User blog:JustSomeDude.../Why the History of Dressrosa Matters

With the end of this week's chapter (709), it seems we're finally going to get some background information on Dressrosa. I can already predict that while the next couple chapters cover Thunderous Soldier of Rage telling Franky the story, people are going to complain. They're going to complain that these chapters are "boring" or that they "wanna see the tournament". Well, guess what? The tournament isn't the only plotline in this arc, and it's important to the other plotlines that we get background information on the island. And personally, I think we've gotten so much over-exposure to the colosseum with the majority of chapters in the arc so far revolving around it, and many of those featuring no Straw Hats besides Luffy. This break between rounds is a great time to show us more of the island.

The most important reason that we need the history of the island is that we really, really need to learn more about Doflamingo, as the island's history is closely tied to his own. It seems no matter where you go on the island, there's Doflamingo or his influence. No doubt, how Doflamingo came into power greatly changed the fabric of the island down to its core. In Chapter 705, Oda broke down the various plotlines into "scenes", and I'll break down my points into those scenes.

Scene 1- Corrida Colosseum (The tournament, gladiators, and Franky & Thunderous Soldier of Rage)


 * On the surface, we actually already know the reason for the tournament: to distract and exploit Luffy. But there are other things going on at the tournament too. The most peculiar thing I've seen at the tournament is how people react to gladiators such as Kyros, Ricky, and Rebecca: They're reminded of something they've seen before, but just can't seem to remember. How does an entire country forget something like that? And why do Rebecca and Ricky hate Doflamingo so much? (A lot of people are saying that Ricky is Kyros, but I don't think that's right. They're related in some way, but I think Kyros genuinely disappeared 20 years ago.) I think Doflamingo (and Diamante) did something to push genuine Gladiators out of the colosseum, and rig it for his own money-making schemes. But how he made people forget about gladiators, I don't know.


 * With Franky & Thunderous Soldier of Rage, one of my biggest questions is "Why is he called 'Thunderous Soldier of Rage'?" He seems like a pretty nice and agreeable guy to me, but he's an outlaw to the Dressrosa Police, and he seems to be yet another person here with a hatred for Doflamingo. He also appears to be a key figure in some kind of rebellion (I hope to god that it's a rebellion of adorable toys!) against Doflamingo. The liberation of workers from the SMILE factory is key to that, which makes me suspect that SMILE factory is where Doflamingo forces dissidents to work as slave labor/prisoners. TSoW is also the first person to say that Dressrosa, a country that looks perfect from the outside has a "tragic history". That fact alone makes me very curious to see what he has to say.

Scene 1.5- Fujitora and the Marines
 * Since they left the colosseum, the Marines don't quite fit with the other scenes. But the fact that they are here is very important. Who knows which side they'll take on Dressrosa. On the one hand, they don't seem very keen on Law's activities, but on the other Law is a Shichibukai, and Doflamingo isn't anymore. Which side they take here is key. And the presence of CP-0 is another factor: Cipher Pol is a political weapon, not a fighting force meant for deployment like the Marines. Their presence suggests there's even more at work here, and it's in the political field.

Scene 2- Caesar Exchange Team
 * This team features Law, which means that if the connection between Law and Doflamingo gets explored, it will be in this scene. Because of this connection and the importance of Caesar to Doflamingo, I think Doflamingo is likely to make his appearance during the exchange. This scene should also explore the history of Dressrosa and Green Bit, as well as the fighting fish & the iron bridge. (Side-thought, if the "little fighting fish" of the colosseum are already the size of men, how big are the ones that aren't little?!)

Scene 3- The Fairy and Zoro
 * According to the Toys, Fairies have always been on Dressrosa. Who they are, and why they're stealing things all the time likely has ties to the island's history as well.

Scene 4- Kin'emon: Alone and Astray
 * The connection between the Samurai and Doflamingo is a mysterious one. As far as I can tell, the Samurai were headed to Zo, shipwrecked, and ended up on Dressrosa. As far as I can tell, none of those things add up to being the target of Doflamingo's wrath. One thing is for sure though, since Momonosuke hallucinated Doflamingo back on Punk Hazard, Momo has personally seen Doflamingo, which means Doflamingo is directly involved in their conflict. Whatever happened, Doflamingo's men have Kanjuro, and they have Kin'emon literally under the gun right now.

Scene 5- Sanji, In Love
 * As the only human citizen of Dressrosa we really know of that's not allied with Doflamingo, how Violet fits into the history could be very interesting. The one thing we've learned about her is that she wants someone in the next town dead, and the police are after her for stabbing a man. There was also a sniper who was wearing the same pants as Doflamingo's lackeys that confronted Kin'emon that Sanji took out in chapter 705. There are two conclusions I can draw from this: (1) Doflamingo is after Violet, and/or she wants someone in Doflamingo's organization dead (Possibly the man himself). (2) If you look at the panel in 705 where we see down the sniper's scope, he is aiming neither at Violet nor Sanji. It's entirely possible that Violet exists as a way to trap Sanji, who's identity and personality has been learned by Doflamingo after the PH broadcast and/or from Vergo.

Scene 6- The Sunny-Go Safety and Security Team
 * I actually forgot about this scene for the last few weeks, which is a shame because it's the best cliffhanger we got out of 705. There's an intruder on the Sunny who while rummaging through the men's quarters has said "No, no, this won't do!" We know nothing more than that. It's impossible to know for sure how this could possibly relate to the history of Dressrosa, since we don't know who this person is. But here are my theories anyways: (1) Someone from Doflamingo's crew has come to fuck things up. I think it would be too soon for this though, and I would expect a soldier to just fight the Straw Hats on the boat rather than break into the Ship (2) An unknown citizen from Dressrosa, such as a toy or another Fairy, has come to steal stuff from the Sunny. There's nothing wrong with this theory that I can see, it's just impossible to know. (3) This last theory is one my favorite theories I've come up with since the arc has started. When the Samurai came to Dressrosa, there were actually Four of them. They were shipwrecked and only Momonosuke, Kin'emon, and Kanjuro made it to the island, and the fourth one was assumed to have died. However, it's entirely possible that the fourth Samurai actually survived and is on the Sunny right now looking for supplies. (Or Kanjuro has already escaped Doflamingo's clutches)

So there's my breakdown of why these next few chapters will be actually important. So please, over the few weeks consider the possibilties of awesome plot development we can get from learning the history of the island, and don't just complain that you think the backstory is "lame" compared to the Corrida Colosseum.