Chapters · Dressrosa › Dressrosa

Chapter 731: Operation Dressrosa S.O.P.

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2014-01-13

Summary

At the Riku Army’s secret HQ in the Flower Field, the toy soldier (Thunder Soldier) unveils Operation Dressrosa S.O.P.: bring down the Doflamingo Family by knocking out Sugar, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit officer whose power turned thousands into toys — if she falls unconscious, every toy reverts to human and the kingdom’s erased memories return all at once. The plan also targets the black-market facilities of the enormous subterranean world beneath Dressrosa, aiming to restore the throne to King Riku. Franky, Nico Robin, and Usopp (leading the cheering Tontatta “Usolanders”) join the assault. Inside the Coliseum, a beaten and suicidal Bellamy is condemned by Doflamingo’s orders; Diamante blocks his execution, calling it a family matter. Luffy persuades Bellamy to “coincidentally” lead him out (the arena has no exit), brushing off the Flame-Flame Fruit because a mysterious ally will take it. Outside, a weeping Luffy reunites with a cloaked Revolutionary — his long-”dead” sworn brother, alive — who, alongside Koala, coolly declares that Ace’s fruit is his.

New reveals

• The mysterious Revolutionary who consoles a sobbing Luffy is Ace’s surviving sworn brother, alive and with the Revolutionary Army; he intends to win the Mera Mera no Mi himself (“…that Ace’s fruit is MINE!!”). His name is not printed on-page — the chapter/volume preview keeps him as “the mysterious stranger.” (Vault-identity: Sabo.)
• Koala is shown, captioned “Revolutionary Army Assistant Fish-Man Karate Master” — the Revolutionaries are on Dressrosa gathering intel on the underground.
• Operation Dressrosa S.O.P.: the Riku Army’s plan — free the underground laborers, destroy the facilities, restore King Riku, end the Doflamingo Family.
• Sugar named + shown: special officer of the Trebol Army, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit user, under Trebol’s constant protection.
• Hobby-Hobby Fruit: touch turns a person into a toy; the fruit freezes its eater in time (Sugar never ages); knocking her unconscious breaks the spell — every toy reverts to human and all erased memories return.
• Beneath Dressrosa: an enormous subterranean world with a black-market trading port and a mysterious factory, worked by Tontatta and toy-people; the resistance dug a secret tunnel over the past year.
• Bellamy is despondent and condemned (“you won’t be leaving Dressrosa alive”); Diamante blocks his execution as “a family matter.”
• The Coliseum has no exit for combatants; Luffy convinces Bellamy to lead him out under cover of “honor.”

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Luffy · Sabo (shown, unnamed on-page) · Koala · Bellamy · Diamante · Doflamingo (referenced, “Dofy”) · Trebol (named) · Sugar (named + shown) · Thunder Soldier · King Riku (named) · Franky · Nico Robin · Usopp (as “Usoland”/the Usolanders’ leader) · Bartolomeo · Rebecca · Ace (referenced) · Lao G (named only, “Lao G’s group”) · Zoro (“Mister Zolo”, referenced) · Trafalgar Law (“Traffy”, referenced) · Mera Mera no Mi · Hobi Hobi no Mi (as “Hobby-Hobby Fruit”) · Donquixote Pirates · Revolutionary Army · Straw Hat Pirates · Dwarves (the Tontatta) · Living Toys of Dressrosa · Riku

• Acilia — a minor Coliseum gladiator named on-page (p. 15, “thank you, Acilia!!”), fighting alongside Rebecca. VIZ romanization, single-panel; no note minted (one-off; read low-confidence — flag for etymology verification).
• A rooster-helmeted, heavy-dialect gladiator (unnamed) who reveres Ace and vows to win the Flame-Flame Fruit to give Luffy “as a keepsake of Ace.”
• A heeled Donquixote subordinate (unnamed on-page) who wants to “kick Bellamy to death.”

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page + the FINAL installment of the Caribou cover serial (“Caribou’s New World Kee Hee Hee, FINAL VOLUME: ‘Thank you Caribou the pirate, just as sweet as my real grandson’”): a snowy memorial scene, an old couple, and a monument reading “GABURU” with a shovel-and-skull jolly roger.
• Page 9 — Sugar’s clear first appearance (bear-hood, crown, polka-dot dress).
• Page 16 — Full-page comedic fish-eye close-up of the shocked rooster gladiator.
• Pages 17–18 — Luffy weeping outside the Coliseum; the reunion with the cloaked Revolutionary; the “KOALA” caption; the chapter’s cliffhanger line, “…that Ace’s fruit is MINE!!” (To be continued in Vol. 74.)
• Pages 19–20 — VIZ next-volume (74) preview art, NOT chapter-731 story content: panels of Ace’s & Whitebeard’s graves with “continue living out his will,” gladiators reacting “he was dead!!”, and a teaser about “the complete and utter eradication… of the Seven Warlords system.” Recorded as preview only — not extracted as 731 reveals.

Open questions raised

• Who is the mysterious Revolutionary stranger (on-page mystery), and how does his claim on the Mera Mera no Mi reshape the tournament now that Luffy is out of it?
• Will Operation S.O.P. succeed in downing Sugar — and what flood of restored memories will that unleash about Dressrosa’s true history?
• What is the mysterious factory beneath Dressrosa producing, and who staffs the subterranean labor force?
• Will Doflamingo actually have Bellamy killed, and what does Diamante’s “family matter” objection signify?