Chapters · Dressrosa › Punk Hazard

Chapter 691: King of the Land of the Dead

Arc: Punk Hazard · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2012-12-17

Summary

The chapter opens on a four-page One Piece Film Z promotional montage (the title spread, not story content) packing the Straw Hats and a crowd of supporting characters around the “ONE PIECE / FILM Z” logos. The story proper resumes inside the quaking, collapsing Punk Hazard lab: Sanji (still in Nami’s body from Law’s earlier shuffle) herds the panicking captive children clear of the seeping gas, Zoro carries the gas-fainted Tashigi over his shoulder, Brook runs point, and Chopper rushes the overdosed Mocha toward Structure R. In the S.A.D. Manufacturing Room (Structure D), Trafalgar Law has cut down Vergo — who, sliced apart in his Marine “Justice” coat, snarls that Law “knows nothing of Joker’s PAST” and that it “will be his downfall.” Law returns Smoker’s carved-out heart, tells him to “focus on your own predicament,” warns the room will blow, and bids “Good-bye… Vergo the pirate.” Over the lab speakers Caesar Clown, enraged that Law has “ruined his beautiful paradise,” orders the vents of room R-66 opened to flood the chamber with his signature gas — knowing roughly a hundred of his own men are trapped inside. When his guards balk, Caesar dismisses them as expendable “guinea pigs”; the candy-addicted men talk themselves into believing his cruelty is a clever “act.” The gas pours out and coalesces into a colossal humanoid monster, “Land of the Dead” (死国), which Caesar crows is his “true power”: two nations have already bought it, and he means to arm the world and rule as “king of the Land of the Dead.” The monster devours his own screaming men. Usopp begs the now-disillusioned guards for access to the door controls to shield his friends, rallying them with faith that Luffy never fails. Luffy — having told Momonosuke to guard the wounded Brownbeard — rockets at Caesar with a roar: “I don’t ever want to see you again!!!! I will never forgive Caesar for this!!!”

New reveals

• Law cuts down Vergo and returns Smoker’s heart. In the S.A.D. Manufacturing Room (Structure D), Vergo lies sliced apart in his Marine “Justice” (正義) coat (p9). Vergo: “You know nothing of Joker’s past. And that will be your downfall!!!” (p9). Law hands Smoker his heart and tells him, “Focus on your own predicament. Don’t worry about me… This room will blow sky-high soon… Good-bye… Vergo the pirate.” (p9). First on-page confirmation that Law has beaten Caesar’s enforcer and freed Smoker.
• The S.A.D. is destroyed. A caption marks the “S.A.D. Manufacturing Room, Structure D” as a giant tank labeled “SAD” ruptures (p8). The substance — the concealed object of Law’s true agenda — is shown only as a mysterious manufactured liquid; its purpose is not yet explained on-page.
• Caesar will gas his own men. Caesar orders room R-66 flooded with “Land of the Dead” (“It won’t kill me; I’m already made of gas!!”, p11) despite “at least a hundred men down there.” He declares them “guinea pigs anyway… Society won’t shed a tear for the deaths of a few hundred lowlifes!!!” and “I can always find replacements for the likes of you!!!” (pp11–12).
• “Land of the Dead” (死国) is a materialized weapon already on the market. Caesar’s killer gas coalesces into a giant humanoid monster with 死国 (“Land of the Dead”) on its chest (pp15, 21). Caesar: “thanks to the public demonstration, two nations—peaceful ones, mind you—have already leapt at the chance to use Land of the Dead!! I will fill the world with weapons and begin my reign as king of the Land of the Dead!!!” and “When humankind truly seeks to protect itself, it desires the means to kill its enemies!! They will all need me in the end!!” (p15).
• The addict-guards’ delusion. Rather than accept that Caesar would murder them, the candy-addicted guards convince themselves “Master’s puttin’ on an act to deceive the enemy!!” (pp13–14) — even as the gas-monster devours them (p16).
• Luffy commits to Caesar. Luffy posts Momonosuke to guard the injured Brownbeard (“Watch over Brownbeard, Momo!!”, p16) and charges: “I don’t ever want to see you again!!!!” / “…will never forgive Caesar for this!!!!” (pp20–21).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Trafalgar Law (cuts down Vergo, destroys the SAD, returns Smoker’s heart), Vergo (defeated — sliced apart in his Marine “Justice” coat; “you know nothing of Joker’s past”; dying, has Smoker relay “the world is not such a shallow place”), Smoker (heart returned by Law), Caesar Clown (gasses his own men; summons “Land of the Dead”; the king-of-the-dead monologue), Luffy (charges Caesar; “I’ll never forgive Caesar”), Usopp (begs the guards for the door controls; rallies them with faith in Luffy), Sanji (in Nami’s body — herds the children; scolds Zoro for carrying Tashigi), Zoro (carries the gas-fainted Tashigi), Tashigi (gas-fainted; carried out), Nami, Nico Robin, Brook (fleeing the collapsing lab with the children), Tony Tony Chopper (rushes the overdosed Mocha to Structure R), Mocha (carried, still down from the overdose), Momonosuke (told to guard Brownbeard), Brownbeard (injured on the ground; his men turn on Caesar), Caribou (lurking; watches the monitors, eyes the door controls), Doflamingo (referenced as “Joker”, p9)
• Minor: Brownbeard’s centaur guards / former crew (un-named addicts who flood R-66 and are devoured); G-5 Marines glimpsed in the corridors (p6)
• Groups: Marines (G-5)
• Locations: Punk Hazard — interior cited: Examination Room (Structure B, 2nd floor), S.A.D. Manufacturing Room (Structure D), Structure R 1st floor, room R-66
• Devil Fruits: Gasu Gasu no Mi (Caesar — “Land of the Dead”), Ope Ope no Mi (Law — room-wide cut on Vergo; heart return)
• World-Building: Land of the Dead (Caesar’s materialized gas weapon), S.A.D. (the destroyed manufactured substance)
• Threads: Punk Hazard’s Captive Children (the children evacuated through the collapsing lab; Mocha rushed to Structure R)

Notable panels

• Pages 1–4 — Film Z four-page title montage. A wide black-and-white promotional spread for the movie One Piece Film Z (the Straw Hats — Brook, Chopper, Zoro, Robin, Nami, Sanji, Law, Luffy, Franky — fronting a dense crowd of cast members) carrying “FILM Z” and “ONE PIECE” logos. Decorative tie-in art; no cover-serial installment this week.
• Page 8 — The “SAD” tank ruptures in the S.A.D. Manufacturing Room (Structure D); Vergo (kneeling, sliced, “正義” coat) vows “you WILL regret this… This is going too far, Law…”
• Page 9 — Law slices Vergo (“SLICE!!”); Vergo: “You know nothing of Joker’s PAST.” Law returns Smoker’s heart: “Good-bye… Vergo the pirate.”
• Pages 11–12 — Caesar orders R-66 flooded with gas over his own hundred men: “You’re all guinea pigs anyway!!!”
• Page 15 — Full-page “Land of the Dead” (死国) gas-monster splash; Caesar’s “king of the Land of the Dead” / two-nations-already-bought-it monologue.
• Page 16 — The gas-monster devours Caesar’s own men (“STOP…”); Luffy posts Momonosuke to guard Brownbeard and charges.
• Pages 20–21 — Luffy lunges at Caesar — “I don’t ever want to see you again!!!!” — over Caesar’s stunned face and the looming 死国 monster.

Open questions raised

• What is Joker’s past, and how does ignorance of it endanger Law (p9)?
• What exactly is the S.A.D., why was destroying it the core of Law’s hidden agenda, and what larger objective does that agenda ultimately serve (p8)?
• Which two nations have already purchased “Land of the Dead,” and how far has Caesar’s arms trade spread (p15)?
• Is Vergo dead, or merely sliced and left in the soon-to-explode room (p9)?
• Can Luffy put down Caesar — who is “already made of gas” — and stop the killer gas before it fills the island (pp15, 20–21)?