Chapters · Dressrosa › Punk Hazard

Chapter 668: Pirate Alliance

Arc: Punk Hazard · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2012-04-09

Summary

Amid the ruins of Punk Hazard’s first and second labs, Trafalgar Law lays out his offer plainly: if Luffy follows the plan in the right order, their two crews can take down one of the Four Emperors. Luffy, hooked the instant Law mentions “one of the four,” declares “I’m in!” — to his crew’s horror. At the Straw Hats’ shelter most of the crew protests (“We’re forming an alliance with the Heart Pirates?!!”); Robin warns that “betrayal is a part of pirate alliances” but will follow Luffy’s call, and Luffy reassures everyone that he trusts his crew and their two years of training — winning them over. Law then uses “Chambres” (Shambles) to restore the scrambled bodies: Franky is overjoyed to be back in his “good ol’ ultimate body,” Chopper and Nami are restored, but Sanji’s swap can’t be undone because he’s wandered off to find the bisected samurai. Law explains the captive children: their forced gigantism is a World Government research program “in the works for centuries,” intended to mass-produce giant soldiers, which Caesar is replicating to spite the government and Vegapunk. The crew commits to sending the children home as a condition of the alliance. Law profiles Caesar Clown — former government scientist turned criminal after “the incident four years ago,” Logia gas-gas user, ฿300,000,000, “weapons of mass murder” — and reveals the plan’s first move: capture Caesar himself to sow confusion (“It’s not money we want, but confusion”). Luffy commits without hesitation, and the alliance is sealed. Meanwhile at Caesar’s lab, Smoker and Tashigi’s G-5 fight Caesar’s centaur guards and realize they are the supposedly-dead former prisoners of the four-years-ago accident. Cornered by too many intruders, Caesar resolves to introduce them to “my little pet” — and his panicking subordinates on the fire side, who opened “the door” on his orders, flee in terror as a colossal slime monster (“Inhabitant of Punk Hazard: Slime”) surges out and devours them.

New reveals

• The alliance is formed. Luffy accepts Law’s pitch — “I’m in!” (p. 3) and later “No need. I’m with you!! …All right, I will!!” (p. 13). Law: “Make sure the rest of your crew is on board with the plan. Then I will accept your wishes.” The Straw Hat–Heart alliance is the chapter’s titular and structural event.
• Pirate-alliance doctrine. Robin: “This might not be a good idea for someone as trusting as you… but betrayal is a part of pirate alliances. I will follow your decision, Luffy” (p. 5). Establishes the institution’s built-in treachery risk.
• Forced gigantism = World Government research. Law: “This forced gigantism in humans… is a piece of World Government research that’s been in the works for centuries. …Probably for soldiers… when you can manufacture an army of giant warriors whenever you want, it tends to discourage enemies” (p. 8). Caesar replicates it to “rub it in the government’s and Vegapunk’s noses.”
• Caesar profile / the plan’s stakes. “Caesar’s a former government scientist-turned-criminal after the incident four years ago… Logia gas-gas fruit powers. Weapons of mass murder. A 300-million-berry bounty. …He’s no typical lab coat scientist” (p. 11). Caesar wants to get rid of both Luffy and “White Chase” (Smoker) so he doesn’t lose his hideout (p. 11).
• The first move: kidnap Caesar. “So you and us gonna find the master… and kidnap him, right?” — “It’s not money we want, but confusion. …Just focus on capturing Caesar Clown” (p. 12). “Once Caesar’s been caught, things will start moving very fast” (p. 13). The Haki users named for the job: Law, Zoro, Sanji, Luffy (p. 12).
• The “zero survivors” lie. Tashigi/Smoker recognize the centaur guards as former prisoners: “Why was it reported that there were zero prisoners surviving after the accident four years ago?!!” (p. 15).
• Body-swaps restored. Law’s “Chambres” (Shambles) returns Franky, Nami, and Chopper to their own bodies (pp. 6–7); a swap-chart shows Sanji still absent (off seeking the samurai).
• Caesar’s “little pet” unleashed. “It’s time to introduce them to my little pet… No one’s getting off this island alive” (p. 15). The creature is introduced on its own card: “Inhabitant of Punk Hazard: Slime” (p. 18) — a mountainous gelatinous monster that pours out of “the door” and consumes Caesar’s fleeing subordinates (pp. 16–20).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Luffy · Trafalgar Law (Ope Ope no Mi — “Chambres”/Shambles body-restore) · Nami · Sanji (referenced — absent, body-swap incomplete) · Tony Tony Chopper · Franky (restored to own body) · Nico Robin · Zoro · Brook · Usopp · Caesar Clown (“the Master” / “my little pet”; Gasu Gasu no Mi) · Smoker (“White Chase”) · Tashigi · Vegapunk (referenced) · Slime (first appearance) · Whitebeard (cover) · Ace (cover) · Straw Hat Pirates · Heart Pirates · Marines (G-5) · Four Emperors (Yonko) (referenced) · Punk Hazard · New World (referenced)

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Cover / B-plot: From the Decks of the World, FINAL VOLUME: “Whitebeard and Ace’s Graves.” Whitebeard’s captain’s mantle is draped over a cross-shaped grave marker topped with the Whitebeard Jolly Roger; two headstones read “PORTGAZ.D.ACE” and “EDWARD.NEWGATE,” flowers laid before them. This is the closing installment of the entire “From the Decks of the World” cover series — a memorial coda to the Marineford dead. (Route to cover-tracker.)
• Page 2 — Law’s alliance pitch at the lab ruins: “if we follow the plan in the right order… we’ll have a good chance of pulling it off! What do you say, Straw Hat?”
• Page 3 — Luffy’s instant buy-in (“I’m in!”) against Usopp’s “No, Luffy! Stop getting interested!!”
• Pages 6–7 — Law’s “Chambres” restores the bodies; Franky celebrates his “ultimate body”; the swap-chart marks Sanji “Absent.”
• Page 8 — The gigantism reveal: WG super-soldier research “in the works for centuries.”
• Page 11 — Caesar dossier: former scientist, Logia gas-gas, “weapons of mass murder,” ฿300,000,000; “If you can’t use Haki, stay away.”
• Page 12 — The plan’s first move named: “and kidnap him, right?” / “It’s not money we want, but confusion.”
• Page 15 — Tashigi/Smoker: the guards are former prisoners; Caesar resolves to release “my little pet.”
• Pages 18–19 — Introduction card “Inhabitant of Punk Hazard: Slime” and the full-page reveal of the slime monster (“BOO—”).
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner opens (Vol 67 SBS, p. 28). (Route to SBS cross-link refresh — Vol 67.)

Open questions raised

• What is Caesar’s “little pet” (Slime), and how is it tied to his gas/candy research?
• Who exactly are the giant children, and can the crew wean them off the candy to send them home?
• What is the full shape of Law’s plan — which Emperor, and what is the “crucial key”?
• Why did the World Government report zero survivors of the four-years-ago accident when the prisoners plainly lived (mutated)?
• Will the alliance hold given Robin’s warning that “betrayal is a part of pirate alliances”?