One Piece 56
This is probably still kind of rough, but I have a million things going on this weekend and wanted to get it up sooner rather than later. I'll be back to fix the rough edges.
Life since the week before Thanksgiving, so crazy!
Volume 56: Thank You
[The title of this volume makes me cry, and not for the reason you might think before
reading it.]
542
The Vice-Admiral's ship is buzzing with the news of the unprecedented prisoner riot in
Impel Down, led by Monkey D. Luffy.
Onigumo tells Ace to take a good look at his "last sky." (T_T)
Back on Marineford, a frantic subordinate reports that the newest Warlord, Blackbeard, is
nowhere to be found. And an unauthorized marine warship has just landed at Impel Down.
At the front gate, the guards are trying to stop Blackbeard and his crew, but he uses his
"darkness" to suck them in.
"Now, now, don't be shy! I'm with the GOVERNMENT!"
Too late, they realize that Blackbeard is clearly preparing to enter the prison as an
enemy, but his purpose is unknown.
Inside, Hannyabal is literally foaming at the mouth with terror.
[It's not often I get to say "literally" and mean it.]
We have our usual sketch map (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE the little mini-
people? Ivankov's head!).
Magellan checks in with Hannyabal to let him know that he's just finished suppressing the
riot on Level 2. (Three: "This is bad [mazui] ga ne!")
He doesn't know why Blackbeard is attacking, but he has - reluctantly - taken steps to
counter him. They can't count on any help from headquarters.
He tells Hannyabal and the others to hold the line on Level 4 - he's headed their way.
Hannyabal is suddenly the Warden's biggest fan. (LOL his cheerleading dance)
Down on Level 6, Shiryuu is communciating with Magellan over den-den mushi. Magellan
entrusts him with the task of handling Blackbeard.
But after he hangs up the phone, Shiryuu uses the sword the guards gave him to ruthlessly
cut them down.
On Level 4, Luffy and his gang are opening every cell they reach. They run into Saldeath
and his Blugori.
Guards: "Blugori! Get the okama king with the hugified face!"
Ivankov: "Not hugified, dearie (巨大化じゃナショブル). It's face growth hormone!"
He knocks the Blugori out with his Hell Wink, and tells Luffy to forge ahead. "Leave the
rear to us!"
Sadie-chan and her guard-beasts are the next to arrive.
Jinbei says he'll do his best to back him up. "Not that I'm much good on land, but..."
(Luffy: "You seem pretty strong to me!" LOL)
Crocodile, watching the others get taken out: "Pathetic."
Jinbei, Crocodile and Luffy mow the guard-beasts down.
[I don't have to like Crocodile to think that panel is awesome.]
543
[Cover arc: Continued adventures of the Strawhats. Sanji in the Kamabakka kingdom. I was
disappointed to discover/be reminded that each of these tales of the Strawhats only lasts
two panels.]
As Blackbeard and his crew are fighting their way into Level 1, they come face to face with
Shiryuu (he sure moved fast).
Down on Level 4, with the guard-beasts defeated, Luffy and his gang are pushing ahead to
the entrance to Level 3.
Sadie-chan is still fighting (she yells at them for calling her "Head Guard Sadie" instead
of "Sadie-chan"). She draws her "Red Demon Whip."
Luffy is ready to take her on, but Ivankov (now fully female!) kicks him out of the way and
tells him to keep going - they'll handle this.
Sadie knows at once who the "woman" is. "Ivankov. Anarchist - can't you just pick one and
stick with it?"
Ivankov: "Ufufu! I just feel like a woman at the moment!"
Luffy: "Wait, who's that? She talks like Iva-chan..." (LOL Luffy)
Inazuma ("Kani-chan") is leading Luffy toward the stairs, but Hannyabal (now all fired up)
is barring the way.
Hannyabal launches an attack (he has some kind of dance/cheer routine to go with it, but I
can't make any sense of it in Japanese).
While Hannyabal is still holding his ground, Magellan arrives on the other side of Level 4.
Hannyabal fights until he is half dead. He doesn't believe that a no-good pirate like Luffy
cares about saving his big brother; as far as he is concerned, pirates are scum who force
innocent civilians live in fear.
[For all his absurd pretensions, Hannyabal is not unsympathetic here - which is kind of
creepy, when you remember that he is vice-warden of a pit of torture. The perils of being
Lawful Neutral - the type that will do anything, good or bad, if they think it's justified
in the name of Law.]
Luffy: "The only thing I care about is Ace's life! Now move!"
[And that, right there, is Chaotic Neutral. Hundreds of vicious prisoners loosed on the
world? Whatevs!]
Suddenly the other prison guards start getting sucked into a cloud of darkness.
"Give it a rest. Don't keep blabbing about justice and evil. No matter how you search this
world... there are no answers! It's stupid!"
Blackbeard punches Hannyabal and knocks him out.
[I don't get Blackbeard as a character at all. Someday, perhaps, we'll be given more
insight into what makes him tick - should be interesting.]
Luffy immediately recognizes him as the guy he met on Jaya.
[Almost as uncanny as the things Luffy forgets, are the things that he remembers.]
Luffy's strange gang comes face-to-face with Blackbeard and his crew.
[A nice visual reminder that Blackbeard's entire crew is freakishly tall, like three or
four times normal human size.]
Jinbei recognizes Blackbeard, and is furious. Blackbeard says there's no call to be holding
a grudge against him, even if Jinbei and Ace were buddies.
Luffy realizes for the first time that the man he met on Jaya was "Blackbeard." He
remembers that Ace was searching for someone by that name - and that Grandman Nyon said
that Blackbeard was the one who turned Ace over to the government in exchange for becoming
a Warlord.
Blackbeard: "Oh, never mentioned my name, did I? Long time, Mugiwara! I was surprised to
hear you were my cap'n Ace's little brother."
[waga-taichou. I really don't know how to translate this in English to make it sound right,
but it is creepily familiar/respectful. Ace was right to be insulted and disgusted when
Blackbeard insisted on continuing to call him that - Blackbeard has no right to use that
title any more.]
"Say, should you be here? They'll be starting your big brother's execution soon, you know.
Zehahaha!"
Luffy looks angry enough to tear him apart.
544
[Cover Arc: Sanji appears to have completely embraced the maiden lifestyle. Oh dear.]
Blackbeard says he heard that Mugiwara was the one who took out "that ex-Warlord over
there" (Crocodile glares), so he was planning to capture him and turn him over to the
government as his price for becoming the next Warlord.
"But seems fate protected you."
All of Blackbeard's crew members agree - there's no such thing as chance in Fate.
[Ugh, Blackbeard is really twisting the knife by driving home that Ace was taken in Luffy's
place.]
"You should go say your thanks over his grave!"
Luffy attacks Blackbeard in a rage, but Jinbei stops the fight before it can go too far (he
has to physically restrain him). "Remember what comes first!"
[Oh, Jinbei...]
Luffy is still furious, but he understands what Jinbei is telling him. Blackbeard is
bloodied but seems amused.
"You're stronger than I thought. Your haki is stronger than it was back then, too."
[A reminder, if we needed one, that Blackbeard was by far the earliest character ever to
comment on Luffy's haki.]
Crocodile wonders what Blackbeard is doing in Impel Down. Is he so ready to throw away the
title of warlord that he just obtained?
Blackbeard says everything is going exactly according to plan - well, apart from a few
minor adjustments.
[I guess he considers capturing Ace instead of Luffy one of those minor adjustments.]
While Blackbeard and Crocodile are still trading barbs, Magellan shows up.
Ivankov: "Oh my, that's not good." [LOL "mazui wa ne" - this is very cultivated-feminine
speech. So unlike him.]
He tells Luffy to go on ahead. Luffy can't afford to take another dose of Magellan's
poison.
Jinbei says they're lucky the way to the third-floor staircase has been blown open.
Blackbeard: "Zehaha! Works for us, too. We can escape in the chaos."
[Another hint that Luffy and Blackbeard seem to be fated to continually intersect for only
brief moments.]
Suddenly the Minotaurus, the only remaining guard-beast, shows up.
Bon is horrified ("Didn't we deal with him before?"), but Crocodile is unsurprised. "Of
course he woke up, they're "awakened" zoan-types. Their toughness is legendary."
[I think this is the first reference to the guard beasts being zoan types - clearly Bon
didn't know either. I have no idea what an "awakened" (覚醒) zoan type is.]
Magellan is approaching. Hearing the report that Blackbeard has appeared at the bottom of
the stairs to Level 3, he wonders if Shiryuu has been defeated already.
The monitor room contacts him in a panic to report that the cameras throughout the prison
are out - something took out the main den-den mushi. And all their communications with
Marine HQ and the outside world have been cut off as well.
While the guard is still screaming over the den-den mushi, Shiryuu takes him out. "Shut up.
You want Magellan to come here?"
[He has a really, really creepy grin.]
Down below, they don't know why the line went dead, but Magellan is more worried about the
fact that the stairs Blackbeard came from lead not only to the third but to the second
level. How did he get past Level 2?
Up on Level 2, Buggy and the others are celebrating their miraculous deliverance. The other
prisoners think their savior, Captain Buggy, must be the luckiest man in the world.
Luffy tells Blackbeard that he WILL save Ace.
"You just might, at that. Nothing in this world is impossible."
As Luffy stomps sullenly past him, Blackbeard says -
"Sky Island was there, wasn't it? One Piece is the same! It definitely exists!"
[I've never seen Luffy look so coldly furious with anyone who was talking about the
existence of One Piece.]
Blackbeard says they'll meet again soon. He and his crew are about to put on a show that
will shake the world to its foundations.
Each group moves on toward its destination - Luffy and his gang up to Level 3, Blackbeard
further into the prison.
Magellan has discovered Sadie-chan bound by her own ropes (she says "Okamakov" tied her
up).
"So humiliating! Life's not worth living if I can't be on top!"
[攻めなきゃ, lol - Sadie certainly would be a seme if she had the right gender. Can you call a
dominatrix a seme?]
Magellan comes face-to-face with Blackbeard and his men on the bridge.
Magellan drenches them with his poison, and walks contemptuously away.
He discovers Hannyabal, beaten nearly to a pulp, and praises him for holding out.
"Don't kick the bucket, will you? You're the only decent successor I've got."
Looking up the stairs, Magellan bellows Mugiwara's name.
Luffy stops. "Poison dude!"
Magellan: "I'm not letting you get out of here!"
545
[Cover Arc: Robin is making a prison escape attempt on Tequila Wolf. I hope that jumpsuit
is unbuttoned to the navel because she's changing into a prison guard disguise. Otherwise
it's just gratuitous.]
Buggy and Three have now escaped to Level 1 (as the chapter diagram helpfully shows us).
Meanwhile, Luffy's group (now officially dubbed the Newkama Army) is on Level 3, with
Magellan hard on their heels.
Sadie-chan is getting to her feet and cracking the whip over her guard-beasts. They are
taking the elevator to the first floor to cut off any escape route.
All communications are down within the prison due to the treachery of Shiryuu.
Jinbei is reminding Luffy that their plan is capture one of the warships that is currently
surrounding the prison, and use it to make their way to Marineford.
There are four and a half hours to go until Ace's execution.
After the last of the prisoners escape up the stairs to Level 2, Ivankov stays to block
Magellan's path.
"Inazuma!"
"Got it!"
Inazuma uses his scissor ability to slash the staircase into ribbons as he races up it,
cutting off passage between the two levels. He prays that Ivankov, left behind to face
Magellan, will escape safely.
Magellan asks if Ivankov is just trying to buy Luffy time, but Ivankov tells him not to
underestimate the power of Newkama Kenpou.
Luffy, who is trampling over the Manticores, wonders what happened to Magellan. Wasn't he
right behind them a minute ago?
When Bon says that Ivankov and Inazuma stayed to fight him, Luffy wants to go back, but Bon
tells him not to be ridiculous. "Believe in the power of the man of miracles!"
Crocodile and Jinbei both think it's strange that the floor is practically empty - no
guards, no prisoners.
On Level 3, Ivankov is playing his comedy routine with Magellan.
"My face! It's melting... melting... IT'S NOT MELTING!" (He was saved by his pancake-thick
makeup. Also, LOL, since he doesn't have an audience, he has to place both parts. "It's not
melting? You got us again!")
When Magellan complains about him wasting time, Ivankov attacks for real.
Meanwhile, Inazuma is waiting at the top of the ruined stairs. He is dismayed when Magellan
finally appears. (We see a shot of Ivankov's poison-soaked body below.)
Inazuma uses his scissor ability to continue blocking Magellan's path.
On Level 1, Buggy's group have encountered Sadie-chan and her jailer beasts. But when they
turn to make a run for it, Buggy and Three smack into Crocodile.
Three is more aghast than happy to see Crocodile set free.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Jinbei have already K.O.'d Sadie-chan and her jailer beasts.
[LOL Buggy and Three's faces actually coming off in surprise.]
Luffy: "Hey, great, you guys made it!"
[Oh, Luffy. His words stab Buggy and Three to the heart, literally.]
Bon attacks Buggy and Three like an avenging fury. "How dare you leave us behind down
there!"
Just as the guards are wondering what happened to Magellan, he makes his appearance.
[Incidentally, the little picture of Three in the background freaking out again at the
sight of Mr. 1 cracks me up.]
Luffy and Bon are dismayed to realize that both Ivankov and Inazuma have been defeated by
Magellan's poison.
Jinbei notices Magellan talking on his den-den mushi to the ships outside, and realizes
that Magellan has a plan to head them off.
[In Japanese, it's unclear what Magellan plans to do to/with the ships, but the English
clarified by letting us hear him directly give the order for the ships to sail away.]
When Magellan attacks with his poison-hydra, Three puts up a wax wall to protect them.
("Damn you, Mugiwara. Quit going around thinking that EVERYONE is your friend.")
He tells him to go ahead. "I just don't like owing debts."
[I just have to say that the end-page with all the Strawhats swapped to the opposite gender
is possibly one of the strangest things Oda has ever drawn. And that's saying a lot.]
546
[Cover arc: the Revolutionary Army has joined forces with Robin to rescue the other
slaves.]
Luffy tells Jinbei to take the others and steal a ship like they planned. He'll stay and
defeat Magellan.
He prepares to take on Magellan, side by side with Three. (This was not Three's plan AT
ALL.)
Buggy's adoring convict fans are now calling him "Three-nii-san."
Luffy persuades Three to give him wax boxing-gear/armor. (He's in tears of gratitude to
Three for making him look SO COOL.) He discovers that indeed, with his hands protected, he
can hit Magellan.
Buggy, Bon and Mr. 1 are leading the army up to the front door. Mr 1 warns Bon not to get
too confident - they'll be facing an army of marines surrounding the prison.
When they break through, they are stunned to discover no one there at all.
Jinbei points out the faint outline of the last of the ships departing.
The others are dismayed - what can they do, with the ship so far away? - but Jinbei says he
can handle it.
"Just leave this one to me."
Jinbei swims out to sea, carrying the strongest of their group on a platform: Crocodile,
Mr. 1, and Buggy.
While the convicts are swooning over how awesome Jinbei is and admiring Buggy for going
along, Buggy is thinking (of course) only of his own safety. He figures he's far better off
with two Warlords than stuck behind waiting for Magellan to kill them all.
The warships try to blow Jinbei out of the water with their cannons, but Jinbei prepares to
launch the platform into the air. He dives deep, and uses the power of the currents to send
the platform flying toward the deck of one of the ships.
The platform lands on its target. (LOL Crocodile and Mr. 1 being perfectly calm while Buggy
is panicking. Mr 1: "Why did you come with us?" When the platform lands, Buggy is knocked
out cold.)
Jinbei continues his attacks from the ocean (and apologizes for nearly scuttling their
escape ship).
547
Magellan starts using another type of venom that can eat even through wax as hard as stone.
(Luffy is peeved that this ruins his awesome wax suit of armor.)
Bon is anxiously keeping watch over the convicts left behind, hoping Jinbei can return
before Magellan gets past Luffy.
While Crocodile and Mr. 1 fight to take over the ship they landed on, Jinbei keeps the
other warships busy so they can't interfere.
Luffy and Three are racing toward the surface, with Magellan right behind them.
Luffy wants to know if the ship is ready, but Bon says they have to wait a little longer.
"HELL WINK!"
The others are overjoyed to find that Ivankov and Inazuma are both alive (Inazuma is
unconscious and not looking too good, still drenched with poison).
Magellan, though weakened, is still determined to stop the prison break.
Three gives Luffy the den-den mushi Jinbei left with them. Jinbei says they're on their way
with a ship.
[LOL Buggy now awake and cheering over their "victory." Mr 1: "Why did you even come?"]
Jinbei tells them to get as far out to sea as they can, he'll meet them.
Three thinks this sounds absolutely crazy - why should Luffy trust a government toady?
Luffy: "He's Ace's friend. I trust him."
[Ah, that explains a lot.]
Luffy uses Gear Third along with Three's wax guard to push Magellan back.
Chibi-Luffy (post-Gear 3): "Iva-chan, wake up! Do the wink thing!"
Ivankov: "Huh? Who are you? OK, sure!"
Ivankov expands his head to giant size, tells everyone to hang on, and winks. He flies out
to sea.
When they land, they find themselves riding on a herd of whale-sharks.
[I totally did not get this until recently, but in Japanese, whale-shark = jinbei-zame.
Jinbei called the jinbei sharks!]
Magellan is grinding his teeth in frustration.
Jinbei: "Take us over there!" (whale sharks nod happily)
Luffy: "That guy is AWESOME!"
548
[Cover arc: Franky is being chased by a bunch of cyborg animals.]
Everyone reunites on board the commandeered warship. (Luffy and Buggy are doing a dance of
victory.)
The freed convicts are shedding tears of joy.
"We're free!"
"And who do you have to thank for it?"
"CAPTAIN BUGGY!"
They're not out of the woods yet - the other warships have returned to resume the attack.
Worse, they're at the Gates of Justice, and they're only now realizing that the gates will
not open for them.
Crocodile points out that they should at least be firing back. They have a warship, too.
Buggy immediately claims credit for the idea, to the cheers of his crazed followers
The marines can't understand why the prisoners are still headed toward the Gates. Don't
they understand that the gates are controlled from within Impel Down?
To their utter shock, the gates begin to swing open.
Outside the prison, preparing to board another ship, Magellan is staring in equal shock at
the gates.
Inside the prison, "Magellan" is commanding the guards to open the gates.
The marines outside are completely baffled, but keep firing on the ship in an effort to
prevent it from passing through the gates.
Inside the prison, Magellan confronts "Magellan" in the control room.
On board ship, Luffy is only now understanding that Bon-chan stayed behind. He argues with
Jinbei, wanting to go back for him, but Jinbei says they can't afford to do that. Bon isn't
the only one who fell fighting on the way out.
Jinbei remembers Bon promising him that he'd make sure the gates would open for them. He
made Jinbei promise not to tell Luffy until the ship was out of range.
"Okama don't need no stinkin' goodbye speeches."
(I’m murdering this line. オカマの別れに言葉はいらない. “For the partings of okama, words are not
needed.”)
Jinbei hands Luffy the den-den mushi. He tells them they'll only be within range as long as
the gates remain open.
As Magellan is confronting Bon, Luffy's voice comes over the den-den mushi.
[I love that Oda actually takes the time to explain when and how Bon memorized Magellan's
face. He knows his fans.]
Luffy is reproachful - why does Bon keep doing this? (Nice callback to the fact that Bon
saved them by being a decoy before, at Alabasta.) They were supposed to escape together!
Bon is horrified - Jinbei was supposed to prevent this!
Hearing Luffy, everyone else on board is starting to figure out what Bon did to save them.
They all start wailing Bon's name.
"Bon-chan! The gates are closing. We're going. THANK YOU!"
Bon is shedding tears of happiness.
Finally, he speaks. (The den-den mushi is crying too. T__T)
"MAKE SURE YOU SAVE THAT BIG BROTHER OF YOURS!"
Luffy is bawling his eyes out. (We don't often see him crying that hard.)
The signal is fading. "If it's y... def..."
The gates close, and the connection is lost.
Aw, I think this last part is a poem (5-7-5-7-5-7):
Even in hell, a single flower of friendship blooms. Send it out, it comes back, carried
upon the wave.
The last part seems poetic too, but I'm not sure it scans (7-7-7-8-6?):
Leaving behind a forgotten flower petal
someday once again I will make it bloom.
Okama Way.
Mr. 2, Bon Clay
On board ship, Luffy and the others are weeping bitterly.
Magellan: "Any last words?"
Bon: "SATISFACTION!" (本望)
Let's meet again... in the okama fields!
Narration:
241 prisoners escaped on that day from the great undersea prison of Impel Down. It was the
greatest disaster in the history of Impel Down. But the incident wasn't finished.
4 hours until the execution of Portgas D. Ace.
549
[Cover arc: Franky discovers the house where Vegapunk was born. Apparently Vegapunk, like
Franky himself, has a penchant for putting his name over the door.]
On Level 4 of Impel Down, Blackbeard's crew are celebrating the fact that they're still
alive. (Someone comments that if he hadn't brought the antidote with him, they'd all be
dead.)
The person who brought the antidote, it seems, was Shiryuu. Blackbeard thanks him, though
he says that any man who fears death is a fool. Live for the moment, that's his motto.
It seems that Shiryuu and Blackbeard have found kindred spirits in each other.
Shiryuu: "My future is clear now. I've been waiting to meet a man like you."
On board the commandeered warship, Ivankov and the others are watching over Inazuma. He
recommends that he be left to rest and recover naturally. Ivankov used a combination of
hormones to counter the poison in himself, but that treatment shortens the lifespan, and
Inazuma is an important person to the Revolutionary Army.
[I love that Ivankov apparently can't be bothered to shrink his face, so he conducts this
entire conversation lying on the deck with his giant face pressed up against the door of
the sickbay.]
Luffy and the others, including Three, are still mourning for Bon-chan.
Buggy has already moved on to the drinking party stage. Bon was a good guy, but he's gone.
He suggests making it a wake, but Luffy punches him out for that.
"We don't know that he's dead yet! Big nose!"
[That's right, Luffy. In a world where Pell is alive...]
"Who you calling a big nose?"
"Red nose, round nose, stupid nose, that's you!"
[How about "four sword style," Luffy? You can do better.]
Crocodile is talking with Jinbei. He's surprised that Jinbei could talk to the fish - he
thought only mer-people could do that.
Luffy arrives to interrupt their conversation. (Judging from the way the guys in the
background are wailing "Captain Buggy!", I'd say Luffy won their fight.)
Jinbei is thinking that he should thank Luffy, and apologize to him. He's remembering
Arlong. But right now, they have another objective in mind.
He tells Luffy they should prepare to raise all manner of hell at Marineford. He might
still technically be a Warlord, but he'll be forced to give up the title for sure, so...
At this point both Luffy and Buggy have a fit.
"YOU'RE A WARLORD??"
[LOL Luffy, never change. I have to agree with lego_joker, though, it is odd that Luffy now
seems so easily impressed by titles like shichibukai when he never used to be.]
Buggy is freaking out not because Jinbei is a warlord (he knew that), but because Jinbei
mentioned that they were going to Marineford. Apparently he missed that part of the plan.
Crocodile says their destination should have been obvious from the moment they passed
through the Gates of Justice. Where did he think they were going?
This comes as a terrible shock to Buggy, Three and all the other former convicts. (Well,
not Ivankov's people - they knew the score. Just the regular convict guys.)
Just then, the den-den mushi rings. (Luffy, of course, picks up and promptly announces
"Luffy here!" The others are horrified; I'm thinking they should be grateful he didn't
identify himself as the future pirate king.)
Marine HQ informs Luffy that they know about the prison break and the commandeering of the
navy ship. They also know that the prison break was masterminded by two individuals:
Strawhat Luffy, and Buggy the Clown.
Buggy's followers are in awe. He's in league with the man who took down a Warlord? Just how
much of a big shot is he?
[Viz takes shichibukai as a reference to Jinbei, which might be correct - the Japanese is
not totally clear to me (バギーが「七武海」を抑えての「主犯」!?) Either way, it’s hilarious.]
Marine HQ is continuing. They seriously underestimated Buggy, considering him a no-name
pirate. But after all, he was on Gold Roger's crew. (This shocks Buggy's worshipping
admirers even more. Buggy: "How did they find out??")
And he and the Emperor Red-Hair Shanks are practically like brothers!
[I can hear Buggy gagging from here.]
Frankly, they're amazed Buggy managed to keep a low profile this long. They're not sure
what his connection with Ace is, but obviously his aim is the same as Luffy's - to rescue
Ace.
They start to tell Luffy that as long as they don't open the Gates of Justice on the other
end, he'll never be able to arrive at his destination. In fact, he could spend the rest of
his natural life being carried around on the triangle current for all eternity.
Luffy interrupts the voice to tell them that he is DEFINITELY going to rescue Ace. So they
can just wash potatoes and wait for him! He slams down the phone.
[芋洗って待ってろ. I can't wait to find out what the meaning of that idiom is.]
[ETA: The Viz translation suggests the proper idiom would have been 首を洗って, “wash your neck
and wait”; idiom dictionary on google says it is a throw-down line in a fight, meaning “get
ready to rumble.” Newkama followers: “That’s neck, Luffy-san! This is no time to be washing
potatoes and putting them in to boil!”]
Meanwhile, Buggy's followers are going gaga over him. All Buggy can think about is that now
he'll be a marked man in the eyes of the government.
[He already had a bounty and managed to get himself shipped off to Impel Down? But I guess
being associated with the likes of Roger, Shanks, Ace and Luffy gets you more attention
than being a big fish in the East Blue.]
Luffy remembers that "the first mate dude" told him the same thing, that Buggy and Shanks
were on Roger's crew.
When Buggy asks what he means by "first mate dude," Luffy's casual mention of the name of
Rayleigh sends the entire crew into further paroxysms.
Buggy: "You met Rayleigh-san? How's he doing? That takes me back!" (Aw, Buggy.)
Everyone else is ready to pass out at the very mention of the name of Dark King Rayleigh.
Buggy's convict worshippers are now ready to follow him to the grave. Buggy only protests a
little bit before it occurs to him that he could make this work out nicely.
He begins to dream of taking Whitebeard's head and soaring to the exalted status of Yonkou.
Or even... Pirate King!
[One step at a time, Buggy. One step at a time.]
[I love Luffy just watching this whole scene going "..."]
Jinbei and Crocodile are starting to wonder if they're going to have to kill the whole lot
of them.
Buggy decides to embrace the moment.
His followers are hoping that he will lead them in a mutiny to refuse to go to Marine HQ,
but Buggy has other ideas. They're going to Marineford to take Whitebeard's head.
His poor, deluded followers are with him every step of the way.
Luffy: "I guess it all worked out."
Jinbei: "He has talent... of a sort..." （こういう才能、ある様じゃのう）LOL Viz: “Buggy has a talent for
leadership.”
[LOLOL. Luffy truly is the luckiest man in the world. And Buggy might just be the second
luckiest.]
At Marineford, it's noon. Ace is climbing the long stairs to the execution platform.
Listen up, Luffy. We're definitely going to live our lives with no regret.
His escorts halt before the iron doors.
Someday, we'll go out to sea. We'll live just as we please. We'll be freer than anyone
else, ever!
[That final image T______T forever]
550
[Cover arc: Usopp on Bowin Island. The name of the arc is "I"ll die if I'm alone disease."
T_T]
All around the world, people are waiting and watching. Wondering if Whitebeard will show.
The entire population of Marineford, save the soldiers themselves, have evacuated to
Shabondy and are watching the scene unfold over den-den mushi broadcast. Reporters and
cameramen likewise are on Shabondy, eyes glued to the broadcast.
At noon, three hours before execution, Ace is led to the execution platform and kneels
before the cameras.
[Poor Ace. Three hours!]
100,000 of the world's best marines are gathered on Marineford, standing guard.
An overview shows the crescent-shaped harbor of Marineford. Fifty warships are stationed
around it.
Above the harbor, all of the Warlords who answered the summons (and didn't subsequently go
AWOL) are watching: Kuma, Moria, Doflamingo, Mihawk and Boa Hancock.
Near the platform, the three admirals have taken their seats: Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru.
[I believe this is the first time we've seen them all in one place?]
Luffy's ship has arrived at the Gates of Justice at Marineford - but the gates have not
opened.
Sengoku, accompanied by Garp, arrives at the platform.
He tells the guards to step back, and stands next to Ace. Someone hands him a den-den mushi
at his command.
Sengoku has an announcement to make.
Tsuru tries to tell Garp that he's not to blame. Garp puts on a brave face. "Bwahaha! It's
like a woman to try to be kind in a situation like this, O-Tsuru-Chan."
Sengoku asks Ace the name of his father (chichi-oya). Ace says that his oyaji is
Whitebeard.
When Sengoku tells him that's wrong, Ace insists that he has no father but Whitebeard.
Back then, they had information - tenuous information - from CP-9 that "that man" might
have left a child on a certain island. They investigated every newborn child, every
expectant mother, without success.
[This isn’t biblical at all…]
Somehow, by some trick or sheer force of will, Ace's mother managed to hide his birth from
their eyes.
On an island in the south blue lived Ace's mother, a woman named Portgas D. Rouge.
Somehow, she managed to make her pregnancy last 20 full months. When her child was born,
she died.
One year and three months after his father died, a child was born carrying the most evil
blood in all the world. Ace.
Ace himself had to know. That his father was Gold Roger, the Pirate King.
The audience is listening in silent shock.
Garp remembers Roger's words back then.
"This child has commited no crime! Please, take care of him for me!"
551
[Cover arc: Usopp gains weight on Bowin Island. *sighhhhh*]
On Shabondy, the audience watching the broadcast is stunned by the revelation that Ace is
Gold Roger's son.
Back on Marineford, the marines, the admirals, the warlords are all listening.
Hancock: "He's not... Luffy's real big brother?" [Oh, Hancock. Trust her to get at the
point that really matters. Or not, in a sense.]
Coby is in shock. He thought, since Luffy said Ace was his big brother, that Ace was
Dragon's son. Helmeppo assumed the same thing.
Garp flashes back to the scene when Roger, in prison, begged him to look after his unborn
child. Having spent many years as antagonists, he trusts Garp as much as he might trust one
of his own crew.
[Eerily reminiscent of Hiluluk's words to Kureha. He KNEW she would honor his request to
look after Chopper when he was gone.]
When Rouge's baby was born, she said that Roger wanted the baby's name to be Ann, if it was
a girl, and Ace, if it was a boy. Gol D. Ace will be his name.
Garp handed the baby over to Dadan to raise.
A few years later, Garp is bringing a seven-year-old Luffy to Dadan. "You'll live here from
now on."
Flashing forward, Garp remembers Ace's words in prison.
"Knowing that is nothing but a burden. For Luffy, and for me. Knowing that we carry the
blood of criminals in our veins. I bear the name of my mother, to whom I owe everything. I
don't want my worthless father's blood. The only father I have is Whitebeard."
Two years ago, Sengoku continues, Ace founded the Spade Pirates, using his mother's name.
By the time they realized that Ace was Roger's son, he had already been taken in by
Whitebeard, and Whitebeard was cultivating the son of his former rival to be the next
Pirate King.
This, Ace violently denies. He says he wanted to make Whitebeard the Pirate King.
"You're the only one who thought that."
In truth, they had let Ace slip carelessly through their hands, and Whitebeard was
protecting him.
[Oh, poor Ace's face. He honestly didn't realize?]
That is why his execution is so important. Why they were willing to risk all-out war with
Whitebeard for it.
A frantic report comes in - the Gates of Justice are opening, and nobody gave the command.
Outside the gates, Luffy and Jinbei are astonished to see the gates opening.
Buggy is pretending to open the gates with the sheer force of his charisma (LOL).
Three is not fooled.
[I find it endlessly hilarious that these two keep hanging out together, even though Three
is the only one who doesn't fall for Buggy's ridiculous act. He KNOWS Buggy is all humbug,
and he still follows him. It's kind of adorable.]
Before the harbor of Marineford, out of nowhere, a fleet of pirate ships has arrived.
[They have a variety of flags, but note the one that says OARS III on it.]
No one is quite sure where Whitebeard himself is. In all, they recognize 43 ships, all
pirates who have made a name for themselves in the New World, but there is no sign of
Whitebeard himself or of his squad commanders.
Ace, up on the platform, is staring in shock. He can't believe they all came.
The admirals twitch. Their sensitive ears hear something approaching.
Within the very harbor itself, a ship emerges from underwater - the Moby Dick. And with it,
the three ships under his direct command, with his fourteen squad commanders.
[I always assumed each of the squad commanders had their own ship, but I guess not?]
"Gurarara! How many years has it been, Sengoku? My beloved son is safe, I hope?"
"Just wait a little longer, Ace!"
"Oyaji!"
TBC
Life since the week before Thanksgiving, so crazy!
Volume 56: Thank You
[The title of this volume makes me cry, and not for the reason you might think before
reading it.]
542
The Vice-Admiral's ship is buzzing with the news of the unprecedented prisoner riot in
Impel Down, led by Monkey D. Luffy.
Onigumo tells Ace to take a good look at his "last sky." (T_T)
Back on Marineford, a frantic subordinate reports that the newest Warlord, Blackbeard, is
nowhere to be found. And an unauthorized marine warship has just landed at Impel Down.
At the front gate, the guards are trying to stop Blackbeard and his crew, but he uses his
"darkness" to suck them in.
"Now, now, don't be shy! I'm with the GOVERNMENT!"
Too late, they realize that Blackbeard is clearly preparing to enter the prison as an
enemy, but his purpose is unknown.
Inside, Hannyabal is literally foaming at the mouth with terror.
[It's not often I get to say "literally" and mean it.]
We have our usual sketch map (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE the little mini-
people? Ivankov's head!).
Magellan checks in with Hannyabal to let him know that he's just finished suppressing the
riot on Level 2. (Three: "This is bad [mazui] ga ne!")
He doesn't know why Blackbeard is attacking, but he has - reluctantly - taken steps to
counter him. They can't count on any help from headquarters.
He tells Hannyabal and the others to hold the line on Level 4 - he's headed their way.
Hannyabal is suddenly the Warden's biggest fan. (LOL his cheerleading dance)
Down on Level 6, Shiryuu is communciating with Magellan over den-den mushi. Magellan
entrusts him with the task of handling Blackbeard.
But after he hangs up the phone, Shiryuu uses the sword the guards gave him to ruthlessly
cut them down.
On Level 4, Luffy and his gang are opening every cell they reach. They run into Saldeath
and his Blugori.
Guards: "Blugori! Get the okama king with the hugified face!"
Ivankov: "Not hugified, dearie (巨大化じゃナショブル). It's face growth hormone!"
He knocks the Blugori out with his Hell Wink, and tells Luffy to forge ahead. "Leave the
rear to us!"
Sadie-chan and her guard-beasts are the next to arrive.
Jinbei says he'll do his best to back him up. "Not that I'm much good on land, but..."
(Luffy: "You seem pretty strong to me!" LOL)
Crocodile, watching the others get taken out: "Pathetic."
Jinbei, Crocodile and Luffy mow the guard-beasts down.
[I don't have to like Crocodile to think that panel is awesome.]
543
[Cover arc: Continued adventures of the Strawhats. Sanji in the Kamabakka kingdom. I was
disappointed to discover/be reminded that each of these tales of the Strawhats only lasts
two panels.]
As Blackbeard and his crew are fighting their way into Level 1, they come face to face with
Shiryuu (he sure moved fast).
Down on Level 4, with the guard-beasts defeated, Luffy and his gang are pushing ahead to
the entrance to Level 3.
Sadie-chan is still fighting (she yells at them for calling her "Head Guard Sadie" instead
of "Sadie-chan"). She draws her "Red Demon Whip."
Luffy is ready to take her on, but Ivankov (now fully female!) kicks him out of the way and
tells him to keep going - they'll handle this.
Sadie knows at once who the "woman" is. "Ivankov. Anarchist - can't you just pick one and
stick with it?"
Ivankov: "Ufufu! I just feel like a woman at the moment!"
Luffy: "Wait, who's that? She talks like Iva-chan..." (LOL Luffy)
Inazuma ("Kani-chan") is leading Luffy toward the stairs, but Hannyabal (now all fired up)
is barring the way.
Hannyabal launches an attack (he has some kind of dance/cheer routine to go with it, but I
can't make any sense of it in Japanese).
While Hannyabal is still holding his ground, Magellan arrives on the other side of Level 4.
Hannyabal fights until he is half dead. He doesn't believe that a no-good pirate like Luffy
cares about saving his big brother; as far as he is concerned, pirates are scum who force
innocent civilians live in fear.
[For all his absurd pretensions, Hannyabal is not unsympathetic here - which is kind of
creepy, when you remember that he is vice-warden of a pit of torture. The perils of being
Lawful Neutral - the type that will do anything, good or bad, if they think it's justified
in the name of Law.]
Luffy: "The only thing I care about is Ace's life! Now move!"
[And that, right there, is Chaotic Neutral. Hundreds of vicious prisoners loosed on the
world? Whatevs!]
Suddenly the other prison guards start getting sucked into a cloud of darkness.
"Give it a rest. Don't keep blabbing about justice and evil. No matter how you search this
world... there are no answers! It's stupid!"
Blackbeard punches Hannyabal and knocks him out.
[I don't get Blackbeard as a character at all. Someday, perhaps, we'll be given more
insight into what makes him tick - should be interesting.]
Luffy immediately recognizes him as the guy he met on Jaya.
[Almost as uncanny as the things Luffy forgets, are the things that he remembers.]
Luffy's strange gang comes face-to-face with Blackbeard and his crew.
[A nice visual reminder that Blackbeard's entire crew is freakishly tall, like three or
four times normal human size.]
Jinbei recognizes Blackbeard, and is furious. Blackbeard says there's no call to be holding
a grudge against him, even if Jinbei and Ace were buddies.
Luffy realizes for the first time that the man he met on Jaya was "Blackbeard." He
remembers that Ace was searching for someone by that name - and that Grandman Nyon said
that Blackbeard was the one who turned Ace over to the government in exchange for becoming
a Warlord.
Blackbeard: "Oh, never mentioned my name, did I? Long time, Mugiwara! I was surprised to
hear you were my cap'n Ace's little brother."
[waga-taichou. I really don't know how to translate this in English to make it sound right,
but it is creepily familiar/respectful. Ace was right to be insulted and disgusted when
Blackbeard insisted on continuing to call him that - Blackbeard has no right to use that
title any more.]
"Say, should you be here? They'll be starting your big brother's execution soon, you know.
Zehahaha!"
Luffy looks angry enough to tear him apart.
544
[Cover Arc: Sanji appears to have completely embraced the maiden lifestyle. Oh dear.]
Blackbeard says he heard that Mugiwara was the one who took out "that ex-Warlord over
there" (Crocodile glares), so he was planning to capture him and turn him over to the
government as his price for becoming the next Warlord.
"But seems fate protected you."
All of Blackbeard's crew members agree - there's no such thing as chance in Fate.
[Ugh, Blackbeard is really twisting the knife by driving home that Ace was taken in Luffy's
place.]
"You should go say your thanks over his grave!"
Luffy attacks Blackbeard in a rage, but Jinbei stops the fight before it can go too far (he
has to physically restrain him). "Remember what comes first!"
[Oh, Jinbei...]
Luffy is still furious, but he understands what Jinbei is telling him. Blackbeard is
bloodied but seems amused.
"You're stronger than I thought. Your haki is stronger than it was back then, too."
[A reminder, if we needed one, that Blackbeard was by far the earliest character ever to
comment on Luffy's haki.]
Crocodile wonders what Blackbeard is doing in Impel Down. Is he so ready to throw away the
title of warlord that he just obtained?
Blackbeard says everything is going exactly according to plan - well, apart from a few
minor adjustments.
[I guess he considers capturing Ace instead of Luffy one of those minor adjustments.]
While Blackbeard and Crocodile are still trading barbs, Magellan shows up.
Ivankov: "Oh my, that's not good." [LOL "mazui wa ne" - this is very cultivated-feminine
speech. So unlike him.]
He tells Luffy to go on ahead. Luffy can't afford to take another dose of Magellan's
poison.
Jinbei says they're lucky the way to the third-floor staircase has been blown open.
Blackbeard: "Zehaha! Works for us, too. We can escape in the chaos."
[Another hint that Luffy and Blackbeard seem to be fated to continually intersect for only
brief moments.]
Suddenly the Minotaurus, the only remaining guard-beast, shows up.
Bon is horrified ("Didn't we deal with him before?"), but Crocodile is unsurprised. "Of
course he woke up, they're "awakened" zoan-types. Their toughness is legendary."
[I think this is the first reference to the guard beasts being zoan types - clearly Bon
didn't know either. I have no idea what an "awakened" (覚醒) zoan type is.]
Magellan is approaching. Hearing the report that Blackbeard has appeared at the bottom of
the stairs to Level 3, he wonders if Shiryuu has been defeated already.
The monitor room contacts him in a panic to report that the cameras throughout the prison
are out - something took out the main den-den mushi. And all their communications with
Marine HQ and the outside world have been cut off as well.
While the guard is still screaming over the den-den mushi, Shiryuu takes him out. "Shut up.
You want Magellan to come here?"
[He has a really, really creepy grin.]
Down below, they don't know why the line went dead, but Magellan is more worried about the
fact that the stairs Blackbeard came from lead not only to the third but to the second
level. How did he get past Level 2?
Up on Level 2, Buggy and the others are celebrating their miraculous deliverance. The other
prisoners think their savior, Captain Buggy, must be the luckiest man in the world.
Luffy tells Blackbeard that he WILL save Ace.
"You just might, at that. Nothing in this world is impossible."
As Luffy stomps sullenly past him, Blackbeard says -
"Sky Island was there, wasn't it? One Piece is the same! It definitely exists!"
[I've never seen Luffy look so coldly furious with anyone who was talking about the
existence of One Piece.]
Blackbeard says they'll meet again soon. He and his crew are about to put on a show that
will shake the world to its foundations.
Each group moves on toward its destination - Luffy and his gang up to Level 3, Blackbeard
further into the prison.
Magellan has discovered Sadie-chan bound by her own ropes (she says "Okamakov" tied her
up).
"So humiliating! Life's not worth living if I can't be on top!"
[攻めなきゃ, lol - Sadie certainly would be a seme if she had the right gender. Can you call a
dominatrix a seme?]
Magellan comes face-to-face with Blackbeard and his men on the bridge.
Magellan drenches them with his poison, and walks contemptuously away.
He discovers Hannyabal, beaten nearly to a pulp, and praises him for holding out.
"Don't kick the bucket, will you? You're the only decent successor I've got."
Looking up the stairs, Magellan bellows Mugiwara's name.
Luffy stops. "Poison dude!"
Magellan: "I'm not letting you get out of here!"
545
[Cover Arc: Robin is making a prison escape attempt on Tequila Wolf. I hope that jumpsuit
is unbuttoned to the navel because she's changing into a prison guard disguise. Otherwise
it's just gratuitous.]
Buggy and Three have now escaped to Level 1 (as the chapter diagram helpfully shows us).
Meanwhile, Luffy's group (now officially dubbed the Newkama Army) is on Level 3, with
Magellan hard on their heels.
Sadie-chan is getting to her feet and cracking the whip over her guard-beasts. They are
taking the elevator to the first floor to cut off any escape route.
All communications are down within the prison due to the treachery of Shiryuu.
Jinbei is reminding Luffy that their plan is capture one of the warships that is currently
surrounding the prison, and use it to make their way to Marineford.
There are four and a half hours to go until Ace's execution.
After the last of the prisoners escape up the stairs to Level 2, Ivankov stays to block
Magellan's path.
"Inazuma!"
"Got it!"
Inazuma uses his scissor ability to slash the staircase into ribbons as he races up it,
cutting off passage between the two levels. He prays that Ivankov, left behind to face
Magellan, will escape safely.
Magellan asks if Ivankov is just trying to buy Luffy time, but Ivankov tells him not to
underestimate the power of Newkama Kenpou.
Luffy, who is trampling over the Manticores, wonders what happened to Magellan. Wasn't he
right behind them a minute ago?
When Bon says that Ivankov and Inazuma stayed to fight him, Luffy wants to go back, but Bon
tells him not to be ridiculous. "Believe in the power of the man of miracles!"
Crocodile and Jinbei both think it's strange that the floor is practically empty - no
guards, no prisoners.
On Level 3, Ivankov is playing his comedy routine with Magellan.
"My face! It's melting... melting... IT'S NOT MELTING!" (He was saved by his pancake-thick
makeup. Also, LOL, since he doesn't have an audience, he has to place both parts. "It's not
melting? You got us again!")
When Magellan complains about him wasting time, Ivankov attacks for real.
Meanwhile, Inazuma is waiting at the top of the ruined stairs. He is dismayed when Magellan
finally appears. (We see a shot of Ivankov's poison-soaked body below.)
Inazuma uses his scissor ability to continue blocking Magellan's path.
On Level 1, Buggy's group have encountered Sadie-chan and her jailer beasts. But when they
turn to make a run for it, Buggy and Three smack into Crocodile.
Three is more aghast than happy to see Crocodile set free.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Jinbei have already K.O.'d Sadie-chan and her jailer beasts.
[LOL Buggy and Three's faces actually coming off in surprise.]
Luffy: "Hey, great, you guys made it!"
[Oh, Luffy. His words stab Buggy and Three to the heart, literally.]
Bon attacks Buggy and Three like an avenging fury. "How dare you leave us behind down
there!"
Just as the guards are wondering what happened to Magellan, he makes his appearance.
[Incidentally, the little picture of Three in the background freaking out again at the
sight of Mr. 1 cracks me up.]
Luffy and Bon are dismayed to realize that both Ivankov and Inazuma have been defeated by
Magellan's poison.
Jinbei notices Magellan talking on his den-den mushi to the ships outside, and realizes
that Magellan has a plan to head them off.
[In Japanese, it's unclear what Magellan plans to do to/with the ships, but the English
clarified by letting us hear him directly give the order for the ships to sail away.]
When Magellan attacks with his poison-hydra, Three puts up a wax wall to protect them.
("Damn you, Mugiwara. Quit going around thinking that EVERYONE is your friend.")
He tells him to go ahead. "I just don't like owing debts."
[I just have to say that the end-page with all the Strawhats swapped to the opposite gender
is possibly one of the strangest things Oda has ever drawn. And that's saying a lot.]
546
[Cover arc: the Revolutionary Army has joined forces with Robin to rescue the other
slaves.]
Luffy tells Jinbei to take the others and steal a ship like they planned. He'll stay and
defeat Magellan.
He prepares to take on Magellan, side by side with Three. (This was not Three's plan AT
ALL.)
Buggy's adoring convict fans are now calling him "Three-nii-san."
Luffy persuades Three to give him wax boxing-gear/armor. (He's in tears of gratitude to
Three for making him look SO COOL.) He discovers that indeed, with his hands protected, he
can hit Magellan.
Buggy, Bon and Mr. 1 are leading the army up to the front door. Mr 1 warns Bon not to get
too confident - they'll be facing an army of marines surrounding the prison.
When they break through, they are stunned to discover no one there at all.
Jinbei points out the faint outline of the last of the ships departing.
The others are dismayed - what can they do, with the ship so far away? - but Jinbei says he
can handle it.
"Just leave this one to me."
Jinbei swims out to sea, carrying the strongest of their group on a platform: Crocodile,
Mr. 1, and Buggy.
While the convicts are swooning over how awesome Jinbei is and admiring Buggy for going
along, Buggy is thinking (of course) only of his own safety. He figures he's far better off
with two Warlords than stuck behind waiting for Magellan to kill them all.
The warships try to blow Jinbei out of the water with their cannons, but Jinbei prepares to
launch the platform into the air. He dives deep, and uses the power of the currents to send
the platform flying toward the deck of one of the ships.
The platform lands on its target. (LOL Crocodile and Mr. 1 being perfectly calm while Buggy
is panicking. Mr 1: "Why did you come with us?" When the platform lands, Buggy is knocked
out cold.)
Jinbei continues his attacks from the ocean (and apologizes for nearly scuttling their
escape ship).
547
Magellan starts using another type of venom that can eat even through wax as hard as stone.
(Luffy is peeved that this ruins his awesome wax suit of armor.)
Bon is anxiously keeping watch over the convicts left behind, hoping Jinbei can return
before Magellan gets past Luffy.
While Crocodile and Mr. 1 fight to take over the ship they landed on, Jinbei keeps the
other warships busy so they can't interfere.
Luffy and Three are racing toward the surface, with Magellan right behind them.
Luffy wants to know if the ship is ready, but Bon says they have to wait a little longer.
"HELL WINK!"
The others are overjoyed to find that Ivankov and Inazuma are both alive (Inazuma is
unconscious and not looking too good, still drenched with poison).
Magellan, though weakened, is still determined to stop the prison break.
Three gives Luffy the den-den mushi Jinbei left with them. Jinbei says they're on their way
with a ship.
[LOL Buggy now awake and cheering over their "victory." Mr 1: "Why did you even come?"]
Jinbei tells them to get as far out to sea as they can, he'll meet them.
Three thinks this sounds absolutely crazy - why should Luffy trust a government toady?
Luffy: "He's Ace's friend. I trust him."
[Ah, that explains a lot.]
Luffy uses Gear Third along with Three's wax guard to push Magellan back.
Chibi-Luffy (post-Gear 3): "Iva-chan, wake up! Do the wink thing!"
Ivankov: "Huh? Who are you? OK, sure!"
Ivankov expands his head to giant size, tells everyone to hang on, and winks. He flies out
to sea.
When they land, they find themselves riding on a herd of whale-sharks.
[I totally did not get this until recently, but in Japanese, whale-shark = jinbei-zame.
Jinbei called the jinbei sharks!]
Magellan is grinding his teeth in frustration.
Jinbei: "Take us over there!" (whale sharks nod happily)
Luffy: "That guy is AWESOME!"
548
[Cover arc: Franky is being chased by a bunch of cyborg animals.]
Everyone reunites on board the commandeered warship. (Luffy and Buggy are doing a dance of
victory.)
The freed convicts are shedding tears of joy.
"We're free!"
"And who do you have to thank for it?"
"CAPTAIN BUGGY!"
They're not out of the woods yet - the other warships have returned to resume the attack.
Worse, they're at the Gates of Justice, and they're only now realizing that the gates will
not open for them.
Crocodile points out that they should at least be firing back. They have a warship, too.
Buggy immediately claims credit for the idea, to the cheers of his crazed followers
The marines can't understand why the prisoners are still headed toward the Gates. Don't
they understand that the gates are controlled from within Impel Down?
To their utter shock, the gates begin to swing open.
Outside the prison, preparing to board another ship, Magellan is staring in equal shock at
the gates.
Inside the prison, "Magellan" is commanding the guards to open the gates.
The marines outside are completely baffled, but keep firing on the ship in an effort to
prevent it from passing through the gates.
Inside the prison, Magellan confronts "Magellan" in the control room.
On board ship, Luffy is only now understanding that Bon-chan stayed behind. He argues with
Jinbei, wanting to go back for him, but Jinbei says they can't afford to do that. Bon isn't
the only one who fell fighting on the way out.
Jinbei remembers Bon promising him that he'd make sure the gates would open for them. He
made Jinbei promise not to tell Luffy until the ship was out of range.
"Okama don't need no stinkin' goodbye speeches."
(I’m murdering this line. オカマの別れに言葉はいらない. “For the partings of okama, words are not
needed.”)
Jinbei hands Luffy the den-den mushi. He tells them they'll only be within range as long as
the gates remain open.
As Magellan is confronting Bon, Luffy's voice comes over the den-den mushi.
[I love that Oda actually takes the time to explain when and how Bon memorized Magellan's
face. He knows his fans.]
Luffy is reproachful - why does Bon keep doing this? (Nice callback to the fact that Bon
saved them by being a decoy before, at Alabasta.) They were supposed to escape together!
Bon is horrified - Jinbei was supposed to prevent this!
Hearing Luffy, everyone else on board is starting to figure out what Bon did to save them.
They all start wailing Bon's name.
"Bon-chan! The gates are closing. We're going. THANK YOU!"
Bon is shedding tears of happiness.
Finally, he speaks. (The den-den mushi is crying too. T__T)
"MAKE SURE YOU SAVE THAT BIG BROTHER OF YOURS!"
Luffy is bawling his eyes out. (We don't often see him crying that hard.)
The signal is fading. "If it's y... def..."
The gates close, and the connection is lost.
Aw, I think this last part is a poem (5-7-5-7-5-7):
Even in hell, a single flower of friendship blooms. Send it out, it comes back, carried
upon the wave.
The last part seems poetic too, but I'm not sure it scans (7-7-7-8-6?):
Leaving behind a forgotten flower petal
someday once again I will make it bloom.
Okama Way.
Mr. 2, Bon Clay
On board ship, Luffy and the others are weeping bitterly.
Magellan: "Any last words?"
Bon: "SATISFACTION!" (本望)
Let's meet again... in the okama fields!
Narration:
241 prisoners escaped on that day from the great undersea prison of Impel Down. It was the
greatest disaster in the history of Impel Down. But the incident wasn't finished.
4 hours until the execution of Portgas D. Ace.
549
[Cover arc: Franky discovers the house where Vegapunk was born. Apparently Vegapunk, like
Franky himself, has a penchant for putting his name over the door.]
On Level 4 of Impel Down, Blackbeard's crew are celebrating the fact that they're still
alive. (Someone comments that if he hadn't brought the antidote with him, they'd all be
dead.)
The person who brought the antidote, it seems, was Shiryuu. Blackbeard thanks him, though
he says that any man who fears death is a fool. Live for the moment, that's his motto.
It seems that Shiryuu and Blackbeard have found kindred spirits in each other.
Shiryuu: "My future is clear now. I've been waiting to meet a man like you."
On board the commandeered warship, Ivankov and the others are watching over Inazuma. He
recommends that he be left to rest and recover naturally. Ivankov used a combination of
hormones to counter the poison in himself, but that treatment shortens the lifespan, and
Inazuma is an important person to the Revolutionary Army.
[I love that Ivankov apparently can't be bothered to shrink his face, so he conducts this
entire conversation lying on the deck with his giant face pressed up against the door of
the sickbay.]
Luffy and the others, including Three, are still mourning for Bon-chan.
Buggy has already moved on to the drinking party stage. Bon was a good guy, but he's gone.
He suggests making it a wake, but Luffy punches him out for that.
"We don't know that he's dead yet! Big nose!"
[That's right, Luffy. In a world where Pell is alive...]
"Who you calling a big nose?"
"Red nose, round nose, stupid nose, that's you!"
[How about "four sword style," Luffy? You can do better.]
Crocodile is talking with Jinbei. He's surprised that Jinbei could talk to the fish - he
thought only mer-people could do that.
Luffy arrives to interrupt their conversation. (Judging from the way the guys in the
background are wailing "Captain Buggy!", I'd say Luffy won their fight.)
Jinbei is thinking that he should thank Luffy, and apologize to him. He's remembering
Arlong. But right now, they have another objective in mind.
He tells Luffy they should prepare to raise all manner of hell at Marineford. He might
still technically be a Warlord, but he'll be forced to give up the title for sure, so...
At this point both Luffy and Buggy have a fit.
"YOU'RE A WARLORD??"
[LOL Luffy, never change. I have to agree with lego_joker, though, it is odd that Luffy now
seems so easily impressed by titles like shichibukai when he never used to be.]
Buggy is freaking out not because Jinbei is a warlord (he knew that), but because Jinbei
mentioned that they were going to Marineford. Apparently he missed that part of the plan.
Crocodile says their destination should have been obvious from the moment they passed
through the Gates of Justice. Where did he think they were going?
This comes as a terrible shock to Buggy, Three and all the other former convicts. (Well,
not Ivankov's people - they knew the score. Just the regular convict guys.)
Just then, the den-den mushi rings. (Luffy, of course, picks up and promptly announces
"Luffy here!" The others are horrified; I'm thinking they should be grateful he didn't
identify himself as the future pirate king.)
Marine HQ informs Luffy that they know about the prison break and the commandeering of the
navy ship. They also know that the prison break was masterminded by two individuals:
Strawhat Luffy, and Buggy the Clown.
Buggy's followers are in awe. He's in league with the man who took down a Warlord? Just how
much of a big shot is he?
[Viz takes shichibukai as a reference to Jinbei, which might be correct - the Japanese is
not totally clear to me (バギーが「七武海」を抑えての「主犯」!?) Either way, it’s hilarious.]
Marine HQ is continuing. They seriously underestimated Buggy, considering him a no-name
pirate. But after all, he was on Gold Roger's crew. (This shocks Buggy's worshipping
admirers even more. Buggy: "How did they find out??")
And he and the Emperor Red-Hair Shanks are practically like brothers!
[I can hear Buggy gagging from here.]
Frankly, they're amazed Buggy managed to keep a low profile this long. They're not sure
what his connection with Ace is, but obviously his aim is the same as Luffy's - to rescue
Ace.
They start to tell Luffy that as long as they don't open the Gates of Justice on the other
end, he'll never be able to arrive at his destination. In fact, he could spend the rest of
his natural life being carried around on the triangle current for all eternity.
Luffy interrupts the voice to tell them that he is DEFINITELY going to rescue Ace. So they
can just wash potatoes and wait for him! He slams down the phone.
[芋洗って待ってろ. I can't wait to find out what the meaning of that idiom is.]
[ETA: The Viz translation suggests the proper idiom would have been 首を洗って, “wash your neck
and wait”; idiom dictionary on google says it is a throw-down line in a fight, meaning “get
ready to rumble.” Newkama followers: “That’s neck, Luffy-san! This is no time to be washing
potatoes and putting them in to boil!”]
Meanwhile, Buggy's followers are going gaga over him. All Buggy can think about is that now
he'll be a marked man in the eyes of the government.
[He already had a bounty and managed to get himself shipped off to Impel Down? But I guess
being associated with the likes of Roger, Shanks, Ace and Luffy gets you more attention
than being a big fish in the East Blue.]
Luffy remembers that "the first mate dude" told him the same thing, that Buggy and Shanks
were on Roger's crew.
When Buggy asks what he means by "first mate dude," Luffy's casual mention of the name of
Rayleigh sends the entire crew into further paroxysms.
Buggy: "You met Rayleigh-san? How's he doing? That takes me back!" (Aw, Buggy.)
Everyone else is ready to pass out at the very mention of the name of Dark King Rayleigh.
Buggy's convict worshippers are now ready to follow him to the grave. Buggy only protests a
little bit before it occurs to him that he could make this work out nicely.
He begins to dream of taking Whitebeard's head and soaring to the exalted status of Yonkou.
Or even... Pirate King!
[One step at a time, Buggy. One step at a time.]
[I love Luffy just watching this whole scene going "..."]
Jinbei and Crocodile are starting to wonder if they're going to have to kill the whole lot
of them.
Buggy decides to embrace the moment.
His followers are hoping that he will lead them in a mutiny to refuse to go to Marine HQ,
but Buggy has other ideas. They're going to Marineford to take Whitebeard's head.
His poor, deluded followers are with him every step of the way.
Luffy: "I guess it all worked out."
Jinbei: "He has talent... of a sort..." （こういう才能、ある様じゃのう）LOL Viz: “Buggy has a talent for
leadership.”
[LOLOL. Luffy truly is the luckiest man in the world. And Buggy might just be the second
luckiest.]
At Marineford, it's noon. Ace is climbing the long stairs to the execution platform.
Listen up, Luffy. We're definitely going to live our lives with no regret.
His escorts halt before the iron doors.
Someday, we'll go out to sea. We'll live just as we please. We'll be freer than anyone
else, ever!
[That final image T______T forever]
550
[Cover arc: Usopp on Bowin Island. The name of the arc is "I"ll die if I'm alone disease."
T_T]
All around the world, people are waiting and watching. Wondering if Whitebeard will show.
The entire population of Marineford, save the soldiers themselves, have evacuated to
Shabondy and are watching the scene unfold over den-den mushi broadcast. Reporters and
cameramen likewise are on Shabondy, eyes glued to the broadcast.
At noon, three hours before execution, Ace is led to the execution platform and kneels
before the cameras.
[Poor Ace. Three hours!]
100,000 of the world's best marines are gathered on Marineford, standing guard.
An overview shows the crescent-shaped harbor of Marineford. Fifty warships are stationed
around it.
Above the harbor, all of the Warlords who answered the summons (and didn't subsequently go
AWOL) are watching: Kuma, Moria, Doflamingo, Mihawk and Boa Hancock.
Near the platform, the three admirals have taken their seats: Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru.
[I believe this is the first time we've seen them all in one place?]
Luffy's ship has arrived at the Gates of Justice at Marineford - but the gates have not
opened.
Sengoku, accompanied by Garp, arrives at the platform.
He tells the guards to step back, and stands next to Ace. Someone hands him a den-den mushi
at his command.
Sengoku has an announcement to make.
Tsuru tries to tell Garp that he's not to blame. Garp puts on a brave face. "Bwahaha! It's
like a woman to try to be kind in a situation like this, O-Tsuru-Chan."
Sengoku asks Ace the name of his father (chichi-oya). Ace says that his oyaji is
Whitebeard.
When Sengoku tells him that's wrong, Ace insists that he has no father but Whitebeard.
Back then, they had information - tenuous information - from CP-9 that "that man" might
have left a child on a certain island. They investigated every newborn child, every
expectant mother, without success.
[This isn’t biblical at all…]
Somehow, by some trick or sheer force of will, Ace's mother managed to hide his birth from
their eyes.
On an island in the south blue lived Ace's mother, a woman named Portgas D. Rouge.
Somehow, she managed to make her pregnancy last 20 full months. When her child was born,
she died.
One year and three months after his father died, a child was born carrying the most evil
blood in all the world. Ace.
Ace himself had to know. That his father was Gold Roger, the Pirate King.
The audience is listening in silent shock.
Garp remembers Roger's words back then.
"This child has commited no crime! Please, take care of him for me!"
551
[Cover arc: Usopp gains weight on Bowin Island. *sighhhhh*]
On Shabondy, the audience watching the broadcast is stunned by the revelation that Ace is
Gold Roger's son.
Back on Marineford, the marines, the admirals, the warlords are all listening.
Hancock: "He's not... Luffy's real big brother?" [Oh, Hancock. Trust her to get at the
point that really matters. Or not, in a sense.]
Coby is in shock. He thought, since Luffy said Ace was his big brother, that Ace was
Dragon's son. Helmeppo assumed the same thing.
Garp flashes back to the scene when Roger, in prison, begged him to look after his unborn
child. Having spent many years as antagonists, he trusts Garp as much as he might trust one
of his own crew.
[Eerily reminiscent of Hiluluk's words to Kureha. He KNEW she would honor his request to
look after Chopper when he was gone.]
When Rouge's baby was born, she said that Roger wanted the baby's name to be Ann, if it was
a girl, and Ace, if it was a boy. Gol D. Ace will be his name.
Garp handed the baby over to Dadan to raise.
A few years later, Garp is bringing a seven-year-old Luffy to Dadan. "You'll live here from
now on."
Flashing forward, Garp remembers Ace's words in prison.
"Knowing that is nothing but a burden. For Luffy, and for me. Knowing that we carry the
blood of criminals in our veins. I bear the name of my mother, to whom I owe everything. I
don't want my worthless father's blood. The only father I have is Whitebeard."
Two years ago, Sengoku continues, Ace founded the Spade Pirates, using his mother's name.
By the time they realized that Ace was Roger's son, he had already been taken in by
Whitebeard, and Whitebeard was cultivating the son of his former rival to be the next
Pirate King.
This, Ace violently denies. He says he wanted to make Whitebeard the Pirate King.
"You're the only one who thought that."
In truth, they had let Ace slip carelessly through their hands, and Whitebeard was
protecting him.
[Oh, poor Ace's face. He honestly didn't realize?]
That is why his execution is so important. Why they were willing to risk all-out war with
Whitebeard for it.
A frantic report comes in - the Gates of Justice are opening, and nobody gave the command.
Outside the gates, Luffy and Jinbei are astonished to see the gates opening.
Buggy is pretending to open the gates with the sheer force of his charisma (LOL).
Three is not fooled.
[I find it endlessly hilarious that these two keep hanging out together, even though Three
is the only one who doesn't fall for Buggy's ridiculous act. He KNOWS Buggy is all humbug,
and he still follows him. It's kind of adorable.]
Before the harbor of Marineford, out of nowhere, a fleet of pirate ships has arrived.
[They have a variety of flags, but note the one that says OARS III on it.]
No one is quite sure where Whitebeard himself is. In all, they recognize 43 ships, all
pirates who have made a name for themselves in the New World, but there is no sign of
Whitebeard himself or of his squad commanders.
Ace, up on the platform, is staring in shock. He can't believe they all came.
The admirals twitch. Their sensitive ears hear something approaching.
Within the very harbor itself, a ship emerges from underwater - the Moby Dick. And with it,
the three ships under his direct command, with his fourteen squad commanders.
[I always assumed each of the squad commanders had their own ship, but I guess not?]
"Gurarara! How many years has it been, Sengoku? My beloved son is safe, I hope?"
"Just wait a little longer, Ace!"
"Oyaji!"
TBC