What will you become tomorrow?

To Iva-chan, Thanks for Everything! - Victoria Cindry

She’s the navigator of this whole operation

(Pose ref under the cut)

<< < >

What an interesting panel layout by Oda at the end of the Luffy vs Magellan fight. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but it's much more vertical than usual. The black panel at the bottom transitions immediately to Luffy's defeat, but usually when Oda has the types of transitions they go horizontally, like this example earlier in the chapter

This is such an insane thing for Luffy to say, but in a way he's right. He can't win if he can't physically hit Magellan, but people who aren't at least a little bit crazy aren't going to think this way, and obviously it doesn't work because even if Luffy had managed the one hit KO he still ends up massively poisoned.. You can see just how shocked Magellan is by Luffy's thought process here, and even if he had time to move out of the way I think he's too surprised to try and avoid the hit.

What sets this apart from Zoro's more humorous attempts at cutting off his own limbs is that this is not how Luffy ordinarily is. Zoro's very blase about cutting and being cut, and the ridiculous amount of damage he tanks in his fights almost become a joke unto themselves.

Luffy's desperation to save his brother--the same thing that drove him into hell in the first place--leads him down this increasingly self-destructive path over the course of the Marineford Saga. The only thing I can think of that comes even remotely close is how he tried to rip off his own arms during the Whole Cake Island arc, but at least in that instance he had his crew, as well as an alliance with Bege he could depend on.

Luffy's alone right now. His crew is scattered, and Bon-chan has abandoned him. And as we'll learn later on during his flashback, there's nothing Luffy hates more in all the world than loneliness. He'll sacrifice everything to keep feeling that way, and to him, the cost is worth it.