The necessary suffering he had to put his daughter through…Become strong, Rebecca
The relationship between Soldier-san and Rebecca really is incredible, even if Rebecca doesn’t know that Soldier-san is her father yet, the love she holds for him feels like it extends way beyond the times they shared as if her subconscious is instinctively aware of their connection. Soldier-san ready to sacrifice his life for his daughter’s future and Rebecca ready to put her life on the life to protect Soldier-san. I cannot wait for the moment in which the two are able to reunite as father and daughter.
It is quite amazing how Oda-sensei worked the Block D battle into the chapter with all the other exciting developments happening. Starting off with Rebecca’s conveyance of her resolve to protect Soldier-san and ending with Soldier-san’s resolve to protect his daughter and her future even at the cost of his life. Rather then just another Colosseum battle round, the events ongoing within the Block D battle became a development centrally relevant to this entire arc. Soldier-san at the head of bringing Doflamingo down and Rebecca in a position to showcase to the Dressrosa citizens the true character of the Riku Family. The Dressrosa citizens may not notice it yet as they are blinded by their manipulated views of their current King, Doflamingo, and their former King, Riku Dold III, but once the veil of lies disappears and the truth is laid bare right in front of them, they should be able to look past their now current ego-centered taunts for Rebecca’s head and recall just how beautiful Rebecca’s fighting style is – it represents exactly what the Riku Family embodies, not meeting your opponent with direct negativity and always getting back up.
Rebecca…
Taking all of that into account as well as Soldier-sans stand in the elevator against the Donquixote forces including the flashback of him training Rebecca and urging her to get back up and become strong, it is obvious who the victor of this Block D battle is. Rebecca of course, Soldier-san instilled in her the enduring qualities of knowing what to fight for and getting back up whenever she is knocked down as shown through the flashback. I will be surprised if the one standing in the end is not Rebecca.
As for who used Haoshoku Haki to knock out the competitors in Block D, you have to wonder why at the very moment Sabo is brought back into the story something like this had happened. My thoughts are that Sabo is getting quite impatient waiting to get his hands on Ace’s Mera Mera no Mi and as a result sought to speed things up by ending Block D. This could lead to an even more interesting development if this did happen. If Rebecca is the one who stands up at the end of the battle, Sabo would undoubtedly be surprised and in the end once Sabo realises the resolve and courage within Rebecca, he may in fact leave the Mera Mera no Mi to her. I honestly wouldn’t mind either Sabo or Rebecca getting the Mera Mera no Mi, they are bought amazing characters who remind me of Ace so much.
Noland really did slay a Sea King (chapter 286)! You can do it Usoland!!
I am so looking forward to seeing what Usopp and Robin are going to do once they reach Trébol and Sugar. Trébol may seem like a too powerful foe for either Usopp or Robin to handle, but I believe they can take him and even if that doesn’t turn out, there is still Koala to factor in who is most likely heading towards where Robin is. The Tontatta Tribe dwarves are quite badass but I have my doubts as to whether they will be more than a supporting force in taking down either Trébol or Sugar. Usopp fluctuating between despairing and confident is hilarious, one moment he is terrified of having to lead the Tontatta force to victory and in the next moment once he witnesses the dwarves strength, he is relieved at the prospect of being able to avoid combat and still attain victory.
Looking forward to seeing who the victor of Block D is and how Robin, Usopp and the Tontatta Tribe are going to cause Sugar to deactivate her Hobi Hobi no Mi power.
Yay a Christmas/Winter inspired colour spread, love it
12Dimension 