Chapters · Dressrosa › Dressrosa

Chapter 705: Maynard the Pursuer

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2013-03-11

Summary

A connective chapter that fans out across the split Straw Hat operation in Dressrosa, organized into six labeled scenes. At the Corrida Colosseum (Scene 1) the crowd roars over Jesus Burgess’s monstrous showing while Vice Admiral Maynard “the Pursuer,” disguised as gladiator No. 0429 “Capman,” quietly inventories the dangerous entrants (Burgess, the giant mercenary Hajrudin, Gambia the Missionary of the Barto Club) — and beats and discards Gambia after mistaking him for a fellow spy. Maynard then slips out toward Green Bit, while Admiral Fujitora (Issho) — a blind, cane-tapping swordsman — calls for medics and a headcount of the townsfolk, declaring the only number that matters is the lives the Marines ought to protect. Scene 2: the Caesar hand-off team (Nico Robin among them) learns from café locals that Green Bit’s only link is a wrought-iron bridge abandoned for two centuries and surrounded by horned “fighting fish” — then panics as CP-0 is spotted in the streets. Scenes 3–6 are vignettes: Zoro chasing the “fairy” dwarf who stole Shusui; Kin’emon cornered by Doflamingo’s men who hold Kanjuro hostage; Sanji sniping a would-be assassin and falling instantly in love with a rescued woman; and the Thousand Sunny “guard team” (Nami, Chopper, Brook) doting on a melancholy Momonosuke — until a strange voice reveals someone is hiding aboard the ship.

New reveals

• Admiral Fujitora (Issho) debuts on-page (p.7): blind, navigates by a cane/sheathed-blade, and frames the Marines’ job as protecting lives rather than counting enemies (p.7). Calls for extra medics and a headcount of the town and kingdom.
• Vice Admiral Maynard “the Pursuer” is undercover in the Colosseum as gladiator “Capman,” No. 0429 (p.5), reporting on entrants and confirming intel “from Issho” (p.4).
• CP-0 (Cipher Pol “Aigis” Zero) — “the world’s most powerful intelligence agency,” the “supreme branch of the agency” above CP9 — appears in Dressrosa; locals say nothing good happens when they’re involved (p.11).
• Green Bit: an island off Dressrosa, its iron bridge unused for 200+ years, surrounded by “fighting fish” with big horns that can capsize ships; it is the planned drop-off / hand-off point (p.9–10).
• Gambia the Missionary — Barto Club Pirates Chief of Staff, bounty 67,000,000 Berries (p.4) — serves Bartolomeo; Hajrudin, the pirate mercenary (a giant) is another named entrant (p.3).
• Kanjuro is a hostage of Doflamingo’s men, who flash Punk Hazard footage to identify the disguised Kin’emon (“your ‘hat’ is just a topknot!!”), p.13–14.
• Dressrosa’s king has “just quit,” yet the kingdom carries on as if nothing changed — noticed as suspicious by the hand-off team (p.10).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

(None resolve on-page this chapter; this is a setup/connective chapter.)

Mentions / appearances

• Shown: Maynard (as “Capman”), Fujitora, Jesus Burgess, Gambia, Bartolomeo (shadowed, p.19), Nico Robin, Caesar Clown, Sanji, Kin’emon, Momonosuke, Nami, Tony Tony Chopper, Brook, Zoro, a the ‘fairy’ (unnamed), an unnamed woman Sanji rescues, Caribou (cover story).
• Named only (not shown): Hajrudin, Kanjuro (held hostage), Trafalgar Law (“Traffy,” addressed remotely), Luffy (competing as “Lucy”), Doflamingo (the “Doflamingo family”), Fighting Fish.
• Groups / places: CP-0, CP9, Barto Club Pirates, Blackbeard Pirates, Don Quixote Family, Marines, Straw Hat Pirates, Giants, Corrida Colosseum, Dressrosa, Green Bit, Mera Mera no Mi (tournament prize, referenced).

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page; the illustration is the cover story “Caribou’s New World Kee Hee Hee, Vol. 25 — ‘An Example to the Others’” (Caribou looming over cowering figures amid tombstones; one figure’s hat reads “18”). 1-page cover-story installment. (For the cover-tracker.)
• Page 4 — Info caption: Barto Club Pirates, Chief of Staff GAMBIA THE MISSIONARY, Bounty 67,000,000.
• Page 5 — Info caption: Gladiator No. 0429 “Capman” — Naval HQ Vice Admiral MAYNARD THE PURSUER; Maynard KOs Gambia in the bathroom, then crosses “the one working for Bartolomeo” off his suspect list (“I had the wrong guy”).
• Page 7 — Iconic full-figure debut panel of NAVAL HQ ADMIRAL FUJITORA (ISSHO), blind, leaning on his cane.
• Page 9–10 — Wrought-iron bridge to Green Bit; exposition on the “fighting fish.”
• Page 11 — Reveal splash text: CIPHER POL “AIGIS” ZERO (CP-0).
• Page 16–17 — Scene 6 gag: Momonosuke as a pampered “shogun” — Chopper (“Chopperemon,” poison-taster), Nami (“Maid Onami,” lap-pillow), Brook (“Bone-kichi”); crew notes Momonosuke’s “deep mental scars.”
• Page 18 — Cliffhanger: a crash and a strange voice from the men’s bedroom — a stowaway aboard the Sunny.
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner (Vol. 71): shaved-ice-from-Aokiji gag; “our dad loves Whitebeard” dad-letter; Neko Robin’s lap-pillow question. (For the SBS refresh — Vol 71.)

Open questions raised

• Why is CP-0 in Dressrosa, and on whose orders? (Their stated rank: above CP9, the WG’s apex agency.)
• Who is the stowaway hiding in the men’s bedroom of the Thousand Sunny?
• What is the Mera Mera no Mi tournament really going to cost Luffy now that monsters like Burgess and a giant mercenary have entered?
• Why has Dressrosa’s king “quit” while the country runs unchanged — what is being concealed?
• Who is the unnamed woman Sanji rescued, and who was trying to assassinate Kin’emon?