Chapters · Summit War › Post-War

Chapter 591: Are You Sure About That?

Arc: Post-War · Saga: Summit War · Released: 2010-06-21 (est.)

Summary

On the Calm Belt off Amazon Lily, a huge Neptunian sea-beast is slain by an unseen hand; the Kuja and the watching Heart Pirates (Law, Bepo, Penguin) find the culprit is a man who swam there — Dark King Rayleigh, whose ship sank “in a storm” (there are no storms in the Calm Belt). Rayleigh has already deduced Luffy is on the island (pp. 1–3). At Amazon Lily’s center the recovering Luffy is stunned to see “Old Man Rayleigh,” who explains he found him fast and that the others are not yet all assembled at Sabaody; Rayleigh gave his Vivre Card to Shakky, and Luffy holds a piece to return to Sabaody (pp. 4–5). Law — who treated and saved Luffy and prescribed two more weeks’ rest — submerges his sub, musing that “a D will always attract a storm” (p. 6). Rayleigh reunites with Gloriosa, Hancock and her sisters, and Jinbei (also recovering); a letter from Shakky arrives, and it’s revealed that Rayleigh, Shakky, and Nyon took the Boa sisters in 13 years ago after they escaped the Celestial Dragons (pp. 7–8). Rayleigh recounts how he found Luffy: the Warlord who scattered the crew — Kuma (silhouette, p. 9) — told him “I want to help the Straw Hats escape this place. I’m a leader of the Revolutionary Army,” and gave him the scatter directions; Rayleigh retraced Hancock’s route from the war (pp. 9–10). When Luffy declares “I wanna see my crew!”, Rayleigh asks the title question — “Are you sure you want to do that?” — reminding him of the Sabaody rout, and offers a suggestion (cliffhanger, pp. 10–11). Cutting to Bowin Island on the Grand Line, a fattened Usopp and the warrior Heracles learn the island is itself a giant migrating carnivorous plant, the “Stomach Baron”; Usopp, having read of Ace’s death, resolves to leave and return to Luffy (pp. 12–16). At Birdie Kingdom, Chopper — who has befriended the giant birds and reconciled them with the humans — flies off on a bird for the same reason, then grabs a fresh newspaper from a News Coo and reacts in shock: “Luffy did this?!… But why now?!” (pp. 17–19). A SBS Question Corner closes the chapter (p. 20).

New reveals

• Rayleigh swam the Calm Belt to find Luffy. His ship sank “in a storm” — but there are no storms in the Calm Belt, so he swam “all the way from another region” (pp. 2–3). He killed the Neptunian off Amazon Lily’s coast (p. 2). He found Luffy by retracing the route Hancock took from the Paramount War and reasoning that no one would suspect a man being smuggled onto the island of women aboard a government vessel (pp. 9–10).
• Kuma = a leader of the Revolutionary Army; the scatter was a deliberate rescue. In Rayleigh’s recollection, the silhouetted Warlord who blasted the crew away (Kuma) told him: “I want to help the Straw Hats escape this place. I’m a leader of the Revolutionary Army,” and informed Rayleigh which direction each Straw Hat was launched (p. 9). This is how Rayleigh knows where the crew is.
• Rayleigh, Shakky, and Gloriosa sheltered the Boa sisters. “It’s all thanks to you three who took us in after we escaped from the Celestial Dragons.” The girls “have grown up beautiful and strong in the last 13 years” — pinning the sisters’ rescue to ~13 years ago and tying Rayleigh/Shakky/Nyon to their freedom (p. 8).
• Law saved Luffy; “a D will always attract a storm.” Law is “the reason you’re alive,” prescribed ~2 more weeks of rest, and left; as the sub submerges he reflects, “It seems a ‘D’ will always attract a storm” (p. 6) — cryptic interest in Luffy’s middle initial.
• Jinbei is also recovering at Amazon Lily, eating Hancock’s food alongside Luffy (p. 7).
• Shakky’s intuition correctly predicted Luffy would be hidden on the island of women; “women’s intuition can be uncanny” (p. 10). Rayleigh gave his Vivre Card to Shakky; Luffy holds a torn piece to return to Sabaody (p. 5).
• Bowin Island is the “Stomach Baron.” What people call Bowin Island is “a massive carnivorous plant” that migrates and eats — luring sea monsters, Neptunians, giant insects and birds with its aromas, then closing on them. “Getting in is easy, but there is no way out” (pp. 14–15). Heracles guides Usopp through it.
• Usopp and Chopper resolve to return to Luffy after the News Coo’s war newspaper reaches them; Chopper has reconciled the Birdie Kingdom birds with the humans (the people only need the plants on the birds’ tree; the birds feared humans taking their eggs) (pp. 16–18).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy (recovering; “I wanna see my crew!”), Silvers Rayleigh (swam the Calm Belt; found Luffy; makes his suggestion), Trafalgar Law (saved Luffy; leaves; “a D attracts a storm”), Bepo & Penguin (Heart Pirates), Hancock, Marigold, Sandersonia (greet Rayleigh, “we owe him our lives”), Grandma Nyon (Gloriosa), Jinbei (recovering), Kuma (silhouette/flashback, p. 9 — names himself a Revolutionary leader), Usopp (Bowin Island), Heracles, Tony Tony Chopper (Birdie Kingdom). Referenced: Shakky (Vivre Card, intuition, a letter), Ace (his death drives Usopp & Chopper), Sabo (SBS only).
• Crews / groups: Straw Hat Pirates, Heart Pirates, Revolutionary Army (via Kuma), Kuja Pirates, Marines / the Navy, Kuja, the News Coo.
• Locations: Calm Belt, Amazon Lily, Sabaody Archipelago, Bowin Island (= the “Stomach Baron”), Birdie Kingdom, Marine Headquarters / Marineford (the Paramount War).
• World-Building: Celestial Dragons, Vivre Card, Paramount War of Marineford.

Notable panels

• Page 1 — B&W chapter-title splash: two huge bathers soaking in steam beneath an eye + crossed-swords sigil. Standalone title art; no cover serial; no color spread.
• Page 2 — “BLOOSH!!”: an unseen Rayleigh slays a giant Neptunian on the Calm Belt; the Kuja and the Heart Pirates react.
• Page 3 — Reveal: the swimmer is Dark King Rayleigh (“My ship was sunk in a storm so I had to swim here”); Law recognizes him from Sabaody and asks if Luffy is on the island.
• Page 6 — Law: “It seems a ‘D’ will always attract a storm.” The Heart Pirates’ sub submerges. → Will of D.
• Page 8 — Reveal: Rayleigh, Shakky and Gloriosa sheltered the Boa sisters after their escape from the Celestial Dragons “13 years” ago.
• Page 9 — Kuma in silhouette: “I want to help the Straw Hats escape this place. I’m a leader of the Revolutionary Army.” The deliberate-scatter / Revolutionary reveal.
• Page 11 — Title drop: “Are you sure you want to do that?” + Luffy’s flashback to the Sabaody rout; Rayleigh: “I have a suggestion.”
• Page 15 — Reveal: Bowin Island is “a massive carnivorous plant, the Stomach Baron” — it closes and eats (“CHOMP!!”).
• Page 19 — Cliffhanger: Chopper grabs a newspaper and recoils — “Luffy did this?!… But why now?!”
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner (Vol 60): Oda names the wooper-looper “Axaxo-Axoxoy”; confirms the shadow in Ch. 558 p.11 panel 3 was Sabo’s cup (revealed in ch 585), saying showing Sabo earlier “would’ve complicated things too much”; and states he never recycles old art for flashbacks. → technique/sbs-leak.

Open questions raised

• What is Rayleigh’s “suggestion”? (Cliffhanger → the training/separation plan.)
• Why does Law take such cryptic interest in the “D” — and how does he already read it as a storm-omen?
• What has Luffy “done” that shocks Chopper in the final newspaper (p. 19)?
• How will each scattered Straw Hat reach the reunion now that they’ve all resolved to return?