Chapters · Dressrosa › Dressrosa

Chapter 778: Tactics No. 5

Arc: Dressrosa · Saga: Dressrosa · Released: 2015-01-05

Summary

Pica’s awakened stone colossus charges King Riku across the King’s Plateau, and the crowd realizes nothing can stop it (p.2–3). Zoro (“the Pirate Hunter”) warns that smashing the giant is useless — Pica’s real body just regenerates from a remaining piece — so Elizabello II (who has been saving his “King Punch” to defend Riku) charges up and Orlumbus offers to launch Zoro at the body (p.3–6). With King Riku drawing Pica’s wrath onto himself and Tank Lepanto and Violet evacuating the citizens below, Orlumbus hurls Zoro with “Killer Bowling” (p.5–7). Mid-air, Zoro builds his cut — “nine mountains and eight seas make one world… the billion-fold world” — and splits the colossus with “Trichiliocosm,” but Pica’s body slips into the upper half (p.8–12). Spectators explain the trick — dead stone vs moving stone, the body always hides in a remaining piece — so Zoro baits Pica into the air where he can’t sink into the ground (p.13–15). Pica boasts he is “invincible when infused with Haki”; Zoro answers “that’s assuming your Haki’s greater than mine” and fells him with “Three Thousand Worlds” (p.16–17). As the broken stone rains down on the citizens, Elizabello’s long-charged King Punch obliterates the debris, and Zoro coolly calls it “solid execution” to the king’s annoyance (p.18–19).

New reveals

• Pica’s awakened Ishi Ishi no Mi mechanic is finally spelled out: when his assimilated stone is split it separates into inert “dead stone” and animate “moving stone,” and his actual body always remains hidden inside one of the remaining moving pieces — so destroying a section can’t kill him (p.13–14).
• Pica claims his Haki-infused stone is “invincible”; Zoro defeats him anyway, establishing that Zoro’s Haki/cutting power exceeds that of a Donquixote Executive’s awakened armament (p.16–17).
• Orlumbus’s combat method “Killer Bowling” — launching a teammate as a human cannonball/bowling ball (p.6–7).
• Pica’s creed — “a country is bound together by military might,” “one who cannot crush his foes is not fit to be a king” — set against King Riku’s pacifist refusal: “there is no future for a nation of slaughter… I will never sit atop the throne again” (p.8–9).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Zoro (VIZ “Roronoa Zolo”) — defeats Pica
• Pica — awakened stone colossus, defeated
• Elizabello II — King Punch clears the falling debris
• Orlumbus — “Killer Bowling”
• King Riku (King Riku Doldo III) — draws Pica’s attack, pacifism flashback
• Rebecca — “Grandfather!!”
• Violet (Viola) — evacuates citizens
• Tank Lepanto — evacuates citizens
• Ishi Ishi no Mi (VIZ “Stone-Stone Fruit”) — Pica’s awakening mechanics explained
• Dressrosa — King’s Plateau
• Jinbei — cover story only

Notable panels

• p.1 — Title page + cover story: Jinbei’s crew at the ancient ruins (“Oh yeah, we found this in the ruins”) — poneglyph-style script on a stone block.
• p.7 — Orlumbus “Killer Bowling” launches Zoro at the colossus.
• p.11 — Full-page slash “TRICHILIOCOSM!!!!” cleaving the stone golem.
• p.17 — “THREE THOUSAND WORLDS!!!!” — Pica’s white-haired humanoid form revealed inside Zoro’s cut as he falls.
• p.19 — Elizabello’s “KING PUUUNCH!!!” vaporizes the falling stone debris; Zoro: “Solid execution.”

Open questions raised

• With Pica down, which Donquixote officers remain standing on the plateau front, and how does Pica’s fall feed the Birdcage endgame?
• What are the ruins Jinbei’s crew found, and does the cover-story’s ancient-writing motif connect to the poneglyphs?