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Chapter 734: The Slicing Winds of Rommel

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released:

Summary

Block D of the Corrida Colosseum ends in chaos: every other contestant lies knocked out, and the prisoner-gladiator Rebecca — “she who holds the blood of disgraced King Riku” — is the last one standing, advancing to the finals. The booing crowd cries foul, but the truth is that Cavendish fell asleep and his murderous alternate personality, Hakuba, awoke and cut down the entire field in a blur of “slicing winds.” A flashback reveals Hakuba caused the night-killings in the Kingdom of Rommel years ago, for which Cavendish took the blame and was chased to sea. Rebecca was the only fighter who could see through Hakuba’s slashes. In the palace, Doflamingo taunts his captive, the dethroned King Riku, gloating that the report of Riku’s abdication was “a mistake,” mocking Riku’s daughter Viola for betting that the alliance of “the accursed bloodline, Monkey D. Luffy” and Warlord Trafalgar Law could strike him down, and cataloguing where each Straw Hat is. Below, the Tontatta dwarves guide Robin, Usopp and Franky toward the Royal Plateau and the lift to the palace as their “Operation S.O.P.” begins — and Viola herself appears to lead the Straw Hats inside.

New reveals

• Hakuba = Cavendish’s alternate personality. He awakens only while Cavendish is asleep — Cavendish is a sleepwalker — and is “twice the fighter Cavendish is,” a sword genius. “Hakuba” echoes Cavendish’s nickname “White Knight” (p. 13 translator note).
• The “Slicing Winds of Rommel” mystery is solved on-page: the night-time cutting deaths in the Kingdom of Rommel were Hakuba; Cavendish was blamed and “chased out to sea,” which is why he became a pirate (pp. 6–7, 13).
• King Riku is alive and held in Doflamingo’s palace; the public “report of his abdication… was a mistake” (pp. 15–16).
• Rebecca is King Riku’s granddaughter (“she who holds the blood of disgraced King Riku,” p. 4), and Violet/Viola is Riku’s daughter (p. 15).
• Viola made a wager that the alliance of new Warlord Trafalgar Law and Monkey D. Luffy (“he of the accursed bloodline”) would be enough to topple Doflamingo (pp. 16–17).
• The hidden factory has only two entrances — the House of Toys and the palace (p. 17) — and the underground is the route to both.
• Rebecca was the only contestant able to see through Hakuba’s slashes (Diamante, p. 14).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters (appear): Cavendish / Hakuba, Rebecca, Diamante, Doflamingo, King Riku (first appearance), Violet (as Viola), Tontatta dwarves (Dwarves).
• Characters (referenced, off-panel): Luffy (“Lucy”), Franky, Kin’emon, Nico Robin, Usopp (“Sniper King”), Zoro (“Zolo”), Trafalgar Law.
• Locations: Corrida Colosseum, Dressrosa (Palace of Dressrosa; Royal Plateau; House of Toys), Kingdom of Rommel (flashback).
• Devil Fruits: Mera Mera no Mi (the contested Coliseum prize).
• Groups: the Tontatta dwarves (Dwarves); their “Operation S.O.P.”

Notable panels

• p. 1 — Title splash / request art: “Usopp riding a plain giraffe and drawing it some new spots” (reader request by Croquette from Aichi). One-off Usopp Gallery request illustration, not a serial cover story; the giraffe bears “G-77” and a skull-and-crossbones.
• pp. 6–7 — Flashback to the Kingdom of Rommel: a battleship amid burning streets; the cause of the night-winds revealed to be “a man named Hakuba.”
• pp. 9–12 — Heavy-ink, near-monochrome Hakuba rampage splash sequence — Hakuba cuts down the entire Block D field in a swirl of motion lines .
• p. 13 — The reveal panel: “An alternate personality named Hakuba!!” + translator note (“Hakuba sounds like ‘White Knight,’ Cavendish’s nickname”).
• pp. 15–16 — Doflamingo taunts the captive King Riku in the palace; “the report of his abdication… was a mistake.”
• p. 16 — “…he of the accursed bloodline, Monkey D. Luffy…” (Will of D evidence).
• p. 19 — Viola appears to guide the Straw Hats into the palace (“Let me guide you into the palace!! I’ve been waiting for you!!”).
• p. 20 — SBS Question Corner (volume bonus page, not chapter narrative).

Open questions raised

• How did Doflamingo seize the throne and turn Riku’s abdication into a public “mistake”? (Framed-coup backstory.)
• Why is the former King Riku now “growing desperate, to seek out a devil fruit”?
• Why was Rebecca, a royal granddaughter, reduced to a prisoner-gladiator hated by the crowd?
• Will Diamante actually keep the Mera Mera no Mi from the finalists?