Chapters · Dressrosa › Dressrosa

Chapter 738: Trebol Army, Special Officer Sugar

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2014-02-03

Summary

Beneath Dressrosa, inside the underground trading port, the Tontatta dwarves — allied with Nico Robin (“Robiland”) and Usopp (“Usoland”) — launch a covert operation to rescue the dwarves enslaved at the SMILE factory and to knock out the Donquixote special officer Sugar, whose power keeps the whole scheme hidden. The opening grape-assassination attempt is aborted when Robin snatches Leo back: officer Trebol guards Sugar with lethal aim (he shot a fly clean between the eyes). At the SMILE factory, Trebol whips the dwarves to work, berates them for the unripe, low-yield harvest, and exposes the lie that holds them — they believe their labor produces medicine to cure Princess Mansherry’s disease and that captured kin simply “went home.” A disguised woman (strongly implied to be Robin) draws Trebol out of the officers’ tower with a fake “Captain Yves’ crew” emergency in Sector 4, where Usopp delivers a grandiose, cowardly non-speech. Leo’s army then storms Sugar — but Sugar talks them in circles and, when they attack, turns them into “Little Black Bear” toys, binding each by contract to obey her and erasing them from their comrades’ memories. She orders the new toys to slaughter everyone in the officers’ tower and screams for Trebol to return. The trap sprung, Trebol recognizes Robin’s face, realizes the Straw Hats are after Sugar, and unleashes his sticky-mucus powers in a fury — ending on a massive explosion.

New reveals

• The SMILE factory is hidden in an underground trading port beneath Dressrosa (caption p. 4: “Smile Factory, within the underground trading port”), with an “underground officers’ tower” (p. 2) where Sugar is kept.
• The Tontatta dwarves are enslaved there to cultivate the SMILE fruit, overseen by Trebol (“Trebol Army”) — the chapter title names him and Sugar (p. 1).
• The dwarves are deceived: they are told the work yields “the only medicinal extract that can cure” their Princess Mansherry’s disease, and that captured comrades went home (pp. 4, 7). Trebol: “Man, they’re so gullible” (p. 7).
• SMILE production is failing — the fruit “ain’t fully ripe yet,” “less than a tenth of every harvest can actually be used,” and “we ain’t got any new workers in the last year” (pp. 4, 6–7).
• Sugar’s Devil Fruit power, fully shown: a touch turns a person into a toy — “Little Black Bears!!!” (p. 13) — then seals a contract (“…until the end of thy life… thou shalt obey my orders,” p. 14) AND erases the victim from everyone’s memory (the transformed dwarf “Flapper” is no longer recognized; “Has everyone forgotten about me?!” pp. 14–15).
• Trebol’s sticky-mucus (paramecia) powers are shown — attacks “Whip of Love” (p. 5), “Meteora,” “Sticky-Sticky Chain,” “Stick-Stickem” (p. 18).
• The infiltration team: Nico Robin (“Robiland”), Usopp (“Usoland”), and Leo’s Tontatta army; their goal is to free the enslaved dwarves and knock Sugar unconscious to undo her power (pp. 2–3, 8, 10–11).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Trebol (oversees the SMILE factory; sticky-mucus power shown), Sugar (“Special Officer,” frog-hood girl; toy-transformation power shown), Leo (leads the Tontatta army), Nico Robin (“Robiland”; plans the op, saves Leo, implied diversion-woman), Usopp (“Usoland”; cowardly speech in Sector 4), Mansherry (Tontatta princess — mentioned, not shown), Doflamingo (invoked as “Joker,” the broker behind the port deals — mentioned)
• A transformed dwarf “Flapper” (named, p. 15) and “Captain Yves’” pirate crew + their captain (named diversion-target in Sector 4 — not shown) are referenced.
• Devil Fruits: Hobi Hobi no Mi (Sugar), Beta Beta no Mi (Trebol)
• Groups / peoples: Donquixote Pirates (Trebol Army), Dwarves (the Tontatta tribe — Leo and the enslaved workers, shown on-page)
• Lore: SMILE, S.A.D., Living Toys of Dressrosa, Artificial Devil Fruit, Nature of Devil Fruits
• Locations: Dressrosa (the underground trading port: the officers’ tower + the SMILE factory)

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Cover (reader request): “Franky builds a miniature house for some hamsters,” by Noda Skywalker from Osaka. A one-off gag request-cover (no continuous B-plot). (Flag for cover-tracker.)
• Page 2 — Caption “inside the underground officers’ tower”; Leo’s plan: the world’s hottest “Tatabasco”-filled grape to knock Sugar unconscious.
• Page 4 — Caption “Smile Factory, within the underground trading port”; Trebol exposes the Tontattas’ “pure-hearted”/gullible blind spot — “their own kind never come home.”
• Page 5 — “Whip of Love!!!” — Trebol lashes the dwarves; caption “Artificial Devil Fruit Smile Factory.”
• Page 7 — The binding lie: the harvest supposedly yields the cure for Princess Mansherry’s disease; “Man, they’re so gullible.”
• Page 13 — “Little Black Bears!!!” — Sugar turns the attacking dwarves into black-bear toys.
• Page 14 — The toy-contract: “…until the end of thy life… thou shalt obey my orders”; she orders them to slaughter everyone in the officers’ tower.
• Page 15 — “It’s me, Flapper!!!” — a transformed dwarf no longer recognized; the memory-erasure made visceral; “It’s a trap!! Trebol, come back at once!!”
• Page 17 — Trebol recognizes the disguised woman: “But that face—!!” (implied: Nico Robin).
• Page 18 — Trebol enraged (“The Straw Hat crew?!”); sticky-mucus barrage — “Meteora,” “Sticky-Sticky Chain,” “Stick-Stickem.”
• Page 19 — “KADOOOM!!” — massive explosion ending the chapter.
• Page 20 — SBS Question Corner (Vol 74): Worst-Generation jolly rogers — On-Air Pirates (Apoo), Drake Pirates (X. Drake), Fallen Monk Pirates (Urouge), Kid Pirates (Kid), Hawkins Pirates (Hawkins), Firetank Pirates (Bege), Bonney Pirates (Bonney); “the SBS is over!! See you next volume!!” (Flag for SBS specialist.)

Open questions raised

• Who is the disguised woman whose face Trebol recognized (p. 17)? — strongly implied to be Nico Robin.
• Now that Sugar has turned Leo’s army into toys and exposed the Straw Hats, can the operation against Sugar still succeed?
• What is Princess Mansherry’s actual condition, and what role does she play for the Tontatta?
• Why is SMILE production failing (unripe fruit, <1/10 yield) — and what does that mean for Doflamingo’s deal with his Emperor buyer?