Manga: Chapter 721 (SPOILERS!)

SPOILERS!

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The drama continues from last week as Rebecca gets upset over the fact that the toy soldier will die but opens up to Luffy because the soldier (as well as the other toys) is practically human to her. In addition, the toy soldier actually took Rebecca in and raised her because her mother died. Hmmm...

Rebecca is told that her match is about to start while Luffy starts to eat the lunchboxes off the ground simply to pay Rebecca back for buying them for him. She tells Luffy that they'll meet each other in the finals and we start to enter flashback territory once again.

Time to break out the Kleenex guys

Rebecca lived a humble life with her mother selling flowers, they were happy together. Because this is One Piece, things are going to go horribly wrong. Their kingdom is burnt to the ground and they escape the madness while being pursued by Diamante. Some time later, the mother Scarlett tells Rebecca to stay in a certain spot in the woods as she goes off to buy food for the two of them...oh dear.

Sure enough, Rebecca finds her dead mother being carried by the toy soldier who apologises for not being able to protect her and tries to give her food but Rebecca cries over her dead mother while troops are still trying to find them.

Near Scarlett's grave, the soldier tells Rebecca of the new king (Doflamingo) is trying to eliminate important people from the former regime. That is why Scarlett was killed and Rebecca will no doubt be killed as well. The soldier vows to protect Rebecca even if it costs him his own life. But Rebecca resents him and just wants to go home.

I love subtle moments like these

In the village, the newly crowned Doflamingo promises the villagers to bring wealth back to the country because the previous rulers from the Riku family increased high taxation and previously made the country poor. Yes, I'm sure he is totally trustworthy.

We see over a short period of time that Rebecca did eventually warm up to the toy soldier and the two became inseparable. They eventually got a house but the soldier stays outside because if you recall, the law dictates that humans and toys cannot be in the same home. The soldier says that he'll leave a flower petal by the window each morning just to prove to her that he is always around even if they're not in the same house. Its rather touching.

The two spent much time together as the years passed until one day when Rebecca is kidnapped which forces the toy soldier to attack them and becomes a fugitive. The two have to leave but Rebecca doesn't mind as long as they're together. The soldier eventually teaches Rebecca how to fight in case anything happens to him. She does resist at first because her mother told her not to hurt others but the soldier reassures that she can fight without hurting anyone.

The flashback ends with Rebecca entering the arena to what at first seems like an excited crowd but in actuality, a sea of booing and death threats due to her lineage in the Riku family. The chapter ends with a confused Luffy telling the prisoners that this wrong because Rebecca is nice but is told that Rebecca's grandfather is the source of hatred from the citizens because he was the previous king.

DUN DUN DUUUUN!

Whew! That was quite a emotional ride wasn't it? Then again it is a One Piece flashback so it is to be expected to be serious. In any case, it was nice to see some light shed on Rebecca's past and her current situation as well as the toy soldier.

No doubt Rebecca wants to kill Doflamingo to get revenge on for her family but she may also want to bring back the previous regime albeit change it somehow so that the citizens will be happy and her family's name will be cleared as well.

How exactly Rebecca will perform in the fight as well as how everyone else will come together to the Colosseum to get all of the problems fixed, remains to be seen. I have a feeling its not going to be much longer until we get to the big fight of this arc, its practically an extended battle royale (ironically) because the stakes are high for practically every single one of our protagonists. In other words this is getting really exciting.

Overall, this one tugged at the heartstrings and makes me invested in Rebecca's character more than before. Although at the same time, I want this big fight to come already because I'm incredibly impatient so bonus points for keeping this flashback to one chapter. Oh well, until next time everybody!

This is a strange prequel to Child's Play