One Piece continues to sail into the New World when the Straw Hats reach the country of Dressrosa. In an alliance with Trafalgar Law, Warlord of the Sea, they make a move to stop the Doflamingo Family who rule with an iron fist. The Straw Hats don’t know that much more is about to happen, with reunions, bitter grudges, and new powers introduced in One Piece’s Dressrosa arc!
Fair warning, this article contains spoilers for the entire Dressrosa arc. If not caught up, One Piece is available to read online at MangaPlus and Viz. The manga is also available in print from Amazon or a local bookstore. That’s the only warning!
Where is Dressrosa?
Dressrosa is one of the first islands of the New World, other than the Navy G-5 Base and Punk Hazard. A central stop in the New World for many starting their journey, Dressrosa has toy people that walk the streets. This is what gives Dressrosa such a magic, that all these toys live and work beside the humans. Despite this, they do have rules about the Toys, such as that Toys aren’t allowed in human homes. Then at night, all Toys return to the factory, with nobody sure of what they do there or why.
Who is Donquixote Doflamingo?
Of course, this is all by the doing of Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. While he holds the power of the String-String Fruit, his underling Sugar holds the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. It’s this which allows her to turn anyone into a toy. When she does this, she also makes the Toy take an unbreakable vow that they forget who they are. The only Toy to avoid this fate is Kyros, the first one turned in Dressrosa.
Doflamingo himself is a maniacal, sadistic man who cares for nothing but money and violence. He’ll kill any who get in his way or cause any inconvenience, with absolutely no mercy. While he presents himself as a carefree ruler of Dressrosa, most of the nation knows that the country isn’t okay. Despite all this, Doflamingo continues running his arms dealing operations from Dressrosa. Worse still, he exploits the Tontatta people for labor in his SMILE Fruit Factory.
The Tontatta People
An ancient race of tiny people that can fit in the palm of Robin’s hand, the Tontatta are a mischievous little people since the Riku family took over Dressrosa 800 years ago. The previous rulers of Dressrosa, the Donquixote Family, left for the Red Line to become Celestial Dragons, and the first King Riku sees how abused the Tontatta have been. So, he tells them that the island of Greenbit is entirely theirs, a relatively wide swathe of land right off the coast of Dressrosa. He also tells them they can take whatever they need from the mainland, and the people wave it off as the work of fairies.
The Tontatta are a proud little race of people though, and they fight fiercely to regain their Princess Mansherry. Leo, one of the Tontatta Captains, possesses the Stitch-Stich Fruit which allows him to neatly stitch things together, whether people or objects. Noland the Liar is a legendary figure to their people as well, and Usopp uses that to gain their favor by telling of their meeting with Noland Montblanc. The Tontatta look to Usopp as a new hero, and take to the lying sniper like his fan club.
The Flame-Flame Fruit Returns
While there haven’t been many Devil Fruit users to die in One Piece yet, the Ace’s Flame-Flame Fruit is one of the first to show how their regeneration works. Donquixote Doflamingo manages to get his hands on the Flame-Flame Fruit once it reappears in the New World, and uses it to distract Luffy. A tournament is set up at the Dressrosa Coliseum, and the Flame-Flame Fruit is the prize. Of course, Luffy can’t just let his brother’s Fruit be used by anyone else, and even if he can’t use it, Luffy wants it in remembrance of Ace. He’s not the only one that wants the Fruit though, and he has to take on a disguise so nobody knows it’s him.
The Dressrosa Coliseum battles are stacked matches, with everyone from Bartolomeo the Cannibal to Jesus Burgess of the Blackbeard Pirates competing. Luffy makes it through the first round relatively easy even without the use of his Gum-Gum Powers, since he’s trying to keep a low profile. Things are about to go down though, and he’s going to have to leave the fight for Ace’s Fruit. Until someone offers to take his place and Luffy has one of the most unexpected reunions ever.
How is Sabo Alive?
The last time anyone saw Sabo he was under the Celestial Dragons’ boat. He isn’t great, but in the madness of the Celestial Dragons’ arrival and Grey Terminal burning, Sabo finds rescue by Monkey D Dragon. He was taken in and brought back to good health, though he had a terrible case of amnesia that wouldn’t let him remember anything. Sabo trained as the Revolutionary Army’s Chief of Staff, and is working in an undercover capacity alongside Koala (the slave Fisher Tiger saved) to stop Doflamingo’s arms dealing.
Sabo would have met up with Luffy sooner, but the amnesia didn’t go away until he read the news of Ace’s death in the paper. It’s a shock to his system, and brings memories rushing back to Sabo about his brothers. Now, he’s determined to take Luffy’s place and win Ace’s Fruit to carry on the will of his lost brother.
The Toy Soldier
Kyros, the former champion of the arena who won over ten thousand battles, is none other than the one-legged Toy Soldier that requests the help of the Straw Hats. He’s the only toy that still remembers he was a human, but still has to work along with all the others. He’s been leading an underground resistance alongside the Tontatta for some time, sabotaging Doflamingo wherever possible. Now, he knows that the time to strike is here with Luffy and the other combatants going at it in the Coliseum. To make matters worse, Law gives Doflamingo an ultimatum – resign from the Warlords, or they’ll kill Caesar Clown.
Doflamingo isn’t playing fair though, and has a fake story put out in the paper thanks to Cipher Pol 0. When this proves untrue, it’s too late to stop the revolution plan. Everything goes down with an explosive start as the Straw Hat Pirates infiltrate the underground port. Meanwhile, a team back at the Sunny is under attack by a couple of Doflamingo’s lackeys. They fight back, and make a break for Zou with Caesar Clown under Luffy’s orders.
Why Do the Straw Hats Split Up?
There are a couple of different reasons the Straw Hats split up. The first is to get Caesar Clown away from Doflamingo, since he was their main bargaining chip. The second reason is so the Straw Hat team can make contact with Law’s crew at Zou. This will allow them all to regroup after Dressrosa and move in to take on Kaido immediately after. So, the Thousand Sunny departs Dressrosa with Sanji, Nami, Brook, and Chopper on board heading for Zou.
Who Are the Straw Hat Fleet?
When all hell breaks loose in the Dressrosa Coliseum battles, all competitors find themselves in a cell under the arena. Here they become toys one by one, before they have to do Dressrosa’s dirty work. Sabo wins the tournament and Flame-Flame Fruit above, but in the meantime the other competitors are slowly being turned and purged of their humanity, with no say in the matter.
This includes representations from the Happosui Kingdom, Bartolomeo, and Cavendish, both pirates themselves. A giant, Hajrudin, is also one of the fighters. Hajrudin has somewhat of a history with the Straw Hats already, as he was an item in a slave auction. The exact one they crashed during their first trip to Sabaody. When Luffy frees them from their slavery as toys, they all pledge to fight behind him. Luffy tells them he doesn’t want to command a fleet, but if they ever need help, he’ll be there.
God Usopp
Arcs where Usopp gets major character development are always good arcs. Dressrosa arc has him start out strong, lying his way into the hearts of the Tontatta before trying (and failing) to take on Sugar. His attempt to hit her with a ridiculously spicy star to knock her out, breaking the toy curse, doesn’t work. He saves the day as he’s hit hard, his pained face scares Sugar, and all the toys poof back. This earns Usopp a ton of praise from the Tontatta and the moniker God Usopp, but he’s not done yet.
When the Hobby-Hobby Fruit user makes another move to start turning people into toys later, Usopp pulls off the most impressive sniper shot in history to take her out for good. All the way across the island from Dressrosa Castle, Usopp uses his Observation Haki to get a lock on Sugar’s position. Then, he builds a three-stage propulsion system on the spot to shoot a 3D drawing of his face made by Kanjuro all the way across to Sugar. It does the job perfectly, and knocks her out without a moment to spare before she was going to call for backup.
What is the Birdcage?
The Birdcage is Doflamingo’s ultimate attack, a final Hail Mary in the most desperate situation he could be in. He uses his String-String Powers to set up a massive cage around the entire country. It slowly shrinks bit by bit, slicing everything that it meets. The Birdcage begins to crush the entire country together with everyone inside, Doflamingo threatening to kill everyone. Unless they turn on the Straw Hat Pirates for him, of course.
Doflamingo’s Tragic History
Turns out Doflamingo has major PTSD from a lot of things that happened when he was a kid. Donquixote Doflamingo was the youngest son of the Doflamingo family, with his father, mother, and older brother Rocinante. Doflamingo’s father chose to give up their life as Celestial Dragons, and they came to live among others on the Grand Line. People really don’t like Celestial Dragons though, and the family is quickly the victim of an angry mob. The mob ties them up before setting their home on fire. While both of their parents die, Doflamingo and Rocinante get away, though Rocinante disappears for some time afterward.
As it turns out, Rocinante left to join the Navy and became a member of SWORD. He was taken in as Sengoku’s adoptive son, and helps the Navy from the inside of Doflamingo’s family. It’s Rocinante that takes a liking to a young Law who is dying of White Lead Disease. The two go off on a dangerous adventure to find a cure, but eventually come back when Doflamingo finds the Op-Op Fruit, which he planned to have Rocinante eat. Law eats it instead as Doflamingo discovers Rocinante’s betrayal and kills his brother, leaving Law with a permanent score to settle.
Kyros
When Kyros turns back into a human, his entire family also regains their memories of him. This includes his daughter Rebecca, who has been fighting in the Dressrosa Coliseum to free herself. She wins every fight without a single attack too, using Ring Out as her father taught her not to kill. What they also remember is that Rebecca is the granddaughter of the current King Riku, whose daughter was Rebecca’s mother.
Kyros helps to save his daughter from Diamente as she tries to get revenge for her mother. Father and daughter fight alongside each other, and eventually reconcile in tears after they finish their mission.
What is Devil Fruit Awakening?
Doflamingo is one of the first to show off a Devil Fruit Awakening. So far, only Paramecia and Zoan Type Devil Fruits have Awakenings, with Paramecia allowing users to affect other objects with their power. Zoan users meanwhile take on a leaner, more powerful Hybrid form that gives enhanced speed, strength, and durability. Nothing for Logia as of yet, but hopefully, Smoker is the one to show that off.
When Doflamingo uses his, he’s able to turn the earth and buildings around him into massive strings. Wild tangles burst from the ground, attacking wildly to try and get to Luffy during the final battle of Dressrosa. Everyone is putting all their hopes on Luffy, even Fujitora and his Navy soldiers. The Devil Fruit Awakening of Doflamingo is too much for Luffy to take until he unveils a new trick.
Luffy’s Gear Four
Luffy unveils both Gear Two and Gear Three in Enies Lobby, with new Gear Three coming after the time skip. After his Gear Three moves don’t get the job done in his fight with Doffy, things look bad. When he says Gear Four and bites his forearm though, preparing to inflate them, the hype sets in. He inflates his body, utilizing Haki to mold and shape his arms and legs. When the smoke clears what’s left is a comical sight.
Luffy is massive, but only his top half. He has massive arms, huge muscles, but meanwhile, his legs are the same size. Hell they’re even more tiny, and he has to constantly bounce. Despite the ridiculous look of it, Luffy creates the perfect combination of Haki and Devil Fruit power. Bounceman gives him massive reach and the ability to fly, plus larger limbs to use in his attacks. With his Gum-Gum Kong Gun, Luffy ends Doflamingo’s reign of terror over the country of Dressrosa.
What Happens Next?
Now that the country of Dressrosa is free and the Riku family is back in charge, it’s time to rebuild. For the Straw Hats though it’s time to set off, with Law still in tow, and meet up with the rest of their crew on Zou. They leave with new powers, bounties, and titles, as well as a fleet of more than ten new warriors and their crews pledging their loyalty. Now Luffy has even more power than he wants, and the World Government is taking him as a serious threat. As if that’s not a big enough problem for them, Sabo has the Flame-Flame Fruit for the Revolutionary Army. Everyone in the World Government and Navy is about to have a very big headache on their hands.
So, that brings the Dressrosa arc to an end, with Zou and Reverie arcs coming up next! Now that Dressrosa is back in the people’s hands, they have to start preparing for the Reverie where world leaders meet every year to decide on big issues. It’s not far away, and the Riku family has a very important matter to bring up at this year’s event. In the meantime, the Straw Hat Pirates sail on toward Zou, and another surprise- one of their own is gone! Find out what happens in the Zou and Reverie arcs of One Piece!
