Manga Plus: https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/viewer/1007922
VIZ: https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/one-piece-chapter-996/chapter/21570?action=read
No break next week
Chapter 996: Island of the Strongest
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Another scattered chapter, but what was there was mostly great.
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This translation does seem to imply Orochi at the end.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Also, look, Oda is giving us mini-maps for us to follow where everybody is now.
How kind of him.
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Author Comments: https://www.viz.com/blog/posts/mangaka-musings-11-20-2020
**Eiichiro Oda
There’s a small YouTube channel I like, and I always look forward to new videos being posted. It’s so small the creator would freak out if I mentioned the channel here.**
Like the Avatar? / Like the Miis?Dragalia Lost ID: 97617932505
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Video Review **
Once they descend into the tunnels, Yamato tells Momo he absolutely needs to survive because he will be the one responsible for bringing the light of the New Dawn to the world. And I thought this was really interesting. All signs point toward the New Dawn being a metaphor for the restoration of the world after One Piece is discovered and the true history revealed – an event following the final conflict of the series.
Pedro previously expressed his belief that the Straw Hat Pirates will be the ones responsible for bringing the Dawn to the world - a belief he imparted to Carrot before he gave his life to help them escape.
It’s clear Momonosuke has an important role to play in the central narrative, beyond serving as Wano’s future shogun. I’m not sure yet what to make of Yamato’s belief that Momo is the one who will be responsible for the light of the New Dawn. I can only assume that she means he, like Shirahoshi, will play an essential role in fulfilling this prophecy rather than serve as the person primarily responsible.
I have said in past reviews that I strongly believe Carrot is likely to join the Straw Hat Pirates, but I think we see here a viable alternative path. It seemed unlikely Carrot would enter the story to play such a prominent role, only to fade back into obscurity on Zou.
On Whole Cake Island, Pedro’s dying words lead Carrot to believe that the Straw Hats survival is critical to bringing the light of the New Dawn – a prophecy which the Minks and the Kozuki have held for centuries.
In the previous chapter, we saw that Carrot was still contemplating the meaning of this prophecy. I still believe that understanding the meaning of the New Dawn can only be achieved by learning the True History of the world on Laugh Tale. As such, I’m still on the side of Carrot joining the Straw Hats and sailing with them to the end of the Grand Line with the dream of understanding the New Dawn and fulfilling Pedro’s will.
But Yamato here provides an alternative – she says Momo, not Luffy, will be responsible for bringing the New Dawn to the world. If Yamato tells Carrot that Momo is the one meant to bring the New Dawn, Pedro’s words may resonate with her, leading her to believe that protecting Momo is the means by which Pedro’s will to see the New Dawn realized will be fulfilled. This would mean Carrot and Wanda may act as analogues to Nekomamushi and Inuarushi – playing the role of retainer to Shogun Momonosuke, protecting him until the endgame of the series.
As I said, I’m still of the belief that Yamato’s declaration here is only part of the truth – that Luffy will play a much bigger role in fulfilling the prophecy by actually discovering One Piece and the True History on Laugh Tale, but that remains to be seen.
As such, I still think it’s likely Carrot will join the Straw Hats, but we have here the first sign that serving Momo may be a viable narrative alternative. Tama, Carrot, Wanda, and Yamato … maybe even Hiyori may be Momo’s protectors until the Straw Hats are ready to lead the charge in the final war.
I talked at length about the potential meaning of the New Dawn as well as the importance of sun & moon, day & night symbolism throughout the series in a recent video:
Moon Symbolism: The Mystery of One Piece
I have been wondering where Law and Kid have been for the past several chapters. Both invaded Kaido’s castle, but we hadn’t received any updates on their exact whereabouts for a while. This leads to what is in my opinion the most interesting scene this chapter in which we learn Law’s present location.
We finally learn this chapter that Law has been descending through Kaido’s castle to the lower levels. He’s now in the second basement where a Poneglyph is hidden, but to Law’s surprise, it’s not a red Road Poneglyph. I’m really happy to see that Law is seeking out the Road Poneglyph for himself.
Though he has served as an ally for the past 350 chapters, Law is still ultimately a rival pirate captain to Luffy. It’s easy to forget given the current story saga has lasted for nearly a decade. I have been wondering for a while whether Law’s presence in the Whale Tree would have any narrative ramifications.
One of my concerns about the story beyond Wano was that the Straw Hats would have what appears to be an insurmountable lead in the race to find One Piece. We learned on Zou that the four Road Poneglyphs are needed to reach Laugh Tale. At the same time, we also learned that following the log pose to the end of the Grand Line leads to a place where Roger first learned about the importance of the ancient writings.
I talked about this in more depth in a recent video about the mystery surrounding Lodestar Island. In Chapter 966, Roger says he was the first to reach this place known as Lodestar Island. What this means is that the importance of the Road Poneglyphs is not commonly known.
Until they arrived on Zou, the Straw Hats themselves were completely unaware of this critical piece of information. The Emperors seem to be aware as Kaido and Big Mom both guard one of the four. A third is hidden on Zou, an island which is nearly impossible to reach and the fourth was moved from Fishman Island to an unknown location sometime in the past 25 years.
The fact that the importance of the Road Poneglyphs is not common knowledge and that they are guarded by the world’s most powerful pirates makes reaching One Piece an immensely difficult task. To complicate things further, there is only one person in the One Piece world known presently to possess the ability to decipher the Poneglyphs.
The Straw Hats already possess transcriptions of two of the four with a third in their sights on Wano. Robin is the only person in the world with the ability to read them. Recently Big Mom and Kaido’s declared intent to pursue One Piece in a sense rang hollow because, as far as we’re aware, they lack the means to decipher the Poneglyphs. By giving the Straw Hats such an overwhelming advantage, any tension in the race to find the last Road Poneglyph and reach Laugh Tale would be lacking.
I imagine Oda has already devised a solution for this issue. We know Big Mom at least has some sort of plan revolving around Pudding. But what about the other members of the Worst Generation?
Law and Kid have been framed as rivals to the Straw Hats, but so far, Oda hasn’t established them as any real threat to their ability to reach Laugh Tale. While I do believe Law will ultimately be an ally to Luffy through the final conflict of the series, I’m personally hoping he’ll be a serious rival in the last leg of the voyage leading to Laugh Tale and this chapter seems like a step in that direction. Law promised he would not betray Luffy before the alliance fulfills its intended purpose to take down Kaido – and I believe he will keep his word.
But I’m happy to see Law still has ambition of his own – that he has his own motive for discovering One Piece.
We see a flashback to a conversation between Robin and Law which likely took place on Wano shortly after their arrival as both are still in their ordinary clothes. This would have taken place around the same time Luffy, Namji, Chopper, Brook, Pedro, and Carrot were on route to Whole Cake Island.
Law told Robin that he carries the name D. in hope she could explain its meaning. Robin says that Luffy doesn’t care, but she too is very interested in learning about the will of D. We saw Law ask this same question of Sengoku at the end of Dressrosa.
Law’s motive in Dressrosa was to avenge Rocinante’s death by bringing Kaido’s wrath down on Doflamingo. He really didn’t care if he died in the process. In a sense, he recruited Luffy with a false pretense as he never really expected to live to face Kaido on Wano.
Now that he survived, he’s seeing though the commitment he made to Luffy to take down Kaido, but after learning about the Road Poneglyphs on Zou, it seems he has renewed interested in discovering One Piece for himself and learning the history of the D. Clan, which Law refers to as a cursed legacy.
What remains unclear is exactly how Law intends to decipher the Road Poneglyphs. On Zou, the idea that Robin’s ability to read the Poneglyphs may make her a target, which lends to the idea someone with nefarious purpose like Blackbeard will try to abduct her and force her to lead the way to Laugh Tale. But what if Law abducts Robin?
I don’t think it’s very likely, but it’s an interesting notion to consider. Personally, I don’t love the idea that Robin would be targeted again after the CP9 saga. It was nice to see Law say he trusts Robin enough to tell her his full name. Robin is the most level headed member of the Straw Hats so it makes sense Law would consider her the one with whom he could confide his secret.
The location of the Road Poneglyph on Wano remains a mystery. In chapter 934, Brook said he found a Poneglyph in an odd room below Orochi’s castle in the flower capital, but that it too was not of the Road Poneglyph variety. Robin assumes that the Road Poneglyph must be on Onigashima, but this chapter we find out the one in the basement of Kaido’s castle is also not the one she’s looking for. I can’t say the exact reason why, but I feel like it’s a strong possibility the Road Poneglyph is located atop Fujiyama. It would be an incredibly difficult place for most people to reach given the steep slope of the mountain, but easily accessible for Kaido in dragon form.**
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Oh right early release this week =P
I'll just repeat what I said in the preview
Meh chapter, some advancement but mostly everything still running around. I am curious about that Polygylph though,
Why do I get the feeling Oda's holding off on the battles until the 1000th chapter? Not that things aren't progressing, just I'm noticing a pattern here. Battles being broken off or hitting setbacks. Neither side seeming to gain much ground or folks just trying to get to certain areas. Like he's drip-feeding us some bits of the climax before he goes full boar once he hits the milestone.
Not complaining, I just find that amusing.
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I was told by multiple people that the events were clearly pointing toward an easy victory by the Scabbards over Kaido. What on earth happened? It is quite a twist from Oda to see this…
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This translation does seem to imply Orochi at the end.
Orochi hype!
But would it really be in character for him to hang out with prostitutes (?) instead of, I don't know, run away?
Or maybe he doesn't even realize that Kaido betrayed him since Kanjuro is dead and he beheaded an Orochi-Ink Clone? Yeah, that must be it.Why do I get the feeling Oda's holding off on the battles until the 1000th chapter? Not that things aren't progressing, just I'm noticing a pattern here. Battles being broken off or hitting setbacks. Neither side seeming to gain much ground or folks just trying to get to certain areas. Like he's drip-feeding us some bits of the climax before he goes full boar once he hits the milestone.
Not complaining, I just find that amusing.
Since the arc started we had several characters comment just how important it is to conserve strength until the final encounters. Sometimes completely out of character, like even Zoro acknowledged that they should avoid getting carelessly injured. We never had such a focus on that aspect of battle, like even now the protagonists are twisting their arms just to get Luffy to Kaido in good shape, while Kaido tells his top commander he should regenerate to fight again later.
That's why it seems like all of the Straw Hats will be severely injured once their real battle starts - against enemies that are either completely fine or also worn out (but also waving that Ancient Zoan stamina in their face). And we're almost there, just need to get Sanji beat up by B-Maria, Jinbe by Big Mom, Franky by Sasaki, Brook maybe by a partially transformed Ice-Oni Chopper (that would be hardcore…but he's the only one who can touch him) and Robin... well let's just hope for the best when it comes to Robin. Like really, let's all hold hands and pray for her. Light a candle and stuff.I think the milestone is obviously the reason why Oda is on such a offpanel spree, but the stuff that happens at the moment seems intentional, not just content to pad until 1000.
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I vote for Orochi, or should I say a new Orochi Personality??:ninja:
Anyways, a pretty good chapter. Banking on Yamato being a white tiger and I'm riding this Yamato train haha.
Law finding a new motivation is great to see.
Big Mom about to ruin the Scabbards already crappy day, great!
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so sanji vs orochi???? wtf
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That's certainly King. Can't imagine anyone else
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Really AWESOME chapter. Everything on point.
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Tama acts like a veteran, wow. By the time she becomes an adult, she´ll be the mightiest Wano samurai. Momo has a looot of growing up to do to be worthy of her.
Franky running to where Sasaki is was predicted, that´ll be a fitting duel.
Law and Kid finally appeared, they didn´t do anything worthwhile, but at least now all the important named characters made their move.
Big Mom flying straight to the roof surprised me a bit, this´ll get interesting.
Kaido proceeds with the beat down, cool thing Denjiro managed to get a stab in, unfortunately we only got a few panels of that fight…
Hell no, Sanji hears Black Maria...this cannot end well, or was it someone else? My only wish was for him not to bump into her on the island, she´s his biggest weakness on the island. -
I got the feeling that Sasaki is going to break Franky's wapometal..
I'm also feeling confident that Luffy and Kidd are going to repeat the double punch of Shabaody, but greater.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
@Vongola_Boss_XI:
It’s clear Momonosuke has an important role to play in the central narrative, beyond serving as Wano’s future shogun. I’m not sure yet what to make of Yamato’s belief that Momo is the one who will be responsible for the light of the New Dawn. I can only assume that she means he, like Shirahoshi, will play an essential role in fulfilling this prophecy rather than serve as the person primarily responsible.
I don't think Yamato is recognizing Momo as an ancient weapon, instead, taking into acount that one time Oden said he needed a second chance because it was soo much important that he lived, its because 'The Legitimate Shogun of Wano' plays a huge role in the endgame, and Yamato knows that from the journal, and well, Momo is that person right now, so it wasn't a big mystery to figure out.
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By the way, just for the record:
This came out of a Scabbard when Kaido started T-bagging them
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@Joy:
That's certainly King. Can't imagine anyone else
I actually like this option.
Sanji mut save Carrot and Wanda from Peros, but is too far away atm, King is capable of sending Sanji flying outta universe, so it clicks.
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Did the official translation just close the possibility of being Ivakov's voice at the end?
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On Yamato's start of transformation, in page 6, doesn't it look to you guys that he started growing the same sharp teeth as Sasaki when she saw them reflected in his sword? In fact, it's like they're growing upside down, as in a reflection. That would be a very interesting development, I think.
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It is not okama I guess. May be someone is trying to lure Sanji with lewd talks. Orochi would be wired as hell. Chasing skirts after getting betrayed by Kaido.
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Is Yamato doing a flying Kanabo attack? I think this is the first time we saw a non-sword weapon flying attack, or am i missing one?
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This translation does seem to imply Orochi at the end.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Also, look, Oda is giving us mini-maps for us to follow where everybody is now.
How kind of him.
I think I'm gonna need a few more to position everyone.
Like, is Kidd floating or what?
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I didn't notice that little blood fountain Kaido made.
That's quite a niche skill to have
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I actually like this option.
Sanji mut save Carrot and Wanda from Peros, but is too far away atm, King is capable of sending Sanji flying outta universe, so it clicks.
Even fodders with candy bullets pierced raid suit, but king with his crazy point blank attack, that he said will slice sanji in half, only hyped up the RS by making sanji say he hates it for being this tough.
Even gifters hurt zoro more the king hurt sanji.
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You know, with every chapter I get more and more excited for Kaido's flashback and to truly understand the character. We have a good view of his motivation, but know little about who and what he is. (definitively at least, I'm sure many have guessed correctly)
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Rereading the last 10 chapters or so made it seem really fast-paced. Believe me guys, the breaks are making it seem like it is dragging down what is a action-packed, tight-knit arc.
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Very enjoyable chapter! The ending doesn't scream Ivankov any more to me. Even the shading compared to the fan scan doesn't give me that whole super mortified look. Maybe Sanji doesn't like that another man is seemingly about to get some when it could be him. She called him Lord, so Orochi back and ready for action? The dialogue is seemingly too casual for the current scenario though. I need full context. Instead of a flash back I think Sanji is currently listening in with heightened Color of Observation hearing. He excels in this aspect in a way that even Luffy doesn't seem to despite not having future sight.
Yamato is steadily growing me. I'm going to assume she read Oden's journal and misinterpreted who the bringer of the dawn will be.
Sasaki still looks cool as ever. I want to say he has some sort of armored dino fruit but looking at the sword it looks like he's going to be some sort of "folding" man. Or maybe the sword is built strange or potentially has an ability. Maybe he just has a long Katana that was bent and condensed into a completely different type of sword.
Franky looks to be set to battle Sasaki but I wouldn't put things past one more reset or false start. Make every Straw Hat look completely outclassed and by 1001 they all begin to make their great comebacks.
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Is Yamato doing a flying Kanabo attack? I think this is the first time we saw a non-sword weapon flying attack, or am i missing one?
Giant-style swordsmanship seems similiar, in the sense that they produce cylindrical shaped holes instead of thin cuts. Like Dori and Brogi shredded that Island Eater -Goldfish with weapons that were dull as well, but still massive in size.
I assume Yamato used a similar attack, just smaller because his weapon isn't as big.
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Giant-style swordsmanship seems similiar, in the sense that they produce cylindrical shaped holes instead of thin cuts. Like Dori and Brogi shredded that Island Eater -Goldfish with weapons that were dull as well, but still massive in size.
I assume Yamato used a similar attack, just smaller because his weapon isn't as big.
Yeah true, forgot about that. Never imagined Oda would let a non-sword fighter do flying attacks considering how sword centric he is, looked pretty cool as well.
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Yamato's set of skills its been getting expanded in the last chapters, that transformation, whether natural or devil fruit is a huge boost to her character becoming more interesting.
A lot of people already believe its Byakko, which is yeah, very nice, but if Who'sWho also has the saber tooth, I don't know what to make of two tiger fruits.
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So a Lord huh? Only one on mind are Orochi or someone above Black Maria in rank aka King and Queen.
So interesting
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Is Yamato doing a flying Kanabo attack? I think this is the first time we saw a non-sword weapon flying attack, or am i missing one?
There a few characters that can outright make flying attacks with their fists like Burgess and Elizabello.
Plus, any Rankyaku user. Lucci can even do flying Shigan.
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It wasn't clear but I think Yamato already took out that porcupine gifter with a flying attack.
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The only person that regularly gets referred as "My Lord" is Orochi (not counting Momonosuke, who is somewhere else entirely).
The Beasts Pirates themselves use "Master" or no honorrific at all for the higher ups, at least in Stephen's translation.
Yamato's set of skills its been getting expanded in the last chapters, that transformation, whether natural or devil fruit is a huge boost to her character becoming more interesting.
A lot of people already believe its Byakko, which is yeah, very nice, but if Who'sWho also has the saber tooth, I don't know what to make of two tiger fruits.
Rest assured. Sabertooths weren't tigers. They were closer to marsupials.
That's a common mistake.
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The only person that regularly gets referred as "My Lord" is Orochi (not counting Momonosuke, who is somewhere else entirely).
The Beasts Pirates themselves use "Master" or no honorrific at all for the higher ups, at least in Stephen's translation.
Rest assured. Sabertooths weren't tigers. They were closer to marsupials.
That's a common mistake.
I… what.... Okay, I looked this up and now my world view on sabretooths have flipped....:wassat:
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Pterosaurus weren't dinos either.
King is lying to you all.
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It would be the Cat-Cat fruit anyways.
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Assuming that Oda won’t throw any curveballs, seems that Chapter 997 will be the 3rd floor, Chapter 998 will be the 4th floor, Chapter 999 will be the 5th floor, and it will be Chapter 1,000 is when they’ll reach the rooftop, building up to an extremely dramatic development I imagine.
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Very interesting chapter between Law (he finally has a new goal post-Kaido!) and Yamato. Was hoping there was more to Yamato, whether that be a DF or something else, glad to see that's the case. He's increasingly becoming one of my favorite characters this arc. Glad Franky ended up being the one to fight Sasaki as well. While I'd love to see Yamato get a real fight, I prefer the Strawhats to deal with the Tobi Roppo/Calamities.
And once again, it's funny looking back at the complaints about how the Scabbards were having such an easy time against Kaido…:getlost:
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Very interesting chapter between Law (he finally has a new goal post-Kaido!) and Yamato. Was hoping there was more to Yamato, whether that be a DF or something else, glad to see that's the case. He's increasingly becoming one of my favorite characters this arc. Glad Franky ended up being the one to fight Sasaki as well. While I'd love to see Yamato get a real fight, I prefer the Strawhats to deal with the Tobi Roppo/Calamities.
And once again, it's funny looking back at the complaints about how the Scabbards were having such an easy time against Kaido…:getlost:
Regardless of how personal some others want to get about strength and damage, and I still find it nice that Kinemon and the others took the time to rough Kaido up a little bit, fully opening up his old wound or not, before it was Luffy’s turn to finally take Kaido down full force.
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Okay, so looking at the ending again I think it's probably just Black Maria singing (maybe the song has dialogue). Everything fits. Sanji hears music and Black Maria was playin inside the castle last we saw her. Plus, Sanji was 'searching for prostitutes' in her brothel and that didn't really get any pay-off (I doubt it was only so he could make a cool entrance later), so maybe she knows something about her. And it's about time she does something.
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And once again, it's funny looking back at the complaints about how the Scabbards were having such an easy time against Kaido…:getlost:
Turns out that techniques that work against fire attacks are slightly less effective against a 1 ton mace. And that it's a little harder to hit someone when A) they're not caught off-guard and B) their body area is less than 1 square mile.
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Yep, Tama can definitely summon animals.
So, Kaido also has 3 Poneglyphs. One in the Flower Capital, where the kokeshi dolls are supposed to be, the one Law found and the red one.
That's a lot of information we could get. Can't wait. -
Also, interestingy enough, if something really great is supposed to happen in chap 1000, then chap 999 should let all setup for it, meaning 999 will also be pure fire.
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Regardless of how personal some others want to get about strength and damage, and I still find it nice that Kinemon and the others took the time to rough Kaido up a little bit, fully opening up it his old wound or not, before it was Luffy’s turn to finally take Kaido down full force.
Oh I absolutely agree, I'm glad the Scabbards put up a fight far beyond what we thought they were capable of. If Kaido just instantly fodderized them, that would've been a real shame in hindsight.
@Kaido:
Turns out that techniques that work against fire attacks are slightly less effective against a 1 ton mace. And that it's a little harder to hit someone when A) they're not caught off-guard and B) their body area is less than 1 square mile.
I gotta say, I love that Kaido's base form being stronger, or at least representing him getting serious, is not just some meme, but actually canon now lol
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I didn't notice that little blood fountain Kaido made.
That's quite a niche skill to have
Seriously. Which body part do you have to hit to cause this? The belly? But then the fountain would spray horizontally.
Or wait, maybe Kaido smashed their torso while they were already lying on their backs?
Like this, but switch Nojiko with Kaido's club and the water fountain with blood
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Scabbards are going to beat him because Kaido is a weak jobber. The idea that he is going to get up next chapter be like "Heh…I've only been using 1% of my power!!!Time to get serious!!!" and then start taking them out is nonsense fanfiction to try and excuse Kaido's horrible portrayal.
Hey bro… Just checking in on you. You gonna be okay?
Croc or Enel would never.Wanna see the "ancient civilization destroyed" thing done really well? FFXIV did a great take on it. The bar's high for One Piece to beat.
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Is Yamato doing a flying Kanabo attack? I think this is the first time we saw a non-sword weapon flying attack, or am i missing one?
Ooops didn't mean to quote you as it was answered but Burgess' flying elbows, CP9's razor wind kicks, Lucci's flying finger pistols. It's a thing.
@Kaido:
Turns out that techniques that work against fire attacks are slightly less effective against a 1 ton mace. And that it's a little harder to hit someone when A) they're not caught off-guard and B) their body area is less than 1 square mile.
lol less than 1 square mile. ^_^
Yep, Tama can definitely summon animals.
So, Kaido also has 3 Poneglyphs. One in the Flower Capital, where the kokeshi dolls are supposed to be, the one Law found and the red one.
That's a lot of information we could get. Can't wait.And to think we still don't know what Big Mom's stones said! When this arc is over boy we are going to be in for an info dumped treat! Daz you better take the day off when all we get is that text exposition for days!
Big Mom - 1 red, 2 blue.
Kaidou - 1 red, 2 blue.I think thats right. And to think one of these stones was first seen in the story like 8+ years ago during Jimbei's cover story.
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I recall Momonosuke is based on monotaro, whom had 3 animal companions in the form of a monkey, dog and pheasant. In this scenario Luffy is obviously the monkey here, and someone mentioned Marco could be seen as the pheasant. That leaves the dog (I'm not counting duke inu cause he already has a duality with Cat viper). Assuming Yamato has a devil fruit with the teeth panel, he could have a dog-like fruit to round out the trio. It wouldn't be my preference, but it could fit.
PS: Tama also already has a tamed monkey and dog, so I expect her to tame a pheasant monster or smile user at some point.
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I think I'm gonna need a few more to position everyone.
Like, is Kidd floating or what?
It's probably a bridge between the two towers.
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Probably, but that's why I need more maps. How many towers there are? Are they all parts of the castle? Do the rest of the buildings have several floors? Etc, etc.
