In One Piece, Volume 40, the assault on Enis Lobby continues as the Straw Hats and the members of the Galley-La Company team up to rescue Cutty Flam and Nico Robin from the clutches of the Cipher Pol No. 9. An intelligence group working with the World Government who, aside from their leader, are the some of the strongest fighters and are legally allowed to kill any unruly citizens.
Highlights
With the combined groups assaulting the Enis Lobby, but are being foiled by a group of giants. With Luffy already past the gate, it looks to be a hard fight. It is with Luffy's single handed assault on the ground forces of Enis Lobby, that we see just how out of it the CP9 leader, Spandam, is. At first it looks like he just couldn't think anyone surviving against the army at his command, but it quickly becomes apparent that he's just an arrogant jerk with alot of power at his command. Such power comes into play with the regrouping of the seven members of the CP9: Rob Lucci, Kaku, Jabra, Blueno, Kumadori, Fukuro, and Kalifa. During their introduction we are given power levels of each member, with Rob Lucci the strongest and Kalifa the weakest member. We are even shown that the group doesn't get along very well. In an attempt to make Kaku and Kalifa stronger, Spandam hands them Devil Fruit to eat. Here we are given a fact that no one person can eat two Devil Fruit without dieing.
Back with the the rest of the Straw Hats and the Galley-La breaking into the Enis Lobby, the giants have fallen and the small forces break in with the help of a couple of Sea Kings named Sodomu and Gomora. Unfortunatly, Soga King is left behind and we are shown a magnificent call back. One that goes back to Little Island and the Baroque Works story arc. And with the Straw Hats and the Galley-La; they are delt a terrible blow as they are hunted down by gaurds who ride dogs,a jury who fight with giant steel balls, and a three headed judge. With Luffy finally reaching the Ennis Lobby tower, he is confronted by Blueno at the courthouse roof and has an interesting fight with an opponent who can open a door in anything and everything due to his powers of the Door-Door fruit.
Overall
As someone who enjoys this series, but has only been watching the anime, I was a bit lost. I had only known of Cutter Flam(Franky) through cosplayers and other readings I have done. So just by this volume I dont see what the big deal about him is. It was hard for me to really get to be into a character that I've only seen tied up in chains. This was a very action heavy volume that still had a small amount of humor that this series is known for, be it Soge King thinking of plans that wouldn't work, or Kalifa calling something as simple as a greating "Sexual harrasment". There are even moments that tug at your heart strings.
ComicsOnline gives One Piece Volume 40: 3.5 out of 5 Devil Fruits.
