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Chapter 744: Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2014-02-17

Summary

In the wreckage of the Corrida Colosseum’s final block, one masked gladiator — “Lucy” — seizes the reborn Mera Mera no Mi (Ace’s Flame-Flame Fruit) amid the chaos and is declared champion, denying the rigged Donquixote plan. He immediately eats the fruit, turns to flame, and unleashes Ace’s signature “Fire Fist” (“Sorry, Ace! I’m gonna use your move!!”). The victor is revealed to be Sabo — Luffy’s sworn brother, now the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army — accompanied by soldier Hack; they came to Dressrosa to shut down Doflamingo’s underground weapons black market, and Sabo intends to carry the prize “home to Dragon.” Underground, Nico Robin and the Tontatta dwarves push toward the SMILE factory while the dwarves, freed from their decade of toy-slavery, hail Usopp as their savior-god (“Usoland”) and obey his command to destroy the factory. Robin fights the officer Trebol. At the palace, the one-legged toy soldier (Kyros) strikes down Doflamingo — but he survives. Luffy crashes in to rescue Law, freeing him from his sea-prism cuffs; Law declares the alliance finished and vows to kill Luffy. Doflamingo, learning of the catastrophe and seeing Pica’s stone power deployed, resolves to use “The Birdcage.”

New reveals

• The Colosseum champion who claimed the Mera Mera no Mi is Sabo, not Luffy — Sabo had taken over the “Lucy” identity as Luffy’s proxy (pp. 4–13).
• Sabo eats the Mera Mera no Mi, becoming a fire Logia, and uses “Fire Fist!!!” — Ace’s technique — explicitly invoking Ace (pp. 5–6).
• Sabo is the Revolutionary Army’s Chief of Staff (“the Revolutionary Army’s number two”), publicly captioned, with Hack as a Revolutionary Army soldier (pp. 13–14).
• The Revolutionary Army’s purpose in Dressrosa: the underground port ships weapons that arm wars around the world; the weapons are manufactured elsewhere and the Army means to stop the black-market trade (p. 14).
• Sabo plans to bring the fruit “home to Dragon” (p. 14).
• Doflamingo survives the one-legged toy soldier’s attack and decides to deploy “The Birdcage” (pp. 15–19).
• Luffy frees Law from sea-prism cuffs; Law declares the Straw Hat–Heart alliance finished (“set me free, and I’ll kill you!!”) (pp. 17–18).
• The Tontatta dwarves were toy-slaves for an entire decade before being freed (their curse undone), and revere Usopp as their hero-god “Usoland” (pp. 8–11).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Sabo · Luffy · Ace (referenced) · Diamante · Nico Robin · Usopp · Trebol · Hack · Koala (likely; unnamed on-page) · Dragon (mentioned) · Doflamingo · Trafalgar Law · Pica · Buffalo · Baby 5 · Violet · Kyros (the one-legged toy soldier; name not given here) · Mera Mera no Mi · Revolutionary Army · Donquixote Pirates · Straw Hat Pirates · Dwarves · SMILE · Underworld · Birdcage · Corrida Colosseum · Dressrosa

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page is a reader-request illustration: “Kuzan and camel eating shaved ice and getting brain freeze” (by Love One Piece from Hiroshima) — depicts Aokiji and a camel. A request-corner art, not a cover-serial installment.
• Page 2 — The Colosseum ring is destroyed and the water level drops; staff order an evacuation. A Donquixote figure protests “that prize wasn’t actually meant to be given away!!”
• Pages 3–4 — Amid the chaos, “Lucy” seizes the Flame-Flame Fruit and is declared the “darkest of horses” champion.
• Page 5 — “He ate the Flame-Flame Fruit!!!” — “Sorry, Ace! I’m gonna use your move!! / I’ve got your outfit!! / I turned into the fire!!”
• Page 6 — Splash-scale “FIRE FIST!!!” — Sabo, now a fire-Logia, mirrors Ace’s signature pose/move.
• Pages 7–11 — Underground: Nico Robin vs Trebol (“Stick-Stick Chain”); the freed Tontatta dwarves hail “God Usopp / Usoland” as their savior and obey his order to destroy the factory.
• Page 13 — Reveal splash: Sabo center, captioned “Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff Sabo” and “Revolutionary Army Soldier Hack,” with a Revolutionary Army woman (likely Koala, unnamed) at a casino counter; “And my little brother!! Nice to meet you.”
• Page 14 — Revolutionary Army exposition on the weapons black market; “I’ve got a very nice prize to bring home to Dragon.”
• Pages 15–16 — The one-legged toy soldier (Kyros) strikes down “the Young Master”; Luffy crashes in to save “Traffy.”
• Pages 17–18 — Luffy unlocks Law’s sea-prism cuffs (Violet supplies the key); Law: “Our alliance is finished!! …set me free, and I’ll kill you!!”
• Page 19 — Doflamingo survives (“Mingo’s still alive!!”); Pica (“the stone guy”) deploys; Doflamingo: “I’ll have to use the Birdcage!!”

Open questions raised

• What is “The Birdcage” and what will deploying it do to Dressrosa?
• Will Robin and the dwarves succeed in destroying the SMILE factory?
• Where are the weapons actually manufactured (the source the Revolutionary Army still has to find)?
• Is the Straw Hat–Heart Pirates alliance truly broken, or is Law’s declaration a feint?
• Will Sabo (and the Revolutionary Army/Dragon) hold onto Ace’s flame, and what does the Army want with it?