#vis a vis: issue 940

[cocksley-and-catapult]

hey, can you settle a debate we've been having in a c&c fan discord

is the goo from issue #829 the same goo from issue #940?

[cienie-isengardu]

The Development of Law and Zoro relationship: Wano, Clash of Authority

<Part I: Before Meeting>> <<Part II: Sabaody Archipelago, The First Meeting>> <<Part III: Punk Hazard: The Alliance (A)__(B)>>  <<Part IV: Dressrosa, The Breaking Point (The Plan Failed)__ (Saving Law)__(Protecting Law)__ (Birdcage, Pica and Doflamingo)__ (Aftermath)>> <<Part V: Zou, The Kindred Spirits (Traveling Together)__(Searching for Nakama)__ (Reunion)__ (Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance)__(The Last Moments before War)>>  Part VI: Wano, Against Emperors (The Untold Journey)__(Luffy & Zoro Means Troubles…)__(...and Law Is Not Happy About That)__(Separated Again)__(Clash of Authority)

Luffy and Zoro were separated from friends and in result, had their own adventures that ultimately led them to

obtain an important power-up (Luffy learned how to better utilize haki, Zoro got a powerful sword) 

strengthen ties with Oden’s children - Momonosuke and Hiyori respectively. 

The storyline of Wano Arc highlights the equality between both characters, about what I talked a bit more here. In meanwhile, Law stayed with samurais, his crew and remanding Straw Hats, helping to gain allies before the planned raid on Kaido’s mansion, until the plot did not separate him too from others (chapter 940) 

During that time, Trafalgar has a chance to interact with Zoro’s crewmembers and those moments are a good way to see his and Zoro’s relationship from a different perspective. Law’s interactions with Usopp, Sanji and Robin are especially good examples to analyze.  

In the previous part, I already announced Law’s “arising conflicts” with male Strawhats. So far it wasn’t outright any serious argument that made him feel antagonized toward allies yet once there is no Luffy or Zoro around, an unresolved matter of leadership will come up more and more often.

The issue of authority could be seen in chapter 922 (the whole scene was discussed more voluminously in the previous part)

where Law openly shut down Sanji’ critice, and looking at Sanji’s reaction, Trafalgar’s angry reaction was unexpected. Nami and Chopper were the ones that actually calmed the situation by rightly assuming the mess was Luffy’s fault anyway and apologizing for whatever their captain did. 

When Luffy was defeated by Kaido (chapter 924) and taken to prison, there is no information that anyone blamed Law for not saving him. Straw Hats of course believed in Luffy’s unbreakable spirit and worked along others to recruit as many as possible loyal followers of Kozuki’s clan (chapter 926). 

When X-Drake and Page One showed up in capitol to deal with Soba cook (Sanji) for beating men of Kyoshiro’s family alongside Basil Hawkins in his search for Law, Straw Hats and Trafalgar at first worked well. Law warned his allies that they shouldn’t fight against X-Drake and Hawkins because both will recognize them, thus the plan will be put in danger and so we see them running away together although still exchanging their opinions on that matter (chapter 930).

↪ Law isn’t Straw Hats captain, not their superior but he was telling everyone what they should and shouldn’t do, including demanding that if any of them get caught, they better let the enemy kill them than spill the guts about the plan or Minks. Usopp, understably, did not take that well and even compared Law to Luffy who would never demand from his crew members anything like that. And although it is true that Luffy wouldn’t say stuff like that Zoro in fact showed this “better die than fail”  mindset before, in Enies Lobby arc:

“Losing a fight means losing time. Everyone, win even if it kills you!” [chapter 400]

Back then no Straw Hats questioned such “order”, including Usopp who joined others to save Robin but himself, officially, wasn’t part of the crew anymore. Of course, such words coming from Zoro, a trusted first mate, and Law, an allied pirate but not close friend really, will always be received differently. 

→ Surprisingly, the matter of Law not being their captain (a superior) came after Law’s further instructions that in itself were very pragmatic. Here Usopp openly questioned his authority (“Who made you our captain?!”) and said he will choose his own life over the plan. The next frames present that threat as Usopp’s lie to make Sanji openly promise to protect him but in all fairness, Usopp knows Sanji well enough to be sure his comrade would protect him anyway. Because of that the statement stands out regardless of the final outcome. At the same time, Law was openly showing his anger at those two, for not being serious in the time of crisis. 

(Once the proper battle with Kaido and Big Mom will occur, Law’s “die to save plan” mindset will take turn by 180 degrees, but let’s save it for discussion at an appropriate time.)

Despite Law’s warnings and instructions, Sanji went to face the Page One who was terrorizing local, innocent people. Usopp and Franky were concerned about Sanji’s choice while Law was more irritated judging by the puff of irritation and his very uncaring “Who cares about town? Just forget it” (chapter 931).

There is no clash with Straw Hats in regard to choice of action but there is pretty visible contrast in care or lack therefore for innocent people. In that case, this is another example in which Law outright states (shows) indifference to what happens with people who aren’t his crew or allies. It could be seen on Punk Hazard when he helped save children because Luffy (in Nami’s name) demanded it or during Dressrosa, when Law was ready to sacrifice whole country just to destroy Doflamingo or even few chapters ago he was irritated by Luffy and Zoro providing fresh water and food to starving folktowns. I personally don’t think that Luffy or Zoro would question Sanji’s decision, trusting their comrade.

There is however an instance change in Law’s reaction once Sanji starts using Germa’s suit.

Franky and Usopp, like always, were fascinated by the mystery gear. Law outright admitted to being a fanboy who hates the Germa 66 and said that in the most serious tone while Sanji got irritated by the whole situation. So we could assume that Law feels enough comfy in the presence of Straw Hats to be so open about his personal childhood hobby and nerd opinions. On Zou he too showed this side of himself, yet his interest in ninja seemed more a quiet occurrence and happening kinda just around Zoro who also kept some distance from the “center of ninja enthusiasm”.

During Sanji’s fight with Page One, Law was the one commenting and explaining to the rest of Straw Hats the whole deal with “Black Stealth”’s powers, including a source of such knowledge (comics strip in newspaper). Usopp, a nerdy man himself, instead of be impressed by such precise knowledge, actually was rather disturbed(?) by it (chapter 931).

When Sanji got hit by an enemy, Franky and Usopp showed concern for their comrade while Law came back to his natural, unmoved calmness. His “Those ancient types don’t mess around” comment sounds alike to Zoro, as in, not showing distress for Sanji - in case of Roronoa we may be sure his usual calmness comes from trust in Sanji’s skills, however with Law it is hard to say. Considering that once the fight gets more destructive, we could see Law, Usopp and Franky running away (as Sanji told them at the beginning), I think it is safe to assume Law too put some trust in Black Leg.

Since Usopp was asking why they’re leaving Sanji, it is most likely Law’s decision to get out once the attention of the enemy was focused on Black Leg. His decision once again comes from pragmatism than anything else. 

The next time the manga presents Law with (male) Straw Hats, they were hiding in Ebisu Town. Sitting together in the room, the four of them were discussing the matters of latest events, including the death of beautiful Oiran (chapter 934).

↪ Unsurprisingly, Sanji was the most affected by the death of stunning woman while Law was totally unaffected by the event.  That in fact makes him very much like Zoro, who also shows no concern for the beauty of women. The interaction between uncaring Law and angry Sanji reminds of the typical Zoro-Sanji dynamic.

↪ Law reading a newspaper to keep track of all needed information (similar to Zoro in Water 7 arc and post-Dressrosa scene) and showed interest in Eustass Kid. Law had knowledge of Kid-Hawkins alliance and was focused on news that Kid broke out from prison. Franky and Usopp paid attention to Law’s musing while Sanji’s perverted nature was solely focused on women in the bathhouse. Law’s reaction to his perversion wasn’t included but it is easy to imagine he wasn’t impressed by Sanji’s distraction. Straw Hats for sure weren’t and they are his comrades.

In Ebisu Town, the group met Yasuie, a new friend of Zoro. In contrast to Straw Hats, Law did not react much to Yasuie’s laughing at the fact there are plenty of empty houses because so many people die out of hunger. The man also told them about Zoro’s departure. In manga, the characters' reactions were put only in speech bubbles that aren’t even easy to tell which person said what. In anime though the mention of missing each other was clearly something that Law got interested in and he didn’t sound happy about such outcome. He at least didn’t voice the high possibility that Roronoa may get lost somehow, as Franky did (episode 931). Law was also the first to notice that Sanji disappeared.

As it turned out, Sanji was using Germa’s Black Stealth suit to gather information and spy on women in public bathouse. It is him who learned about the captured Heart Pirate crew to lure Trafalgar into a trap. While running away from the enemy, he said to Nami, Robin and Shinobu they must “get Law under control or the entire city will plunge into chaos” (chapter 936). This is an interesting detail since Sanji heard Trafalgar’s demands to put mission over own safety yet he assumed the Supernova would do something drastic to save his crew. And to be honest, he wasn’t wrong about that.

Chapter 938 is the most important moment defining the relationship between Law, other Straw Hats and samurai, as the one scene when the shaken balance of power - lack of Luffy and Zoro - became the most crucial. Because the plan leaked to the enemy, Shinobu accused Bepo and other captured pirates of betrayal and Law did not take that kindly.

Here some thought on that matter:

⏩ Law has been working with Straw Hats for awhile already. Despite some smaller conflicts here and there, in general they all were on good terms. Yet during the heated argument, with exception of Sanji, Straw Hats did not get involved much and specifiely, did not in any meaningful way support Law. Only Sanji actively tried to calm down the conflict but due to his treacherous stunt pulled in a public bathhouse, all his talk about trust between comrades was shut down by Nami and Shinobi (anime) since at that moment, he was the least trusted person.

Zoro would never be put in such situation for the simple fact he does not act on romantic or sexual desires and through the course of manga, has never broke the trust given by female characters, never had took any chance to peek at or grope their bodies. Which really makes him one of the safest men to be around for women. Zoro may not be the most respectful speaking person but for sure he does respect other people’s boundaries. And because of that, it is easy to imagine if he was there and told that comrades must trust each other, Nami would have no reason to insult his person. Similar to Luffy.

⏩ Franky, Robin, Usopp barely did add anything to the argument:

 Usopp’s one comment was just how Shinobu’s mindset about killing captured comrades was scaring him even though in private talk with Nami he admitted to not hold any grudge toward Bepo and the rest, if they actually told the enemy everything (chapter 940). But such support wasn’t voiced to Law or samurais back then.

Franky and Robin simply watched the unfolding of the situation - what in case of Robin is really surprising, since she and Law had mutual respect and trust going between them.

Nami was angry at Sanji and she even beat him for what happened in the bathhouse. In the mentioned private talk with Usopp, she admitted to understanding Shinobu’s frustration over the whole situation although she too didn’t show any anger at Heart Pirates. In fact, like the rest of the crew, she did not openly support any side of the conflict.

⏩Sanji tried but failed to take control over the crisis or stop Law from leaving. In the anime the discussed scene was extended. One of the most important additions was Law’s reaction to Sanji's efforts.

The outright stated  “You can’t tell me what to do, Blackleg-ya! (episode 934) once again comes down to the clash of authority. Nor Sanji, Usopp, Nami, Robin, Franky, nor the samurai were above him and he wasn’t bound to listen to anyone. On Zue it was made clear that leaders of the Pirate-Samurai-Mink alliance were equal. 

⏩ Even if Luffy couldn’t order Law to do anything against his will, Luffy’s presence would definitely have an impact on the situation. Since Straw Hat himself is very nakama-oriented, he wouldn’t stand silent when Shinobu talked about killing Law’s comrades when there wasn’t even any proof of their betrayal. Law most likely wouldn’t want Luffy to get involved with saving Heart Pirates because Luffy already brought too much enemy’s attention but at least he would be given the needed support. Zoro’s mindset is more complicated, colder than Luffy’s but here is a thing - alliance is a form of deal and one that needs trust to remain valid. Zoro has a very clear idea of trust and honoring deals, what was seen in various situations, from joining Luffy (agreeing to very specific terms of their deal), then the matter of letting Usopp come back to the crew (not letting in someone who they can’t fully trust) to hostage crisis in King Neptune’s Palace (telling Usopp to free hostages since they failed to hold up their end of the deal, ’’We promised the hostages wouldn’t be harmed’’, chapter 617). 

On Punk Hazard, when the alliance was freshly made, Law showed great concern about many things that needed to be done in a certain way for the plan to succeed, including stopping Buffalo and Baby 5 who got their hands on Caesar (chapter 695). Usopp took this task upon himself (“Leave it to me. Taking down flying enemies is the sniper’s job!) yet Law clearly wanted to stop the enemy all by himself because failing now would put the whole plan in danger - what sounds very similar to the current problem in Wano where a crucial part of the great scheme was threatened. Back then Straw Hats demanded from Law to believe in them (Luffy’s “Whoa, whoa. Usopp said to leave it to him”, Zoro’s “Don’t think just cuz he has a long nose our sniper can’t do his job!”, Nami’s “Are we in alliance or not?! We’d appreciate a little trust!!!”). Yet now, when Law asked alliance to trust his crew - or at least, to give them the benefit of doubt (“We’ll get to the bottom of this once we rescue and ask them!”), he got nothing of the sort. Available Straw Hats (except Sanji) didn’t get involved in the argument and didn't openly support any side. What is quite surprising, considering how Straw Hats are usually vocal about their feelings or support for befriended people. 

This is why I think Zoro’s presence would be beneficial for Law. Because Trafalgar put a trust in Straw Hats when they demanded it, despite how much his plan depended on barely familiar people. Not trusting Law’s crew now, in a similar critical situation, would be not only unfair but also against the principle of alliance. Even more since there was no real proof of Heart Pirate crew’s betrayal, just assumption on Shinobu's part, clearly fueled by her own feelings (and Zoro doesn’t like to rely on emotions when it comes to choosing the best course of action). We may only wonder how different the scene would play if Zoro was there, to either support Law or at least to acknowledge Law’s arguments. 

(And even if Zoro was there to support Law, the man could still be against taking Roronoa with himself on a rescue mission. The same as Luffy, Zoro has a bad habit of bringing unwanted attention of the enemy).

⏩ In the end, it was Kanjuro who stood up fo Law. Not as the “you should trust him” but as a reminder that not everything will go according to the plan and how samurais need the help of pirates to defeat Kaido. 

Considering everything that happened - Shinobu’s blaming Heart Pirates, Sanji’s attempt to stop Law from saving his crew and silence of the rest of Straw Hats - Law’s final decision of leaving Ebisu Town shouldn’t come as a surprise. Nor his angry words (chapter 940).

“Don’t forget the fact that you doubted the loyalty of my crew. If we can’t trust each other in moments like this then I can’t expect to entrust my safety to you when the fighting is fierce.”

Available at that time Straw Hats and Shinobu failed the big test of trust before battle even started. From all of Zoro's friends, the manga showed only the reaction of Usopp and Nami who privately talked together about Law’s choice of leaving. Usopp hoped Trafalgar would decide to come back, didn’t blame Heart Pirates if they actually told the enemy everything (as Nami pointed out, because he would do the same, as she would too) and showed irritation at Shinobu who caused the rift in the alliance. Nami showed no opinion of Trafalgar’s angry decision in that discussion - in fact, she defended Shinobu what makes sense The two women worked together as spies in the last days and in process become quite close but also, Nami was once in a similar situation, living under cruel tyrant like Arlong. Shinobu’s frustration was understable to her. 

In the end, to save his crew, Law agreed to exchange himself for their safety. In result, he was tortured by enemy who wanted to gain intel about Straw Hats and the goals of their alliance (chapter 950). Despite what happened between Trafalgar and Shinobu, Law did not betray his comrades.

Nami was glad to see Heart Pirates back in Ebisu Town (chapter 951) and the men claimed they were lucky and managed to run away on their own when in truth, their captain ordered them to keep quiet about this (“Don’t tell Straw Hat and the others that I’ve been caught!”).

The question is, was that solely a pragmatic decision on Law’s part, as in, to avoid more complications, especially if someone decided to come and save him - or was there some distrust in light of recent argument with Shinobu? Whatever the case, Law took it upon himself to secure his crew’s safety and apparently had a plan or two how to play the situation. He managed to beat down his oppressor(s) and gather important intel about what happened to the alliance between Kid, Hawkins and Appo (chapter 954). 

(Interestingly, Zoro wasn’t named by name, it was solely Luffy and everyone else put into “the others” category though it could come from the simple fact that Zoro wasn’t around Ebisu Town for a few days already and even if Law saw him during Yasuie’s execution, he could also see him running away with woman under his protection. Anyway, Roronoa wasn’t the main source of potential trouble, not like Luffy at least.)

Ultimately, with help of X-Drake, Law got out of prison but did not go to the hideout of the alliance and wasn’t seen before meeting on the sea at the day of raid. Through the chapters, Sanji and Nami were shown caring about Heart Pirates crew (Sanji noticed the lack of Heart Pirates between captured and imprisoned samurais which suggest he was looking after them, Nami was glad to see them again), Chopper outright called Law a very powerful ally, Kinemon was worried about not hearing from Law. In contrast, Shinobu’s opinion on Trafalgar’s absence was pretty low (“If he doesn’t show up, that’s no skin off our back, is it?”, chapter 955). Law too seemed to hold some grudge against samurais just before the raid, because though he saved them at sea, he outright said “This isn’t your samurai garrison [ …] I’m not helping you! Get off!” (chapter 975).

(The samurai ultimately learned the truth that Heart Pirates weren’t responsible for the leak from Kanjuro in chapter 974 yet there was no apology for doubting them and Law so far. Of course, in the end, samurais traveled with Law to Kaido’s mansion so I think it is safe to assume that whatever tension was between Heart Pirates and samurais, it was put to rest, somehow.)

Before they got to Kaido’s mansion however, Law told Kinemon to not bother explaining to Luffy the plan. As he argued (and apparently, his opinion this time holds a great weight between samurais), there will be at least two idiots to not follow it (chapter 977).

“No matter what kind of plan you put together, I can think of approximately two idiots who will charge straight in regardless!”

In anime it was pretty clear Law meant Luffy and Eustass however manga is more vague about who he meant and I wouldn’t be surprised if Zoro was counted as one of the “idiots”. Eustass is of course an understable candidate too, but Law had more experiences working with Straw Hats than Eustass and Zoro proved to be as insane as his captain when it comes to finding trouble and not following the plan.

This nevertheless did not eliminate the clash of authority between pirates, because once Eustass Kid joined the alliance, the dynamic between Law and Luffy changed in visible ways every time the three captains were together. Zoro, on another hand, seemed to work well with every allied Supernova, but that of course will be a subject of the next part.

Here some additional thoughts:

→ Law is willing to sacrifice innocent people for his or alliance’s plans as long as safety of his crew is secured. He showed that uncaring attitude while working with Straw Hats - and yet Sanji was pretty sure Law’s cold-pragmatic mindset does not include his own men.

→ Trafalgar’s mindset about trust seems to be similar to Zoro’s. Also they share the willingness to stay behind, so they crewmembers could run away, as could be seen when Law agreed to exchange himself for captured nakama. Both men aren’t afraid of pain or putting themselves in danger.. 

→This part of the Wano arc seems to mirror Punk Hazard. During Punk Hazard, Straw Hats crew kept putting safety of each other (and saved children) above Law’s grand scheme (for example chapter 693, in which they refuse to get into cart cause not all of their people were there) while in Wano, it is Law who is putting his crew about alliance’s plan. The difference though is that Law compiled to Luffy’s wishes while when Law himself needed the trust of his pirate allies, he got almost nothing. 

→ Jimbei officially joining Straw Hats for sure shaken the power balance of the pirate alliance. He is, after all, a former warlord and a well respected (formed) captain of famus Sun Pirates. Law and Kid were pretty shocked by the turn of events and it seems Straw Hats did not mention to Trafalgar about Jimbei’s decision to join them.

→ So far, Law’s angry words about betrayed trust didn’t influence much of his choices during battle, albeit it seems he does not forgive easily insulting his crew. Of course, the harsh words to samurais to get off his submarine may be just  his natural gruffness.

→ Lack of Luffy or Zoro really seems to set off the balance between allied pirate crews. Straw Hats cares about Heart Pirates and interacts with Law with little to no problems, but the matter of authority came up at least a few times. In previous arcs such arguments did not arise. 

→ In chapter 938, when Zoro got seriously injured by Kamazo, his first thought was “Damn. Not when the big battle’s so soon!” Which shows how Zoro and Law had a similar mindset about injuries just before the raid. These could influence their effectiveness in combat and reduce the chance of winning. Despite the pragmatic approach, both get into trouble to save someone else and in process got seriously hurt.

→The previously mentioned information from SBS vol. 72 stated that Law addresses Nami as Nami-ya and Robin as Nico-ya instead of his typical nicknames (Straw Hat-ya, Nose-ya, Black Leg-ya, Robo-ya, Bone-ya). From the group of Straw Hats (not counting Jimbe who in Wano joined the crew just before the battle and so Law did not have much a chance to interact yet), so far only:

Zoro and Nami are addressed by their real name 

Robin and Chopper are addressed by their surname 

Of course, this is debatable which Law’s way of addressing people is more respectable - the more straightforward by name (that from what I heard may not be so polite in Japanese culture) or by surname but there is no doubt that these four for this or another reason are unique.

→ Like Zoro, Trafalgar isn’t affected by female beauty. He does not shows any romantic or sexual atraction toward women and definitely is not perverted. In that regard alone, he is a pretty safe man to be around and I strongly believe it to be one of the reasons why Robin and Nami like and respect him. Generally speaking, Zoro and Law are introverted and at times difficult men and they do not give trust easily to people around them beside their respective crew members. Robin is especially appreciated by Law, what was seen in the flashback from Zou (chapter 996)

Law told Robin about his hidden D. name and even called her the only person he would tell this secret. However, does that means he wouldn’t trust Zoro or is that rather the fact that Roronoa - like Luffy - does not care and can’t give Law the needed answers he sought. In contrast, Robin has knowledge and skill to learn the truth but has no obligation to share information with Trafalgar. Law sharing a personal secret may be less about trust (though he did trust Robin, there is no doubt) and more about making a deal. He offered something personal, to show no ill will and to get in return the needed data.

→ The bond between Robin and Zoro deserves a separate analysis, but for now what is important is how similar they are. Both are the “darker” members of the crew, always ready to face any danger, to fight and, if necessary kill, putting their nakama’s wellbeing above anything else. Both are also introverted, perceptive and not easily trusting people around them. In the last regard, Robin and Zoro are similar to Law, so I strongly suspect this is why the three of them get along so well.

→ In the Dressrosa arc, Nami made a speech how Straw Hats can’t fail Law who sacrificed himself for their sake and for the success of the mission. Now, although Law and Nami did not clash at all, she didn’t show much open support for Law. Frankly, it feels like she was more supportive of Shinobu than him in her private talk with Usopp.

Next part: Supernovas

[cocksley-and-catapult]

turning them into fucking goop (there is no visible difference afterwards)