One Piece 36
Feb. 13th, 2014 11:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sara_tanaquilI really think anything I could possibly say about this volume would be a spoiler.
Volume 36: "Justice Number 9" (９番目の正義)
(That isn't supposed to make sense until the end of the volume.)
337
[Cover arc: while tunneling - all the way to China? - the earth guardian pops up in a place that looks AWFULLY familiar. Kohza!]
When the shipwrights interrupt Luffy's fight with Franky, Nami is thrilled, thinking they'll take Luffy's side.
Mozu (I think? hard to tell which one is speaking) is annoyed by the interruption (とんだ邪魔だわいな).
Franky tells Galley-La not to interfere in his fight. Tileston starts to yell at Franky for the damage he's caused, but Paulie tells him to back off. They have more important business to attend to. (Luffy: ?)
Luffy is completely bewildered when Paulie says he has a lot of nerve, coming here.
Franky: "It wasn't enough that you attacked my family (ウチの一家), you have to pick a fight with Galley-La too?"
[LOL, てめーら触れるものみな傷つける思春期？ "思春期" means puberty, so Viz pretty much nailed it with their translation: "Are you at that awkward age where you hurt everything you touch?"]
Also LOL: Franky would know, destructive adolescent brat that he was.
Luffy: "We didn't DO anything!"
To Luffy's shock, Paulie attacks him with his ropes.
Franky: "I TOLD you to stay out of this! I'm the one who's got a grudge here!"
The other shipwrights are preparing for battle, too. (They have their own "WARRIOR MODE ON" ritual. Haha, even the pigeon is ready for battle.)
Nami is horrified - why are the shipwrights attacking THEM?
At first, Luffy doesn't counterattack, saying he has no reason to fight Galley-La.
Franky attacks the shipwrights. "I said, he's MINE!" But the shipwrights easily beat him off.
Luffy asks them to tell him why, but they say they're the ones who ought to ask why. Why did he have to attack Iceberg?
Franky hasn't heard the news about Iceberg, apparently.
Luffy can't believe his ears, but Paulie says Iceberg told them himself that Nico Robin was one of the two people who attacked him. And Robin is a member of Luffy's crew.
Luffy and Nami are shocked to hear Robin's name.
Paulie says they don't understand why they did it, but they won't let them get away. The people listening are outraged, hearing that Luffy and Nami were behind the attack on Iceberg.
Franky asks if Iceberg is dead, but Paulie scoffs at the idea that Iceberg would let himself be killed by "these idiots."
Aw, Franky! Of course he'd be worried.
Kaku asks if they know the meaning of "Wanted, Dead or Alive." Pirates are outlaws who can be killed without consequence. The law won't protect them.
Luffy is furious that they would talk trash about Robin when they don't even know her. He asks to see Ice no Ossan, thinking it must be a misunderstanding.
[I love that Luffy always takes the most straightforward path to clear up any problem. Communication!]
Of course, the shipwrights have no intention of letting him get anywhere near Iceberg.
Someone in the crowd grabs Nami, saying they won't let any of the gang get away.
Paulie says their faces are already known all over town. None of the crew will escape.
The newspaper-criers are telling everyone to report anything they know or see of Mugiwara's crew.
From a nearby rooftop, Robin is watching.
338
[Cover arc: Gorou the hole-digger is Kohza's uncle, Toto's little brother. Aw! I didn't see that coming. Gedatsu, what are you looking at?]
Sanji and Chopper are screaming at each other at the top of their lungs.
"HEY, DID YOU HEAR THE AQUA LAGUNA IS COMING?" "YEAH, WE BETTER GET TO HIGH GROUND!"
They sneak a look over their shoulders, and make a run for it.
[LOL forever, it took me almost a full minute to figure out what they were doing. TOO ADORABLE.]
Usopp comes out of the Merry, looking puzzled — did someone just say something about a high tide? He notices that indeed, the wind and waves are getting pretty high.
Nami and Luffy keep insisting that neither they nor Robin would have had any reason to attack Iceberg, but Paulie doesn't care. He informs them they've made enemies of Galley-La, and all of Water 7.
Luffy keeps dodging their attacks, not wanting to fight them without a reason.
Franky, Mozu and Kiwi have pulled up a table to enjoy the spectacle - NOT. He's still mad at the shipwrights for attacking his prey.
He starts attacking the shipwrights again. The three-way fight is on.
Mozu & Kiwi: "Go get 'em wai na, aniki!"
Franky uses the attack which previously blew up half the shipyard (thus blowing up the other half): Coup de Vent.
[Franky's French is about as bad as Sanji's.]
Luffy and Nami take advantage of the chaos to escape (Luffy grabs Nami and tells her to hold on).
Mozu and Kiwi ask if it's ok to let them get away wai na, but Franky (whose hair is looking rather limp) says the Coup de Vent used up the last of his "fuel." He needs to recharge.
He's reluctantly impressed. Luffy might just be worth 100 million, after all.
The shipwrights (dusting themselves off) discuss how to go after Luffy and his crew. Without a functioning ship, the Strawhats' only way to get off the island is by train. They decide to use the information-gathering network of the entire shipwright union to search the city and hunt them down.
Kokoro, Chimney and Gonbe are headed for the dock of Water 7.
339
[Cover Arc: Everyone's off for a jaunt to the hot spring! (Karoo!)]
Nami tells Luffy that she can sense a storm coming, and in a water-based city, that means trouble. She says she'll try to find out more later.
They easily identify where Iceberg is being kept, but while Nami is still trying to come up with a clever plan to sneak Luffy in quietly, Luffy just charges right in, raising a huge uproar.
(Nami: …)
When Kalifa tells Iceberg that Luffy has apparently broken into the building, Iceberg says he has a request.
Kalifa signals Luffy to get his attention.
A moment later, standing outside Iceberg's door, she tells the pursuers that she hasn't seen the intruder.
Luffy is inside Iceberg's room, thanking him for letting him in. Iceberg tells him that it's true that he saw Robin. He only wants to know one thing - where is Robin? He needs to see her one more time.
Luffy says he doesn't know that himself.
A shot rings out. By the time the pursuers break into Iceberg's room, Luffy has gone out the window (Iceberg is fine - I think he was the one who shot at Luffy?).
Iceberg says he was stupid to think he could get at the truth so easily. He gives the order to arrest the entire crew.
Meeting up with Nami, Luffy says that Iceberg confirmed that Robin was the one who attacked him. But Luffy refuses to believe it.
At "Blueno's Bar" downtown, Franky and his girls have come to see the bartender.
"How're ya doing, Blueno? SUPER?"
Franky asks for a full tank of cola, as usual.
When Franky whines about Blueno asking for payment, Mozu says they've got 1 million beli left over from the day before. Franky is aghast to hear that he's actually got money LEFT. (カッコ悪！) He promptly tells everyone that drinks are on the house.
For the first time, Franky notices that Kokoro ("Kokoro no baba!") is drinking at the bar.
Chimney waves hello and asks if she can have another round of juice. Franky wants to know what Kokoro thinks she's doing, bringing a kid to a bar.
When FRANKY is the one enforcing the family values… aw, he's a good uncle. Also, I LOVE how he immediately spills his guts to Kokoro. Foster mom!
Franky sits right down and starts grousing about the day he's had.
"Oh yeah, business is great, but life sucks. This week's me sucks!" (今週のおれサイテーよ.)
After he recharges with cola, Franky feels much better (his hair recovers, too).
"SUPER!"
He stays to have a drink (or ten) with Kokoro. They talk about the attack on Iceberg. Franky says the word on the street is that pirates did it. Kokoro asks him if he really believes that. She suspects the World Government. Franky seems to know about Iceberg's frequent government visitor, too, but he doesn't think the guy is assassin material.
Kokoro is babbling drunkenly about a secret organization called CP-9. Their existence is a mere rumor because they always operate in the shadows.
[Jeez, drunk Japanese is hard to understand.]
In the back streets, Robin is meeting with someone whose face is in shadow. He tells her that she did well the night before, but the more important thing is what they have planned for tonight.
The unknown person doesn't mind if she ends up having to erase all the evidence. "Tom" was the one who had that thing, and the only one of his disciples left alive is Iceberg. Tonight, in the name of CP-9, they'll get their hands on IT. Keep in mind, this is a "mission for justice." (これは正義の任務だと心得ておけ.)
340
[Cover arc: the forest guardians have been busy building a great bath house.]
Luffy is still trying to jump about the city like Kaku, to Nami's very great wrath, since he's been dragging her with him.
(Love the little graphic of Kaku in Nami's dialogue.)
The loudspeaker is still broadcasting instructions for the evacuation of the lower city. Citizens are boarding up their homes and shops.
At Blue Station, every passenger boarding the train is being thoroughly searched.
Zoro figures out from looking at a newspaper why people have been chasing him all over town. Officially, only his face, Luffy's and Robin's are known.
[I had to look back at my earlier notes to remember that at this point, only Luffy, Zoro and Robin have wanted posters, and Robin's is from when she was 8 years old. Luffy got his after Arlong, and Zoro got his after Alabasta.]
Galley-La's agents are searching all over town. The innkeeper says their stuff is still in the room, maybe they'll be back. Other agents are searching the Merry. They think it's been abandoned, since Usopp is hiding offshore.
[I find it odd that when the others abandoned ship, they left the flag. Too much part of Merry's identity, perhaps?]
Sanji and Chopper are checking out a train timetable (neither of their faces were printed in the paper). The last train will be the 11 pm leaving for Enies Lobby. They wonder if Robin might be planning to escape by train.
Chopper wonders if he did something at the bookstore to make Robin mad. (Oh, Chopper. ;_;) Of course Sanji tells him not to be ridiculous.
Chopper seems to catch a whiff of something. Suddenly, they see Robin standing on the other side of the canal.
[There's something so poignant about this conversation conducted across the divide of the water.]
Sanji says they should head back to the inn ("Oh yeah… a lot's happened with us too"), but Robin says she's not coming back.
Sanji thinks she's worried about the story in the paper, but he assures her no one believed that. People hang false charges on pirates all the time.
Robin says that may be, but the paper didn't lie about her. She was the one who snuck into Iceberg's residence.
"There is a darkness in me you don't know. Someday, that darkness will destroy you."
Sanji remembers what Aokiji said, about how every organization Robin ever belonged to has been destroyed.
Robin says that she's planning to pin the crime on the Strawhats and disappear. The situation is only going to get worse… They've only known each other a short while, but today is the last time they'll ever see each other.
[Exact wording is worth quoting: 現に私はこの事件の罪をあなた達に被せて 逃げるつもりでいる。事態はもっと悪化するわ… 短い付き合いだったけど今日限りでもう 二度とあなた達と会うことはないわ.]
"Thank you, for being kind to a person like me until now." (こんな私に今まで良くしてくれてありがとう.)
"Farewell." (さようなら.)
Robin walks away. Sanji tries to dive into the water to go after her, but she's gone.
Wringing out his shirt, Sanji tells Chopper to get back to the others and tell them what Robin said. EVERYTHING she said - don't leave out a word. He needs to… take care of something.
Sanji so smart! I don't normally think of him as the brains of the operation, but he gets right away that Robin's carefully chosen words were important.
Luffy, Nami and Zoro (who caught up with them - or rather, apparently, he led a bunch of pursuers straight to them, haha Zoro) are hiding under a bridge, until Chopper sniffs them out.
They hide out on a rooftop, and Chopper delivers Robin's message, word for word.
Zoro draws a line in the sand (more or less literally). They should have seen this coming. They knew that Robin was an enemy when they let her join the ship. They can't simply let her run off on them now.
The time has come to determine once and for all whether that woman is an enemy, or a nakama.
341
[Cover Arc: "Ukkari Hot Spring Island" Tunnel Open For Business. Hee, the people of Alabasta imitating the earth guardian's V-salute.]
"Things are only going to get worse… Today is the last time we'll ever see each other."
Zoro asks Chopper if he's sure that's what Robin said.
When Chopper confirms it, Zoro says it sounds like Robin was deliberately informing them that sometime today, she was going to do something to make the situation worse. The only thing that could possibly be worse than an attempted assassination of the mayor would be a successful assassination of the mayor.
The only question that remains, is whether Robin is luring them into a trap or not. If they show up at the scene of a successful assassination, they're sure to be held responsible.
When Nami protests that it sounds like he's already made up his mind that Robin is guilty, Zoro says that they have to be completely neutral. If they let themselves be biased in either direction, and events prove them wrong, a split second lost to hesitation could be fatal.
Luffy agrees: tonight, they go to the scene of the crime.
Nami points out that Sanji and Iceberg both said they saw someone with Robin. Chopper wonders if the unknown figure could be forcing her to do something against her will, but again, Zoro says it could go either way. "Blessing" (吉), Robin is being coerced. "Curse" (凶), that figure is Robin's true nakama.
[This language is taken from o-mikuji, the fortunes you get at Shinto shrines.]
When Nami asks what their goal is then, Luffy doesn't hesitate. The goal is to catch Robin. They won't know the truth until they can talk to her.
(Chopper's 俺もがんばるぞ ["I'll do my best, too!] face is so cute!)
In town, Usopp is pleading with a shopkeeper (who is anxious to get to higher ground) to sell him some shipbuilding materials. Finally the guy gives in, even though Usopp doesn't have enough money to pay for everything. When he sees Usopp is too weak from his wounds to carry the lumber, he gives him some food, too.
("Ain't you got any nakama to help you?" Aw, Usopp! But ugly dude is a nice guy.)
Usopp, heartened by the food, tries to cheer Merry up as he works on the repairs.
"You'll be just fine! You're the ship that flew to the sky!"
*sniffle*
[Oh man… it just now occurred to me that all of the Strawhats have suffered loss, but Usopp is the only one who had to watch his mother die of a lingering illness. T_T]
At Blueno's Bar, Franky has finally worked himself back into a state to confront Luffy.
Blueno: What's up with him?
Kokoro: Who knows. I can never tell what that idiot is thinking.
Aw, family!
As night falls, the Galley-La forces prepare to pull back and retrench.
The shipyards have apparently been designated as refuge centers. Huddled inside, the people whisper and worry. Rumor has it there are 50 Strawhats. Maybe a hundred. Three thousand of them might be lurking off shore, just waiting to attack.
[Usopp would be so proud!]
Outside Galley-La headquarters, every available shipwright is standing guard. The five foremen of Dock One are stationed outside Iceberg's bedroom.
Iceberg is grateful for everyone stepping up to help. "I feel like a king." まるで王様だ.
Hee! ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
manga_crow once suggested that someday, the world government will be in the hands of Iceberg, Vivi and Dalton. I'd vote for them!
Kalifa asks about the wanted poster of Nico Robin on Iceberg's wall.
Iceberg: しらん方がいい。あれは、悪魔だ. ("Better you don't know. That thing is a demon.")
Perched in a tree outside Galley-La, Luffy and the others are watching for any change. We see what looks like Robin's boots, standing on another rooftop nearby.
342
[Cover arc: hee, the ero-crab from Alabasta is running a bus service to the hot spring island!]
Franky is stomping around town, looking for Luffy.
Kiwi and Mozu are right behind him, but they have to stand sideways to avoid the windshear (on account of the square hair).
They comment that Franky seems unusually upset. "Shaddup! That's just how I am this week!"
I'm not sure I understand why Franky is so upset, other than at Luffy, but I'm guessing it has to do with his conversation with Kokoro and his worries about Iceberg.
Zambai and the other underlings catch up with them. Zambai says that he saw the 弱々長っ鼻 (weak-weak long nose, poor Usopp! with illustration!) out by the ship alone doing repairs, so he figured Franky beat the rest up already.
Franky decides to go take Usopp hostage, while the rest of his men spread the word: "We have Longnose, come to the warehouse under the bridge if you want him to live!"
Inside Galley-La, Iceberg asks Kalifa to leave him and send Paulie in.
Iceberg and Paulie talk quietly, and Paulie agrees to accept something dangerous that Iceberg has asked him to do.
Paulie goes to take care of an "errand," leaving the other four shipwrights to guard the door.
Paulie goes to Iceberg's office and opens a hidden safe, which Iceberg told him how to find.
On the rooftop, Robin and a tall costumed man wearing a bear's head mask are waiting. (Judging from the costume, it's the same masked figure she was with before, although the mask is different.)
Robin is holding a den-den mushi, which rings. The person on the other end of the line says he's about to create a distraction. The "four" of them know what to do when they see the signal.
When an explosion goes off, Robin recognizes that as the signal.
Inside, someone yells that they've spotted an intruder. Tileston charges off in hot pursuit, followed by Lulu. Kaku and Lucci stay behind. (Kaku: まったく…)
A costumed figure with a whip, wearing a dress, is leading a merry chase inside the residence. The figure leaps up to a higher level, only to find another group of shipwrights waiting.
Outside, another gang are chasing Robin and the mystery bear.
The Strawhats waiting outside realize too late that Luffy has gone on ahead.
As Paulie pulls the object Iceberg sent him to get (a roll of papers?) out of the safe, a masked skeleton and bull-headed figure appear at the door, telling him to hand it over.
[OK, everyone got it straight? Robin, bear, whip person, skeleton, bull - five people in all ("the four" plus whoever was giving the orders).]
343
[Cover arc: The Alabasta royal coterie approach the baths, presided over by Gedatsu.]
(Kyaa! Vivi! Igaram! Chaka! PELL! I love that Igaram has the camera.)
Cobra's not with them. Is his health already failing? :-(
The guards appear to have Robin and the bear surrounded, but with a flash and a bang, they simply disappear.
The whip-user appears to be able to leap through thin air, easily evading and defeating his opponents. "Moon walk." (月歩)
Paulie is confronting the skeleton and the bull. When he asks who they are, the bull says they are people from the darkness, who execute justice. (闇より、しかし我々は… あくまで正義を遂行する者.) They are undercover organization Cipher-Pol #9.
When Paulie says they must have run into "our men" (ウチの職人達), the bull says "Maybe. Maybe not."
His hands are dripping with blood. The hall is heaped with bodies.
Obviously this is just supposed to be creepy, but I'm guessing the いた様な、いなかった様な comment has a double meaning. "Maybe they were. Maybe they weren't."
The bull again demands Iceberg's "precious item," and says that as a witness, Paulie will have to die.
Elsewhere inside Galley-La, Robin says that their destination is on the other side of the wall. The bear stands against the wall, and with a weird puzzle-piece effect, he swings aside and Robin steps through. The bear closes the "door" on the other side, and both are inside Iceberg's bedroom.
[Well, that explains how the attackers got in and out of a locked room the night before.]
The bear explains that he ate the door-door fruit (ドアドアの実).
[Is it time for the "stupidest devil fruit" conversation again? What was our previous leading contender - Alvida's slip-slip fruit?]
The bear pulls a gun and shoots Iceberg. Again. (Icebergggg!)
The bear explains his strategy using the metaphor of a professional chef.
Iceberg guesses (correctly) that Robin and the bear are agents of CP-9. He is dismayed to realize that he accused Luffy unjustly.
The bear says their goal all along (besides pinning the blame on some convenient pirates) was to discover the location of the blueprints to a certain ship.
Those blueprints have been passed down in secret by shipwrights, from generation to generation, master to disciple. If Iceberg thought his life was in danger, he would surely try to pass the plans along to someone.
The bear says he's going to deal with the shipwrights outside. He leaves Robin to "dispose" of Iceberg, but not until they get word from their confederates that the plans are in their hands. Afterwards, they'll eliminate Paulie too, and pin the blame for everything on the Strawhats.
Outside, Nami, Chopper and Zoro are thoroughly ticked off at their captain for jumping the gun, but they figure that once Luffy goes crashing through the front door, all eyes will be on him and they should be able to slip through the guards. They are dismayed to arrive at the gate and discover it very thoroughly guarded.
Meanwhile, Luffy is stuck between two buildings. He tried to jump, but didn't quite make it.
[This may be one of the funniest moments in the arc. Luffy!!]
When Tileston arrives back at the door of Iceberg's room, he finds the bear sitting quietly, and Kaku and Lucci lying in a pool of blood.
The bear is waiting for the signal to finish the job.
344
[Cover arc: Men's bath. Natsukashii! Ow, Pell, those are some nasty-looking scars. Also, the ero-camel! Looks like he managed to join the Spot-Billed Duck Squad after all.]
When Tileston attacks the bear, the bear invokes "Tekkai" (鉄境, "iron boundary"). Tileston's enormous hammer shatters against the bear's fist.
According to the wiki, this is similar to but not identical to Armament Haki, because (as far as we know) tekkai is a physical form of training that does not require haki to use.
The bear knocks Tileston out easily, with a single blow.
Back at the entrance, the Strawhats are running for their lives, but Zoro decides to stand and fight his way through the front entrance. He promises to use the blunt edge of the blades, since the shipwrights aren't to blame for any of this. (Nami and Chopper point out that he can still kill people with blunt force.)
Luffy finally manages to wriggle his way out of the place where he was stuck.
This time, he's determined to punch straight through. "Gomu-gomu no Rocket!"
Robin is watching over a severely wounded Iceberg.
Iceberg says he never expected they would meet like this. They've never met (before the previous night), but he always wanted to meet her.
He and Robin pull guns on each other, simultaneously. (Heh, Robin has more hands = more guns.)
Robin: "In order to kill me?"
Iceberg says yes, to kill her - before she can destroy the world.
She ought to know better than anyone that the government long ago decreed that seeking out, researching and deciphering the poneglyphs (歴史の本文) is a crime of the highest order.
Robin is surprised that he would even have heard of the poneglyphs.
Iceberg says that Robin is probably the only person on earth who still possesses the power to read them. That was why the government put a huge bounty on her head when she was only eight years old.
[I believe this is the first time that we learn why Robin got her bounty? Before, we just knew that the government saw her as a threat.]
Because, she is the only person on earth who has the ability to revive the ancient weapon. (お前が世界で唯一… 「古代兵器」を復活させられる女だからだ.)
If CP9 is behind all this, Iceberg deduces, Robin has already left the Strawhats and is working with the government. Not that he understands why a woman who spent her life being hunted by the government would be working for them.
Iceberg doesn't particularly care if Robin is good or evil. Simply having the power to awaken the weapon is enough. There is no way a weapon would be used to bring peace; the world would be destroyed. The "evils" of the past must not be invoked.
[Not that we know for sure, but the exact wording may be important here: 兵器が人の世にもたらすものが「平和」であるわけがねー 世界は滅ぶ. 過去の「異物」など呼び起こすべきではないんだ！ I very strongly suspect that it is NOT a coincidence that 異物 (foreign body, contamination) has the same pronunciation (ibutsu) as 遺物 (relics, remains).]
Robin says that she agrees, but it is none of his business how she researches history.
[Possibly also important in terms of word choice. 私がどういう形で歴史を探究しようとも.]
Iceberg says actually, he's in much the same position she is. Since he possesses the plans for the ancient weapon, Pluton.
[Robin was clearly unaware of this.]
Pluton, he explains, was a warship that was built on "this island" (この島 - Water 7?) long ago.
The shipwrights, fearing that the weapon was too strong, hit upon the idea of passing down the plans from generation to generation, so that there would always be the possibility of building a counter-weapon. The government wants those plans. He's shocked that she would have been cooperating with the government without knowing that much.
He says that Tom, the shipwright who passed the plans to him, had long worried about the existence of a young girl who was the lone survivor of "the Ohara incident" twenty years earlier.
[The first mention of Ohara, I believe?]
Tom believed that, although young, she was a dangerous child who shared the mindset of the "demons of Ohara." It is now Iceburg's responsibility to stop her, as the one who inherited the will of the shipwright(s).
[Hmmm. 製造者の意志を汲んだおれ. This isn't the first time we have seen the term ishi, "will of." 汲む is an interesting verb. It means to draw off, like water from a well, but also means to inherit a tradition, e.g. 流れを汲む.]
Now that the government knows of the existence of the blueprints, he would have liked to just burn them, but he can't. As long as Robin is alive, the possibility exists that she could reactivate the weapon (thus, the plans for a counter-weapon are still needed).
Iceburg tries to attack Robin with his gun, but she counterattacks with her devil fruit power.
With a gun held to his forehead, she asks him if that's all he wants to say before he dies. She points out one thing - even if he had succeeded in killing her, if the government gets their hands on those plans, the result will be the same in the end.
Iceberg says he does have one more thing to say. Robin and her fellows are the ones who have fallen into HIS trap.
Paulie is on his knees before the bull and the skeleton, dripping with blood. He collapses, saying he thought he could beat them.
The truth is, he says, Iceberg advised him to throw the documents away and run if he was attacked. After all, these are just a fake.
345
[Cover arc: the women's bath! Vivi's looking well.]
Paulie says whoever they are, their plan has failed. He himself doesn't even know what it is they're looking for.
The bull says that although Paulie was just a decoy, they still can't let him live.
Just at that moment, Luffy crashes through the wall. He's stuck… again.
"Rope guy! You okay? You're covered with blood."
"Are YOU okay? This is the third floor…"
Seeing the bull and the skeleton, Luffy concludes that since they're wearing masks, they must be the guys who told Robin to do stuff. Give her back!
[So much for being neutral - not that anyone could really expect that of Luffy.]
The skeleton attacks with a whirlwind kick (rankyaku, 嵐脚). The kick is powerful enough to split the wall.
Bending metal spikes, the bull secures both Luffy and Paulie to the floor with curved restraints.
The bull and the skeleton leave.
A signal goes out to Robin, the bear and the whip-person, telling them to gather in the bedroom and not to shoot Iceberg yet.
The whip-person knocks Lulu out with a single blow and leaps/flies away.
Paulie apologizes to Luffy for thinking that the Strawhats were the criminals.
Luffy says he doesn't mind, he's used to being hunted (ha!), but the masked guys took one of his nakama with them, so he came to get her back.
Paulie asks Luffy if he's strong enough to beat THEM. Luffy is sure that he is. In that case, Paulie says, they should fight together. He wants to beat them, too. He's PISSED that their Iceberg-san was almost killed by some idiots from god-only-knows-where.
He says he owes Iceberg everything. Iceberg made him the shipwright that he is. As badly hurt as he is, if he can make them pay, he doesn't care about what happens to his body after that. Luffy agrees to join forces. (He's fired up!)
Walking past the bodies outside Iceberg's room, the bull takes the hat from where it had fallen next to Lucci.
Robin and all four masked figures are standing in Iceberg's bedroom.
Iceberg tells them to go home. He has nothing for them.
The bull says that's a problem.
The pigeon flies to the bull, and lands on his shoulder.
"Where should I start…? Since you're a dying man…"
Each of the figures in turn removes their mask.
Lucci (bull): You let us down.
Kaku (skeleton): This is all your fault. You should have just given the government what they wanted.
Kalifa (whip-person): We would have liked to leave town without hurting you, if possible.
Blueno (bear): Did you get this stubbornness from your shishou?
All four are re-introduced as undercover agents of the secret organization, Cipher Pol 9. (Two page spread!)
Lucci (I think) adds something. What exactly does あなたの思慮深さには呆れて物も言えない mean? Viz has "You just had to go and make things difficult!" I make it literally "I'm shocked by the extent of your forethought." Is this a set phrase?
Lucci demands the location of the plans for the ancient weapon Pluton, before any more lives have to be needlessly sacrificed.
[Seriously one of the best reveals in all of One Piece. I never saw it coming.]
346
[Cover arc: Gedatsu got to be a blue sea guardian after all. Er, guarding a bath-house.]
Zoro assures them that he used the blunt edge of the blade, but Nami is still mad that he knocked all the shipwrights out. Chopper is filled with admiration. "Zoro's strong!"
Nami tries to lead the way, but of course Zoro goes the opposite way. ["Is it a miracle?" (奇跡), haha]
Luffy manages to wiggle out of his restraints using his rubber ability, and frees Paulie.
Lucci says they're been working undercover for the past five years. Not to worry, they did their day jobs well.
[I find him REALLY difficult to understand. Is he using excessively formal/polite Japanese? It's not super-keigo per se, but it seems very… ornate. Needless to say, he is now speaking in his own voice, not through the pigeon. I suspect the reason why the bull has been doing pretty much all the talking this whole time (besides the fact that he's the leader) is that Lucci's real, non-pigeon voice was the only one that wouldn't be recognized. The skeleton barely said a word, probably because Kaku's speech quirk would have been so easy to spot.]
[Along the same lines - I love the misdirection. Not only did I never guess that these awesome characters were all undercover agents, but the behavior and appearance of the costumed figures was designed to mislead, even if you did suspect them. A person might logically have suspected that the bull was Blueno (he kind of looks like a bull anyway), the whip-person was Kaku (he/she was able to do the flying through the air thing - although the fact that that figure was the only one wearing a dress might also have pointed to Kalifa). And for a while I thought Lucci was the bear.]
Since Iceberg knows about Cipher Pol, he presumably knows that there are 8 regular divisions, eight intelligence agencies scattered in bases around the world. Cipher Pol 9 is a ninth, super-secret division that enjoys certain… privileges. (特権)
In the name of justice, they take action against civilians who take an uncooperative attitude toward the government. They are licensed to kill.
Iceberg is disgusted by the idea of calling assassination "justice."
Lucci explains that a part of the government has changed its thinking. Rather than live in fear of the ancient weapon as they have been doing for centuries, they feel that it would be better to reactivate the weapon and use it to put an end to the "Great Age of Pirates," using it as a force for justice.
(Suddenly a lot of stuff about the various admirals' brands of justice is starting to make a lot more sense. Brrrrr.]
The way Lucci sees it, by refusing to cooperate, Iceberg is refusing to help the people around the world who are suffering at the hands of pirates. Iceberg thinks the damage would be vastly greater if the weapon were reactivated.
Lucci says that Iceberg doesn't seem to trust the government. Iceberg says that it's just that he knows human nature. "Brat (小僧)."
Lucci kicks Iceberg in the face.
"Watch your tongue. Do you think you're still my superior?"
He orders Kaku to take Iceberg's pulse. He wants to test out a certain theory they've come up with.
The fact that Iceberg risked the possibility of being killed while trying to pass along fake plans tells them that the plans have already been entrusted to another party.
For five years, they have been studying the movements of people around him. A person to whom he would entrust the plans would have to have the necessary skill.
Looking closely at the "fake" plans, they bear the signatures of three people: Tom, Iceberg, and one Cutty Flam (collectively, "Tom's Workers").
The identity of Tom's Workers has virtually been eliminated from the record, but an agent was able to confirm that Tom had two apprentices, and that one had died in an accident eight years before. Or… so they thought.
But, as sleeper agents who have been around a long time, they recall hearing the name Cutty Flam once, four years ago, when a certain man came to see Iceberg.
Their theory is that Cutty Flam is still alive, and living in Water 7, under the name of "Franky."
(Oh, poor Iceberg. His face!)
Kaku says it seems they weren't mistaken. Who would have suspected they were so closely connected?
Lucci says it was the perfect cover. But the rate of Iceberg's pulse tells him that they guessed right.
Nami, Chopper and Zoro are racing toward the door of Iceberg's bedroom.
Paulie is trying to get Luffy to break into the right room. (Luffy is seriously no better than Zoro.)
The CP-9 agents say they have no further need of Iceberg, now that they've discovered what they came to learn. The next step is to find Franky. (They are strangely courteous toward their old boss… courteous, but cold.)
Luffy busts through the wall into their midst, just as Zoro smashes through the door from the other side.
[Hee, now that's an entrance!]
Robin: Luffy.
Zoro: Luffy!!
Lucci: Damn nuisance. (邪魔を.)
TBC
Volume 36: "Justice Number 9" (９番目の正義)
(That isn't supposed to make sense until the end of the volume.)
337
[Cover arc: while tunneling - all the way to China? - the earth guardian pops up in a place that looks AWFULLY familiar. Kohza!]
When the shipwrights interrupt Luffy's fight with Franky, Nami is thrilled, thinking they'll take Luffy's side.
Mozu (I think? hard to tell which one is speaking) is annoyed by the interruption (とんだ邪魔だわいな).
Franky tells Galley-La not to interfere in his fight. Tileston starts to yell at Franky for the damage he's caused, but Paulie tells him to back off. They have more important business to attend to. (Luffy: ?)
Luffy is completely bewildered when Paulie says he has a lot of nerve, coming here.
Franky: "It wasn't enough that you attacked my family (ウチの一家), you have to pick a fight with Galley-La too?"
[LOL, てめーら触れるものみな傷つける思春期？ "思春期" means puberty, so Viz pretty much nailed it with their translation: "Are you at that awkward age where you hurt everything you touch?"]
Luffy: "We didn't DO anything!"
To Luffy's shock, Paulie attacks him with his ropes.
Franky: "I TOLD you to stay out of this! I'm the one who's got a grudge here!"
The other shipwrights are preparing for battle, too. (They have their own "WARRIOR MODE ON" ritual. Haha, even the pigeon is ready for battle.)
Nami is horrified - why are the shipwrights attacking THEM?
At first, Luffy doesn't counterattack, saying he has no reason to fight Galley-La.
Franky attacks the shipwrights. "I said, he's MINE!" But the shipwrights easily beat him off.
Luffy asks them to tell him why, but they say they're the ones who ought to ask why. Why did he have to attack Iceberg?
Franky hasn't heard the news about Iceberg, apparently.
Luffy can't believe his ears, but Paulie says Iceberg told them himself that Nico Robin was one of the two people who attacked him. And Robin is a member of Luffy's crew.
Luffy and Nami are shocked to hear Robin's name.
Paulie says they don't understand why they did it, but they won't let them get away. The people listening are outraged, hearing that Luffy and Nami were behind the attack on Iceberg.
Franky asks if Iceberg is dead, but Paulie scoffs at the idea that Iceberg would let himself be killed by "these idiots."
Kaku asks if they know the meaning of "Wanted, Dead or Alive." Pirates are outlaws who can be killed without consequence. The law won't protect them.
Luffy is furious that they would talk trash about Robin when they don't even know her. He asks to see Ice no Ossan, thinking it must be a misunderstanding.
[I love that Luffy always takes the most straightforward path to clear up any problem. Communication!]
Of course, the shipwrights have no intention of letting him get anywhere near Iceberg.
Someone in the crowd grabs Nami, saying they won't let any of the gang get away.
Paulie says their faces are already known all over town. None of the crew will escape.
The newspaper-criers are telling everyone to report anything they know or see of Mugiwara's crew.
From a nearby rooftop, Robin is watching.
338
[Cover arc: Gorou the hole-digger is Kohza's uncle, Toto's little brother. Aw! I didn't see that coming. Gedatsu, what are you looking at?]
Sanji and Chopper are screaming at each other at the top of their lungs.
"HEY, DID YOU HEAR THE AQUA LAGUNA IS COMING?" "YEAH, WE BETTER GET TO HIGH GROUND!"
They sneak a look over their shoulders, and make a run for it.
[LOL forever, it took me almost a full minute to figure out what they were doing. TOO ADORABLE.]
Usopp comes out of the Merry, looking puzzled — did someone just say something about a high tide? He notices that indeed, the wind and waves are getting pretty high.
Nami and Luffy keep insisting that neither they nor Robin would have had any reason to attack Iceberg, but Paulie doesn't care. He informs them they've made enemies of Galley-La, and all of Water 7.
Luffy keeps dodging their attacks, not wanting to fight them without a reason.
Franky, Mozu and Kiwi have pulled up a table to enjoy the spectacle - NOT. He's still mad at the shipwrights for attacking his prey.
He starts attacking the shipwrights again. The three-way fight is on.
Mozu & Kiwi: "Go get 'em wai na, aniki!"
Franky uses the attack which previously blew up half the shipyard (thus blowing up the other half): Coup de Vent.
[Franky's French is about as bad as Sanji's.]
Luffy and Nami take advantage of the chaos to escape (Luffy grabs Nami and tells her to hold on).
Mozu and Kiwi ask if it's ok to let them get away wai na, but Franky (whose hair is looking rather limp) says the Coup de Vent used up the last of his "fuel." He needs to recharge.
He's reluctantly impressed. Luffy might just be worth 100 million, after all.
The shipwrights (dusting themselves off) discuss how to go after Luffy and his crew. Without a functioning ship, the Strawhats' only way to get off the island is by train. They decide to use the information-gathering network of the entire shipwright union to search the city and hunt them down.
Kokoro, Chimney and Gonbe are headed for the dock of Water 7.
339
[Cover Arc: Everyone's off for a jaunt to the hot spring! (Karoo!)]
Nami tells Luffy that she can sense a storm coming, and in a water-based city, that means trouble. She says she'll try to find out more later.
They easily identify where Iceberg is being kept, but while Nami is still trying to come up with a clever plan to sneak Luffy in quietly, Luffy just charges right in, raising a huge uproar.
(Nami: …)
When Kalifa tells Iceberg that Luffy has apparently broken into the building, Iceberg says he has a request.
Kalifa signals Luffy to get his attention.
A moment later, standing outside Iceberg's door, she tells the pursuers that she hasn't seen the intruder.
Luffy is inside Iceberg's room, thanking him for letting him in. Iceberg tells him that it's true that he saw Robin. He only wants to know one thing - where is Robin? He needs to see her one more time.
Luffy says he doesn't know that himself.
A shot rings out. By the time the pursuers break into Iceberg's room, Luffy has gone out the window (Iceberg is fine - I think he was the one who shot at Luffy?).
Iceberg says he was stupid to think he could get at the truth so easily. He gives the order to arrest the entire crew.
Meeting up with Nami, Luffy says that Iceberg confirmed that Robin was the one who attacked him. But Luffy refuses to believe it.
At "Blueno's Bar" downtown, Franky and his girls have come to see the bartender.
"How're ya doing, Blueno? SUPER?"
Franky asks for a full tank of cola, as usual.
When Franky whines about Blueno asking for payment, Mozu says they've got 1 million beli left over from the day before. Franky is aghast to hear that he's actually got money LEFT. (カッコ悪！) He promptly tells everyone that drinks are on the house.
For the first time, Franky notices that Kokoro ("Kokoro no baba!") is drinking at the bar.
Chimney waves hello and asks if she can have another round of juice. Franky wants to know what Kokoro thinks she's doing, bringing a kid to a bar.
Franky sits right down and starts grousing about the day he's had.
"Oh yeah, business is great, but life sucks. This week's me sucks!" (今週のおれサイテーよ.)
After he recharges with cola, Franky feels much better (his hair recovers, too).
"SUPER!"
He stays to have a drink (or ten) with Kokoro. They talk about the attack on Iceberg. Franky says the word on the street is that pirates did it. Kokoro asks him if he really believes that. She suspects the World Government. Franky seems to know about Iceberg's frequent government visitor, too, but he doesn't think the guy is assassin material.
Kokoro is babbling drunkenly about a secret organization called CP-9. Their existence is a mere rumor because they always operate in the shadows.
[Jeez, drunk Japanese is hard to understand.]
In the back streets, Robin is meeting with someone whose face is in shadow. He tells her that she did well the night before, but the more important thing is what they have planned for tonight.
The unknown person doesn't mind if she ends up having to erase all the evidence. "Tom" was the one who had that thing, and the only one of his disciples left alive is Iceberg. Tonight, in the name of CP-9, they'll get their hands on IT. Keep in mind, this is a "mission for justice." (これは正義の任務だと心得ておけ.)
340
[Cover arc: the forest guardians have been busy building a great bath house.]
Luffy is still trying to jump about the city like Kaku, to Nami's very great wrath, since he's been dragging her with him.
(Love the little graphic of Kaku in Nami's dialogue.)
The loudspeaker is still broadcasting instructions for the evacuation of the lower city. Citizens are boarding up their homes and shops.
At Blue Station, every passenger boarding the train is being thoroughly searched.
Zoro figures out from looking at a newspaper why people have been chasing him all over town. Officially, only his face, Luffy's and Robin's are known.
[I had to look back at my earlier notes to remember that at this point, only Luffy, Zoro and Robin have wanted posters, and Robin's is from when she was 8 years old. Luffy got his after Arlong, and Zoro got his after Alabasta.]
Galley-La's agents are searching all over town. The innkeeper says their stuff is still in the room, maybe they'll be back. Other agents are searching the Merry. They think it's been abandoned, since Usopp is hiding offshore.
[I find it odd that when the others abandoned ship, they left the flag. Too much part of Merry's identity, perhaps?]
Sanji and Chopper are checking out a train timetable (neither of their faces were printed in the paper). The last train will be the 11 pm leaving for Enies Lobby. They wonder if Robin might be planning to escape by train.
Chopper wonders if he did something at the bookstore to make Robin mad. (Oh, Chopper. ;_;) Of course Sanji tells him not to be ridiculous.
Chopper seems to catch a whiff of something. Suddenly, they see Robin standing on the other side of the canal.
[There's something so poignant about this conversation conducted across the divide of the water.]
Sanji says they should head back to the inn ("Oh yeah… a lot's happened with us too"), but Robin says she's not coming back.
Sanji thinks she's worried about the story in the paper, but he assures her no one believed that. People hang false charges on pirates all the time.
Robin says that may be, but the paper didn't lie about her. She was the one who snuck into Iceberg's residence.
"There is a darkness in me you don't know. Someday, that darkness will destroy you."
Sanji remembers what Aokiji said, about how every organization Robin ever belonged to has been destroyed.
Robin says that she's planning to pin the crime on the Strawhats and disappear. The situation is only going to get worse… They've only known each other a short while, but today is the last time they'll ever see each other.
[Exact wording is worth quoting: 現に私はこの事件の罪をあなた達に被せて 逃げるつもりでいる。事態はもっと悪化するわ… 短い付き合いだったけど今日限りでもう 二度とあなた達と会うことはないわ.]
"Thank you, for being kind to a person like me until now." (こんな私に今まで良くしてくれてありがとう.)
"Farewell." (さようなら.)
Robin walks away. Sanji tries to dive into the water to go after her, but she's gone.
Wringing out his shirt, Sanji tells Chopper to get back to the others and tell them what Robin said. EVERYTHING she said - don't leave out a word. He needs to… take care of something.
Luffy, Nami and Zoro (who caught up with them - or rather, apparently, he led a bunch of pursuers straight to them, haha Zoro) are hiding under a bridge, until Chopper sniffs them out.
They hide out on a rooftop, and Chopper delivers Robin's message, word for word.
Zoro draws a line in the sand (more or less literally). They should have seen this coming. They knew that Robin was an enemy when they let her join the ship. They can't simply let her run off on them now.
The time has come to determine once and for all whether that woman is an enemy, or a nakama.
341
[Cover Arc: "Ukkari Hot Spring Island" Tunnel Open For Business. Hee, the people of Alabasta imitating the earth guardian's V-salute.]
"Things are only going to get worse… Today is the last time we'll ever see each other."
Zoro asks Chopper if he's sure that's what Robin said.
When Chopper confirms it, Zoro says it sounds like Robin was deliberately informing them that sometime today, she was going to do something to make the situation worse. The only thing that could possibly be worse than an attempted assassination of the mayor would be a successful assassination of the mayor.
The only question that remains, is whether Robin is luring them into a trap or not. If they show up at the scene of a successful assassination, they're sure to be held responsible.
When Nami protests that it sounds like he's already made up his mind that Robin is guilty, Zoro says that they have to be completely neutral. If they let themselves be biased in either direction, and events prove them wrong, a split second lost to hesitation could be fatal.
Luffy agrees: tonight, they go to the scene of the crime.
Nami points out that Sanji and Iceberg both said they saw someone with Robin. Chopper wonders if the unknown figure could be forcing her to do something against her will, but again, Zoro says it could go either way. "Blessing" (吉), Robin is being coerced. "Curse" (凶), that figure is Robin's true nakama.
[This language is taken from o-mikuji, the fortunes you get at Shinto shrines.]
When Nami asks what their goal is then, Luffy doesn't hesitate. The goal is to catch Robin. They won't know the truth until they can talk to her.
(Chopper's 俺もがんばるぞ ["I'll do my best, too!] face is so cute!)
In town, Usopp is pleading with a shopkeeper (who is anxious to get to higher ground) to sell him some shipbuilding materials. Finally the guy gives in, even though Usopp doesn't have enough money to pay for everything. When he sees Usopp is too weak from his wounds to carry the lumber, he gives him some food, too.
("Ain't you got any nakama to help you?" Aw, Usopp! But ugly dude is a nice guy.)
Usopp, heartened by the food, tries to cheer Merry up as he works on the repairs.
"You'll be just fine! You're the ship that flew to the sky!"
*sniffle*
[Oh man… it just now occurred to me that all of the Strawhats have suffered loss, but Usopp is the only one who had to watch his mother die of a lingering illness. T_T]
At Blueno's Bar, Franky has finally worked himself back into a state to confront Luffy.
Blueno: What's up with him?
Kokoro: Who knows. I can never tell what that idiot is thinking.
As night falls, the Galley-La forces prepare to pull back and retrench.
The shipyards have apparently been designated as refuge centers. Huddled inside, the people whisper and worry. Rumor has it there are 50 Strawhats. Maybe a hundred. Three thousand of them might be lurking off shore, just waiting to attack.
[Usopp would be so proud!]
Outside Galley-La headquarters, every available shipwright is standing guard. The five foremen of Dock One are stationed outside Iceberg's bedroom.
Iceberg is grateful for everyone stepping up to help. "I feel like a king." まるで王様だ.
manga_crow once suggested that someday, the world government will be in the hands of Iceberg, Vivi and Dalton. I'd vote for them!Kalifa asks about the wanted poster of Nico Robin on Iceberg's wall.
Iceberg: しらん方がいい。あれは、悪魔だ. ("Better you don't know. That thing is a demon.")
Perched in a tree outside Galley-La, Luffy and the others are watching for any change. We see what looks like Robin's boots, standing on another rooftop nearby.
342
[Cover arc: hee, the ero-crab from Alabasta is running a bus service to the hot spring island!]
Franky is stomping around town, looking for Luffy.
Kiwi and Mozu are right behind him, but they have to stand sideways to avoid the windshear (on account of the square hair).
They comment that Franky seems unusually upset. "Shaddup! That's just how I am this week!"
Zambai and the other underlings catch up with them. Zambai says that he saw the 弱々長っ鼻 (weak-weak long nose, poor Usopp! with illustration!) out by the ship alone doing repairs, so he figured Franky beat the rest up already.
Franky decides to go take Usopp hostage, while the rest of his men spread the word: "We have Longnose, come to the warehouse under the bridge if you want him to live!"
Inside Galley-La, Iceberg asks Kalifa to leave him and send Paulie in.
Iceberg and Paulie talk quietly, and Paulie agrees to accept something dangerous that Iceberg has asked him to do.
Paulie goes to take care of an "errand," leaving the other four shipwrights to guard the door.
Paulie goes to Iceberg's office and opens a hidden safe, which Iceberg told him how to find.
On the rooftop, Robin and a tall costumed man wearing a bear's head mask are waiting. (Judging from the costume, it's the same masked figure she was with before, although the mask is different.)
Robin is holding a den-den mushi, which rings. The person on the other end of the line says he's about to create a distraction. The "four" of them know what to do when they see the signal.
When an explosion goes off, Robin recognizes that as the signal.
Inside, someone yells that they've spotted an intruder. Tileston charges off in hot pursuit, followed by Lulu. Kaku and Lucci stay behind. (Kaku: まったく…)
A costumed figure with a whip, wearing a dress, is leading a merry chase inside the residence. The figure leaps up to a higher level, only to find another group of shipwrights waiting.
Outside, another gang are chasing Robin and the mystery bear.
The Strawhats waiting outside realize too late that Luffy has gone on ahead.
As Paulie pulls the object Iceberg sent him to get (a roll of papers?) out of the safe, a masked skeleton and bull-headed figure appear at the door, telling him to hand it over.
[OK, everyone got it straight? Robin, bear, whip person, skeleton, bull - five people in all ("the four" plus whoever was giving the orders).]
343
[Cover arc: The Alabasta royal coterie approach the baths, presided over by Gedatsu.]
(Kyaa! Vivi! Igaram! Chaka! PELL! I love that Igaram has the camera.)
The guards appear to have Robin and the bear surrounded, but with a flash and a bang, they simply disappear.
The whip-user appears to be able to leap through thin air, easily evading and defeating his opponents. "Moon walk." (月歩)
Paulie is confronting the skeleton and the bull. When he asks who they are, the bull says they are people from the darkness, who execute justice. (闇より、しかし我々は… あくまで正義を遂行する者.) They are undercover organization Cipher-Pol #9.
When Paulie says they must have run into "our men" (ウチの職人達), the bull says "Maybe. Maybe not."
His hands are dripping with blood. The hall is heaped with bodies.
The bull again demands Iceberg's "precious item," and says that as a witness, Paulie will have to die.
Elsewhere inside Galley-La, Robin says that their destination is on the other side of the wall. The bear stands against the wall, and with a weird puzzle-piece effect, he swings aside and Robin steps through. The bear closes the "door" on the other side, and both are inside Iceberg's bedroom.
[Well, that explains how the attackers got in and out of a locked room the night before.]
The bear explains that he ate the door-door fruit (ドアドアの実).
[Is it time for the "stupidest devil fruit" conversation again? What was our previous leading contender - Alvida's slip-slip fruit?]
The bear pulls a gun and shoots Iceberg. Again. (Icebergggg!)
The bear explains his strategy using the metaphor of a professional chef.
Iceberg guesses (correctly) that Robin and the bear are agents of CP-9. He is dismayed to realize that he accused Luffy unjustly.
The bear says their goal all along (besides pinning the blame on some convenient pirates) was to discover the location of the blueprints to a certain ship.
Those blueprints have been passed down in secret by shipwrights, from generation to generation, master to disciple. If Iceberg thought his life was in danger, he would surely try to pass the plans along to someone.
The bear says he's going to deal with the shipwrights outside. He leaves Robin to "dispose" of Iceberg, but not until they get word from their confederates that the plans are in their hands. Afterwards, they'll eliminate Paulie too, and pin the blame for everything on the Strawhats.
Outside, Nami, Chopper and Zoro are thoroughly ticked off at their captain for jumping the gun, but they figure that once Luffy goes crashing through the front door, all eyes will be on him and they should be able to slip through the guards. They are dismayed to arrive at the gate and discover it very thoroughly guarded.
Meanwhile, Luffy is stuck between two buildings. He tried to jump, but didn't quite make it.
[This may be one of the funniest moments in the arc. Luffy!!]
When Tileston arrives back at the door of Iceberg's room, he finds the bear sitting quietly, and Kaku and Lucci lying in a pool of blood.
The bear is waiting for the signal to finish the job.
344
[Cover arc: Men's bath. Natsukashii! Ow, Pell, those are some nasty-looking scars. Also, the ero-camel! Looks like he managed to join the Spot-Billed Duck Squad after all.]
When Tileston attacks the bear, the bear invokes "Tekkai" (鉄境, "iron boundary"). Tileston's enormous hammer shatters against the bear's fist.
The bear knocks Tileston out easily, with a single blow.
Back at the entrance, the Strawhats are running for their lives, but Zoro decides to stand and fight his way through the front entrance. He promises to use the blunt edge of the blades, since the shipwrights aren't to blame for any of this. (Nami and Chopper point out that he can still kill people with blunt force.)
Luffy finally manages to wriggle his way out of the place where he was stuck.
This time, he's determined to punch straight through. "Gomu-gomu no Rocket!"
Robin is watching over a severely wounded Iceberg.
Iceberg says he never expected they would meet like this. They've never met (before the previous night), but he always wanted to meet her.
He and Robin pull guns on each other, simultaneously. (Heh, Robin has more hands = more guns.)
Robin: "In order to kill me?"
Iceberg says yes, to kill her - before she can destroy the world.
She ought to know better than anyone that the government long ago decreed that seeking out, researching and deciphering the poneglyphs (歴史の本文) is a crime of the highest order.
Robin is surprised that he would even have heard of the poneglyphs.
Iceberg says that Robin is probably the only person on earth who still possesses the power to read them. That was why the government put a huge bounty on her head when she was only eight years old.
[I believe this is the first time that we learn why Robin got her bounty? Before, we just knew that the government saw her as a threat.]
Because, she is the only person on earth who has the ability to revive the ancient weapon. (お前が世界で唯一… 「古代兵器」を復活させられる女だからだ.)
If CP9 is behind all this, Iceberg deduces, Robin has already left the Strawhats and is working with the government. Not that he understands why a woman who spent her life being hunted by the government would be working for them.
Iceberg doesn't particularly care if Robin is good or evil. Simply having the power to awaken the weapon is enough. There is no way a weapon would be used to bring peace; the world would be destroyed. The "evils" of the past must not be invoked.
[Not that we know for sure, but the exact wording may be important here: 兵器が人の世にもたらすものが「平和」であるわけがねー 世界は滅ぶ. 過去の「異物」など呼び起こすべきではないんだ！ I very strongly suspect that it is NOT a coincidence that 異物 (foreign body, contamination) has the same pronunciation (ibutsu) as 遺物 (relics, remains).]
Robin says that she agrees, but it is none of his business how she researches history.
[Possibly also important in terms of word choice. 私がどういう形で歴史を探究しようとも.]
Iceberg says actually, he's in much the same position she is. Since he possesses the plans for the ancient weapon, Pluton.
[Robin was clearly unaware of this.]
Pluton, he explains, was a warship that was built on "this island" (この島 - Water 7?) long ago.
The shipwrights, fearing that the weapon was too strong, hit upon the idea of passing down the plans from generation to generation, so that there would always be the possibility of building a counter-weapon. The government wants those plans. He's shocked that she would have been cooperating with the government without knowing that much.
He says that Tom, the shipwright who passed the plans to him, had long worried about the existence of a young girl who was the lone survivor of "the Ohara incident" twenty years earlier.
[The first mention of Ohara, I believe?]
Tom believed that, although young, she was a dangerous child who shared the mindset of the "demons of Ohara." It is now Iceburg's responsibility to stop her, as the one who inherited the will of the shipwright(s).
[Hmmm. 製造者の意志を汲んだおれ. This isn't the first time we have seen the term ishi, "will of." 汲む is an interesting verb. It means to draw off, like water from a well, but also means to inherit a tradition, e.g. 流れを汲む.]
Now that the government knows of the existence of the blueprints, he would have liked to just burn them, but he can't. As long as Robin is alive, the possibility exists that she could reactivate the weapon (thus, the plans for a counter-weapon are still needed).
Iceburg tries to attack Robin with his gun, but she counterattacks with her devil fruit power.
With a gun held to his forehead, she asks him if that's all he wants to say before he dies. She points out one thing - even if he had succeeded in killing her, if the government gets their hands on those plans, the result will be the same in the end.
Iceberg says he does have one more thing to say. Robin and her fellows are the ones who have fallen into HIS trap.
Paulie is on his knees before the bull and the skeleton, dripping with blood. He collapses, saying he thought he could beat them.
The truth is, he says, Iceberg advised him to throw the documents away and run if he was attacked. After all, these are just a fake.
345
[Cover arc: the women's bath! Vivi's looking well.]
Paulie says whoever they are, their plan has failed. He himself doesn't even know what it is they're looking for.
The bull says that although Paulie was just a decoy, they still can't let him live.
Just at that moment, Luffy crashes through the wall. He's stuck… again.
"Rope guy! You okay? You're covered with blood."
"Are YOU okay? This is the third floor…"
Seeing the bull and the skeleton, Luffy concludes that since they're wearing masks, they must be the guys who told Robin to do stuff. Give her back!
[So much for being neutral - not that anyone could really expect that of Luffy.]
The skeleton attacks with a whirlwind kick (rankyaku, 嵐脚). The kick is powerful enough to split the wall.
Bending metal spikes, the bull secures both Luffy and Paulie to the floor with curved restraints.
The bull and the skeleton leave.
A signal goes out to Robin, the bear and the whip-person, telling them to gather in the bedroom and not to shoot Iceberg yet.
The whip-person knocks Lulu out with a single blow and leaps/flies away.
Paulie apologizes to Luffy for thinking that the Strawhats were the criminals.
Luffy says he doesn't mind, he's used to being hunted (ha!), but the masked guys took one of his nakama with them, so he came to get her back.
Paulie asks Luffy if he's strong enough to beat THEM. Luffy is sure that he is. In that case, Paulie says, they should fight together. He wants to beat them, too. He's PISSED that their Iceberg-san was almost killed by some idiots from god-only-knows-where.
He says he owes Iceberg everything. Iceberg made him the shipwright that he is. As badly hurt as he is, if he can make them pay, he doesn't care about what happens to his body after that. Luffy agrees to join forces. (He's fired up!)
Walking past the bodies outside Iceberg's room, the bull takes the hat from where it had fallen next to Lucci.
Robin and all four masked figures are standing in Iceberg's bedroom.
Iceberg tells them to go home. He has nothing for them.
The bull says that's a problem.
The pigeon flies to the bull, and lands on his shoulder.
"Where should I start…? Since you're a dying man…"
Each of the figures in turn removes their mask.
Lucci (bull): You let us down.
Kaku (skeleton): This is all your fault. You should have just given the government what they wanted.
Kalifa (whip-person): We would have liked to leave town without hurting you, if possible.
Blueno (bear): Did you get this stubbornness from your shishou?
All four are re-introduced as undercover agents of the secret organization, Cipher Pol 9. (Two page spread!)
Lucci (I think) adds something. What exactly does あなたの思慮深さには呆れて物も言えない mean? Viz has "You just had to go and make things difficult!" I make it literally "I'm shocked by the extent of your forethought." Is this a set phrase?
Lucci demands the location of the plans for the ancient weapon Pluton, before any more lives have to be needlessly sacrificed.
[Seriously one of the best reveals in all of One Piece. I never saw it coming.]
346
[Cover arc: Gedatsu got to be a blue sea guardian after all. Er, guarding a bath-house.]
Zoro assures them that he used the blunt edge of the blade, but Nami is still mad that he knocked all the shipwrights out. Chopper is filled with admiration. "Zoro's strong!"
Nami tries to lead the way, but of course Zoro goes the opposite way. ["Is it a miracle?" (奇跡), haha]
Luffy manages to wiggle out of his restraints using his rubber ability, and frees Paulie.
Lucci says they're been working undercover for the past five years. Not to worry, they did their day jobs well.
[I find him REALLY difficult to understand. Is he using excessively formal/polite Japanese? It's not super-keigo per se, but it seems very… ornate. Needless to say, he is now speaking in his own voice, not through the pigeon. I suspect the reason why the bull has been doing pretty much all the talking this whole time (besides the fact that he's the leader) is that Lucci's real, non-pigeon voice was the only one that wouldn't be recognized. The skeleton barely said a word, probably because Kaku's speech quirk would have been so easy to spot.]
[Along the same lines - I love the misdirection. Not only did I never guess that these awesome characters were all undercover agents, but the behavior and appearance of the costumed figures was designed to mislead, even if you did suspect them. A person might logically have suspected that the bull was Blueno (he kind of looks like a bull anyway), the whip-person was Kaku (he/she was able to do the flying through the air thing - although the fact that that figure was the only one wearing a dress might also have pointed to Kalifa). And for a while I thought Lucci was the bear.]
Since Iceberg knows about Cipher Pol, he presumably knows that there are 8 regular divisions, eight intelligence agencies scattered in bases around the world. Cipher Pol 9 is a ninth, super-secret division that enjoys certain… privileges. (特権)
In the name of justice, they take action against civilians who take an uncooperative attitude toward the government. They are licensed to kill.
Iceberg is disgusted by the idea of calling assassination "justice."
Lucci explains that a part of the government has changed its thinking. Rather than live in fear of the ancient weapon as they have been doing for centuries, they feel that it would be better to reactivate the weapon and use it to put an end to the "Great Age of Pirates," using it as a force for justice.
(Suddenly a lot of stuff about the various admirals' brands of justice is starting to make a lot more sense. Brrrrr.]
The way Lucci sees it, by refusing to cooperate, Iceberg is refusing to help the people around the world who are suffering at the hands of pirates. Iceberg thinks the damage would be vastly greater if the weapon were reactivated.
Lucci says that Iceberg doesn't seem to trust the government. Iceberg says that it's just that he knows human nature. "Brat (小僧)."
Lucci kicks Iceberg in the face.
"Watch your tongue. Do you think you're still my superior?"
He orders Kaku to take Iceberg's pulse. He wants to test out a certain theory they've come up with.
The fact that Iceberg risked the possibility of being killed while trying to pass along fake plans tells them that the plans have already been entrusted to another party.
For five years, they have been studying the movements of people around him. A person to whom he would entrust the plans would have to have the necessary skill.
Looking closely at the "fake" plans, they bear the signatures of three people: Tom, Iceberg, and one Cutty Flam (collectively, "Tom's Workers").
The identity of Tom's Workers has virtually been eliminated from the record, but an agent was able to confirm that Tom had two apprentices, and that one had died in an accident eight years before. Or… so they thought.
But, as sleeper agents who have been around a long time, they recall hearing the name Cutty Flam once, four years ago, when a certain man came to see Iceberg.
Their theory is that Cutty Flam is still alive, and living in Water 7, under the name of "Franky."
(Oh, poor Iceberg. His face!)
Kaku says it seems they weren't mistaken. Who would have suspected they were so closely connected?
Lucci says it was the perfect cover. But the rate of Iceberg's pulse tells him that they guessed right.
Nami, Chopper and Zoro are racing toward the door of Iceberg's bedroom.
Paulie is trying to get Luffy to break into the right room. (Luffy is seriously no better than Zoro.)
The CP-9 agents say they have no further need of Iceberg, now that they've discovered what they came to learn. The next step is to find Franky. (They are strangely courteous toward their old boss… courteous, but cold.)
Luffy busts through the wall into their midst, just as Zoro smashes through the door from the other side.
[Hee, now that's an entrance!]
Robin: Luffy.
Zoro: Luffy!!
Lucci: Damn nuisance. (邪魔を.)
TBC
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2014-02-13 07:13 pm (UTC)That's pretty much exactly how the Swedish translation says it, too.
[Seriously one of the best reveals in all of One Piece. I never saw it coming.]
This may sound a bit pathetic, but from what I remember, I actually read vols 35-37 out of order. I'd missed out on new volumes for a while for financial reasons, then bought volume 37, didn't really get what was going on, got volume 35 and some time after that, vol 36. (I think it had sold out in the bookshop and wasn't at the library.) And would you believe I was still really surprised?! I guess somehow I'd gotten mixed up on what was going on in vol 37, so even though I was spoilered, I'd forgotten about it and Oda got me all the same.
[I find it odd that when the others abandoned ship, they left the flag. Too much part of Merry's identity, perhaps?]
I wonder, is it possible there already was a spare flag, one which Usopp might have painted at some earlier time? That could explain how their Jolly Roger on Thousand Sunny's two flags and its main sail look so similar to the originals on Merry, unless Franky is just really good at memorising that sort of thing. (Of course Luffy's design would still look the same, though, so maybe there wouldn't be much of a difference either way.)
ETA: (They are strangely courteous toward their old boss… courteous, but cold.)
Very, very cold. For me that scene where Kaku's crouching down to take Iceburg's pulse, a gesture normally meaning you're looking out for someone's health but here instead an invasive interrogation technique used on the wounded, helpless Iceburg, has stayed with me as something I can't shake off when I think of the character. Kaku looks a bit concerned for Iceburg but doesn't hesitate at all - he's entirely certain they're in the right and no false sentimental bonds that his cover identity may have created will stop him from carrying out his orders. :(((
I just do not like that guy. In part because he seems like he could be a different and more decent person but he evidently doesn't really want to, and seems very sure they're in the right.
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Date: 2014-02-13 08:08 pm (UTC)I can't disagree with anything you've said about Kaku, really, and yet I can't help liking him. It would be interesting if he comes back into the story at some future point (beyond the later cover arc story), giving us a second chance to see what his ethical standpoint is and how he might choose to align himself.
(I really really want to use my Kaku icon for this comment, but it would still be a spoiler.)
Lucci, on the other hand, terrifies me. There are few villains in One Piece that I find more frightening. *shiver*
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Date: 2014-02-13 08:21 pm (UTC)Sympathies will come where they come! I myself have a certain mild fondness for Blueno, though it's based on very little and most of it conjecture that might just as well be false as true, given the character's extreme stonefacedness. And I do concede the CP9 as a whole came across as more likable from what we saw of them in their cover arc. If Oda can convince me with a Kaku that's really developed his decent side and lost his self-righteousness, all the better.
Now I'm trying to figure out what I feel about Lucci that isn't coloured by my negative reaction to how much of a fandom favourite he used to be. I loathe him for a variety of reasons (cruel, smug, kills his own side for being weak) but I do think he made for a very good antagonist in this arc. And yeah, he's legitimately very frightening.
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Date: 2014-02-13 08:43 pm (UTC)Thinking more about Kaku, his cold attitude after their true identity is revealed reminds me a lot of Robin during her undercover days (and here, really, especially in the next volume). Having been compelled (in Robin's case, by circumstances; in Kaku's case, by conviction? why did he join CP-9, anyway?) to adopt a persona that is fundamentally at odds with the kind-hearted person underneath, he doesn't dare show any weakening of the facade. But I will freely admit that this might all be in my head.
I gathered that Lucci was a fan favorite, and I will never understand why. He creeps me the hell out (although I will certainly agree that he made a compelling antagonist). Then again, I don't understand why Japanese fangirls write Luffy/Crocodile doujinshi, either. >.<
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Date: 2014-02-13 08:15 pm (UTC)I am never recovering from this. It erased the rest of the volume from my mind...except for Luffy getting stuck between two buildings and Chopper *sparkling* over Zoro's strength.
OMG, Rob Lucci! How could you pulverize Paulie? You guys were practically dating! And Kalifa...yes, you were a sexist secretarial icon, so I should probably be glad you're actually a ruthless assassin, but you were Iceberg's sexist secretarial icon. Iceberg!
I hope the mouse does something amazing to rescue him.
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Date: 2014-02-13 08:25 pm (UTC)OMG, Rob Lucci! How could you pulverize Paulie? You guys were practically dating!
LOL, I was wondering who you had your slash goggles focused on. I don't think it's an accident that there seems to be a vast amount of more-or-less AU Galley-La fanfic, and that the pairings are about as elastic as Gundam Wing. (1x3! No, 3x5!)
Most of it is not really my thing, since I've never cared for rival/villain slash, but I have a weakness for a few of the Zoro/Kaku fics I've read.
Poor Iceberg, indeed. :-( And poor Paulie!
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Date: 2014-02-13 08:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-13 08:47 pm (UTC)haha, that Paulie and his amusing fail
Aw, seriously? I can totally understand the protective bias. Paulie is a sweetheart. (His reaction at the beginning of the next volume, so painful.) I love how Luffy gets all fellow-warrior fired-up when he sees how loyal Paulie is to Iceberg.
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Date: 2014-02-13 10:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-13 10:38 pm (UTC)After reading more of volume 37, I'm definitely starting to see the Lucci-Paulie slash potential, but no way would I want to read it when Paulie is destined to have his heart broken. T__T I just could not see any good ending to that relationship based on the way I see Lucci.
Find someone nicer, Paulie!
Kaku's available.no subject
Date: 2014-02-13 10:51 pm (UTC)Well, in a what-if AU where Kaku realises he doesn't want to go through with the betrayal after all so things happen differently I might be able to approve of Kaku/Paulie - it likely wouldn't be my thing to read, but still. Or maybe a really well-written post-Enies Lobby fic, with loads of development for Kaku - though I have a hard time seeing him being able to return to Water 7 and fit in there again.
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Date: 2014-02-13 11:00 pm (UTC)(LOL, this conversation is so ridiculous.)
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Date: 2014-02-13 11:21 pm (UTC)(Haha, I think I've been in fic fandom for too long to really see the ridiculous anymore XD.)
I still think Paulie and Kaya might just work, if the Usopp thing doesn't work out for her (and as long as Paulie gets his gambling under control)...
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Date: 2014-02-14 03:29 am (UTC)(Also, haha, I think I can honestly say Paulie/Kaya never occurred to me, but I'd totally read it. Is that on your fic page? I didn't see that one.)
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Date: 2014-02-14 06:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-13 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-13 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-13 09:20 pm (UTC)Then there are pairs like "loose/lose" where "loose" is used to mean "lose" so often I actually find myself tensing up even when it's used correctly, just from associating - and I've started to catch myself doing that mistake too.
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Date: 2014-02-14 12:56 pm (UTC)LOL forever, it took me almost a full minute to figure out what they were doing. TOO ADORABLE.
I totally missed that. I think it's because in the panel where Oda is trying to convey to me that they are on the beach within range of the Merry (*sniffle*), I am distracted by the giant city.
Is it time for the "stupidest devil fruit" conversation again?
Making doors is definitely not a versatile skill. It would be hilarious if someone teeny-tiny ate that fruit.
They are dismayed to arrive at the gate and discover it very thoroughly guarded.
I loved this moment. Not only was it hilarious, but how often do you see the "smart" characters' cunning plans just not pan out at all? Fortunately, Zoro is strong. *sparkle*
Robin says that she agrees, but it is none of his business how she researches history.
I love this whole scene because I love the scholar-adventurer who possesses arcane knowledge. OMG, we need more characters like that.
Iceberg is disgusted by the idea of calling assassination "justice."
A liiiiitle ironic, considering what he was planning to do to Robin.
Lucci kicks Iceberg in the face.
ROB! You used to be a pigeon-ventriloquist. You used to be awesome. I hope the mouse kills you first.
I love the cover-story arc (our friends from Alabasta! Pell! Karoo! PELL!!!! Also, Pell!), but what's the animal-thing in the bath with Vivi and Kokoro? Oh, it's one of the seal-things from the beach who made Luffy (?) their leader after he defeated one of them?
And I now have 37-38. No pressure on posting the summaries, since I also just received most of my Amazon Japan order.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 01:31 pm (UTC)Kung Fu Dugongs!
ETA: wow, so many amazing things in that image search. Dugong wanted poster! Dugong bento! Dugong ice cream! Mohmoo plushie!!??
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Date: 2014-02-14 01:39 pm (UTC)(It makes me so sad that I can so rarely use this icon.)
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Date: 2014-02-14 01:54 pm (UTC)ETA: I see from the picture on another site that it has a flat body but normal head. But I'm pretty sure that's the one I saw in the image search; no idea if there's a regular plushie one.
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Date: 2014-02-14 01:57 pm (UTC)I'm enjoying your reactions, because honestly I feel like my slash goggles are broken when I'm watching One Piece. Kind of like I could never see Ace/Smoker until others pointed it out.
Also, you can help me understand why fandom is in love with Rob Lucci. Not that I don't love the pigeon thing, but obviously I am too obsessed with Kaku.
ROB! You used to be a pigeon-ventriloquist. You used to be awesome. I hope the mouse kills you first.
I WISH the mouse would kill Lucci. Mouse justice!
I love this whole scene because I love the scholar-adventurer who possesses arcane knowledge. OMG, we need more characters like that.
YES. This arc is obviously Robin-centric (as well as Usopp-centric), and I'm looking forward to your reactions to... things.
A liiiiitle ironic, considering what he was planning to do to Robin.
Good point! I think on some level he understands that himself, but his fear of the weapon overrides everything else, I guess. The next volume makes his reasons for that a little clearer.
Very glad you have 37-38! (Do you have a request out on the later volumes? This arc, like Alabasta, starts to have a lot of bad cliffhangers - 38 is one. If you can get your hands on volumes up through 46, you might want to have them in reserve.) I have a starter draft of 37, 38 will take a little longer, but I won't rush it. Enjoy your Amazon Japan order!
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Date: 2014-02-14 02:03 pm (UTC)Same! Honestly not even just slash; I barely see any romance at all (or want it, really?). It's kind of weird considering my normal reading/watching habits.
I WISH the mouse would kill Lucci. Mouse justice!
"Mouse justice" is going to be my new battle cry. XD (e.g. "I wish somebody would kill [super annoying character]. For mouse justice!")
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Date: 2014-02-14 06:55 pm (UTC)Well, I can't tell you why fandom loves him (present tense), because I am so over him, but I loved him in volume 35 (and up until he revealed himself as an Iceberg-kicking jerk) because he chastised Paulie for trying to steal the Strawhats' money and because he talked through a pigeon. The first thing made me think he was the opposite kind of person than the person he turned out to be. (Though I guess one could argue that punishing Paulie in v.35 was also "justice." I just thought it was good friendship. Like, not letting your friends get away with doing jerkface stuff.)
This arc, like Alabasta, starts to have a lot of bad cliffhangers - 38 is one. If you can get your hands on volumes up through 46, you might want to have them in reserve.
Darn. This gets tricky. Once I check out a book, I'm only guaranteed 3 weeks with it, and I only get one 3-week renewal on top of that if no one places a hold on the book. And I want the volumes in hand while we discuss. So reading through everything now would probably make me less participatory later. Manga continues to be hard.
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Date: 2014-02-14 09:24 pm (UTC)Oh, wow, great point on both counts, that it makes him seem to be something he's not - a decent, kind friend - and yet is entirely in keeping with his true character - the ruthless executor of justice.
Come to think of it, we're led to think that most of the CP-9 figures are paragons of virtue, whereas Paulie seems like the slacker of the bunch, what with the gambling and the debts and the almost-stealing. But Paulie turns out to be the most honorable of the lot.
Re: library books: I can see why you don't want to read ahead of the discussion. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that you are able to continue getting the books you want when you want them.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 10:26 pm (UTC)Iceberg clearly thinks so. Do we later learn that he suspected Kaku and Lucci of being spies, or was it just good judgment that he picked Paulie for the blueprint maneuver?
I'll just keep my fingers crossed that you are able to continue getting the books you want when you want them.
Me, too. And I thank you for the cliffhanger warning, because I was going to steam ahead with vols 37-38 this weekend. Now I'll wait a bit. I'll be sad to send 34-36 back to the library, but I don't want to hoard.
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Date: 2014-02-14 10:45 pm (UTC)I actually don't recall this coming up, although I could be forgetting something. Perhaps it was just instinct on Iceberg's part.
Now I'll wait a bit.
I think you could maybe read 37 (it does have a cliffhanger, but not as bad), but I really don't think you want to get to the end of 38 and not have 39 in hand.
Or at least, if you succumb to temptation, don't read the last chapter of 38 until you have 39. That much should be safe.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-15 02:39 pm (UTC)The two worst splits are 38/39 and, oddly, 45/46, which is so post-Enies-Lobby that it's not Enies Lobby at all. (Yeah, I know it sounds like that makes no sense.)
Well, and 40/41 is just a LITTLE cruel. But you really want 41, anyway.
YMMV, of course!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 01:25 pm (UTC)I love this so much. It will never not be hilarious. (Also, I'm really glad that--at some point in your summaries, I don't even know where this came up--you brought up that Sanji is Usopp's...I dunno what to call it, anyway, he is to Usopp as Zoro is to Chopper, and I really noticed that when rereading this arc. Sanji, why can't you stop being so stupid about women so I can like you more?)
Chopper wonders if he did something at the bookstore to make Robin mad. (Oh, Chopper. ;_;)
+1 on Oh, Chopper. ;_;
Also, that his reaction when he learns the truth is "Robin doesn't hate us?" ;_;
Is it time for the "stupidest devil fruit" conversation again?
I dunno, I think it's pretty handy for anybody with some kind of clandestine purpose--assassins, spies, thieves, etc. So, perfect for the person who got it, basically. Useless for anyone who DOESN'T plan to spend a lot of time sneaking around.
Also, the "revolving door" attack he uses against Luffy is silly but effective. Hard to fight when you feel like you're spinning in circles. You really have to give Oda credit for finding creative ways for really weird powers to be good in a fight.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 02:04 pm (UTC)Yes! Sanji is such a good big brother, and he gets to shine in this arc in particular (in more ways than one). I am grateful to fanfic for pointing out the way he so often looks out for Usopp.
I wish Oda would let Sanji shine more often.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 02:10 pm (UTC)In this arc, even--yes, I love the way his care for Usopp shows, but then he has a couple other moments, like "Being a man means forgiving a women when she lies" and "I'll die before I kick a woman" that just...UGH. You're not being "cool," Sanji, you're being gross and sexist.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 02:39 pm (UTC)You're not being "cool," Sanji, you're being gross and sexist.
Ugh, yes, totally agreed. (I just hit the first of those in my rereading, and I kept wondering if I was mistranslating the line, because WTF, Sanji.) It was more some of the later stuff I was thinking of, like when he comes through at the critical moment in Enies Lobby. Or thinking back to his "Mr Prince" shtick in Alabasta.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 02:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 02:49 pm (UTC)Honestly those moments (and the, um, increasing bust size of certain characters) make me feel like Oda has been trapped in some sort of shounen bubble for too long.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 04:25 pm (UTC)Yeah, I can definitely understand that. It's the main reason why Sanji will never be my favorite Strawhat, despite his occasional moments of awesome.
Honestly those moments (and the, um, increasing bust size of certain characters) make me feel like Oda has been trapped in some sort of shounen bubble for too long.
Break out of the bubble, Oda!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 06:47 pm (UTC)And yes - it's a bit difficult for me to remember that once upon a time, Sanji was more or less the Strawhats' resident tactician. I mean, all of the Strawhats have a savant-like ability to calculate their strategies in a battle, but Sanji always seemed the best at analyzing the big picture, so to speak. Espionage, information-gathering... when there aren't pretty ladies around to distract him, Sanji is actually scary levels of smart (well, he does have the most "normal" upbringing of the Monster Trio's members - or at least one that brought him into contact with ordinary people the most).
It's weird, since you'd expect this particular skill-set to be Robin's, but the two major arcs when it came in handy, Robin wasn't really in a position to use it in the Strawhats' favor.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 07:27 pm (UTC)Oh, I like the way the panel is drawn. But to me that lines looks like more of the stereotype that men are truthful and honorable and women are manipulative liars.
Maybe Oda doesn't really buy into that sort of thing; maybe it's just Sanji's character. But it certainly seems like we're supposed to be impressed with Sanji's code of honor or whatever it is.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 07:39 pm (UTC)But to me that line looks like more of the stereotype that men are truthful and honorable and women are manipulative liars.
Interestingly, I don't read it like that (though that certainly seems like a reasonable interpretation on the face of it). What really bugs me is the implication that a chivalrous man will/should let a woman "get away" with anything, including totally abusive behavior. Ugh. It's insulting AND patronizing.
I actually will have things to say in the next volume about why I love Sanji for not giving up on Robin regardless of whether she's guilty or not (as far as he knows), but to me that is a completely separate issue from some bizarre code of chivalry. (Maybe it's not different in Sanji's head. But it annoys me less if I explain it from a different point of view.) But more on that later.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 07:54 pm (UTC)I mean, that can and does certainly have sexist implications too ("protect those fragile women!!", plus it says nothing about the world needing to change in that regard), but they're at least a litte bit different than what it might first look like? In a world where men tend to set the rules, women do often have to think fast and use subterfuge to not get squashed entirely. That kind of thinking seems more in line with what we'd seen of Sanji's character up until then, too...
I'm not very willing to give Oda of today much of the benefit of doubt when it comes to gender issues (sadly!!), but back when this arc was created I think it's possible to consider other angles.
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Date: 2014-02-14 08:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 07:41 pm (UTC)Yes! This is the side of him I wish Oda would show more often. Zoro is the one who figured out the hidden message Robin was trying to communicate, but Sanji was the one who immediately understood that the exact words she used might matter, instead of focusing on the hurt and shock of rejection.
I might not get to use it as often as I like, but I need a better awesome Sanji icon.
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Date: 2014-02-14 07:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-14 06:53 pm (UTC)My memories of this arc are also improved by my memories of the Pirates Carnival video game, where each of the CP9 agents here get a mini-game. The one featuring Kaku and Kalifa as co-bosses is absolutely brutal if you don't know what you're doing, while the one featuring Blueno is seriously nail-biting even when you do know what you're doing.