Chapter 759: Secret Plan

King Cannon

If Doffy gets defeated like every other villain in the series before him, I'll be seriously annoyed. For the amount of the hype he received, and the stuff he demonstrated he shouldn't go down like all the other one-time villains. Not to mention the fact that Oda took the time to establish that Doffy has a close, family-like relationship with his crew not unlike Luffy's, which puts into question the reason why we root for Luffy.

Framed a benevolent king.
Made Rebecca's life hell.
Turned a bunch of innocent people into toys, thus erasing them from existence.
Island cage match of death.
Warmonger.
Slavery.

But hey, he likes his family, so it's ok!

@OPR:

The problem I see with how many people here view the series, is that most people consider Luffy to be the "Hero" of the story, or the good guy. I personally dislike that notion, as Luffy is as much of a pirate as all the people he fights. Having Luffy butting into other people's business and ruining everything for them just because he's the good guy is getting a little bit old at this point. I'll hand it to Oda that Luffy never said he's doing anything because it was the right thing to do, but mainly for selfish reasons, although these selfish reasons are mostly righteous ones so the problem still stands in the end.

This is especially evident in this arc, where Luffy and the Strawhats have absolutely no reason to oppose Doflamingo, except for being the good guys, and getting dragged into the conflict by Law. I believe that Oda is actually aware of this, and is going to subvert the general expectations of the fans with this arc, or at least I hope so.

Having this arc being "Alabasta 2.0" would not only be bad for the series, but will also ruin the chances of One Piece becoming anything other than a predictable shounen, which for the most part Oda managed to avoid.

Also, having Doffy easily defeated here after all the hype he received, would bode ill for Kaido, who's already being over-hyped in my opinion, and if Oda continues on not delivering on the hype he builds up for his characters, I can see Kaido becoming another disappointment added to the long list of "non-strawhats characters" who ends up as a letdown.

Luffy is the protagonist of a mostly lighthearted story. What the hell did you expect?

What do you mean no reason to oppose Doula Mongo? Do you mean characters need a deep backstory in order to oppose each other?

Warp Predator

-Let's bunch of dangerous criminals roam free.
-Destroys law-enforcement agency equipment and injure personnel at every chance.
-His people involved in revolutions and diversions all over the world
-Affiliated with most dangerous people, actively helps them and gets their assistance.
-Stole speedos of an innocent man, thus forcing him to work with his criminal gang.
-Jaywalking.

But hey, he is a main character, so it's ok!

xan

Don't tell me we are actually getting into this discussion. Good lord…

We need to go back to the 2008-2009 times where these posts get torn apart. Good lurker days it was...

RamistaR

Running away from Impel Down with 200 serial killers is the only thing I can blame Luffy for. And again it wasn't really his plan.

Yusbi

I heard jump will come out a day early because it is being released on Saturday instead of Sunday this week (so wed release instead of thurs).

One Piece isn't on a break though right?

Sereques

@OPR:

.

This is especially evident in this arc, where Luffy and the Strawhats have absolutely no reason to oppose Doflamingo, except for being the good guys, and getting dragged into the conflict by Law. I believe that Oda is actually aware of this, and is going to subvert the general expectations of the fans with this arc, or at least I hope so.

Assuming Law was not in the equation, the whole thing started with a Mingo underling capturing the SHs and want to use them for experiment. Yeah, they have no reason. How about you read the manga again, starting from when they left Fishman Island.

D.aelthasaar

I'm an old geezer with his silly habits.
Spoilers been moved from Tue-Wed to Thu are something that I still can't get used to :/

Monquito

Isn't fun how the same people who totally hate Law are now the people who want him alive, concicious and helping Luffy, I can even see them prying to all gods for Law to not to run out of stamina any soon.

Ouroboros

Have no fear, Law will run out of stamina when the plot demands it.

YoiYoi

No chapter this week?

sparrow210

@YoiYoi:

No chapter this week?

No, next year ;)

Ripcat

I believe we get the chapters later in the week now, oh and also fuck Doula Mingo and his back story.. Skip to the next arc for god's sake.

genocyber

Anyone wonder where Jesus Burguess went? Is he just sitting down somewhere or did he already find a way to leave the island.

Myu

@King:

Framed a benevolent king.

Made Rebecca's life hell.

Turned a bunch of innocent people into toys, thus erasing them from existence.

Island cage match of death.

Warmonger.

Slavery.

But hey, he likes his family, so it's ok!

Luffy is the protagonist of a mostly lighthearted story. What the hell did you expect?

What do you mean no reason to oppose Doula Mongo? Do you mean characters need a deep backstory in order to oppose each other?

There is a saying in Turkish for Turks: "Turkish people are weird. They never mind you fucking him, but buggers when called faggot."

The thing about Doffy is he fucking smiles a lot :D It's weird but that has an effect on my perception of him. I mean yeah he basically killed Bellamy. But he smiles, It's an everday thing he was always like this and Bellamy knew that and was always in the losing position from the start. In general this gets my symphaty and for the first time although I've never stood up for it I'm not completely cold to Luffy failing at defeating a villian. Just because I would like to see more in a more relevant, interesting way.

Besides that Oda tried to communicate emotions mostly through Law's perspective. It was Law's plan, his plot, his revenge. We had lots of this, yes. But when it's Law it becomes weird, you know? :) Maybe partly because Law is like Doffy himself still. Cold, calculating… Not as destructive but process as to how he does things goes the same mostly. So we get kind of lost in that coldness. Which I like a lot actually. Since I'm a callous, low-stimulated kind of guy myself. Although not in an explosive way I like it very much TBH.

But I can't deny although having a little different approach Oda himself at some fault here. Stretching story in general again by running scenes and flashbacks that are seperated! And we didn't even get the big flashback right now too! You know in which we're going to see Vergo has Metal DF! :) Still even if it's not in a way he punched Enel, which was the pinnacle for me, satisfactory results are there. I didn't care for Enel or any other villians but Doffy as a character is still interesting. Yeah he is an evil bastard. But that is so typical that I myself, maybe other readers too, unconsciously want to negate that in a way to enjoy the more interesting part his design and character in general. So having that kind of symphaty puts off the traditional "here you go bastard!" moment.

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@genocyber:

Anyone wonder where Jesus Burguess went? Is he just sitting down somewhere or did he already find a way to leave the island.

He can be the key to how Darth's plan might work out. Still in the shadows. I'm not going to be surprised if he called for help TBH. Because someone's crew gotta head for there. They are in a blackout even if Burgess got out of it to call for help.

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@Buggy:

I know what you mean lol even though its a day late, it messes everything up.

we'll get used it to in due time.

It was a daily routine. I don't know about 'in which days' but I think the time in day they gets released mattered I think.

zeff redleg

@genocyber:

Anyone wonder where Jesus Burguess went? Is he just sitting down somewhere or did he already find a way to leave the island.

Well there's the Birdcage, he can't leave the island. Doubt there's a way to get around that.

Fraco

@zeff:

Well there's the Birdcage, he can't leave the island. Doubt there's a way to get around that.

he went offpanel right after the battle in the coliseum ended so there's no guarantee he was still in the island when the birdcage was set up. in my opinion he still is but who knows for certain.

i have good feelings for the remaining of the arc even if i still believe that the whole sh-dd connection could've been handled better both emotionally and plotwise (and i still say i don't like at all red hawk) but saying sh doesn't have reason to fight dd is a little bit too far in my opinion. beside that, sh clearly stated he was going to kick any other's ass to surpass shanks and become pirake king

Darth

@Fraco:

he went offpanel right after the battle in the coliseum ended so there's no guarantee he was still in the island when the birdcage was set up. in my opinion he still is but who knows for certain.

i have good feelings for the remaining of the arc even if i still believe that the whole sh-dd connection could've been handled better both emotionally and plotwise (and i still say i don't like at all red hawk) but saying sh doesn't have reason to fight dd is a little bit too far in my opinion. beside that, sh clearly stated he was going to kick any other's ass to surpass shanks and become pirake king

There is a difference between there being a reason, and there being a good reason.

moud

well rebecca did offer him food after all

but seriously this is not the first time in one piece that an antagonist was taken out that way
we could have the emotional build up between them as the fight progresses , crocodile is a good example IMO

and saying that doflamingo is being defeated abruptly since it's been only one arc is not true at all this arc is potentially the longest arc in one piece it's more like three arcs

Fraco

@moud:

well rebecca did offer him food after all

that's what i'm talking about!

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@Darth:

There is a difference between there being a reason, and there being a good reason.

like defeat him to end the birdcage and avoid being killed?

TLC

@Daz:

So, finally the proper fight against Doflamingo takes off. Doflamingo probably regrets just tossing everyone off the palace back when Law was still in cuffs…and that time when he just left Luffy, Zoro and Kinemon at the COlloseum. That whole "won't underestimate Straw Hats!" angle isn't reaylly working out for him.
Well, at least the choreography so far is entertaining, but this fight will, if any, surely cause an endless parade of "why didn't he's" to show up in the coming chapters; after all, it involves the Ope Ope and Ito Ito fruits. I'll just have to ignore the nagging voice asking why Law doesn't shuffle Doffy and Bellamys minds around, or impale Doffy like he did Smoker, or why Doffy doesn't at least try for a Parasite on Luffy
and/or Law themselves.

What really strikes me though is how this encounter doesn't grab me on the emotional level. Here we are getting the first blows landed on the arcs Big Bad, and...I'm honestly not feeling it. Oda even used the reliable old trick of "The first major blow to the villain comes after a big display of dickishness, in order to maximise the emotional gratification", a trick he has used since the dawn of the series.

Kuro is knocked down as he is about to attack Usopp, after mentally breaking the sweet Kaya like an asshole.

Krieg getting his face punched in comes after gassing the possibly most interesting character of the arc, and Luffy grieveosly injures himself in order to land said hit.

Luffy smacking Arlong into a wall comes right after Arlongs despicable betrayal of Nami, and the march on Arlong park.

In the span of a single punch by Luffy we have the entire Chopper flashback, resulting in much increased weight to the following hit on Wapol.

Enels epic facefault and subsequent gut-kick comes after he has concluded the battle royale with a display of borderline invincibility, taking down pretty much every major character of the arc (including several crewmembers), declared his intentions to destroy Skypea, and abducted Nami.

Spandam gets shot in the face after an entire chapter of horribly abusing Robin.

And of course, there was Crocodile, where this trope was executed so flawlessly that I barely need to mention it.

And this time around we have...Doffy abusing Bellamy.
Now, not to offend the appearantly large newfound fanbase for the guy but...I...really don't care that much. It is evil to be sure, and it sucks to be Bellamy, but Doffy mistreating his little fanboy was a thing 400 chapters ago (and getting diced by your second-in-command against his will ranks a bit higher on the Evilnes scale than getting what appears to be just another beating). Not helping is the fact that Bellamy has been MIA for such huge chunks of the arc; basically all he has done is show up to remind us "I'm a Doffy fanboy!" so we can feel sorry for him now. Even if his extremely limited paneltime was spent establishing that "I'm nice now Luffy!""Okay! Now we're friends!", it doesn't automatically translate to us sharing Luffys righteous anger, as opposed to when a truly prominent character in the arc is wronged.
And of course, Luffy kicking Bellamy in the face by mistake is so hilarious (judging by Luffys facefaults, maybe intentionally so) that it negates a lot of the tension present.

But a much bigger issue contributing to my current lack of "Fuck yeah! Take down that evil sunnuvabitch!" feelings is the fact that: Doflamingo has already lost. He lost almost 30 chapters ago, when Caesar sailed off into unknown waters. Seeing Doffy mention the Punk Hazard events in the chinese scanlation I was hoping that Doffy would reveal some backup plan or failsafe, but no, he's just mad. And rightly so; what is the best case scenario here? Doffy kills all his enemies, reigns as king over a country populated by corpses, and a smile factory that can provide one final half-finished batch of Smile as a deterrent from Kaidos wrath? Then what?
Doffy has no plan. Doffy has no concrete villainous ambition he tries to achieve, which must be prevented by the heroes. Doffy is the captain of a rudderless, sinking ship which is also on fire, and the only reason he's fighting the Straw Hats in the first place is because they went out of the way to shake his tree and poke the bear...as a stepping stone in a scheme to take down another, bigger bear.
That doesn't seem quite fair to the second oldest villain of the manga, and it all keeps me from getting properly invested in the climax. At this point, I'm just hoping that Laws flashback at least will lend some weight to his revenge. It won't add any urgency to the fight, but would make Laws struggles more emotionally satisfying.

Phew. Now I don't have to lug that around in my brain anymore! Good day to you all.

To be fair, he does have the option of holding the Straw Hats hostage to get Caeser back, he even said so himself.

Also fucking awesome avatar dude.

Darth

@Fraco:

like defeat him to end the birdcage and avoid being killed?

That's reducing their entire motivation to the powers of strings.

It lacks personality.

Myu

Well I'll be damned if there's a good reason for him to be this hidden - a reason himself figured out. He is better than being a moron than say Zoro and Luffy. He is a champion. Impulsive Burgess should attack Sabo? Maybe he isn't that stupid I don't know.

Darth

@TLC:

To be fair, he does have the option of holding the Straw Hats hostage to get Caeser back, he even said so himself.

That would kinds work, if he also didn't explicitly state that he now plans on killing everyone. Including Straw Hats.

moud

@Warp:

-Let's bunch of dangerous criminals roam free.
-Destroys law-enforcement agency equipment and injure personnel at every chance.
-His people involved in revolutions and diversions all over the world
-Affiliated with most dangerous people, actively helps them and gets their assistance.
-Stole speedos of an innocent man, thus forcing him to work with his criminal gang.
-Jaywalking.

But hey, he is a main character, so it's ok!

what are you ? a traffic officer ?!

Warp Predator

@moud:

what are you ? a traffic officer ?!

…more like concerned citizen, troubled by such crimes being overlooked.

Darth

@Warp:

…more like concerned citizen, troubled by such crimes being overlooked.

As a firm supporter of Absolute Justice I must agree.

moud

@Warp:

…more like concerned citizen, troubled by such crimes being overlooked.

Dragon doesn't approve

@Darth:

As a firm supporter of Absolute Justice I must agree.

of course you do

Darth

@moud:

Dragon doesn't approve

of course you do

Were you expecting anything less?

Altough I have to say, the fact that end justifies the means for Luffy and you are still calling him a good guy is hillarious in context of Akainu using exact same principle, and everyone calling him a villain for it.

Katzztar

@Warp:

…more like concerned citizen, troubled by such crimes being overlooked.

You listed many crimes but neglected that he's also caused many restaurants to be closed due to eating all their stock then run without paying

Warp Predator

@Katzztar:

You listed many crimes but neglected that he's also caused many restaurants to be closed due to eating all their stock then run without paying

Thank you. We should keep going looking for Luffy crimes. There is a reason why some are not satisfied with fight vs Dofla - it's because he was right all along, and everyone knows it in their hearts.

Darth

@Katzztar:

You listed many crimes but neglected that he's also caused many restaurants to be closed due to eating all their stock then run without paying

See, we can add 1. Destruction of small businesses 2. Anti-capitalism to the list of his offenses.

Thebomer93

Where is Jora? There should be no reason why she isn't with the rest off DD crew right now. I mean honestly are we expected to believe that she just runing around dressrosa while her beloved crew are being attacked.

Katzztar

@Darth:

See, we can add 1. Destruction of small businesses 2. Anti-capitalism to the list of his offenses.

Don't forget kidnapping! He did take several people against their wills … why Poor Helmeppo was used as a hostage against his own father's men!:ninja:
And blackmailing, after all he demanded an established pirate hunter to become a pirate for his freedom.

Lets see, he's covered the kidnapping, blackmailing, pillaging ... "good" coverage of a pirate's usual crimes.
The one pirate crime we know he has never -will never- commit is ravage some damsel... he's too dense even when princesses and empresses throw themselves at him XD

moud

@Darth:

Were you expecting anything less?

Altough I have to say, the fact that end justifies the means for Luffy and you are still calling him a good guy is hillarious in context of Akainu using exact same principle, and everyone calling him a villain for it.

they aren't using the same concept , akaino does what he sees is right but he's still an official who follows his superior's orders
i could say teach is applying the same concept as luffy which is "moving on a whim"
the reason that luffy is "good" while both akainu and teach are "bad" is due to their personalities themselves
they both have no problem with killing innocents in order to achieve their goals whatever that may be
luffy by nature does the exact opposite which is helping innocents while chasing after his goal

Razh

@Thebomer93:

Where is Jora? There should be no reason why she isn't with the rest off DD crew right now. I mean honestly are we expected to believe that she just runing around dressrosa while her beloved crew are being attacked.

What about Buffalo? Are we supposed to believe that a guy whose ability is twisting body parts died from a twisted neck?

Of course, maybe Kyros was using Haki while breaking his neck. That would be the most underplayed death ever.

Light Bro

@Razh:

Of course, maybe Kyros was using Haki while breaking his neck. That would be the most underplayed death ever.

Nobody dies on One Piece man.

Katzztar

@Light:

Nobody dies on One Piece man.

they never die in 'real time' (except those two) but can die in a flashback

Fraco

@Darth:

That's reducing their entire motivation to the powers of strings.

It lacks personality.

if you don't belong, don't be long

infinite

@Razh:

What about Buffalo? Are we supposed to believe that a guy whose ability is twisting body parts died from a twisted neck?

Of course, maybe Kyros was using Haki while breaking his neck. That would be the most underplayed death ever.

Oda is saving them as the escape plan for the doflamingo family at the end of the arc, once they are defeated.

kinda like bleuno in enies lobby

Rosebullet Teacher

@DollarScholar:

Watching your Back? Naah, Nigga you got a red dot on your face, and what you gonna do when BIG POPPA comes for you?

Im using this as a sig it's too real! Where Brooklyn at?!

Jabberwok

In response to the idea that Doflamingo's crimes aren't personal enough to Luffy:

Luffy has mentioned a couple of times wanting to help the entire country. What if he views Dressrosa as a chance to make up for the wrongs of the ruling class in Goa Kingdom? Seems to me like it could be a pretty valid reason. He also probably feels some responsibility to help the citizens given that he caused complete chaos and ended up endangering thousands of lives. It's a sign of maturation!

Also, just like how we've had several (average) flashbacks combine to form Dressrosa's history, Luffy's reasons for defeating Mingo are compound. He hasn't just tramautized one friend of Luffy's, he's done it to Law, Bellamy, Riku+Kyros+Rebecca, and the dwarves. That's enough in my book.

Oops. New chapter? Abandon thread!

Daz

@TLC:

To be fair, he does have the option of holding the Straw Hats hostage to get Caeser back, he even said so himself.

He did? Damn these translations, I don't remember that at all. Do you remember when that was? But yeah, that plan could work; its a good thing they didn't get killed in the Deathcage, now Doffy has a chance to, er, re-capture them.

But you know what wuld be hilarious, in that scenario?

"(over Phone snail) Is this the Straw Hat pirates?! I have your captain!!"
"Excuse me, soir? Is this monsieur Doflamingo?"
"What? Yes! Who the hell is this!?"
"This is baron Tamago of the Big Mam pirates. This ship and its crew are currently in our possesion, Bon soir"
…
"...er, say, would you be willing to trade Caesar Clown for-"
CLICK

@TLC:

Also fucking awesome avatar dude.

Thanks! I felt a chance was due, and Vimes as a character is more representative to certain recent events in my private life than, well, the Grim Reaper.

Admiral Issho

@Daz:

He did? Damn these translations, I don't remember that at all. Do you remember when that was? But yeah, that plan could work; its a good thing they didn't get killed in the Deathcage, now Doffy has a chance to, er, re-capture them.

But you know what wuld be hilarious, in that scenario?

"(over Phone snail) Is this the Straw Hat pirates?! I have your captain!!"
"Excuse me, soir? Is this monsieur Doflamingo?"
"What? Yes! Who the hell is this!?"
"This is baron Tamago of the Big Mam pirates. This ship and its crew are currently in our possesion, Bon soir"
…
"...er, say, would you be willing to trade Caesar Clown for-"
CLICK

Thanks! I felt a chance was due, and Vimes as a character is more representative to certain recent events in my private life than, well, the Grim Reaper.

Here you go

http://bato.to/read/_/199781/one-piece_ch724_by_powermanga/19

TheGreatestSwordsman

I am a bit late but this chapter was brilliant!

Unlucky-kat

good chapter. Very good chapter