Chapters · Dressrosa › Dressrosa

Chapter 753: Battle

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2014-04-28

Summary

Inside the Birdcage, Bellamy confronts Doflamingo at the new royal palace, demanding to know why Dellinger was sent after him; Doflamingo, who admits he came to “indulge in some old memories,” coldly asks whether his disciple has lost faith in him (p. 2–3). On the platform steps to the palace the freed Corrida Colosseum gladiators clash with the Donquixote officers — Suleiman the Beheader cuts down a guard, Dellinger arrives, Gladius’s bursting bombs and Machvise’s “Ten-Ton Vise” batter the climbers (pp. 4–7). At Sevio in South Dressrosa, citizens restored from toy form grapple with the crimes Doflamingo’s “game” drove them to commit, and resolve to lure and protect the “convicts” — taking King Riku and “God Usopp” to the royal plateau to end the manhunt without bloodshed (pp. 8–9). In the underground SMILE Factory, the free Tontatta army’s “pink bees” (Bian, Inhel, Wicka) signal the enslaved dwarves that Doflamingo lied about Princess Mansherry’s illness; the dwarves revolt against their overseers (pp. 9–11). On the second step, Kyros (the Thunder Soldier) rejoins Luffy aboard Cavendish’s horse Farul, vowing to cut a path and destroy one of the family’s supreme officers with his own hands. As the gladiators — moments ago about to fight each other — unite under Dagama the tactician to lift Luffy to the top, Cavendish’s “Prince of Stardust Slash” and Luffy’s “Jet Gatling” blast a path through the officers (pp. 12–17).

New reveals

• Bellamy vs Doflamingo at the palace (pp. 2–3). Bellamy demands to know whether Doflamingo really ordered Dellinger to kill him. Doflamingo asks whether Bellamy has “already lost all faith” in him. The standing figure — Bellamy, now wearing the Donquixote Jolly Roger on his chest — is captioned “Pirate (Bounty: 195 Million Berries) Bellamy the Hyena.” Bellamy professes lifelong devotion (“I’ve never cared what I was… as long as it allowed me”), while Doflamingo frames their split aims: “You’ve always wanted to be a pirate… to tear down the world around me.”
• Doflamingo “indulging in some old memories” at the new royal palace (p. 2) — a quiet line dropped before the manhunt resumes.
• The Birdcage “game” continues after Sugar’s defeat. At Sevio, South Dressrosa, citizens restored from toy form reckon with what they did to one another under Doflamingo’s manipulation (“I nearly killed my own family!!”; “I slashed my best friend!”; “I burned the town!”), and form a counter-plan: lure all the “convicts,” take King Riku and “God Usopp” hostage without hurting them, and spread word for everyone to gather at the royal plateau — “if we don’t, the game will continue until we’re all dead” (pp. 8–9).
• The SMILE-factory dwarves are freed. In the underground factory, overseers drive the enslaved Tontatta to keep producing SMILE and stand the S.A.D. tank back up, claiming it will “cure Princess Mansherry.” The free Tontatta army’s “pink bees” (Bian, Inhel, Wicka) relay messages — “Unlock it from the inside!” then “Fight!!!” — revealing Doflamingo lied about the princess’s sickness. “A true friend would never lie!!” — the dwarves revolt against their captors (pp. 9–11).
• The gladiators unite to lift Luffy (Grand-Fleet seed). Formerly rival Colosseum fighters who “moments ago were about to fight each other” agree to hold off the officers and push Luffy up the King’s Plateau toward Doflamingo. Dagama the tactician coordinates (“this is a battle!!!”); Cavendish ferries Luffy on his horse Farul (pp. 14–17).
• Kyros’s single goal. The Thunder Soldier rejoins Luffy and declares that “among the family’s supreme officers… is one man I must destroy with my own hands… no matter the situation, I have only one goal” (p. 13) — and that the group will meet Rebecca at the flower field on the fourth step.
• Suleiman the Beheader re-emerges among the gladiators and is restated as a former war executioner (“How many heads have you beheaded?! A hundred? A thousand?”), cutting down a family officer on the steps (pp. 4–5).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Doflamingo · Bellamy · Dellinger · Suleiman · Gladius · Machvise · Sai · Chin Jao (referenced — “Grandpa!!”) · Kyros / Thunder Soldier · Cavendish · Farul · Dagama · Luffy · Bian · Inhel · Wicka · Leo (Tontatta army, referenced) · Mansherry (referenced — the cure lie) · Usopp (referenced — “God Usopp, the five-star”) · King Riku (referenced) · Rebecca (referenced) · Bartolomeo (referenced — “she’s with my crew”) · Jinbei (cover) · Donquixote Pirates · Straw Hat Pirates · Dwarves · Tontatta Kingdom · Dressrosa · Sevio · Greenbit (referenced) · Birdcage · SMILE · S.A.D. · Living Toys of Dressrosa · the new royal palace / “Flower Hill” (sub-location) · the SMILE Factory (underground sub-location) · the King’s-Plateau steps (second/third/fourth “step,” flower field — sub-locations)

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page + cover serial: “The Solitary Journey of Jimbei, First Son of the Sea, Vol. 3: ‘Looks Like Trouble For This Sea-Dog Officer (Sea Animal Sheriff).’” A sea-dog officer in a police cap and a grumpy sea-cat flank Jinbei, who is trapped in a small bubble/cage.

• Page 2 — The Birdcage’s spikes loom over Dressrosa; Doflamingo, “indulging in old memories,” is confronted by Bellamy.

• Page 3 — Bellamy’s bounty caption 195,000,000 Berries and the Donquixote skull on his chest; the loyalty exchange with Doflamingo.

• Page 4 — Caption “Gladiators vs. Don Quixote Family”; Suleiman charges the steps, his war-executioner reputation restated.

• Page 5 — Suleiman fells a family officer; Dellinger (“Heh ♡”) arrives.

• Page 6 — Gladius’s bursting bombs (“mine pop!”); Machvise declares he’s “on [his] way to the third step.”

• Page 7 — Machvise’s “Ten-Ton Vise” body-slam; “Grandpa!!” (Sai → Chin Jao); a “Revolver Leg” officer kick.

• Page 8 — Sevio, South Dressrosa: restored citizens reckon with their toy-era crimes.

• Page 9 — The citizens’ counter-plan; cut to the SMILE Factory interior and the S.A.D. tank / the “cure Princess Mansherry” lie.

• Page 10 — The Tontatta “pink bees” deliver “Unlock it from the inside!”; Inhel, Wicka, Bian named.

• Page 11 — The dwarves learn Doflamingo lied about the princess and revolt — “A true friend would never lie!!”

• Pages 12–13 — Kyros rejoins Luffy on Farul; his “one goal”; Cavendish’s two-passenger gag.

• Page 14 — “Onward, Straw Hat!!!”; Kyros leaps; Dagama — “this is a battle!!!”

• Page 15 — The gladiators unite to push Luffy up (“our only move is to help you get ahead!!”).

• Pages 16–17 — Cavendish’s “Prince of Stardust Slash” + Luffy’s “Jet Gatling” blast a path through the officers.

• Page 18 — SBS (Vol. 75) Question Corner — “Let the SBS begin!!!!”; a Spartacos gag (mistaken for Kyros); an Oda-drawn Godzilla/Gorilla bit; and Vivi’s data card (No. 5.5; color White & Gold; animal Pigeon; blood type F; likes Curry, Pudding; dislikes Dried Squid). (SBS specialist: cross-link SBS Volume 75.)

Open questions raised

• Will Bellamy go through with his devotion to Doflamingo, or break when his idol orders him to kill Luffy?
• What “old memories” is Doflamingo revisiting at the palace?
• Can the gladiators get Luffy to the top before the officers stop them — and before the Birdcage finishes closing?
• Will the freed factory dwarves and the restored citizens’ counter-plan actually break Doflamingo’s “game”?