#ch586

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This in general is a cute cover, but I cannot get over Smoker wearing shorts with this outfit

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Dragon has been collecting grievances against the World Government like Pokemon since he was seventeen years old

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What's really crazy about this is that the citizens of Trash Mountain really do just mind their own business. It's specifically mentioned they don't want to live within city walls while making up a significant portion of Lowtown's economy by reclaiming and recycling the city's garbage. These people by and large aren't criminals or bandits causing problems for the citizens within the city's walls.

So not only is Goa's king planing to murder a bunch of innocent people trying to "clean up" a problem his own policies created, but he's also hurting the citizens he ostensibly does care about in the process.

And then after the Celestial Dragons leave the kingdom just...starts dumping garbage again. No efforts are made whatsoever to ensure that the problem of Trash Mountain never repeats itself. There is no long-term solution.

There are many times One Piece feels prescient, but this flashback feels really, really prescient

[opbackgrounds]

I love that they kept the cups

[opbackgrounds]

I will say that for as much of a bastard the King of Goa is, how he's set up this fire is clever. He hired out the local pirate with promises of social mobility should he kill a bunch of nobodies and burn a bunch of garbage. Of course this was a lie, but the king doesn't have to dirty his own hands while also getting rid of a known criminal on the eve of the World Government's inspection

But because Bluejam literally was the one who set the fire, the king has a convenient scapegoat. He doesn't even have to come up with a reason why--his citizens are doing it themselves. Remember, Goa is a wealthy, prosperous, and probably peaceful nation. They aren't going to suspect their own royalty

Of course the military has to known the truth, but they get to play hero. We never see a single soldier outside the walls trying to save the people of Trash Mountain, and they have the perfect excuse not to try. It truly is a massive, uncontrollable fire. Even here at Edgetown it's dangerous. Maybe a few soldiers get hurt or die making sure it doesn't spread into the city proper, but that's a sacrifice the king is willing to make in order to ensure his problems go away, while the kingdom's figures of authority get an easy win "protecting" its citizens from the blaze.

If the king made one mistake it was ensure that all his aristocracy knew of the plan, but even here he knew his own nobles. If it weren't for happenstance and a little boy, the truth never would have gotten out. And even though the people of Trash Mountain were saved, the true culprit was never punished, over even suspected by the general populous.

It's genius, really. Evil, but genius nonetheless.

[opbackgrounds]

The physical walls of Goa Kingdom have been an important image all through this flashback, but never more so than during the fire scene. And now it serves as the symbol of Sabo's prison as he laments his lack of freedom

[opbackgrounds]

I like how Oda immediately goes from Bluejam trying to tell Ace and Luffy that Sabo hated them Sabo trying to defend them tot he police. The bars on the window are a nice touch--already Highland is Sabo's prison.

[opbackgrounds]

the details of Bluejam's hideout are pretty neat. He wishes himself a noble, and fashions himself a makeshift throne, while his walls are decorated with animal skins that mimic the tapestries you might see in a rich man's manor. The next page will show that Bluejam's operations are set up in a sort of shantytown right next to his ship, which shows how little he thinks of his identity as a pirate compared to his dream of being an aristocrat