In my opinion, this was a great chapter. I know I always sound optimistic, but think I’m being reasonable in saying this. I think this chapter was a turning point for the developing Dressrosa arc.
First of all, I just want to highlight Luffy’s reaction to the Mera-Mera no Mi; as many of us expected, Luffy identifies the Mera-Mera as part of Ace’s person, even though Luffy has known Ace before he got his devil fruit. Also, it once again reinforces that Luffy is sentimental and psychologically vulnerable to things regarding Ace, and I thought Luffy’s response was appropriate, and not excessive (ie. Luffy is not overwhelmed by the news; he is determined to get the Mera-Mera no Mi, but is willing to play by the rules by entering the tournament.)
The explanation of how devil fruits are reborn really cleared up the speculation, and I think the explanation is trust-worthy. Before I move on, I thought Franky’s response to Luffy’s dilemma was pretty cool; setting the mission aside to attend to his captain’s wishes – Franky is a true nakama.
Now, about Zoro and Sanji… I don’t really know what’s going to happen with Zoro, but Sanji and Violet is going to be problem as Zoro stated – and to those who think that Violet is Fujitora, I would probably stick with the blind man; Violet seems to be known around these parts, and I don’t think Fujitora – incited to be an Admiral – would be a lady promiscuous as Violet is and so easily adopt these jealous traits that so many women on this island have. I do think Violet is related to Baby 5; maybe she was one of Doflamingo’s Baby’s (ie. Baby 1, 2, etc.) and Doflamingo broke her heart, butViolet couldn’t get the chance to stab him because she was too weak, and maybe needs Sanji’s help to “kill” Doflamingo. Anyway, Violet will cause Sanji a lot problems in this arc. But at least Sanji can now say… “Viva Dressrosa! I got a lady!”
To complete my blurb, I wanted to highlight the Donquixote family law imposed over the Corrida Colloseum. As stated by the one-legged soldier, the Marines and Dressrosa(n) Police have no jurisdiction in the arena, obviously because of the barbaric things which happen inside, but I wonder if no jurisdiction means that Marines and DP are also not allowed inside the arena as well. Where am I going with this? My point is regarding the blind man as Fujitora, if he is a Marine Admiral, that could be why he is not dressed as an Admiral; Fujitora may be aware of the Collosseum’s rule regarding the Marines, and knows he won’t be able to get a good look (no pun intended) at just what goes on in there, so dressed the way he did to keep a low-profile.
Lastly, I think the reason why Spartan was introduced was just to show the expected difference in power between Luffy and the other contestants; we know Spartan was the presumably the strongest because he had one the tournament 51 times, and Luffy fodderized him, so I think that is good indication that Luffy is the strongest contestant, but this tournament is different because the Donquixote family is involved, and I think most of them (ie. Diamente, Dellinger, Lao G, etc.) are much stronger than Spartan. It would be nice to see how Luffy stacks up against Doflamingo’s main men. Any thoughts?
? A dude inside fire but ain't getting burnt, ok let say someone else in the crew eats the fruit like Usopp, then what? So we see Sanji on fire then Usopp gets on fire too, only difference is that you can see Sanji's body while Usopp body turns to fire? Sigh.