Manga: Chapter 589 (SPOILERS!)

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

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Can you believe it? Next chapter will be Chapter 590. Then in ten chapters we will be on Chapter 600. I wonder if Oda will do anything special for that chapter as a colorwalk or something big like reuniting the StrawHats. That seems like a good time to do it.

Still in Oda fashion, the guy comes back from a break bearing gifts which was the end of the flashback. Got to say the ending of this flashback left a good feeling in me that felt fresh and happy. Though the ending of this chapter was a surprise.

This chapter had things that reflect other things that we have seen so far in this series. The biggest thing that was reflected was the part where we saw Luffy sailing away from Dawn Island which is the same that we saw in the first chapter. The easy one. Though if we want to get deep then it be the moment when Luffy said to Dadan and her men that he hates mountain bandits but he liked them. Kind of reminded me of the way that Luffy treats old villains like Buggy and Mr. 3. They were kind of bad people but when he saw them in Impel Down, the kid really liked them and played around with them. It also helps that Dadan was crying when Luffy told them that which was similar to the reaction that Buggy and Mr. 3 had when Luffy said he was happy to see that they were alright. haha

"I want to become stronger! More more...more stronger! And then I'll will protect everything. So that no one has to disappear anymore!"
-Luffy

This line hit me hard. It reminded me of what Luffy told Blueno back in Volume 40, Chapter 387 (Gear). Luffy said almost the same thing back then about how after he was defeated by Aokiji that he wanted to find a way to get strong so that none of his friends would have to disappear. It is kind of scary that Luffy developed this mentally as a little kid. This want to be stronger so he can protect his friends. This want has fueled Luffy to fight and win in almost every fight he been in ranging from his match against Arlong to Crocodile and up all the way to Moria. Luffy has been doing this for a long time now it seems.

It is scary that Luffy has been like this since a little kid. When I heard Luffy say something similar like this back at Enies Lobby, I thought this was noble and impressive of him  but this could be another flaw-strength of Luffy.  It is a strength since Luffy can draw power from this as he did against Lucci but it is a flaw since it could push Luffy too far just like we saw back at Thriller Bark and recently at Marineford.

Now we got some interesting little bits here. First off it seems like the island that Zoro and Kuina isn't too far from the island that Luffy was raised on. I am just saying this seeing that Dragon and them seem to got there pretty fast after the events at the Goa Kingdom. Looks like these two kids been hard at work in training to be the world's greatest swordsman.

So it seems like Zoro's master has no problem helping out the Revolutionaries and maybe Zoro has seen Dragon and Ivankov before in the past. It seems like those three kids notice Ivankov when he pay the Dojo a visit asking for rations which I am thinking that Zoro saw Dragon too. Also remember that Zoro was the only one missing when Garp revealed that Dragon was Luffy's dad. Did Oda purposefully left Zoro out of that scene to not reveal that Zoro knows about Dragon? I maybe looking too much into the small details of this chapter but they are interesting things to look at.

Still the big question here is what is the first aid kit for? The clear answer that everybody is surely thinking is Sabo. It seems like Sabo was picked up by the Revolutionaries and is going to hang with them for a good while. This is all under the guess that they are using the first aid kit to heal up Sabo. Funny how Oda pulls the curtain on us and maybe he can still pull the curtain on us but for now let say it is Sabo. Also I said this on Twitter and I say it here, "A hat isn't a body. I won't believe that Sabo is dead until I see his (dead, floating) body."

Then there is the fact that Sabo spoke to them while Luffy and Ace are fighting. When Sabo mention that Luffy's arm has stretched longer and that he will fight Ace next. Oda doesn't seem like the one to put random 'ghost' in things just for a reason. It feels like Sabo was actually there but then disappear. He is with Dragon and the guy has been known to pull disappearing acts. So maybe Dragon allowed for Sabo to see Ace and Luffy one last time. Just another of my crazy ideas that may not come true.

Also the people of Goa Kingdom are douches. They burn down Trash Mountain for the Celestial Dragons' visit and then rebuild it once they are gone. Douches.

Watching the little montage where we saw Ace and Luffy grow up was nice. It was very realistic and true to how siblings grow up. Even in a serreal world like One Piece, somethings don't change like being brothers. There are times when you argue and fight but then there are the times when you have to come together and help each other. Even though they are not real brothers, they sure act like it. I kind of laughed a little when Luffy and Ace had their own country since I am sure that many people with little brothers did the same thing or something similar. 

Seeing Luffy setting sail was such a happy feeling. He looks very young and innocent here. A time before Luffy had to fight such villains like Arlong, Crocodile, the CP9, Moria and now a bulk of the Marines. So many things has change since that day where he took a rowboat and eventually popped out of the barrel. Luffy seem so much more innocent there as he left Windmill Village. Easily defeating the King of  the Coast and just filled with energy.

Clearly it was a much different series back then. A series that was lighthearted and filled with the idea of a grand adventure.  The series is still like that today but now we have much more serious tones. Clearly it seems like the story has gone full circle with what is going on here. Luffy just leaving for an adventure and without a crew.

This last part was a surprise. I was thinking that this chapter would end the flashback so this was expected. The problem was what were we going to get when we landed out of the flashback. We leave the flashback with a happy moment then get out of it to see the grim situation where Luffy is morning the last of his older brother.

"Pirate King....Yeah right! I'M WEAK!"
-Luffy

The bottom part of the second to last page was kind of disturbing to read since I could tell what was going to happen after I saw the 'yeah right' part. If this was being animated then you could hear the doubt in that statement. The doubt that he doesn't believe in himself leaking out of the statement. Then you turn the page and you see him scream out that he is weak. That is a powerful statement to hear from Luffy.

In a chapter that was mostly about getting stronger, we see Luffy claiming to be weak. This is clearly an understatement since we seen Luffy defeat many tough opponents. We are not sure where these guys stack up against Ace but surely some of the more recent ones could be on the same level as his brother. Guess we may not know. Still this is strike three for Luffy I think. First he lost against Aokiji so he develop the Gears. The second time he lost his crew during Sabaody and now the third strike is the lost his brother. I can understand why Luffy may feel very down considering that the last two were so close to each other in time.

Really I have no idea where this is going or what will happen next week. Everything is drawing blanks. One part of me want to believe that Jimbei will try to comfort Luffy but I don't really believe that. Jimbei may be wise and all but so far Luffy doesn't seem to take all what Jimbei is saying. So we will have to wait till next week to see what will happen next. I kind of thinking that this may have to be resolve either before the crew comes back together or when the crew comes back. One of those two but who knows. Oda once again pulled the sheet over our eyes and now we have to see what happens next.