Chapters · Dressrosa › Punk Hazard

Chapter 699: The Sudden Abdication of King Doflamingo

Arc: Punk Hazard · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2013-02-25

Summary

On Punk Hazard, Doflamingo — who had come for the half-frozen Smoker — is met by a blast of ice and driven back: Aokiji, here as the wandering ex-admiral “Kuzan,” has intervened and saved Smoker’s life. Doflamingo, unable to silence Smoker without a fight he doesn’t want, retreats, but not before demanding “Just what ARE you now?!! Where do you stand?! KUZAN!!!” and noting that “only a man who’s made up his mind about something can make a face like that.” Kuzan tells Smoker he came independently — “you don’t have to be affiliated with the Navy to accomplish things in the world” — confirms he is now “a former admiral” with black-market connections, and warns him that Doflamingo is an exceedingly rare and dangerous pirate; he orders Smoker to “inform Sakazuki and have the admirals mobilized” against the King of Dressrosa, by “Sakazuki’s new naval headquarters.” That night the Straw Hats, with Law aboard the Sunny, flee Punk Hazard by sea. Aboard ship: Robin and Nami bathe Momonosuke while a furious Kin’emon rails at the “perverted little imp,” and Kin’emon further accuses Zoro of grave-robbing — naming Zoro’s black blade Shusui as the sword of the great Ryuma, Wano’s national hero. By morning, Brook brings the Morning Edition: the front page screams that Don Quixote Doflamingo has left the Seven Warlords and abandoned the royal throne of Dressrosa, and that Trafalgar Law has formed an unprecedented alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates. Law privately understands Doflamingo did all of it — surrendering a Warlord’s plunder license and a ten-year throne in a single night — only to get Caesar back. A second bombshell follows: Kid, Apoo and Hawkins have formed their own three-crew alliance simultaneously, the “problem children” called the Eye of the Storm of the past two years. The chapter closes on Dressrosa, a Den Den Mushi ringing — teasing the next stage.

New reveals

• Aokiji returns as “Kuzan,” post-timeskip, present-day. His first present-day on-page appearance since the timeskip (prior @0650 was a recounted flashback). He freezes/repels Doflamingo and rescues a partially-frozen Smoker (“He wasn’t frozen down to the core!!”, p. 6). Doflamingo names him: “KUZAN!!!” (p. 6).
• Kuzan has left the Marines. He is “a former admiral” with black market connections (p. 9), explicitly no longer Navy: “you don’t have to be affiliated with the Navy to accomplish things in the world… and there are some things you can only see when you remain independent” (p. 8). Asked why he’s there, he answers simply, “To see you” — to Smoker (p. 8). He travels with a pet penguin (p. 8, 9; named “Camel” only in this volume’s SBS, p. 20).
• Sakazuki is the new Fleet Admiral. Kuzan refers to “Sakazuki’s new naval headquarters” and orders Smoker to “inform Sakazuki and have the admirals mobilized” against Doflamingo (p. 10) — present-day confirmation that Akainu won the duel and now leads the relocated Marine HQ.
• Doflamingo = King of Dressrosa, and he ABDICATES. Kuzan calls him “one of the Seven Warlords and presiding King of Dressrosa” (p. 10). The morning paper then reveals: “Don Quixote Doflamingo… leaves the Seven Warlords!!! And abandons the royal throne of Dressrosa?!!” (p. 16) — the chapter’s title event.
• The Law–Straw Hat alliance goes public worldwide. Newspaper: “Government response to Law is as of yet unknown! Warlord of the Sea, Trafalgar Law, forms unprecedented alliance with Straw Hat Pirates!” (p. 17). Luffy: “So why are OUR faces in the paper too?!”
• Doflamingo gave up everything for Caesar. Law: “Joker…!! You did all this, just for me?” (p. 17) — he surrendered “a government-stamped license to plunder, in the span of a single night… and he gave up a royal throne he had held for ten years” (p. 19), all to recover Caesar Clown. “All we did was kidnap Caesar.”
• Kid + Apoo + Hawkins form a rival alliance simultaneously. “Apoo x Hawkins Form Alliance” — “The Kid Pirates, On-Air Pirates and Hawkins Pirates… form an alliance at the same time!” (p. 18). The Supernovas are branded the “Eye of the Storm” of the past two years.
• Shusui = Wano’s national treasure, grave-robbed. Kin’emon accuses Zoro: “I recognize the blade on your waist as SHUSUI, the sword of the great RYUMA!! The grave-robbing of Wano’s national hero traumatized our land!!!” (p. 12).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Aokiji “Kuzan” (repels Doflamingo, saves Smoker; ex-admiral, black-market ties), Doflamingo (King of Dressrosa; retreats from Kuzan; abdicates per the paper), Smoker (half-frozen, saved by Kuzan; ordered to warn Sakazuki), Sakazuki (referenced — new Fleet Admiral / new HQ; not shown), Trafalgar Law (on the Sunny; alliance goes public; reflects on Doflamingo’s sacrifice), Luffy, Zoro (accused of grave-robbing Shusui), Nami, Sanji (jealous of Momonosuke), Robin (baths Momonosuke), Brook (Morning Edition), Chopper, Franky, Usopp, Kin’emon (accuses Zoro; frets over Doflamingo), Momonosuke (in the bath), Eustass Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, Basil Hawkins (newspaper — three-crew alliance), Caesar Clown (referenced — the prize Doflamingo gave everything for), Hancock (referenced — “the snake princess of the Kuja”), Ryuma (referenced — Wano’s national hero, Shusui’s original owner)
• Groups: Straw Hat Pirates, Heart Pirates, Marines (G-5; ex-admiral Kuzan), Kid Pirates, On-Air Pirates, Hawkins Pirates, Seven Warlords of the Sea, Eleven Supernovas
• Locations: Punk Hazard (departure), Dressrosa (named; brief closing glimpse), Wano Country (referenced)
• Devil Fruits / powers: Hie Hie no Mi (Kuzan’s ice repels Doflamingo)

Notable panels

• Pages 1–2 — Color-spread splash headed “MORNING EDITION”: the Straw Hats (Robin, Zoro, Sanji, Brook, Nami, Luffy) staged amid an ornate clockwork/insect-armor tableau, with the ONE PIECE logo. Thematically ties to the chapter’s morning-newspaper reveals.
• Pages 3–5 — Kuzan’s ice blast erupts (“KR-AAA-KK!!!”) and slams Doflamingo; the captive children’s handlers shout “Master!! Young Master!!” as the strike lands.
• Page 6 — Smoker half-frozen but alive (“He wasn’t frozen down to the core!!”); Doflamingo: “Just what ARE you now?!! Where do you stand?! KUZAN!!!”
• Pages 8–9 — Kuzan/Smoker exchange: “you don’t have to be affiliated with the Navy…”; “a former admiral… black market connections”; the sleeping pet penguin (“ZZ-z”).
• Page 10 — “Inform Sakazuki and have the admirals mobilized… by Sakazuki’s new naval headquarters” — present-day Fleet-Admiral confirmation; Doflamingo named “presiding King of Dressrosa.”
• Page 12 — Kin’emon names Shusui, “the sword of the great Ryuma,” and brands Zoro a grave-robber of Wano’s national hero.
• Page 16 — Newspaper splash: “Don Quixote Doflamingo… leaves the Seven Warlords!!! And abandons the royal throne of Dressrosa?!!”
• Page 17 — Second front-page panel: “Trafalgar Law forms unprecedented alliance with Straw Hat Pirates!” — Luffy and Law’s faces in the paper.
• Page 18 — “Apoo x Hawkins Form Alliance” — Kid/Apoo/Hawkins ally simultaneously; Supernovas dubbed the “Eye of the Storm.”
• Page 19 — Law’s reflection on Doflamingo’s full sacrifice; closing shift to Dressrosa, a Den Den Mushi ringing (“RRR RRR… CLICK!!”).
• Page 20 — Appended SBS Question Corner (Vol. 70 SBS): the penguin riding with Kuzan is “Camel,” a “super penguin” who has accompanied Kuzan since he left the Navy; and Borsalino’s design homages actor Kunie Tanaka’s role in Truck Yaro.

Open questions raised

• What is Kuzan now — why did he leave the Marines, where do his “black market connections” lead, and why was he on Punk Hazard?
• Is Doflamingo’s resignation real, or a setup? The Straw Hats find it suspiciously convenient.
• Will Smoker actually relay Kuzan’s warning to Sakazuki, and will the admirals move on Doflamingo?
• Where will the Law–Luffy alliance strike next now that the world knows — and what will the Kid/Apoo/Hawkins alliance do?
• Will Zoro have to answer for the Shusui — and return it to Wano?