Manga: Chapter 572 (SPOILERS!)

SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!!

TIMES A CHANGEIN! Back in my days I use to.....

Ok...Let not focus on some bad joke. Instead let focus on the much more important things is happening like the huge gaping hole in Whitebeard's chest. haha Well I guess that is kind of the focus on this chapter and post but that is a bit later.

Joking aside, this was a great chapter. I may be using great loosely but overall this was a great chapter. I do have an issue with this chapter  because to me it felt like it lacked something. Maybe lacking is the wrong word though. To me too much time was focus on Luffy and Ace doing their great run and attack on Marine but then again this was one of the best parts of this chapter. I saw the first page of this chapter and had a huge smile on my face. I was happy when I read the line where everybody was yelling that Ace was free and was grinning when I saw that Whitebeard was grinning too. Those few pages in this chapter just gave me a happy feeling or at least gave me a happy feeling.

Heck, the opening image of  this post could have been an image of Luffy and Ace taking down Marines because it just made me feel so happy to see the two brothers back together and kicking butt. Then I remember that this kind of image would be way too spoiler-ish because for all the just anime followers will know that Ace would be free eventually. Also most of the scenes I wanted to use were a bit too big for me to capture. haha Though I do love the brotherly love that Luffy and Ace share together.

BEAUTIFUL! Purely beautiful! I love when Luffy get shot with bullets because it just never ceases to make me smile because I know what is coming next. They get shot back and the scene after this one was just so funny. Though the beauty of this scene goes beyond Luffy. I just love how beautifully drawn Ace is to show that bullets are useless on him too. You can see where the bullets went though Ace and then flare up on his body. Nicely drawn.

"That is my little brother. There is no need to lay a  finger on him, alright?!"
-Ace

That is such a big brother line right there. I should know since I am a big brother too. They may not be brothers by blood but they sure are brother in spirit. They are SOUL BROTHERS! haha Still Oda did a good job in building up the relationship between Ace and Luffy as brothers. These two guys knew they are not brothers by blood but they still treat each other as brothers. Ace even goes as far to know that he has to keep on protecting his little brother even when he knows that his little brother has gotten stronger. Hearing that makes me happy since I feel like I understand Ace as a fellow big brother. It hits me hard right here in the heart.

We even get Ace's signature move, Fire Fist! Nicely drawn all the way to the back to back of the two brothes with huge smiles on their faces. I love the smile that Ace is showing because it looks so cool and happy.

Damn....I wish I said this earlier but I know it is recorded. I mention before that it would be funny if the fro that we saw Sengoku with back in Chapter 0 was hidden under his hat that he wears all the time. I don't believe I was right. Apparently the fro from twenty years ago was under the fro this whole time. I don't know how was there but apparently it has  been there. So I present everybody to Afro Sengoku. haha

"Fufufu Let them get away! That'll make the aftermath even more interesting!"
-Doflamingo

This from Doflamingo was so funny. Also it explain what the other Warlords who are a bit iffy on loyalty to the Marines are thinking. I was wondering why we don't have any of the higher powerful people out there trying to stop Luffy and Ace. Seems like they (as in Doflamingo) just want to let them get away. Nice. haha

Now we hit the serious part of the chapter. The part that made me wish we had less of Ace and Luffy running and more of this part. The huge hole in Whitebeard's chest! haha Well not really but it does concern Whitebeard. Seems like the old man knows what is going to happen to him and he knows it is not going to end up with him being able to sit down with Luffy drinking sake.

Whitebeard is a smart man. He isn't the most powerful person in the world for no reason apparently. The guy knows that they have no done what they came to do which was to rescue Ace. Now that is done, it is time to get the heck out of here and for him that means getting every person that helped him at Marineford the heck out of there. Even if that means him staying behind.

"What I'm about to tell you now!!! Is my final 'captain's order'!!!!...Stay alive at all costs!!! Return to the New World in one piece!!!"
-Whitebeard

We all saw that this was coming. That Whitebeard was going to say something about this being his last something. Whitebeard is fully aware of what he has to do here and knows what he is. He is an old man and it is time to step down from the pirate world. The guy has seen what is in the future and he is happy. Did you see that smile that he had back on the first page of the chapter? That was a smile that said, "Ok, I have seen the future and I know it is going to be bright" kind of smile. Whitebeard threw the test to Luffy demanding that he shows him what the future has in store and it made Whitebeard happy. Now the old man has to step down and hand the show to the younger generation.

EDIT: I just realized this when I was looking over the post after posting. What Whitebeard said about everybody staying alive sounds just like what Luffy said to the crew back at Sabaody Archipelago. Hmm...does it means something?

One of the things that this arc has been sticking out to me is that even though we have a lot of young powerful people like Luffy and Smoker, the world is full of powerful older people like Whitebeard and Garp. Still if you want to know which side (Pirates and Marines) will be able to live easier in the future then I am going have to say the Pirates. A lot of the Marines powerful forces (that I have seen) seem to be a lot of old people. Two out of the three admirals and Garp are old people. There is a huge age gap between the people who are in power and the lower ranks. While on the pirates side we know of at least eleven powerful rookies. Then just now we are seeing one of the most powerful pirates in the New World letting a young kid do the job of saving a fellow young pirate by giving him his full support. The old are passing the torch.

To be fair, the Marines do have powerful people and it seems like Garp understands this too since he is taking the job in trainer Coby and Helmeppo so maybe this is Garp ways in  training a new generation of Marines.

Then we get QUAKEPUNCH!!!

I can see Whitebeard go out in one of three ways. He either stays behind and fight the Marines alone so he dies offscreen (like I predicted (See Top 5 and Predictions post from a few weeks back)). The guy could die around his pirate crew as they sail away (Most sad way). Lastly the guy could end up surviving buy everybody thinks he is dead (Basically another Pell moment). That is what I think. As in what happens I don't know.

STILL DID YOU SEE THAT HUGE HOLE IN WHITEBRARD'S CHEST!

Well this is just one of those moments where it is better to just agree with what is happening and accept it. Apparently in One Piece it is possible for people to have huge bloody gaps in their chest and still be alive. Okay. I accept that.

Then this episode ends up with a flashback to what seems like Whitebeard at a younger time. I won't be surprise if we get a Whitebeard flashback soon but still looks like things will be closing soon. It has been one long journey but here we are. I guess we won't know anything until next week which is a week away! So final battle come this way because I am up to see this.

Also this doesn't have anything to do with the manga chapter but I am considering the idea of a 'substitute blogger'. I don't want to go into details here but it is an idea that I am considering due to things that are coming. Just something I am mentioning and thinking about.

Still till next week on this 'final' battle between Whitebeard and the Marines!