Chapters · Summit War › Post-War

Chapter 583: Gray Terminal

Arc: Post-War · Saga: Summit War · Released: 2010-03-29 (est.)

Summary

A childhood flashback on Dawn Island. Garp dumps the seven-year-old Luffy with the Dadan Family mountain bandits on Mt. Corvo; their boss Dadan tells him he gets one bowl of rice and one cup of water a day and must otherwise fend for himself, then warns him not to snitch to Garp (p. 2–3). Luffy refuses to cry, announces he will be a pirate, and fixes on the cold, distant Ace — who already lives there — repeatedly trying to befriend him. Ace flees into the forest and cuts a rope bridge to shake Luffy off (pp. 4–5), but Luffy keeps chasing day after day through wolves, rapids, a giant fish and a tiger, accruing fresh injuries, until after three months he finally clears the forest (pp. 8–9). Beyond Mt. Corvo he comes upon Gray Terminal — a smoking mountain of trash, “the last stop for all discarded things,” where Ace meets his partner Sabo (age 10), a Gray-Terminal boy (pp. 10–12). Luffy overhears that the two have spent five years stockpiling stolen money to buy a pirate ship; the pair, fearing exposure of their secret stash, decide they must “kill” him but find they can’t and merely tie him up (pp. 13–14). Then Bluejam Pirates courier Porchemy — whom Ace robbed — closes in; Ace and Sabo bolt, leaving the bound Luffy behind, and Porchemy (who scalps people alive) drags Luffy off to make him talk (pp. 15–17).

New reveals

• Garp left Luffy to be raised by mountain bandits (pp. 2–3): the Dadan Family on Mt. Corvo, boss Dadan. One bowl of rice + one cup of water a day; “don’t snitch to Garp about what you’re forced to do here.” Ace already lives there and caught the wild buffalo on the table.
• Ace and Luffy’s antagonistic beginning (pp. 3–9): Ace spits on Luffy, cuts a bridge to escape him; Luffy chases relentlessly for ~3 months (“Day 8,” “Day 10,” “one month, two months”), getting mauled daily but never giving up.
• Sabo (age 10) introduced (pp. 11–12): a boy who lives at Gray Terminal; Ace’s partner. Caption: “SABO (AGE 10) (A BOY WHO LIVES AT GRAY TERMINAL).”
• The five-year pirate-fund (p. 12): Ace + Sabo have spent five years saving stolen treasure (“tens or even hundreds of millions”) in a hidden stash to one day buy a pirate ship — “we’re saving up together to be pirates someday.”
• Gray Terminal established (pp. 10–11): north beyond Mt. Corvo; a place “beyond the reach of the law or of doctors, rife with crime and disease,” where murdered things “and even people” — “all things unwanted” — end up; perpetual smoke from spontaneous combustion; “the last stop for all discarded things.”
• The boys can’t kill (pp. 13–14): to protect their secret they agree Luffy “has to die,” but neither Ace nor Sabo has ever killed anyone or knows how; they tie him up instead.
• Bluejam Pirates introduced (pp. 15–16): Ace robbed couriers belonging to Captain Bluejam; courier Porchemy (scalps defeated foes alive, carries a real sword) seizes the abandoned, tied-up Luffy to interrogate him about Ace.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy (child, dumped at Dadan’s; chases Ace; captured by Porchemy), Ace (child, cold to Luffy; Sabo’s partner; robbed Bluejam’s couriers), Sabo (first appearance, age 10, Gray-Terminal boy), Dadan (first on-page appearance; bandit boss), Porchemy (first appearance; Bluejam courier, scalper), Bluejam (first mention; pirate captain, not shown), Garp (referenced — left Luffy with the bandits; “don’t snitch to Garp”).
• Crews / groups: Dadan Family (first appearance; mountain bandits, Mt. Corvo), Bluejam Pirates (first appearance; Goa-area pirates).
• Locations: Gray Terminal (first appearance), Mt. Corvo (first appearance), Dawn Island / the nearby town (context; not named on-page this chapter).

Notable panels

• p. 1 — Chapter-title page with a gag beach side-image under an “OKONKATSU” parasol (婚活 / marriage-hunting pun): a pig/boar-faced figure, a slim woman, two seated men (one vest reads “GEKAI” 外科医 = surgeon). No color spread.
• pp. 4–5 — Ace cuts the rope bridge to strand Luffy in the gorge (“KRASH” / “THWAK!!”).
• p. 8 — “DAY 8 / DAY 10” panels: Luffy battered but still pursuing through lethal wildlife.
• pp. 10–11 — Reveal of Gray Terminal: a smoking mountain of trash; “the last stop for all discarded things.”
• p. 12 — Sabo introduced with name-card: “SABO (AGE 10) (A BOY WHO LIVES AT GRAY TERMINAL)”; the boys’ five-year treasure stash.
• pp. 13–14 — “We gotta kill him.” / “I never killed anybody before!” — the boys can’t go through with it.
• p. 15 — Porchemy introduced with caption “PORCHEMY — BLUEJAM PIRATES”; “when he defeats somebody, he scalps them alive!”
• p. 17 — Porchemy drags the bound, terrified Luffy away to make him talk.
• p. 18 — SBS Question Corner (final installment of the Vol 59 SBS): a goroawase Q noting Kuma’s Niku-Niku—er, Nikyu Nikyu no Mi numbers (Ni=2, Kyu=9) would complete the Straw Hats’ 1–10 fruit-number set, asking if Kuma will join (“No comment! Next!”); and an “Emporio Estrogen” gag about Ivankov.

Open questions raised

• Who is Sabo, where did he come from, and what role does this third would-be-pirate boy play going forward?
• What will Porchemy do to Luffy, and how will Ace react to “that idiot” calling out his name?
• Who is Captain Bluejam, and how dangerous is his crew to the boys’ plans? **