Chapters · Dressrosa › Punk Hazard

Chapter 689: The Island That's There But Isn't There

Arc: Punk Hazard · Saga: Dressrosa · Released:

Summary

In Structure R, Brownbeard hijacks Caesar’s island-wide broadcast to warn the centaur “Soldiers of Punk Hazard” that everything Caesar says is a lie, but the worshipful soldiers don’t believe him. Confronting Caesar at the R-66 gate, Brownbeard begs him to rescue the men trapped outside; Caesar coldly refuses, then gleefully confirms over the broadcast that he regards them all as expendable “guinea pigs” kept alive only to feed his experiments, paralyzes Brownbeard with a muscle-relaxant gas, and reveals that the chemical-weapons explosion four years ago — long blamed on Vegapunk — was Caesar’s own doing, after which he “pretended to save” the survivors to make them his devotees. Caesar frames Brownbeard as a Straw-Hat-controlled madman and has the soldiers gun him down, but Luffy bursts in, snaps the broadcast feed, and saves Brownbeard. Caesar then lays out the full operation: Punk Hazard is an off-record “stronghold of black science”; he manufactures S.A.D., which is shipped to Don Quixote Doflamingo’s factory and turned into SMILE — a man-made Zoan Devil Fruit — with which one of the Four Emperors is already raising an army of hundreds of Zoan users. Boasting that he is “protected by Doflamingo and an Emperor,” Caesar dares Luffy to fight him; Luffy answers by driving a Haki-charged punch clean through Caesar’s gas body, shocking the Logia who has never been “stopped” before.

New reveals

• Caesar caused the four-years-ago catastrophe. The weapons explosion that nearly killed the island’s guards was Caesar’s, not Vegapunk’s; he then posed as their savior (p. 7). Brownbeard realizes: “It wasn’t Vegapunk?! Then… he did this to them… and pretended to save them as well?!”
• The soldiers are livestock. Caesar openly calls Brownbeard’s men and the centaurs “guinea bags / guinea peas / guinea pigs,” kept alive only as test subjects (pp. 5-7).
• S.A.D. → SMILE pipeline. Caesar makes S.A.D.; it ships to Doflamingo’s factory; Doflamingo turns it into SMILE, “a man-made Devil Fruit of the Zoan persuasion” (pp. 15-16).
• An Emperor’s Zoan army. One of the Four Emperors is “already putting together an army of hundreds of Zoans thanks to the SMILE fruit” (p. 17). The Emperor is not named.
• Doflamingo’s underworld trade. Doflamingo (“the most dangerous of the Seven Warlords”) sells SMILE to “the truly BIG PLAYERS in the New World” and cuts deals with them (pp. 16-17).
• Caesar’s patrons. Caesar claims to be “protected by Doflamingo and an Emperor” (p. 17).
• Law’s target is the S.A.D. Caesar: “Law’s after the S.A.D.!! He knows I’m the only one who can make it!!! That’s why he wants to kidnap me!!!” (p. 15).
• Punk Hazard defined. “An island that’s there but not there,” the very “stronghold of black science,” kept close to the criminal underworld and off all rescue records (pp. 14-15).
• Luffy lands a Haki hit on a Logia. Luffy punches Caesar flush; Caesar, a Gas-Gas Logia, is stunned that anyone has ever “stopped” him (pp. 18-20).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Caesar Clown — appears; reveals the S.A.D./SMILE operation, betrays Brownbeard, punched by Luffy
• Brownbeard — appears; warns the soldiers, is paralyzed, gunned down, and saved by Luffy
• Luffy — appears; snaps the broadcast feed, saves Brownbeard, lands a Haki punch on Caesar
• Momonosuke — appears (small dragon child; a captive child asks “So your name is Momonosuke?”, p. 13). Caesar confirms the captive children are doomed “subjects” on a finite clock (pp. 13, 15). See Punk Hazard’s Captive Children.
• Ginny — first appearance; one of Brownbeard’s centaur “Soldiers of Punk Hazard,” addressed by name (“Gingy…”) on p. 5
• Pink — first appearance; one of Brownbeard’s centaur “Soldiers of Punk Hazard,” addressed by name (“Pink…”) on p. 5
• Trafalgar Law — mentioned (after the S.A.D.; wants to kidnap Caesar)
• Doflamingo — mentioned (SMILE factory; Caesar’s Warlord patron)
• Vegapunk — mentioned (exonerated — the explosion was Caesar’s, not his)
• Caribou — cover story only
• Straw Hat Pirates — referenced (“the Straw Hats”)
• SMILE — first named on-page (p. 16)
• S.A.D. — named (pp. 15-16); the substance only Caesar can manufacture, shipped to Doflamingo’s factory to become SMILE. (NOT a first — already named in Ch. 672; the substance itself is not shown here.)
• Four Emperors (Yonko) — referenced (an unnamed Emperor’s Zoan army)
• Seven Warlords of the Sea — referenced (Doflamingo, “most dangerous of the Seven Warlords”)
• Punk Hazard — setting (Structure R, R-66 / R-6 gates, 1st-2nd floors)

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title splash (B&W) and cover story: “Caribou’s New World Kee Hee Hee, Vol. 14: ‘Alive on some new island somewhere’.”
• Page 7 — Caesar’s “Well, THAT was me too.” — the reveal that the four-years-ago disaster was his own doing.
• Page 16 — The black-and-white SMILE fruit shown (apple-shaped, swirl-dotted) as Caesar explains S.A.D. → SMILE; visually significant artificial-fruit reveal.
• Pages 18-19 — Luffy’s Haki punch lands flush on Caesar’s gas body (“DAM!!” / “KABOOO”).
• Page 19 — Caesar, stunned by the Haki punch: “No one’s ever… stopped me before!!! That’s never…” (quote bubbles alongside the “KABOOO” impact).
• Page 20 — Wordless full-panel close-up of Caesar’s stunned, wide-mouthed face (vol. p. 226; no speech bubbles).

Open questions raised

• Which of the Four Emperors is building the army of hundreds of SMILE Zoans? (name withheld)
• What exactly is S.A.D., and why is Caesar the only one who can make it?
• How is the SMILE Zoan army connected to Doflamingo’s “BIG PLAYERS” deals in the New World?
• Is Caesar’s claimed Emperor protector the same Emperor buying the Zoan army?