! @Jabra:
! > Damn it, busy day but thoughts need to be vented.
Coverpage
Now I'm pretty much sure that Oda teases us on purpose. Just when I thought that the mini story would take a step forward, Caribou goes 2 steps back. Anyway, the factory is obviously what he wanted to highlight there, and coincidently the main focus of the chapter is the location of the SAD production facility. Now judging by the snow on the roofs it is safe to say that it is a winter island, but the climate on Dresrosa appears to be tropical (palm trees in the background)
! http://s1.directupload.net/images/130227/lwa8r6xg.png
So my bet is that they won't find anything at Dressrosa (except for trouble, of course).
Chapter
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Starts strong with a random Bonney in our face. So even after being destroyed by Blackbeard and captured by Akainu, she really managed to get away? What was the point of Sakazuki's speech and the "chills that went down his spine" if he allowed her to escape the government again? What is Oda implying here? That Sakazuki himself wasn't competent enough to apprehend a Supernova, who was already beaten up and in cuffs? That she is skilled enough to escape from an Admiral? Or that something allows her to avoid the hell that is Impel Down, which in turn gives her the opportunity to escape with relative ease (bird in the golden cage style)? Whatever it is, as of now she is the most intriguing from the worst generation. At least to me.
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Gossip Girl Gecko Moriah, hilarious. Even if Absalom should be the one who writes the articles, with the appearance of the Thriller Bark we know that the almighty Moriah-sama is behind it. Really beyond awesome. Now he is basically the forum troll of the One Piece world! I can already picture him behind a desk, laughing like a maniac as he spreads rumors and info that is supposed to be top secret. I'm glad he is back no matter what role he will play in the future.
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Back to the crew and the anticipated response from Doflamingo. That guy just got outsmarted by Law and was intimidated by the thought of facing Kaido, yet he appears as threatening and powerful as always. I love how he seems to instinctively go for the weakspots of his enemies, "fishing" for a possible trauma he can abuse to his advantage. The first thing he asked Crocodile was if he enjoyed being thrown into a pool of blood, while he reminded Law how Vergo tortured him in the past. And now he casually mentions Ace, almost as if he wanted to connect his voice with Luffy's terrible loss. Too bad for him that these tactics don't work on someone like Luffy, at least not in the way he intended.
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The crew interaction was enjoyable as always. Franky is now the official siege engine of the Straw Hats, Robin trumps with her weird imagination and Law slowly being sucked into the crews dynamic is just priceless. The only small gripe I have is Sanji worrying about Doflamingo's crew. Of course he was the one who faced Vergo and he knows firsthand how powerful he was, but there is no reason to get worked up over it (considering the force of their alliance). The same goes for Chopper and Usopp, really. I know that they are supposed to be the scaredy cats of the crew, but they should have a little more faith in Luffy's strength (and Law's for that matter). It's okay for the time being, but I hope Oda won't overplay the joke.
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Marine Headquarter time! Unimpressive meeting with only 2 familiar faces, but the Shichibukai page made up for it. Or better said, BUGGY MADE UP FOR IT! Of course we all saw it coming, but it feels good to have it confirmed. Am I seeing things or does he have super long hair now?
! http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130227213502/onepiece/images/0/04/Manga_Buggy_Post_Timeskip_Infobox.png Anyway, Fujitora is the hottest girl in school now, eh? To be honest I'm just relieved that his or her theme points away from any of the Vice Admirals who were present at the war. Not that I dislike their designs, but the greatest force is the greatest force, and Oda would have a hard time to sell any of them as one of the new Admirals. And now that his name is revealed, the happy hyping can begin! I bet Doflamingo or his crew will have to do, granted that Law really just lured the Admiral to DD. At the very least I demand a proper fight and not the offpanel-action Oda seems to be so fond of lately.
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Cliffhanger of the chapter, Doflamingo holding the Mera Mera no Mi. Of course I'm just speculating here, but his behavior during the war makes much more sense to me now. No one can tell me that the Marines didn't know how to capture the essence of a Devil Fruit when it leaves it's old users body, and they are in no position to let one of the most powerful fruits go to waste just like that. So my bet is that the fruit was partially the reason why Doflamingo joined the war in the first place, and why he even did some extra dirty work by hunting down Moriah. Why would someone like Dofla make any extra effort if there wasn't something to gain?
It will be interesting to see how Luffy reacts to all of this. Funny that even after 700 chapters he is still completely unpredictable when it comes to things that don't concern friendship or meat. My therory is that he will be touched by the situation, but not in a way some would people expect (ragemode, honor shit etc).
I believe Luffy will show us that apart from becoming stronger, he also used the timeskip to overcome the pain caused by losing his brother. That will be his answer when Doflamingo asks him again about what exactly he has been up to. The fruit won't have any relevance any more. At least not to the Straw Hats.
And now I'm going to read the rest of the thread, seems people posted a lot of interesting stuff.
Cover story: My thoughts exactly. Seems too much of a coincidence that Oda shows us a factory on Kaidou´s favorite island while the alliance is trying to destroy a factory.
If we believe the New World Times, she was arrested and imprisoned, at least officially. So, that would mean that she escaped somehow.
Wasn´t that happy about Absalom´s/Moria´s involvement in the news but i never liked the guy anyway.
Also agree with this, DD´s attempt on psychological warfare was really interesting, surprising that not many commented on this
Did not interpret Sanji´s asking that way. To me, Sanji always was the tactician in the SHs, even if Nami and Robin are portrayed smarter sometimes. He pulled off Mr Prince, was the one who made the plan after hearing about the keys in Enies Lobby, saved them in Enies Lobby and so forth. The questions in this chapter line up in that direction, he is asking because he suspects a possible miscalculation.
Was also surprised about the long hair, just looks shitty to me.
Agreed on that passage
I disagree with this part, someone like DD does not need a special reason to participate in the war. First of all, his Shichibukai status was way more important for him than for Hancock (or rather she pretended to not care). They pretty much had to participate or otherwise they would have lost the title. I agree that the WG probably knew about the fruit thing, but promising to give it to DD seems farfetched to me.