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Chapter 728: The Number of Tragedies

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

Summary

A group of living toys recounts Dressrosa’s hidden history to Nico Robin and her companion (“Fraland,” i.e. Franky). Ten years ago Doflamingo toppled the kingdom in a single night: with his mind hollowed out, beloved King Riku was made to lead his own army in robbing and slaughtering his subjects until the people cursed his name; Doflamingo then arrived as a “savior,” beat back the Riku Army, and was crowned the new king. King Riku is still alive in hiding, and his daughter — Princess Viola, now the Family officer Violet — serves Doflamingo only to keep him from killing her father. The toys then explain their curse: a toy keeps every human memory, but everyone else, even family and even fellow toys, forgets the toy ever existed — “the number of tragedies that hold the key” to the rebellion, since every toy is a hidden, hate-filled potential fighter. Beneath the city, broken toys are scrapped and forgotten entirely. The toys reveal Doflamingo’s recent “resignation” gave them false hope before they learned it was a ruse, so they have chosen to make their final stand now. At the Corrida Colosseum, Kin’emon finally locates Zoro while Luffy shouts nearby.

New reveals

• The Dressrosa coup, ten years ago. Doflamingo emptied King Riku’s mind so the king led the Riku Army to extort, rob and kill his own people. The grateful citizens’ love turned to hatred (“Damn you, King Riku!! I curse your name!!”), and Doflamingo arrived to “save this kingdom,” routed the king’s forces, and was hailed as the new royal family — all in one night.
• King Riku still lives, hidden somewhere in Dressrosa.
• Princess Viola = “Violet.” Doflamingo coveted her all-seeing power; she became a Family officer, bargaining her service for her father’s life. She remains in Doflamingo’s employ.
• Toy-erasure mechanic (now on-page). A toy retains all memories of its human life; everyone else loses all memory of that person’s existence — including the toy’s own family and other toys. This is “the greatest tragedy of Dressrosa.”
• A hidden rebel army. Because every toy remembers and hates Doflamingo, the resistance’s plan is to rally the toys — “the NUMBER OF TRAGEDIES that hold the key.”
• The Scrap Heap beneath Dressrosa — where broken toys are discarded and forgotten (laments for the “Happosui Army” successor, “solitary warrior Jeet,” “Lone Wolf Abdullah”).
• The morning resignation fake-out gave the kingdom false hope of liberation; learning it was a ruse drove the toys to their final stand.
• Captain Vergo named in the flashback as the Marines’ man on Dressrosa a decade ago (his infiltration runs deep).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Doflamingo, Nico Robin, Franky (addressed as “Fraland,” p. 15), Violet (= Princess Viola), King Riku, Monet, Vergo (mentioned), Diamante, Pica, Trebol, Baby 5, Buffalo, Thunder Soldier, Kin’emon, Zoro, Luffy, an unnamed “rooster-head guy” (referenced, p. 19) , Abdullah, Jeet. A minor toy introduces himself as “Milo” (“not One-poko,” p. 15).
• Groups/Crews: Donquixote Pirates, Donquixote, Riku, Chin Jao Family, Marines.
• Locations: Dressrosa, the Scrap Heap beneath it, Corrida Colosseum.

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page; cover-story serial “Caribou’s New World Kee Hee Hee, Vol. 43: The Last Meat Pie for My Grandson, Who Sacrificed Himself to the Unstoppable Warrior.” (cover specialist.)
• Page 5 — King Riku, controlled, weeps on horseback: “If this means harming my own people… just kill MEEE!!!”
• Page 8 — Doflamingo arrives: “I’ve come to save this kingdom!!!”
• Page 9 — “My name is Don Quixote Doflamingo!!!” — officers arrayed behind him; near-splash villain reveal restaging.
• Page 11 — “In just a single night, the country fell into Doflamingo’s clutches.”
• Page 15 — The erasure curse explained; a toy: “My name is Milo. Not One-poko.” — “THAT is the greatest tragedy of Dressrosa.”
• Page 18 — “Beneath Dressrosa — The Scrap Heap”: discarded toys forgotten as they are thrown away.
• Page 19 — Corrida Colosseum: Kin’emon reunites with Zoro; “Luffy!! Don’t shout, you idiot!!!”
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner (Straw Hats’ least-favorite foods; admiral-naming note teasing a future “purple”/green admiral).

Open questions raised

• What exactly hollowed out King Riku’s mind, and what power turns people into toys (named cause still withheld)?
• Where is King Riku hidden, and will he be exonerated?
• Will Viola/Violet break with Doflamingo for her father’s sake?
• How will the resistance’s “final stand today” intersect with Luffy’s colosseum bid and the SMILE-factory raid?