Chapter 703

Chapter 703 is titled "Waiting Room".

Cover Page
Color Spread: Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook are on a broken boat surrounded by sharks and a giant squid

Short Summary
After finding out that his brother's Devil Fruit is being offered as the prize in the Colosseum, Luffy makes it his mission to win the tournament and claim the fruit to prevent anyone from taking it.

Meanwhile, Zoro is still chasing the thief that took his sword and Sanji catches up to him only to get distracted by a dancer named Violet who asks him to hide her from the police because she stabbed her lover who cheated on her. Sanji, being lovestruck says it is all right since he never says no to a crying woman.

Relieved, Violet asks Sanji to protect her until she gets to the next town because there is a man there she wants him to kill. Luffy and Franky reach the colosseum where upon Franky's advice Luffy enters with a fake name "Lucy" so that no one will recognize him.

In the waiting room, some of the large contestants looks at Luffy with amusement while one of them takes his appearance as an insult and proceeds to attack him, but Luffy answers back by giving him a brutal shoulder flip, breaking the floor. The other contestants are rendered speechless as Luffy greeted them.

Long Summary
A member of the Donquixote Pirates explains to Luffy and Franky that while a particular Devil Fruit can't exist in more than one place at a time, the fruit will naturally grow somewhere else in the world should the user die. After Ace's death, Doflamingo was somehow able to acquire the reincarnated Mera Mera no Mi. Luffy declares he wishes to possess it, and asks Franky if he'd like to eat it. Franky denies, stating that he'd like to retain his ability to swim. Luffy explains that he can't eat it himself due to the Gomu Gomu No Mi, but that he doesn't want to let just anyone have his brother's fruit. Franky comments that this may be a ploy by Donquixote Doflamingo, but it's not a chance Luffy should pass up. They decide to run off to enter the colosseum.

Meanwhile, Zoro is running around looking for who stole his sword. Sanji chases after him trying to convince him to let the sword go, before getting distracted by a beautiful dancer. Zoro warns him that the women of the country are rumored to stab people, but Sanji blissfully disregards this as he is mesmerized by her beauty. Sanji eventually loses sight of Zoro in the midst of his antics, and resolves that this is a good opportunity to just leave him here. Looking at all the couples, he fawns over the possibility of Robin and Nami falling in love with him, until the dancer approaches him. She asks Sanji to hold her, and amid his confused reaction she hugs him tightly as soldiers run past; looking for her. The dancer thanks Sanji and lets him go, but notices his heavy nose bleed, and apologizes for hurting him. Sanji is immediately love struck by her caring nature, but she tells him that she gave up on love. She begins to imply something about all the men that have been with her in the past, but Sanji is only concerned with helping her from the men chasing her. The dancer says that they are policemen, chasing her for stabbing her former loved one. Sanji is awestruck at the rumors of the passionate love of the island being true, but immediately brushes this off in favor of helping her. She states that being so willing to forgive an evil woman like her could make her fall in love with Sanji, fueling Sanji's comical infatuation even more. She finally reveals that her name is Violet, asking for Sanji's protection on her travel to the next town. Furthermore, there's a man that she wants Sanji to kill.

Arriving at the Corrida Colosseum, Luffy and Franky are amazed by its size, prompting Franky's will to fight as well. They then see police officers chasing a wanted One-Legged Toy Soldier, before he jumps up to one of the windows and enters the colosseum. He explains that by law the police and Marines are not allowed into the colosseum, even if they witness a criminal inside. He also says that the only ones who can execute their rules in the colosseum are the Donquixote Pirates, and that they would be the criminals should they attempt to fire on him now. After the police officers leave, the soldier jumps down and notices Luffy's beard. Believing he is an old man, he offers to help Luffy and Franky with their luggage. Franky wonders about the criminal's polite manners all of a sudden, while Luffy is highly amused. Pleased at Luffy's delight, he starts to laugh and pose randomly, entertaining Luffy further. Franky then asks him to move from their way, and the toy is shocked to learn that he is impeding them. Franky again questions his behaviorial changes, and the toy explains that he did it to entertain people, as it is the toys' purpose.

An announcer calls for the the closing of public registration for the event, though he laughs at the notion of someone from the public signing up. Luffy announces his intention to join, as he rushes through a crowd of both worried and skeptical faces. As he makes it to the registration desk, Franky advises him to use an alias. Although Luffy acknowledges this, he still comes very close to giving his real name before Franky interrupts him with a punch to the back of the head. Luffy officially enters the competition as "Lucy". The announcer escorts him to the contestants' waiting room, where he sees many gladiators warming up. The gladiators, believing him to be an old man, belittle him immediately. However one in particular, an extremely large warrior named Spartan, takes offense that someone weak would enter the colosseum where people come to to see strong fighters battle. He tries to attack Luffy, who quickly evades and flips Spartan - knocking him out to the shock of the surrounding gladiators.

Chapter Notes

 * The phrase on the color spread, "We'll send an SOS to the world", is a reference to the song "Message in a Bottle" by the rock band The Police.
 * Just as Doflamingo predicted, Luffy decides to get the Mera Mera no Mi, not wanting just anyone to eat it. He offers the fruit to Franky, but he declined, wanting to keep his ability to swim.
 * Zoro separates from Sanji who meets a dancer named Violet.
 * Violet is fleeing from the police after stabbing her lover and she wants Sanji's help to kill a certain man.
 * According to the One-legged Soldier, only the Donquixote Family's law exists in the Corrida Colosseum. The police and the Marines are not allowed in the colosseum and they can't use their authority.
 * Luffy enters the tournament under the alias "Lucy" to win the Mera Mera no Mi.
 * Luffy easily defeats a contestant named Spartan.

Characters

 * first introduction


 * first appearance

Arc Navigation
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