A hobbyist: streamer, writer and rare ship enjoyer

The Donquixote brothers now faced each other. Doflamingo began with a greeting—“It’s been half a year, hasn’t it... Corazon...!”—which sounded almost like an accusation. Cora was sitting on the ground, leaning against the treasure chest in which Law was hiding. He recalled the moment he had met Sengoku as a boy. Then he raised his gun, identified himself as a Marine, and declared his purpose, which was to stop the “disaster Doflamingo was about to cause.” Cora bumped his head against the chest behind him and continued: “Sorry for having lied to you before...! But I really didn’t want you to hate me...!” (Law: “What are you apologizing for?! I knew that already...!”) Doflamingo: ......?

(Caption: Left panels, 1-3, from Chapter 780. Doflamingo: “What is that ‘Corazon’ on your back supposed to mean...?! And those ‘Heart Pirates’ of yours—what are they supposed to mean?!”)

I find Doflamingo’s “......?” particularly amusing. First, because of how dead serious he looks (right, panel 1). Second, it almost seems like Cora and Law shared a secret language, in which Cora first spoke to Law, and Law spoke back for the next thirteen years—a language Doflamingo never had a clue existed. Until the final battle in Dressrosa, when it finally dawned on him and he promptly blew up (left, panels 1–3). On that note, I’m not even sure Doflamingo would have caught on upon seeing the “Corazon” on Law’s back, had Law not retold their backstory to him and kept invoking Cora-san’s name. 

Doflamingo, none the wiser and impatient, pressed Cora about the Op-Op Fruit and Law’s whereabouts. Cora told him that Law had already eaten the fruit and was probably “under Marine protection by now”—at which point Baby 5 and Buffalo reported that they had indeed heard over Marine communications that “a boy has been secured.” Doflamingo immediately ordered his crew to prepare to set sail, intending to take Law back. At this point, Cora, still stunned by the coincidence, delivered what I consider an extraordinarily well-judged line: “Hold it...! What are you going to do with Law if you get hold of him?”

As I read it, Cora’s question served a dual purpose. On the one hand, it reinforced Doflamingo’s belief that Law was already under Marine protection. On the other hand, it was meant to bait Doflamingo into revealing his “true colors” as someone who exploited his own people—right in front of Law. Cora certainly didn’t underestimate Doflamingo’s ruthlessness; if anything, he might have overestimated it. For instance, after Doflamingo called him about the Op-Op Fruit, Cora immediately told Law, “Doffy probably already suspects me of betrayal.” He also believed that Doflamingo was “planning to sacrifice me, his obedient little brother, in exchange for ‘eternal life,’” and that going back to the gang meant “death for sure.” Therefore, upon hearing Doflamingo say he was going to take Law back, Cora would naturally have thought that he planned to trade Law’s life someday for his own immortality. But Cora asked the question despite already knowing the answer, because that answer needed to be said out loud—and it would be most effective coming from Doflamingo’s own mouth.

—“You want to know what I’m going to do with Law...? Why, now that he’s eaten the Op-Op Fruit... what else but make him into a good boy who’ll gladly die for me!”

Of course, Doflamingo had no idea that Law was listening. But he didn’t have to answer Cora’s question either—Cora “had nothing to say to” Doflamingo’s people and hadn’t bothered to answer their questions. Doflamingo probably did intend to have Law perform the operation that would grant him immortality at some point in the future. But his words here were likely meant largely to spite Cora. The wording seems charged with emotion: he sneers at the sincerity and sacrifice of others, boasts of his ability to manipulate others’ feelings, and presents his own selfishness as the most natural thing in the world—as though deliberately showing off just how evil and cruel he was.

The malice seems partly directed toward Cora, whose deception and betrayal might have severely hurt Doflamingo’s feelings. Furthermore, Cora had achieved almost every goal in this struggle over the Op-Op Fruit and Law, while Doflamingo had achieved none. It is entirely characteristic of Doflamingo—with his inflated ego and inviolable self-image—to want to regain the upper hand and make Cora (who was supposed to be his obedient little brother) feel the despair of knowing that all his efforts had been, and would be, futile.

The malice also seems partly directed toward Law. In the preceding chapters, Doflamingo had treated Law—who at the time strongly identified with him—with a great deal of care and an almost uncharacteristic level of respect. Now he spoke as though Law deserved to be manipulated and exploited this way. Where does this hostility—which, from a reader’s perspective, seems almost sudden—come from? Was Doflamingo jealous of Law for receiving Cora’s genuine affection, when, according to Doflamingo, he  himself was the one who deserved it—as the brother who had protected Cora and treated him so sincerely? Was he upset with Law, who should still have identified with him—as he once had—but now seemed to listen to Cora instead?

The following three pages strike me as particularly interesting. Depending on whether we include the panels from Law’s point of view, there seem to be two different ways of interpreting what’s going on. Here’s the first reading, which follows the manga’s original panel sequence and includes Law’s perspective:

Doflamingo, pointing his gun at Cora, roared: “Why do you have to cause all this trouble?! Why do you go out of your way to stand in my way?! Corazon! Why are you making me kill another member of my own family—and with my own hands?!” (Law: panicking.) Doflamingo continued: “You could never pull the trigger...! You are just like Father...!” Law remembered what Cora had told him when Cora hid him inside the treasure chest: Doflamingo would never kill his own brother; at worst, he would cut ties with Cora. Cora would meet Law later in the nearby town. And—“I love you.” Beside himself with panic, Law silently pounded against the inside of the chest. Cora rose to his feet and answered Doflamingo’s threat:  “...Law won't listen to you anymore, Doffy. —He has overcome the ‘fate’ that was supposed to have killed him by now...! He is no longer the lost child who wandered into your gang of maniacs... He has nothing to gain from a devil like you! Leave him alone! He is free!”

Read this way, Cora’s final words declaring Law’s freedom sound perfectly natural, because they come immediately after the panels of Law remembering him. The firmness with which Cora delivers these words, together with his rising to his feet—thus facing Doflamingo on equal footing—reinforces Cora’s image as Law’s protector. Even the words themselves seem, much like the Calm-Calm Fruit’s power, to offer protection, hope and a blessing to Law in his panic, grief, and helplessness. Unable to make Cora—by this point almost Law’s guardian angel—yield through fear or despair, Doflamingo could only kill him before attempting to get his hands on Law again. 

Here’s the second reading, which removes Law’s perspective and brings us closer to Doflamingo’s point of view:

Furious, Doflamingo finally raised his gun and roared: “Why do you have to cause all this trouble?! Why do you go out of your way to stand in my way?! Corazon! Why are you making me kill another member of my own family—and with my own hands?!”  His tone seemed to calm somewhat: “You could never pull the trigger...! You’re just like Father...!” Cora, who had remained slumped on the ground, rose to his feet, with his gun still pointed at Doflamingo. He made no response to what Doflamingo had said about family. Instead, he told him that his fantasy of making Law into “a good boy who would gladly die for [him]” was nothing more than that—a fantasy: “...Law won’t listen to you anymore, Doffy.” (Doflamingo has a “!?” speech bubble here, which one may read as him being surprised by the subject Cora has chosen to pursue—although, under the first reading, he might simply be surprised that Cora has managed to stand up.) “He has overcome the ‘fate’ that was supposed to have killed him by now...! He is no longer the lost child who wandered into your gang of maniacs... He has nothing to gain from a devil like you! Leave him alone! He is free!”

(Caption: what it might feel like with Law’s POV removed. Left panel: Doflamingo’s roar. Middle panel: Doflamingo: “You could never pull the trigger…” etc. Right panel: Cora: “...Law won’t listen to you anymore…” etc., alongside Doflamingo’s “!?” speech bubble.)

Here the progression of emotion might be as follows: after the yelling, Doflamingo had already vented much of his rage. He was still pointing his gun at Cora, but his tone became relatively calm as he began talking about their family. Perhaps he really was hesitating over whether to kill Cora or not. But then Cora stood up and confronted Doflamingo as though they were equals. This gesture alone could be (over)read as a challenge to—or rejection of—Doflamingo’s position as the “older brother.” What’s more, Cora refused to engage with Doflamingo’s attempt to talk about family. Instead, he declared Doflamingo’s utter defeat in the struggle over both Law and the Op-Op Fruit, which was a direct blow to Doflamingo’s pride. In a burst of anger, Doflamingo shot Cora dead.