Dressrosa Arc

The Dressrosa Arc is the twenty-seventh story arc in the series and the second and final arc in the Dressrosa Saga of One Piece, continuing from the Punk Hazard Arc.

The Straw Hats and Trafalgar Law, having formed an alliance and captured Caesar Clown, travel with Kin'emon to Dressrosa; there, in the second stage of their plan, they aim to take down the nation's king, Warlord of the Sea Donquixote Doflamingo. However, they soon set into motion a series of world-changing events, as their actions interact unexpectedly with those of larger forces at play.

Dressrosa is the second island the Straw Hats encounter in the New World, although the third island since the timeskip.

Arrival at Dressrosa: Adventure in the Country of Love, Passion, and Toys
After Doflamingo resigned from the Warlord, islands across the world fell into chaos as they prepared to lose the support of his Underworld businesses. At the new Marine Headquarters, Brannew talked about the potential instability created by Doflamingo's resignation and Law's possible expulsion from the Warlords of the Sea, and Sakazuki responded that he had sent Fujitora to deal with Luffy and Law's alliance.

Doflamingo called the Straw Hats and Law, and Law arranged to return Caesar Clown at 3 PM on Green Bit. During the call, Doflamingo hinted to Luffy that he had something that the Straw Hat would like to get. Afterwards, Law revealed that Caesar's return would be a cover for their planned destruction of the SMILE Factory on Dressrosa, the location of which remained unknown. The alliance then ate, and Kin'emon revealed that his comrade Kanjuro had been captured while helping him leave Dressrosa to go after Momonosuke, and he wanted to rescue Kanjuro while on Dressrosa.

On Dressrosa, the Donquixote Pirates were lounging as the citizens were still in a panic over Doflamingo's abdication of his throne. Inside the palace, Doflamingo spoke to his three executives Trebol, Pica, and Diamante, unveiling the Mera Mera no Mi which he entrusted to Diamante in order to lure Luffy into a trap in the Colosseum.

The Straw Hats and their allies made it to Dressrosa, and disembarked as they went over the plan. Law, Usopp, and Robin planned to take Caesar to Green Bit, and Law gave the Sunny protection team a Vivre Card to get to Zou, where his crew was. The protection team consisted of Nami, Chopper, Brook, Momonosuke, and Sanji, although Sanji had gone into town with the Factory Destruction and Samurai Rescue Team. They gazed at the bustling streets, where humans coexisted alongside living toys. There were also passionate dancers that romanced men before stabbing them. The team then went to a restaurant, and Sanji noted that everyone seemed calm despite Doflamingo's abdication. The team then spotted a blind man being swindled at a roulette wheel by some of the Donquixote Pirates, and Luffy went to expose their deception. The pirates attacked Luffy, but the blind man responded by unleashing a crushing force that sent the pirates plummeting into a hole. The blind man then left the restaurant, and Luffy asked who he was, but the man responded that it was better for both their sakes that he not answer.

Soon afterwards, Zoro noticed that Shusui was missing as the citizens noted that the "fairies" had come to pickpocket some things. Unwilling to accept the loss of his sword, Zoro spotted it and chased after the fairy, and Sanji and Kin'emon pursued him. Luffy chased after him as well, but Franky held him back, having gotten the idea to get information about the SMILE Factory. They interrogated one of the pirates that the blind man had attacked in the alley, but he claimed no knowledge of the Factory's whereabouts. He said the higher-ranking members who knew would be gathered in the Corrida Colosseum today, as a tournament was being held with the Mera Mera no Mi as the prize. People had come from all over the world to win it, but would have to face the Donquixote Pirates' Machvise, Dellinger, Lao G, and Senor Pink as well as the "Hero of the Colosseum", Diamante. Luffy wanted to get Ace's Devil Fruit for himself, and Franky encouraged him to do so as they headed for the Colosseum.

Corrida Colosseum: The Battle for Mera Mera no Mi Begins


The duo approached the Colosseum, where they saw the one-legged toy Thunder Soldier being chased by police. The soldier went into the Colosseum, which authorities were barred from entering, before going to talk to Luffy and Franky. Luffy entered in the Colosseum, where he donned the nickname Lucy. As he mingled with all the other gladiators, he was confronted by a man named Spartan, who thought he was a weakling and tried forcing him out. However, Luffy responded by flipping Spartan over and defeating him. The authorities nearly expelled Luffy afterwards, but Sai, Boo, and Don Chinjao of the Chinjao Family intervened, explaining that Luffy was acting in self-defense. Luffy then went to try on some armor, but put on too much, and as he took it off he met the pirate Cavendish. Luffy nearly revealed his real name to Cavendish, who revealed that he held a grudge against the members of the Worst Generation for stealing his fame. Luffy then looked at a statue of a gladiator named Kyros, and the gladiator Rebecca revealed that Kyros had supposedly went 3000 battles without being defeated, although no one knew who he was. She revealed that she intended to win the Mera Mera no Mi and take down Doflamingo, and having taken a liking to Luffy, she wished for them to meet in the second round. Right then, the A Block battle finished after having just started, and the winner took off the paper bag on his head to reveal that he was Jesus Burgess.



After the A Block battle, Franky went to continue the mission to locate the SMILE Factory, and Thunder Soldier tagged along with him. The blind man also departed from the Colosseum, and was revealed to be the Marine Admiral Fujitora. Fujitora prepared to go to Green Bit, and also wanted to look into the amount of people on Dressrosa in case any innocents were injured. Inside the Colosseum, an undercover Marine listed the wanted pirates present to Vice Admiral Maynard, who was undercover as the contestant "Capman". Maynard was then approached by Gambia of the Barto Club, and easily took down the pirate. As the B Block battle was about to begin, however, Gambia's captain Bartolomeo defeated Maynard as he headed for the arena.

Bartolomeo was greeted with boos from the crowd, but also in B Block was the popular Bellamy, who had given Doflamingo a gold pillar in a declaration of loyalty, and winning this tournament would grant him officer status in the Donquixote Pirates. As Bellamy headed to the arena, he first approached Luffy, having recognized him. Bellamy said that his goal was to join Doflamingo and that he no longer had enmity toward Luffy before walking away. The B Block battle then began, and the strategist Dagama formed an alliance to protect Elizabello II, the king of the Prodence Kingdom. As he was protected, Elizabello warmed up his "King Punch", a punch strong enough to blast through a fortress.



Bellamy took on Tank Lepanto, the commander of Dressrosa's army, and the former bounty hunters Abdullah and Jeet, the Fish-Man Hack, the Longleg Blue Gilly, and the mysterious fighter Ricky emerged as strong contenders as well. One man in the audience found Ricky's fighting style to be familiar, and as the fighting raged on and gladiators were sent falling into fighting-fish infested waters, Bartolomeo lay on the edge of the ring, relaxed. As Luffy and Cavendish watched the battle, Chinjao suddenly came up to them, exposing Luffy's real identity as he revealed that he had a grudge against Garp, which he wished to carry out on his descendants as well. Cavendish wished to kill Luffy as well, and the three got into a brief scuffle before Sai and Boo stopped their grandfather to prevent his disqualification. Cavendish wanted to continue attacking Luffy, but Luffy hid by hanging off a ledge.



The number of fighters in B Block went down to 30 as some top fighters began to fall. In the midst of this, Bartolomeo urinated off the side of the arena, and was confronted by Hack. However, Hack broke his hand on a mysterious force and fell to the ground, defeated. Dagama and Blue Gilly then broke the formation around Elizabello as they betrayed the people in it, but Blue Gilly took down Dagama as well. Bellamy was struggling against Bartolomeo when Elizabello prepared to unleash his King Punch, and he threw it, unleashing a monstrous force that annihilated the entire arena. As the dust settled, only Bartolomeo remained, having created a barrier to block the punch with the Bari Bari no Mi. Bartolomeo then crashed his barrier into Elizabello, defeating him and winning B Block. Afterwards, Bellamy talked with Luffy while he was being carried away on a stretcher, and Bartolomeo overheard Bellamy saying Luffy's name.

Green Bit: The Exchange Meeting Commences
In a northeastern cafe, the Caesar Return Team looked at the bridge to Green Bit; even though it was made of iron, the waters nearby were surrounded by fighting fish and no one who had went across the bridge recently had ever returned. Law planned to head to Green Bit regardless, and expressed concern about the peaceful climate around the island when Robin suddenly noticed agents of CP-0, the strongest Cipher Pol agency, walking past; she said that nothing good happened when they were around. The team then ventured across the bridge, with Usopp, Robin, and Caesar defending against the fighting fish while Law saved his energy for the return journey. They then came to a chasm in the bridge, where they saw a fighting fish being caught in a net by an unseen group of people. They forced Caesar to fly them the rest of the way to Green Bit, and once they reached it, they noticed a Marine ship that crashed into the island. Law had Robin and Usopp scout out the island's heavy forestation while he prepared to hand over Caesar to Doflamingo.

Sanji caught up to Zoro as he was chasing the fairy, when he noticed a beautiful woman named Violet dancing onstage. Zoro ran off while he was distracted, and as Sanji looked around, Violet suddenly came up to him and asked him to hold her. She kissed him as the police raced by looking for her, and Sanji was overcome with passion. Violet said that she was being chased for stabbing a man, and asked Sanji to accompany her to the next town and also to help her kill a man. As they traveled, a sniper tried to shoot them, but Sanji flew up and defeated him. However, Violet later attacked Sanji as she revealed herself to be an assassin for the Donquixote Pirates. She prepared to look into Sanji's mind to find out the Straw Hats' purpose on Dressrosa, but was repulsed by his lecherous thoughts. Sanji stated that he knew Violet was telling the truth when she asked him to kill a man for her, believing that she did not really want to be with Doflamingo. Taken aback, Violet took down her crewmates with whale-shaped tears before telling Sanji to run. By letting him glimpse into her mind, she revealed that Doflamingo never resigned from the Warlord title or abdicated his throne, which CP-0 had revealed to the citizens earlier. She told him to get his crew off the island, and Sanji contacted Law about Doflamingo's deception. However, it was too late, as Doflamingo and a group of Marines led by Fujitora confronted Law on the coast of Green Bit.

Inside the Green Bit forest, Robin and Usopp overheard an exchange between a group of Marines and an unseen people. The Marines refused to hand over their weapons, and were stripped. Robin then caught one of the people with her hands, realizing they were most likely dwarves. She saw the dwarf she caught, Kabu, but then the other dwarves knocked her and Usopp out with tranquilizer gas. They were split up, and when Usopp woke up, he claimed to be a descendant of Mont Blanc Noland, a hero of the dwarves who had visited Green Bit 400 years ago. Robin woke up in the Tontatta Kingdom, stitched to the ground with Leo's Nui Nui no Mi power as the dwarves of the Tontatta Tribe searched her. She claimed to mean no harm, and the dwarves instantly believed her due to their gullibility. Leo introduced her to their king Gancho, but told Robin they would need to take her weapons. Since she had no weapons, the dwarves prepared to strip her, but they were stopped by Flapper, who revealed that Robin was Usopp's friend.

Robin appeared to Law, having heard Sanji's call, and she planned to go to the port with Usopp. Across the world, people received the news correcting the report about Doflamingo. Law wondered how Doflamingo was able to do something like this, saying that only World Nobles should have this ability, but he recalled what Vergo said on Punk Hazard about Doflamingo's past. Law refused to hand over Caesar, and Fujitora asked him about the Straw Hats. Law could keep his Warlord status if they were his subordinates, but he stated that they were allies, causing Fujitora to revoke his status and send a meteor falling on him. Law, Doflamingo, and Fujitora protected themselves from the meteor, destroying the ground around them except their footholds as they prepared to battle.

Meanwhile, Kin'emon was confronted by some Donquixote Pirates who recognized him. Elsewhere, Zoro caught up to the fairy and grabbed Shusui on top of a building, but was flung off the roof and was hit by a falling millstone. However, he spotted and caught the fairy who had stolen his sword. The fairy was actually Wicca of the Tontatta, who told him to take her to her commander on the Flower Hill. She revealed that she had seen the Donquixote Pirates go to attack the Sunny, and Zoro initially raced toward the Sunny, but with no ability to get there, he was forced to go along with Wicca to the Flower Field. As he ran, he discovered that Doflamingo's crew had been keeping tabs on them the entire time.

Inside the Colosseum corridor, Franky found out that Thunder Soldier had been planning to destroy the SMILE Factory as well with his comrades. However, the Soldier's first mission was to rescue the people working in it, and he offered to tell Franky about Dressrosa's history. The duo ran out of the Colosseum, and Rebecca spotted them as she yelled out to Thunder Soldier, saying she would win and that they would live together afterwards. As the C Block battle began in the Colosseum, Franky contacted Sanji about their status. Sanji saw Luffy fighting in the Colosseum, and Violet gave him a map to the SMILE Factory as her subordinates approached them, before running off and agreeing to reunite at the western port. Kin'emon then reunited with Sanji, asking him to take down the Donquixote Pirates pursuing him. Sanji did so, and Kin'emon asked him to accompany him to the Toy House where Kanjuro was being held; as mentioned by Violet, the Factory was located behind the Toy House. Sanji decided to wait, as Marines were crawling around the Colosseum. Led by Vice Admiral Bastille, they were waiting for the gladiators to come out, but to Bastille's surprise, not a single one from A or B Block had done so.

C Block Commences: The Dark Secrets of the Colosseum
In the Corrida Colosseum, Ricky refused treatment for his injuries when he encountered Rebecca, who encouraged him to have them treated. Ricky recognized Rebecca, silently apologizing to her. Elsewhere, Bellamy received a second chance to become a Donquixote Pirates officer by assassinating Luffy, and Bartolomeo approached Cavendish, advising him to not go after Luffy. In the arena, the giant Hajrudin was a dominant force whilst Luffy had tamed the ferocious Fighting Bull, nicknaming it "Ucy". Ucy ran into Hajrudin, who smashed it to the ground, but Luffy responded by jumping up and knocking out the giant with a single punch. The Chinjao Family, the Longarm Ideo, the bounty hunter Jean Ango, and the brothers Kelly and Bobby Funk also emerged as strong contenders, and Boo attacked the Funk Brothers, only for Bobby to wear Kelly like a jacket using the latter's Jake Jake no Mi and pummel Boo. However, Sai avenged his brother as he defeated the Funk Brothers with his Hasshoken technique. Meanwhile, Jean Ango stole Luffy's helmet while Chinjao charged at Luffy, and Jean stated that he was hunting everyone who had perpetrated the escape from Level 6 of Impel Down 2 years ago. However, Chinjao stared Jean Ango down, allowing Luffy to reclaim his helmet before Chinjao headbutted Jean out of the ring. Luffy and Chinjao then charged at each other, knocking out the clashing Sai and Ideo in the process, before meeting in a clash of Haoshoku Haki that knocked everyone else out of the ring.

As Luffy and Chinjao fought, Chinjao began getting emotional as Luffy brought forth memories of his past. They traded blows, but Luffy managed to hit Chinjao with Hawk Rifle. Chinjao claimed that Luffy and the Worst Generation had no chance of conquering the New World, and Luffy propelled himself into the air as Chinjao remembered his past. 30 years ago, he stashed large amounts of treasure in the Jewel Ice Sheet, which could only be broken by his pointed head. One day he confronted Garp, who smashed his pointed head flat and rendered him unable to access his treasure, leaving him with his grudge against Garp. Chinjao met Luffy in a final clash, and Luffy hit him in the head, causing it to become pointed again. Chinjao was defeated and fell, and his head caused the ring to split in half. Luffy won the C Block battle, and Burgess recognized him.

After the fight, Cavendish attacked Luffy while Bartolomeo cut the tongues of some people who were speaking ill of Luffy, as he had greatly admired the Straw Hat ever since seeing him at Loguetown. Chinjao then approached Luffy, thanking him for restoring his head. Luffy ran when Chinjao's head broke the ground while bowing, and Rebecca pulled him away. As they headed off, Luffy ran into Burgess, who was speaking with Blackbeard. Luffy told Blackbeard that he would win Ace's Devil Fruit before heading off to a food stand. Since he had no money, Rebecca bought lunch for Luffy and took him to the gladiators' cell to hide. As they sat, Luffy was suddenly grabbed by the gladiators inside the cell, and Rebecca attacked him. Luffy overpowered her, but forgave her because she bought him food. He met the convict gladiators inside the cell, who were forced to fight 1000 Colosseum battles for standing up against Doflamingo. The fights had become more brutal and violent since Doflamingo took power, and as the Thunder Soldier aimed to take down Doflamingo, Rebecca wished to win the tournament and take down Doflamingo to protect the toy after he had protected her for so long.

Rebecca then headed out for the D Block battle, remembering her past with the Soldier. She had lived with her mother, but when the Donquixote Pirates took over Dressrosa, they went into hiding and her mother was killed. The Soldier brought Rebecca's mother to her and offered to protect her. Despite Rebecca initially refusing, the Soldier stayed by her side as she grew up, getting a house for her and even becoming wanted when saving her from being sold into slavery. He also taught her how to fight, and Rebecca now wished to repay him as she entered the ring to the sound of booing from the crowd, who hated her for being descended from the former king Riku Doldo III. Cavendish silenced the crowd, telling them to get down and fight Rebecca themselves if they hated her. The D Block battle then began.

In the Tontatta Kingdom, Usopp and Robin ate with the dwarves, and Robin found out about Usopp's deception. The dwarves were overjoyed to have Usopp with them on the day they planned to take down Doflamingo, and asked Usopp to lead them on the front lines. On Dressrosa, Thunder Soldier told Franky that humans and toys were segregated at night, and they saw a toy who claimed to be the boyfriend of a woman named Esta. The toy was diagnosed with "human sickness" and thrown into the scrap heap. Franky and the Soldier then met a toy dog named Onepoco, who revealed that he was once a human named Milo and the woman and boy he was playing with were his wife and son. The son said he had no father, and Thunder Soldier revealed to Franky that all the toys were once humans who were transformed by a Devil Fruit user who came with him ten years ago, causing them to be forgotten by the people of Dressrosa. The Soldier said he would say more once he and Franky reached the Flower Hill. Back in the Tontatta Kingdom, Leo revealed to Usopp that the dwarves were going against Doflamingo to rescue their 500 comrades, including their princess Mansherry, from captivity in the SMILE Factory, which was located underneath the Corrida Colosseum. The Tontattas, Usopp, and Robin then headed for Dressrosa in an underground tunnel on insect and fox steeds. Gancho talked to Robin and Usopp, revealing that the history between the dwarves and Donquixote Family actually went back 900 years.

Franky and Thunder Soldier arrived at a cave underneath the Flower Field, where Zoro was with some of the dwarves, who revealed that Usopp had come to lead them. After the rest of the Tontattas had arrived with Robin and Usopp, Thunder Soldier went over the plan to depose Doflamingo, and Usopp looked for a chance to run away. Outside, Zoro and Wicca went to help the Sunny team when they ran into Sanji and Kin'emon near the Colosseum. Zoro told the two what was happening, and Violet reappeared, revealing that the Sunny was under attack and heading for Green Bit. Sanji went to rescue the Sunny, leaving Kin'emon with the Vivre Card Violet gave him, and Zoro and Kin'emon looked for a way to break into the Colosseum and rescue Luffy. Sanji rode toward Green Bit with Violet, who revealed the high Marine presence around the coast of the island. In the Dressrosa royal palace, Gladius of the Donquixote Pirates became enraged as he became more certain that Violet had betrayed them.

The Dark History of Dressrosa: Law Makes His Move
On the Sunny, the protection team played with Momonosuke when they suddenly heard noises coming from inside the ship. An attacking party led by Giolla of the Donquixote Pirates attacked the ship to take it over and kidnap Momonosuke, and Giolla turned the team into living art with the Ato Ato no Mi. The team escaped the Sunny, which Giolla turned into a piece of art as well. On Green Bit, Law was overwhelmed by Doflamingo and Fujitora, and wondered why Nami was not answering the Den Den Mushi. The Sunny team tried attacking Giolla, but she continued overwhelming them with her art powers. Chopper then picked up Law's call, and Law told them to head to Green Bit to retrieve Caesar. Doflamingo told him to hand over Caesar's heart, revealing that he had trapped Luffy in the Colosseum. On the Sunny, Brook acted like he was on Giolla's side as the ship went to Green Bit, and Giolla put the others in a mural to suffocate them. However, when Brook got Giolla to restore his cane and violin, he defeated her in one cut and freed his crewmates.

On Green Bit, Law was defeated and Doflamingo took what he thought was Caesar's heart. The Warlord of the Sea then revealed to Law that 20 royal families founded the World Government and 19 of them moved to Mary Geoise 800 years ago; the Donquixote Family was one of the 19, and the Riku Family took over Dressrosa afterwards. On the Sunny, the Straw Hats attacked Giolla as they wondered why Law was giving Caesar back to them, and Giolla revealed Doflamingo's deception to them. Law heard Nami striking Giolla with a thunderbolt, and revealed to Doflamingo that the heart he had was not Caesar's. In this confusion, Law teleported himself away, grabbed Caesar, and ran toward the bridge to Dressrosa. Seeing the Sunny, he planned to throw Caesar there from the bridge and keep Doflamingo distracted while the Straw Hats escaped. However, the Sunny team cried out as they came under attack by fighting fish, and Doflamingo noticed them as he flew toward the Sunny. As he prepared to attack, however, he was met in midair by Sanji.

Doflamingo quickly overpowered Sanji and immobilized him, but before he could deal the killing blow, Law used Shambles to teleport him away. Law brought Sanji and Caesar to the Sunny, and told the Straw Hats to use his Vivre Card to take Caesar to Zou. The Sunny then came under attack by both Doflamingo and a floating Marine battleship commanded by Fujitora, who threw a meteor at the Sunny. Law redirected the meteor back at the battleship, and Sanji noted that he seemed to be giving Doflamingo an unusual amount of attention when their main goal was just to destroy the SMILE Factory. Law turned his attention to Doflamingo and told the Straw Hats to go where there were no clouds, as Doflamingo could not fly there with his Ito Ito no Mi ability. The Sunny then escaped with Coup de Burst while Law took Giolla hostage and confronted Doflamingo on the bridge. There, he said that he was ending the alliance with the Straw Hats, as his main goal was to bring Doflamingo down to avenge what happened 13 years ago. Law let Giolla run off as he and Doflamingo started fighting again, and on Dressrosa, Violet headed for the palace.

Outside the Corrida Colosseum, Zoro and Kin'emon got Bartolomeo to get Luffy to come see them. In the arena, Rebecca did well as she dodged attacks and made people fall out of the ring to eliminate them without attacking. Elsewhere, Sai was put on a table for his injuries to be treated, only to be sent into a pit filled with broken toys alongside the other losers from B and C Blocks. There, Tank Lepanto wondered if Ricky was actually the former king of Dressrosa, Riku Doldo III, and Ricky confirmed this. The gladiators reflected on the increased conflict that happened after Doflamingo took power due to his Underworld operations, even though the name of Riku was now reviled. In Flower Hill, the dwarves told the Straw Hats about how the Riku Family liberated them after taking power 800 years ago, only for Doflamingo to come back and restore the Donquixote Family's subjugation. Thunder Soldier revealed that an accident ten years ago caused the people of Dressrosa to lose King Riku's trust and revile his family, saying that he wished to protect Rebecca because he was her real father.

Ten years ago, Dressrosa was poor but peaceful, and Monet had begun working as a maid the palace. One night, Doflamingo came up to King Riku and claimed the throne, offering to let Doldo buy back his kingdom for 10 billion. Rather than fight, Doldo decided to try collecting the money, although Doflamingo did not allow him to reveal his presence. The Royal Army went out to collect money from the citizens, and out of faith in their king, they gave all they had. However, Doflamingo took control of Doldo and some soldiers and forced them to attack their subjects, leaving them aghast at their king betraying their trust. Meanwhile, Monet let the Donquixote Pirates into the palace, and they captured the princess Viola. As Doldo continued attacking his people, Doflamingo, Trebol, Pica, and Diamante came in and stopped him, as well as taking down the royal army. They claimed to be the saviors of Dressrosa, and were welcomed by the people. Doldo survived due to Viola promising to serve Doflamingo in exchange, and she took the name Violet. Some of the army, such as Tank Lepanto, joined Doflamingo. The dwarves quickly learned the truth once they became subjugated again, and had decided to move against Doflamingo today as a result of their despair after Doflamingo's false abdication that morning.

In the pit under the Colosseum, Sai was suddenly pulled up by Trebol, where he was turned into a toy and forced to follow the Donquixote Pirates' orders. This happened to all the gladiators except Chinjao and Doldo, who no longer remembered the others. Up above, the convict gladiators told Luffy that although Dressrosa appeared prosperous and peaceful at first, further exploration of it revealed a dark side hidden away. In Flower Hill, the Soldier stated that Doflamingo had created numerous tragedies by having anyone who went against him turned into toys, causing them to no longer be remembered. Outside the Colosseum, Bastille's Marines grew confused at the list of the criminals inside, as they no longer remembered who most of them were.

On the bridge, Law continued fighting Doflamingo, who received a call from Diamante about Viola betraying them. Doflamingo told him to send the Colosseum fighters to the SMILE Factory, leaving him solely responsible for the Colosseum. At the Colosseum, Luffy reunited with Zoro and Kin'emon, and they called the rest of the crew. Franky told everyone about the dwarves' plan, saying he could not leave them to lose against Doflamingo, and so Sanji decided to turn the Sunny team back to help the crew take down the Warlord of the Sea. At the coast, Fujitora headed for the town after hearing about a fight happening there. A ruckus rose near the Colosseum as Doflamingo and Law came into the town, with Doflamingo having overpowered Law. Doflamingo then shot Law three times with a gun, defeating him. Zoro and Kin'emon charged at Doflamingo, but Zoro was met by Fujitora, who sent him falling into a hole. Doflamingo attacked Kin'emon, and as the two swordsmen recovered, they discovered that the blind man they had met was an Admiral. Doflamingo and Fujitora then flew back to the palace with Law in tow.

Operation SOP: The Separate Plans of the Determined
Zoro and Kin'emon were pursued by Bastille's platoon, and as they ran, Zoro told Luffy to find a way out. Right then, the Sunny came under pursuit by the Big Mom Pirates' ship, with Caesar revealing that they were looking for him because he owed Big Mom money. The Sunny team decided it might be a good idea to continue toward Zou in order to keep Caesar and Momonosuke out of Doflamingo's hands, and leave the rest of the crew with the chance Law gave them to destroy the SMILE Factory. Luffy agreed to this, and also allowed the Sunny team to strike back against the Big Mom Pirates while he, Zoro, and Kin'emon went to rescue Law and take down Doflamingo.

As this happened, Bellamy had approached Luffy to carry out his assassination mission, only to be confronted by Dellinger, who revealed that Doflamingo believed he would fail again and so ordered him to be killed. Dellinger severely injured Bellamy, but was stopped by Bartolomeo, and forced to go with Lao G to the SMILE Factory. Bartolomeo said he would not let a comrade die without helping, and Luffy came running in looking for an exit. Bellamy said there was none, and wished to leave as well to meet with Doflamingo. Bartolomeo agreed to win the Mera Mera no Mi for Luffy, but a mysterious man said he could not let that happen as he approached the three. Luffy recognized the man as his long-lost brother Sabo, who was now the second in command of the Revolutionary Army, and Sabo gave Luffy an escape route. Luffy cried nonstop as he, Zoro, and Kin'emon headed for the palace in animal disguised, and inside the Colosseum, Sabo donned Luffy's Lucy disguise as he contacted Koala, who was also in the Revolutionaries, as she moved around Dressrosa's underground while he sought to win the Mera Mera no Mi and inherit Ace's will.

In the Flower Hill, Thunder Soldier unveiled Operation SOP, a plan to destroy Doflamingo's underground port and remove the Donquixote Pirates from power. First, however, they would need to knock out Sugar, the person who had been turning people into toys with the Hobi Hobi no Mi, in order to free the toys and restore people's memories of them, which would unleash chaos across Dressrosa. They headed to the port through an underground tunnel, and since Franky could not fit through it, he decided to enter through the Toy House and create a distraction. He took on the group led by Senor Pink at the East Door, and blew in the entrance with Coup de Vent. Meanwhile, Usopp found out about the forces guarding the Toy House as his group reached the underground port. Thunder Soldier then left for the palace in order to assassinate Doflamingo once Operation SOP was completed, leaving Usopp with the mission to knock out Sugar. The dwarves revealed that Sugar was being protected by Trebol in the Executive Tower in the center of the port, when some Donquixote Pirates discovered Usopp. As they confronted him, the dwarves stripped them before Leo and Rampo knocked them out, and Usopp and Robin donned disguises as they headed for the Executive Tower.

In the Colosseum, 30 fighters were left in D Block as Suleiman confronted Rebecca. Cavendish, Orlumbus, Damask, and Mummy also emerged as standouts. Suddenly, Cavendish fell asleep, and his alter ego Hakuba awakened. Hakuba struck down all the remaining fighters in an instant, and only Rebecca was able to dodge enough to be only slightly harmed. Hakuba fell asleep, and Rebecca got up, becoming the winner of D Block. The audience protested Rebecca's victory as the final round now approached.

Diamante was announced to be taking part in the final round, and Rebecca noticed that someone else was disguised as Lucy. The four contestants then headed back into the ring. Some D Block contestants raced in, angry at the results and wanting to challenge Rebecca again. However, Diamante stopped them with a piece of steel he turned into a cape with the power of the Hira Hira no Mi before hitting them with a bull-shaped glaive. The gladiators were then attacked by the special new fighting fish in the water, which could leap up to attack the people in the arena. On the back of one of the fish was a chest containing the Mera Mera no Mi, and the five-person battle royale began.

Burgess unleashed a massive attack on a fighting fish and the audience when the fish with the Mera Mera no Mi popped up. Sabo leaped on its back, and Diamante attacked him, but Sabo shattered the executive's sword in two. Burgess then prepared to attack Sabo, but Sabo countered his blow with his hand, and his fighting style made Diamante suspicious. Rebecca then attacked Diamante, but her blunt blade did nothing as he hit her with a mace. Sabo told Bartolomeo to protect Rebecca, and Diamante revealed to her that he was the one who killed her mother.

Inside the throne room, Doflamingo had Doldo brought before him, boasting that the efforts to oppose him would be in vain as Law and the Straw Hats were in the process of faltering, unaware that anyone knew about his underground port or Sugar's location. Fujitora then came in, saying that while he would assist Doflamingo in opposing the Straw Hats in order to protect Dressrosa, he was not fully on the Warlord's side. Fujitora noted that Doflamingo's activities had been suspicious, and revealed his intention to bring an end to the Seven Warlords of the Sea system. This caused Doflamingo to attack him, but the two quickly stopped fighting in order to attend to business.

Senor Pink gave Franky a stiff challenge with his Sui Sui no Mi powers, although displayed many odd quirks. Machvise then attacked Franky by increasing his weight and slamming into the ground, and Bastille's forces arrived to confront Franky as well. Despite being overwhelmed, Franky committed to his task of taking down all his attackers, but despite his best efforts, he was defeated.

Outside the palace, Wicca guided Luffy, Zoro, and Kin'emon as they prepared to enter it, and Viola approached them to help them get in. Since they would draw suspicion by taking the lift, Viola guided them to a secret staircase, but rather than use that, the Straw Hats went up using the chamber's pulley. After going up, Viola prepared to take them to a secret rampart entrance, but Luffy punched through the main gate instead. The guards reported to Doflamingo about Luffy's intrusion, and the Warlord was taken aback as he saw the disguised Sabo on the Colosseum feed. While they were inside, Luffy, Zoro, Kin'emon, and Viola were quickly confronted by Pica, who had become a giant stone man with the power of the Ishi Ishi no Mi. By assimilating with the stone in the palace, Pica pulled the walls onto the intruders. Zoro stayed behind to confront Pica while Luffy and Viola went through the moving corridors, and Zoro could not find Pica's real body.

Some of the Donquixote Pirates went up to confront Franky, and Thunder Soldier and Kabu sneaked into the lift they were on before the former attacked them with his sheer speed. However, Lao G was on the lift as well, and overpowered both the Soldier and Kabu. He beat up Thunder Soldier the rest of the ride, and Kabu then led some dwarves to take on Lao G while he and Rampo took the Soldier to the throne room. However, they were confronted by Gladius, who used the Pamu Pamu no Mi to rupture his forearms and injure the dwarves in the explosions. He then grabbed the Soldier and was about to rupture him before being attacked by Luffy, and Luffy and Viola took the Soldier away. Gladius attacked them with shrapnel, and Luffy burst out the window and pulled the three of them to the second floor. Gladius then encountered Kin'emon disguised as Doflamingo, and Kin'emon discovered that Kanjuro had escaped from the scrap heap in the Toy House. Luffy, Viola, and Thunder Soldier hid underneath the window of the throne room, where they heard Doflamingo interrogating Law about the Straw Hats' actions with the Tontatta.

Thunder Soldier remembered his past life as the legendary gladiator Kyros. As a boy, he was a violent criminal who grew up in the slums, but King Riku gave him the opportunity to fight in the Colosseum for his freedom. Kyros stayed in the Colosseum and won thousands of matches without being defeated, even taking down fighters who came from afar. However, he was depressed that he would forever be seen as a killer. After defeating Doldo himself in his 3000th match, Doldo made Kyros commander of his army. As commander, Kyros saved the princess Scarlett, Viola's older sister, from a pirate crew. She fell in love with him afterwards, having her death staged so she could live with him. The two had Rebecca, but Kyros refused to touch her with his blood-stained hands. When Doflamingo took over Dressrosa, Kyros went to the royal palace to rescue King Riku, where Seastone chains were wrapped around his leg. He cut his leg off to attack Doflamingo, but was turned into a toy by Sugar. He managed to escape with Doldo, but was left with no one remembering him as he watched his wife die and raised Rebecca as the Thunder Soldier. Back in the present, Gladius' group approached the Soldier, Luffy, and Viola.

In the port, Robin and Usopp watched as Sugar turned Cavendish into a toy and forced him to work with the other gladiators in the port, and Leo unveiled the Tatababasco, the hottest spice in the world, which they planned to hide among Sugar's grapes in order to knock her out. Leo then went up to Sugar with the Tatababasco, but when Robin saw Trebol hit a fly with a fast and precise mucus shot, she held Leo back, saying that even he would have been caught by Trebol. As the Tontattas' comrades were being forced to work in the SMILE Factory under the lie that they were finding a cure for Mansherry, Robin went up to Trebol, claiming that there was a problem with a crew at the port in order to lead him away from the tower. When Trebol was gone, the dwarves confronted Sugar and prepared to forcibly knock her out, but Sugar turned all of the attacking dwarves into toy bears, forcing them to attack their comrades who no longer remembered them. She then told Trebol that she was under attack, and after briefly checking on Robin's problem, Trebol attacked Robin and tried trapping her in mucus with the Beta Beta no Mi, although found out that the Robin who went with him was a clone. He then responded to Sugar's distress by throwing a ship at the Executive Tower.

Trebol caught the Tontattas and learned about their plan, and he attacked them by lighting the mucus they were stuck to. Usopp went to Leo and told him to run away, but Leo replied that the Soldier would definitely defeat Doflamingo if they accomplished this. He had faith in the Soldier, as he was the only toy not under Sugar's contract and was formerly the legendary Kyros. However, the dwarves were decimated by Trebol and Robin was turned into a toy by Sugar after trying to attack her, and Usopp decided to run away rather than confront the Donquixote Pirates alone. However, he overheard the dwarves calling out his name as they told Trebol that he would come to rescue them, and Trebol mocked them as he started stepping on them. Usopp came back, confessing to the dwarves his true identity and saying he was no hero, but would become this now as he shot Trebol with a Pop Green shuriken. After a brief battle, Usopp was defeated, and Sugar decided to torture him by feeding him the Tatababasco. However, the Tatababasco caused Usopp to make a terrible expression which frightened Sugar so much that she fell unconscious.

The Curse Lifts: Chaos Rises in Dressrosa
With Sugar knocked out, the toys around Dressrosa returned to their human forms, and the people's memories of the toys returned, causing Dressrosa to fall into chaos. In the underground port, the dwarves celebrated Usopp's actions, and in the palace, Thunder Soldier transformed back into Kyros. In the Colosseum as chaos erupted in the audience, Rebecca remembered that she had a father as Sabo decided to end the match, using Ryusoken to shatter the arena. He then leaped up to the fish carrying the Mera Mera no Mi and ate the fruit, before grabbing Rebecca and using Hiken to punch through the bottom of the Colosseum. Hajrudin grabbed Usopp and held him up before the other freed toys, who rejoiced in their savior as the ceiling gave in and the Colosseum fighters fell in. Diamante found himself under attack by the freed toys, while Rebecca and Bartolomeo discovered Sabo's true identity as Sabo reunited with Koala and Hack. They revealed that they had came to find and stop Doflamingo's Underworld weapons trade for the Revolutionary Army. Diamante and Trebol worked together to stop the freed toys from attacking the SMILE Factory, and Robin reunited with the Revolutionaries as Kin'emon escaped down to the underground port and reunited with his allies.

In the palace, Pica abandoned his fight with Zoro. In the throne room, after returning to his human form, Kyros charged at Doflamingo as Doldo and Viola regained their memories of him. Kyros then decapitated Doflamingo as Luffy raced in to rescue Law. As Kyros took out several of Doflamingo's men including Buffalo and freed Doldo, Luffy worked to free Law from his Seastone handcuffs. However, Pica then arrived, and Doflamingo was revealed to still be alive as he stated that he would have to use the "Birdcage". As Kyros attacked him, the real Doflamingo swooped in to kill him, but Luffy pulled him out of harm's way. Luffy fought the two Doflamingos but was overpowered, with the decapitated Doflamingo being revealed to be a string clone. On Doflamingo's command, Pica forced Luffy, Law, Kyros, Viola, and Doldo outside as Doflamingo's string clone transformed into a cage of strings that surrounded the entire island.

With the Birdcage surrounding the island, no one could get out, communications to the outside world were cut off, and Doflamingo took control of some people and caused them to attack others. Pica then changed the layout of the island, placing the palace on top of Flower Hill and bringing the SMILE Factory above ground. Doflamingo then proclaimed to his citizens that he had a "game" for them. They could either kill him, or bring in his enemies for a monetary reward. He put bounties on the Straw Hats, Law, Kin'emon, Kyros, Doldo, Viola, Rebecca, and Sabo, with Usopp's being the highest at 500,000,000. The freed toys that had just paid gratitude to Usopp immediately began chasing him and his comrades, and Kin'emon leaped into the scrap heap to find Kanjuro. Usopp's group went up to the surface and contacted Luffy's group, who was on the King's Plateau where the palace once was. Kyros had already left to go after Doflamingo, and Luffy promised to Rebecca to take down Doflamingo. Law warned that this would bring down Kaido's wrath upon them, but Luffy replied that they needed to help Dressrosa as he took Law and Zoro and jumped off the Plateau.

The Marines worked to protect the people of Dressrosa as the freed gladiators emerged from below the Colosseum, including Maynard. Maynard reported to Fujitora about Doflamingo's illegal dealings, but Fujitora questioned the World Government's role in dealing with this. On top of the palace, the Donquixote Pirates met to discuss their situation, with Doflamingo being confident that they would dispose of everyone in their way. Pica offered to dispose of them himself, and one of the pirates laughed, causing him to be shot by Baby 5 before Pica could become enraged. Doflamingo warned his lower-ranking crew to not make fun of the officers, whom he considered his family. Afterwards, Senor Pink, Machvise, and Dellinger returned to the place where they fought Franky, only to find out he escaped. As Franky ran discreetly toward the SMILE Factory, Luffy, Zoro, and Law landed in front of the three Donquixote officers. Senor Pink, Machvise, and Dellinger were joined by some citizens as they attacked Luffy, Zoro, and Law, but the latter three managed to avoid the attacks and ran off, though only to be confronted by Fujitora. Zoro briefly clashed with the Admiral, but they were soon interrupted by Pica, who had become a massive stone behemoth.

Get Doflamingo! The Perilous Race Up the Plateau
Luffy laughed profusely at Pica's voice, causing the executive to punch him with his massive stone fist. The punch shook the ground and sent Luffy, Zoro, and Law flying all the way to the Colosseum. There, they encountered Cavendish, who had put aside his hatred of Luffy and wanted to defeat Doflamingo. Cavendish was soon joined by the Chinjao Family, Hajrudin, Elizabello, Dagama, Abdullah, Jeet, Orlumbus, Ideo, Suleiman, and Blue Gilly, and they all wanted to take down Doflamingo themselves, causing an argument to break out. However, when some other gladiators came to capture Luffy, Zoro, and Law, the group quickly came together to beat them off. Luffy then reunited with Ucy, and led the charge to the palace despite everyone continuing to argue over Doflamingo. Pica and his subordinates saw them coming, and Pica tried attacking them again, only to have his stone arm shattered by Chinjao and Elizabello.

Pica quickly regrew his arm and attacked again, but Luffy managed to ride Ucy onto his other arm, with Abdullah and Jeet having joined him, Zoro, and Law on the bull's back. Pica prepared to attack them, but Luffy shattered his head with a Gear Third punch. Pica's real body then emerged in front of the bull riders and he tried attacking them with a giant sword, but Luffy helped Ucy dodge it and Zoro confronted Pica, allowing the others to continue toward Doflamingo. Since Pica's stone body was no longer inhabited, the other gladiators went after Luffy, and as they drew closer to the palace, Law revealed to Luffy that he wanted to take down Doflamingo to avenge an important person to him called Corazon, who was Doflamingo's real brother but was killed by him 13 years ago.

In the streets below, Kyros moved past the citizens who were trying to capture him. Meanwhile, Usopp, Robin, Rebecca, Bartolomeo, Hack, and the Tontattas ran away from the citizens through the Colosseum stands, and Hack noticed that Sabo had ran off. They managed to get to safety on the King's Plateau, where they encountered Doldo, Viola, and Tank Lepanto. Viola revealed that she had the key to Law's Seastone handcuffs, and Doldo was initially wary about trusting pirates to help them, but Viola assured him that Luffy's intentions were genuine. Rebecca offered to take the key to Law, and Leo offered to help her get to the palace by going across rooftops with him and Kabu accompanying her.

Franky prepared to blow open the entrance to the SMILE Factory, but was attacked by Senor Pink, who came to settle the score between them. As they fought, the Tontattas arrived and worked to find a way to get into the Factory. Bian used her pink bees to fly over the roof, and after getting the enslaved dwarves' attention, she revealed to them that the Donquixote Pirates had been lying to them about Mansherry. Believing their comrades, the dwarves began attacking their overseers. Led by Mansherry's aide Maujii, they broke into the room labeled as Mansherry's, but found it was only a storage room. They then went to open the main doors, and Franky distracted Senor Pink by saying there was an old woman in danger, allowing him and the Tontattas to get in the Factory. The Factory manager Kyuin arrived to attack the dwarves with her vacuum cleaner, but was stopped when Franky hugged her. Senor Pink then returned after discovering Franky's deception, and Franky suplexed Kyuin into him. This made Kyuin angry, but Franky silenced her by kissing her, making her flustered. Senor Pink agreed with Franky's course of action, and Kyuin and Pink's entourage swooned over the men as they resumed their battle.

Gladius, Dellinger, Machvise, Lao G, and Baby 5 went up to the New King's Plateau, where they watched in shock as Luffy, Law, and the gladiators beat back the Donquixote soldiers and reached the first level of the Plateau. Down below, Fujitora and his troops were stopped from pursuing the gladiators by Sabo, who confronted them to protect Luffy. Sabo overwhelmed the Marines as he destroyed their weapons by flexing his fingers, and he did the same to Bastille's sword and mask, defeating the Vice Admiral. Fujitora brought down a meteor, but it was sliced and scattered by the Birdcage. Sabo revealed his relationship to Luffy, and he and Fujitora clashed. The two fought ferociously, and Sabo asked how long Fujitora would waste time fighting him; the Admiral replied that he had decided to bet his life on this course of action.

The gladiators caught up to Luffy and his entourage by climbing the cliff of the Plateau, and the Funk Brothers approached Luffy, offering him a shortcut to the Flower Field on the fourth level of the plateau. Luffy and Law headed into a tunnel, knocking Abdullah and Jeet off, and the latter duo discovered that the Funk Brothers had led them into a trap before Doflamingo arrived and took out the brothers. Luffy and Law received a call from Robin to let them know that she, Bartolomeo, and Rebecca would be going to give Law the key to his handcuffs. However, the tunnel led to a dead end, and Luffy, Law, and Ucy were trapped in a pool of water as they were confronted by Doflamingo. Doflamingo mocked their weak state and shot Ucy with string, but before he could attack further, he was attacked by Abdullah and Jeet. They then discovered that Doflamingo was a string clone, and Abdullah and Jeet told Luffy and Law what happened, revealing that the gladiators had overtaken them to Level 2. As Kyros made his way up to Level 1, Luffy punched through the tunnel's ceiling, allowing him and Law to jump up to where the gladiators were while Abdullah and Jeet took care of Ucy.

On the King's Plateau, Leo brought out the Yellow Kabu Beetles, which would slow down Robin's, Rebecca's, and Bartolomeo's falls and allow them to jump across rooftops until they reached the Flower Field. They reached the Pica statue, where Zoro was still fighting the Donquixote executive. Pica inhabited his statue again in order to attack the trio, but Zoro stopped him by cutting it in half. Pica resumed fighting Zoro as the Yellow Kabu group drew closer to the Flower Field, and Leo received a call from Maujii, who revealed that Mansherry was not in the Factory and suggested that she might be in the palace.

On the Plateau, Cavendish approached Luffy and Law, saying that he had a plan. Luffy and Law rode with Cavendish on his horse Farul to reach the third level, and Kyros rode with them. Luffy revealed that they were going to meet Rebecca, and Kyros stated that he wanted to kill Diamante to avenge his wife. Meanwhile, the Donquixote Pirate officers confronted and overpowered the other gladiators, but as Farul rode into the battleground, the gladiators cleared a path for Luffy and his entourage to get to the next level, promising to keep the Donquixote officers at bay. Although Dellinger took out Suleiman, Dagama, and Blue Gilly, the gladiators continued the fight, and Cavendish stated that there would be no way to get off the island except by beating Doflamingo. As they reached Level 3, however, they were confronted by giant nutcrackers.

In the scrap heap, Kin'emon reunited with Kanjuro, who had hid inside the wall as a drawing with a Devil Fruit power and drew food to feed himself. Kanjuro drew a bird to fly them out, although the drawing was so pitiful that it could barely fly. The other prisoners in the scrap heap asked Kanjuro to help free them as well, and Kanjuro complied, drawing ladders for them to climb up to the surface. In the town, the citizens found the location of Usopp and Doldo, and went to capture them in hopes of ending Doflamingo's game. Usopp saw the mob heading for them, and after hearing about Maujii's discovery, Viola looked around the palace for Mansherry, who was being held in a small cell somewhere. Kin'emon and Kanjuro then made it to the King's Plateau, and to Usopp's horror, Kanjuro revealed that he had drawn a net for the mob to climb up.

Viola found Mansherry, and told Leo where she was as his group reached the third level of the Plateau. However, Gladius attacked the group with exploding balls, causing Robin and Bartolomeo to fall. As she tangled with Gladius, Robin told Rebecca to go on to the Flower Field. Viola then saw the nutcrackers attacking Luffy's group and discovered that Sugar had been revived. Sugar decided to go out and turn Doflamingo's enemies into toys again, starting with Luffy and Law. One of the nutcrackers bit Farul's head, incapacitating him, and the massive toys put themselves back together despite Luffy's and Cavendish's attacks. Robin, Bartolomeo, and Gladius then fell onto the scene, and Bartolomeo told Luffy's group to go on ahead to Rebecca. He created a staircase for them to get to the Flower Field, and Cavendish stayed behind in order to take down the nutcrackers and avenge Farul. Bartolomeo shielded Luffy, Law, and Kyros from Gladius' attacks with his own body, and Robin confronted Gladius to protect her captain.

Rebecca, Leo, and Kabu made it to the Flower Field, and as the dwarves went to save Mansherry, Rebecca found herself confronted by Diamante. Not wanting to fight, Rebecca ran away, but Diamante cut her and prepared to shoot her just like he did to Scarlett. Right then, Kyros came and attacked Diamante, telling Rebecca that she would no longer have to fight. Luffy and Law then came to get the key to Law's handcuffs, and once Law was freed, he used his powers to cut apart the nutcracker chasing them. Luffy and Law headed for the palace, and Diamante tried to stop them, but Law teleported them inside.

The Donquixote Pirates quickly spotted the duo in the palace, and Sugar went to turn them into toys. Luffy and Law did not know who she was as she approached them, and on the King's Plateau, Usopp moved quickly to stop Sugar. He had Kanjuro draw him an effigy of the face he made to knock out Sugar the first time, and Doldo, Lepanto, and Hack went to slow down the mob heading for him. Usopp aimed with the help of Viola's sight, and he suddenly became able to see people's auras inside the palace. He fired his shot right as the mob caught him, and it successfully passed in front of Sugar and scared her into unconsciousness again before she could turn Luffy and Law into toys again. This also turned the nutcrackers back into their original bodies, with each one having been made from eight Donquixote soldiers.

After catching Usopp's group, the mob revealed that they had no intention of bringing them in to Doflamingo, as they knew he had deceived them before when he took over Dressrosa and they placed their trust into King Riku once again. In the streets below, Fujitora departed from his fight with Sabo, and Koala berated Sabo for getting involved in the conflict. Sabo remembered how Fujitora was not leaving it to the Marines to stop Doflamingo, and on the King's Plateau, Doldo told the citizens to place their hopes on Luffy and his crew to take down Doflamingo as Fujitora came up to make the same bet. Elsewhere, Maynard was shocked to hear what Fujitora did as he and his troops were busy helping the citizens suffering from Doflamingo's attacks.

The Debt and Grudge of an Outcast: Law's Sorrowful Past
On top of the palace, Doflamingo reminisced to Trebol about when he first met Law, recalling how Law wanted to join his crew as a child because he wanted to destroy everything before he himself died soon. Bellamy then came to Doflamingo, wanting to know why Dellinger had been sent to kill him. Doflamingo replied that the two of them had always had different goals, and he took down Bellamy before being confronted by Luffy and Law. Luffy got mad at what Doflamingo did to Bellamy, and attacked the Warlord, but Doflamingo used Bellamy as a human shield. Doflamingo then attacked Law with a string clone while he took control of Bellamy and forced him to attack Luffy. Luffy refused to attack Bellamy, and to his opponents' confusion, he charged toward Law instead. Law then used Shambles to switch places with Doflamingo, causing Luffy to hit Doflamingo with Red Hawk while Law cut Trebol into pieces.

Trebol was left unable to reattach himself for a while, although Doflamingo was still up on his feet and stopped Law from attacking his subordinate. He and Bellamy then overpowered Luffy and Law, and Doflamingo stated that he did not have the time to deal with this, as his desire was to destroy the world ruled by the World Nobles out of anger for his father relinquishing his family's status and causing him to see "hell". Doflamingo's clone then sent Luffy and Bellamy inside the palace, leaving Doflamingo alone with Law. Law wondered how Doflamingo used his World Noble status to fake his resignation despite no longer being a World Noble, and Doflamingo revealed that he knew about the existence of a national treasure on Mary Geoise that gave him leveraging power over them. He stated that with Law's Ope Ope no Mi powers, he could have had a surgery performed on him that would allow him to live forever and use the treasure to take over the world, but angrily stated that Law had gone against him despite everything he gave to him. However, Law replied that it was Corazon who made him into the person he was today.

16 years ago in the North Blue, Law, Buffalo, and Baby 5 had joined the Donquixote Pirates as children despite the crew's toughness, and Law looked forward to killing before he died in a little over two years. He then encountered Corazon, whom Diamante and Trebol stated to be mute, clumsy, and a kid-hater as he grabbed Law and threw him out the window. Law made it back to the building, where the crew was eating. They noticed that he had Amber Lead Syndrome that had infected his hometown Flevance, and Law revealed that he had escaped by hiding in a mass of corpses. He swore revenge on Corazon, but Baby 5 reminded him that attacking the executive would cause Doflamingo to unleash retribution. Afterwards, as they were pillaging a town, Baby 5 asked Gladius and Lao G about Flevance. They revealed that Flevance had become prosperous 100 years ago by mining Amber Lead, but the World Government failed to reveal to them that it was poisonous on contact. Each progressive generation's lifespan grew shorter, and when symptoms of the syndrome appeared, Flevance was cut off from the outside world. The World Government allowed children Law's age to flee the island, but this was only a ruse as the people of Flevance were all exterminated. Law had broken off from his group to check on his family, only to discover that his parents were shot and his sister Lamy was still in his family's hospital that the government burned down.

Law had joined the Donquixote Pirates with no reason left to live, and he went ahead with getting revenge on Corazon as he stabbed the executive in the back. He was spotted by Buffalo, but bribed him with ice cream to be silent. Meanwhile, Doflamingo had a nightmare about him, Corazon, and their father Donquixote Homing being persecuted by a mob for being World Nobles. 17 years before this time, and 33 years before the present day, Homing had decided for his family to leave Mary Geoise and live as commoners. However, an 8-year-old Doflamingo did not understand his new position, and treated the commoners like he was still a noble, causing them to realize what his family was and persecute them. The Donquixote Family's mansion was burned down, and they were forced to live in a shack and scavenge for food as they hid from the townspeople. Doflamingo's mother died to sickness, and the townspeople eventually caught Doflamingo, Corazon, and Homing.

Doflamingo woke up from his nightmare and received a call. He had Law brought to him, and Law thought Corazon had told Doflamingo what had happened, but Doflamingo instead told Law that he was becoming an official member of the Donquixote Pirates. Later, Corazon lied to Doflamingo that an enemy had wounded him, which surprised Law. A year passed, and the Donquixote Pirates moved around the North Blue as Law grew stronger through training and raids. One day, he was talking to Buffalo and Baby 5, and revealed that his real name was Trafalgar D. Water Law. Corazon then came and dragged him into an alley, where he spoke to Law and told him that if he was a D., he needed to get away from Doflamingo. He used his Nagi Nagi no Mi abilities to prevent people from overhearing them, and revealed to Law that much of his personality was an act, and that he had joined the Donquixote Pirates to stop Doflamingo. He believed his older brother had always been evil, as when they had been lynched by the mob as children, Doflamingo refused to die and swore revenge on the commoners. He then revealed that the carriers of D. were rumored to be the "natural enemies of God", and so did not want Law to become like Doflamingo. Law rejected this as he wanted to kill people like Doflamingo did, and he ran off to reveal Corazon's secret. However, as Corazon walked to the ship while the crew prepared to set sail, Law revealed that he kept his secret in order to repay him for not telling Doflamingo about getting attacked. As the crew was being pursued by Marines, Corazon took Law and departed to find a cure for his illness.

Law did not want to leave, and Corazon contacted Sengoku to report on Doflamingo as an undercover Marine Commander. After their call was finished, the undercover Donquixote Pirate and first Corazon Vergo came into Sengoku's office to request to be transferred to G-5. Corazon was confident that they would get Law cured at a hospital, but at each one they went to, the doctors refused to go near Law and called the government to get him, causing Corazon to attack all of them as Law fell into despair. Six months passed with no luck, and one night as Law slept, Corazon wept over his condition, and Law overheard this, causing him to gain a respect for Corazon. The next morning, Doflamingo called Corazon, revealing that he had found out about a pirate crew selling the Ope Ope no Mi to the World Government, and telling his brother and Law to come back to the crew so they could get the fruit and heal Law with it. After the call, Corazon revealed that he would get the fruit for Law behind the crew's backs before abandoning them, as he did not think he could rejoin the crew without Doflamingo finding out the truth about him. Meanwhile, Doflamingo was growing suspicious that the Marines had not found his crew during the time that Corazon had been gone. Corazon contacted Sengoku, and they arranged a plan to trap the Donquixote Pirates on Swallow Island during the planned exchange three weeks from now. To Corazon's horror, however, Law grew very weak as his time was almost up.

Corazon and Law sailed to Minion Island, where the keepers of the Ope Ope no Mi, the Barrels Pirates, were hiding out. Corazon left Law in the town as he raided the pirates' hideout, attacking them without making a sound and stealing the fruit. However, he tripped and fell as he ran outside and landed in front of some of the pirates, who realized that he had stolen the fruit. Corazon defeated them, but sustained several shot wounds in the process. He returned to Law and fed him the fruit, but was too weak to go any further. He asked Law to look for a Marine spy ship and give them a letter, which he claimed would help protect Dressrosa. Law found Vergo near the ship and gave him the letter, but then asked him to come and help Corazon. When Vergo came to Corazon, the two recognized each other in shock, and Vergo realized Corazon's treachery as he beat him and Law up. He then contacted Doflamingo to reveal the truth about Corazon, and Corazon managed to escape with Law, but Doflamingo trapped them by creating a Birdcage around Minion Island.

Corazon remembered when Doflamingo killed their father when they were children for bringing them out of Mary Geoise, and he hid Law in a treasure chest, assuring that he himself would not be killed by Doflamingo as he silenced Law. The Donquixote Pirates massacred the Barrels Pirates as they searched for Corazon, and after finding him, they beat him up before Doflamingo confronted him. Corazon pulled a gun on Doflamingo, saying he could not let Law follow in his brother's footsteps. Corazon could not pull the trigger, but Doflamingo did, and he believed Law had been taken in by the Marines. This allowed Law to escape, and Corazon stayed alive just long enough to keep Law's cries from being heard, but then succumbed to his wounds.

In the present, Law revealed that he was a D. to Doflamingo as they fought, which shocked the Warlord. He then used his Devil Fruit to pierce through Doflamingo, saying that unlike Corazon, he would pull the trigger. Law went on the offensive, but Doflamingo quickly stopped his attacks, saying that Law was foolish to confront him alone and that everything he and Corazon aimed for would be for naught. He then sliced Law's right arm off and prepared to shoot him, but was interrupted as Luffy sent his string clone through the floor from below, defeating it. Bellamy was still under Doflamingo's control, and Doflamingo decided to free him. Luffy thought their fight was over, but as he remembered the time he began sailing under the Donquixote Pirates' flag out of admiration for them, Bellamy used Spring Hopper to fight Luffy, knowing that Doflamingo had rejected him but still being too proud to go against the man he admired. Luffy told him to stop, but Bellamy did not as he punched Luffy with a Haki-clad fist, injuring him.

Dismantling the Family: The Decisive Conflict Against the Donquixote Pirates
Meanwhile, Zoro continued fighting Pica when he ran into some Donquixote soldiers. However, Orlumbus arrived and defeated them by bowling one into the others, and Zoro raced toward Pica as he inhabited the entire Plateau and attacked. The gladiators and the Donquixote officers were caught up in the attacks, and as this happened, Machvise was greatly overwhelming Hajrudin by pounding him with his increased weight. However, as Machvise prepared to finish him off, Hajrudin countered him with his fist. Despite Machvise's weight causing the bones in his arm to break, Hajrudin overcame his force and sent him flying upward into the Birdcage, defeating him.

As Sai fought Baby 5, the latter grew flustered as she interpreted Sai's statements to be flirtatious. Meanwhile, as he was being overwhelmed by Lao G, Chinjao overheard the statements and got mad at Sai for entertaining Baby 5's advances, saying he was arranged to marry Uholisia of the Niho Navy. Sai grew frustrated and jokingly told Baby 5 to die, and she prepared to commit suicide, as her childhood abandonment had left her with a desire to be useful to people. An appalled Sai tried to stop her, and Chinjao got annoyed at Sai trying to keep an enemy alive as he attacked the both of them. Sai responded by kicking Chinjao's drill head and bending it sideways, and an impressed Chinjao made him the next Don of the Happo Navy. Right then, however, Lao G arrived and defeated Chinjao, and as the Donquixote officer charged toward Sai, the new Don stated that if he won, he would marry Baby 5 and free her from the Donquixote Pirates' manipulation. He then used Hasshoken to kick Lao G in the head and send him flying far away into the plateau wall, defeating him. He then attended to his grandfather.

When Pica came to the Plateau and attacked, Ideo was able to land a hit on Dellinger, but was soon overpowered. On the third level, Bartolomeo shielded himself and Cavendish as Gladius made the ground rupture, and Robin went up to the Flower Field to help Rebecca. Bartolomeo protected her from Gladius' attacks before he and Cavendish both went on the offensive, and as this happened, Gladius saw Dellinger and told him to help. However, Ideo pressed his attack on Dellinger, and the fighting fish fish-man hybrid had to finish off his opponent by growing a set of fangs and biting into him. Dellinger then went to Level 3, but things had quickly changed as Cavendish had become Hakuba, and before he could react, Dellinger was swiftly struck down.

Bartolomeo and Gladius were left in shock, but Hakuba then turned his attention to Robin. She managed to hold him back, and Cavendish struggled to regain control of his body, but Gladius then prepared to blow up the wall they were climbing on. Bartolomeo went to attack him, but Gladius swelled himself up as well, threatening to pierce everyone with poisonous needles if Bartolomeo attacked. With the plateau wall threatening Robin, Bartolomeo created a barrier around himself and Gladius, attacking the officer as he took the full force of Gladius' explosion. However, as Gladius recovered, he revealed that Bartolomeo had missed his throat and prepared to blow up Robin and Cavendish. With no time left, Cavendish briefly gave control to Hakuba, allowing him to carry Robin up the wall with sheer speed right before Gladius blew it up, and he fell asleep as Robin reached the Flower Field. Gladius noticed that they had escaped, and as he was distracted, Bartolomeo hit him with a barrier-enforced punch, defeating him.

Some Donquixote soldiers then came to take Gladius away, and Viola reported to Leo that she had seen Giolla using Mansherry to heal the fallen Donquixote Pirates, including the officers, in the first floor of the palace. Leo and Kabu were urged to hurry, and Giolla discovered that she could use Mansherry's Chiyu Chiyu no Mi powers to heal her fallen comrades by just forcing her tears to land on them. Leo and Kabu then came in right as Mansherry's tears were beaten out of her. Kabu moved the Donquixote Pirates out of the tears' path, and Leo stitched them and Giolla together, pulling them all onto her and defeating her. He rescued Mansherry, and on her request, carried her out of the palace. Giolla tried to report this to Doflamingo, as Mansherry was also their contingency to repair the SMILE Factory, but was unable to do so.

Outside the SMILE Factory, Franky and Senor Pink took each other's attacks without dodging because of their manly spirit, and Senor Pink decided to perform his ultimate attack on Franky, offering to concede if Franky got up after it. He grabbed Franky and swam up a tall tower, and he mentioned his wife Russian and son Gimlet as he suplexed Franky into the ground far below. Franky got up after this attack, and Senor Pink conceded as Franky pummeled him. As he fell defeated, he remembered meeting Russian. Russian said she hated pirates, and Pink had claimed to be a banker. They got married and had Gimlet, but when Pink was voyaging with his crew, Gimlet died of a fever and Russian discovered his lie. She left him, but was caught in a landslide and put in a vegetative state. Senor Pink found that he could make Russian smile by wearing Gimlet's bonnet and pacifier, and so adopted this style of dress. In the present, Franky hoped Pink could tell him about Russian someday in the future, and he sent the Tontattas charging into the factory as he collapsed from his wounds.

On the Flower Field, Diamante caused the entire field to wave like a flag, making it hard for Kyros to stand. The executive then aimed his attacks for Rebecca, and she offered to assist her father, but Kyros forbade it as he promised to protect her. Diamante managed to get his sword around Kyros, but his strike was blocked by Robin, who gave Kyros the opportunity to focus entirely on Diamante. Diamante unleashed attacks called Half Moon Glaive that tore through a large distance, and Kyros began to get tired. Diamante then prepared to finish the fight as he shot spiked balls into the air, and Robin protected herself and Rebecca with a flower umbrella while Kyros batted away all the balls with his sword. A shocked Diamante resorted to shooting Kyros in the leg, causing him to be hit by the balls. An enraged Rebecca tried to attack Diamante, but Kyros got up, saying that she should preserve her clean hands as he charged at Diamante despite his injuries. The two fought ferociously, and Diamante tried to defeat Kyros with another Half Moon Glaive, but Kyros countered it and broke through Diamante's sword as he cut him. As he fell backward, Diamante hit his head on Scarlett's gravestone, knocking him unconscious. Rebecca wanted to treat Kyros' wounds, but the two of them first sat in front of Scarlett's grave.

Elizabello went up to Zoro as the latter fought Pica, offering the help of his King Punch. Zoro had no use for it at the moment, but told him to save it up. On the King's Plateau, as Viola revealed that most of the Donquixote Pirates had been taken down, Doldo prepared to go down to assist the citizens in peril, which Fujitora was currently doing. Meanwhile, Pica went up to the Flower Field to confront Kyros, and he asked the gladiator about his thoughts on King Riku. Kyros replied that everyone on Dressrosa wanted him to return to the throne once Doflamingo was taken down, and Pica went down to attack the injured gladiators. As Zoro went after him, Pica told him that he was going to assert Doflamingo's rule by killing Doldo and everyone on the King's Plateau. He then reinhabited his giant golem and walked to the King's Plateau, and Zoro had to quickly think of a plan to catch up to him as cannon fire failed to harm the stone man.

Zoro decided to fly through the air and cut Pica up, and he ran to Elizabello to tell him to withhold his King Punch for now. He then came to to Orlumbus, and asked him to throw him toward Pica like the Admiral had done earlier. Pica arrived at the King's Plateau, and Doldo was prepared to take his attack; Pica then brought his massive hand down on the Plateau. Orlumbus then threw Zoro at Pica, and Zoro successfully bisected Pica at the waist. Taking note of which piece of stone Pica inhabited, Zoro continued cutting his body up until Pica was forced to come out. Pica clad his entire body in Haki and leaped at Zoro, but Zoro proved his Haki to be stronger as he cut Pica with Sanzen Sekai, defeating him. The remains of Pica's stone body fell toward the King's Plateau, but they were blown away by Elizabello's King Punch and placed out of harm's way by Fujitora.

Zoro grabbed onto the King's Plateau, satisfied as he remembered what Mihawk had told him about using Haki during his training. He went up to praise from Usopp and the people around him, but told them not to be happy until the cage fell, and Doldo led the citizens down to help those in the streets. Meanwhile, the dwarves successfully destroyed the SMILE Factory, and Trebol was confident that Mansherry could help restore it, unaware that she, Leo, and Kabu were with Kyros, Rebecca, and Robin on the Flower Field. Elsewhere, Koala requested assistance from Sabo, saying that Luffy's life was possibly in danger. On top of the palace, Doflamingo and Trebol brutally overwhelmed Law, but Law remained defiant until Doflamingo tried to finish him off by shooting him. Down below, Bellamy continued to stand by Doflamingo and attack Luffy. Luffy finally ended the fight by punching Bellamy into the ground, and Bellamy silently thanked him for allowing him to maintain his convictions as Luffy went up to the palace roof. Luffy attacked Doflamingo, but after a brief fight, he encountered the defeated Law. Doflamingo then said that it was time to end this game as he started shrinking the Birdcage.

Game Over: The Final Battle Against Doflamingo
As the cage closed, it cut apart everything it touched and forced everyone to run away, and Doflamingo said it would converge on everyone in about an hour. Law then spoke secretly to Luffy, having created a giant ROOM around the palace before Doflamingo shot at him and switched places with a Donquixote servant below. Law told Luffy the plan, and as Luffy charged toward Doflamingo, Law switched places with him and hit Doflamingo with an attack that ruptured his internal organs. Luffy kept Doflamingo and Trebol from retaliating, and Law tried to finish off Doflamingo. Despite the fatal injuries he received, however, Doflamingo mended his injured organs with strings and rose up. With Law having collapsed, Doflamingo prepared to finish him off again, but was stopped by Luffy.

Luffy began fighting Doflamingo again, and as they clashed, their Haoshoku Haki created a black lightning-like effect. Trebol remembered when he, Vergo, Diamante, and Pica swore their allegiance to Doflamingo as children after discovering that he had Haoshoku Haki, and they treated him like the king that they believed those with the ability were, with Trebol giving Doflamingo his Devil Fruit and gun. After a ferocious fight, Trebol managed to catch Luffy in his mucus, and Luffy could not escape. Trebol then trapped Law and left him for Doflamingo to finish off, telling Law that the executives and Doflamingo had created a strong family. Law retorted that this was a lie, and Trebol attacked him in a fit of rage, allowing Law to use his Devil Fruit powers to spin his sword and vertically cut Trebol. The attack caused all the mucus to fall off Trebol's body, and in a desperate fit he lit up the mucus to create a massive explosion.

Luffy pulled Law away from the explosion, and threw him down to Robin's group on the Flower Field. While Luffy kept Doflamingo occupied, he told Cavendish to get Law to safety, and Leo looked into stitching Law's arm back on. However, Law refused to leave, saying it was his responsibility to die if Luffy got killed in the fight that he had started. Cavendish stayed with him, and Robin, Kyros, Rebecca, Leo, Kabu, and Mansherry went down to Level 2 on Bartolomeo's staircase after the dwarves had fixed Law's arm. On top of the palace, Luffy continued fighting Doflamingo, but found that his Gear Second attacks were too weak and his Gear Third attacks were too slow. Doflamingo mocked Luffy, saying he was the cause for Dressrosa's misery, but Luffy retorted that Doflamingo had been harming his friends long before that as he activated Gear Fourth: Boundman.

Luffy grew round and constantly bounced in his new form, and Doflamingo did not take it seriously until Luffy hit him all the way into the town below. Doflamingo initially struggled to keep up with Luffy's speed and strength, getting sent flying through buildings and not being able to dodge. However, he eventually managed to counter Luffy by turning buildings into string with his awakened Devil Fruit powers and blocking the Straw Hat's attacks. During this time, Burgess went to the palace roof with Koala on his tail, and she wondered what he wanted with Luffy. Time passed, and the Birdcage grew considerably smaller, with the sick and weak being greatly threatened by it. King Riku then broadcasted himself to the citizens, telling them that the Donquixote Pirates were almost vanquished and encouraging them to keep going while Luffy fought Doflamingo. This gave the citizens strength and the will to help the weak, and up in the air, Luffy managed to break through Doflamingo's strings as he hit the Warlord of the Sea into the Palace Plateau wall. Doflamingo seemed defeated, but Luffy realized that he was still conscious due to the Birdcage remaining up. He went to deal a final blow, but Gear Fourth expired before he could, leaving him weak and barely able to move. Burgess then leaped down to the streets, intent on killing Luffy and gaining his Devil Fruit power. Doflamingo then moved to take down the powerless Luffy as well.

However, Luffy was approached by Gatz, the announcer of the Corrida Colosseum. He revealed to Gatz that he needed 10 minutes to regain his Haki, and he could finish off Doflamingo in one blow after that. Gatz then called in the Colosseum gladiators who had initially gone after Luffy and his comrades for Doflamingo's bounties, and they went to confront Doflamingo while Gatz carried Luffy away. They were attacked by Burgess, but the Blackbeard Pirate was intercepted by Sabo. Sabo revealed his new Devil Fruit powers to Burgess and Luffy, and Burgess attacked, but Sabo sent him flying. However, Gatz saw Doflamingo easily take down the gladiators, and the Warlord sped up the Birdcage so it would kill everyone before Luffy recovered. Law then went into the streets, and told Gatz to leave Luffy with him for the rest of his recovery period.

Meanwhile, Zoro took Kin'emon and Kanjuro to go stop the Birdcage. As he and the dwarves exited the destroyed SMILE Factory, Franky found out what they were doing, and got the idea to use the Factory to push against the Birdcage since the structure was made of Seastone. Meanwhile, Mansherry healed the gladiators on the Palace Plateau with dandelions made from her tears before flying on Kabu and scattering the dandelions all across Dressrosa, although they only healed people temporarily. The dandelions allowed the injured citizens to run from the Birdcage, and they went to the Palace Plateau for safety. The remaining lower-ranking Donquixote Pirates had taken over the Plateau and blocked their access, but they were beaten away by Kyros and the gladiators. Sai then told the citizens that could still fight to come with him, and they went to the Birdcage to slow it down. Fujitora and the Marines then came to help as well, and for a brief moment they managed to stop the Birdcage completely. Meanwhile, Rebecca had run off to confront Doflamingo, only to discover that Viola had gotten to him first. Doflamingo easily countered Viola's attacks before immobilizing her, and he then took control of Rebecca as he forced her to charge at her aunt and kill her. As the people of Dressrosa continued slowing the Birdcage, Gatz announced to them that Luffy would return soon and defeat Doflamingo in one blow. He led them in a countdown, and although Doflamingo attacked him before it was done, and Mansherry's dandelions began to wear off, the crowd cheered as Luffy's recovery period ended. Right before Rebecca was about to kill Viola, Law switched Luffy and Viola, and Luffy broke Rebecca's blade with his Haki as he confronted Doflamingo again.

Doflamingo initially overpowered Luffy with awakened attacks, and managed to take control of the Straw Hat. However, as the Birdcage began cutting into the King's Plateau, Luffy activated Gear Fourth and broke the strings on him as he flew into the air. Doflamingo taunted Luffy, saying that he would get a new kingdom to replace the people in Dressrosa as though they were trash. Luffy blew into his arm, and Doflamingo put up both a defense and attack, but it was not enough as Luffy broke through his strings with Gomu Gomu no King Kong Gun and hit the Warlord of the Sea, sending him falling into the ground with a force so great that it ripped the ground asunder and propelled him all the way to the underground port, breaking his sunglasses. Luffy fell unconscious, and Law brought him back down to his side. The Birdcage then came down, and Gatz proclaimed Luffy as the winner against Doflamingo as the people of Dressrosa rejoiced and Kyros shed tears for the first time in ten years.

Powers at Play: Dressrosa's Liberation and the Chaotic Aftermath
Sabo defeated Burgess after the latter unsuccessfully taunted him about Ace, and the other Revolutionaries successfully acquired Doflamingo's weapons from the underground port before the Marines came in. The Marines arrested the defeated Donquixote Pirates, and on Fujitora's orders, Maynard broadcasted to the neighboring islands what had happened to Dressrosa, which resulted in the news quickly spreading across the world. Meanwhile, the citizens pleaded for Doldo to return as their king despite his protests, and Fujitora approached him, offering his apologies for what the World Government did to Dressrosa as he and the Marines knelt before the returning king.

Doldo gave the citizens a place to stay in the palace, and elsewhere, Kyros disbanded the Tontatta rebel army. Meanwhile, on Mary Geoise, Sakazuki went before the Five Elders to question why they had allowed Doflamingo to go behind the Marines' back, but they were not concerned about what he felt about Doflamingo. Right then, the six of them heard the news about Doflamingo's defeat, and the members of the Worst Generation found out as well. Kid and his allies were glad that Luffy and Law's alliance was going after Kaido and not their target, Shanks. On a certain island, X Drake was with Kaido's crew when they received the news, and one of Kaido's subordinates tried to tell their captain about it. Sakazuki got angry about the news getting out, and berated Fujitora for it. Fujitora stood by his decision, having been motivated to expose the truth by Smoker recounting when the World Government covered up the truth about Alabasta's liberation. Sakazuki threatened to bar Fujitora from all Marine bases unless he captured Luffy and Law, and Fujitora agreed to do this. However, he decided to only go after them if his die did not land on a one, and it indeed did.

The Straw Hats, Law, and Bellamy went to stay at Kyros' house as night fell, and Sabo arrived while Luffy was sleeping. He recounted his past to Zoro, Robin, and Franky, revealing that he had survived after setting sail from Dawn Island and having his ship blown up by a World Noble. Dragon had rescued him, and he awoke with no memories of his past. He asked to join the Revolutionary Army, and it was only two years ago when he heard the news about Ace's death that he regained his memories. He despaired over Ace, and so when he reunited with Luffy in the Corrida Colosseum, he thanked his brother for staying alive. Sabo then departed from the house, giving the Straw Hats a Vivre Card he made for Luffy after taking a corner of it for himself. He headed toward the Revolutionaries' ship on a flock of crows as the Revolutionaries prepared to depart from the island before CP-0's impending arrival. Meanwhile, as the other people in Dressrosa rested in the palace, Doldo spoke to Rebecca, telling her that once he became king again, she would become the crown princess.

The next day, Sanji's group on the Sunny had reached a mysterious island. As Sanji and Chopper forced Caesar to help an unknown group of people, Nami, Brook, and Momonosuke were chasing a girl. They were confronted by two pirates who were also looking for the girl, but they were suddenly interrupted as an eruption of water flooded the area. While Nami saved Brook and Momonosuke, the male pirate Sheepshead attacked them, but Brook and Sanji managed to defeat him. With Sheepshead defeated, the other pirates decided to leave the island and abandon their mission of finding a samurai. The Straw Hats continued looking for the girl, who was hiding, when Chopper suddenly called them to come to him. Meanwhile, Kaido came up to the Sky Island Ballon Terminal, looking for a place to die. He jumped and fell 10,000 meters onto the Kid Pirates' base, and emerged without receiving an injury. In his past, he had survived numerous execution and suicide attempts, and so had made attempting suicide his hobby. Kaido confronted Kid, Apoo, and Hawkins, and he yelled out to Doflamingo, saying he was ready to start the biggest war in history to bring down a world he considered mundane.

Three days later, Sengoku and Tsuru arrived on Dressrosa and discovered that Fujitora had still not gone after the Straw Hats and Law after landing on a one every day. Mansherry then came up to the Marine encampment, and offered to draw blood from the Marines to heal citizens. The Marines complied, unaware that the dwarves were weakening them. Fujitora offered Tsuru the chance to roll the die, and it did not land on a one, causing him to send the Marines after the criminals on Dressrosa. In Kyros' house, Kyros revealed that he had spread a rumor that Rebecca's father was a faraway prince in order to disassociate her from him, and told her about it via letter, which Luffy did not like. Bartolomeo then came in, revealing that the Marines were on the move. The Straw Hats' allies were lying in wait to help, and Kyros had commissioned the dwarves to make preparations as well. Bartolomeo led the Straw Hats, Law, and Bellamy out of Kyros' house to the eastern port as the Marines came after them, but Luffy separated from them to go to Rebecca.

Doldo prepared to retake the throne, and Rebecca was attended to as she got ready for her coronation, although she wanted to see Luffy again. Luffy made it to the window of her room, where he asked her if she was fine with what Kyros had done. She replied that she was not, and requested Viola to succeed her as the crown princess before Luffy broke her out of the palace. The citizens of Dressrosa were outraged at what they believed to be a kidnapping, and chased after Luffy and Rebecca. The Marines shot at Luffy, but collapsed due to Mansherry drawing their blood. Luffy dropped Rebecca off at Kyros' house, where she confronted him as he was about to leave the island. Kyros stated that she should not live with him because of the crimes he had committed, but Rebecca replied that she did not care as she embraced her father, wanting to live together with him. Back in the palace, Viola told Doldo about Rebecca's decision.

Meanwhile, the gladiators took out the Marines in the Straw Hats' way, allowing them to go to the eastern port, and the Tontattas had stolen many of the Marines' weapons while Leo had stitched together their battleships and Mansherry had weakened all the blood donors. However, Law disappeared, and Fujitora arrived to confront the criminals right as Luffy was returning from his detour. Law had gone to talk with Sengoku, revealing that he was the boy that Corazon saved. Sengoku reminisced about Corazon's actions, and Law questioned him about the importance of the D. in his name, but Sengoku brushed it off. Deciding not to arrest Law, Sengoku told the pirate to live free like Corazon had wished. Meanwhile, Fujitora lifted up a large amount of rubble to crush his opponents, and as Law and Luffy returned to their comrades, Luffy refused to run away from Fujitora and punched him instead.

The two began fighting, with Fujitora being annoyed and amused by Luffy telegraphing his attacks. He slammed Luffy into the cliffs around the shore, and Hajrudin grabbed Luffy as the Straw Hats and their allies ran toward the dock. They were still threatened by Fujitora's rubble, but before he could crush them, a mob of Dressrosa citizens ran past him, claiming to want to apprehend Luffy themselves for what happened to Rebecca. In reality, they knew the truth about Rebecca and wanted to protect the Straw Hats from Fujitora, and he withheld his attack. The gladiators took the Straw Hats and Law to Orlumbus' ship, the Yonta Maria, and the seven groups among them, the Beautiful Pirates, Barto Club, Happo Navy, XXX Gym Martial Arts Alliance, Tonta Corps, New Giant Warrior Pirates, and Yonta Maria Grand Fleet, all pledged to become subordinate to the Straw Hats and serve them. Luffy rejected their offer, as he wanted to sail freely on the seas without having to command anyone. In response to this, the crews made the decision to still serve Luffy, but only when he needed them to, and consumed sake cups to form the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. They came under attack by a pirate alliance who had come to take revenge on Luffy for taking down Doflamingo, but were saved when Fujitora dropped the rubble on the enemy pirates. They then feasted to celebrate the fleet's formation as they departed from Dressrosa.

Dressrosa returned to peace under King Riku's rule, and a new era began as the citizens began coexisting with the Tontatta Tribe. CP-0 came to Dressrosa, among them being Rob Lucci and Spandam, only to find the Revolutionaries gone with Doflamingo's weapons. Elsewhere, the Marines set sail for Impel Down, and Fujitora stated that he would take a trip while he was currently barred from entering Marine bases. Below deck, Doflamingo talked to Tsuru, saying that his downfall would plunge the world into chaos as various groups would aim for the top and destabilize the current system of power, but she paid no mind to his words. Behind the Marine fleet, a pirate ship approached, and its captain, Jack, was intent on going to rescue Doflamingo despite the powerful Marines in the fleet.

After the feast, Luffy had given pieces of his Vivre Card to the Grand Fleet members as well as Bellamy, who went off on his own. The Straw Hats and Law sailed to Zou on the Barto Club's ship, the Going Luffy-senpai, and they discovered that they had all received bounty increases. As they examined their new wanted posters, they noticed with surprise that Sanji was now wanted "Only Alive".

Story Impact

 * Many characters make their first appearances after the time skip. The characters (in the order they were reintroduced) are: Jewelry Bonney, Brannew, Sakazuki, Bellamy, Jesus Burgess, Bastille, Sabo, Koala, the Five Elders, Urouge, Capone Bege, X Drake, Sengoku, Tsuru, Spandam, and Hattori.
 * The Dwarves race is introduced through the Tontatta Tribe.
 * The Donquixote Pirates are defeated by the Straw Hats, Law, and an alliance made up of pirates and other fighters that had taken part in the Corrida Colosseum match for the Mera Mera no Mi, as well as the Tontatta Tribe. Doflamingo's reign on Dressrosa is brought to an end and he is arrested and stripped of his Warlord title.
 * Doflamingo's SMILE Factory is destroyed, putting an end to Kaido's SMILE production. Kaido's crew hears this news, though Kaido does not until the Zou Arc.
 * All of Doflamingo's other Underworld businesses are brought down as well, most notably his arms dealership. This causes some groups that purchased weapons from him to swear revenge on the Straw Hats and Law.
 * The Riku Family, led by Riku Doldo III, retakes the throne after Doflamingo unseated them a decade ago After Doldo's granddaughter Rebecca abdicates her position to live with her father Kyros, his second daughter Viola becomes next in line for the crown.
 * After centuries of not interacting with the people of Dressrosa save for being subjugated by the Donquixote Family, the Tontatta Tribe reveals their existence and live openly alongside the people of Dressrosa.
 * Because of his alliance with Luffy, Law's Warlord title is revoked.
 * Law reveals that his alliance with the Straw Hats and plan to take out Doflamingo's SMILE trade was only to kill Doflamingo and avenge Law's mentor and Doflamingo's brother Rosinante, rather than to weaken and take down Kaido as he had told the Straw Hats. However, Luffy rejects Law's ending of their alliance, and the two of them end up taking down Doflamingo themselves and surviving, leaving little option but to go on to face Kaido.
 * After defeating Doflamingo, six groups that fought alongside the Straw Hats - the Beautiful Pirates, Barto Club, Happo Navy, New Giant Warrior Pirates, and Yonta Maria Grand Fleet - in addition to the Tontatta Pirates of the Tontatta and the newly-formed XXX Gym Martial Arts Alliance, pledge their allegiance to the Straw Hats and form the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, although Luffy leaves them free to act on their own accord.
 * Every Straw Hat's bounty is raised after Doflamingo's defeat. Luffy's new bounty is 500,000,000, Zoro's is 320,000,000, Usopp's is 200,000,000, Sanji's is 177,000,000, Robin's is 130,000,000, Franky's is 94,000,000, Brook's is 83,000,000, Nami's is 66,000,000, and Chopper's is 100.
 * Sanji's bounty poster now has a photograph of his face. However, his conditions unusually specify him to be turned in "Only Alive".
 * Usopp's bounty poster now identifies him by his real name.
 * Bartolomeo mentions that all the pirates who helped Luffy take down the Donquixote Pirates received raises of 50,000,000.
 * Caesar Clown remains in the Straw Hats' custody after Doflamingo reneges on the deal to return him. Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Brook take him and Momonosuke to Zou with the help of Law's Vivre Card to keep the two of them from Doflamingo while the rest of the alliance finishes business on Dressrosa.
 * They are chased for a time by the Big Mom Pirates, who are pursuing Caesar because he owes money to Big Mom.
 * Capone Bege is shown affiliated with the Big Mom Pirates.
 * They later arrive at Zou, where they chase away some of Kaido's crew before discovering something.
 * Luffy activates Gear Fourth for the first time, which grants him both speed and strength.
 * Usopp awakens Kenbunshoku Haki.
 * Kin'emon rescues his comrade Kanjuro from imprisonment.
 * The Donquixote Pirates are antagonistic toward the samurai due to having an interest in capturing Momonosuke, the reason for which is explained in the Zou Arc.
 * The Donquixote Family and the Nefertari Family are revealed to be two of the 20 royal families that founded the World Government. Doflamingo's immediate family lived as World Nobles on Mary Geoise until Doflamingo was a child and his father relinquished their position.
 * Law is revealed to carry the Will of D., with his full name being "Trafalgar D. Water Law". Rosinante stated that the carriers of D. are stated to be the "natural enemies of God", and indicated that Doflamingo seems to fear the D. because he considers himself a god as a World Noble.
 * Kaido makes his first appearance as he jumps from a Sky Island onto the Kid Pirates' hideout, where he confronts Kid, Apoo, and Hawkins. He states his intention of using the SMILEs to wage war on the world to make it less mundane.
 * X Drake is revealed to be affiliated with Kaido's crew.
 * Kaido's subordinate Jack prepares to rescue Doflamingo from his prison convoy.
 * Sabo appears for the first time in the present day, having survived the destruction of his pirate ship and becoming the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army. He wins the Mera Mera no Mi in the Corrida Colosseum and swears to protect Luffy after not remembering him and Ace for a decade.
 * Koala appears for the first time in the present as a Revolutionary. She and Hack steal Doflamingo's smuggled weapons for the Revolutionaries.
 * One of the two new Marine Admirals, Fujitora, debuts, while the other one, Ryokugyu, is mentioned.
 * Fujitora reveals his intention to end the Seven Warlords system, which comes to fruition in the Wano Country Arc.
 * Fujitora is punished by Sakazuki for revealing to the world that the Straw Hats defeated Doflamingo. After failing to capture Luffy and Law afterwards, the admiral becomes prohibited from entering any Marine Base.
 * Absalom is revealed to be working as a reporter under the nickname "Absa". He exposes Kid, Apoo, and Hawkins' alliance to the world.
 * The alliance is revealed to be going after Shanks.
 * Buggy is revealed to have become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
 * CP-0, the strongest Cipher Pol unit, makes its debut.
 * Rob Lucci, Spandam, and Hattori are revealed to have joined it.
 * Kuzan is revealed to have joined forces with the Blackbeard Pirates.
 * More information about Devil Fruits is revealed:
 * The Devil Fruit reincarnation cycle is explained, after being previously glimpsed in the Punk Hazard Arc.
 * Devil Fruit powers can be "awakened" with sufficient training and expertise. Doflamingo demonstrates the ability to turn other materials into strings with his fruit awakening.
 * The Ope Ope no Mi is considered the "ultimate" Devil Fruit for its ability to make one immortal at the cost of the user's life.
 * More information about Haki is revealed.
 * When two Haoshoku Haki users clash, they generate an effect resembling black lightning.
 * Busoshoku Haki can be depleted through overuse, requiring a recharge period afterwards.

Trivia

 * With 102 chapters, this is the longest arc in the manga to date, surpassing the Skypiea Arc.
 * This is also the longest arc in the anime to date, surpassing the Whole Cake Island Arc, with 118 episodes.
 * Starting after Chapter 730, Sanji, Nami, Brook, Chopper, Caesar, and Momonosuke are absent from the manga all the way until Chapter 795, amounting to 620 days of publication time (1 year, 7 months, and 25 days).

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