Chapters · Dressrosa › Punk Hazard

Chapter 688: Mocha

Arc: Punk Hazard · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2012-11-26

Summary

The rescue of Caesar Clown’s captive giant children reaches its emotional climax. As killer gas leaks into Structure B with a ten-minute countdown, Zoro (winner of the off-panel Biscuits-Room battle) hauls the gas-fainted Tashigi clear. On the third floor, Nami, Robin and Chopper struggle to herd the candy-addicted children, who break free in violent withdrawal to chase Mocha — the one child Chopper trusted to carry the whole candy stash to safety. Cornered, rather than surrender the addictive poison to her friends, Mocha stuffs the entire stash into her own mouth and swallows it. An extended flashback shows Chopper telling the children the truth — the “yummy candy” is the lethal drug NHC10, they are subjects of a centuries-old giant-soldier war experiment, Caesar only wants data, and no one will be cured or go home — and the children sharing their dreams of growing up and sailing the sea, before begging to be saved. In the present, Mocha collapses coughing blood; Chopper declares she “sacrificed herself to save you from its evil effects — this is what that candy REALLY does.” The stunned children stop, and Sanji arrives leading the G-5 Marines (“No resorting to violence, boys!!”), whose medical team helps Chopper inject sedatives. Chopper rushes Mocha to an examination room, vowing she will grow up one day. Below, Luffy erupts from the trash chute riding the dragon Momonosuke, demands to know where Caesar is, and rockets off toward Structure R.

New reveals

• The candy is lethal in overdose. Mocha swallows the entire Biscuits-Room candy stash to deny it to the rampaging children (p6) and shortly collapses coughing blood (pp14–15). Chopper: “Mocha sacrificed herself to save you from its evil effects!! This is what that candy REALLY does!!!” (p15) — the first on-page demonstration that NHC10 kills, not merely addicts.
• The giant-soldier war experiment is centuries old and has never succeeded. Chopper’s flashback: enlargement of the human body “has been researched for centuries… just for the purpose of creating giant soldiers to fight in wars” (p8); it is “an experiment that’s been tested for hundreds of years… but never implemented successfully” (p8). The children are not sick — they are test subjects (p8), and Caesar “just wants more data for the next experiment” (p9).
• The death-stakes are spelled out. “No one will make it back home. You’ll die” (p9); the candy “is actually a terrible poison… it’ll eat away at your insides” (p9); the side effects “will kill all of you before you’re grown-ups” (p10).
• Zoro won the Biscuits-Room battle (“WINNER: ZOLO”, p2) and carries the gas-fainted Tashigi out under a 10-minute killer-gas countdown; Tashigi recognizes his black blade as “the legendary blade SHUSUI” (p2), which Zoro forbids her to touch.
• Sanji + G-5 alliance, non-lethally. Sanji arrives with the G-5 Marines — “No resorting to violence, boys!!” (p16) — and Chopper deputizes the Marine medical team to inject the children with sedatives (p17), the candy-rampage subdued by “the strength of numbers.”
• Luffy heads for Caesar. Luffy bursts from the underground trash chute riding Momonosuke (dragon form), and on learning the way to Structure R demands “Where’s Caesar?!” before launching off: “GOT IT!!!” (pp19–20).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Mocha (the heroine — eats the candy, overdoses), Tony Tony Chopper (sedates the children, flashback exposition, carries Mocha), Nami (Milky Ball; shepherds Mocha), Nico Robin (Cien Fleurs: Dos Manos restrains the children), Zoro (won the Biscuits-Room fight; carries Tashigi), Tashigi (gas-fainted; IDs Shusui), Sanji (arrives leading G-5; “no resorting to violence”), Luffy (erupts from the trash chute; charges at Caesar), Momonosuke (dragon form, carries Luffy), Caesar Clown (referenced — the target; not shown)
• Minor named children: Kombu, Beeyo (named in dialogue, p5 — no note)
• Groups: Marines (G-5 — Sanji’s allies; medical team injects sedatives)
• Locations: Punk Hazard — interior cited: Biscuits Room, Structure B 3rd-floor back hallway, Structure C 1st floor, Structure R (Caesar’s location, off-panel)
• World-Building: NHC10 (the “candy” / poison)
• Devil Fruits / techniques: Hana Hana no Mi (Robin — Cien Fleurs: Dos Manos), Hito Hito no Mi (Chopper), Gomu Gomu no Mi (Luffy), Nami’s Clima-Tact Milky Ball

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page. Cover story: “Caribou’s New World Kee Hee Hee, Vol. 13: ‘Divine Retribution’” — Caribou’s side-serial, a small boat foundering in stormy New-World seas. (Cover-tracker.)
• Page 2 — Gag victory card “WINNER: ZOLO” over the off-panel Biscuits-Room battle; Tashigi spots Shusui (“the legendary blade SHUSUI?!”), Zoro: “Don’t touch it!”
• Page 6 — Mocha stuffs the entire candy stash in her mouth (“CHOMP!!”) and swallows — the chapter’s turning point.
• Pages 8–11 — Flashback: Chopper’s truth-telling and the children’s dreams of growing up, sailing the sea, and reuniting “when we’re twenty.”
• Pages 14–15 — Mocha collapses (“BLOOD!!!”); Chopper names her sacrifice: “This is what that candy REALLY does!!!”
• Page 16 — Sanji and the G-5 Marines storm in: “Subdue the children!!! — No resorting to violence, boys!!!”
• Pages 19–20 — Luffy erupts from the trash chute on the dragon Momonosuke (“A person AND a dragon?!”), demands Caesar’s location, and rockets toward Structure R.
• Page 20 — Enigmatic closing inset: a net/slingshot whip (“ZIP!!”) snapping against a Marine “Justice” (正義) coat — a transition teaser into the next beat.

Open questions raised

• Will Mocha survive the overdose, and can Chopper actually cure the NHC10 addiction and the gigantification in time?
• What is the full scope of the centuries-old giant-soldier war experiment Chopper describes, and which power has been running it? (See Punk Hazard’s Captive Children.)
• What does the closing slingshot-vs-Justice-coat panel (p20) foreshadow?
• Will Luffy reach and defeat Caesar at Structure R before the killer gas fills the building?