#fuck you kizaru what is your damage

[mugiwarafan]

what is it with (ex) admirals and putting holes through people's torsos

[colourlys]

So, let's talk foreshadowing for chapter 956

A perhaps unnecessarily long essay on X Drake. With pictures, because after 10 years, I wanted to be extra.

As I mentioned previously, I have been waiting 10 years for this reveal. When Drake was first introduced, it was no big deal. Former Marine turned pirate/criminal. Happened/s in real life. Thought nothing of it. But when Kizaru started interacting with Drake - that's when it sent up red flags. (Do I detect a pun?)

The Initial Foreshadow

It was Drake who came across Kizaru - not wanting to. Don't blame him. Kizaru may be a goofy guy, but he is seriously dangerous - and of all of the people present, Drake would know that best as a former Marine. 

It was Kizaru addressing Drake as Rear Admiral Drake, present tense, in chapter 508, that first caught my attention. It was small, perhaps a shock on Kizaru's part to see Drake; but an odd and noted statement on my part. Even if characters are "new," there are still base perceptions we should have about them. Such as, Drake is a former Marine: a former Rear Admiral, a higher rank, with what we later learn is possibly a stolen Marine ship, rebranded for his piracy. To begin with: Drake should be a high priority for treason, capture, and execution. But he wasn't, so that's sloppy - but considering Sengoku was at HQ and The Terror Themselves, the Marine Admirals, could float around on an order… that wasn’t adding up. Kizaru calling Drake Rear Admiral... it’s odd. Caught off guard. I’ll let it slide.

Next chapter, 509, Kizaru repeats his mistake - he calls Drake a Rear Admiral (pardon the scanlation error) in the present tense - and then he has to correct himself to Former Rear Admiral.

So, to recap: by this time, Drake is a highly ranked defector with a stolen ship and a reputation of brutality months to at least a year in the making in order to establish himself a reputation as a Supernova. For Kizaru to be making the mistake of referring to his rank in the present tense twice, one has to question why. Drake should be well established, well spoken of, as a former within the ranks of the military, and particularly the upper echelon who would be keeping tabs on him and his destruction because, for some reason, they’re allowing it. Kizaru then goes into an explanation and over the pages Drake is uncomfortable, seemingly because he is with still Admiral Kizaru and he wants to leave. In reality and in my interpretation, Kizaru is almost playful, taunting even, as if he and Drake are in on a joke others aren't supposed to know about. Like, “See, I came this close to saying something I shouldn't have, but I recovered at the last minute, you see? A total save.”

Kizaru proceeds with a thorough thrashing of the present pirates, because that's his job and the role Drake has accepted as an undercover agent. Because by this time, to me, it was obvious Drake was not a real defector but for some reason undercover. Kizaru couldn't blow the cover of their agent, so he kicked the asses of all present and let them all go because Drake had a job to complete. If he let just one pirate (Drake) go, it'd have been suspicious. Kizaru had to act accordingly. The Straw Hats needed apprehending also aided in this, as it gave him an excuse to leave the defeated pirates for pickup by other Marines.

Another thing of interest is Kizaru giving Drake permission to attack the Pacifista in chapter 509. In doing so, this would allow Drake to know that he has a superior’s permission to essentially damage their own weapon (because he might not inherently have wanted to), but it would also allow Marines to gauge the effectiveness of the Pacifista against an opponent with fully known abilities. It would also help Drake in gaining the ‘trust’ of the other pirates, who might become suspicious if Drake is hesitant to participate.

So, Why Drake In Particular?

Play the audio.

Because he's a fucking dinosaur, that's why. Like Kaido of the Beasts ain't gonna want another fucking dinosaur in his ranks. Only two his besties are an herbivorous dinosaur and a pteronodon, so an actual fucking carnivorous dinosaur? Hell fucking yeah.

So, after the Battle of Marineford, when our Supernovas are heading off to the New World, Paradise, we learn Drake's intention: challenge Kaido.

How to Impress Your Local Dragon Emperor

I don't know about y'all, but when Drake attacked Scotch, to me, it didn’t seem like a challenge towards Kaido for territory or to overthrow him. As a former Marine of considerable rank, Drake shouldn’t be that stupid. He knows how to plan and attack. In other words, this was strategic and for a purpose. This was more of a knock on Kaido's door for attention and admission into the club than to piss all over his doorstep like a dog claiming territory (sort of like the beef between a certain redheaded guy with another redheaded guy). As previously established in the last several years of this series, Kaido was impressed and let him in.

Keeping Up the Facade, part 1

The real question is, does Kaido suspects anything?

As someone who has been looking forward to this; like everybody else, I've kinda grown fond of my slowly building impressions of Drake and worry for his general safety. You know, our beloved Rosinante has placed some worry in our hearts. In-story, Drake’s been undercover with Kaido for 2 years. That’s enough time to build trust, but the trust of someone with Drake’s background would be harder to keep. Either Kaido trusts blindly once you’re sworn (and proven) your allegiance, or he’s always going to have a hint of suspicion.

Speaking of Rosi: The Flashback, on Minion Island

The flashback introduction of Drake brings us the introduction of Drake's father, the Marine turned abusive pirate, Barrels. To throw a little head cannon in; honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Barrels forced Drake to eat the devil fruit to get the power from it, in the form of someone he can control, but not have to suffer any of the actual consequences of having eaten a devil fruit. Drake was shown to be a happy kid in the SBS. Drake, by the time of the flashback, was between 19 and 20 years old - an adult - and he did not fight back against or leave his abusive father. Trigger warning for abuse victims and survivors. He was terrified of his father. He probably took that abuse for many years and was expected to take it without a whimper or cowering; think back to how he braced himself for Kizaru’s kick. He was old enough to leave, but he couldn't. Why? Because he feared his father. His father could track him down before he got away, harm him, maybe he’d even tried it before; probably told him he'd amount to nothing in the real world, especially if found out to be a pirate; and Barrels probably told Drake exactly what would happen to him if he was caught for trying to escape, or trying to escape again. Escape was useless. There would never be any escaping, so why even bother.

I, myself, have experience as an abuse survivor. I have decided not to go into it, but please know that I do recall my experiences when it comes to understanding others - even fictional characters.

To finish this section up: we all cope in different ways. Even if the story is fictional, a lot of us find familiarity in that fictional situation and know how the fictional people might turn out - just like us real people. There are some people who will become abusers, oftentimes reflecting our abuser. Some who might abuse themselves but not other people. But there are also a lot of us who will not do any kind of defiance, abuse, or harm (to ourselves or otherwise) without reason because we know what it's like to be subjected to unwarranted cruelty. End trigger warning.

If there is one thing Oda does right, it is character development. Drake “becoming like his father by abandoning the Marines to become a violent pirate” or “wanting to see the other side,” it doesn’t make much sense when you finally get to the flashback. When Dolfamingo attacked Minion Island, Drake fled for his life. He was absolutely terrified. Terrified of Doflamingo, terrified of his father. He ran right into the arms of the Marines. A young, unwitting pirate, preferred the Marines over his own father. And he felt little remorse that his father died. And unlike Kizaru’s suggestion, he doesn’t really need to “see the other side” considering, you know, he was previously a pirate. (Probably not common knowledge.)

The Marines could put 2 and 2 together. This kid they found was Barrels' son. (Had the same surname.) He was an accomplice. Under duress. Rather than punish him, he was allowed to join the Marines. Yeah, there's a possibility it could have been 'punishment' or an alternative, but it also could have been something he wanted. He honestly probably didn't have much else in life, or maybe when he was little he considered becoming a Marine like his father, and to help people, not hurt them. (He also probably later adopted the X because it carries the same value as Diez, but distances himself from his father personally and professionally; or he just adopted it for piracy.) If Drake had the violent tendencies his father had towards him, it would have been noted earlier by the Marines and probably shown in his earlier appearances. Instead, we always received a very calm, observant persona.

With his experience and skills, Drake was the perfect person to go undercover in Kaido's ranks. Maybe the Marines were curious about Kaido's growing fleet, the SMILE, or maybe there are Marine spies in all of the Emperors’ fleets. Drake just fit perfectly into Kaido's fleet.

Keeping Up the Facade, part 2

As for the “bad” things we know Drake must have done as a pirate and under Kaido. There’s no reason to disbelieve that some of it could be exaggerated, particularly early on. Quite a bit would have to be honestly earned. So going back to the abuse Drake endured. While not all abuse victims become abusers, it is still important to understand that all abuse victims compartmentalize their abuse and tend to dissociate from it. We had to endure abuse, and we all developed ways with coping with it. Not all of us will inflict pain on other people (most of us will not), but we can under certain circumstances and for specific reasons. Not from evil intent, but because we might deem the action necessary in a more clinical, observational way.

To put it in context of Drake, he endured abuse under his father. Joined the Marines. Perhaps despises pirates, or perhaps just despises certain pirates and mentalities. He has agreed to help spy on Kaido, which means adopting the persona of an abuser and a pirate. Drake has this background through knowledge of his father and personal experiences. He probably doesn’t feel good about the things he has done, has to do, and witnesses, but he can compartmentalize his feelings. He can separate his emotions from his actions. He has put up a mental wall that protects his humanity from his inhumane actions, allowing him to do things in a dissociated way while still remaining fully conscious and in control.

Which brings us to the present Wano arc. He’s fulfilling his role as a Headliner by going after the dissenters of Orochi and Kaido, such as the Alliance and the incredible Stealth Black (less incredible O-Soba Mask). But he’s also shown hints of reservation, such as his refusal to enter the bathhouse. Now, already having this perception of Drake in my mind, it worked for me. He’s not just a “shy boy,” he’s a modest boy, a decent boy. He’s playing a bad guy, he’s not actually a bad guy. Going in a bathhouse full of women in varying states of undress. Sorry, a good guy, a Marine, more than likely isn’t going to do that without feeling ashamed or embarrassed, especially if people of the opposite gender are involved.

In addition, Hawkins has hinted Drake has been behaving strangely in their capture of Law. We later learn that Drake more than likely assisted in Law’s release. Next two questions would be, what was Drake doing, and if and how much Drake told Law about his role (if Law didn’t already know about it)? There’s some speculation that Law and Drake maybe already have a familiarity: as citizens of North Blue, the fact that Drake’s father had and was looking to sell the Ope Ope fruit, while Law is currently the user/carrier of said fruit, and the fact that Drake may have served some of his time in North Blue. Or they met each other on the Grand Line. Or Law may have previously overhead/seen Drake reporting to the Marines. Really, speculation is endless. (There’s also more theorization involving Koby’s connection to Law.)

But then we have to consider the Marines. Particularly, Sakazuki and Borsalino (Akainu and Kizaru) discussing what to do with Wano.

Play the video, Kronk.

Like, how would you know about the strength of the samurai? Where are you gonna be getting that information if not from somebody on Wano? Probably not somebody native to Wano, as whoever it is would have to have connections to the Marines. That person would had to have fled Wano, joined the Marines, gained a reputation as a trustworthy Marine, only to sneak back into Wano, and gain another reputation as a trustworthy follower of Kaido or Orochi in order to become useful as a spy, when a Wano defector probably wouldn’t be re-accepted. I mean, there could be an easier way.

In all seriousness, it is interesting that the Marines seem to have an interest in intervening on Wano. Either to pull Drake out or to actually overthrow Kaido.

The next question would be whether Oda was just being cryptic in his delivery of the conversation between Sakazuki and Borsalino for the sake of keeping the Drake reveal private to us, or if the Marines themselves are suspicious that someone is eavesdropping on them or has ulterior motives?

Perhaps CP0? The World Government?

Of course, it could be an open secret for the upper echelon of the Marines and Sakazuki is actually just waiting for intel before blowing Drake’s cover (which could get him killed - not what you want to do to your spy). We’ll just have to watch how things play out.

In my not so serious conclusion to an absurdly long post, with this knowledge, Drake’s first appearance really went more like...

Chapter references will be in the comments.