Summary:
At the last second, Ace is saved by the sudden arrival of Dadan, who pushes Bluejam’s gun away, causing his shot to miss. Telling him to let Ace go, he attacks Bluejam with an ax and forces the pirate to draw his sword to defend himself and forget about Ace while the bandits catch up and grab Ace and Luffy. Bluejam recognizes Dadan as the head of the bandits on Mount Corvo and says that she ended up fostering these boys and no parent will stand by when someone tries to harm their children.
However, after this challenge, it is revealed that Dadan’s grand plan is to beat a hasty retreat. However, Ace refuses to be kidnapped by Magura and declares that he will not run away. The others protest until Dadan steps up herself and says she’ll stay with Ace and make sure he comes back. The bandits reluctantly leave and Bluejam tells his challenges that they are overestimating themselves as only the strong and the cowardly survive the battles, never the brave.
Meanwhile, the residents of the Gray Terminal had all but given up hope of surviving the fire when a giant gust of air cleared their way to shore. On the shore is the ship of the Dragon and his revolutionaries. He tells Emporio Ivankov that this kingdom is an example of what the world can become one day, so to prevent that, he will change it. He steps to the edge of the deck, calls out to the assembled survivors, and declares that anyone willing to fight for freedom is to come aboard.
The next day at the cabin, a bandaged Luffy says he’s going to look for Ace and Dadan, who still haven’t returned, but the others drag him back inside, saying he’s too injured and there are too many soldiers inside. Gray terminal right now. Luffy cries that he wants to see Ace and that he’s sure Sabo must be scared too.
As the soldiers begin the monumental task of cleaning up the charred remains of the Gray Terminal, Sabo wakes up in the city and is quickly picked up by the soldiers looking for him.
Points of interest: Luffy and Usopp
At his house, Sab’s father tells him that from now on he won’t even be able to leave the house and assigns the two soldiers who brought his son to be his bodyguards. He tells Sabo that now he must study to become a noble and make his parents proud. Sabo realizes that he is helpless and that if he tries to see Luffy and Ace again, he will put them in danger. What is freedom, he asks?
Two days later, the entire city went to the harbor to welcome the ship with the World Government nobles to Dawn Island. However, in the midst of their cheers, someone spots a fishing boat leaving the harbor and heading straight for the government ship. Someone with binoculars says that there is a child on board, and Saba’s parents realize that Saba has once again managed to escape and that he is the one on the ship. The crowd screams for him to turn around, but Sabo instead says that what he’s most afraid of is losing himself and becoming someone he’s not. He never looks back.
When Sabo sees the massive government ship towering above him, he turns to starboard to avoid a collision, much to the relief of the crowd on shore. As Sabo says that he would like to captain a ship of that size one day, he is spotted by the deckhands and his master, Saint Jalmac, one of the helmeted sky dragons. Jalmac showed anger at a commoner passing him, grabbed a heavy-duty miniature hand cannon and opened fire.
The flashback is now almost done and the Sabo character arc is coming to a swift and violent end… Or is it?
When I started, Dadan’s Big Damn Heroes moment was much rougher in the anime, I thought, pushing Bluejam’s gun aside like that. I guess the scene where Ace says he won’t run away is to explain what happened to Akainu, though again, I don’t really feel much for him because there was absolutely no reason to fight Bluejam at that point and he ended up dragging Dadan into it . If he hadn’t been so stubborn, they both would have made it safely out of the Gray Terminal fire. All Ace has done in the story is hurt people unnecessarily. I suppose that’s the point, but I still find it a little difficult to fully reconcile the image that Ace had for most of the series as a level-headed, loyal, and cold person with the more emotional and ruthless Ace of the Marineford arc. .
Anyway, the Sky Dragon mentioned a few episodes ago has finally arrived, and the surprise is that he’s just as selfishly despicable as the others. They’re rather boring as antagonists because they’re all so interchangeable. Maybe once the plot of Sharlie swearing revenge on the Straw Hats picks up, their villainy will get a little more depth.
Heh, Ivankov looked absolutely ridiculous in that cloak.