This chapter was definitely simpler than many that came before it, but it provided quite a bit of information we needed that was quite more groundbreaking than it looks.
Apparently we don't need to pull the Sugar Effect on Mont-d'Or, as it turns out burning the books works quite fine, though I am a bit appalled by how injured Luffy and Nami are. How far did the flames have to go? But anyways, the Sweet Escape has begun, because the Straw Hats definitely wanna get away. And speaking of getting away...
Pudding's DF becomes all for naught after Sanji tells Reiju what really happened, and her acceptance of it seems a bit contrived...until we find out what happens next. There's no frills to it, no enemy of my enemy is my friend mentality, they're just going to leave the Vinsmokes out to dry while Sanji escapes. And they definitely do deserve it, with the exception of Reiju, but it's made more than clear that her death will be a heroic sacrifice not quite unlike what her similar-looking mother planned. And that is where we get the whammy on Sanji's flashback: him remaining human was all part of a successful gambit from his mother, who died in the process. Sanji's mom seemed a bit boring the last time we saw her, but now she basically takes the driver's seat of Sanji's entire story. I really enjoy this plot of Judge, ever the scientist, making his children into scientific experiments while his wife understands that humanity should trump all. And to top it off, the wife's name is Sora. Oh Oda, you clever bastard. I do wonder how the newspaper got the name for the comic though.
Other than that, not really much to the chapter; Luffy chokes Opera's unnamed brother, Smoothie does some stuff and yeah that's it. Pretty exciting material to wrap around the meat and bones of the chapter, which was the truth about Sanji's past. Overall this was a really great chapter, and I love Sanji's flashback a lot, even if it might have been disjointed a bit. Sad there's no break next week, though I am a bit busy. What did you think of it?