Chapter 680: "Captain of the Marine's G-5, Kichiku no Vergo"

[Free awesomness]

@moe:

I'm amped for sanji vs Vergo. Since Sanjis kicks are all named after food it would be funny if they stuck to his face.

That last sentence, i laughed for a while.

Some people are saying, if Sanji cant beat Vergo, SH arent ready for Big mam. Who said we are going to have Big mam arc soon? I definetly see Wano and Doflamingo arc, before that. Im pretty sure that Straw hats arent able to take on a yonkou yet.

As for Sanji vs. Vergo, i`m torn apart. I can easily see Sanji beating vergo or the other way around. Give Oda time to do his abrakadabra.

[CaptainAppleJack]

If Smoker and Law wouldn't be variables in the arc, Id' say the fights could end up with
Luffy vs Caesar
Sanji vs Vergo
Zoro vs the dragon
Franky vs Cool Brothers
at this point.

[zachri]

@KiShiDo:

Well Sanji and Vergo match up really is fitting, even if I think Sanji will lose

Sanji = Talked about being one pain of the ass for the marines
Vergo = Leader of G5

Sanji = Talked that he even would beat the DEMON king
Vergo = DEMON bamboo

Sanji = cook of the SHs and using attacks named after food
Vergo = Has various food in his face :rofl

Kishido.
Your logic.
I'm loving it right now.
I would APPROVE of this.
So damn hard.

[Deviant_Mugen]

"I heard a maiden crying out for help." Really? This is no different than the nosebleeds and is exactly the reason why I despise Sanji's character. It's bad enough that Tashigi got knocked aside so badly (it was Vergo, though, so that could hardly be helped), but then here comes "Mr. Chivalry" to help the poor, defenseless woman! Fuck that shit. Seriously, Oda, you're better than this.

I hope Sanji gets stomped, and not just because I don't like him, but because him beating Vergo serves no purpose other than fanservice. In order for Vergo's defeat to be truly satisfying and have any kind of merit, it needs to be at the hands of those he was manipulating all this time—G-5, i.e., Smoker.

And to any Sanji fans who may feel the need to reply to this post and proclaim it "worst post evar!1!", I'll give you my reply in advance—I don't care…

[King Cannon]

Well, can't see Sanji winning this one. Hopefully, the fight won't be too one-sided.

[RomanceDawn]

@Deviant_Mugen:

"I heard a maiden crying out for help." Really? This is no different than the nosebleeds and is exactly the reason why I despise Sanji's character. It's bad enough that Tashigi got knocked aside so badly (it was Vergo, though, so that could hardly be helped), but then here comes "Mr. Chivalry" to help the poor, defenseless woman! Fuck that shit. Seriously, Oda, you're better than this.

I hope Sanji gets stomped, and not just because I don't like him, but because him beating Vergo serves no purpose other than fanservice. In order for Vergo's defeat to be truly satisfying and have any kind of merit, it needs to be at the hands of those he was manipulating all this time—G-5, i.e., Smoker.

And to any Sanji fans who may feel the need to reply to this post and proclaim it "worst post evar!1!", I'll give you my reply in advance—I don't care…

Your just mad your favorite character got the back of a Vice Admirals hand. Whining about a staple in the series.

[TheBlaringBlue]

This, for me, was without a doubt the best chapter in Punk Hazard as of yet. In fact, its not even close. I am fangasming everywhere

[Kaze]

felt like that chapter took for ever, and while it was clearly the best out of the big three this week, it felt kind of short. guess I'm just waiting for this arc to be over with. sigh.

[DarthAsthma]

@igetownd:

Sanjiiiiii!!!!!!!

If Velgo can beat Law, and Sanji beats Velgo, does that mean Sanji is stronger than Law?

As for Luffy, I think Luffy will think of something for the oxygen problem :P. Probably something like having his body store extra oxygen because he's rubber, and can inflate, or some shit like that.

And Luffy running so fast he burns the ground, haha. He's like Sonic the Hedgehog.

And that Dragon is low tier shit that the weaker Strawhats can handle. Nami can gimp that thing until it's a harmless pet. I don't think it will be a pet though.

If scissors can beat paper and stone can beat scissors does that mean that stone is stronger than paper?

Sorry couldn't resist. I hope people can start getting away from old/outdated/retro shonen(dragonball) logic of there being powerlevels that are set in stone and start to understand that a lot of fights are a matter of circumstance and not only skill.

Sanji getting back from being a nosebleed fountain to his suave (wannabe) self.

[Miss White day]

Why have Sanji meet up with Vergo if he's not going to do anything other than get trounced?

Seriously, Vergo wanted to silence Law, Smoker and the G5. Sure him going after the G5 first would be like going after the easy target first but still if Oda is going for a losing fight where we can learn the extent of Vergo's ability why not just use Tashigi? Hopefully the law of conservation of detail is in effect here.

I think something is going to go down there. Hopefully something that will justify this match up.

[igetownd]

@CaptainKid:

It's Vergo btw :P. Anyways Vergo beat Law because he had his heart. Law and Luffy are probably the same the level and I'm going to assume Smoker being a VA is similar in power to Vergo. Odds that Sanji beats Vergo are low, I see a stalemate that is interrupted before Vergo can really beat Sanji.

No it's Velgo, to my interpretation ( I don't care what the scan says. Japanese doesn't distinguish between l's and r's).

[modecat]

@Dan:

Considering that Oda decided to write a shonen battle manga and, as you mentioned, devote an entire arc to a war (not to mention the climaxes of basically every arc to action), i would say he disagrees with you. The fact that he often expertly (and thankfully for people like us) adds other elements that aren't exactly staples of shonen battle manga to the story doesn't change the fact that it is indeed and battle manga, that the battles are extremely important, and that they're a large part of the core of the manga.

THANK YOU Dan Dangerously. Wonderful response, you gave facts and didn't hate on Nex. Can anyone deny that One Piece is a battle manga? One Piece has needed more action/ adventure/ and _serious_fights since the timeskip. Oda do your best.

[kouch_lee]

Good stuff. It did drag a bit with the flashback stuff, but it does flesh out both Vergo AND the G-5 guys.

Tashigi can't take a break, man. It does take away from that awesome Alabasta moment when she, full of tears, agreed to get stronger no matter what.

I gues she IS far stronger, what with her having haki (stated by Smoker, although also stated to be kinda weak) and ascending to Captain position.

But still, she's like an elevator. Going up and down. First appearance post-time skip, she's deflecting cannon balls and being great. Next one, she's destroyed by Law. Then, she blocks Zoro and acts like a captain should act, thus looking good again. Then, she gets 1 hit koed (in a pretty brutal panel, I must add) and cries for Smoker's help.

I don't know what to think at this point.

Also, really confused at the seemingly easy and simple Lab design. I mean, where the f*** did Vergo come from? A secret passage? The f***ing ceiling?

[minor_runes]

@DarthAsthma:

If scissors can beat paper and stone can beath scissors does that mean that stone is stronger than paper?

Well, stone is stronger than paper if you think about it… but I know what you mean.
I doubt Sanji will take out Vergo though, if he does there would have to be more stuff we haven't seen yet, since Caesar himself is no match for all of the Strawhats + Smoker and G5 + Law.
Something else has to be coming up.

[CaptainAppleJack]

@igetownd:

No it's Velgo, to my interpretation ( I don't care what the scan says. Japanese doesn't distinguish between l's and r's).

But Oda already romanized his name. It's Vergo. :|

[igetownd]

@DarthAsthma:

If scissors can beat paper and stone can beath scissors does that mean that stone is stronger than paper?

Sorry couldn't resist. I hope people can start getting away from old/outdated/retro shonen(dragonball) logic of there being powerlevels that are set in stone and start to understand that a lot of fights are a matter of circumstance and not only skill.

Sanji getting back from being a nosebleed fountain to his suave (wannabe) self.

Rock is stronger than paper!

But Paper beats Rock because Paper's got tactics (form a bag) to control rock.

So if Law is paper, and Velgo is scissors, does that make Sanji rock?

I recall that Sanji already got owned by Law (heart swap), so I wasn't arguing that Sanji's stronger than Law.

[TheCrystalShip]

@CaptainAppleJack:

But Oda already romanized his name. It's Vergo. :|

I think that it's Vergo, too, but to be fair…

Icebarg. Big Mam. :P

[minor_runes]

@kouch_lee:

Good stuff. It did drag a bit with the flashback stuff, but it does flesh out both Vergo AND the G-5 guys.

Tashigi can't take a break, man. It does take away from that awesome Alabasta moment when she, full of tears, agreed to get stronger no matter what.

I gues she IS far stronger, what with her having haki (stated by Smoker, although also stated to be kinda weak) and ascending to Captain position.

But still, she's like an elevator. Going up and down. First appearance post-time skip, she's deflecting cannon balls and being great. Next one, she's destroyed by Law. Then, she blocks Zoro and acts like a captain should act, thus looking good again. Then, she gets 1 hit koed (in a pretty brutal panel, I must add) and cries for Smoker's help.

I don't know what to think at this point.

Also, really confused at the seemingly easy and simple Lab design. I mean, where the f*** did Vergo come from? A secret passage? The f***ing ceiling?

Seems to be she simply keeps getting well in over her head when it comes to opponents she is facing.
She is like Luffy without the DF, indomitable will or plot armor, so she gets beaten and needs to be either saved or spared every time.

[Urouge]

This arc seems to be moving to a rather swift resolution, unless something happens to gunk it all up again. Either way, this chapter sparked more thoughts from me than usual.

• I'm rather surprised that Jinbe is running away in the cover page. By all rights, the dude should be able to make that entire crew his bitch in the middle of the deep sea, no matter how the power levels might work out. They should also stand no chance at keeping up with him, so I don't know where this is going either.

• The stuff with Brownbeard kills me. I'm starting to love that guy. The interaction with the crew, Brownbeard, and Kinemon in those first two pages had me rolling.

• I know there's a lot of talk about Tashigi's character this week, so I'll dive in. I think her biggest crime is that some people expect too much from her based on really nothing except her will to get stronger and uphold justice. She had a moment to show that she wasn't just fodder in her first ever appearance, and another in her first appearance after the timeskip. Neither of her "moments" are really anything impressive, or even remotely impressive for this series. I did always wonder about Tashigi though, because of her attitude, even though she's never managed to impress with her actions. Her redeeming features in the past have been her ability to make tough decisions and her determination. Her ability to make tough decisions has shown through in this arc, but her determination has been inconsistent (it was there against Law, but not now). I understand her tears and her sorrow, but she gave up far too quickly in this chapter. I would have expected her to get beaten down 2 or 3 times before being saved. It's possible that Oda wanted to do something like that, but decided he couldn't devote that many pages to it. I really had no issues with the portrayal of her character in this arc before this chapter, though. On the other hand, I'm not ready to give up hope on her quite yet for this situation in particular. Until this fight with Vergo is over, she still has an opportunity to redeem herself through her actions, despite the fact that she's doomed to simply get smacked around some more in the process.

• The G-5 marine in the party hat kills me. These guys must be the best group of fodder this manga has ever pumped out.

• Unexpectedly for me, it looks like the monster trio is all being given a chance to shine in the next couple of weeks. I'll start with the most unlikely suspect, which is the baby dragon. This thing has been shown being cute and lovable up until now, and even helped Zoro/Sanji/Brook/Kinemon escape from the gas. There has been a push to get readers attached to this thing, and it's received a curiously large amount of focus since its first appearance. To me, this means that it's very unlikely to just be killed off. I understand that Zoro had Luffy's help when he beheaded the bigger one, and now we also learn that it was slower, weaker, and softer. Oda's given us every reason to assume that fighting this one will be more of a challenge for Zoro, despite the fact that it's much smaller. But the bottom line is that it still looks less impressive than the first one, and I've already come to the conclusion that it won't be killed off. So, in searching for a reason behind this fight, the most logical answer I can come up with is that it's a platform for Zoro to debut his kingbition. Yes, I feel pretty confident that he has it for a number of reasons, but I've gone over that in other threads in the past.

• Next we have the hilarious Vergo, who's now matched up against Sanji, but I'll focus on the VA himself first. Vergo had a few pages in this chapter that seem designed simply to make the readers want to see him get beat down, and it worked for me. These pages seem very respectable for someone who doesn't seem destined to be Luffy's opponent. He also comes with a stellar reputation, being the top dog in G-5 even with Smoker there. It's also nice to see him fall back to rokushiki techniques to deal with the fodder guys, as I've always rather liked those and they're a staple of upper echelon WG fighters. The variety of foods he gets stuck to his face is nice too. We also had him associated with bamboo in the chapter title, yet while he attacked Law with what was most likely a bamboo stick, there didn't appear to be any link to it in this important chapter, which is odd, and I don't know what it means yet. The biggest curiosity I have, though, is with the technique he displayed that turns his arm/weapon black. It's suspiciously similar to Luffy hardening his body with haki. However, in all the times we've seen haki used before this, Luffy's has been the only one that's ever had a visual cue to go with it. So I see two main possibilities here. Either Oda made a late decision that he needed to create a visual cue for armor haki in general, or it's not just armor haki that Vergo is using. My guess is that Vergo is using haki in combination with a DF power, mostly because I think it's safer to bet against such a stark change in artistic depiction with Oda, but I don't discount the possibility of it being just that.

• Moving onto the Sanji portion of this, I love it. Sure, the overblown chivalry is a little cheesy, but I can easily forgive that because Sanji desperately needed this moment post-timeskip and it was well executed. I expected Smoker to be the one to fight Vergo, and the guy is also the head of G-5, so my initial reaction to this was to be nervous about Sanji's chances here. After thinking about it, though, I can't recall a single point in the entire manga where Sanji ever seemed this serious/pissed off only to wind up with a losing result. I think that could happen eventually, but not this early into the New World. I still think that Smoker will steal the fight from Sanji in the next couple chapters, as he needs some serious redemption after his loss to Law, but not before Sanji really has a chance to shine for a bit. Kicking the spoon off of Vergo's face was a nice touch too.

• Finally we have Luffy vs Ceasar. First off, Luffy's interaction with Smoker is absolutely priceless. The trail of fire, Luffy complaining about how easily Smoker can get around, Smoker bothering with the doorbell again (and it working again), and then Luffy's "ah, mine's here" with Smoker's and Ceasar's reactions all combine to be fantastic. Unfortunately, it feels to me like Ceasar is due to get absolutely destroyed here, so there's less about this fight that interests me compared to the other two. I'm interested to know how Luffy intends to counter an ability that removes the oxygen from the air, but my guess is that he simply moves at high speed to stay ahead of anything Ceasar tries, which is cool but somewhat uninteresting. But really the two most interesting parts of this situation aren't really about Ceasar. One is Smoker's heart which Ceasar still has and seems like it should get resolved here and now, but with Smoker's agreement it's anyone's guess as to how. The biggest one, though, is simply the wild card that is Monet. She's still standing next to Ceasar when the door opens. Is she going to follow Ceasar's orders to close the tunnel and flood it with gas? Is she going to interfere with Luffy vs Ceasar somehow? Or is she even going to throw a curveball and do something that I can't even predict? Why has she been so willing to let Chopper leave unchecked? I have no freaking clue for any of those questions, and that's a good thing.

[senor]

Where is brownbeard headed? I think he's going to inform cc's henchmen about what happen. Pretty soon he will have no one on his side, especially if Monet floods vergo & co with poison. But I would be surprised if she did that. She seems to think cc is stupid. But she did inform him about laws actions so who knows

[zachri]

Dude. You guys. I looked closer. He isn't running away in the cover. His hand is still gripping the boat - he's dragging it further down.

[Urouge]

@zachri:

Dude. You guys. I looked closer. He isn't running away in the cover. His hand is still gripping the boat - he's dragging it further down.

He's not giving up his prisoner, but he's still running away.

[StarlightMan]

@Urouge:

• I'm rather surprised that Jinbe is running away in the cover page. By all rights, the dude should be able to make that entire crew his bitch in the middle of the deep sea, no matter how the power levels might work out. They should also stand no chance at keeping up with him, so I don't know where this is going either.

I don't think Jinbe is running away, just trolling them. "This is how unmatched you are underwater" shoots off like a bullet. You can see him grinning.

[scandiacus]

@Urouge:

He's not giving up his prisoner, but he's still running away.

To me, it looks more like he's luring them somewhere. Maybe to some big, underwater creature that's gonna eat their ship.

[igetownd]

@TheCrystalShip:

I think that it's Vergo, too, but to be fair…

Icebarg. Big Mam. :P

I'm calling him Velgro now on :P.

[Counterdose]

I think Jinbe's just leading them to wherever he's dumping Caribou.

…It's easier and nicer than just blasting their ship apart.

[Devil G.]

@StarlightMan:

I don't think Jinbe is running away, just trolling them. "This is how unmatched you are underwater" shoots off like a bullet. You can see him grinning.

Agreed completely.

[MasterKingJC]

@Deviant_Mugen:

"I heard a maiden crying out for help." Really? This is no different than the nosebleeds and is exactly the reason why I despise Sanji's character. It's bad enough that Tashigi got knocked aside so badly (it was Vergo, though, so that could hardly be helped), but then here comes "Mr. Chivalry" to help the poor, defenseless woman! Fuck that shit. Seriously, Oda, you're better than this.

I hope Sanji gets stomped, and not just because I don't like him, but because him beating Vergo serves no purpose other than fanservice. In order for Vergo's defeat to be truly satisfying and have any kind of merit, it needs to be at the hands of those he was manipulating all this time—G-5, i.e., Smoker.

And to any Sanji fans who may feel the need to reply to this post and proclaim it "worst post evar!1!", I'll give you my reply in advance—I don't care…

Coming to the aid of a women in danger has always been a part of Sanji's character.
Would you rather have Tashigi get slaughtered by Vergo instead of Sanji coming to her rescue? Because she's obviously no match for him. Tashigi is stronger than most women in the series since she can use Haki, but Vergo is on a completely different level.

[Monkey D. Destiny]

This arc is coming to a close, Sanji FTW!

[Urouge]

@StarlightMan:

I don't think Jinbe is running away, just trolling them. "This is how unmatched you are underwater" shoots off like a bullet. You can see him grinning.

@scandiacus:

To me, it looks more like he's luring them somewhere. Maybe to some big, underwater creature that's gonna eat their ship.

I admit I didn't really look very closely at his facial expression so I can buy what you're saying on the surface. But I don't think anything will convince me of his motives/reasoning until I actually see them in the next cover or two.

[Supernova122]

I think, it's Jinbe, so he doesn't need to fight some Rookie underwater if he doesn't feel like it . . .

Anyway, concerning the title, everyone says it has something to do with bamboo? Both the releases so far have gone for "Kichiku Vergo". I don't know any Japanese, but looking up Kichiku, I came up with barbarian/cold-blooded/demon etc.

Can anyone explain this to me?

[demonkicksanji]

This chapter was all kinds of awesome! Sanji FTMFW! I've stuck by him during his best and "worst" times, and it's scenes like this that show how awesome he is…even if his motivation is "chessy". Y'know, I'm probably in the minority here, but I just don't care for Tashigi or Smoker. They're good characters, don't get me wrong, but their mentality of "The SH are pirates, i.e. they are evil, we must take them in" rubs me the wrong way. I mean, Smoker was saved by Luffy, saw that Alabasta was saved by Luffy, and has seen some of the WG corruption/lies, yet he still goes after him (to the point of having himself assigned to the NW). Tashigi is no better. Zoro was nice to her w/o her glasses in Loguetown and she was friendly with him until she found out who he was, then automatically, "You're evil and unworthy of your sword...I'm taking it!" Just...no. I hope Sanji's rescue can give her a wake-up call this time that not all pirates are bad...c'mon, she was "bitch smacked" upside her head by someone who was supposed to be a comrade, and her men were just decimated by gas and said comrade.

Either way, seeing her and/or Smoker getting humiliated gives me this kinda reaction:

[MasterKingJC]

I couldn't have been the only one who had this song playing in my head when Sanji arrived.

[Juvar]

This post is deleted!

[Game And Guy]

Amazing chapter! I was really shocked that Sanji is fighting Vergo! And finally, Rokushiki from people that aren't CP9 or Straw Hat.

And Vergo had several things stuck to his right cheek in during the flashback. And it's always to his right cheek. Hrmm….

@igetownd:

No it's Velgo, to my interpretation ( I don't care what the scan says. Japanese doesn't distinguish between l's and r's).

Hint: He's named after a constellation/zodiac sign.

[onemoment]

@Deviant_Mugen:

"I heard a maiden crying out for help." Really? This is no different than the nosebleeds and is exactly the reason why I despise Sanji's character. It's bad enough that Tashigi got knocked aside so badly (it was Vergo, though, so that could hardly be helped), but then here comes "Mr. Chivalry" to help the poor, defenseless woman! Fuck that shit. Seriously, Oda, you're better than this.

I hope Sanji gets stomped, and not just because I don't like him, but because him beating Vergo serves no purpose other than fanservice. In order for Vergo's defeat to be truly satisfying and have any kind of merit, it needs to be at the hands of those he was manipulating all this time—G-5, i.e., Smoker.

And to any Sanji fans who may feel the need to reply to this post and proclaim it "worst post evar!1!", I'll give you my reply in advance—I don't care…

Hey, while I'm not quite a Tashigi fan I've been curious about her character for the longest time, and I think I figured out what she's meant for. First off, she's calling for help for her men, and early she asked Law from help to save her men earlier. She's clearly a caring marine who wants justice as much as Smoker. When she's unable to do it herself, she's willing to make an unselfish sacrifice. Really, if she had a higher rank and more strength, the marines would be a better place right? The problem is that currently a group of either corrupt or violent d-bags are in charge.

I bet she, along with Colby in the future, will replace the higher ranks of marines after the series ends. All this suffering is mere character development. Heck, maybe she'll become an Admiral? Colby needs some partners after all. It'd sure show Vergo.

Or at least that's what makes me feel better about this chapter. All this pain is leading somewhere.

[Autumncomet]

@demonkicksanji:

This chapter was all kinds of awesome! Sanji FTMFW! I've stuck by him during his best and "worst" times, and it's scenes like this that show how awesome he is…even if his motivation is "chessy". Y'know, I'm probably in the minority here, but I just don't care for Tashigi or Smoker. They're good characters, don't get me wrong, but their mentality of "The SH are pirates, i.e. they are evil, we must take them in" rubs me the wrong way. I mean, Smoker was saved by Luffy, saw that Alabasta was saved by Luffy, and has seen some of the WG corruption/lies, yet he still goes after him (to the point of having himself assigned to the NW). Tashigi is no better. Zoro was nice to her w/o her glasses in Loguetown and she was friendly with him until she found out who he was, then automatically, "You're evil and unworthy of your sword...I'm taking it!" Just...no. I hope Sanji's rescue can give her a wake-up call this time that not all pirates are bad...c'mon, she was "bitch smacked" upside her head by someone who was supposed to be a comrade, and her men were just decimated by gas and said comrade.

When Smoker said earlier in this arc that "there is no such thing as a perfect organization" and Tashigi's character development has been about finding her own sense of justice? I mean, I thought it was pretty clear they knew the Straw Hats weren't evil since Alabasta, but they were chasing after them because a) pride b) they're Marines, what else are they going to do?

And Smoker is so obsessed because Luffy's the first to get away from him. He has an enormous amount of pride. When Smoker vowed to catch Luffy at the end of the Loguetown arc, it wasn't because Luffy had done anything wrong, it was because he got away. And all Tashigi knew about Zoro is what she learned from the Marines. Most pirates are pretty damn evil, it's just luck that the Straw Hats weren't. The fault really is with the zero tolerance culture the Marines have for anything that's not associated with the WG; you can't blame Smoker and Tashigi for that, especially when they both realized something was wrong with the Marines and WG during the Paramount War. It seems to me that they stick with the Marines because for every 'good'/'apathetic' pirate out there, there's 10 really bad ones.

@onemoment:

Hey, while I'm not quite a Tashigi fan I've been curious about her character for the longest time, and I think I figured out what she's meant for. First off, she's calling for help for her men, and early she asked Law from help to save her men earlier. She's clearly a caring marine who wants justice as much as Smoker. When she's unable to do it herself, she's willing to make an unselfish sacrifice. Really, if she had a higher rank and more strength, the marines would be a better place right? The problem is that currently a group of either corrupt or violent d-bags are in charge.

I bet she, along with Colby in the future, will replace the higher ranks of marines after the series ends. All this suffering is mere character development. Heck, maybe she'll become an Admiral? Colby needs some partners after all. It'd sure show Vergo.

Or at least that's what makes me feel better about this chapter. All this pain is leading somewhere.

Pretty good theory. Take down the horrible Marines and with people like Tashigi and Coby in charge, the Marines really could be a force for good in the world. Plus Zoro's face would be grand to behold.

[Jules197]

Ok I'm gonna try a detailed analysis of the chapter, hope it doesn't end up being too long. I'm gonna omit stuff like the Browncab, because there isn't much to say about that except that it was funny. Here we go:

1. The cover page seems to have created a lot of controversy. Some people say that Jinbe is running away and leaving Caribou behind, which is not true, as it can easily be seen that he is still holding on to the boat. Other people say that he is too soft and shouldn't be fleeing at all, but I disagree. Jinbe is an experienced pirate, and in my opinion he is just avoiding an unnecessary conflict. He doesn't want to give them Caribou, but he also doesn't have anything against Coribou or the rest of the crew, so he just chose to outrun them instead of killing them for no reason (at that depth, they would have been dead had he done something to them or their boat, that's for sure);

2. Oda is definitely giving suspicious attention to the mini dragon and in my opinion, it is clear that someone will have to take it on. Even though it is supposed to be superior to the first dragon that showed up in the beggining of the arc, I still think it would be kind of redundant to have someone like Zoro defeating a second dragon. We also know that Kinemon wants to rescue his son and Zoro said he wants to stick with the samurai because he is interested in his swordsmanship, and the dragon should be no match for both of them together, so I guess it will be someone else's opponent. I would actually like to see Brook taking this one on, maybe with the help of Nami and Usopp;

3. To wrap up the dragon subject, it seems that it felt the presence of Vergo and quickly fled due to being scared, but it doesn't seem hesitant at all to attack Zoro, Kinemon, Brook, Usopp, Nami, Robin and Brownbeard, all at the same time. I think this may be a hint to just how strong Vergo is;

4. Speaking of Vergo, the guy just seems to be a monster. I'm still curious as to why his arm turns black, some people think it his haki, but if that's the case, then Oda has been extremely inconsistent on this subject, because we've seen countless of characters use haki before and Luffy was the only one to show signs of darkening. Also, in Vergo's case, it seems that his clothes also darken, something that doesn't happen with Luffy, as we can see here http://www.mangapanda.com/one-piece/667/10 so I still think that the colour change must be something else;

5. I'm not really bothered with Tashigi's defeat. I've never been a huge fan, and I also never saw much of a future for her, considering that she was introduced after the world's strongest swordsman, back in Baratie, so I always had the feeling she would never become that much of a threat. That being said, I'm sure that before the end of the manga, she will have her redemption and her spotlight moment. I also don't think there is any sexism from Oda, there are strong female characters in the story, just like Big Mom and Boa Hancock. Of course, there are way more stronger men, but the truth is that in real life there were also a lot more male than female pirates;

6. Sanji's moment was really badass, although I still think he won't be able to defeat Vergo, at least not by himself. Some people would say "What? Then why the hell did he train for 2 years if he still can't beat a Vice Admiral?". Well, the truth is that Vergo is not just any Vice Admiral. First, he is the commander of the G-5 base, which lies in the New World and is considered as one of the most dangerous environments for the Marines, because that's where the Yonko reside. So not only has he been depicted as a particularly strong Vice Admiral but also, in reality, he isn't a real Vice Admiral! He is a pirate, one of Doflamingo's most trusted men, someone which is clearly high in rank in Joker's crew. We know that Doflamingo doesn't like weaklings, so if he trusts Vergo, then he is most certainly not a pushover, and he is most certainly not your regular Vice Admiral, because we've seen what Dofla is capable of doing to a regular Vice Admiral when he made both Kaizeruhige and Mozambia fight. If Vergo was only at that level, I doubt Doflamingo would put so much faith on someone who was so weak compared to himself;

7. Now, I can see three things happening: either Sanji loses, or he wins with someone's help, or Vergo manages to get away before the fight is over. I hope the first option doesn't happen, and I'm ok with the last one. As for Sanji winning with someone else's help, maybe Franky will show up and can give him a hand? I could also see Law helping, but he would need to recover his heart from Vergo first. Plus, I think Law is busy with whatever the "key" is to defeating the Yonko;

8. Now, about the Luffy vs Caeser fight. It is pretty obvious that unless Caeser has some trick up his sleeve, he will get beaten by Luffy in no time. So I was thinking, what if he uses Smoker and makes him fight against Luffy? Smoker is smoke (duh), and smoke is partially gas… And Caeser can control all types of gas, so maybe he is capable of controlling Smoker! Also, he has his heart, so if Smoker tries to struggle, Caeser can just stab him or whatever in order to weaken him. In my opinion this would make the fight way more interesting than just seeing Luffy one shooting him.

[Calchexas]

@demonkicksanji:

This chapter was all kinds of awesome! Sanji FTMFW! I've stuck by him during his best and "worst" times, and it's scenes like this that show how awesome he is…even if his motivation is "chessy". Y'know, I'm probably in the minority here, but I just don't care for Tashigi or Smoker. They're good characters, don't get me wrong, but their mentality of "The SH are pirates, i.e. they are evil, we must take them in" rubs me the wrong way. I mean, Smoker was saved by Luffy, saw that Alabasta was saved by Luffy, and has seen some of the WG corruption/lies, yet he still goes after him (to the point of having himself assigned to the NW). Tashigi is no better. Zoro was nice to her w/o her glasses in Loguetown and she was friendly with him until she found out who he was, then automatically, "You're evil and unworthy of your sword...I'm taking it!" Just...no. I hope Sanji's rescue can give her a wake-up call this time that not all pirates are bad...c'mon, she was "bitch smacked" upside her head by someone who was supposed to be a comrade, and her men were just decimated by gas and said comrade.

Either way, seeing her and/or Smoker getting humiliated gives me this kinda reaction:

I disagree with the comment about Smoker's and Tashigi's motivation. It's not like they think the SHs are evil - not in the least. Their true motivation is duty to justice.

What do pirates do? Any way you look at it, they oppose the government's justice. Hence, Smoker and Tashigi pursue them, the same way that Garp pursued Roger. They're all marines, and their job is to make sure that there are at least some safe havens in what's honestly a pretty crappy world.

[Juvar]

@MasterKingJC:

Coming to the aid of a women in danger has always been a part of Sanji's character.
Would you rather have Tashigi get slaughtered by Vergo instead of Sanji coming to her rescue? Because she's obviously no match for him. Tashigi is stronger than most women in the series since she can use Haki, but Vergo is on a completely different level.

Yeah, that, and I really don't understand why people are suddenly finding Sanji's chivalry aspect annoying. It has always been part of his character ever since his introduction at Baratie with Fullbody's accompany, and it's a trait that is generally valued in most societies - so why the problem with it now? Besides, as you just said, it's better than other weird twists to have Tashigi saved from death. I didn't expect Sanji to turn up like that, but it was great in my opinion.

@Supernova122:

I think, it's Jinbe, so he doesn't need to fight some Rookie underwater if he doesn't feel like it . . .

Anyway, concerning the title, everyone says it has something to do with bamboo? Both the releases so far have gone for "Kichiku Vergo". I don't know any Japanese, but looking up Kichiku, I came up with barbarian/cold-blooded/demon etc.

Can anyone explain this to me?

On Page 2 of this thread (or 1, or 3, sorry :P) Aohige explains it. It's somewhat a pun, meaning both "Demon Bamboo" (or something alike" and some insulting term like bastard or so. I'll check in a second. @Aohige_AP:

If it's actually spelled 鬼竹 in the original Japanese (and not the Chinese scanlation) that is. If it is, then it would be a pun. He uses bamboo, and he's a 鬼畜 (kichiku, a cruel bastard). Spelled as 鬼竹 (kichiku, made up word) and read 鬼畜 (kichiku also, but mean a cruel sinister bastard).

….A Bamboostard! :)

There you go!

[Game And Guy]

@Deviant_Mugen:

"I heard a maiden crying out for help." Really? This is no different than the nosebleeds and is exactly the reason why I despise Sanji's character. It's bad enough that Tashigi got knocked aside so badly (it was Vergo, though, so that could hardly be helped), but then here comes "Mr. Chivalry" to help the poor, defenseless woman! Fuck that shit. Seriously, Oda, you're better than this.

Well, I guess you skipped the Arlong Arc.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Urouge:

Unfortunately, it feels to me like Ceasar is due to get absolutely destroyed here, so there's less about this fight that interests me compared to the other two.

I am actually expecting a Mr. 3-esque fight; Caesar pulling tricks and holding his ground, and Luffy using unconventional ways to beat the guy.

[Devil G.]

@400MillionBelis:

Amazing chapter! I was really shocked that Sanji is fighting Vergo! And finally, Rokushiki from people that aren't CP9 or Straw Hat.

Why does people not care about Momonga/Dalmatian? D:

[CaptainKid]

@igetownd:

No it's Velgo, to my interpretation ( I don't care what the scan says. Japanese doesn't distinguish between l's and r's).

"L" doesn't make sense as the name "Velgo" isn't even a foreign name it's a non-existent name but "Vergo" is a foreign name ヴ(Vu)ェ(e)ル(ru)ゴ(go) [hence it being written in katakana]. Then again I just finally memorized katakana last week, so you might be right :P.

[Don Quichotte De Flamingo]

About the dragon…
I can see him being defeated by one of the SHs, but i somehow see them taking the dragon to Wano-country. (when this is their next stop)
Knowing that this place was famous for their dragons, i could see there a good new life waiting for the little dragon after he gets less violent. (by a SH special treatment)

[Cyclone_Baroness]

Hmmm the talk of Tashigi and Colby becoming in charge is kinda interesting. I was wondering, have Smoker and Tashigi ever met Colby and Helmeppo?

[demonkicksanji]

@Autumncomet:

When Smoker said earlier in this arc that "there is no such thing as a perfect organization" and Tashigi's character development has been about finding her own sense of justice? I mean, I thought it was pretty clear they knew the Straw Hats weren't evil since Alabasta, but they were chasing after them because a) pride b) they're Marines, what else are they going to do?

And Smoker is so obsessed because Luffy's the first to get away from him. He has an enormous amount of pride. When Smoker vowed to catch Luffy at the end of the Loguetown arc, it wasn't because Luffy had done anything wrong, it was because he got away. And all Tashigi knew about Zoro is what she learned from the Marines. Most pirates are pretty damn evil, it's just luck that the Straw Hats weren't. The fault really is with the zero tolerance culture the Marines have for anything that's not associated with the WG; you can't blame Smoker and Tashigi for that, especially when they both realized something was wrong with the Marines and WG during the Paramount War. It seems to me that they stick with the Marines because for every 'good'/'apathetic' pirate out there, there's 10 really bad ones.

@Calchexas:

I disagree with the comment about Smoker's and Tashigi's motivation. It's not like they think the SHs are evil - not in the least. Their true motivation is duty to justice.

What do pirates do? Any way you look at it, they oppose the government's justice. Hence, Smoker and Tashigi pursue them, the same way that Garp pursued Roger. They're all marines, and their job is to make sure that there are at least some safe havens in what's honestly a pretty crappy world.

I understand that too. I forgot to mention that it was mostly pride that was driving them to pursue them, but my feelings towards them remain the same. I don't hate them, and I respect that they try to be the "good" Marines amongst the corrupt ones. I just don't care for them. If they were to never be seen again for some reason, I wouldn't mind…if they came back again in a later arc, I'd be fine with that too. I still don't like their "pride" and "duty" justification. So the SH are pirates and Smoker and Tashigi are Marines...so what? They're still "good" guys. Coby and Helmeppo are on good terms with the SH (when no one of real importance is around). I guess it's just one of the gripes I've always had with stories...kinda like the obvious misunderstandings that occur in romantic comedies or other movies that could be easily solved if they calmed down and explained themselves, yet it gets blown out of proportions and such.

[rayleigh92]

@igetownd:

No it's Velgo, to my interpretation ( I don't care what the scan says. Japanese doesn't distinguish between l's and r's).

Do you know what is a Raw, right? Then, here's the raw of ch.673, where Oda give us the right translitteration of Vergo's name:
"VA" stay for "Vice Admiral" Vergo.

[Autumncomet]

@Cyclone_Baroness:

Hmmm the talk of Tashigi and Colby becoming in charge is kinda interesting. I was wondering, have Smoker and Tashigi ever met Colby and Helmeppo?

There was a cover page after the Paramount War where Tashigi was showing Coby about swords and Helmeppo was chasing down raccoons. I remember because I had never-seen a non-SH on a non-story cover page before.

@demonkicksanji:

I understand that too. I forgot to mention that it was mostly pride that was driving them to pursue them, but my feelings towards them remain the same. I don't hate them, and I respect that they try to be the "good" Marines amongst the corrupt ones. I just don't care for them. If they were to never be seen again for some reason, I wouldn't mind…if they came back again in a later arc, I'd be fine with that too. I still don't like their "pride" justification. So the SH are pirates and Smoker and Tashigi are Marines...so what? They're still "good" guys. Coby and Helmeppo are on good terms with the SH (when no one of real importance is around). I guess it's just one of the gripes I've always had with stories...kinda like the obvious misunderstandings that occur in romantic comedies or other movies.

Understandable. Unfortunately, the SHs still declared war on the WG and Smoker and Tashigi, like most Marines, seem to value stability and safety for most citizens at the cost of having to stand with some pretty abhorrent people.

I just want to see the SHs and Smoker and Tashigi sit down to a dinner together and try to act normal. It would be great.

[MiyamotoMusashi]

@demonkicksanji: There is still another factor the other two haven´t mentioned. Smoker was probably the first one who saw Luffy´s true potential (well, besides Shanks 12 years ago) when Luffy smiled on the scaffold the same way Roger smiled. Although it would be presumptous to assume that Smoker thought Luffy could actually become Pirate King, Smoker saw the danger Luffy´s bravery and lack of fear of death could actually bring up and ultimately, he was right. Luffy was pretty much the cause for Enies Lobby to be destroyed, he punched out a Tenryuubito and caused a "scandal" on Shabondy and broke into "impenetrable" Impel Down to save his brother Ace. For us audience every action is very well justified but you shouldn´t also forget what consequences Luffy´s recklessness had, for example without Luffy breaking into Impel Down i doubt that so many prisoners would have escaped, especially from lvl 6. So even though Luffy himself is good, pure and innocent his actions can have rigorous consequences. Roger was pretty much the same. Although Roger´s "speech" at his execution was probably supposed to motivate people to seek freedom by going out to sea and getting into adventures, he indirectly started the "Great Pirate Era" in which 95% of the pirates are a murdering, raping and plundering lot. I don´t think that Smoker thinks Luffy´s evil and he also doesn´t hate him (pretty much like Garp with Roger). This by no means should make you necessarily like them, it´s just a matter of taste but i think that Smoker´s actions are justified.

[demonkicksanji]

@Autumncomet:

I just want to see the SHs and Smoker and Tashigi sit down to a dinner together and try to act normal. It would be great.

Yeah, hopefully, after the PH incident blows over, everyone just has a huge party together. With the centaurs getting along with the G-5 guys, possible interactions between Tashigi and Smoker and the rest of the crew. I'd love to see how Tashigi would react/talk with Robin and/or Nami, or how Smoker would react/talk with the other SH. I'd also love to see how Law would act during a party too. :happy: