Sometimes I wonder if the scene above is widely known? Or the one below.
In the scene above, chapter 525, Ace is in Impel Down awaiting execution. Garp gestures with an open palm, trying to explain what he knows about Roger, Ace's biological father, but Ace doesn't want to hear. I know, in theory, Garp could have busted Ace out of prison (we hope), but his face tells of his disconcertion with the situation that Ace is in. (The anime is a different creature).
The scene above is followed in this post by the scene below from chapter 551 where Roger asks Garp to take care of his unborn child (Garp has a recent flashback, then a more distant one. He's on Ace's execution platform).
Before I go further, I want to say that I'm not particularly a fan of the marines, but I am a fan of nuanced writing, and the complexities of humans and humankind. I also try not to think about things in a polarising manner.
Systemic abuse and injustice exists in institutions, and is rife in institutions such as the military, but I don't think that all members of institutions are systemic abusers due to belonging to the institution, although you can argue that by dint of being in the system they perpetuate it.
However, people also have many reasons why they're in a system, including that many might not recognise that they are part of one that can generate harm. I also believe that people can change, but that not all people do.
Anyway, back to the meta and Garp. I've recently seen some discourse stating that Garp spoke badly to Ace about Roger, and I'm not all across the board with One Piece, so I might have missed it. In the manga scenes I could dig up, the opposite seemed to be true.
Returning to the panels above, Roger selects Garp to look after Ace because he knows how vindictive those at the top are, and after recent God Valley reveals, the upper echelon stop at nothing to not only wipe out clans, but to force the members of those clans to wipe out each other. Roger also trusts Garp as much as any of his shipmates (important for later in this post).
From recent chapters, we also know that Roger and Garp fought together at the behest of a possessed Rocks to stop him (Rocks) from slaughtering a truckload of people—civilians, pirates, slaves, marines, and celestial dragons, one presumes. We assume that Garp and Roger also know that Imu ordered possessed Rocks to kill his own wife and child (they fortunately escaped, but I don't know if or when Garp and Roger learn that).
Obviously, Garp did not succeed in fulfilling the request as seen in the panel above where Ace is set to be executed, although he did up to age 20. But Garp's face on the side panelling where
he recollects Roger's words to take care of his son, is the face of a man haunted by this fact (that he has failed). Roger's words are repeated here. Why Garp can't act we don't know. I'm assuming the World Government would have gone after Luffy, perhaps. I don't know. I'm gauging that from recent events. Or he's just married to the job.
The two panels above of Garp sitting on the execution platform with Ace, (Sengoku standing above), include flashbacks. Ace argued in 525 convincingly against Garp's query of why Ace hadn't lived the way that Garp wanted him to, that the navy would not have accepted Luffy or himself having come from criminal stock. But, maybe the navy would have. Joining might have been the safer future, or seemed that way. Garp saw World Government initiated and/or approved horrors at God Valley.
However, more in the manga than in the anime, I feel Oda draws Garp as an emotionally tortured man. Returning to the two manga panels above, Sengogku tells Garp that he'll dispose of him too if he tries anything (to save Ace), and Garp retorts that if he'd been going to do anything, he would have done it long ago.
In the anime only, he'd also been talking with Ace in Impel Down about Luffy, and laughing about, and outright approving, his exploits (525; punching the celestial dragon, I think). Ace smiles. True, he also talks about his "fist of love" being ineffective against Luffy at the aftermath of Enies Lobby, but he didn't arrest him.
Anyway, we know Garp goes to fight Akainu after Ace is killed (maybe his faith in Luffy was endless before that point, but I don't think so). Sengoku stops him. Garp's grief is shown below. He was at Ace's birth.
Back to the posts stating that Garp contributed to Ace's hatred of Roger (as in, badmouthing him), again, I'm not seeing it. Ace heard plenty of it, as shown in the flashback panels below
where people from Goa are denigrating any hypothetical son of Gol D. Roger's due to a perception that Gol D. Roger was monstrous. But from Garp we have that panel I opened with (below)
where—as stated—Garp tries to tell Roger's side of the story, and in the panels below, Dadan remembers this conversation with Garp after child-Ace refused to run from an enemy far stronger than him, mostly due to wanting to protect his Luffy:
In the panels it is clear to me (and Garp says it) that he didn't hate Roger. He saw parallels with Roger's upbringing and Ace's, and he admired, I think, that Roger and Ace would both defend their friends to the end, both having a tendency to overreact to insults against their friends too (second page above).
Garp seemed to understand the loneliness that either Ace or Roger had, although we haven't learnt about Roger's upbringing yet. Shanks also said that there were times that Roger should have run away, and Gaban touched upon it lightly in 1163, and Roger declares to possessed Rocks that he will not let him go after his crew in 1164.
That's all a little beside the point—Garp says, that Roger's friends trusted him completely, and he also says that even as a navy man Garp did not hate him. Roger, returning to near the beginning of this post, says that he trusts Garp as much as he trusts his crewmates.
That trust for crew is apparent in the latest chapters too. And, sure, Garp could have told Ace about Roger's good points before Ace got to the stage of deep self-loathing, but Dadan could have too (having had that conversation with Garp), and maybe Ace just didn't want to hear it. It's quite the legacy to carry. Seems like Dadan did pass on some information, and I don't think she alone speaks positively about Roger.
Garp deserved Dadan's scorn after Ace's death (panels below). I also really understand that a lot of people watched One Piece as children, so they have a deep emotional investment in the story (particularly Ace's death). Even rereading these panels makes me tear up, and I came to One Piece as an adult.
During and after Ace's captivity and execution (by Akainu) Garp is in pain too. Maybe he should have died alongside Ace. Maybe he wouldn't have. Maybe he could have saved him. In the world of One Piece, all things are possible.
The story is complex. But of course analysing the story and its characters is a sign of good storytelling imo. Oda doesn't give Garp a lot of dialogue in these scenes, but his face is expressive, and the flashbacks do narrative legwork as well. Dadan declares that Garp has always put the job ahead of family. Maybe this is a situation like Oden dancing in the streets in Wano, or Garp is just a flawed character.
The story isn't finished yet. Garp might not get a redemption arc, if he needs one, or maybe that's what he's going through now. He, along with most of the father figures of One Piece, was hands-off, and also harmful, and also helpful in some ways to his grandsons. He did save Ace initially. There are these scenes from chapter 0 too (released for Strong World at the same time as chapter 565).
There is the seeming callousness when Garp first hears of the Celestial Dragons at God Valley, although that's debatable too (Kong might know what's going on in terms of the hunting humans game. He's keeping some information from Garp, as indicated in the panels below, but if Garp knew they'd (Celestial Dragons?) taken Shakky, then we assume he'd know the rest of the leak [depending on how much Morgans leaked]).
In the panels below from 1162, it might be Oda being retroactive, but it seems that Garp didn't know about the Celestial Dragons' sick games, and we know he doesn't care for the Tenryubito. Of course, for sure, the games seem to be ongoing (every four years), and there is such a strong navy presence there that it seems that some information should have got out at some level. The grunts don't appear to be particularly elite.
All up, I guess the end point is that here are a bunch of panels from the manga that define Garp for me. He is possibly an archetype of the foot soldier or common man who lets atrocities occur in the name of duty, but given his rank, he could be far more culpable than that. Or, maybe there's more. Even in that role, he's very human. The manga is also not finished yet, and Oda's great at convincingly diverting and subverting expectations.
Extra commentary reblog here countering some of the above (my writing and reblog).
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Loved this chapter. Others will cover things in detail, so I'm going to concentrate on one of my favourite pirate crews:
The Kuja Pirates, and its various
empresses. Gloriosa and a very young
future empress, Tritoma (in between Shakky and Boa Hancock). Who is gathering fan mail for
Lady Shakky! Future empress. Roger (and it seems his crew, that's Scopper in the bottom left corner of the picture above) are plaguing the Kuja pirates to
"Davy Jones" Shakky away from the Kuja pirates (Roger looking like Shanks and Ace there). But Gloriosa is in love with Roger. She's powerful too, and I don't know if it's ironic or not, but (separate from Roger Pirate attacks), feels that her beauty is a burden.
(Referring to the same panel as above. BUT, it could be some Boa Hancock hubris. BUT, at the same time, Elder Nyon is wise, and much smaller, and has not kept beauty in the stereotypical way that Shakky has). Anyhoo. On with it! Future Empress Shakky
Lays everyone low with a look (and fighting <- edited in, in case folks thought I didn't notice). A lot more conflict than with Boa Hancock (as in Hancock's victims immediately turn to stone, so don't bicker <-also edited in), I think. And Roger is no match for her (nor Gaban).
Also, awesome speech, Shakky, but also, some horrible foreshadowing regarding Hancock and her sisters:
where Shakky tells a defeated Roger that she'll never submit to another's captivity. Yes. And then takes all of Roger's crews' treasure and food:
Look at her smoking enough to put Sanji to shame too (picture before last). Shakky is maybe top of my goddesses, but they don't have to compete! Also, I know you caught these, but let's highlight:
Pure adulation with Shakky. I'm with you. I am noting that Gloriosa is also adored, but not by
Roger, who, typically, only wants what he can chase after (like Garp!), not who he could actually have. Although, I'm guessing that Rouge blew him away. But Shakky only has deadly eyes for
Rayleigh. Who confirms that he's on a crew of idiots (but both Sanji and Zoro would say that, and they're both right). And Rayleigh thinks he's immune, but he is not, and Shakky has a wink that rivals Iva's. In the aftermath
Gloriosa falls to Love Sickness. Shakky being extremely worried for her. The Kuja themselves seem to only have eyes for their leaders, and well enough! I'm not sure how Gloriosa survived (or how she ended up with Rocks Pirates at the God Valley Incident? Maybe she turned to vengeance against Roger?) and so Shakky is named
the new empress. I'm guessing that both Shakky and Gloriosa left the Kuja for a while, which is how they survived, whereas sweet Tritoma:
-- what happened to her? (Image taken from SBS).
____
Shout out to my story for the One Piece Tarot Zine (zoom in). It features Shakky and touches upon the empresses. It's a short piece, but I think it's powerful. Art to accompany it can be found on AO3 and at this link (it's gorgeous art) 👇
Shakkyaku: The High Priestess
One of my pieces for the @newscoozines.bsky.social Tarot Zine! 🃏
And a big shoutout to @chromaticlamina.bsky
I'll touch upon the latter part of the chapter in a while.
I’ll probably be crucified for this, but I think that Dragon has more parallels with Usopp, or an Usopp-like character, than Luffy in this chapter, and that is in no way an insult to him or Usopp.
I think he is, or was, more a lover than a fighter, and more likely to gauge a situation and act when it has absolutely pushed him to the brink.
In 1165, Dragon is rectifying a terrifying situation, but he doesn’t have Garp or Luffy’s instantaneous and almost continual brashness, confidence, and wish/tendency to fight (for fun and fury) at the drop of a hat. (Nor, at the moment, physical strength. Usopp would need to use a weapon too).
But he comes through when he needs to come through, and how.
I feel—like Usopp, like Nami, or, more calculated, like Robin (much younger)—he first gauged the situation on God Valley Island after being thrust into it, and tried to make the reality he wished to happen (and believed in) fit into a reality that completely disrupted and disintegrated that belief.
It seems to me that Luffy never had that naivety, or the awareness to have that naivety burst, and Luffy is able to extract himself and others from bad situations fairly quickly (initially anyway), due to this ability to mostly act instinctively.
Further to that, he has the strength to forcibly fix a situation (punching a Celestial Dragon), and to be so unaware and so confident that he generally has no fear of what the outcome of such actions might be. (Yes, he was not successful at Marineford or saving his friends at Sabaody, but he did not hesitate to try and change the trajectory in either situation, and did pretty amazingly at Marineford, despite the final and tragic outcome).
Dragon knows all too well, from a thousand angles, what the outcome of his actions and inaction could and will be. So I’m pondering if: Luffy instinctively knows what is right and wrong? Garp only thinks he knows? And Dragon is cursed with understanding that actions have repercussions for all involved.
I fully condone (to use his words) Dragon’s actions in mutinying in 1165 and, like Jaguar D. Saul after him, acting for the rights and lives of helpless, innocent and persecuted citizens and slaves. However, I feel that that he will still mourn his platoon if they do end up executed due to his actions.
Garp is faced with this conundrum, obviously. Luffy chooses not to enter the navy so he’s never faced with this choice (of betraying one group for another; although Bon Kurei’s supposed sacrifice could kind of be analogous). Anyway, that’s a bit of an aside.
Luffy helps others out along his journey, and pledges to help others, like Vegapunk, but has, for example, no interest in understanding the Will of D. or the Void Century (the latter, going from the conversation with Rayleigh in Shakky's bar in Sabaody).
But it seems that Dragon is ultimately all over that (although, considering how earnestly the Revolutionaries were talking about stopping the rise of whoever finds the one piece (after Vegapunk’s transmission) I’m not sure how much he knows).
As seen above, he was at Ohara (after the Buster call) paying tribute to Professor Clover after the World Government executed him. Dragon was a good friend with Vegapunk. He grows into a man who is in the business of knowing what is going on (because once he knew so little).
I feel Garp has some knowledge of these things, given his generation and God Valley, but Luffy’s feet-first and head-strong approach, and competitiveness with rivals, and cavalier attitude toward established (or hidden) history / current affairs / fellow pirates’ names, seems more aligned to Garp (and Roger) than Dragon.
True, though, Luffy and Dragon act on injustice when they see it, but we see—and this is what makes young Dragon (and Usopp) so appealing or understandable as characters—they do it scared.
We’re not privy to Dragon’s inner dialogue at present (chapter 1165), and extreme circumstances have driven him to extreme acts (which will save the remaining civilians/prisoners on the island, which is a good thing. And will send a message to the government, which is also a good thing), but he’s still young, and not yet super-powered like Luffy and Garp, so I hope he’s still a little or a lot scared in his braveness (or when he comes down from the adrenaline rush) so that he keeps his humanity.
Also, haven’t seen him pick his nose or have a sleep attack once 😄 Not to say it won’t happen. Luffy has "inherited" a lot of Roger's outlook too, and yeah, maybe Dragon represents those times when Luffy is reflective, and I’m not saying Luffy has to be an exact copy of Dragon, I’m just saying that he’s not that close of a copy for me yet.
But, yeah, as said in another meta when Dragon lost Shamrock, I think (or maybe it was in tags), Dragon’s reckoning with the horrors of God Valley and his role as a soldier there (and all that implies), and his loss (of the babies, but also of his belief in himself and the world he had served and seemingly believed in to that point) was his Luffy-overcoming-the-loss-of-Ace / regaining-his-will-to-live-love-and-fight moment, despite the absolute horror he’s witnessed. From Clover, to Sabo, to Kuma, to Logue Town, it seems Dragon’s retained the ability to love. Thank fuck for that.
Might edit in some screen-caps tomorrow. Might not! (some added!).
So, for me at least, it hadn't been confirmed whether Blackbeard had taken Law's poneglyph copies or not. I know they fought for them, but then Law lost, Bepo rescued him, the Polar Tang sunk. We didn't see the crew offer him the copies of the ponegylphs in the way that we saw Heat offer the copies the Kid pirates had to Shanks. (Maybe I just didn't notice).
However, it is confirmed in the small booklet (frame above) that was included in the last December 2025 Jump (One Piece, mini magazine: Legend & Next), that Blackbeard got 'em.
Damn.
The above is just a really small frame at the top of a column dedicated to Blackbeard on a page named: Present Day: Next New Age.
Below is a section of the Shanks column, reminding us about Kid :-(, but still mentioned, right?! There's also a frame of Shanks and Barto's crew (not shown).
Kid features a few pages further talking about the man with a burn scar:
Really interesting that the Blackbeard flashback above is in chapter 1081 (but before the events that happen with the Heart Pirates there), so I'm guessing that it's the Zou Poneglyph Blackbeard got from Law?
This is the complete conversation with the Blackbeard Pirates, seeming to imply that the Blackbeard pirates already had the rubbings from Big Mom and Kaidou.
(Edit in: But the wiki says that only the Kozuki clan, Robin and Law know its location on Wano, and it would be / would have been dangerous for Kaidou or BB to know the location ~ so I wonder).
Anyway, the whole Legend & Next page for the Blackbeard and Law, and Shanks and Kid is below (Law and Kid are just a tiny part!).
@1000sunnygo, thanks for the English translations (done by TCB, apparently,).
Edit in: I'll include the whole page with the 'burn scar' information, and information needed for the future, too, like Vivi being a D.
I don't have time to write this out yet (with manga caps, etc., although I started last week), but I want to write a post about how One Piece has many underlying themes, and one of them is good folks investing in bad masters, or opting for the status quo, all with various outcomes.
Cases in point,
Gin and Don Krieg: (stays with his abusive captain, could have left)
Gaimon: to a degree. He wants to take care of the island forest animals, but he's lived his life so long dedicated to a false expectation, that he maybe can't break the habit and leave (most tenuous of this list).
Bellamy and Doflamingo: (eventually leaves, but fights Luffy pointlessly for the time it takes for Doflamingo to toss Law around like a beanbag and pump him full of bullets [or his body-double]), there is a battle before that.
Chapter 779
Shits on Law for rescuing him from marine capture at Doflamingo's castle headquarters, rather than thanking him. Had wanted to go out with Donquixote crew, or moreso, the man, he'd dedicated his life to. A man that he experienced firsthand as not giving a shit about him.
Like Harald below, Bellamy knew what kind of man Doflamingo was as far back as chapter 303 (two years beforehand), but his resolve to his decision could not be shaken (finally, it seems it was, but he wanted to fight to his death. This, of course, has parallels with the samurai in Wano: Making Usopp's speech so important).
Reiju and the Vinsmoke family?: She doesn't have her free will, but enough emotions to help Sanji out. (Again, more elements are at play here).
1166 spoilers below the cut.
King Harald: keeps chasing the World Government like the gaslit half of a narcissistic, codependent relationship. The WG dependent on his naivety, and Harald chasing after their approval. Yes, he wants peace for his people, but has so much self-loathing that he attacks his own kind in his grief --
chapter 1166
--rather than attacking the institution that has done him so much emotional (and physical) harm. True, the giant above was not a good guy, according to the text, but the humans the giant had terrorised pled with Harald to stop hurting him, and stated that Harald has punished him enough.
And Harald then chases after and tries to atone for supposed giant sins to that organisation (World Government). The media vilified him before this. Also, like Bellamy before, Harald offers his servitude and loss of agency (stating he's willing to be a slave), despite knowing the crimes of the master he kneels before, and despite knowing how this master will treat him (Harald might still be blind--like Sengoku, he talks about the spread of the military below).
1157 (above), Harald attacks a navy ship after they're harassing an non-WG aligned country. A few frames later, Rocks and Ida are talking in Ida's bar. Rocks and Harald apparently having some kind of relation with Garp, Harald wanting to send more giants to the military, believing the general "Navy is generally good" propaganda, despite evidence to the contrary (he still has a point in terms of infrastructure, but systemic abuse occurs in systems).
Ida's words carry extra weight now, and it seems that she is talking about Hajrudin and Loki (and Rocks) due to the framing when she tells Harald that he should choose his friends wisely, but could be seen, retrospectively, to be talking about Harald and the WG rather than Rocks. It should also be noted, again, that the media (in cahoots with the military, no doubt) consistently ramp up their own negative propaganda about Harald too.
Chapter 1164
Imu states that Harald's pliability is what the World Government, or Imu, is after, for their own nefarious means (mwha-ha-ha). But Harald has witnessed the injustice of the WG. His trust, is maybe comparable to Garp's wish to protect rank and file in it's earnestness (although any earnestness on Garp's part is very gruff).
Garp. He states he is remaining in the institution for the rank and file.
Chapter 1166
"There are still things at the bottom of the cliff that need a guard dog!!!" Garp proclaims against Sengoku's statement that it's impossible to effectively challenge an institution or to gauge a higher-ups sanity, and he would ignore said insanity, and to not ignore it would be like barking from the bottom of a cliff; Garp also states that if Sengoku gets corrupted, he'll come for Sengoku's head himself. Sengoku is a pragmatist. We saw that at Ohara, and I don't support him (he is an interesting character, though).
Regarding Garp, yes, he did not stop the Moses in the Bulrushes persecution of mothers and children in Baterilla, as I've seen some people mention, and if he'd tried, knowing his strength, he might have stopped it, but as Sengoku says: "The world government and the marines are massive organizations. If you count the member nations' armies, were talking about tens of millions of soldiers worldwide." Garp is a super-powered man, but still just one man.
Sengoku goes on to say that it's impossible to know what every arm of that machine is up to at any given time (Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex back in 1961, btw, if we're using the U.S. military as an exmaple).
If Garp was not there at some point, Ace probably would not have survived childhood, depending on who was with Rouge. Yes, I know that Garp did not stop his death and that it's a failing. On Roger's wishes, he is pivotal in Ace being alive for his early years at least (which lead on to older years).
Aside from that, Garp seems to be more aware and critical of the shortcomings of his boss (the navy, the WG) if we compare him to Bellamy or Gin, and he also has more agency (but, this is the theme of One Piece too — about the choices you make when you can make those choices).
He isn't blindly loyal or fawning or starry-eyed about the higher-ups, which also makes him different from the above (to be fair, Gin and Bellamy seem to know the shortcomings of their bosses, but still lick their shoes/stay despite the abuse; Harald knows, but his ideals are all-consuming). Garp's employer is more powerful than both the individual employers or seekers of approval above (bar the WG in Harald's case), and I think that his decision to remain in the navy is probably the most layered/complex out of the characters I've mentioned, because he seems to be the most aware, even if the end results so far have not been ideal. He's crucial in freeing Dragon, we now know too.
Also, I like the Japanese ああ〜 rather than the English 'kay for his words in both accepting Dragon's decision to leave the navy, and in his disdain of Garp. Similar meaning, but the ああ〜 (ah--), can be interpreted a number of ways, including touches of sorrow, and understanding for why someone might make the decision they have. It's non-committal, more of an acknowledgement, rather than the lack of care that's often apparent in a casual "'kay."
Bellamy also was never made an executive, and he stayed loyal after knowing that (at least for the duration of Dressrosa).
Hawkins and Apoo? (Kaidou's subordinates) --> although it seemed they didn't have much of a backbone in the beginning, and they were faced with a huge threat (to their men, in the case of Hawkins, as well as himself).
Then, we get those who do leave their abusive bosses when they can, and those who are aiming to.
Jaguar D. Saul, Sabo, Nami, Robin, Law, Sanji, Yamato, Dragon. Saul.
Dragon, Law, and possibly Robin, here are characters who moved from a darker organisation/ Families they willingly entered and maybe believed in (Robin, Dragon and Law definitely did [edited in the strikethrough and Dragon]) to either a lighter one and/or their own (non-evil, non-abusive) independence. Robin and Law's former organisations are obviously criminal, Dragon and Saul's organisation has the veneer of respectability.
Saul, chapter 396, and Sengoku acting in a manner I'd deem as corrupt, or immoral.
Yamato, and most of those in that list, rebelled against the beliefs and actions of their families or organisations from a young age.
(Also characters like Bon Kurei (Bon Clay), Hatchi, Mr 3). Stussy? (although programmed, but caught between two worlds for sure. Agains exploring the idea of free will in yet another direction).
Kuzan is possibly here too (we're still not sure of his motivations in joining Blackbeard). Drake is also an interesting character, due to all of his allegiances, and don't forget Guernica's (<--the CPO agent. I might have it wrong) words to him, that he wished he could change allegiances so easily --
chapter 1042
--(which, as we know with Hawkins, is not always the most positive thing, so it's that independent will and ability to assess and choose. Circumstances affect that ability, for sure).
Something about Vivi in there too. She chose to stay with her kingdom due to duty, Carrot too. Yamato as well. Carrot seemed to have less choice, but considering she independently stowed away on the Thousand Sunny on its trip to WCI, she's not without agency, i think (even if I don't like the decision :D). Scabbards staying with Toki or Oden. Those institutions are not cast as evil.
Anyway, I'll tease it out. I'm sure there are more characters to put in all categories, and I know it's not a perfect 1:1 match for everyone I've singled out. But, yeah, the (wrong) choices we make along the way, even in the light of evidence that our choice is gonna fuck us or others up. And or But, the individuals making those choices, don't feel they are the wrong choices for them (except maybe Reiju), blinded by either convictions or the inability to visualise themselves in another situation (or having too much fear to act).
I am one of those people who does not necessarily feel that narratively Garp made the wrong choice, by the way, but it definitely has had consequences on his life and the life of others. I don't think we know the full story yet.
Usopp's words to the samurai as a counter to Bellamy's wish to die for his master, no matter what:
chapter 1036. Izou comes flying in to help them all, and tells Kiku they'll catch up later, and then sacrifices himself, contrary to his words here (although not when he landed on Onigashima), and contrary to what he tells Usopp, and that's the story Oda writes.
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Garp witnessed (see below) Koby's immense bravery (above and below) at Marineford.
In the frames below, you can see 16 year old Koby challenging Akainu and stating that the navy is uselessly wasting marine lives, because they are still fighting (and the marines are often the victims of "friendly fire") when there is no need to. He challenges Akainu with a conscious risk to his own life (Koby is sure that he will die, but he says what he needs to say in order to remain humane if not human).
Koby is willing to die to try and save the lives of others (above). He has no guarantee here. Garp definitely knows who Koby is, asking, "Is that Koby?" (we later learn he has been training with him, and the cover stories show him as Garp's chore boy, etc.). Akainu has no clue who he is. Whether Koby's fellow marines would be collectively punished or not for Koby's actions is a moot point, because Akainu is making sure they die anyway and then readies himself to also kill Koby (or to put him severely out of commission). However, there are still parallels with—
—a seventeen-year old Dragon (above), on God Valley (decades prior), who also knows that if he defies the Celestial Dragons (and the navy, World Government), not only does he put his own life in danger, but the lives of his whole troop (top of the screen-cap shows Dragon stating: "If I help a civilian, my whole squad will be slaughtered". The official uses "beheaded".).
It's treason. Yet, the Celestial Dragons are obviously in the wrong, hunting down unarmed, shackled, persecuted civilians to their death, for their own sick pleasure. A deliberate "waste of human life", to borrow Koby's words. And if Dragon doesn't help them, then he is also complicit in the death of civilians, even if following orders, and/or protecting his troop. Nonetheless,
Dragon does fire off his tranquiliser gun (above) and takes down a Celestial Dragon who had been targeting Kuma. I know some folks are thinking that he's flippant here ("Crap, I fired off), and maybe he is with the translation word choice, but Dragon is obviously confused and frightened by this whole situation. He did the right thing, yes, but I do not think he is a cavalier as Luffy might be (with words) regarding his actions here. @nukearth has let me know that it is shimatta tsui, which is still casual in form, and also damn it for an unintended mistake. Thank you.
I think he weighs up the possibility of what if the gun had had real bullets (because the consequences aren't just immediate, they spread more widely, and he and his troop would probably be punished just as severely for this kind of action, and he values life, maybe even if it's a Celestial Dragon). It's still incredibly brave.
The official translation of that row is above with Dragon saying, "Oh Damn, I've really done it now..". I'm assuming the "damn" is chikusho, or kuso, but he might be saying something else (bets on Kuso, considering it also has the meaning of 'shit' or 'crap', but is used quite regularly in the same way we use 'damn'). Anyhoo, Dragon shoots a Celestial Dragon and then (or he already has?) finds these—
—cuties: Shamrock and Shanks Figarland (screencaps above), and at the behest of their mother, runs somewhere to try and save them (he rescues Sabo later in the story too [not this chapter]. Must've given him intense déjà vu). And then his father, Monkey d. Garp arrives at God Valley (below)—
—hurling cannonballs willy-nilly. The official translation is quite funny too, with Garp stating: "Here I am, Baby!" (yes, the translators do seem to have the Garp-Rogers ship in mind. Haha. Or rivalry.) The scans say, "I'm here, Folks!!!"
So, will Garp witness Dragon's defection? I think he will. It wouldn't surprise me if he somehow aids his escape, but we'll need to wait and see (possibly Kuma yeets Dragon out of there). As we know, Garp doesn't have a great track record that way (but he did want Ace to know about Roger, but Ace refused).
But, could he have seen in Koby, both in potential and action, the same bravery and determination against huge odds and sacrifice that he witnessed (I hope) in his son, Dragon?
Also, added bonus:
Dragon saves Shanks (above) and
Shanks saves Koby.
Shanks coming to the rescue of Koby in the middle of a battle (above).
If Shanks is an extension of the Roger Pirates, then possibly his arrival is similar to the role that the Roger Pirates play in the God Valley Incident, but we need to see how that plays out.
The landing of the Red Hair Pirates is visually similar (although Shanks and Beckman arrive and fight before the frame below of the whole crew). But also, marine saves baby/Celestial Dragon/ future pirate at great risk to himself <- -> one of the same Celestial Dragons/ crazily strong pirate saves marine (Koby) trying to preserve human life at risk to himself (Koby), and, as Shanks says,
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE, THOSE FEW SECONDS OF COURAGE...
... WILL PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCE THE FATE OF THIS WORLD!
Extra PS: In addition to Garp, Blackbeard, and Akainu noticing Koby, there is also this row with the incredulous, "A navy guy?!" after Koby's voice was loud enough to stop the fighting for a second, followed up (fortunately) with Shanks' strength.
Enough rambling. Looking forward to seeing Garp and Dragon's roles on God Valley.
These ones are a little more flippant, BUT, considering we had Kid on our cover last week
and we have Gerd talking about the magnetic properties of
Sommers' body. And Zoro talking about
Sommers’ still beating heart, but also its possible destruction...It reminds me of this guy (frame below) and his ability to extract and preserve still beating hearts but which, when squeezed,
cause pain like that inflicted by these guys (below):
To Law, Monet (fatally), Caesar (karma's a bitch), and surely others.
(That cube also kinda looks like Ragnir's freezing power, but just a stylistic choice, I think, but the concept is similar to Law's in that Gunko is still alive, and the hearts that Law extracts still beat).
And this non-fatal separation of people into parts (or, okay, Holy Knights. Not sure if they are people yet or not):
Also has precedents:
And WHO could help these two? (Chopper Usopp and Brook below. Although, as I saw in another post, there are the Wano-quick-curing medicines, the WCI milk cure, and just general Straw hat resilience):
Maybe Franky will prevail. So, just like magnets are metal is drawn to this guy:
And these two (below) are kinda drawn to each other:
and together they create chaos with
that guy in the middle of the frame above (Luffy), maybe they could arrive in Elbaph?
And it kinda fits in, right? with the cartoon and chaotic powers of the Nika form?! The beating of hearts in animate and inanimate beings, and as a general rhythmic theme. The homing instincts, maybe, of animals (that's a wild card, but related to magnetic fields).
I mean, highly unlikely to happen, cos' Luffy's gotten BIG, and he has Loki there to help him too. (so idiots are not in short supply).
BUT, combined, Kid and Law were able to take down an emperor of the sea. Solo, they could not. This post is just fandom wishing and not to be taken too seriously. However, Kid was sunk off the coast of Elbaph. But the giants have no love for him, and were the ones who sank his boat and crew.
Therefore, Just saying! Kid and Law's powers might come in handy and might come into play (or maybe they're just out-levelled).
[Of course, Sanji is gonna oppose Killingham, I think, but he's a good match for Sommers, too. Franky will probably take Sommers if he is some kind of cyborg].
from Law (about needing to take down monsters to learn about history), taking it as proof that he's somehow not fighting for freedom or that
freedom of expression is not something important that has been sanctified ratified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. (Article 19)
But that it is instead some nerdish pastime that no other character in One Piece or the real world is invested in (WG or otherwise) for obvious reasons of power, politics and freedom/repression.
But there are governments and organisations that regularly suppress this kind of expression (in One Piece and the real world--no surprise):
There are governments and organisations that fear the pursuit of knowledge:
Partial SBS: Volume 86:
Pedro led the Nox expedition party who were chased by the government for searching for poneglyphs, thus they became the Nox Pirates. That's a story from about 15 years ago.
And there are governments and organisations that penalise people by taking their lives
for seeking out knowledge. 👆👇
From Clover,
to Nico Olvia,
to Rayleigh,
to Pedro,
to the giants (👇 read right to left),
to Vegapunk
the power and desire to learn about history is emphasised and
honoured,
(from chapter 396 👆)
(from chapter 1066 👆)
and also acknowledged as a very dangerous undertaking.
And even Cora talks to Law about
the meaning behind the Will of D. not being lost, BUT "living on in the dark shadows of history around the world" (it's not easily seen either).
Like, knowing history and access to history/knowledge is one of the main themes of the manga. And Big Mom is a monster. And the World Government is a repressive monolith. And this guy (guy?) 👇:
nuking places and people for not toeing the line, or for knowing too much; riddled with antipathy towards holders of the Will of D. and, with Artur's (Library of Ohara) claim (among others) that the ancient immense kingdom was formed by descendants of the D. clan (which is canon)—
—then wouldn't you too be curious and more than a little pissed off that your curiosity could be the catalyst for persecution and genocide?
That searching for identity, roots...your reason for being, is not allowed? (Sound familiar?)
Like, those scholarly waters are nothing if not shark-infested.
Ultimately the pen (Robin's ability to read the poneglyphs, the scholars' meticulous research) probably will be mightier than the sword, and although bureaucracy can entrap, knowing how to read between the lines, or even to read them, can loosen the ties that bind, and help ensure they are not unfairly cast.
Keep fighting to study history, Law. I too want to know about the Will of D.
