Chapter One Piece 766 Review: "Smile"

[MiyamotoMusashi]

One Piece 766 Review

Hello and welcome to my review for the One Piece chapter 766. Since the current events in the manga are rather appealing, to say the least, we decided to revive the review project. For now, Ladylola, who already presented her review last week, Syphin and I will alternately review the chapters, this week it is my turn.
If you guys are interested in reading reviews weekly, i invite and ask you to comment in this thread. Thank you in advance for your replies. Not much else to say further, so let’s just get on with it. The panels used in the review are from Mangastream, the pic above was done by shelltonsalles.

Worthy Tribute

I think Oda deserves respect for this​

So, Oda decided to pay a tribute to Kishimoto and Naruto ending by drawing this cover which is a really nice gesture if you ask me, though while one can never know whether it is just an editorial decision or really Oda´s recognition of Naruto, i think it is safe to say that considering the way Oda usually presents himself, it is a genuine sentiment.
Personally, i lost the interest in Naruto starting with Part 2 and it only got worse over time, but nevertheless, it gave me some memorable moments and characters i was interested in, so if Oda can pay a tribute to it, i think we can do the same, assuming some of you have read it as well: Feel free to do so in this thread.
Just for the sake of completeness, let´s break the cover down real quick:
Obviously, the "O" in One Piece is supposed to be the Konoha symbol, the "E" has a shuriken and the "I" represents Naruto himself.
Furthermore, the three One Piece characters featured in the cover are NAmi, Monkey D RUfi and TOni Chopper, which, if you take the first 2 letters of each name, gives Naruto.
Nami herself is wearing a dress with the Konoha symbol on it while Naruto is behind her, having exchanged his trademark meal of Ramen with Luffy´s meat and a fox with the Uzumaki symbol on his shirt is sitting in the foreground.
Finally, if we take the second character of each word on the menu in the background, it results in "Thank you for your hard work, Naruto".

Coolness impersonified

That´s one tough looking granny alright​

The chapter starts with the Marines, led by Vice Admiral Tsuru, who really looks badass by the way, waiting for Donquixote´s crew at the alleged meeting place of DD and Corazon,
Swallow´s island, which unsurprisingly looks exactly like a swallow.
Obviously, Corazon is not there since he attacked Barrels and his crew to get the Ope Ope no Mi but Doflamingo is not there either which makes Tsuru wonder if the intel Sengoku received is genuine.
Tsuru´s ship, which seems to be manned solely with female officers (though that assessment might be premature considering we only get to see three of Tsuru´s subordinates) is contacted by the other Marine unit waiting near Barrels´ hideout on Minion island and is informed that there is fire rising from it.
In the next panel we see that Barrels and his entire crew were beaten and that they lost the fruit.

The first thing that immediately caught my eye obviously was Tsuru´s appearance in this flashback since i have always adored her starting with the Shichibukai meeting after Crocodile´s defeat. Even back then she emitted a sense of levelheadedness and strength while everyone else was panicking because of Doflamingo´s display of power and that only continued at Marineford.
Also, i think it is likely that she will meet Doflamingo in this flashback since the two had a not friendly but familiar attitude towards each other back in Mariejoa.
Of course her appearance is just a small detail but it´s really one of the things Oda does well. There are literally hundred of named characters, many of whom are used or referenced beyond their initial appearance. As a result, the world of One Piece feels rather complete and you never get the feeling that the featured characters were created solely for the Strawhats´ journey.
You get the sense that the characters and of course also the locations ,with their history and culture, have always been real and functioning in the context of the world, and they become more than just plot devices.
Regarding the characters in particular, it always seems that there is a story behind them, only that we do not learn about it, which incidentally leaves a lot of room for spin-off stories, i could easily think of a few i would like to see.
I guess that can also have a negative by-effect though since you would like to learn more about the character or simply want to seem them reappear as fast as possible (which seems to be the case if i look into discussions sometimes).

Besides Tsuru, something else caught my eye that i already mentioned in the chapter discussion thread: The female Marine behind Tsuru is carrying the Meitou Shigure which, in the present time, belongs to Tashigi. It´s just a small detail but who knows, it might become relevant in the future.

Rocinante returns

The price of acquiring the fruit​

The scene changes to Rocinante who pridefully presents the Ope Ope no Mi to Law. In order to avoid detection, he puts up a field with his power and once again declares that the fruit will solve the problem of Law´s illness before shoving it down Law´s throat in a bit of a comical way and before breaking down due to the injuries he received by Barrels´ crew. Law tries to heal him in a rather sweet scene but he does not know how to use the fruit yet.

Nothing surprising here, we knew that Law would somehow eat the fruit before Doflamingo could reach them. The interesting thing to see though will be how Law learns to use the Ope Ope no Mi, especially since most that ate a fruit in the manga itself initially had problems to use the powers correctly but still were able to activate them one way or the other (BB, Sabo and Kaku come to mind).
Other than that, it´s always nice to see Rocinante and Law interacting since they have become two of my favorite flashback characters in One Piece, despite my initial dislike of the present time Law which also started to change due to his background.
I do not want to claim anything prematurely, especially since we are now just before the emotional climax, but this flashback will probably belong to one of my favorites.

Vergo appears

Now i know where Helmeppo got the idea for his hairstyle​

Since Law is unable to use his powers for now and Rocinante claims to be able to cope with his grave injuries, the latter gives Law a new task. Law receives a small document about the truth of Dressrosa and is supposed to deliver it to the Marines, so that Dressrosa can be saved and his brother stopped.
He leaves and finds a lonely Marine soldier who, unfortunately, turns out to be Vergo.
Upon meeting him, Law asks for his help, especially for Rocinante, who is slowly bleeding out and Vergo reluctantly agrees.
The latter carries Law to the place Rocinante is resting and is immediately surprised to see him there while Rocinante makes the fatal mistake of using his voice due to the shock of seeing Vergo.

I am rather happy that Vergo appeared in this flashback and chapter, even though it is more than convenient that, of all things, Vergo is the one who is chosen by Law, since it explains how Law knew about Vergo and his task in the Marines. It struck me as weird that a few chapters ago, Rocinante talked about Vergo, even mentioned his secret mission but did not tell what it is. There was no reason to not tell Law at that point since he basically told him everything else that might be important but now we also know that Rocinante himself did not know about it, probably because Doflamingo was always suspicious ever since his return.
On the other hand, the plot device in the form of the secret document is rather useless and stupid. The fact that a spy would carry such a document, even if it is in preparation for the worst case scenario, does not make sense and is eventually the reason why Rocinante´s cover is blown.
There are a few alternatives that would have been more preferable, like Vergo beating Law until the latter spills the beans (i am not an advocate of child abuse, just to clarify ) or Vergo overhearing a conversation between Rocinante and Sengoku.
Besides that, i wonder how genuine Vergo´s behavior is. He is rather friendly and helpful towards Law but that could easily be a facade to keep up his Marine role. Pages such as this one or this may give an indication but it remains to be inconclusive in my opinion.

Beginning of the end

Vergo could pull his punch a little​

Upon seeing Rocinante and being confronted with the fact that he could talk after all, Vergo becomes suspicious and as a result opens the secret document to read it.
Rocinante recognizes the dire situation and tries to stop him but Vergo manages to read it, understands Rocinante´s betrayal and immediately begins his punishment by beating up both Corazon and Law without any mercy.

Well, this is already getting tough to see how mercilessly Vergo punishes the other two.
On one hand, i like how loyal Vergo is and how quickly he reacts to the situation but on the other hand, it is not an easy thing to see the protagonists of this flashback being butchered like that, especially Rocinante is getting a beating of a life time which triggers different emotions in me.
One thing i loved about these panels though is that Vergo, amidst all that, is still insisting that his Kouhai Law refers to his senior as Vergo-San, something that already made me laugh back in Punk Hazard.
Speaking of Punk Hazard, i think it is interesting how the current events give the arc a new dimension, especially the fight between Law and Vergo. You can understand the interaction between the characters better and it probably also explains why Law put that much strength in his final slash, even though it kind of seemed over the top, not to forget it feels really sweet.
Something i have to criticize though is the lack of transparency regarding the strength progression of Vergo, in particular his usage of the full body Hardening CoA.
In my mind, there is no doubt that Vergo got stronger over the years, considering he will rise to the position of Vice Admiral, but i think his usage of Hardening CoA even back then kind of contradicts that. Of course one could argue that there is no way to gauge the level of CoA he is using and it would be right but that´s basically the problem in the first place. Obviously, it does not have an influence on the current plot but just a small detail that bothered me.

Donquixote Family arrives

They look so fucking awesome​

After taking care of both Rocinante and Law, Vergo contacts Doflamingo to report the newest developments, the betrayal of his little brother in particular.
Doflamingo is not surprised though since he and his comrades were already suspicious about Rocinante and suspected that he is a Marine spy and their suspicion was confirmed when, upon their arrival at Minion Island, they saw Marine ships waiting for them.
In addition, Doflamingo does not seem to be shaken up about Rocinante´s betrayal either and proceeds to tell Vergo that his crew is his real family, before ordering him to retrieve the Ope Ope no Mi from Corazon who, alongside Law, disappears while Vergo converses with Doflamingo.
The latter does not see Corazon´s flight as a problem though and uses his attack called "Birdcage" in order to imprison his little brother.

The progression in this chapter is really fast but that´s acceptable since it does not neglect anything and still gives enough time for the audience to get emotionally invested.
The fact that Doflamingo is not surprised about Corazon´s betrayal is equally not surprising considering that we already saw the crew speculating about Rocinante and his possibile affiliation to the Marines, not to forget that the latter´s return after 14 years is already suspicious enough.
On the other hand, i am not completely buying Doflamingo´s indifference towards it.
It is definitely credible that he regards his crew as his family but we already saw how much his past still effects him and probably was the reason why he treated Law that well and invited him to be part of the crew and his future right-hand man.
Considering that, it is not too far-fetched to believe that there are still some lingering feelings for his brother who went through the same extreme experience he had to go through and had no fault in it, unlike his naive father, who, ironically, might actually resemble the original Don Quixote of Cervantes´ novel the most.
Considering that, the experience of killing Rocinante might also be a some kind of liberation for Doflamingo because he can finally close that chapter of his life.

Other than that, i really want to express my love for the Donquixote Family which, based on the characters´personalities and their appearances, became my second favorite crew behind the Strawhats.
Their solidarity is rather unique in an antagonistic crew and the fact that each crew member is ready to sacrifice him or herself for Doflamingo without batting an eye is admirable, and while Doflamingo is ready to sacrifice them, it is undeniable that the loss effects him.
Unfortunately, the Family besides Doflamingo disappointed because of their lack of strength, especially the Executives who i thought could be the first real challenge for the crew.

Corazon´s bravery

Such a tragic moment and smile​

Coming to the ending of the chapter, probably one of the most emotional parts of the recent One Piece history, the inofficial farewell between Rocinante and Law.
The two manage to get away from Vergo for the time being but see the Birdcage Doflamingo created. Rocinante realizes that they do not have anywhere to run now.
While Law is getting weaker and weaker due to the illness, Rocinante says his last prayer in his mind, determined that he can at least save Law and forces himself to show a smile, so that it can be the last thing Law can remember of him.

Man, Oda knows how to tug at your heartstrings. The way Rocinante accepts his death but still prioritizes Law´s safety is really touching and makes him worthy to be mentioned alongside flashback heroes like Bellemere, Hiluluk or Saul.
The smile he forces himself to show does not miss its purpose and really creates an involuntarily tragic moment, both for the audience and Law, whose Jolly Roger probably reflects that smile, alongside the name "Heart Pirates" which also seems to be a tribute to Corazon.
At this point, Corazon´s death inside the Birdcage is already a sure thing but the interesting thing to see will be how Law escapes Doflamingo´s reach.
One possibility could be that Doflamingo still takes him in despite Rocinante´s betrayal considering DD had a certain attachment to Law and more importantly, considering that Law has eaten the Ope Ope no Mi, it might be likely.

Like most of the time, the destination is clear in One Piece but we still do not know the road that reaches there and i can hardly complain about lacking suspense at this point.
I think i have not enjoyed One Piece this much since the Reunion Arc 4 years ago, not to say i disliked the last few arcs.

 

[HereNThere]

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[Marquesa]

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[MiyamotoMusashi]

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