Chapters · Dressrosa › Dressrosa

Chapter 724: Law's Plan

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2013-10-21

Summary

On the iron bridge linking Greenbit to Dressrosa, Doflamingo (with the blob-bodied officer Trebol gloating at his side) corners Sanji, who is covering the retreat of Nami, Chopper, Brook and the captive Caesar. Sanji’s Diable Jambe (“Premiere Hachis Hash,” “Poele a frire Spectre”) only earns Doflamingo’s praise before the warlord freezes him mid-air in a string web (“Penta-chromatic string”) and prepares to kill him. Sanji screams at Nami to protect the others and run — and Trafalgar Law reaches in with “Chambres”/“Room” and teleports the whole group, plus Caesar, onto the Thousand Sunny. On deck Law produces Caesar’s heart (he had been holding it all along), hands the crew their charge, and orders them to take Caesar and sail for Zou at once, reminding them he already gave them the island’s vivre card. Nami refuses to abandon Luffy; Law promises the rest will follow once the factory is destroyed. Then a Marine battleship comes flying overhead — blind Admiral Fujitora (Issho), eating calmly, senses “the battle is fixin’ to take a turn” and uses his gravity (“Takt”) to call a meteor down out of the sky onto Dressrosa’s waters, even as Doflamingo’s whip-strings (“Overheat”) close from the other side. Sanji deduces Doflamingo moves by stringing the clouds and tells the crew to flee where the sky is clear; the Sunny escapes by Coup de Burst. Doflamingo declares the pirate alliance over and vows to take the rest of the Straw Hats hostage to ransom Caesar back — at which Law reveals his real plan: he was only ever using them to shut down the SMILE factory. Once Doflamingo can no longer supply Kaido, “Kaido will finish the job for me.” Calling Doflamingo “Joker,” Law promises to settle their “score from 13 years ago.”

New reveals

• “Law’s Plan” revealed — the alliance was a means to shut down the SMILE factory; severing Doflamingo’s SMILE supply to Kaido will make the Emperor destroy him. Law: “…once you’ve lost your Smile… Kaido will finish the job for me.”
• Law and Doflamingo have a “score from 13 years ago” — Law addresses him as “Joker” and frames their fight as personal and long-standing.
• Fujitora’s given name is Issho — a Marine aboard his ship calls him “Issho.”
• Fujitora’s power, first full display — he pulls a literal meteor down from the sky with gravity (“Takt”); he is blind and eats during the operation, sensing the battle is about to turn.
• Doflamingo’s aerial mobility mechanic — he flies by anchoring strings to clouds; clear sky strands him (Sanji’s deduction).
• Next destination named: Zou — Law orders the Sunny group there with Caesar and references a vivre card he already handed over.
• Doflamingo intends to take the remaining Straw Hats hostage in Dressrosa to force Caesar’s return; he announces the alliance “ends here.”

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Doflamingo — bridge; overpowers Sanji, declares the alliance over, learns Law’s plan
• Trafalgar Law — teleports the group to the Sunny, surrenders Caesar’s heart, orders them to Zou, reveals his plan (“Joker,” “13 years ago,” “Kaido will finish the job for me”)
• Sanji — fights Doflamingo, is web-trapped and saved; deduces the cloud-string travel
• Nami — refuses to set sail without Luffy (“We’re the Straw Hat Crew!!”)
• Tony Tony Chopper · Brook — aboard the Sunny (Brook: “the Twirly Hat Crew is ready to leave!!!”)
• Caesar Clown — bound captive on the Sunny; his heart changes hands
• Fujitora — named “Issho”; blind Admiral on a flying Marine battleship; calls down a meteor with “Takt”
• Trebol — blob-bodied Donquixote officer gloating at Doflamingo’s side (by silhouette; p. 6 “Young Master’s seen to that with his powers”)
• Kaido — mentioned: the Emperor whose loss of SMILE will end Doflamingo
• Greenbit · Dressrosa · Thousand Sunny · Zou (destination)
• SMILE · Four Emperors (Yonko) · Pirate Alliance
• Donquixote Pirates · Straw Hat Pirates · Heart Pirates · Marines

Notable panels

• Pages 1-2 — Title double-spread (printed B&W here): the Straw Hats lounging in a whimsical underwater “Mermaid Cafe” tableau (Nami, Robin, Chopper, Brook, Luffy, etc.). Decorative request-art spread; no cover-story serial installment this chapter.
• Page 4 — Doflamingo’s “Penta-chromatic string” overwhelms Sanji’s Diable Jambe.
• Page 7-8 — Law’s “Chambres”/“Room” snatches Sanji’s group and Caesar off the bridge to the Sunny.
• Page 11 — Law holds Caesar’s heart: “I had your heart right in here.” / “Take him… and head to Zou right away!!”
• Pages 14-15 — Fujitora’s meteor falls (“Something’s falling out of the sky!!!” / “A meteorite?!”) and detonates near the Sunny — KABOOM.
• Page 16 — Fujitora (“Issho”) eating aboard the flying battleship; “I got a premonition… that the battle is fixin’ to take a turn.”
• Page 19 — The plan reveal: “…once you’ve lost your Smile… Kaido will finish the job for me.” / “…settling our score from 13 years ago comes first, Joker!!!”
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner (volume back-matter), not story content.

Open questions raised

• What is the “score from 13 years ago” between Law and Doflamingo/Joker?
• Will cutting the SMILE supply really turn Kaido against Doflamingo, and how soon?
• Why has Admiral Fujitora arrived over Dressrosa, and how far will he go (dropping meteors on a populated island)?
• Can the Sunny reach Zou, and will the rest of the crew follow as Law promised?
• Is Doflamingo’s “the alliance ends here” a genuine break or another piece of theater?