## One Piece Chapter 697, pages 9-11: Dealings - Chapter: 697 - Pages: 9-11 - Characters: G-5 Marines, Tashigi, Smoker, Monkey D. Luffy, Tony Tony Chopper, Punk Hazard Children, Nami, Donquixote Doflamingo ### Summary Page 9: G-5 finally confesses the real danger they are fighting: "WE'RE GONNA END UP LIKING THEM!! EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE PIRATES!!" The admission breaks the scene open. The Marines cry, Tashigi cries, and Smoker hides his face rather than let the emotion show too openly. Luffy, on the other hand, bursts into laughter: "HAHAHA HAHAHA." He sees the contradiction and accepts it without needing to solve it. Chopper watches the Marines bawl and sums them up with innocent bluntness: "WHAT WEIRD MARINES." The farewell has become comic, painful, and sincere all at once. G-5 has not stopped being the Marines, and the Straw Hats have not stopped being pirates, but for this moment everyone understands that the children were saved because these particular people crossed the official line between justice and evil. Page 10: At last the children get their goodbye. From the tanker they shout to the Straw Hats, "PIRATE BIG BROS!! BIG SISTERS!! THANK YOU FOR SAVING US!!" Their gratitude is so strong that it turns into a dangerous dream: "WHEN WE GROW UP, WE'LL DEFINITELY..." The obvious answer explodes from the scene, "BECOME PIRATES!!" and is immediately rejected: "DON'T DO THAT!!" The goodbye turns into a promise of future rivalry. The Marines shout, "BE READY FOR THE NEXT TIME WE MEET!!" Another voice calls, "SEE YA!!" G-5 warns, "WE'LL BE ENEMIES AGAIN!!" and "WE'RE GONNA CATCH YA!!" The ship pulls away carrying the children home, while the Straw Hats remain pirates on the far side of the line. The children leave Punk Hazard with tears, gratitude, and a memory of pirates that no Marine slogan can erase. Page 11: Far from the warmth of the farewell, Doflamingo cuts across the sky at high speed. The page narrows the world to motion: his face, his sunglasses, his coat, and the sharp rush of air as he travels along his invisible route. The sound of movement dominates the silence, a long "WHOOSH" carrying him forward. There is no conversation here, only pursuit. Punk Hazard's battle may be over for the Straw Hats, but Doflamingo has not accepted the outcome. He is already moving toward the island, and the empty sky makes his approach feel colder and more dangerous than a normal chase. The story shifts from rescue and parting back toward consequences: Law's operation has wounded Doflamingo's business, and the man himself is coming to answer it.