on the breakout?