Volume 96 Predictions/Discussion

Captain M

@.access:

I was checking your sign these days and realized unlike the other "villain only" covers, the Big Mom Pirates cover was not mirrored by a SH cover. I mean, sure, we got a SH+allies cover after it, but it seemed like a regular one, it was not referencing the villain cover that came before it. Maybe instead of having a hero counterpart, the BMP cover will get a Beasts Pirates counterpart?

I hadn't considered that but I really like the idea! Oda might have been playing the super long con when he chose not to directly mirror the Big Mom cover. We'd probably get the Strawhat version of that layout only after this second big villain group got their chance with it.

@loicos:

One Piece #97 is shifted. It was due out on July 3 but will finally be released on August 4.

If you have an official source for that you could probably go start the predictions/discussion thread.

Doesn't surprise me though. The extra COVID break has pushed the release schedule - which was tight to begin with - back far enough that with the regular Odabreaks a ten chapter July release would hit barely a week after the last chapter was in Jump. It makes sense they'd try to give themselves some more breathing room.

Gia Sado

@Captain:

I have a pet theory that Oda might break his pattern and give us a three-part set. One for the villains, one for samurai and other members of the alliance and a final one for the Strawhats and probably Kid and Law too, all with similar layouts. Big Mom's crew will probably be de-emphasised because they got their cover ten volumes back. It'd be really great if they could go 98 - 99 - 100, using that triumphant Straw Hat cover to mark the entry into triple digits. Either way I'm really looking forward to what Oda does for these ones, but I think we've got at least one more volume to go before he starts pulling them out.

Lol, that's even assuming we'll get to the actual main battles anytime soon

Captain M

@Gia:

Lol, that's even assuming we'll get to the actual main battles anytime soon

How far off do you expect them to be? I'll be shocked if the alarm isn't getting raised and things starting to get action-y by the last chapter of volume 97 or the first of 98. Might start getting some final matchups soon after that. Might not, given that the third act is supposedly set to end in tragedy, but crew intros finished and the fights starting is more than enough setup to justify a Kaido crew cover. Then you've got three full volumes for the fighting to be stretched through. That's a ton of time.

redon

ONE PIECE VOLUME 96 DIGITAL RAW (by aKraa)

https://nyaa.si/view/1243494

SBS and extra pages.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

Finally Roger Pirates in good quality!!!

andre

That's a cool ass crew, though I've always found them underwhelming looking in the actual chapters.

Gia Sado

@Captain:

How far off do you expect them to be? I'll be shocked if the alarm isn't getting raised and things starting to get action-y by the last chapter of volume 97 or the first of 98. Might start getting some final matchups soon after that. Might not, given that the third act is supposedly set to end in tragedy, but crew intros finished and the fights starting is more than enough setup to justify a Kaido crew cover. Then you've got three full volumes for the fighting to be stretched through. That's a ton of time.

The problem is knowing how Oda sets up battles based on past arcs. If we ignore WCI for being unorthodox, and compare it to things like Enies Lobby/Dressrosa, Oda could spend upwards of 20-30 chapters just moving the main characters to their battles, explaining Kaido's past and doing a bunch of skirmishes that don't lead to the end of certain characters. Could it be the next 3 volumes? Maybe? But I'm at this point that we are at a few volumes away from actual conflicts. Of characters going head to head.

Compare it to DR: from the beginning of Birdcage to Laws Past was 17 chapters. It took nearly half a year for Oda to place everyone at or near their respective fights and do skirmishes. Then he took another 25 chapters after this to for finish Doflamingo and his crew. Wano is over 3 times the size of DR in terms of characters lol. By this time (71 chapters in), Machvise and Lao G were defeated and we were just getting those 2 covers that had Doflamingo's family vs. Luffy's crew and Fleet. Tbh, I don't think we've even reached the "Birdcage" moment of the arc yet. Oda still is introducing Beasts Pirates and needs to characterize Kaido and his crew much more before things get hairy, and they will eventually.

If I was being ridiculous, I could see your 3 cover idea starting around vol 100 or 101. I think people severely underestimate just how much more setup Oda will do before the actual battles begin or finish.

Just my opinion though, could be wrong, we gotta wait and see how 97/98 content pan out

theackwardstation

@Gia:

The problem is knowing how Oda sets up battles based on past arcs. If we ignore WCI for being unorthodox, and compare it to things like Enies Lobby/Dressrosa, Oda could spend upwards of 20-30 chapters just moving the main characters to their battles, explaining Kaido's past and doing a bunch of skirmishes that don't lead to the end of certain characters. Could it be the next 3 volumes? Maybe? But I'm at this point that we are at a few volumes away from actual conflicts. Of characters going head to head.

Compare it to DR: from the beginning of Birdcage to Laws Past was 17 chapters. It took nearly half a year for Oda to place everyone at or near their respective fights and do skirmishes. Then he took another 25 chapters after this to for finish Doflamingo and his crew. Wano is over 3 times the size of DR in terms of characters lol. By this time (71 chapters in), Machvise and Lao G were defeated and we were just getting those 2 covers that had Doflamingo's family vs. Luffy's crew and Fleet. Tbh, I don't think we've even reached the "Birdcage" moment of the arc yet. Oda still is introducing Beasts Pirates and needs to characterize Kaido and his crew much more before things get hairy, and they will eventually.

If I was being ridiculous, I could see your 3 cover idea starting around vol 100 or 101. I think people severely underestimate just how much more setup Oda will do before the actual battles begin or finish.

Just my opinion though, could be wrong, we gotta wait and see how 97/98 content pan out

That's true, but it's precisely because of the amount of things going on that I believe that Oda will get straight to the point a little faster than usual when it comes to setting up the fights and other plot threads. He should definitely avoid dragging too much otherwise it will become a mess.

But yes, we're going to be here for a long long time in any case. There is too much going on.

Captain M

@Gia:

The problem is knowing how Oda sets up battles based on past arcs. If we ignore WCI for being unorthodox, and compare it to things like Enies Lobby/Dressrosa, Oda could spend upwards of 20-30 chapters just moving the main characters to their battles, explaining Kaido's past and doing a bunch of skirmishes that don't lead to the end of certain characters. Could it be the next 3 volumes? Maybe? But I'm at this point that we are at a few volumes away from actual conflicts. Of characters going head to head.

Compare it to DR: from the beginning of Birdcage to Laws Past was 17 chapters. It took nearly half a year for Oda to place everyone at or near their respective fights and do skirmishes. Then he took another 25 chapters after this to for finish Doflamingo and his crew. Wano is over 3 times the size of DR in terms of characters lol. By this time (71 chapters in), Machvise and Lao G were defeated and we were just getting those 2 covers that had Doflamingo's family vs. Luffy's crew and Fleet. Tbh, I don't think we've even reached the "Birdcage" moment of the arc yet. Oda still is introducing Beasts Pirates and needs to characterize Kaido and his crew much more before things get hairy, and they will eventually.

If I was being ridiculous, I could see your 3 cover idea starting around vol 100 or 101. I think people severely underestimate just how much more setup Oda will do before the actual battles begin or finish.

Just my opinion though, could be wrong, we gotta wait and see how 97/98 content pan out

I don't love the idea of being so clinical about it, saying "well this many chapters into this arc this had happened." Whole Cake Island demonstrated a huge willingness on Oda's part to break from his most successful formula, and the five-act structure Wano's going for suggests it's not going to be quite like its contemporaries either.

We've already had a lot of shuffling and skirmishing in the opening acts. Oda must know how eager people are to get to the action. Give it the rest of this volume to establish the Tobi Roppo properly and introduce the Numbers (assuming they're going to be something a bit more monstrous and won't need the same level of character stuff as other opponents) and I think we can start getting to the meat of things.

I doubt we'd get another flashback positioned like Law's, right before the climax of the fighting. Not so soon after Oden's massive one. I see Kaido's story as something we're more likely to fade into as he falls, finally getting that defeat he was waiting for. I wouldn't want to see the past again until the end of the arc.

I do think you're right that we're still minus a Birdcage moment thought. There's at least one big development still to go to put the endgame in order, probably coming right at the end of act three.

But yeah, all a matter of opinion until we know better. I've been pretty wrong about this kind of thing before. Hell, I thought Wano was going to get right to the action and undercut everyone's length expectations when it first started. How wrong I was about that lmao

theackwardstation

Honestly, I think Kaidou himself (maybe together with Big Mom) will be the "birdcage" of Wano.

I know it is a little different because the main villain himself is not supposed to be this secondary threat like the bomb in Alabasta that Vivi and the Strawhats had to find, but this situation would not be without precedent either. The birdcage itself was tied to defeating Doflamingo, just like Enel's Raigo, and that's what I think will happen at the massive fight against Kaido. Also, in Thriller Bark the huge threat besides Moria was Oars, who had to be defeated in a fight against the Strawhats and Luffy.

Gia Sado

@theackwardstation:

Honestly, I think Kaidou himself (maybe together with Big Mom) will be the "birdcage" of Wano.

I know it is a little different because the main villain himself is not supposed to be this secondary threat like the bomb in Alabasta that Vivi and the Strawhats had to find, but this situation would not be without precedent either. The birdcage itself was tied to defeating Doflamingo, just like Enel's Raigo, and that's what I think will happen at the massive fight against Kaido. Also, in Thriller Bark the huge threat besides Moria was Oars, who had to be defeated in a fight against the Strawhats and Luffy.

You can add Robin being taken though the gates of Justice at Enies Lobby, Ace's Execution in Marineford, Noah crashing into FI, Shi No Kuni taking over Punk Hazard, and Big Mom herself at WCI. It literally happens every arc since Alabasta, and tbh, we have yet to reach that moment this arc. That's all I'm saying. Oda has systematically placed these moments "around" the halfway point of an arc. Seriously, go back to each moment of each arc and you'll see what I mean.

I have constantly pitched Wano being a 140-160 chapter arc because of this. We are at 71 chapters with not one villain beaten or or battle started. We have yet to realize the true motivations of Kaido/Orochi as of yet. There's a ton of characterization left to be shown, there's just….a lot lol. Seriously, I'll be shocked if battles actually, truly start in the next 20 chapters lol. I don't even expect Kaido going down till the end of next year at this point.

Cockycent

Big Mom was the "Birdcage" last arc. I like how it was done too. It wasn't just knock out this guy and it'll be over. Sanji baked a cake and only he could've done that, while Luffy fought off Kata. Need that same level of creativity here.

andre

@Cockycent:

Big Mom was the "Birdcage" last arc. I like how it was done too. It wasn't just knock out this guy and it'll be over. Sanji baked a cake and only he could've done that, while Luffy fought off Kata. Need that same level of creativity here.

Jinbe steered like only he could, Nami siphoned off half of Big Mom's power like only she could, Brook got the poneglyph rubbing like only he could. The only Straw Hat that didn't really get to shine was Chopper, who had built the relationship between the Mink's and Straw Hats in a way that only he could. For my money Zou-WCI is my favorite 1-2 punch since Jaya-Skypiea.

theackwardstation

@Gia:

You can add Robin being taken though the gates of Justice at Enies Lobby, Ace's Execution in Marineford, Noah crashing into FI, Shi No Kuni taking over Punk Hazard, and Big Mom herself at WCI. It literally happens every arc since Alabasta, and tbh, we have yet to reach that moment this arc. That's all I'm saying. Oda has systematically placed these moments "around" the halfway point of an arc. Seriously, go back to each moment of each arc and you'll see what I mean.

I know what you're talking about. I know the examples.

All I'm saying is that Kaido himself can fill the role of the ticking bomb that will explode unless the heroes defeat him. After his entire crew has been taken down and he is the only enemy left on the battlefield, I believe it will be a concentrated effort of all the allies that are still standing trying to kill Kaido (not necessarily at the same time, but in rounds). He will probably be in his ultimate form, maybe his awakened zoan form, and the sheer strenght scale of his attacks would be making Wano collapese. His beams would destroy mountains like when it happened to Oden's castle. His strikes would make the land shake. Everybody would be worried that the country would be destroyed by his presence alone, like the skypieans looking at the Raigo in the sky.

That's completely inside the description of the trope.

Gia Sado

@theackwardstation:

I know what you're talking about. I know the examples.

All I'm saying is that Kaido himself can fill the role of the ticking bomb that will explode unless the heroes defeat him. After his entire crew has been taken down and he is the only enemy left on the battlefield, I believe it will be a concentrated effort of all the allies that are still standing trying to kill Kaido (not necessarily at the same time, but in rounds). He will probably be in his ultimate form, maybe his awakened zoan form, and the sheer strenght scale of his attacks would be making Wano collapese. His beams would destroy mountains like when it happened to Oden's castle. His strikes would make the land shake. Everybody would be worried that the country would be destroyed by his presence alone, like the skypieans looking at the Raigo in the sky.

That's completely inside the description of the trope.

I was agreeing with you lol

theackwardstation

@Gia:

I was agreeing with you lol

Oh ok, lol, my bad. I had the impression that you were schooling me.

Cockycent

@andre:

Jinbe steered like only he could, Nami siphoned off half of Big Mom's power like only she could, Brook got the poneglyph rubbing like only he could. The only Straw Hat that didn't really get to shine was Chopper, who had built the relationship between the Mink's and Straw Hats in a way that only he could. For my money Zou-WCI is my favorite 1-2 punch since Jaya-Skypiea.

One of the most vital parts of WCI arc was the Brulee Express. That was Chopper. Outside of his medical expertise, his cunning and strategic mind came into play. If not for the Mirror World mode of transportation, they would be done. They needed everyone to pitch in

Chrior

@Cockycent:

One of the most vital parts of WCI arc was the Brulee Express. That was Chopper. Outside of his medical expertise, his cunning and strategic mind came into play. If not for the Mirror World mode of transportation, they would be done. They needed everyone to pitch in

Yeah, that just tends to get heavily downplayed because most of his and Carrot's mirror world adventures were offscreened, like Oda does for a lot of things nowadays. That took away some of the tension and catharsis for that whole plot point and for Chopper's triumph itself, since we were never that invested into it. We saw a panel here and there spread out over a bunch of chapters, until the very last one focused on Chopper and Carrot's victory. But by then it sounded a bit lame and forced, since we never got the setup for the whole switcheroo, etc. It was a shame, because it left most people feeling that all characters had gotten their epic moments except for Chopper. And it's been a bit like this since the timeskip. His involvement in Punk Hazard was destroyed by Law's ultimate showcase that relegated Chopper's skills to 2nd place. His involvement in Totto Land was mostly skipped even though it was absolutely crucial to that arc. And his role in Zou was too small in the overall story to be fondly remembered. It's a shame because I LOVED Chopper before. But Oda has dropped the ball with him for a long time.

Cockycent

@Chrior:

Yeah, that just tends to get heavily downplayed because most of his and Carrot's mirror world adventures were offscreened, like Oda does for a lot of things nowadays. That took away some of the tension and catharsis for that whole plot point and for Chopper's triumph itself, since we were never that invested into it. We saw a panel here and there spread out over a bunch of chapters, until the very last one focused on Chopper and Carrot's victory. But by then it sounded a bit lame and forced, since we never got the setup for the whole switcheroo, etc. It was a shame, because it left most people feeling that all characters had gotten their epic moments except for Chopper. And it's been a bit like this since the timeskip. His involvement in Punk Hazard was destroyed by Law's ultimate showcase that relegated Chopper's skills to 2nd place. His involvement in Totto Land was mostly skipped even though it was absolutely crucial to that arc. And his role in Zou was too small in the overall story to be fondly remembered. It's a shame because I LOVED Chopper before. But Oda has dropped the ball with him for a long time.

The main point of the arc is Sanji and the intro to BM and her organization. Oda was trying to get so much done from the PG rescue, BM's Vivre Card from Lola, Luffy vs Cracker, Jinbe, etc. It didn't get the best setup and lacked the impact. It's one of those things you can only appreciate if you're really paying attention, despite it being so on and off panel. I remember seeing them tied up and I was like cmon Oda. Then it flipped to them asking Brulee how it worked chapters later. It's so much to juggle, Chopper deserved better.

andre

@Cockycent:

One of the most vital parts of WCI arc was the Brulee Express. That was Chopper. Outside of his medical expertise, his cunning and strategic mind came into play. If not for the Mirror World mode of transportation, they would be done. They needed everyone to pitch in

It was interesting, but it doesn't feel as tightly written as something that only Chopper could have done and he's definitely not the only Straw Hat considered to be cunning with a strategic mind. I can easily imagine Franky switching with Chopper, for instance, but everyone else is completely vital to their scenario.

Kdom

There is a ticking clock scenario and a luffy is locked somewhere in almost every arc

Gia Sado

@Kdom:

There is a ticking clock scenario and a luffy is locked somewhere in almost every arc

Yep, suffice it to say this is one pattern Oda has almost never broken. And when he does do it, you know you are near the "halfway" point of the arc lol. I'm not confident this arc is even close to its conclusion because of it.

Cockycent

@andre:

It was interesting, but it doesn't feel as tightly written as something that only Chopper could have done and he's definitely not the only Straw Hat considered to be cunning with a strategic mind. I can easily imagine Franky switching with Chopper, for instance, but everyone else is completely vital to their scenario.

I feel like Chopper has been put in this situation more than Franky. Not just being strategic and tactical, but also teaming up and managing the skillset of another individual while developing his social skills. It's part of his development which again, has to be noticed to be appreciated because it's overshadowed by everything else. Chopper was the shy one/not as sociable, but is purposely part of the most team assaults against enemies. It's was part of his human/reindeer debacle where he was ostracized by both and almost gave up on being open to others until his dad and mom/mentors (Hiriluk and Kureiha).

Him and Usopp used each other until Usopp made the final tactic in Alabasta.
He's become way more open. He communicates with other creatures for the crew, he can manage some of them.
It's the crew's influence on him that he uses to deal with others.
The Bropper (Big Brother Chopper) thing was another example where he shows growth in that direction. You can see the difference in how Luffy and Zoro dealt with the Fleet/their sons and how Chopper managed Carrot.
Even his timeskip had him being a diplomat/mediator between the birds and the humans.
1 of the strategies against Oars was mapped out by Chopper due to his medical expertise as well

So, I would say that because Franky doesn't have the narrative of developing his social skills in tandem with tactics, i'd say that Chopper fit that role better than if Franky was allocated this specific position.

Chams

@Cockycent:

I feel like Chopper has been put in this situation more than Franky. Not just being strategic and tactical, but also teaming up and managing the skillset of another individual while developing his social skills. It's part of his development which again, has to be noticed to be appreciated because it's overshadowed by everything else. Chopper was the shy one/not as sociable, but is purposely part of the most team assaults against enemies. It's was part of his human/reindeer debacle where he was ostracized by both and almost gave up on being open to others until his dad and mom/mentors (Hiriluk and Kureiha).

Him and Usopp used each other until Usopp made the final tactic in Alabasta.

He's become way more open. He communicates with other creatures for the crew, he can manage some of them.

It's the crew's influence on him that he uses to deal with others.

The Bropper (Big Brother Chopper) thing was another example where he shows growth in that direction. You can see the difference in how Luffy and Zoro dealt with the Fleet/their sons and how Chopper managed Carrot.

Even his timeskip had him being a diplomat/mediator between the birds and the humans.

1 of the strategies against Oars was mapped out by Chopper due to his medical expertise as well

So, I would say that because Franky doesn't have the narrative of developing his social skills in tandem with tactics, i'd say that Chopper fit that role better than if Franky was allocated this specific position.

I like this reading very much. I totally agree with the light it sheds on Chopper's relationship with the minks.

Still, one of the things I miss about pre-timeskip Chopper was his coming of age, or growing up moments. He left his sheltered life to explore and see the world, and to do that he had to become an adult, and someone others could rely upon (which totally fits with your reading of his leadership moments being important for the character)

Going against all that were his design choices. Post-timeskip Chopper looks even more infantile and small than before. It was his moment to grow up, to become. But his base form became even cuddlier and cute.

andre

@Cockycent:

I feel like Chopper has been put in this situation more than Franky. Not just being strategic and tactical, but also teaming up and managing the skillset of another individual while developing his social skills. It's part of his development which again, has to be noticed to be appreciated because it's overshadowed by everything else. Chopper was the shy one/not as sociable, but is purposely part of the most team assaults against enemies. It's was part of his human/reindeer debacle where he was ostracized by both and almost gave up on being open to others until his dad and mom/mentors (Hiriluk and Kureiha).

Him and Usopp used each other until Usopp made the final tactic in Alabasta.

He's become way more open. He communicates with other creatures for the crew, he can manage some of them.

It's the crew's influence on him that he uses to deal with others.

The Bropper (Big Brother Chopper) thing was another example where he shows growth in that direction. You can see the difference in how Luffy and Zoro dealt with the Fleet/their sons and how Chopper managed Carrot.

Even his timeskip had him being a diplomat/mediator between the birds and the humans.

1 of the strategies against Oars was mapped out by Chopper due to his medical expertise as well

So, I would say that because Franky doesn't have the narrative of developing his social skills in tandem with tactics, i'd say that Chopper fit that role better than if Franky was allocated this specific position.

I like this analysis as well, though I think you're missing something about Franky. He's the original big bro: Aniki. I don't think Franky is going to develop, he's much more like Brook as showing what he already has that we may have forgotten about, for instance the big brother aspect of his personality and his technical prowess. I don't think it's farfetched at all for him to be in the same position that Chopper was and even play the Big Bro to Carrot.

Chrior

@Cockycent:

I feel like Chopper has been put in this situation more than Franky. Not just being strategic and tactical, but also teaming up and managing the skillset of another individual while developing his social skills. It's part of his development which again, has to be noticed to be appreciated because it's overshadowed by everything else. Chopper was the shy one/not as sociable, but is purposely part of the most team assaults against enemies. It's was part of his human/reindeer debacle where he was ostracized by both and almost gave up on being open to others until his dad and mom/mentors (Hiriluk and Kureiha).

Him and Usopp used each other until Usopp made the final tactic in Alabasta.

He's become way more open. He communicates with other creatures for the crew, he can manage some of them.

It's the crew's influence on him that he uses to deal with others.

The Bropper (Big Brother Chopper) thing was another example where he shows growth in that direction. You can see the difference in how Luffy and Zoro dealt with the Fleet/their sons and how Chopper managed Carrot.

Even his timeskip had him being a diplomat/mediator between the birds and the humans.

1 of the strategies against Oars was mapped out by Chopper due to his medical expertise as well

So, I would say that because Franky doesn't have the narrative of developing his social skills in tandem with tactics, i'd say that Chopper fit that role better than if Franky was allocated this specific position.

Very good analysis of Chopper's growth. I had thought about this when it came to him being a sort of link between the SHs and the minks, but you showed me much better. I'm just sad this whole development has been so subtle and in the background for most of the series. And I would also add this as a crowning character growth moment for Chopper, but it's been a long time since then:

ProjectUser

Hey, i was re-reading Roger & Oden adventure on Viz.com and found out that Rayleigh actually said, that they were looking for people who "CALLED" weapons ( probably names or considered them as weapons )

Can anybody explain this moment? I mean, maybe in 96 Volume text is different.

Thank you

Solid

@ProjectUser:

Hey, i was re-reading Roger & Oden adventure on Viz.com and found out that Rayleigh actually said, that they were looking for people who "CALLED" weapons ( probably names or considered them as weapons )

Can anybody explain this moment? I mean, maybe in 96 Volume text is different.

Thank you

Rayleigh is not saying that they are looking for people who are called weapons, he is saying people are referring to whatever they are looking for as weapons.

ProjectUser

@Solid:

Rayleigh is not saying that they are looking for people who are called weapons, he is saying people are referring to whatever they are looking for as weapons.

Thank you for your reply, but now i am a bit more confused.

I Understand Viz.com translation as : Rayleigh and Roger Pirates are looking for people who "Called" ( e.x they called Mermaid princess with power to control a sea kings - Poseidon ) them/it Weapons.

I have checked several translations and comments on forums/reddit. I found out several translations where Rayleigh said that they were looking after the people who "created" ancient weapons.

So my question is, whether the VIZ translation is correct or not. Did that People from the past "CALLED" ( gave name to ancient weapons ) Ancient Weapons or they Crafted/Created Ancient Weapons ?

I want to understand the truth just from this frame, i know the information that Clover told us before, that Ancient Kingdom created Ancient Weapons.

Chams

@Solid:

Rayleigh is not saying that they are looking for people who are called weapons, he is saying people are referring to whatever they are looking for as weapons.

Not sure if I agree. Because he uses the expression "those people" in the lower bubble, so I think he is talking about the same people in both speech bubbles. And those people, who left the treasure behind, can only be the ancient kingdom inhabitants, and Joy Boy specifically, who left something in Laugh Tale.

At least that is what this translations implies.

theackwardstation

There are three diferent sentences in Rayleigh's dialogue.

"It's not the weapon we're after.", meaning that the Roger Pirates were not searching for the weapons (Poseidon being Neptune's concern).
"It's the people who called it a weapon.", meaning that the Roger Pirates don't consider these "ancient weapons" as actual weapons, but they become known as such because people start calling it that way (probably because of fear and the WG propaganda).
"Specifically, the vast treasure those people left behind somewhere." This last sentence connects with the first one. In other words, Roger was not looking for a weapon, but instead looking for the vast treasure left behind by those people ("those people" referring to whoever wrote the Poneglyphs).

Let's think about the context.

Roger arrives at Fishmen Island and asks his friend Neptune for the Poneglyph in their possession. Neptune gets worried because he knows that the Poneglyph talks about Poseidon, so he is concerned that Roger might be having funny ideas about getting Poseidon for himself. So Rayleigh calms him down by saying that Roger is not looking for Poseidon itself, but instead they are looking for a vast treasure left behind by Joyboy. Rayleigh also adds that Poseidon isn't even a weapon in fact, but it's only known as such because people called it a weapon.

Sengokusgoat

I dunno, the way it's worded it sounds to me like he's saying they're not looking for the weapons, but for the people that called them weapons, and specifically the treasure those people left behind.

Kuröwon

Hello, I don't know for what, but I can't create a new topic (page with error), so I share the new here but I know this isn't the right place, so sorry :

Volume 97 coming on 3rd August.

Source : https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1259804376262115329

ScotchInformer

@Raydjahs:

Hello, I don't know for what, but I can't create a new topic (page with error), so I share the new here but I know this isn't the right place, so sorry :

Volume 97 coming on 3rd August.

Source : https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1259804376262115329

Nah, the japanese provider give august list without Volume 97, so we do not know about release date of V.97 yet.

Kuröwon

@ScotchInformer:

Nah, the japanese provider give august list without Volume 97, so we do not know about release date of V.97 yet.

Maybe but in Worstgen forums, a member say "3rd august".

Edit : I did not say anything, but the member in question corrected himself by confirming that the exact date of August 3 is incorrect.

Chams

@theackwardstation:

There are three diferent sentences in Rayleigh's dialogue.

"It's not the weapon we're after.", meaning that the Roger Pirates were not searching for the weapons (Poseidon being Neptune's concern).

"It's the people who called it a weapon.", meaning that the Roger Pirates don't consider these "ancient weapons" as actual weapons, but they become known as such because people start calling it that way (probably because of fear and the WG propaganda).

"Specifically, the vast treasure those people left behind somewhere." This last sentence connects with the first one. In other words, Roger was not looking for a weapon, but instead looking for the vast treasure left behind by those people ("those people" referring to whoever wrote the Poneglyphs).

Let's think about the context.

Roger arrives at Fishmen Island and asks his friend Neptune for the Poneglyph in their possession. Neptune gets worried because he knows that the Poneglyph talks about Poseidon, so he is concerned that Roger might be having funny ideas about getting Poseidon for himself. So Rayleigh calms him down by saying that Roger is not looking for Poseidon itself, but instead they are looking for a vast treasure left behind by Joyboy. Rayleigh also adds that Poseidon isn't even a weapon in fact, but it's only known as such because people called it a weapon.

You separated these 3 sentences because that's the way that other translations put it. Those translations gave the idea that people in general started calling them (giant ship Pluton, mermaid princess) weapons. Not specifically the ancient kingdom people.

But in this translation Rayleigh uses the "those", and that "those" can only refer to something mentioned before in his speech. Gramatically, it can only make sense if he was talking about "the people that called it a weapon". He never mentioned any other "people" before.

(if you are unsure, check the way I used the expression "those" in "those translations" above. I can only be talking about the other translations I mentioned earlier. There's no way it could be a third group of translations)

theackwardstation

@Chams:

You separated these 3 sentences because that's the way that other translations put it. Those translations gave the idea that people in general started calling them (giant ship Pluton, mermaid princess) weapons. Not specifically the ancient kingdom people.

But in this translation Rayleigh uses the "those", and that "those" can only refer to something mentioned before in his speech. Gramatically, it can only make sense if he was talking about "the people that called it a weapon". He never mentioned any other "people" before.

(if you are unsure, check the way I used the expression "those" in "those translations" above. I can only be talking about the other translations I mentioned earlier. There's no way it could be a third group of translations)

I understand your grammatical argument, but "those" can also refer to things that they were talking about in previous panels (like Joyboy and his folk, for example).

Besides that, who/what is "those" can also be implicit by context, because it is a demonstrative pronoun to indicate anything (in the plural) that is far away from the interlocutor, not only to subjects previously mentioned in the text. For example, if we suppress the second sentence from Rayleigh's speech, we'll have the following: "It's not the weapon we're after. Specifically, the vast treasure those people left behind somewhere". You can see that the word "those" still makes sense even though it is not making reference to anything Rayleigh mentioned before in his speech… well, because that's how "those" work.

Also, if the second sentence ("It's the people who called it a weapon") was referring to the people from the Ancient Kingdom, then I think the correct grammatical way to write the sentence would be "It's that people who called it a weapon". As I see it, using "the people" sounds like people in general.

In any case, the confusion might as well just be because the translator didn't write it so clearly, so it became unnecessarily ambiguos. Since we have access to other translations (although unofficial), we can find them helpful to clarify the ambiguity from the official translation.

Sengokusgoat

@theackwardstation:

I understand your grammatical argument, but "those" can also refer to things that they were talking about in previous panels (like Joyboy and his folk, for example).

Besides that, who/what is "those" can also be implicit by context, because it is a demonstrative pronoun to indicate anything (in the plural) that is far away from the interlocutor, not only to subjects previously mentioned in the text. For example, if we suppress the second sentence from Rayleigh's speech, we'll have the following: "It's not the weapon we're after. Specifically, the vast treasure those people left behind somewhere". You can see that the word "those" still makes sense even though it is not making reference to anything Rayleigh mentioned before in his speech… well, because that's how "those" work.

Also, if the second sentence ("It's the people who called it a weapon") was referring to the people from the Ancient Kingdom, then I think the correct grammatical way to write the sentence would be "It's that people who called it a weapon". As I see it, using "the people" sounds like people in general.

In any case, the confusion might as well just be because the translator didn't write it so clearly, so it became unnecessarily ambiguos. Since we have access to other translations (although unofficial), we can find them helpful to clarify the ambiguity from the official translation.

I think you're just wrong about what the second sentence means (at least taking only this one panel into account like the first user was requesting) . It's main point is not establishing who called them weapons, it's clarifying what the Roger pirates are looking for instead of the actual weapons, that is, 'the people who called them weapons'. It's not generic because the second part is there precisely to clarify which people he's talking about. Then the third sentence goes on to clarify even further that they're specifically after 'the treasure those people(the ones in the previous sentence) left behind.

theackwardstation

@Sengokusgoat:

I think you're just wrong about what the second sentence means (at least taking only this one panel into account like the first user was requesting) . It's main point is not establishing who called them weapons, it's clarifying what the Roger pirates are looking for instead of the actual weapons, that is, 'the people who called them weapons'. It's not generic because the second part is there precisely to clarify which people he's talking about. Then the third sentence goes on to clarify even further that they're specifically after 'the treasure those people(the ones in the previous sentence) left behind.

If you look closely at the second sentence in the panel, you'll notice that the translator highlighted the word "called" as the focus point of the phrase. So regardless of whoever is "the people", the meaning of that sentence is that we shouldn't think of Poseidon as a weapon, but that it's only called that way because people started doing it.

Captain M

English release cover:

StrawHatJedi

Really happy with the choice of Color Spread for the back cover. I wad disappointed the 937 cover didn't make it onto the back of volume 93. I guess since the two color spreads in volume 96 are the Hungry Days and Arashi promotions, they chose instead a color spread they had previously skipped.

will-of-R

@Gia:

You can add Robin being taken though the gates of Justice at Enies Lobby, Ace's Execution in Marineford, Noah crashing into FI, Shi No Kuni taking over Punk Hazard, and Big Mom herself at WCI. It literally happens every arc since Alabasta, and tbh, we have yet to reach that moment this arc. That's all I'm saying. Oda has systematically placed these moments "around" the halfway point of an arc. Seriously, go back to each moment of each arc and you'll see what I mean.

One of the purpose here is also to give “Time Attack” effect, a pressing situation to conclude the battle fast. If not, the battle itself could last for days, like who knows in Zou, it lasted >5 days and it was only Mink vs Jack.

One of other WCI Time Attack was Luffy’s 1 AM meeting, to add the tension that the fight with Katakuri should be concluded fast.

Piitan

It's interesting that Jozu was included in that cover. Everybody on it is important for lore and/or future arcs. We have: the Pirate King, three Yonkos, Luffy's most recent mentor (not counting Hyo), Buggy (because he's Buggy), Oden (as relating to the current arc and, indirectly, to Raftel via the journal and the Void via his wife), Marco who's just appeard in Wano. And then there's Jozu. Either his fruit truly ends up in BB's hands, or Oda has a larger role planned for him.

Shiebs

@Piitan:

It's interesting that Jozu was included in that cover. Everybody on it is important for lore and/or future arcs. We have: the Pirate King, three Yonkos, Luffy's most recent mentor (not counting Hyo), Buggy (because he's Buggy), Oden (as relating to the current arc and, indirectly, to Raftel via the journal and the Void via his wife), Marco who's just appeard in Wano. And then there's Jozu. Either his fruit truly ends up in BB's hands, or Oda has a larger role planned for him.

I still think Jesus Burgess will get his fruit