One Piece - Chapter 723 [manga]

[grey_1960]

Chapter 723
Not a bad chapter. I am curious to see how long Sanji will get to battle Daflamingo till someone or something interrupts. I wonder what will show up first Law or Admiral Fuijitori? Who knows Sanji might hold his own against Daflamingo.

[Undertaker]

I think Sanji should be able to at least hold his own a bit. I wasn't quite sure before this chapter. But this chapter clearly implied that Fujitori might of involved himself in the Law's fight which in that case can explain how Law got pwned that easily.

[janipani]

Dofla > Law > Sanji

Sanji doesn't stand a chance, but he will stay up few panels, until Dofla senses that something bad is going to happen to his factory and he heads towards you know where.

[~Yami~]

possible power-up scenario for Sanji : Violet got killed by Doflamingo because of her betrayal...

it will be hard to imagine a victory
even if Trafalgar and Sanji teamed up, it will be still hard
I think the fight is going to be interrupted because Luffy and Zoro make a huge scenario on the arena

[ri0]

Omg, this chapter was so badass - Oda, don't you ever stop!
The tension after Law broke out of Issho's gravity jail was really intense.

What I liked most about this chapter was Law's use of his Ope Ope no Mi, as he "jumped" to the flowers or mushrooms in order to outpace Doflamingo. His ability is really terrifiying when you think about it.

It was also interesting, though conceivable, to get the confirmation about Doflamingo being an Ex-CD and the info that Fujitora's power is really gravity based. Again, it was implied that his sword has something to do with it.

Doflamingo's speech about not underestimating the Strawhats was good to hear, but he doesn't even know that he's also got an invasion on his hands, as well as the allies Luffy will have after the tournament.
Also how Doflamingo ruthlessly squeezed Caeser's heart and the latter's expression was hilarious

What's left to say: Go Sanji gooooo!!!

[noktown]

Seriously ?Everyone expects Sanji to just get beat up ?

I understand that Sanji can't be the one to defeat Don Flamingo,that spot is left for Luffy,but 2 years training under Ivankov probably taught him more than just spamming Diable Jambe.

We haven't even seen them in a serious fight till now(not even Haki infused attacks except for Luffy),while I understand that Don Flamingo is strong,I would expect Sanji to at least put up a decent fight to defend the crew until Luffy gets there or something happens/interrupts them.

[wombface]

Originally Posted by marvelB

(putting aside Jinbei, who's not even joining them until later anyway). .

Do you think he will actually end up in the crew? I can see him dying or getting bogged down in some other obligation, but I don't see him as an actual crew member.
my reasons are that he has already been a captain, has served under the world government as shibukai, doesn't seem to have a dream (other than protecting fishmen), and is more of a father/mentor figure to luffy. I just don't see his character fitting in the crew. I see him clashing with luffy too much. Luffy's offer might end up to be more of a nod to his involvement with luffy's life, rather than actually coming to pass.

[janipani]

Originally Posted by noktown

Seriously ?Everyone expects Sanji to just get beat up ?

I understand that Sanji can't be the one to defeat Don Flamingo,that spot is left for Luffy,but 2 years training under Ivankov probably taught him more than just spamming Diable Jambe.

We haven't even seen them in a serious fight till now(not even Haki infused attacks except for Luffy),while I understand that Don Flamingo is strong,I would expect Sanji to at least put up a decent fight to defend the crew until Luffy gets there or something happens/interrupts them.

Of course he can do something. I doubt anyone implies he completely worthless. But it's like female cheetah defending its cubs against lion. Formidable but doomed to fail if it's lions' territory .

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

Originally Posted by wombface

I don't see why not. As far as I can tell we might get a couple more in the crew so why not have 1 be really strong? watching the weaker SH members fight is funny sometimes, but after a while it gets annoying with their abstract abilities. If two more weak/medium fighters get added, the monster trio will get bogged down just keeping them alive rather than doing the badassery they usually are up to.

Sure the newcomer(s) can be really strong, but Sanji is not going to get kicked out of the monster trio. He's been a part of it since its inception, and that's not going to change. At best, Oda may opt for a monster quartet in the future. Either way, Sanji will always be amongst the strongest in the crew.

[Vajra]

Originally Posted by noktown

Seriously ?Everyone expects Sanji to just get beat up ?

I understand that Sanji can't be the one to defeat Don Flamingo,that spot is left for Luffy,but 2 years training under Ivankov probably taught him more than just spamming Diable Jambe.

We haven't even seen them in a serious fight till now(not even Haki infused attacks except for Luffy),while I understand that Don Flamingo is strong,I would expect Sanji to at least put up a decent fight to defend the crew until Luffy gets there or something happens/interrupts them.

I don't think anyone other than Luffy is going to beat Doflamingo which is why Sanji will lose.

[ZGoten]

Originally Posted by Undertaker

I think Sanji should be able to at least hold his own a bit. I wasn't quite sure before this chapter. But this chapter clearly implied that Fujitori might of involved himself in the Law's fight which in that case can explain how Law got pwned that easily.

I was never really under the impression that Fujitora wasn't involved.

But I wonder what's going to happen next. Fujitora is still around. There's no way Sanji and a beat up Law can defend the other Strawhats, even though Brook and Chopper can be pretty damn strong when they need to be. I don't see Zoro and Kinemon arriving there either since they are waiting at the coliseum and will probably be let in by Bartholomeo. Maybe Fujitora doesn't bother following to begin with, but I do think that Doflamingo will get what he wants in that situation. I still can't wait for Sanji to throw some more kicks at him, though. This is the first opponent after the time skip that he needs to take on with everything he's got.

[noktown]

Originally Posted by janipani

Of course he can do something. I doubt anyone implies he completely worthless. But it's like female cheetah defending its cubs against lion. Formidable but doomed to fail if it's lions' territory .

Do you really think that Luffy is that far above Sanji ?While he's the strongest in the crew,I wouldn't say that a difference is as big as Luffy being able to defeat Don Flamingo and Sanji being owned off-panel.

And in the end it will all come down to Luffy defeating Don Flamingo,at least that's the direction the manga's taking.

You can't even say that Law is weaker than Don Flamingo(he probably is) considering that Fujitora was involved.

[janipani]

Originally Posted by noktown

Do you really think that Luffy is that far above Sanji ?While he's the strongest in the crew,I wouldn't say that a difference is as big as Luffy being able to defeat Don Flamingo and Sanji being owned off-panel.

And in the end it will all come down to Luffy defeating Don Flamingo,at least that's the direction the manga's taking.

You can't even say that Law is weaker than Don Flamingo(he probably is) considering that Fujitora was involved.

Luffy is and always will be clearly above Sanji. Zoro is little bit closer to Luffy than Sanji in my point of view, but Luffy will always be the backbone ( although made of rubber fufufu ) for the Straw Hats.

I kind find it funny that some people insist that there should be possibility for Sanji or Zoro get stronger than Luffy or equal in importance. No way.. that would ruin Luffy's character.. if you don't remember.. he can't cook, navigate, swing swords, heal, play songs, build, or use guns, but he can fight! That is only thing he is really good at and I mean super good.

Sanji is strong, Zoro is amazing and Luffy unbelievable.

So Dofla can see that Sanji is a strong one, but Zoro would actually be able amaze him, still Luffy would be the one to make the unbelievable and beat him. That's the difference between the three men in monster trio when facing a final boss character like Dofla.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

I think people will soon come to the realization (if they haven't already) that Doflamingo is not admiral level. I'm certainly not expecting Sanji to beat the birdman, but the gap between the two shouldn't be very large (especially if Luffy is able to beat Doflamingo by himself legitimately). Power wise, Zoro and Sanji are quite close to Luffy.

[marvelB]

Originally Posted by wombface

Do you think he will actually end up in the crew? I can see him dying or getting bogged down in some other obligation, but I don't see him as an actual crew member.
my reasons are that he has already been a captain, has served under the world government as shibukai, doesn't seem to have a dream (other than protecting fishmen), and is more of a father/mentor figure to luffy. I just don't see his character fitting in the crew. I see him clashing with luffy too much. Luffy's offer might end up to be more of a nod to his involvement with luffy's life, rather than actually coming to pass.

Jinbei is a special case for a few good reasons, though. He was an old friend of Ace's who even promised to look after Luffy when Ace was gone, helped Luffy start to cope with his loss when he actually DID lose Ace, and even donated blood to him after the Hody fight. Now while I'll admit that there was also a time when I objected to the idea of him joining due to being something of a mentor figure, I think it helps to balance things out if he joins in a later arc when Luffy and co. gained some more experience in the NW.



Plus, Jinbei is unique in that he isn't quite like Rayleigh in the sense that while he's still a veteran, he hasn't quite "seen it all", so to speak. And he essentially does mesh with the crew in the sense that he'd act as the straight man. So again, he checks out. And as far as him dying goes..... c'mon, this is One Piece. You really expect to see the corpses piling up outside of flashbacks?


-----------

On another note, after rereading the chapter, I think I'm more interested than ever in finding about Dofla's past. I still sorta have the feeling that he's similar to Sabo in the sense that he's "forsaken" his identity as a world noble. His words to Law this chapter definitely seems to make that much clear ("What is 'blood'?! What is 'destiny?!'").....

[ZGoten]

I think Jinbe will join the crew, for the sole reason that he's a fishman.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

^ That would be nice for diversity's sake, but I wouldn't mind him as an ally either. After he's finished his business with Big Mom, I'm sure he'll pledge his allegiance to Luffy at the very least.

[wombface]

Originally Posted by marvelB

Jinbei is a special case for a few good reasons, though. He was an old friend of Ace's who even promised to look after Luffy when Ace was gone, helped Luffy start to cope with his loss when he actually DID lose Ace, and even donated blood to him after the Hody fight. Now while I'll admit that there was also a time when I objected to the idea of him joining due to being something of a mentor figure, I think it helps to balance things out if he joins in a later arc when Luffy and co. gained some more experience in the NW.

Yes, I see your point, but I still beg to differ. Time will tell, I suppose!

Originally Posted by marvelB

And as far as him dying goes..... c'mon, this is One Piece. You really expect to see the corpses piling up outside of flashbacks?

lol yeah, a main character dying might be a bit too much to hope for!

I too am interested in Dofla's past; to be part of and not part of the world nobles is a strange position. i'm inclined to think that instead of being kicked out he left voluntarily to persue a more interesting/adventurous lifestyle. Either that or he was led away by some other figure, whoever that might be.

[paradox13]

So Dofla can see that Sanji is a strong one, but Zoro would actually be able amaze him, still Luffy would be the one to make the unbelievable and beat him. That's the difference between the three men in monster trio when facing a final boss character like Dofla.

There is (practically) no difference in strength between Zoro and Sanji.

[Undertaker]

Originally Posted by ZGoten

I was never really under the impression that Fujitora wasn't involved.

But I wonder what's going to happen next. Fujitora is still around. There's no way Sanji and a beat up Law can defend the other Strawhats, even though Brook and Chopper can be pretty damn strong when they need to be. I don't see Zoro and Kinemon arriving there either since they are waiting at the coliseum and will probably be let in by Bartholomeo. Maybe Fujitora doesn't bother following to begin with, but I do think that Doflamingo will get what he wants in that situation. I still can't wait for Sanji to throw some more kicks at him, though. This is the first opponent after the time skip that he needs to take on with everything he's got.

I don't think that way either but other then that initial attack on BOTH Law and Dofla Oda didn't show much involvement other then Law getting pwned by Dofla and given Fujitora's seemly personality is wasn't impossible for him to step back and only act as a safety net of a sort.

But last chapter clears implies that Fujitora is using his ability on Law even if it was just to slow him down. That changes everything. Because now the possibility that Law is an equal or even stronger than Dofla presents itself. Not that I actually felt that way.

I still think Dofla is stronger than Law, but probably not by much.

But it would be interesting how the main battles are going to shape out. I think it could be safely assume that all the colosseum combatants other then Burgess are going to end up as Luffy's allies especially with 3,000 Marines coming in and the presences of those who are already surrounding the Colosseum.

Bartolomeo, Cavendish, and Chinjao might even end up being long term allied if there is another Summit War type of battles in store down the road. The question is how the main match ups are going shape up. Right now we got Fujitora, Dofla and three stooges, so that means we are short on one from SH side...

Though it might be interesting if Burgess also become a temporary ally and end up taking care that last player from Dofla side, especially considering his conversation with BB where BB warned him to keep an eye on Marine because Aokiji isn't to be trusted. It wouldn't be strange Aokiji hide his deal with BB from Fujitora and ends up having Marines going after Burgess as well or even it was a double trap by Aokiji in an attempt to systematically taking out a major member of BB's crew.