Summary:
The destruction caused by Trebol is enough to stop the attack on Sugar as the dwarves are rounded up and interrogated and the dwarves reveal Usoland to their captors. Leo runs off and tells Usopp and Robin that their plan to take out Sugar must succeed. At the palace, Thunder Soldier is thrown from the Lao G elevator and has a flashback to his fight with Rebecca over the false news of Doflamingo’s resignation. At the Corrida Colosseum, Diamante taunts a beaten Rebecca, and Sabo, seeing this, tells Bartolomeo to protect her. Back at the palace, the Thunder Soldier is rescued by his dwarf squad. Usopp is confused that the dwarves are putting all their faith in a simple soldier, but Leo reveals that the Thunder Soldier was the first to be turned into a toy, and as such was not given a contract, thus leading the resistance. his human identity was the legendary gladiator Kyros.
The dwarves, Usopp, and Sugar are all shocked when a giant ship crashes into the room. Even the toymakers stop to look in awe at the incident. Trebol’s subordinates shout that he has lost her and comment on how the tower is now in ruins.
Meanwhile, Zoro continues his fight with Pica while Luffy and Viola run to deflect Pica’s stone blows.
Robin finds Usopp, who seems to be faking being knocked out, and wakes him up. He says “the duck went through the roof” and Robin tells him to shut up and that Leo’s group has been captured.
Of course, the dwarves are interrogated by Trebol and Sugar (who angrily kicks him for dropping the ship). He claims to never reveal the names of his partners, though Trebol lies that Usopp is his dear friend, prompting Leo to reveal the name. When he scoffs that Usopp isn’t his friend, Leo screams in horror that he’s fallen for another trick. A similar situation follows when Sugar asks about Thunder Soldier.
Trebol notes that the dwarves have quite a plan in action, to which they reply that it doesn’t matter since the Donquijote pirates are already done. The officer simply drops a little sticky substance on them that is flammable. When the lighter is thrown into the mass, it explodes. Usopp finds Leo seriously injured and advises him to get out of the port with the dwarves. Leo laments that he can’t defeat Trebol, but says that the SOP operation must be completed, because if it is, Thunder Soldier can crush Doflamingo. He says “the captain is waiting for them”.
The scene changes to a fight between Lao G and Thunder Soldier, with the former nearly defeating the latter. A downed Thunder Soldier recalls the events of that morning. The captive gladiators and dwarves cheer as the newspaper claims that Doflamingo has abandoned the Shichibukai, but Thunder Soldier just sadly says that’s not true.
He then tries to comfort Rebecca, who is upset about the whole thing and cries that she has been “thrown from heaven to hell”. He says that everyone’s mood is breaking, he even remembers someone saying that the only thing to look forward to is the execution, and angrily cries that reaching a thousand wins in the coliseum to be freed is not hope, but rather a wall of despair . He even notes that the statue of Kyros is nothing more than a lie created by the prisoners to keep hope alive, and if he’s going to dream of the impossible, he’d rather put all his hopes in the Mera Mera no Mi competition. Thunder Soldier chides her that she is only 16 and that she is too young and weak to compete in the competition. Rebecca breaks down in tears and says that he’s not her real father, that he’s the one who gets spanked, and that he’s nothing but a soldier. He simply agrees and leaves; Rebecca quickly apologizes and begs him not to start the operation.
Back in the presence, Rebecca, who has not yet gone on the offensive, attacks Diamante in what appears to be anger. He notices that the sword is dull; he scoffs that the battle is a battle to the death and simply smashes it with a club he fashioned from folded sheet metal. The crowd cheers for the Coliseum hero as Lucy orders “Muscle Melon” to protect Rebecca, to which he barks that his name is Bartolomeo. Meanwhile, Diamante laughs and sarcastically asks if he knew how her mother Scarlett died. He says he was even a little emotional seeing Thunder Soldier cry so hard. Rebecca remembers her mother saying she would return with some food, only to return dead, carried by a soldier.
Back at the palace, Lao G is distracted by the tremors Pica causes and is soon ambushed by Kabu’s group. The dwarves tell the Thunder Soldier to continue, though he worries for their safety, noting that they will all die. Kabu reassures the captain that Leo is almost done with their part and that all he needs to do is shoot Doflamingo.
Underground Usopp asks Leo why they are so addicted to the toy. Leo explains that while the other toys were all given contracts to obey Doflamingo, Thunder Soldier was the only exception. And because he has free will left, he is the only one capable of fighting Doflamingo. In fact, if it weren’t for him, all the dwarves would have become slaves too, thanks to their naivety. It ends with a speech in which the Thunder Soldier reveals himself as Kyros, the strongest gladiator in the Colosseum.