Chapters · Dressrosa › Dressrosa

Chapter 722: Royal Bloodlines

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2013-08-19

Summary

At the Corrida Colosseum, Block D’s crowd turns on Rebecca, screaming for her death as the cursed granddaughter of an “arsonist” — until the White Knight Cavendish rides in, shames the mob for jeering a warrior who fights with her life on the line, and then is instantly adored by the same crowd (which delights and disgusts him). Block D’s battle royale begins with 137 contestants. Meanwhile, in the flower fields of Dressrosa, the Tontatta dwarf army under Captain Leo gathers, having spent a year planning to overthrow Doflamingo and restore the deposed King Riku; Zoro races through Acacia with dwarf guides, learning the Donquixote officer Giolla has stolen the Thousand Sunny and is sailing it to Greenbit. On the Sunny, Giolla uses her art-transmutation power to fuse Nami, Chopper, Momonosuke and the others into a “masterpiece,” but Brook — feigning artistic conversion as the “Soul King” — recovers his sword-cane and cuts her down. On Greenbit, facing Law alongside Admiral Fujitora, Doflamingo delivers the chapter’s centerpiece monologue: 800 years ago twenty kings of twenty kingdoms united to form the World Government and moved their families to Mariejoa as the Celestial Dragons — and the original royal family of Dressrosa, the “creators” who left, were the Donquixotes.

New reveals

• 800+ years ago, twenty kings from twenty kingdoms came to the center of the world, established one massive power (the World Government), and ruled ever since; their descendants are the Celestial Dragons (p. 18).
• Nineteen of those founding families moved their bloodlines to Mariejoa, the Holy Land; the Nefertari line of Alabasta alone refused the honor (p. 18).
• The nineteen abandoned kingdoms had to form new dynasties. In Dressrosa the new royal family became the Riku Dynasty; the original “creator” family who left for Mariejoa were the Donquixotes (pp. 19–20).
• Rebecca is publicly reviled as the granddaughter of a reviled “arsonist,” tying her to the deposed Riku bloodline (“So what if she’s his granddaughter?!”, p. 2).
• The Donquixote officer Giolla (artistic Devil-Fruit power — fruit unnamed) has stolen the Thousand Sunny, enthralled Brook, and is sailing the ship and crew toward Greenbit to fuse them into “art” (pp. 12–17).
• The Tontatta dwarves, led by Captain Leo, have spent a full year planning an uprising to topple Doflamingo and restore King Riku (pp. 10–11).
• Ten years ago the Dressrosa Army was wiped out by three of Doflamingo’s top officers — Trebol, Diamante, and Pica (p. 12).
• Block D begins with 137 contestants after one abstention (p. 8). Combatants named: Rebecca, Cavendish, Suleiman the Beheader, Orlumbus.
• Cavendish’s white horse is named Farul (p. 6); his crew is the Beautiful Pirates (p. 4).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Cavendish · Farul · Rebecca · Suleiman · Orlumbus · Bartolomeo · Giolla · Leo · Zoro · Brook · Nami · Momonosuke · Sanji · Violet · Caesar Clown · Trafalgar Law · Doflamingo · Fujitora · King Riku · Pica · Trebol · Diamante · Donquixote Pirates · Beautiful Pirates · Donquixote · Riku · Nefertari D Family · Dwarves · Corrida Colosseum · Dressrosa · Acacia · Greenbit · Thousand Sunny · Mariejois · Celestial Dragons

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page “ROYAL BLOODLINES”; cover-story strip “Caribou’s New World Kee Hee Hee, Vol. 39: ‘Take over the factory! No more workplace!!!’”
• Page 4 — Intro splash: “PIRATE WHITE KNIGHT CAVENDISH” rides in on Farul (mirror-worthy character-billing splash).
• Page 6 — Cavendish thanks his horse “Farul”; dons his colosseum armor.
• Page 10 — The Tontatta dwarf army (Yellow Cub and Pink Bee squads) arrives across the flower field from Greenbit; Captain Leo.
• Page 12 — Shadowed flashback of three men wiping out the Dressrosa Army: Trebol, Diamante, Pica.
• Page 17 — Brook’s “Bamboo Flute Slice” fells Giolla after he feigns artistic conversion.
• Pages 18–20 — Doflamingo’s founding-of-the-World-Government monologue; the twenty-kings flashback; the Donquixote/Riku reveal.
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner page (Vol. 73 SBS opens here; Chopper hosts; “Land of the Farts” gag, Law’s “DEATH” knuckle-tattoo / Chambres gag).

Open questions raised

• Why did the Donquixotes return from Mariejoa to Dressrosa, and how does Doflamingo’s claim to the throne follow from this lineage?
• Was King Riku genuinely the “arsonist” the nation remembers, or is that history fabricated — and how does Rebecca fit the Riku line?
• What is Giolla’s Devil Fruit, and can the Sunny crew be un-fused before reaching Greenbit?
• Why did the Nefertari family alone refuse to become Celestial Dragons?