Chapter 721

Chapter 721 is titled "Rebecca and Soldier-san".

Cover Page
Caribou's Kehihihihi in the New World Vol. 38 - "Drink this, leader Scotch!".

Short Summary
Luffy listens as Rebecca explains to him about her relationship with the toy soldier whom Luffy met when he first came to the island. The toy soldier was her guardian when her mother died, and raised her in her childhood. When the stadium repairs are completed, Rebecca hears her queue and proceeds to the ring, leaving Luffy with the imprisoned gladiators for company.

As she walks with the other combatants to the ring, Rebecca recalls her past when she was little. As a young girl, she helped her mother Scarlett sell flowers for a living. When the kingdom soldiers pillaged their own country, they managed to escape to safety with the help of Thunder Soldier. Eventually, Scarlett lost her life trying to get food for Rebecca and Thunder Soldier failed to protect her. The toy soldier then vowed to protect the young daughter of the woman he failed to save. It was at that time that Doflamingo became king and made the previous king the most hated man in the country. Over the years, the toy soldier protected Rebecca and when he became a wanted man, he taught Rebecca how to fight in order to protect herself.

As her flashback ends, Rebecca reaches the ring, where Gatz announces her arrival and the crowd send a torrent of boos and jeers at her, proclaiming her as the heir of her grandfather King Riku, the traitorous brute who pillaged their country years ago.

Long Summary
As Rebecca lies on the ground she begins to cry, when Luffy questions her, she explains to him that her friend the one-legged soldier Luffy met outside the colosseum is going to die. This bewilders Luffy, who finds her worries to be weird, what is more he also finds the fact that the toy is alive in the first place to be even weirder. Rebecca tells him that he like other outsiders to Dressrosa cannot really understand, but that the toys are the same as people and that they do wonderful things such as making friends with the friendless, becoming brothers to people without brothers and being lovers to those without people to love. She then explains how she is confused about the rule that a toy cannot live with a human, as since her mother died who was her only family, she was raised by "Mr. Soldier" as if he was her father. Gatz then announces that the arena has been fixed and the other gladiators warn Rebecca that the D block battle royale is about to start, Rebecca then notices Luffy eating food off of the ground and he explains that during the chaos earlier he dropped his food. He also apologizes that she had to pay for his food and that it tastes delicious, as Gatz also mentions over the announcement system, that the D block battle is full of veterans and as Rebecca leaves to participate she tells Luffy that she will meet him in the final match.

As she is walking to the arena along with the other competitors, Rebecca recalls living with her mother when she was young, specifically a day where she helped her mother sell some flowers and afterwards shared a meal together. After that she also recalls how the king's palace was burned and how she had to run away with her mother (whose name is revealed to be Scarlett) from their home, because they were being chased by people including Diamante. Fortunately they are able to escape with the help of a unidentified short person who is able to hold off the attackers and days later Scarlett goes to look for food, while she leaves Rebecca alone. Later, when Rebecca sees movement close by, she assumes it is her mother coming back with food, unfortunately it is the Thunder Soldier (who was the short person who had helped them earlier) carrying Scarlett's corpse. He then apologizes to Rebecca for being unable to protect her mother and gives her some food, Rebecca however starts to cry, but is quickly quieted by the toy as a group of armed men pass by, apparently looking for Rebecca. Later the Thunder Soldier tells Rebecca that her mother was an important person and that as her daughter she is also an important person and that as an important person the new king wants to capture her. He then tells her that since he could not protect her mother, her will protect her, even at the cost of his life. Rebecca however does not care and only wants her mother and when the toy tries to cheer her up, she leaves for her house, much to the Thunder Soldier's displeasure as her house is currently occupied by the new king's men. Back at the village it is revealed that Donquixote Doflamingo is the new king and that he had usurped the throne from the Riku royal family which had been governing for ages. It is also revealed that in recent years the previous regime of Dressrosa was hated by the citizens for taking too much money from them and that Doflamingo promised to bring wealth back to the country. The Thunder Soldier then tries to take care of Rebecca who is at first resistant, but overtime comes to accept him. He then finds a place for Rebecca to live and tells her that though he cannot live with her, to prove he is always with her he will drop one petal every morning from the window. Over the years the two are very happy together with the toy taking care of her, feeding her and protecting her from boys, though one day Rebecca is kidnapped and in rescuing her, the Thunder Soldier becomes a wanted person. The two then find another place to live and Rebecca promises to one day live in the same house as him, the toy also begins to teach Rebecca how to fight and protect herself.

The flashback ends with Rebecca stepping into the ring, thinking about how he always protected her, Gatz then announces the arrival of Rebecca as people both people boo at her, Rebecca then hopes that the Thunder Soldier will not die and promises that she will not lose.

Chapter Notes

 * Caribou has the upper hand in his fight with Scotch.
 * Rebecca's grandfather was the former king of Dressrosa and that is why she is hated by the citizens.
 * Rebecca's past is revealed. Ever since the death of her mother, Scarlett, the Thunder Soldier watched over her.
 * The arena is repaired and the block D battle royale is about to begin.