One Piece - Chapter 785 [manga]

[FlareKnight]

Doflamingo probably isn't done yet. They wouldn't make a point about Zoro dealing with the cage if Luffy was going to win before he actually did something.

I'm liking the new gear and fine with these devil fruit awakenings. Just another way to add a bit more difficulty to these elite opponents that Luffy is going to have to be able to take on and overcome. Not all that big of a deal to me.

[khoa1708]

maybe luffy's "awakened" fruit powers is where he turns all black and condenses his 4th gear form and power into a super "sleeker" form where he moves super fast and creates after images of himself... oh wait...

[Gintokifan22]

I'm really looking forward to seeing Luffy's awaking, come on we know it will happen at some point.

Also, about Big Mom's arc and alliances. That should be when Kid enters the picture.

[ZGoten]

Oh wow, I can't believe it. Two chapters after announcing Gear 4th, and one chapter after actually showing it, Oda introduces an even bigger element to the story: Bankai ... er I mean Awakening. Holy crap, that opens up so many possibilities.

But what are the chances Doflamingo's actually done for?

[Belise]

The Dressrosa Arc will end this fall

[Kanon]

I'm waiting to find out what the conditions for awakening your devil fruit are before handing judgment on this new revelation. Devil fruits users were taken down a notch after haki was introduced (especially the logia), but they're now a bigger threat than ever. I can't even imagine what an awakened logia can do.

The threat to Luffy Sabo is meant to stop is Burgess, heh. Why did this never cross my mind? It should have been obvious he wouldn't just sit on his ass. The truth is, I totally forgot about him

[Belise]

^Check Punk Hazard's weather issues and you'll see what awakened Logia's can do.

[ZGoten]

Now we have a pretty good reason why the Akainu vs Aokiji fight has never been shown.

[J4n1]

Well awakening does not stop them from being hurt (as seen from Dofla getting repeatedly punched in the face by Luffy), and it does not seem to give them any ability to affect other people (unless Dofla is still holding back, which is possible).
And Haki was not a perfect game changer anyway (considering it mainly meant that Logia became possible to hurt by non logia without some weird weaknesses like Crocodile had), depending on how it is handled, it might just be one more thing people have, and ultimately not that significant for where they are in the power structure (at least anymore so than being Logia was pre timeskip).

[imza]

I get the feeling that we might see the next chapter or two of Luffy getting tired, Doffy beating him up followed by Luffy's crazed look and super attack to finish of Doffy for good. I loved that formula in the past but I'm hoping for a slightly different string of events this time. I'd be curious to see if Luffy has something else up his sleeve. He's too smart of a fighter to know that Doffy is not finished yet.

[Wandering Soul]

I doubt Doflamingo is done. I am pretty sure he still has some tricks up his sleeve.

I am curious about one awakens their devil fruit though. I can't wait to see what several awakened devil fruits can do.

[Tuor]

Well, like several other posters here, I don't think Doflamingo is done quite yet. OTOH, I doubt he's feeling very well right now... he looks pretty beat up. The question is whether Luffy, once he loses 4th gear (which should be very shortly) remains strong enough to finish him off. I suspect that Luffy will end up being even more exhausted coming out of 4th gear than Doffy, and that Zoro's going to be needed to slice up the bird cage, because I don't think Luffy will be able to finish Doffy off in time.

Frankly, I am starting to wonder if Doffy is *intentionally* trying to make Luffy stronger... that he *wants* Luffy to upend everything. Doflamingo's ultimate goal seems to be, basically, to watch everything burn, and Luffy is clearly a chaos-creating dynamo. And if Luffy had proved himself too weak for the purpose, Dolfamingo would've snuffed him already (as he clearly could've crushed Law earlier if he'd wanted to do so).

[ZGoten]

I like where this is going. If Zoro will indeed be needed to take down the birdcage, because Luffy can't beat Doflamingo fast enough, that could seriously affect the relationship between the two. Zoro might want to take over the crew as new captain, because he doesn't aknowledge Luffy's power, which would be really interesting. It's been hinted a number of times in the past, that another head-butting between the two is going to happen eventually, and considering this is Oda's story, I doubt that was just idle talk by Zoro in the past.

[ri0]

Originally Posted by ZGoten

It's been hinted a number of times in the past, that another head-butting between the two is going to happen eventually, and considering this is Oda's story, I doubt that was just idle talk by Zoro in the past.

Which parts exactly do you mean? I think Zoro questioned Luffy's decision only once for real (when he wanted to let Usopp back into the crew)... or did I miss something?

[solidguy]

I found it quite interesting when someone mentioned that Luffy could 'run out' of Haki. Has Haki ever been mentioned as a quantifiable power? (similar to chakra, ki etc)

[Belise]

Zoro's got the potential to be the captain, but I think he's lacking somewhat in character. Strength is there, but what about his sense of leadership, and his willingness to sacrifice himself for others? We got a good idea of those qualities when he decided against going to scoop-up the beaten Usopp since he didn't apologize yet. And he sacrificed his body to protect Luffy from Kuma, and his pride in order to learn from his rival/sensei Mihawk.

They were solid examples of necessary requirements, but I wonder how deep do they really go? And has he changed over the timeskip?

If Zoro's decision to intervene and cut the bird cage stems from a lack of confidence in his leader than he would come across as a hypocrite in regard to his decision against Usopp. I mean, he was defending the proper hierarchy and rule of thumb in pirate crews. Usopp had a disagreement and went against the code. Zoro would be (inadvertently) doing the same thing if he chose to cut the cage instead of trusting Luffy will win in time.

Conflict of interest is as bad as a conflict of trust in many cases, so if that's why Zoro is now acting, he'd be disqualifying himself as a potential captain since he cant even put faith in his own.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Belise

Zoro's got the potential to be the captain, but I think he's lacking somewhat in character. Strength is there, but what about his sense of leadership, and his willingness to sacrifice himself for others? We got a good idea of those qualities when he decided against going to scoop-up the beaten Usopp since he didn't apologize yet. And he sacrificed his body to protect Luffy from Kuma, and his pride in order to learn from his rival/sensei Mihawk.

They were solid examples of necessary requirements, but I wonder how deep do they really go? And has he changed over the timeskip?

If Zoro's decision to intervene and cut the bird cage stems from a lack of confidence in his leader than he would come across as a hypocrite in regard to his decision against Usopp. I mean, he was defending the proper hierarchy and rule of thumb in pirate crews. Usopp had a disagreement and went against the code. Zoro would be (inadvertently) doing the same thing if he chose to cut the cage instead of trusting Luffy will win in time.

Conflict of interest is as bad as a conflict of trust in many cases, so if that's why Zoro is now acting, he'd be disqualifying himself as a potential captain since he cant even put faith in his own.

It sounds more like he's working to delay the bird cage which works fine within his understood character. Just the same in how he got the group standing together to buy time for Luffy to take down Lucci and still be able to secure their escape.

I don't see how one an interpret this as Zoro not believing that Luffy can win. If that was the case he wouldn't be going after the bird cage, but Doflamingo himself.

Not to mention Doflamingo is the one that set up this rule and game, there's no reason for Zoro or anyone else to respect his winning conditions. It's not like Luffy told the crew not to touch the cage.

Honestly this seems like a very odd statement to suggest Zoro doesn't trust Luffy or believe in him.

[itachi-san314]

Originally Posted by ZGoten

Oh wow, I can't believe it. Two chapters after announcing Gear 4th, and one chapter after actually showing it, Oda introduces an even bigger element to the story: Bankai ... er I mean Awakening. Holy crap, that opens up so many possibilities.

Haha! it doesn't have the same ring to it as bankai though. Mingo was bound to have a power-up after Luffy powered up.

But what are the chances Doflamingo's actually done for?

the same chance that Law being "dead" had. I really dislike cliffhangers that are simply lies. Law is Dead! Mingo is defeated! No. Please stop doing that Oda. At least leave it a question like in DBZ. "Could this be end of Doflamingo? Will Luffy's Haki run out? Will Zoro destroy the Birdcage in time? Find out next week in One Piece!"

[Belise]

I'm responding to ZGOTEN's earlier comment.

And it's not that simple to just lunge after Doflamingo when he's in the middle of a symbolic fight with Luffy.

There is a reason to respect Luffy's match and trust he will win in time. Especially if you are a member of the strawhat crew.

[ZGoten]

Originally Posted by ri0

Which parts exactly do you mean? I think Zoro questioned Luffy's decision only once for real (when he wanted to let Usopp back into the crew)... or did I miss something?

There was also the moment on Fishman Island, when Luffy knocked out 50.000 people. Zoro said that if his captain wouldn't have been able to do that, he'd have to take over. And on Punk Hazard, Zoro told Luffy to stop fooling around and take things seriously, since this is the New World. Now, Luffy is of course taking his fight with Doflamingo seriously right now, but what I mean to say is that Zoro has been critisizing and pressuring Luffy in the past. He's done it too many times to believe that this won't culminate to a conflict eventually. Luffy's fight with Doflamingo could be one more piece in the puzzle. It might not, though.