Disclaimer: This article contains manga spoilers to Dressrosa arc in One Piece. Again, this article has nothing to do with the string theory in physics.



Not only do strings surround us, they also permeate all throughout our bodies. Humans produce long strands of protein for various functions, and several types of cells form into fibrous tissues.

Hair grows on the skin to provide warmth and protection. The muscles are made of fibrous muscle cells, connected to the bones through the tendons. Aside from the tendon and ligament that connect to the bones, connective tissues also make up our blood vessels, which carry blood throughout our body. In addition, nerves direct all actions of our body, whether they are voluntary or involuntary. Even in our food, we consume dietary fibers to aid in our digestion.

Like how we are made of strings, Doflamingo utilized his strings to create a string clone known as the Marionette (操り人形) that is indistinguishable from the original. Not only can it move, the string clone can also talk and unleash attacks on its opponents. Still, being made of strings, it easily untangles upon receiving the brunt of an attack.

Getting on Your Nerves

Like strings on a puppet, Doflamingo uses his Parasite Strings (寄生糸) to control his targets. In reality, a puppet controlled by strings is called marionette. Unlike the multiple strings or wires used to control a puppet, it seems that Doflamingo only uses one string for each of his targets, usually connected to the head or the nape. While it is not revealed how he controls them, it is possible that Doflamingo hijacks the nerves of his target, allowing him to use them as puppets. Indeed, the central nervous system processes information and coordinates the actions of our body through the brain and spinal cord.

The other part of the nervous system is the periphery nervous system (PNS), which connects the central nervous system to the limbs and organs. While the autonomic nervous system of the PNS manages the functions of the internal organs, the somatic nervous system has motor neurons that controls the voluntary muscles and reflex movements. It consist of the afferent nerves that relay sensory information into the central nervous system and efferent nerves that handles muscle contraction. With sufficient stimulation, the motor neurons flood the innervated muscle fibers with neurotransmitters to trigger a response that results in muscle movement.

The nervous system directs the movement in our body through the use of nerves, which are bundles of fibers that transmit electrochemical impulses throughout our body. They are composed of electrically excitable cells known as neurons, made up of a body (soma), its branches (dendrites), and a long fiber (axon). Information is conveyed through impulses, which is received by the dendrites and delivered to other neurons through the axon. The process is instantaneous, with messages transferred nerve to nerve electrically and chemically through the gap between the nerves known as the synapse.

Thankfully in real life, there hasn’t been any technology that can take full control of a person’s actions. However, scientists have found ways to control the movements of a cockroach by attaching a remote controlled device onto them. Tiny wires that connects the computer chip to the nerves in its legs send signals to control the cockroach’s direction as it moves. Presumably, Doflamingo is able to transmit his own signals to his target through the use of his strings attached to their nerves in order to control their actions.

A Stitch in Time



Later on, Doflamingo managed to be caught off-guard and stabbed by Law’s Gamma Knife. Based on the area of Law’s attack, it’s presumed that his digestive organs such as the stomach, liver, and the intestines were rupture. These organs are formed by a complex structure lined by epithelial tissues and surrounded by nerves that regulate the muscles.

However, Doflamingo somehow manages to induce some form of self-regeneration by accelerating the healing process to a certain degree though the use of strings to hold up and repair his organs. In real life, it has been shown that a matrix formed from the substrate of spider silk can be used to regenerate bones, repair cartilage, tendons and ligaments, as well as cultivate cardiac tissues. In addition, the healing of a wound is a complex and delicate series of events where the entire process can last more than a year, though the length of the process depends on the range of damage. Each of these events ranges from seconds to years, but can occur simultaneously.

In the first step of healing, the blood coagulates around the site of injury to achieve hemostasis, preventing further outflow of blood from the vessels. During the outflow, blood platelets aggregate and release their contents, triggering the formation of a fibrous insoluble protein known as fibrin. These strands of insoluble protein cross-link with a soluble protein called fibrinogen to close the gap and provide structural support. Around the inflammatory phase, large white blood cells known as monocytes gather in the wound to digest bacteria, damaged or dead cells, and other debris. The overall strength of the tissues in this phase is minimal.

In some cases, the wound will not be able to close up which can subsequently lead to blood loss and further infections. Stitches would be required in order to hold the wound together. In ancient times, materials used to create strings for stitching were either thread produced from plants such as cotton and flax, or derived from parts of animals such as muscle strips, hair, and silk. Currently, the strings used in surgery are mostly synthetic polymer fibers, but silk sutures still remain in use today. In addition to sutures, dressings are also used to promote healing. Nowadays, they are sterile pads applied to the wound through direct contact, though cloth and spider webs were used historically.

After two or three days, the wound goes through the proliferation phase, where several sub-phases occur simultaneously. Angiogenesis occur when new blood vessels are produced from pre-existing vessels, while fibroplasia begins when cells known as fibroblast migrate to the area and excrete collagen to form an extracellular matrix. Basically, it’s the generation of fibrous tissues in the injured area. Along with those processes, epithelial cells are restored and surviving axons of the nerves regenerate and extend to the affected site.

The final phase is remodeling and maturation, where the tensile strength of the cells in the site increases. Fibroblast will be differentiated into myofibroblast, contracting the wound like smooth muscles. Collagen in the site will be realigned, while the unneeded cells will be eliminated by programmed cell death. Depending on the extent of the injury, this phase begins after three day to three weeks and typically last for more than a year. The resulting scar tissues will only be 80 percent of the tensile strength of normal skin tissues.

Even if Doflamingo was able to patch himself with strings, he would still require medical attention or Mansherry’s abilities to recover. Rupturing his organs would have leaked some amounts of blood, acid, and organisms onto other parts of his system. In addition, gamma rays produced by Law’s attack could induce symptoms of radiation poisoning. Even with the versatility of his ability, he still has to deal with Luffy while severely injured. The damage done to his body would have already impaired him in his fight. While it is certainly a feat that Doflamingo can control a number of people, contract Bird Cage, and fight the two captains consecutively, all his plans will eventually come unraveled like the strings keeping his organ in place.

Further Reference:

* “Overview of Wound Healing in Different Tissue Types” on the National Center for Biotechnology Information

“Chao Time” is a bi-weekly editorial feature that is posted every other Wednesday only at The One Piece Podcast website.