One Piece 45
Volume 45: "I can imagine how you must be feeling."
[Let me tell you, trying to google 心中お察しする was not fun. This was the best I could make of it.]
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Two days after "the incident"…
Puffing Tom is back on its normal schedule, more or less.
Zoro is sadly contemplating remains of the sword the merchant gave him back in Loguetown (vol 11?).
[Wow, I noticed when the sword got broken in the last volume, but for some reason I thought that happened in Thriller Bark, so I kind of blanked it out.]
In the ruins of the lower city, the citizens are at a loss. This is way worse than any previous Aqua Laguna - it's beyond their power to repair alone.
Luckily, the forces of Galley-La are available! Paulie is marshaling the repair teams.
He orders them to make sure they get it all done in between getting their REGULAR work done - and get it done within one month! His adoring slaves don't seem to mind the overtime.
The Franky Family are having a tough time rebuilding their headquarters. (Someone points out that their specialty is destroying, not building.) Sodom and Gomorrah are recovering - Chopper ("Tonakai-san") has promised that Gomorrah might even get his sight back if he rests properly.
Back at Dock One headquarters, everyone in town want to see the "pirates" so they can thank them and apologize for suspecting them unjustly, but the gates are heavily guarded. No one allowed in!
(Ahahaha, I love that now everyone wants to see the pirates instead of/in addition to their beloved Iceberg.)
[Also, apparently the candidates to replace Kalifa are already gathering? There will be a future cover image devoted to this.]
The giants are helping with the rebuilding process. They say they can't interrupt the duel on Little Garden, so they might as well hang out here a while before going back. Sniper King is with them. They offer to take him to Elbaf with them, if he wants.
Inside, Franky is hanging out with Iceberg, who is drawing plans to convert all of Water 7 into a floating ship. (Tom made a railway that runs over the sea, so why not an island-ship? Do it with a DON!)
The phone rings - Franky's flunkies are reporting that THAT THING he bought with the 200 million beli has arrived on board the Puffing Tom.
The Strawhats have been lodged in temporary housing (with kitchen and bath - I'm thinking the kitchen might be the most important part).
Kokoro arrives for a visit (Yokozuna can't fit through the door, poor thing).
Kokoro thinks everyone is finally awake (sleeping for two whole days, they must have been so tired!), but Sanji corrects her. Luffy has just mastered the art of eating while still asleep.
(LOL, only Luffy could out-narco big brother Ace. Kokoro: "Handy little fella, ain't he.")
Kokoro tells Nami the log pose should reset in two or three days, but she's too depressed to move. They lost everything in the flood that wiped out the lower city, where their inn was. No money to buy a new ship. No mikan grove…
[I think it is so adorable that she seems to regard the loss of Bellemere's mikan trees as the worst of all possible losses.]
Kokoro thinks that that must be what "that guy" outside is here about.
It turns out all their stuff (including the mikan trees!) is safe because the innkeeper/authorities confiscated all their possessions when they thought they were criminals. They're apologetic, but Nami is just happy to have her trees back.
Robin and Chopper are back from shopping, and tending to the wounded members of the Franky Family. (Apparently Chopper has been assigned to permanent "Don't take your eyes off Robin-chan" duty, which Robin thinks is very amusing.)
Franky and the Square Sisters show up for a visit (for which, of course, they require an ENTRANCE).
Franky tells them all about a certain island, where the ancient trees have outlived every war of humankind raging around them. They are the precious source of "Adam wood."
He's wanted to get his hands on Adam wood for as long as he can remember, but he never had the 200 million beli he needed.
Sanji is infuriated by the mention of the stolen money, but Franky tells him to shut up and listen.
He had sworn never to build a ship again, but it turns out he can't resist the impulse to follow in his master's footsteps. He wants to build a "ship of dreams" from Adam-wood, a ship that is strong enough to sail any sea, and he wants them to sail it.
Nothing would make him happier than to have the ship go to people he likes (気に入った奴ら, aw, Franky). And the money was theirs to start with, after all.
The only ship that ever managed to circle the entire world was Gold Roger's ship, the Oro Jackson, which Tom-san built from Adam wood.
Kokoro is somewhere between proud and horrified and amused. Franky is a chip off the old block, all right.
Everyone is ecstatic (except Luffy, who is still snoring - and eating).
Zoro is rushing back in a panic - he has to warn everyone! If he can get himself un-lost long enough to find them, that is.
The people of the city are aghast - a marine ship has showed up, presumably intending to arrest the pirates whom they regard as Iceberg's saviors.
[Whether the reader recognizes these faces or not will depend on how closely you were paying attention to the cover arc, in, oh, what was it, volume 20 or so? (ETA: volumes 10-14, ye gods.) Does the name "Vice Admiral Garp" ring a bell?]
They know Garp as the legendary marine who spent much of his career chasing after Gold Roger.
Garp tells his two assistants (whose faces we can't quite see) to wait outside.
(Pop quiz! Name Garp's assistants. Oh, come on, it's only been thirty volumes since we last saw them.)
Garp punches his way right through the wall of the building to enter. (Doors are so five minutes ago.)
Garp punches the (still sleeping) Luffy, bellowing at him to wake up.
Luffy is awake immediately, screeching with pain. Sanji doesn't understand - isn't Luffy supposed to be made of rubber? Since when have punches worked on him?
Garp says nothing can block the fists of LOVE!
Luffy: "Granpa!!!" (じいちゃん！)
General shock, horror, calamity, etc. among the crew.
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[Ahaha, love the marine rank-chart on the cover page… complete with "mystery figures" with their faces turned away.]
Garp is formally introduced (Oda-box!) as Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp.
Everyone is stunned to hear that Luffy is related to the "hero of the navy," but Luffy is just focused on warning them all to not even TRY to fight him OMG. "He'll kill you!"
He's lost count of the number of times his grandfather almost killed him in the past.
Garp is offended. He only ever turned him loose in a forest full of savage beasts, or sent him off in a balloon with no landing gear, so he'd turn out to be a fine strong man.
(Sanji comments that Luffy's indomitable will to live is starting to appear in a whole new light now.)
Garp refers to the fact that he turned Luffy over to a "friend" to raise, along with Ace. [We'll hear more of this later.]
He's still demanding an apology. He was training Luffy to become a great marine, not a pirate! (Luffy: "I TOLD you I wanted to be a pirate!!")
Garp blames it all on "that red-haired pirate," which infuriates Luffy. "Don't you talk bad about Shanks!!"
Garp punches Luffy some more for using rude grammar to his grandfather. (If "iu na" is considered rude grammar, I can only imagine how much of his childhood Luffy spent getting pounded.)
Everyone is terrified - Luffy seems to have no defenses against this man at all, are the marines going to arrest him now? - until the two of them BOTH fall asleep mid-squabble.
[This family!]
Garp wakes up first, and the whole cycle starts again (with him punching Luffy to wake him up).
Everyone wisely decides to leave them alone.
Usopp is watching through the window, aghast. Yokozuna is with him.
Garp demands to know if Luffy even understands what kind of man Red-Hair Shanks is. Luffy is just excited to hear that they're all well, but Garp explains that Shanks is a pirate so powerful that he is counted one of the "Four Emperors" (Yonkou) who rule over the second half of the Grand Line, along with Whitebeard and two others.
The Marine HQ and the Shichibukai exist to maintain a balance of power with the Yonkou. If that balance of power were ever lost, the peace of the world would be at risk.
(Characteristically, all Luffy gets out of this is the news that Shanks is "genki" (doing well), so he's happy.)
Robin asks the others to fill her in - Nami says all she knew was that Luffy got his hat from some guy called Shanks. She had no idea he was such a big deal.
Zoro finally shows up, having been shown the way by some kind strangers.
[The kind strangers were "Maikeru and Hoikeru", the punks that Lulu suspected of having killed Iceberg, LOL forever. I guess they tried to mug Zoro or something.]
Garp tells his assistants to handle "Pirate Hunter Zoro".
The long-haired one with curved swords tackles Zoro. The shorter-haired one attacks Luffy, using "soru." Neither of them lasts more than five seconds.
Garp thinks this is hilarious. Luffy's mystery opponent takes it in good humor. "Strong as always! I give, I give!"
"Do you remember me, Luffy-san, Zoro-san? It's me, Coby!"
[I cannot tell you how much more adorable I find irritating little Coby when I rewatch those episodes now. Grown-up Coby is a cutie!]
Luffy is completely confused. He did have a friend named Coby, a little squirt of a guy, but…
"That's me! Useless, crybaby Coby!"
Coby apologizes - he hasn't quite achieved his goal of being a commissioned officer yet (trivia note: his current rank is souchou, roughly "master chief," the same rank Tashigi had in volume 11), but knowing they were so close, he couldn't resist stopping by to say hello.
Coby and Helmeppo (!!) are properly reintroduced.
[Helmeppo is a gunsou, sergeant - if I'm reading the chart at the beginning of the chapter correctly, that is just one rank lower than souchou].
Luffy is super-impressed. There's a limit to growth spurts - he was just a pudgy little kid before!
Helmeppo's feelings are hurt because it takes Zoro and Luffy so much longer to remember who he is. They don't get it until he reminds them that he was the "baka musuko." [LOL]
[Oh, poor, poor Helmeppo. Also, I find his interaction with Coby hilarious.]
Meanwhile, Garp orders his men to repair the wall (and grudgingly agrees to help when they complain that it's no fair breaking down walls just because he thinks that makes a cooler entrance).
While hammering away, Garp mentions that he happened to run into Luffy's father (oyaji).
Luffy: "Oyaji? I have a dad?"
Garp: "What, didn't he bother to introduce himself? Said he saw you off at Loguetown."
When everyone stares at him, baffled, he explains that Luffy's father is the revolutionary, Monkey D. Dragon.
[This was the mysterious guy with tattoos on his face that appeared in volume 11.]
The entire marine army practically passes out from shock (Luffy is no more than mildly perplexed). No one knew that Dragon was Luffy's father, or Garp's son.
When Luffy can't figure out why everyone is so freaked out, his own crew members have to explain to him that EVERYONE has heard of Dragon.
He looks to Robin for a fuller explanation (of course). Pirates are outlaws, but they don't go out of their way to target the government. Dragon is the head of a group which is actively trying to overthrow the World Gov't - the Revolutionary Army.
Their group has been behind countless civil wars and upheavals throughout the world. He is the world's most wanted criminal. A man of mystery - no one knows the slightest thing about him.
Belatedly, Garp remembers that he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about this. Oops.
"Forget what I said, OK? Haha!"
[I sympathize with what one of the random soldiers said above, on finding out about Dragon: "What the HELL is with this family?"]
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[The cover arc with Enel resumes. Enel discovers a small figure passed out in one of the tunnels on the moon.]
Garp announces that since Luffy is his grandson, he's decided not to arrest him this time around. He'll make some excuse to distract his superiors.
He leaves the "kids" to catch up with each other for a bit. He's heading back to HQ.
Luffy and Garp have another fight when Luffy casually bids him farewell with "Ja, na."
(Luffy: "Whaddya want from me, all you ever do is hit me!" Garp: "I want a little love from my grandson, is that too much to ask?" Nami: "The bloodline runs strong in that family." Specifically their 身勝手さ, which I don't really know how to translate. "I-want-what-I-want-ness"?)
Luffy's nakama are left alone to try to process the whirlwind of new information while Luffy, Coby and Helmeppo catch up. (Zoro says he wouldn't feel right intruding. Luffy was the one who really saved Coby, back then.)
Chopper is amazed that Nami went off by herself - surely she would have wanted to hear more about the navy. Robin says she went for a swim at the pool out back.
Outside, Luffy is asking them how they got into the Grand Line. Coby says they didn't come over Reverse Mountain - they navigated through the Calm Belt. The navy has ships whose hulls are lined with kairouseki (seastone), and since kairouseki has the same energy as the sea, the sea kings don't know they're there.
Nami is, of course, listening in over a hidden wiretap. (Frankly, I'm just surprised Robin isn't using her power to eavesdrop, too. Probably figures she already knows all there is to know, and she probably does.)
Chimney and Gonbe are crying for "Nee-chan" to come swim with them. Nami screeches (at full volume over the phone): "I'm EAVESDROPPING, could you please SHUT UP?" Kokoro: "Might want to keep it down, then."
Coby is explaining that Dr. Vegapunk is behind all the navy's most important advances. He's an amazing scientist. He's even figured out how to feed devil fruits to "things" (that explains Spandam's sword, I guess).
Coby is grateful to Luffy - if it hadn't been for him, he'd probably still be a chore boy on Alvida's ship.
In the end, even Nami leaves the boys to their reminiscing and goes for a swim.
In the end, Coby says they have to go ("We're still enemies, you know!"), but he tells Luffy that the second half of the Grand Line has a name - people call it the "New World."
"Let's meet again there! And next time, I'll definitely arrest you! Before you know it, I'll be an admiral!"
Luffy has no trouble at all believing this prediction, although Coby is aghast at his own presumption - he'd never dared to put that dream into words before.
"You're going to fight me, right, Coby? Then you better be at least that good!"
As always, Coby is left marveling that Luffy accepts without question the hopes that he himself barely dares to speak aloud. But, he's determined to catch up with them, someday.
They promise to meet again in the New World.
Out by the pool, Sanji shows up to serve the girls a feast, and it turns into a major party (Sogeking shows up, too).
The Franky Family joins the party - Sodom and Gomorrah, too. And the giants. And Galley-La. And Iceberg. And Franky, and the Square Sisters.
[What would an after-volume be without an after-battle party?]
Robin withdraws from the ruckus just a little ways (it must be hard for her to get used to so much togetherness, though she clearly loves it).
Out of sight from the others, Aokiji shows up.
[Oh, poor Robin, still so terrified at the very sound of his voice.]
He says that he and Jaguar D. Saul were friends, once. He honored Saul's wish when he let her escape, and it's been his responsibility to watch over her ever since. After twenty years on the run, it seemed like she would never find a home, and he was ready to put her out of her misery.
"But it seems you've found a place to roost, at last. Are you going to show me whether Saul's decision to save your life was the right one, or not?"
"I intend to."
"Then, live well. Ohara isn't quite done for, yet."
Aokiji is gone, and the others are calling for her to return to the party.
[I really love this quiet conversation between Robin and Aokiji, in the midst of all the chaos. They're both so in character here.]
As Aokiji rides off on his bicycle, Robin considers the dubious honor of trying out the chopsticks trick.
Meanwhile, on Mariejois, the Gorousei (Five Old Men) are in a panic. Red-Hair Shanks has broken through the navy line and is on his way to meet face-to-face with Whitebeard.
[Twenty volumes since volume 25, and the narrative picks up without a beat.]
Whitebeard: "Let him pass. I hope the brat brought some damn fine sake."
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Marine HQ is on full alert. Who KNOWS what might happen once Whitebeard and Shanks meet up.
Shank's ship approaches Whitebeard's.
The first and third division captains, Marco and Jozu (Oda-boxes!), prepare to receive him. (Ace is, of course, the second division captain.)
Marco tells the younger ones to fall back. They won't be able to handle him.
The others have no idea what he means, until Shanks approaches, and half the crew passes out foaming at the mouth.
"His haki is really something… as usual." (People are passing out right and left.)
Shanks "apologizes" (not sure how sincere this is)… he feels a bit threatened, boarding an enemy ship.
Whitebeard comments that looking at his face makes the scar he got from that man ache.
Shanks says he's not here to fight; he only wants to talk. He brought sake.
"Nice speech, from a guy who's throwing his haki all the hell over the place. Haha!"
They sit down for a chat (Shanks's cup is at least half the size of his body).
Whitebeard comments that the sake is from the West Blue… not much of a vintage.
Shanks says no sake ever tastes better than the stuff from one's home town. (OK, wow, I did not realize Shanks was from the West Blue. Noted.)
Whitebeard waxes sentimental. Roger, Garp, Sengoku… not many of the old generation are still around.
Shanks, too. He's come a long way… since he was just an *apprentice* on Roger's ship.
[I LOVE how casually this gets dropped out. Oh, yeah, Shanks was on Gold Roger's ship, didn't I mention that? No?]
Whitebeard used to fight Roger all the time, so he remembers them. Whatever happened to that red-nosed fellow, anyway?
Shanks says he hasn't seen Buggy since the day of Roger's execution. Natsukashii! Buggy didn't want to follow him, but from what he hears, he's still out there living the pirate life.
Whitebeard says time has gotten away from him. It feels like just yesterday that Shanks and that guy "Taka no Me" (Mihawk) were dueling it out.
Everyone was surprised when Shanks came back from the East Blue minus an arm. What happened with that, anyway?
Shanks: "This? I bet it on the new age."
Whitebeard: "Hm? Long as you got no regrets."
Shanks says that he's survived many a battle and has many scars, but right now, this one (pointing to his eye) is the one that bothers him most.
He didn't get that from Mihawk, or any of his other adventures. It was Blackbeard who gave him that scar.
[We still don't know the full story behind that, as far as I know.]
It wasn't due to carelessness, either.
That man has been biding his time for years. He had the ability, but never made a bid for command. He hid himself in the great shadow of Whitebeard's reputation. And now he's made his move. He aims for nothing less than Whitebeard's seat, and beyond.
When Whitebeard asks Shanks what he wants him to do about it, Shanks begs him to stop Ace at all costs. He has a bad feeling about this. Strong as he is, Ace isn't ready to face Blackbeard yet.
Whitebeard laughs. Blackbeard committed the ultimate crime, the murder of a nakama. It's his job to teach him the error of his ways.
[Interestingly ambiguous, these lines, in light of *spoiler* later.]
"Got it, you fool of a brat (ahondara)? You're a hundred years too early to be telling ME what to do."
When the two trade sword-blows, the sky literally splits open.
Waiting on their respective ships, the two crews eye the scene nervously, but no one dares to interfere.
On a far-off island on the Grand Line, Blackbeard and his crew are catching up on the news of Luffy's latest adventures.
(Quick review of Blackbeard's lovely crew: Augur, Lafitte, Burgess, and Doc Q. See vols 24-25.)
As they're getting ready to set sail, someone challenges them. It's Ace.
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On Water 7, Iceberg shows up to help Franky with building the new ship. Paulie and the rest of the Galley-La foremen want to help out, too.
(Franky's way of thanking them is to pose while telling them they're all just a bunch of nuisances underfoot, yo.)
The newspaper is finally carrying the news of Enies Lobby's destruction. The Franky Family have been bracing for the news that they've all been declared outlaws, but surprisingly, the paper doesn't have a word to say about them.
Sanji wonders if Luffy's grandfather managed to engineer it so that none of the ordinary folk got caught up in the dragnet, but everyone else doubts Garp is capable of that much subtlety. Robin suspects that it was Aokiji's doing. "Inscrutable man."
"Oh, but you should see what it says about US." (Zoro is looking quite pleased.)
Zoro's sure that his bounty will go up. Chopper is thrilled at the thought that he might get one, but Sanji says that's going to be nothing to the bounty they'll hang on him. Nami: "Why are you all HAPPY about this? Are you crazy!"
Somebody finally remembers to tell Luffy that Franky is building a ship for them.
Nami was looking forward to a nice leisurely shopping trip, until she finds out Luffy spent the entire remaining 100 million on the party.
Poor Zoro is having no luck finding a sword good enough to replace the old one on his budget.
Nami and Robin are shopping for clothes (Nami seems to have forgotten that she wanted to buy furniture for the new ship).
Sanji is shopping for groceries.
On his way back, Sanji overhears Usopp apparently "practicing" his comeback speech (or rather, upwards of 23 different versions of it).
Sanji: "What is that idiot doing?"
While they're still waiting for the ship to be completed, the log resets, and Kokoro explains that it's pointing downward because the next destination is Fishman Island.
[It cracks me up to remember just how LONG it will be before they actually GO to Fishman Island.]
Aw, poor Nami. "Fishman Island? That's… complicated."
Sanji is over the moon at the thought of meeting beautiful, nubile young mermaids (only slightly dampened by recalling that he has met at least one slightly less nubile version of the species).
But Kokoro says it might not be as easy to get there as they think. They still have to pass through the Florian Triangle, notorious for the disappearance of many a ship.
When she warns them that the triangle is full of ghost ships, Chopper is terrified of the thought of meeting a ghost, while Luffy is thrilled at the thought of meeting a living skeleton. (Zoro: "Where do you get these images from?")
Nami is nearly as frightened as Chopper until Robin points out that they might find treasure-ships there, too.
Sanji is confident that he's stocked up enough food for any shipwrecks. Zoro is just wondering if he might find any swords on a treasure-ship.
The Square Sisters arrive to tell them that Franky is calling them - the ship is ready!
Just then, the rest of the Franky Family show up in an absolute panic. They've seen the new bounty posters.
"Take a look!"
Mugiwara Luffy: 300 million (up from 100 million)
Pirate Hunter Zoro: 120 million (up from… what was he before? 60 million?)
Demon Child Robin: 80 million (seriously, she barely went up from when she was EIGHT?)
Cat Burglar Nami: 16 million
King of Snipers, Sogeking: 30 million
Black Leg Sanji [No Photo Available]: 77 million
Really loves cotton candy (pet) - Chopper: 50 beli
[The bounty nicknames are the best. No, the best part is their faces. Poor Chopper! Poor Sanji!]
Zambai: "Uh, I can imagine how you're feeling… but…"
[LOLOL. I was wondering how this would get used. When I looked it up, the Japanese definition read: "Almost never used in a good sense. When friends or family have suffered a great loss…"]
What really worries the Franky Family is Franky's poster. "Cyborg Franky, 44 million."
They're scared half to death. If he stays on Water 7, he'll get arrested for sure, and next time they won't be strong enough to rescue him on their own. But they're convinced that Franky will never abandon them of his own free will.
They've all agreed: they're begging Luffy to take Franky with them. By force, if they have to.
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Zoro is asking the others if "their minds are made up" (腹を括る) when it comes to Usopp. (This is explained later.)
Luffy is trying to console Sanji, who still hasn't gotten over the shock of the picture on his wanted poster. Sanji is inconsolable. Ladies all over the world will be laughing at him!
Nami is chagrined - she thought they were taking the photo for a fashion shoot. But it's not a bad picture, so, oh well.
Poor Chopper. "I'm a pirate! I fought like a man! I object!" (Luffy: "Better luck next time.")
They set out for the shore, planning to pick up Franky and set sail.
[Someone points out Sanji's not moving. Zoro: "Leave the curly-brow." Sanji: "Oi!"]
Back at Marine HQ, the authorities are troubled because although the crew is small, every one of them has a bounty. That's not normal. (Incidentally, we find out that Sanji's photo didn't come out because the photographer forgot to take off the lens cap.)
Iceberg welcomes them to the ship in Franky's absence (he apparently cleared off after the ship was completed).
He left Luffy a message: "If you're gonna become King of the Pirates, sail on this ship of the King of A Hundred Beasts!"
Everyone is impressed with the unveiling. Luffy is a bit confused by the "flower" on the masthead (it's a lion).
Characteristically, Nami is the only one paying attention to how the ship actually WORKS.
Sanji is beside himself with joy because the refrigerator has a lock.
Luffy wants to thank Franky in person, but Iceberg says he's avoiding them because he's guessed that Luffy will want to ask him to be their shipwright. Iceberg thinks that it's because he's afraid he wouldn't be able to resist saying yes if asked to his face. Franky is convinced he has a "duty" to stay on the island.
He advises them to use force, if they really want Franky to come with them. It's the only way.
Franky is back at the ruins of Frankyhouse, firmly refusing to leave despite the Franky Family's pleas.
Zambai says they all know Franky wants to go. They've never seen him as happy as he was when he was working on the ship.
Franky is still insisting that they'd never survive without him, when one of them steals his swim trunks.
The entire gang scatters, carrying the stolen trunks, with an enraged Franky on their heels.
Zambai: "We only need one of us to survive! Get those panties to Mugiwara-san!" (LOL)
The poor city-dwellers are shocked to see Franky running around with no pants on (love the strategically placed baseball).
Just when they think they can't run any further, Luffy joins the fray and takes the panties.
LOL Franky asking Luffy if he likes the ship while he's chasing him.
"It's our dream ship! …. Now gimme back my PANTS!"
When Franky blows him up, Luffy tosses the pants to Chopper.
Sanji and Zoro ("Roronoa-san-tachi," lol) intercept Franky and shove him in a cannon.
Luffy tells Chopper to hang on, and catapults both of them to the ship with his gomu-gomu rocket move.
Finally, Luffy makes it back to the ship with the trunks. Franky is head-first in the rubble by the shore.
"If you want your pants back - come be my nakama!"
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LOLOL, I think the scene with Franky showing off his nakedness to all the world is a poem (5-7-5-7-2-5, what meter is that?).
なんのその
男は裸
百貫の
波に向かって
立つ
獅子であれ
The city dwellers are horrified (as well they might be).
Luffy is enormously impressed by Franky's manly spirit (Nami is not).
Robin offers to help out… if they don't mind her being a bit rough.
She uses her devil fruit ability to crush his… equipment.
(Luffy complains that he wanted Franky to join them with all his parts INTACT.)
The city dwellers are too far off to see what's going on, except that Franky is, according to them, squawking like someone is strangling a rooster.
Robin insists that she won't let him go unless he gives a proper reason.
Franky says he wants to go with them, but he has things he has to do on Water 7. That's why he gave them his ship of dreams, the last ship he'll ever build.
Iceberg tells Franky that the ship isn't the ship of dreams, yet. It won't be until he sails on it. He remembers little Franky saying that it was his dream to build a great ship and sail on it as its shipwright.
Back then, Tom said that if that happens, Franky will have him beat. He never sailed on the ship he built.
Franky says that his dream changed, that's all, but Iceberg says that what he's doing isn't what he wants. It's penance.
Everything he's done since then - rounding up the punks from the lower city, turning bounty hunter and breaking up pirates' ships to protect the people of the city - it's all been his way of making up for the fact that he still blames himself for Tom's death. Is he going to spend the rest of his life crushing the part of himself that does what he loves most - building ships?
Iceberg begs Franky to finally forgive himself.
The Franky Family shows up with Franky's luggage. When they ask if it's so wrong for them to think of Franky's happiness (and they and Franky both agree that thinking is not their strong suit), it's more than Franky can take.
Franky is bawling and making a big scene about the pain Robin is supposedly causing him.
When the others protest, Robin says it's all a show so Franky can hide the fact that he's crying. She's not even doing anything anymore.
Franky is remembering the day he met each of his flunkies, and picked them up off the streets.
They promise to do their very best to inherit the work of taking care of the lower city. "No matter how far you go, we'll always be your men!" (子分)
Sanji and Zoro show up, yelling that there's trouble. Luffy's grandfather is back, and the navy is hunting them down.
Luffy gives Franky his pants back, and Franky finally agrees to join the ship.
Leaving the island, Franky silently thanks Tom-san. He hopes the "waka-gashira" of Galley La will look after Iceberg.
He bids farewell to all his disciples with a final "salute."
(Zoro (?): "Dude, put your pants on.") [OK, って isn't exactly "dude," but how does one translate that anyway?]
438
Flashback to Sanji telling the others that he overheard Usopp "practicing" to come back.
Luffy wants to go right out and bring him back, but Zoro speaks up against it. He won't accept Usopp back until Usopp apologizes properly.
"This dork might be an idiot, but he's still our captain." (LOL)
If Luffy can't conduct himself with proper authority, Zoro will be the one to leave next.
It's no light matter to leave a crew. If they don't settle this properly, they won't be able to trust Usopp going forward.
Luffy finally accepts Zoro's decision. They all agree to wait and give Usopp a chance to decide what he's going to do.
[I know a lot of fans are really frustrated with Zoro's attitude here, but I agree with him. Usopp is far too prone to try to sweep matters under a rug, and it's for his own good and the crew that Zoro doesn't want to let him get away with that. I don't think Zoro cares for Usopp any less than the rest, but principle comes first with him.]
Garp and Aokiji are preparing to come after Luffy. Garp grumpily tells Coby to complain to Sengoku if he doesn't like it. Aokiji points out that it's Garp's fault for referring to "my grandson" on the den-den mushi.
"Shaddup, "Blue Two-Year-Old"!" (Ao-ni-sai)
In town, Usopp is running to catch up with his comrades. He's considered every possible variation for how they might receive his return - he's got every avenue covered!
[Aw… it isn't explicit here, but I think the whole reason Usopp came up with all those variations was because deep down, he really doesn't think they'll take him back no matter what he says. He always puts on the biggest boastful show when he's most afraid, so he's figured out a hundred different strategies to cope with all the different ways they might tell him to get lost. :-(]
The ship is getting ready to set sail. Franky asks if it's okay to leave without waiting for one more person, but Luffy (with the biggest grin ever pasted on his face, oh, Luffy) says they did wait, and Usopp never came. (He says he made sure they never went out without leaving someone in the room, oh, Luffy!)
The marine ship arrives and starts bombarding them.
Garp gets on the megaphone. "This is your jii-chan. Repeat, this is your jii-chan." When Luffy protests that he promised he wouldn't arrest them this time: "Well, one thing and another, stuff happened. Sorry, but you're gonna have to swim with the fishes, after all."
He starts hurling cannonballs at their ship (by hand?).
Coby and Helmeppo are aghast. No ship can stand up against that onslaught!
As they prepare to make their escape, Chopper spots Usopp on the shore.
Usopp races after them, babbling all of the various lines he came up with.
All the crew (except Chopper) are fully engaged in defending the ship from Garp's cannonballs.
Poor Usopp - he can't use his hundred strategies when they won't say anything to him at all. ;__;
Chopper is yelling at them, but Luffy and Zoro claim that they can't hear anything.
Thinking that he's lost, Usopp finally apologizes, crying bitterly. He begs them to let him be their nakama again.
[As much as I hate to see Usopp brought low, it needed to be this way. My favorite part of the prodigal son story was always that when the son came back, he asked to be his father's slave - he didn't think he had the right to be his son any more.]
Luffy holds out a rubber hand - he's crying even harder than Usopp.
(Aw, is that Sanji hooting and cheering in the background when Zoro tells Luffy's he's the idiot? So cute.)
At last, the crew is all together. They're ready to set sail!
439
[I love that Oda saved the title "The Third Person and the Seventh Person" for this chapter. I guess it would have been a spoiler otherwise.]
The city-dwellers are cheering for the pirates' sendoff. "Do your best, heroes of the city!" (Someone points out that this might not be the smartest thing to be yelling in front of marines.)
The Franky Family are relieved to see that "hana no niichan" made it aboard safely.
The crew on board the Sunny is rushing to roll up the sails (Garp knows very well they have something planned).
LOL at Zoro yelling at Luffy, Chopper and Usopp for doing their conga line dance.
Franky insists that they think of a name for the ship before they leave - it's bad luck to set sail without a name.
Luffy wants the name to be "something-something-lion-gou," but he has trouble coming up with the first part.
"White Bear Lion Go! Tiger Wolf Lion Go!… Squid Octopus Chimpanzee!" (As Usopp points out, the last one doesn't even have lion in it.)
Franky has a suggestion.
(Flashback to all the shipbuilders thinking that Franky's masthead is a "sunflower.")
Iceberg wanted to call the ship "Thousand Sunny Go," because it's strong enough to cross a thousand seas like the sun in the sky.
Luffy approves. Much better than what he was just going to suggest "Tango-Gorilla-Lion" (Usopp says now he's just playing Shiritori).
Apparently the names the others were coming up with were even worse. (I don't even understand half of them. Why does Robin want to call it the Circle of Darkness?)
Franky says he was just kidding - the real name of the ship is supposed to be "New Battle Franky Lion Gang Champion." But it's too late. Everyone agrees that Iceberg's name is better.
(LOL Chopper: "Yoroshiku, Sunny!")
Poor Franky, doesn't get to name his own ship. Sanji tells him to quit sulking (he's going "bu, bu" in the background) and get them out of there.
Franky tells them to take their last look at Water 7 - it'll be off the horizon before they know it.
Luffy shouts his final goodbyes to "Grandpa… and Coby… and, um…" (Helmeppo is mad that Luffy still doesn't remember his name.)
"Sorry, but we're gonna run away for real this time! See ya again sometime!"
He has a few final words for the people of Water 7, but they can't hear him any more.
Iceberg: "Pirates. Can't even set sail quietly."
Garp gets ready to throw his biggest cannonball, but Franky invokes his secret weapon (Coup de BURST) and the Sunny goes flying.
[LOL at Aokiji sneaking a look from under his eye mask.]
The trick takes 3 whole barrels of cola, but it'll throw them one km forward.
He boasts that this ship will "inherit" the spirit of "that brave ship" (awww, Merry! how fitting).
Time for a montage!
Water 7 is in the full swing of recovery.
The giants hope that the King of Snipers will come visit them on Elbaf someday, together with all the rest. They can wait. Giants live 300 years!
The waka-gashira of Galley-La rejoice in a job well done. Now it's back to the workshop for them.
The Franky Family realizes that none of them ever were actually quite sure what it was that Franky DID. "Ahaha, it's starvation for us!"
Fortunately for them, Iceberg was waiting. "I thought as much." He has plans for them.
The Franky Family promptly dub him their new "new aniki." (ニューアニキ). Iceberg: "Please, stop."
On a "certain island" in the Grand Line, someone addresses Smoker by his new title (seems he's been promoted - so has Tashigi).
She asks if he's seen the latest wanted posters (or, as he points out, she's asking the wrong person. "Put your glasses on, stupid!").
Smoker swears, on his pride, he will CRUSH those Mugiwara pirates in the new world.
In Alabasta, the entire royal court is aghast to see Nico Robin listed among the Strawhats. What will Vivi think?
When asked, Vivi seems to have taken it in stride. "I never could understand what was going through his head, but it's Luffy, so I trust him. After all, he's going to be king of the pirates."
On board, they drink a toast to their returned comrades - Robin and Usopp - and their new comrades - Franky and the Thousand Sunny.
Next up - Fishman Island!
[Ahahahahaha….]
440
Wanted posters travel fast.
Sanji's restaurant family is laughing themselves sick over his wanted poster. "It's the spitting image!" They proudly post it for all the customers to see.
[I think the "wanted posters make the rounds" scenes are among my favorite scenes in the entire series.]
In Fuusha Village, everyone is celebrating the fame of their native son - everyone except the mayor, who is outraged.
Makino is happy to see that Luffy has so many friends (and such a cute pet!).
The mayor is still fretting. Who ever heard of pirates declaring war on the entire world government? What is Garp going to make of all this? All three generations of that family are insane. And what is Dadan going to say?
[This will be made clearer later on… MUCH later on.]
In Syrup Village, Usopp's home town, the Usopp pirates and Kaya all agree that Sogeking is most definitely Usopp. ("Just look at that nose!") No one else in town believes it, apparently.
The Usopp pirates are filled with pride. Usopp is the man who turns all his boasts into truth!
[You know, that is as close to being a perfect description of Usopp as I've ever seen anyone give. Because he does.]
In Zoro's home village, all of Sensei's pupils want him to teach them to be pirates, too. ["My, my, what a troublesome sempai."]
Privately, he just thinks that he'll be satisfied as long as Zoro continues to pursue the art of the sword without hesitation.
In Nami's home village, Nojiko is delivering another load of mikan. (Gen-san: "Again? I was going to buy them properly at the store!")
When she asks what he's doing, he says he's filing a complaint with the world government. What are they doing, circulating such a shameless wanted poster of Nami?? (She asks why he has a gigantic enlargement on the wall, then.)
But, Nojiko points out, Luffy kept his promise. See? She's smiling!
[This remains one of my all-time favorite followup lines.]
In the Sakura Kingdom (Chopper's hometown), Dr. Kureha is bitching Dalton out for calling her down into town. He says he wanted to show her this.
"Something seems off with that amount… but, it's good to see his face!"
On Baltigo, an island on the Grand Line, men are celebrating another victory, but their leader (a man in a cloak) tells them to quit rejoicing. "This is war!"
One of the men is cheerfully surveying the most recent wanted posters from Enies Lobby. "And the captain is Garp's…"
The cloaked man walks away. "Where are you going?" "Out."
Out on the balcony, Dragon (with Oda-box: "Monkey D. Dragon") tells Luffy to live his life as he sees fit. "Pose a question to the world. Until the day comes for us to meet!"
Back up, three days earlier. A certain incident occurred, on a certain island on the Grand Line.
Ace, on a rooftop, is confronting Blackbeard and his men.
Blackbeard greets him as Taichou, but Ace tells him not to mock that term of respect.
"You've come up in the world, haven't you? *Captain* of the Blackbeard Gang, Marshall D. Teach."
[Did we know before that Blackbeard was a D, too?]
Blackbeard invites Ace to join his crew. He's got it all figured out. He'll be the pirate king one day. And his first step will be to take the head of that Mugiwara kid who made himself famous at Enies Lobby, and offer it to the government.
Ace is shocked to hear this. "LUFFY?"
"You know him?"
"I can't let him out of my sight for a MINUTE. That's my little brother. And by the way, I will NOT be joining you."
Even as he speaks, Augur is (unsuccessfully) trying to shoot him.
[Seriously? You thought that would work on Mr. Fire?]
Ace: "How rude."
He battles both Augur and Burgess. Blackbeard is furious. "Both of you, stay out of this! You're not up to dealing with him yet!"
Blackbeard knows this is between him and Ace. After all, he did commit the ultimate crime - the murder of a nakama (Thatch, Division 4 Leader - I don't know if we heard his name before).
It couldn't be helped. Thatch had the devil fruit that he had sought for so long. It was the only reason he had served for decades aboard Whitebeard's ship, thinking that that would maximize his chances of finding it.
Among the Logia, his power trumps all.
"You may be fire… but I am darkness (闇, yami)."
TBC
[WORST CLIFFHANGER EVER, OMG.]
[Let me tell you, trying to google 心中お察しする was not fun. This was the best I could make of it.]
431
Two days after "the incident"…
Puffing Tom is back on its normal schedule, more or less.
Zoro is sadly contemplating remains of the sword the merchant gave him back in Loguetown (vol 11?).
[Wow, I noticed when the sword got broken in the last volume, but for some reason I thought that happened in Thriller Bark, so I kind of blanked it out.]
In the ruins of the lower city, the citizens are at a loss. This is way worse than any previous Aqua Laguna - it's beyond their power to repair alone.
Luckily, the forces of Galley-La are available! Paulie is marshaling the repair teams.
He orders them to make sure they get it all done in between getting their REGULAR work done - and get it done within one month! His adoring slaves don't seem to mind the overtime.
The Franky Family are having a tough time rebuilding their headquarters. (Someone points out that their specialty is destroying, not building.) Sodom and Gomorrah are recovering - Chopper ("Tonakai-san") has promised that Gomorrah might even get his sight back if he rests properly.
Back at Dock One headquarters, everyone in town want to see the "pirates" so they can thank them and apologize for suspecting them unjustly, but the gates are heavily guarded. No one allowed in!
(Ahahaha, I love that now everyone wants to see the pirates instead of/in addition to their beloved Iceberg.)
[Also, apparently the candidates to replace Kalifa are already gathering? There will be a future cover image devoted to this.]
The giants are helping with the rebuilding process. They say they can't interrupt the duel on Little Garden, so they might as well hang out here a while before going back. Sniper King is with them. They offer to take him to Elbaf with them, if he wants.
Inside, Franky is hanging out with Iceberg, who is drawing plans to convert all of Water 7 into a floating ship. (Tom made a railway that runs over the sea, so why not an island-ship? Do it with a DON!)
The phone rings - Franky's flunkies are reporting that THAT THING he bought with the 200 million beli has arrived on board the Puffing Tom.
The Strawhats have been lodged in temporary housing (with kitchen and bath - I'm thinking the kitchen might be the most important part).
Kokoro arrives for a visit (Yokozuna can't fit through the door, poor thing).
Kokoro thinks everyone is finally awake (sleeping for two whole days, they must have been so tired!), but Sanji corrects her. Luffy has just mastered the art of eating while still asleep.
(LOL, only Luffy could out-narco big brother Ace. Kokoro: "Handy little fella, ain't he.")
Kokoro tells Nami the log pose should reset in two or three days, but she's too depressed to move. They lost everything in the flood that wiped out the lower city, where their inn was. No money to buy a new ship. No mikan grove…
[I think it is so adorable that she seems to regard the loss of Bellemere's mikan trees as the worst of all possible losses.]
Kokoro thinks that that must be what "that guy" outside is here about.
It turns out all their stuff (including the mikan trees!) is safe because the innkeeper/authorities confiscated all their possessions when they thought they were criminals. They're apologetic, but Nami is just happy to have her trees back.
Robin and Chopper are back from shopping, and tending to the wounded members of the Franky Family. (Apparently Chopper has been assigned to permanent "Don't take your eyes off Robin-chan" duty, which Robin thinks is very amusing.)
Franky and the Square Sisters show up for a visit (for which, of course, they require an ENTRANCE).
Franky tells them all about a certain island, where the ancient trees have outlived every war of humankind raging around them. They are the precious source of "Adam wood."
He's wanted to get his hands on Adam wood for as long as he can remember, but he never had the 200 million beli he needed.
Sanji is infuriated by the mention of the stolen money, but Franky tells him to shut up and listen.
He had sworn never to build a ship again, but it turns out he can't resist the impulse to follow in his master's footsteps. He wants to build a "ship of dreams" from Adam-wood, a ship that is strong enough to sail any sea, and he wants them to sail it.
Nothing would make him happier than to have the ship go to people he likes (気に入った奴ら, aw, Franky). And the money was theirs to start with, after all.
The only ship that ever managed to circle the entire world was Gold Roger's ship, the Oro Jackson, which Tom-san built from Adam wood.
Kokoro is somewhere between proud and horrified and amused. Franky is a chip off the old block, all right.
Everyone is ecstatic (except Luffy, who is still snoring - and eating).
Zoro is rushing back in a panic - he has to warn everyone! If he can get himself un-lost long enough to find them, that is.
The people of the city are aghast - a marine ship has showed up, presumably intending to arrest the pirates whom they regard as Iceberg's saviors.
[Whether the reader recognizes these faces or not will depend on how closely you were paying attention to the cover arc, in, oh, what was it, volume 20 or so? (ETA: volumes 10-14, ye gods.) Does the name "Vice Admiral Garp" ring a bell?]
They know Garp as the legendary marine who spent much of his career chasing after Gold Roger.
Garp tells his two assistants (whose faces we can't quite see) to wait outside.
(Pop quiz! Name Garp's assistants. Oh, come on, it's only been thirty volumes since we last saw them.)
Garp punches his way right through the wall of the building to enter. (Doors are so five minutes ago.)
Garp punches the (still sleeping) Luffy, bellowing at him to wake up.
Luffy is awake immediately, screeching with pain. Sanji doesn't understand - isn't Luffy supposed to be made of rubber? Since when have punches worked on him?
Garp says nothing can block the fists of LOVE!
Luffy: "Granpa!!!" (じいちゃん！)
General shock, horror, calamity, etc. among the crew.
432
[Ahaha, love the marine rank-chart on the cover page… complete with "mystery figures" with their faces turned away.]
Garp is formally introduced (Oda-box!) as Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp.
Everyone is stunned to hear that Luffy is related to the "hero of the navy," but Luffy is just focused on warning them all to not even TRY to fight him OMG. "He'll kill you!"
He's lost count of the number of times his grandfather almost killed him in the past.
Garp is offended. He only ever turned him loose in a forest full of savage beasts, or sent him off in a balloon with no landing gear, so he'd turn out to be a fine strong man.
(Sanji comments that Luffy's indomitable will to live is starting to appear in a whole new light now.)
Garp refers to the fact that he turned Luffy over to a "friend" to raise, along with Ace. [We'll hear more of this later.]
He's still demanding an apology. He was training Luffy to become a great marine, not a pirate! (Luffy: "I TOLD you I wanted to be a pirate!!")
Garp blames it all on "that red-haired pirate," which infuriates Luffy. "Don't you talk bad about Shanks!!"
Garp punches Luffy some more for using rude grammar to his grandfather. (If "iu na" is considered rude grammar, I can only imagine how much of his childhood Luffy spent getting pounded.)
Everyone is terrified - Luffy seems to have no defenses against this man at all, are the marines going to arrest him now? - until the two of them BOTH fall asleep mid-squabble.
[This family!]
Garp wakes up first, and the whole cycle starts again (with him punching Luffy to wake him up).
Everyone wisely decides to leave them alone.
Usopp is watching through the window, aghast. Yokozuna is with him.
Garp demands to know if Luffy even understands what kind of man Red-Hair Shanks is. Luffy is just excited to hear that they're all well, but Garp explains that Shanks is a pirate so powerful that he is counted one of the "Four Emperors" (Yonkou) who rule over the second half of the Grand Line, along with Whitebeard and two others.
The Marine HQ and the Shichibukai exist to maintain a balance of power with the Yonkou. If that balance of power were ever lost, the peace of the world would be at risk.
(Characteristically, all Luffy gets out of this is the news that Shanks is "genki" (doing well), so he's happy.)
Robin asks the others to fill her in - Nami says all she knew was that Luffy got his hat from some guy called Shanks. She had no idea he was such a big deal.
Zoro finally shows up, having been shown the way by some kind strangers.
[The kind strangers were "Maikeru and Hoikeru", the punks that Lulu suspected of having killed Iceberg, LOL forever. I guess they tried to mug Zoro or something.]
Garp tells his assistants to handle "Pirate Hunter Zoro".
The long-haired one with curved swords tackles Zoro. The shorter-haired one attacks Luffy, using "soru." Neither of them lasts more than five seconds.
Garp thinks this is hilarious. Luffy's mystery opponent takes it in good humor. "Strong as always! I give, I give!"
"Do you remember me, Luffy-san, Zoro-san? It's me, Coby!"
[I cannot tell you how much more adorable I find irritating little Coby when I rewatch those episodes now. Grown-up Coby is a cutie!]
Luffy is completely confused. He did have a friend named Coby, a little squirt of a guy, but…
"That's me! Useless, crybaby Coby!"
Coby apologizes - he hasn't quite achieved his goal of being a commissioned officer yet (trivia note: his current rank is souchou, roughly "master chief," the same rank Tashigi had in volume 11), but knowing they were so close, he couldn't resist stopping by to say hello.
Coby and Helmeppo (!!) are properly reintroduced.
[Helmeppo is a gunsou, sergeant - if I'm reading the chart at the beginning of the chapter correctly, that is just one rank lower than souchou].
Luffy is super-impressed. There's a limit to growth spurts - he was just a pudgy little kid before!
Helmeppo's feelings are hurt because it takes Zoro and Luffy so much longer to remember who he is. They don't get it until he reminds them that he was the "baka musuko." [LOL]
[Oh, poor, poor Helmeppo. Also, I find his interaction with Coby hilarious.]
Meanwhile, Garp orders his men to repair the wall (and grudgingly agrees to help when they complain that it's no fair breaking down walls just because he thinks that makes a cooler entrance).
While hammering away, Garp mentions that he happened to run into Luffy's father (oyaji).
Luffy: "Oyaji? I have a dad?"
Garp: "What, didn't he bother to introduce himself? Said he saw you off at Loguetown."
When everyone stares at him, baffled, he explains that Luffy's father is the revolutionary, Monkey D. Dragon.
[This was the mysterious guy with tattoos on his face that appeared in volume 11.]
The entire marine army practically passes out from shock (Luffy is no more than mildly perplexed). No one knew that Dragon was Luffy's father, or Garp's son.
When Luffy can't figure out why everyone is so freaked out, his own crew members have to explain to him that EVERYONE has heard of Dragon.
He looks to Robin for a fuller explanation (of course). Pirates are outlaws, but they don't go out of their way to target the government. Dragon is the head of a group which is actively trying to overthrow the World Gov't - the Revolutionary Army.
Their group has been behind countless civil wars and upheavals throughout the world. He is the world's most wanted criminal. A man of mystery - no one knows the slightest thing about him.
Belatedly, Garp remembers that he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about this. Oops.
"Forget what I said, OK? Haha!"
[I sympathize with what one of the random soldiers said above, on finding out about Dragon: "What the HELL is with this family?"]
433
[The cover arc with Enel resumes. Enel discovers a small figure passed out in one of the tunnels on the moon.]
Garp announces that since Luffy is his grandson, he's decided not to arrest him this time around. He'll make some excuse to distract his superiors.
He leaves the "kids" to catch up with each other for a bit. He's heading back to HQ.
Luffy and Garp have another fight when Luffy casually bids him farewell with "Ja, na."
(Luffy: "Whaddya want from me, all you ever do is hit me!" Garp: "I want a little love from my grandson, is that too much to ask?" Nami: "The bloodline runs strong in that family." Specifically their 身勝手さ, which I don't really know how to translate. "I-want-what-I-want-ness"?)
Luffy's nakama are left alone to try to process the whirlwind of new information while Luffy, Coby and Helmeppo catch up. (Zoro says he wouldn't feel right intruding. Luffy was the one who really saved Coby, back then.)
Chopper is amazed that Nami went off by herself - surely she would have wanted to hear more about the navy. Robin says she went for a swim at the pool out back.
Outside, Luffy is asking them how they got into the Grand Line. Coby says they didn't come over Reverse Mountain - they navigated through the Calm Belt. The navy has ships whose hulls are lined with kairouseki (seastone), and since kairouseki has the same energy as the sea, the sea kings don't know they're there.
Nami is, of course, listening in over a hidden wiretap. (Frankly, I'm just surprised Robin isn't using her power to eavesdrop, too. Probably figures she already knows all there is to know, and she probably does.)
Chimney and Gonbe are crying for "Nee-chan" to come swim with them. Nami screeches (at full volume over the phone): "I'm EAVESDROPPING, could you please SHUT UP?" Kokoro: "Might want to keep it down, then."
Coby is explaining that Dr. Vegapunk is behind all the navy's most important advances. He's an amazing scientist. He's even figured out how to feed devil fruits to "things" (that explains Spandam's sword, I guess).
Coby is grateful to Luffy - if it hadn't been for him, he'd probably still be a chore boy on Alvida's ship.
In the end, even Nami leaves the boys to their reminiscing and goes for a swim.
In the end, Coby says they have to go ("We're still enemies, you know!"), but he tells Luffy that the second half of the Grand Line has a name - people call it the "New World."
"Let's meet again there! And next time, I'll definitely arrest you! Before you know it, I'll be an admiral!"
Luffy has no trouble at all believing this prediction, although Coby is aghast at his own presumption - he'd never dared to put that dream into words before.
"You're going to fight me, right, Coby? Then you better be at least that good!"
As always, Coby is left marveling that Luffy accepts without question the hopes that he himself barely dares to speak aloud. But, he's determined to catch up with them, someday.
They promise to meet again in the New World.
Out by the pool, Sanji shows up to serve the girls a feast, and it turns into a major party (Sogeking shows up, too).
The Franky Family joins the party - Sodom and Gomorrah, too. And the giants. And Galley-La. And Iceberg. And Franky, and the Square Sisters.
[What would an after-volume be without an after-battle party?]
Robin withdraws from the ruckus just a little ways (it must be hard for her to get used to so much togetherness, though she clearly loves it).
Out of sight from the others, Aokiji shows up.
[Oh, poor Robin, still so terrified at the very sound of his voice.]
He says that he and Jaguar D. Saul were friends, once. He honored Saul's wish when he let her escape, and it's been his responsibility to watch over her ever since. After twenty years on the run, it seemed like she would never find a home, and he was ready to put her out of her misery.
"But it seems you've found a place to roost, at last. Are you going to show me whether Saul's decision to save your life was the right one, or not?"
"I intend to."
"Then, live well. Ohara isn't quite done for, yet."
Aokiji is gone, and the others are calling for her to return to the party.
[I really love this quiet conversation between Robin and Aokiji, in the midst of all the chaos. They're both so in character here.]
As Aokiji rides off on his bicycle, Robin considers the dubious honor of trying out the chopsticks trick.
Meanwhile, on Mariejois, the Gorousei (Five Old Men) are in a panic. Red-Hair Shanks has broken through the navy line and is on his way to meet face-to-face with Whitebeard.
[Twenty volumes since volume 25, and the narrative picks up without a beat.]
Whitebeard: "Let him pass. I hope the brat brought some damn fine sake."
434
Marine HQ is on full alert. Who KNOWS what might happen once Whitebeard and Shanks meet up.
Shank's ship approaches Whitebeard's.
The first and third division captains, Marco and Jozu (Oda-boxes!), prepare to receive him. (Ace is, of course, the second division captain.)
Marco tells the younger ones to fall back. They won't be able to handle him.
The others have no idea what he means, until Shanks approaches, and half the crew passes out foaming at the mouth.
"His haki is really something… as usual." (People are passing out right and left.)
Shanks "apologizes" (not sure how sincere this is)… he feels a bit threatened, boarding an enemy ship.
Whitebeard comments that looking at his face makes the scar he got from that man ache.
Shanks says he's not here to fight; he only wants to talk. He brought sake.
"Nice speech, from a guy who's throwing his haki all the hell over the place. Haha!"
They sit down for a chat (Shanks's cup is at least half the size of his body).
Whitebeard comments that the sake is from the West Blue… not much of a vintage.
Shanks says no sake ever tastes better than the stuff from one's home town. (OK, wow, I did not realize Shanks was from the West Blue. Noted.)
Whitebeard waxes sentimental. Roger, Garp, Sengoku… not many of the old generation are still around.
Shanks, too. He's come a long way… since he was just an *apprentice* on Roger's ship.
[I LOVE how casually this gets dropped out. Oh, yeah, Shanks was on Gold Roger's ship, didn't I mention that? No?]
Whitebeard used to fight Roger all the time, so he remembers them. Whatever happened to that red-nosed fellow, anyway?
Shanks says he hasn't seen Buggy since the day of Roger's execution. Natsukashii! Buggy didn't want to follow him, but from what he hears, he's still out there living the pirate life.
Whitebeard says time has gotten away from him. It feels like just yesterday that Shanks and that guy "Taka no Me" (Mihawk) were dueling it out.
Everyone was surprised when Shanks came back from the East Blue minus an arm. What happened with that, anyway?
Shanks: "This? I bet it on the new age."
Whitebeard: "Hm? Long as you got no regrets."
Shanks says that he's survived many a battle and has many scars, but right now, this one (pointing to his eye) is the one that bothers him most.
He didn't get that from Mihawk, or any of his other adventures. It was Blackbeard who gave him that scar.
[We still don't know the full story behind that, as far as I know.]
It wasn't due to carelessness, either.
That man has been biding his time for years. He had the ability, but never made a bid for command. He hid himself in the great shadow of Whitebeard's reputation. And now he's made his move. He aims for nothing less than Whitebeard's seat, and beyond.
When Whitebeard asks Shanks what he wants him to do about it, Shanks begs him to stop Ace at all costs. He has a bad feeling about this. Strong as he is, Ace isn't ready to face Blackbeard yet.
Whitebeard laughs. Blackbeard committed the ultimate crime, the murder of a nakama. It's his job to teach him the error of his ways.
[Interestingly ambiguous, these lines, in light of *spoiler* later.]
"Got it, you fool of a brat (ahondara)? You're a hundred years too early to be telling ME what to do."
When the two trade sword-blows, the sky literally splits open.
Waiting on their respective ships, the two crews eye the scene nervously, but no one dares to interfere.
On a far-off island on the Grand Line, Blackbeard and his crew are catching up on the news of Luffy's latest adventures.
(Quick review of Blackbeard's lovely crew: Augur, Lafitte, Burgess, and Doc Q. See vols 24-25.)
As they're getting ready to set sail, someone challenges them. It's Ace.
435
On Water 7, Iceberg shows up to help Franky with building the new ship. Paulie and the rest of the Galley-La foremen want to help out, too.
(Franky's way of thanking them is to pose while telling them they're all just a bunch of nuisances underfoot, yo.)
The newspaper is finally carrying the news of Enies Lobby's destruction. The Franky Family have been bracing for the news that they've all been declared outlaws, but surprisingly, the paper doesn't have a word to say about them.
Sanji wonders if Luffy's grandfather managed to engineer it so that none of the ordinary folk got caught up in the dragnet, but everyone else doubts Garp is capable of that much subtlety. Robin suspects that it was Aokiji's doing. "Inscrutable man."
"Oh, but you should see what it says about US." (Zoro is looking quite pleased.)
Zoro's sure that his bounty will go up. Chopper is thrilled at the thought that he might get one, but Sanji says that's going to be nothing to the bounty they'll hang on him. Nami: "Why are you all HAPPY about this? Are you crazy!"
Somebody finally remembers to tell Luffy that Franky is building a ship for them.
Nami was looking forward to a nice leisurely shopping trip, until she finds out Luffy spent the entire remaining 100 million on the party.
Poor Zoro is having no luck finding a sword good enough to replace the old one on his budget.
Nami and Robin are shopping for clothes (Nami seems to have forgotten that she wanted to buy furniture for the new ship).
Sanji is shopping for groceries.
On his way back, Sanji overhears Usopp apparently "practicing" his comeback speech (or rather, upwards of 23 different versions of it).
Sanji: "What is that idiot doing?"
While they're still waiting for the ship to be completed, the log resets, and Kokoro explains that it's pointing downward because the next destination is Fishman Island.
[It cracks me up to remember just how LONG it will be before they actually GO to Fishman Island.]
Aw, poor Nami. "Fishman Island? That's… complicated."
Sanji is over the moon at the thought of meeting beautiful, nubile young mermaids (only slightly dampened by recalling that he has met at least one slightly less nubile version of the species).
But Kokoro says it might not be as easy to get there as they think. They still have to pass through the Florian Triangle, notorious for the disappearance of many a ship.
When she warns them that the triangle is full of ghost ships, Chopper is terrified of the thought of meeting a ghost, while Luffy is thrilled at the thought of meeting a living skeleton. (Zoro: "Where do you get these images from?")
Nami is nearly as frightened as Chopper until Robin points out that they might find treasure-ships there, too.
Sanji is confident that he's stocked up enough food for any shipwrecks. Zoro is just wondering if he might find any swords on a treasure-ship.
The Square Sisters arrive to tell them that Franky is calling them - the ship is ready!
Just then, the rest of the Franky Family show up in an absolute panic. They've seen the new bounty posters.
"Take a look!"
Mugiwara Luffy: 300 million (up from 100 million)
Pirate Hunter Zoro: 120 million (up from… what was he before? 60 million?)
Demon Child Robin: 80 million (seriously, she barely went up from when she was EIGHT?)
Cat Burglar Nami: 16 million
King of Snipers, Sogeking: 30 million
Black Leg Sanji [No Photo Available]: 77 million
Really loves cotton candy (pet) - Chopper: 50 beli
[The bounty nicknames are the best. No, the best part is their faces. Poor Chopper! Poor Sanji!]
Zambai: "Uh, I can imagine how you're feeling… but…"
[LOLOL. I was wondering how this would get used. When I looked it up, the Japanese definition read: "Almost never used in a good sense. When friends or family have suffered a great loss…"]
What really worries the Franky Family is Franky's poster. "Cyborg Franky, 44 million."
They're scared half to death. If he stays on Water 7, he'll get arrested for sure, and next time they won't be strong enough to rescue him on their own. But they're convinced that Franky will never abandon them of his own free will.
They've all agreed: they're begging Luffy to take Franky with them. By force, if they have to.
436
Zoro is asking the others if "their minds are made up" (腹を括る) when it comes to Usopp. (This is explained later.)
Luffy is trying to console Sanji, who still hasn't gotten over the shock of the picture on his wanted poster. Sanji is inconsolable. Ladies all over the world will be laughing at him!
Nami is chagrined - she thought they were taking the photo for a fashion shoot. But it's not a bad picture, so, oh well.
Poor Chopper. "I'm a pirate! I fought like a man! I object!" (Luffy: "Better luck next time.")
They set out for the shore, planning to pick up Franky and set sail.
[Someone points out Sanji's not moving. Zoro: "Leave the curly-brow." Sanji: "Oi!"]
Back at Marine HQ, the authorities are troubled because although the crew is small, every one of them has a bounty. That's not normal. (Incidentally, we find out that Sanji's photo didn't come out because the photographer forgot to take off the lens cap.)
Iceberg welcomes them to the ship in Franky's absence (he apparently cleared off after the ship was completed).
He left Luffy a message: "If you're gonna become King of the Pirates, sail on this ship of the King of A Hundred Beasts!"
Everyone is impressed with the unveiling. Luffy is a bit confused by the "flower" on the masthead (it's a lion).
Characteristically, Nami is the only one paying attention to how the ship actually WORKS.
Sanji is beside himself with joy because the refrigerator has a lock.
Luffy wants to thank Franky in person, but Iceberg says he's avoiding them because he's guessed that Luffy will want to ask him to be their shipwright. Iceberg thinks that it's because he's afraid he wouldn't be able to resist saying yes if asked to his face. Franky is convinced he has a "duty" to stay on the island.
He advises them to use force, if they really want Franky to come with them. It's the only way.
Franky is back at the ruins of Frankyhouse, firmly refusing to leave despite the Franky Family's pleas.
Zambai says they all know Franky wants to go. They've never seen him as happy as he was when he was working on the ship.
Franky is still insisting that they'd never survive without him, when one of them steals his swim trunks.
The entire gang scatters, carrying the stolen trunks, with an enraged Franky on their heels.
Zambai: "We only need one of us to survive! Get those panties to Mugiwara-san!" (LOL)
The poor city-dwellers are shocked to see Franky running around with no pants on (love the strategically placed baseball).
Just when they think they can't run any further, Luffy joins the fray and takes the panties.
LOL Franky asking Luffy if he likes the ship while he's chasing him.
"It's our dream ship! …. Now gimme back my PANTS!"
When Franky blows him up, Luffy tosses the pants to Chopper.
Sanji and Zoro ("Roronoa-san-tachi," lol) intercept Franky and shove him in a cannon.
Luffy tells Chopper to hang on, and catapults both of them to the ship with his gomu-gomu rocket move.
Finally, Luffy makes it back to the ship with the trunks. Franky is head-first in the rubble by the shore.
"If you want your pants back - come be my nakama!"
437
LOLOL, I think the scene with Franky showing off his nakedness to all the world is a poem (5-7-5-7-2-5, what meter is that?).
なんのその
男は裸
百貫の
波に向かって
立つ
獅子であれ
The city dwellers are horrified (as well they might be).
Luffy is enormously impressed by Franky's manly spirit (Nami is not).
Robin offers to help out… if they don't mind her being a bit rough.
She uses her devil fruit ability to crush his… equipment.
(Luffy complains that he wanted Franky to join them with all his parts INTACT.)
The city dwellers are too far off to see what's going on, except that Franky is, according to them, squawking like someone is strangling a rooster.
Robin insists that she won't let him go unless he gives a proper reason.
Franky says he wants to go with them, but he has things he has to do on Water 7. That's why he gave them his ship of dreams, the last ship he'll ever build.
Iceberg tells Franky that the ship isn't the ship of dreams, yet. It won't be until he sails on it. He remembers little Franky saying that it was his dream to build a great ship and sail on it as its shipwright.
Back then, Tom said that if that happens, Franky will have him beat. He never sailed on the ship he built.
Franky says that his dream changed, that's all, but Iceberg says that what he's doing isn't what he wants. It's penance.
Everything he's done since then - rounding up the punks from the lower city, turning bounty hunter and breaking up pirates' ships to protect the people of the city - it's all been his way of making up for the fact that he still blames himself for Tom's death. Is he going to spend the rest of his life crushing the part of himself that does what he loves most - building ships?
Iceberg begs Franky to finally forgive himself.
The Franky Family shows up with Franky's luggage. When they ask if it's so wrong for them to think of Franky's happiness (and they and Franky both agree that thinking is not their strong suit), it's more than Franky can take.
Franky is bawling and making a big scene about the pain Robin is supposedly causing him.
When the others protest, Robin says it's all a show so Franky can hide the fact that he's crying. She's not even doing anything anymore.
Franky is remembering the day he met each of his flunkies, and picked them up off the streets.
They promise to do their very best to inherit the work of taking care of the lower city. "No matter how far you go, we'll always be your men!" (子分)
Sanji and Zoro show up, yelling that there's trouble. Luffy's grandfather is back, and the navy is hunting them down.
Luffy gives Franky his pants back, and Franky finally agrees to join the ship.
Leaving the island, Franky silently thanks Tom-san. He hopes the "waka-gashira" of Galley La will look after Iceberg.
He bids farewell to all his disciples with a final "salute."
(Zoro (?): "Dude, put your pants on.") [OK, って isn't exactly "dude," but how does one translate that anyway?]
438
Flashback to Sanji telling the others that he overheard Usopp "practicing" to come back.
Luffy wants to go right out and bring him back, but Zoro speaks up against it. He won't accept Usopp back until Usopp apologizes properly.
"This dork might be an idiot, but he's still our captain." (LOL)
If Luffy can't conduct himself with proper authority, Zoro will be the one to leave next.
It's no light matter to leave a crew. If they don't settle this properly, they won't be able to trust Usopp going forward.
Luffy finally accepts Zoro's decision. They all agree to wait and give Usopp a chance to decide what he's going to do.
[I know a lot of fans are really frustrated with Zoro's attitude here, but I agree with him. Usopp is far too prone to try to sweep matters under a rug, and it's for his own good and the crew that Zoro doesn't want to let him get away with that. I don't think Zoro cares for Usopp any less than the rest, but principle comes first with him.]
Garp and Aokiji are preparing to come after Luffy. Garp grumpily tells Coby to complain to Sengoku if he doesn't like it. Aokiji points out that it's Garp's fault for referring to "my grandson" on the den-den mushi.
"Shaddup, "Blue Two-Year-Old"!" (Ao-ni-sai)
In town, Usopp is running to catch up with his comrades. He's considered every possible variation for how they might receive his return - he's got every avenue covered!
[Aw… it isn't explicit here, but I think the whole reason Usopp came up with all those variations was because deep down, he really doesn't think they'll take him back no matter what he says. He always puts on the biggest boastful show when he's most afraid, so he's figured out a hundred different strategies to cope with all the different ways they might tell him to get lost. :-(]
The ship is getting ready to set sail. Franky asks if it's okay to leave without waiting for one more person, but Luffy (with the biggest grin ever pasted on his face, oh, Luffy) says they did wait, and Usopp never came. (He says he made sure they never went out without leaving someone in the room, oh, Luffy!)
The marine ship arrives and starts bombarding them.
Garp gets on the megaphone. "This is your jii-chan. Repeat, this is your jii-chan." When Luffy protests that he promised he wouldn't arrest them this time: "Well, one thing and another, stuff happened. Sorry, but you're gonna have to swim with the fishes, after all."
He starts hurling cannonballs at their ship (by hand?).
Coby and Helmeppo are aghast. No ship can stand up against that onslaught!
As they prepare to make their escape, Chopper spots Usopp on the shore.
Usopp races after them, babbling all of the various lines he came up with.
All the crew (except Chopper) are fully engaged in defending the ship from Garp's cannonballs.
Poor Usopp - he can't use his hundred strategies when they won't say anything to him at all. ;__;
Chopper is yelling at them, but Luffy and Zoro claim that they can't hear anything.
Thinking that he's lost, Usopp finally apologizes, crying bitterly. He begs them to let him be their nakama again.
[As much as I hate to see Usopp brought low, it needed to be this way. My favorite part of the prodigal son story was always that when the son came back, he asked to be his father's slave - he didn't think he had the right to be his son any more.]
Luffy holds out a rubber hand - he's crying even harder than Usopp.
(Aw, is that Sanji hooting and cheering in the background when Zoro tells Luffy's he's the idiot? So cute.)
At last, the crew is all together. They're ready to set sail!
439
[I love that Oda saved the title "The Third Person and the Seventh Person" for this chapter. I guess it would have been a spoiler otherwise.]
The city-dwellers are cheering for the pirates' sendoff. "Do your best, heroes of the city!" (Someone points out that this might not be the smartest thing to be yelling in front of marines.)
The Franky Family are relieved to see that "hana no niichan" made it aboard safely.
The crew on board the Sunny is rushing to roll up the sails (Garp knows very well they have something planned).
LOL at Zoro yelling at Luffy, Chopper and Usopp for doing their conga line dance.
Franky insists that they think of a name for the ship before they leave - it's bad luck to set sail without a name.
Luffy wants the name to be "something-something-lion-gou," but he has trouble coming up with the first part.
"White Bear Lion Go! Tiger Wolf Lion Go!… Squid Octopus Chimpanzee!" (As Usopp points out, the last one doesn't even have lion in it.)
Franky has a suggestion.
(Flashback to all the shipbuilders thinking that Franky's masthead is a "sunflower.")
Iceberg wanted to call the ship "Thousand Sunny Go," because it's strong enough to cross a thousand seas like the sun in the sky.
Luffy approves. Much better than what he was just going to suggest "Tango-Gorilla-Lion" (Usopp says now he's just playing Shiritori).
Apparently the names the others were coming up with were even worse. (I don't even understand half of them. Why does Robin want to call it the Circle of Darkness?)
Franky says he was just kidding - the real name of the ship is supposed to be "New Battle Franky Lion Gang Champion." But it's too late. Everyone agrees that Iceberg's name is better.
(LOL Chopper: "Yoroshiku, Sunny!")
Poor Franky, doesn't get to name his own ship. Sanji tells him to quit sulking (he's going "bu, bu" in the background) and get them out of there.
Franky tells them to take their last look at Water 7 - it'll be off the horizon before they know it.
Luffy shouts his final goodbyes to "Grandpa… and Coby… and, um…" (Helmeppo is mad that Luffy still doesn't remember his name.)
"Sorry, but we're gonna run away for real this time! See ya again sometime!"
He has a few final words for the people of Water 7, but they can't hear him any more.
Iceberg: "Pirates. Can't even set sail quietly."
Garp gets ready to throw his biggest cannonball, but Franky invokes his secret weapon (Coup de BURST) and the Sunny goes flying.
[LOL at Aokiji sneaking a look from under his eye mask.]
The trick takes 3 whole barrels of cola, but it'll throw them one km forward.
He boasts that this ship will "inherit" the spirit of "that brave ship" (awww, Merry! how fitting).
Time for a montage!
Water 7 is in the full swing of recovery.
The giants hope that the King of Snipers will come visit them on Elbaf someday, together with all the rest. They can wait. Giants live 300 years!
The waka-gashira of Galley-La rejoice in a job well done. Now it's back to the workshop for them.
The Franky Family realizes that none of them ever were actually quite sure what it was that Franky DID. "Ahaha, it's starvation for us!"
Fortunately for them, Iceberg was waiting. "I thought as much." He has plans for them.
The Franky Family promptly dub him their new "new aniki." (ニューアニキ). Iceberg: "Please, stop."
On a "certain island" in the Grand Line, someone addresses Smoker by his new title (seems he's been promoted - so has Tashigi).
She asks if he's seen the latest wanted posters (or, as he points out, she's asking the wrong person. "Put your glasses on, stupid!").
Smoker swears, on his pride, he will CRUSH those Mugiwara pirates in the new world.
In Alabasta, the entire royal court is aghast to see Nico Robin listed among the Strawhats. What will Vivi think?
When asked, Vivi seems to have taken it in stride. "I never could understand what was going through his head, but it's Luffy, so I trust him. After all, he's going to be king of the pirates."
On board, they drink a toast to their returned comrades - Robin and Usopp - and their new comrades - Franky and the Thousand Sunny.
Next up - Fishman Island!
[Ahahahahaha….]
440
Wanted posters travel fast.
Sanji's restaurant family is laughing themselves sick over his wanted poster. "It's the spitting image!" They proudly post it for all the customers to see.
[I think the "wanted posters make the rounds" scenes are among my favorite scenes in the entire series.]
In Fuusha Village, everyone is celebrating the fame of their native son - everyone except the mayor, who is outraged.
Makino is happy to see that Luffy has so many friends (and such a cute pet!).
The mayor is still fretting. Who ever heard of pirates declaring war on the entire world government? What is Garp going to make of all this? All three generations of that family are insane. And what is Dadan going to say?
[This will be made clearer later on… MUCH later on.]
In Syrup Village, Usopp's home town, the Usopp pirates and Kaya all agree that Sogeking is most definitely Usopp. ("Just look at that nose!") No one else in town believes it, apparently.
The Usopp pirates are filled with pride. Usopp is the man who turns all his boasts into truth!
[You know, that is as close to being a perfect description of Usopp as I've ever seen anyone give. Because he does.]
In Zoro's home village, all of Sensei's pupils want him to teach them to be pirates, too. ["My, my, what a troublesome sempai."]
Privately, he just thinks that he'll be satisfied as long as Zoro continues to pursue the art of the sword without hesitation.
In Nami's home village, Nojiko is delivering another load of mikan. (Gen-san: "Again? I was going to buy them properly at the store!")
When she asks what he's doing, he says he's filing a complaint with the world government. What are they doing, circulating such a shameless wanted poster of Nami?? (She asks why he has a gigantic enlargement on the wall, then.)
But, Nojiko points out, Luffy kept his promise. See? She's smiling!
[This remains one of my all-time favorite followup lines.]
In the Sakura Kingdom (Chopper's hometown), Dr. Kureha is bitching Dalton out for calling her down into town. He says he wanted to show her this.
"Something seems off with that amount… but, it's good to see his face!"
On Baltigo, an island on the Grand Line, men are celebrating another victory, but their leader (a man in a cloak) tells them to quit rejoicing. "This is war!"
One of the men is cheerfully surveying the most recent wanted posters from Enies Lobby. "And the captain is Garp's…"
The cloaked man walks away. "Where are you going?" "Out."
Out on the balcony, Dragon (with Oda-box: "Monkey D. Dragon") tells Luffy to live his life as he sees fit. "Pose a question to the world. Until the day comes for us to meet!"
Back up, three days earlier. A certain incident occurred, on a certain island on the Grand Line.
Ace, on a rooftop, is confronting Blackbeard and his men.
Blackbeard greets him as Taichou, but Ace tells him not to mock that term of respect.
"You've come up in the world, haven't you? *Captain* of the Blackbeard Gang, Marshall D. Teach."
[Did we know before that Blackbeard was a D, too?]
Blackbeard invites Ace to join his crew. He's got it all figured out. He'll be the pirate king one day. And his first step will be to take the head of that Mugiwara kid who made himself famous at Enies Lobby, and offer it to the government.
Ace is shocked to hear this. "LUFFY?"
"You know him?"
"I can't let him out of my sight for a MINUTE. That's my little brother. And by the way, I will NOT be joining you."
Even as he speaks, Augur is (unsuccessfully) trying to shoot him.
[Seriously? You thought that would work on Mr. Fire?]
Ace: "How rude."
He battles both Augur and Burgess. Blackbeard is furious. "Both of you, stay out of this! You're not up to dealing with him yet!"
Blackbeard knows this is between him and Ace. After all, he did commit the ultimate crime - the murder of a nakama (Thatch, Division 4 Leader - I don't know if we heard his name before).
It couldn't be helped. Thatch had the devil fruit that he had sought for so long. It was the only reason he had served for decades aboard Whitebeard's ship, thinking that that would maximize his chances of finding it.
Among the Logia, his power trumps all.
"You may be fire… but I am darkness (闇, yami)."
TBC
[WORST CLIFFHANGER EVER, OMG.]