The Official One Piece website announced this evening that Eiichiro Oda, the mastermind behind the series, has worked with the anime staff to create the original scenario for the upcoming One Piece episode 737, “The Birth of the Legend! The Adventures of the Revolutionary Warrior Sabo!”

The episode, set to air on April 17, will feature an extended flashback of Sabo and his early days with the Revolutionary Army after he was grievously injured by Celestial Dragons when he set out to sea as a boy. Check out the preview for the episode:

Many fans have been apprehensive about the episode since the preview aired on April 10. One Piece has had its share of filler, and while some of it has been entertaining and well-received, much of it has disregarded Oda’s meticulously planned story lines. However, it looks like episode 737 has gotten the approval of Oda himself. He even went so far as to make handwritten notes on the script, as seen below.

While much of the script has been blurred out, there are still a couple of interesting notes in the margins. We can see Sabo, Koala, and Hack’s ages at the time of the flashback: Sabo is 10, Koala is 12, and Hack is 26. There’s also a mention of “Koala’s ___” and “Kuma also ___.” In the middle portion of the script, Hack seems to be explaining to someone that Sabo doesn’t seem like the kind of pampered prince you’d expect from a noble family and that he is considering handing the boy over to Dragon for further training. Does this mean that we’ll get to see Dragon this episode? We’ll have to wait until Sunday to find out!

For those interested in deciphering more details out of this pixel-y, low-res image full of blurs and scribbles, the following is what we’ve managed to string together:

Sabo: (looking bored)

Hack: “If you can’t become a fighter, we have no reason to keep you in the Revolutionary Army!”

Sabo goes off somewhere.

Hack: “Sabo! Where are you going!?”

Sabo: “This is only going to make me rusty!”

Hack “!!…(Cloud puff)” A bunch of stuff written in red, blurred out text happens. Sabo returns (There is an Oda scribble here but none of us were able to make that out). Hack: “This isn’t something one would expect from a sheltered and spoiled child. He may have been quite the wild child – he’s already gone out of hand.”

Sabo fans may find it interesting to note that Oda went through the trouble of editing Hack’s line to upgrade young Sabo’s level of badassery. His original quote had a cuter tone, along the lines of “This kid may have been quite the troublesome one.” For those familiar with the Japanese language, it has been edited from 「かなりのヤンチャ坊主だったかも知れんな」to 「かなりの悪ガキだったかも知れんな。すでに手に負えない」

The script ends with a hint of short scenes portraying Sabo’s growth, to which Oda wrote “Sabo and Hack sparring.” Lets keep our fingers crossed that the rest of the flashback won’t simply be a montage!

One Piece episodes are simulcast in a number of countries, and is currently available on the official websites for Crunchyroll, FUNimation, and One Piece Official. Don’t miss it!

SOURCE: Official One Piece website