The chapter brackets itself with a newspaper. On the p. 1 title splash the Bluejam gangsters read it; on p. 17 Dadan’s bandits (Dogura, Magura) read the same news.
The payoff
Earliest known caller
(Unrecorded.)
Why this matters
A textbook Oda chekhov-explicit background-symbol: a named, headlined future event (the Celestial Dragon visit) is planted in the margins of a flashback, bracketed by two reading-groups for emphasis, then left to detonate. Links Celestial Dragons, Goa Kingdom, Gray Terminal.