Chapter 1,004: Millet Dumplings
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Who does everyone think the mystery person is? They're normal height and don't have wavy hair, so I assume it isn't Hawkins. I also don't think it's a woman because the nose and lips are shaped how Oda does for men. It honestly looks like Zoro in the face, but that doesn't seem right. Who did everyone think it was in the spoiler thread? My completely out there guess is Spencer from the Roger Pirates, but it doesn't really fit.
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IMO, it's either Hiyori (more likely and straightforward) or Toki.
It's not out there for Oda to distort the shadowed features a bit to throw off guesses.
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What is with Oda and the shadowy mystery in the last panel two weeks in a row?
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Looks like Hyori to me
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IMO, it's either Hiyori (more likely and straightforward) or Toki.
It's not out there for Oda to distort the shadowed features a bit to throw off guesses.
My first thought was Toki and Hiyori until I focused in on the face. Either make the most sense, but he really made the face look like a man's.
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The dude who visited Crocus.
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I probably focused too much on the nose. I went back and looked at Zoro's teacher and Scopper, lol. It probably is just Hiyori and Oda just made the silhouette look a little off.
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Tama is an atrocious plot point.
I need more of Franky vs Sasaki. Hopefully Sasaki turns to hybrid soon.
I think Nami will find an opening to use a lightning from the rooftop. She'll redirect a lighting from Zeus onto Ulti to beat her.
It's obvious it's Hiyori down there.
Not much to discuss about this chapter. Bad break, would be better if the break took place after hybrid Kaido.
Also Tama is atrocious.
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-Soon you'll be serving my master
Damn that sounds so wrong
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Tama's DF is so wrong here. I don't like heroes brainwashing people.
However, I think we will have Queen hunting down Tama at some point. He was the one questioning Babanuki's treason twice earlier.
We could get a reverse Dressrosa situation in which Tama loses consciousness and the gifters return to Kaido's side.
Another thing: AP was out last week, so I couldn't post my prediction for this chapter. But I was expecting the end of Act 3 here, since this was supposedly the last chapter in volume 99. However, this chapter's end does not feel like a volume ending (it usually has a big surprise panel in the end), so I think Volume 99 ends actually ends with 1,005.
Volume 100 is another landmark for the series, I think seeing the rest of the world in the intermission, then starting the real fights, would fit it well.
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Nice at Tama doing her part to help turn the tides. Doubt it'll be used on actual Zoan users, literally my only concern, so this is just fine.
Figured Robin would get a fight, but I'm gonna lose my shit once I actually see it with my own eyes. Also is she already in the room? The girl with the mask looked like her.
And yea, that's definitely Hiyori.
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Damn, I just reread and noticed Robin in the chapter!
edit: ninja'd.
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11/10 chapter, just amazing.
I think and hope it is Toki at the end there.
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However, I think we will have Queen hunting down Tama at some point. He was the one questioning Babanuki's treason twice earlier.
%100, they even namedropped him to promote the dangos to other gifters, so you know he's gonna hear of it.
Also Toki had a major scene where she refused to "skip to the end", and her being alive would mean that she abandoned Hiyori for over 20 years, so that's a no-goer imo.
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Re-posting my stuff from the spoiler thread:
ahahahah Tama rules, this is great. all these big scary fucking weirdos and here comes this little girl "you work for me now". love it.
tl:dr Tama is cool, beast pirates drool.
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Nice at Tama doing her part to help turn the tides. Doubt it'll be used on actual Zoan users, literally my only concern, so this is just fine.
Figured Robin would get a fight, but I'm gonna lose my shit once I actually see it with my own eyes. Also is she already in the room? The girl with the mask looked like her.
And yea, that's definitely Hiyori.
See this is what I like about this situation given we've seen Robin make duplicate bodies in the past. I like the idea of Robin taking on Black Maria, beating her but then Kaidō/Big Mam capturing her and taking her to the road poneglyph to decipher it. A big piece of the puzzle (or the path to One Piece) will be revealed, after which Luffy, Zoro and whoever else is left standing soundly beats Kaidō to an inch of his life (somehow I feel Big Mam is going to make her escape once she's got what she came for).
I'm also hoping we get to see some life-threatening stakes with the supernovas as currently they're giving Kaidō quite the beating. Its more involving if it feels like the heroes could actually lose (that's why I liked the Luffy vs. Lucci fight. It felt like Luffy literally put his all in, got back on his feet after initially falling and overcame his toughest foe to date which is why I didn't mind when he turned out to be the victor).
Would anyone be upset if we lost one or two of the supernovas during this fight? (its been suggested before that Killer might die which would provide Kid with the motivation to go all-out. Law using his devil fruit to bring Luffy back if he receives a death-like blow could also mean the end of a series favourite (Law did say way back that his ultimate goal was to bring down Kaidō so it could be seen as fulfilling all of his goals after Flamingo was beaten, then there emperor goes down as well).
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Hyiori is more logical but Toki would be more impactful.
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Guys, we all saw Toki dying. Lots of people saw her dying.
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Wait a sec, I thought O-Kiku was Hiyori. wtf
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Hate this chapter. Remember when the beast pirates were built up as the strongest pirate crew in the world, one of the ultimate challenges to the straw hats? Who are a threat to the world itself now that the yonko declared war on it? Pepperidge farm remembers. Now they're dumpstered by an 8 year old. nice yonko crew bro.
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Hate this chapter. Remember when the beast pirates were built up as the strongest pirate crew in the world, one of the ultimate challenges to the straw hats? Who are a threat to the world itself now that the yonko declared war on it? Pepperidge farm remembers. Now they're dumpstered by an 8 year old. nice yonko crew bro.
The fodder was never build up to be the ultimate challenges to the straw hats .
Hell that goes for the people that even stronger than smile users like the giants .
If making 500 stronger fodder go on the SH team make the beast pirates not a challenge any more and they have 25k people left Oda did something wrong . -
May I ask what people would expect from Toki?
I think she had an amazing last moment during the flashback, with a really impactful final message. She was done escaping the present in hopes that someone or something would fix her problems, instead she made her last stand and played her part in the grand scheme of things.
For now I'm on the Hyori train and Robin is indeed next to Sanji.
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The fodder was never build up to be the ultimate challenges to the straw hats .
Hell that goes for the people that even stronger than smile users like the giants .
If making 500 stronger fodder go on the SH team make the beast pirates not a challenge any more and they have 25k people left Oda did something wrong .Yea, smile users weren't considered a huge threat the minute we saw their silly designs. Hard to get worked up over Tama when none of them would be relevant enough to take down a Strawhat by themselves. Their only advantage is in numbers, which Tama is exploiting, as well as being superior to "regular" fodder, the main reason Kaido wanted an army of them to begin with.
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500 premium fodder is still fodder.
The sheer number 500 is impressive, because they're all fruit user. They're nothing compared to real Zoans.
Pretty sure every Yonko would be able to fodderize the majority of them at once with their Haoshoku alone. -
People complaining about Tama? Her millet dumplings only work on animals/animal people. Some people just have really strong powers in certain circumstances. Sugar could turn anyone into a toy and erase the memories of them in other people with a simple touch.
Also this entire arc with Kaido and everyone going to Onigashima to defeat the ogres/demons is based on the story of Momotaro who convices 3 animals to join him in his fight by gifting them millet dumplings. So having someone with this power makes more sense than not having it.
Also, Hiyori has that hairstyle with the 2 long locks that fall down beside her face, and the shadowed figure looks to have that same hairstyle.
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May I ask what people would expect from Toki?
I think she had an amazing last moment during the flashback, with a really impactful final message. She was done escaping the present in hopes that someone or something would fix her problems, instead she made her last stand and played her part in the grand scheme of things.
I think it's that the idea of the silhouetted character being Hiyori is really boring, especially before a break. Unless she can do something we know nothing about, it's not an interesting development.
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Ok seriously, this code of Sanji to not hit women is getting stupid now, especially when they're in the midst of all out war with the fate of his crew, alliance and Wano at stake.
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I have the feeling that Oda is purposely showing us these situations over and over again just to set up a point where Sanji has no other chance but to hit a woman.
It feels like it's going to happen soon and Robin is going to be in a near death situation where Sanji has to act. -
I think it's that the idea of the silhouetted character being Hiyori is really boring, especially before a break. Unless she can do something we know nothing about, it's not an interesting development.
I guess Hyori being interesting is debatable, but I think its weird how she, as a central figure of Wano, is completely absent in this all-out war. Is she chilling with Shisui on her lap somewhere in the capital or what? Even Momo and Tama are involved, and they are 8 year olds…
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the mask girl being Robin would be really weird to me
I suppose the other girl should know who is behind the mask
It would also means Robin know in a very short time what these masks are used for and impersonate the girlI rather believe it is the usual Oda draws girl always the same way
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So it isn't Enel on the last panel?
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Sanji is no more likely to hit a woman than Zoro is to stab someone in the back.
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Then why show it in every arc, every f*cking time?
We've seen it, we know it, no reason to remind us and make a joke out of it.
What's the reason to do that?If the only chance to safe one of your friends is stabbing someone in the back, then Zoro is going to stab that motherf*cker in the back.
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Nami basically hints that she’ll get some sort of lightning upgrade to take down Ulti in this chapter
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Sanji hitting a woman to save Robin would undermine his point that people shouldn't underestimate her.
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I guess Hyori being interesting is debatable, but I think its weird how she, as a central figure of Wano, is completely absent in this all-out war. Is she chilling with Shisui on her lap somewhere in the capital or what? Even Momo and Tama are involved, and they are 8 year olds…
I don't think she's uninteresting, I just can't imagine her role there in that moment. As always, I'd love for Oda to prove me wrong, but I'd feel like he'd have to change our perception of Hiyori for it to be an interesting reveal after the silhouette. Has she retained her vitality and strength that Momo referenced? Can she wield a sword well? If she's just Komurasaki the Oiran I'm just not seeing her role on Onigashima. Tama and Momo's roles make perfect sense, even as 8 year olds (which this forum is way too hung up on). Momo was thought to be the last Kozuki and is a symbol of Oden and Tama is a rambunctious youngster who wants to see a better world and has the means to help create it.
Let's put it this way, if a year ago (or just before the flashback) it was revealed that Tama was going to make her way to Onigashima and help, we all know what her help would look like. For Momo, I think at the least most would assume that he'd be on Onigashima, forced to confront Kaido and Orochi in some way. I don't think we can say the same about Hiyori. Her role is nebulous, but her character doesn't seems kind of static. I just don't know what to make of it all. On the other hand, this makes me even more sure that Orochi will be returning.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Then why show it in every arc, every f*cking time?
We've seen it, we know it, no reason to remind us and make a joke out of it.
What's the reason to do that?If the only chance to safe one of your friends is stabbing someone in the back, then Zoro is going to stab that motherf*cker in the back.
That's a hypothetical that we'll never see because Zoro wouldn't stab someone in the back. In the same vein, there's "probably" never going to be a situation in which Sanji in his right mind will have no choice but to his a woman. I could have seen it as something that would happen some years ago until we figured out that Sanji inherited the trait from Zeff.
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That's a hypothetical that we'll never see
Obviously, but that's the only reason I can imagine why Oda puts Sanji in such situations.
Besides Robins importance has been mentioned multiple times since Zou, so the chances are high that something happens to her, especially with Big Mom being there.
If you want to protect your friends you should be ready to throw your moral values over board.
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Video Review
Each Kaido-Mon to understand, the Dango that’s inside! Tama’s Gotta Catch ‘em All!
A Song of Feast and Famine
The moment where Tama says she dreams of a day when Orochi are Kaido are gone and there’s enough food for everyone to eat was touching and also has some important implications for where her story is going. It’s interesting how within this same story saga, we went from a land of feast, Whole Cake Island, literally made out of living food controlled by Big Mom, to a land of intense famine presided over by Kaido. Big Mom and Kaido both rule their respective territories with an iron fist – in Tottland, citizens of Big Mom’s kingdom have an abundance of food and live in relative harmony, but to do so, they’re forced to pay a piece of their soul. Kaido and Orochi instead starve the people of Wano, making them too weak in terms of both strength and will to resist occupation.Tama is among a handful of characters being discussed as a potential future crewmember. Personally, I believe Carrot will be the next member following Jimbei. So, while I haven’t felt like Tama is being set up to sail away from Wano at the end of the arc, there have been some interesting points in her favor. Ace once promised to return and take Tama away from Wano once she was old enough, which inspired her desire to become a ‘bewitching kunoichi’. However, Tama states here her dream is to live in a Wano where Momo is shogun and there’s enough food to eat, which is exactly what Luffy promised Tama at the start of the story arc.
For now, it seems Tama’s sights are really set on seeing Wano’s brighter future after Orochi and Kaido are deposed and as such, I really can’t imagine her setting out to sea immediately following the liberation of her homeland. I think there are other issues with Tama as a potential Straw Hat, perhaps most significantly her age. I can imagine Luffy making a similar promise to Tama as did Ace, but at the end of Wano, I expect Tama will remain, as it seems unlikely she’d leave right after most immediate dream or wish is finally fulfilled.
Tama’s Gotta Catch ‘Em All!
As soon as Tama’s ability was revealed in Wano, it was clear her power would at some point be used to turn Kaido’s army against him, but it’s still satisfying to see it finally come to pass in this week’s chapter, even if it’s completely predictable.I think this chapter dispels any lingering notion that Tama can control real Zoan users. I never really bought that particular theory that Tama would user her power on Kaido, but this chapter seemingly makes it clear that it’s impossible as Tama makes no attempt to take control of Ulti, Page One, or Sasaki – only the Gifters, Pleasures, and Headliners. I believe Devil Fruit contain souls of some kind, in keeping with the fact that they can bring inanimate objects to life as well as the myths surrounding Devil Fruit. We’ll probably learn more about Devil Fruit, Smile Fruit, and awakening when Vegapunk is at last introduced, but for now I’d say Smile fruit likely represent an incomplete merger of the animal soul contained in the fruit with its host. Tama’s power works on animals, but not humans; she’s likely taking control of the incompletely merged animal soul of the Smile Fruit. Real Zoan fruit are entirely subjugated to the human will of their host and thus are impervious to Tama’s power.
The House Always Wins
I really love the panel of Nami and Usopp play acting, pretending to be fleeing in fear as Tama’s army follows. This leads to a great moment where Sasaki says that this is what will happen all over Onigashima, alluding their superior numbers, which was the focus of CP0’s Go board metaphor in the previous chapter. Tama responds, revealing their deception, and says she’s here to even the odds and we again have another moment alluding to the card game motif used consistently throughout Wano (really the Big Mom / Kaido Saga).Kaido’s introduction is accompanied by a narration box which reads, “In one on one fight, always bet on Kaido.” On Dressrosa says he keeps placing the same bet on Luffy. The upper echelon of the subsidiary Donquixotte Family and the commanders of Kaido’s crew including Headliners, Calamities, and even the Numbers have named themed after card games or, in other words, games of chance. In this extended metaphor, Kaido is the dealer, and the house always wins right? Well that’s why Tama’s here – to even the odds. I believe there’s something deeper going on here – in East Asian folklore, Chinese style dragons are often associated with good fortune and though Kaido isn’t unbeatable, he is unkillable. Dumb luck seems to have saved Kaido from certain death at the hands of Kozuki Oden. Beating Kaido may mean no only breaking his defenses, but also his winning streak – and Momo, Wano’s future shogun may be the key to its liberation if his artificial Zoan fruit imbues him with the same good fortune which has kept Kaido alive for all these years.
Raiders of the Raider of the Lost Poneglyphs
As expected, Sanji took out all the men in Maria’s court, but couldn’t bring himself to attack the women. And there’s no indication here that that’s about to change, but we do learn that Maria is using Sanji as bait to lure in Nico Robin. Big Mom already said a few chapters prior she’s tired of waiting for Pudding and is thus intent on taking Robin hostage. Post-Water Seven, Robin hasn’t been considered as much of a target, but the thing that makes her a threat to the world government and a potential asset to anyone seeking Laugh Tale, her ability to read Poneglyphs, still puts her in danger. We were reminded about this on Zou, but Robin said she trusts her friends to protect her.This is an idea which keeps coming up, that Robin’s ability puts her in danger of perhaps being taken by rival Pirates intent on finding One Piece. I’m not sure how I feel about that particular idea given Robin’s abduction by CP9 was the main focus of the entire Water Seven saga, even if it was, in my opinion, the best part of the series. I’m not sure Oda will go that route, particularly with a potential Sabo, Hancock, or Vivi rescue arc in the future. I’d love to see the other Emperors have their own plan or strategy to reach Laugh Tale – something we don’t necessarily know about yet. Big Mom has some plan involving Pudding, though we don’t really know what it is about the Three Eyed Tribe that allows them to potentially decipher the poneglyphs. The ability to read Poneglyphs was passed down exclusively through the Kozuki Can and there’s no indication the scholars of Ohara made contact with Wano and Oden, knowing the importance of this legacy, wouldn’t have imparted this knowledge to anyone but his children. So this implies the Oharan scholars deciphered these writings on their own or through some other source – which means there could be someone else out in the world to rival Robin’s ability we don’t know about.
I love the idea that Robin’s father could still be out there. The Magazine said he’s dead, but there’s no indication in the narrative itself and the Magazine has been wrong about things in the past (like Reiju having a Devil Fruit). And so as I said, I’d prefer the Emperors have some strategy of their own which doesn’t necessitate Robin. What’s surprising here is Kaido didn’t seem to have a plan of his own in place before the current story arc, as far as we know. Shanks doesn’t necessarily want to reach Laugh Tale and is perhaps guarding Roger’s legacy instead of trying to inherit it himself. Blackbeard is the one who needs some plan – and I’d rather he not simply abduct Robin. Maybe it’s just my love for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade talking, but I like the idea that Robin’s long lost father is still alive (Nico D. Ravenwood). In the flashback to Ohara, Olvia says she’s following her husband’s footsteps. So I feel like we need to find out more about him – and this could be a great way to do so. Maybe he’s being forced by Teach to decipher the poneglyphs and we’ll see Robin reunited with her archaeologist father in a future story arc.
I have repeatedly said I’d love to see Robin fight Black Maria and it certainly seems things are moving in that direction. If this does pan out, it will be Robin’s first full one on one fight since Yama on Skypiea, which was about 750 chapters ago, so it has been a reaaally long wait. I really appreciate how much confidence Sanji has in Robin here – she’s stronger than the Emperors realize, so their plan better not be to capture Robin!
Agents of SWORD and SHIELD
We see yet another woman wearing the paper eye mask. Maria says Sanji’s voice will be projected throughout the castle if he speaks while looking into the eye, so these masks can relay sound as well as visual signals. The mystery here is only deepening – given that the symbol is also painted on Who’s Who’s chest, it would seem it is the eye painting itself that facilitates remote communication even if it isn’t painted on one of the paper masks. This has to be the work of some sort of Devil Fruit and the individual responsible is still a complete mystery. There are separate divisions with Kaido’s crew - we know, for example, Sasaki was in charge of the Armored Corps, so perhaps Who’s Who runs the intelligence division of Kaido’s crew. This still allows for a connection between Who’s Who and Cipher Pol and also explains why all of Kaido’s subordinates are also privy to the eye power. Basically, we know that Kaido’s crew area all using this power to communicate and also that it’s being used to share information with CP0. What’s not clear is if Kaido, King, and Queen know CP0 is on Onigashima. They were likely invited by Orochi, who was dealing weapons. It’s possible, if Who’s Who is the intelligence officer in Kaido’s crew, he’s using that position to relay information to the World Government. Who’s Who is the one who rooted out Drake as a member of SWORD and so this could again imply some sort of internal division between the Marine intelligence division (Sword) and the Celestial Dragon’s spies (CP0 – Shield).The Toki Who Leapt Through Time
Bao Huang announces that she has located the scabbards in the upper floor of Kaido’s castle after they were transported away from the roof by Law. However, she counts ten people in the storage room rather than 9 and the chapter ends on a huge cliffhanger, as we get a brief glimpse of this mystery character’s silhouette. With One Piece on break in the next issue, we’re going to have to wait two weeks to learn the identity of this mystery character, but to me it seems like there are really only two possibilities, but if we look closely, it’s obviously Eneru!In actuality, it would seem this mystery character is either Hiyori or Toki – and I personally lean toward the latter. It seems to be a woman based on the shape of the nose and jawline and there seems to be a long strand of hair falling down. We know this character is likely an ally to the scabbards as they appear to be crying. Hiyori would seem to be the more obvious choice here and I do believe she will still play some critical role, potentially helping to slay Orochi, before the arc ends. She gave Zoro Enma, but still holds Oden’s other sword Ame no Habakiri, which borrows its name from the legendary sword used to slay the Yamata no Orochi in the real world Japanese folk story. Momo says that Hiyori was always stronger than him and beat him in fights when they were younger. I hope that Hiyori will be proficient with a sword given the time she spent with Kawamatsu and Denjiro over the past 20 years and thus will play a critical role in the battle against Orochi or Kaido.
So while there’s a very good chance this mystery character is Hiyori, I think the perhaps more interesting option is Amatsuki Toki. While it’s hard to tell based on the silhouette alone, it seems the strand of hair actually gets wider at the bottom, which is a closer match to Toki than it is to Hiyori. The strands of hair in front of Hiyori’s face are thinner at the bottom and a bit shorter than Toki’s. Hiyori looks very similar to her mother – almost identical, so this could mean nothing. Again, it’s really hard to tell from just a silhouette, so I don’t think this is really irrefutable proof, but to me it looks like Toki. She’s the one who delivered the prophecy of Nine Shadows cast by the moon someday liberating Wano, so it would be cool if she made it to the present day to see that prophecy fulfilled.
Given that her fate is left somewhat ambiguous, she could very easily have leapt forward again through time. Not to mention, had Toki died, a time travel devil fruit would be out in the world somewhere and that’s a power which could have some really negative effects if left in the wrong hands. It seems like there could potentially be a number of narrative complications in leaving the time travel fruit unaccounted for and Toki being alive would solve those problems. Not to mention, her origin in the void century is likely significant to the central narrative arc of the series, not that I think she’ll reveal to us any details about the void century at this point. She clearly understood the meaning of Oden’s words when he spoke of a day 20 years in he future when Wano would be liberated, but she also prevented him from speaking about the events of the void century directly.
This ties into an idea I have had for a while that, for some reason, there are things in the One Piece world which cannot be spoken. The Shandoran mandate in protecting the Skypiea Poneglyph says ‘Hold the truth in your heart. Keep your mouth silent. We are the ones who weave history.’ We later see the Five Elders order Clover’s immediate execution just before he can utter the name of the lost civilization and Toki covers Oden’s mouth in 973 perhaps before he can say anything he shouldn’t. I’m not sure if these things are connected, but there does seem to be a pattern. Toki was seemingly born outside Wano during the Void Century and was, for some reason, trying to return to her homeland. Perhaps, if she is alive, her intent will be made clear by the end of this story arc.
I do think this supports the idea that the sword wielding member of the Five Elders is perhaps a member of the Amatsuki Clan, directly related to Toki in some way. Amatsuki means ‘Heavenly Moon’, which would fit with the Celestial Dragons being false self-proclaimed Gods. In any case, Toki’s survival may be significant to the broader narrative arc of One Piece, so if she does turn out to be the character from the end of the chapter, it could lead to some really interesting developments and perhaps give us some greater insight into the Void Century and the importance of opening Wano’s Borders to the world.
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It would also means Robin know in a very short time what these masks are used for and impersonate the girl
so basically no problem for Robin to do then? She's an archeologist so she has to be able to note tiny details like that plus she's got years of experience doing espionage and undercover work.
The dude who visited Crocus.
It might still be to early to reintroduce Scopper Gaban
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Obviously, but that's the only reason I can imagine why Oda puts Sanji in such situations.
Besides Robins importance has been mentioned multiple times since Zou, so the chances are high that something happens to her, especially with Big Mom being there.
If you want to protect your friends you should be ready to throw your moral values over board.
Oda will never put Sanji in a situation where he absolutely has to break that moral value. There will always be someone to make the save because as Oda has established in his world, Sanji's refusal to hit a woman comes from a virtuous place (his fatherly bond with Zeff). Everyone views it as Sanji's failure when Oda has continually used these instances to build up other Straw Hats. Like Sanji said in Enies Lobby, they can pick up each other's slack.
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The shadowy figure is obviously Hiyori, why Oda decided to shadow her for cheap cliffhanger…
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After re-reading the chapter, I'm betting on Scooper Gaban being the mistery person, and he came with Marco, Neko and Izu on the boat.
Perfect time for him to appear. We've seen more of roger's crew in this arc, we're still in need of more trump cards to deal with two Emperors.But honestly I don't think the silhouette is a perfect match, I'm just hopeful.
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It's far off from being a perfect match, Gaban has a very distinctive profile that is nothing like the silhouette
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It's obviously Eneru.
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Pretty sure Oda is setting us up to think or at least speculate that it's Toki, but it'll be Hiyori in the end. We have seen her tending wounds before after all.
Tama's DF is so wrong here. I don't like heroes brainwashing people.
Honestly the person who least deserves to be brainwashed is Speed, even if she is probably a villain like the rest. The others are all scum and I don't feel bad for them, case in point the scene were Daifugo encountered some former prisoners who got angry at him and he had to tell them it was "water under the bridge" which was pretty hilarious.
Hate this chapter. Remember when the beast pirates were built up as the strongest pirate crew in the world, one of the ultimate challenges to the straw hats? Who are a threat to the world itself now that the yonko declared war on it? Pepperidge farm remembers. Now they're dumpstered by an 8 year old. nice yonko crew bro.
I hardly feel the same way.
One of the major focuses in Act 1 was the Beasts Pirates having a considerable interest in Tama due to her taming ability. I do kinda wish that plotline had relevance in the two years that have passed between then and now, but it was well established that Tama's power is of great significance to the Beasts Pirates.
Literally last chapter we got an overall battle update that showed the alliance is still pretty vastly outnumbered, with the All-Stars and Tobiroppo having the ability to take out hundreds of alliance soldiers at a time. Even if the Straw Hats/Marco/Drake keep the top officers busy, the other alliance members (most of whom can be just as much fodder as the lower-ranking Beasts Pirates) still have a lot on their hands. Tama's move helps even the playing field a bit. -
May I ask what people would expect from Toki?
I think she had an amazing last moment during the flashback, with a really impactful final message. She was done escaping the present in hopes that someone or something would fix her problems, instead she made her last stand and played her part in the grand scheme of things.
For now I'm on the Hyori train and Robin is indeed next to Sanji.
It was dummy dummy dumb to take some bullets instead of using hwr ultra practical for survival devil fruit.
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@Kaido:
Pretty sure Oda is setting us up to think or at least speculate that it's Toki, but it'll be Hiyori in the end. We have seen her tending wounds before after all.
For some reason I hadn't thought of that simple possibility.
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If this turns out to be the final chapter of volume 99, it's a pretty underwhelming note to end on after the extremely artistically impressive and exciting rooftop showdown. If it wouldn't have made the book too short, I would have said the last one was a perfect place to leave off. Maybe we're going to get 11 chapters for the first time in a while, just to get a better chapter in the end.
I had to go back to the earlier chapters to check if Tama's power had always been translated to millet dumplings in the official. Kibi dango had just been too reinforced by the community, I guess. I don't share the doom and gloom feelings a lot of others have about this development. Its been inevitable for a long time. It seems to only work on Gifters. We've been told there are only 500 Gifters, which is less than 2% of the 30,000 enemies on Onigashima. The control doesn't seem to overwrite the Gifter's real personality or cast them into some kind of Get Out sunken place, it just shifts their loyalties (which is still a violation, don't get me wrong, but far from the borderline evil complete mindwipe others are saying it is). It's a necessary development that brings back and pays off on earlier setup and contributes to the scales gradually tipping in the heroes' favour. It's good to see Daifugo again as well. He's a bit part, but I really like his character design.
Franky's fight in this chapter didn't quite work for me. Love seeing the crew fight, but compared to the spectacle and readability of the last few chapters, this is weak. Unlike the Kaido fight, which gives its huge main enemy space to breathe, the panelling here is incredibly cramped and doesn't always scan well. We don't see how Tama's Gifters disengage the armoured squad from Franky's legs, and as a result I'm not sure who it is that Sasaki charges through on the page 10-11 spread. His own guys? Tama's ones, who she just kamikaze'd to save Franky? (oh wow maybe there's more of an ethical image here than I thought) A mix of both as they fought? We almost need a visual clue to tell who's been dumpling'd and who hasn't.
Also it looks like Shueisha didn't scan the page properly. Where did this panel border go?
I liked seeing Nami deal a bit of damage to Ulti. After skipping to her and Usopp already being beaten before, having some of the back and forth onscreen is welcome. The need for stronger lightning implies she wants to take Zeus back, but it's hard to see that happening now. I'd rather she pull out something new Usopp invented or find something in the environment to use to up her voltage and win the fight that way. Keep Nami fighting smart, not just taking Big Mom's power again!
Sanji is doing Sanji stuff again. I don't care for this part of his characterisation, but I've said it all before. I'm done hoping for him to get over it. I could live with him not hurting women if he found other ways to dispatch them and worked around the issue, but here he is, easily beaten. Again. At least his vote of confidence in Robin is a good moment. Hell, the idea that Robin might go up against Black Maria is a pretty exciting one. I just wish we didn't have to go through this to get there.
The location of the Scabbards is really unclear. We're told "castle exterior" in the same panel they're placed on the second floor of the castle. Black Maria says her area is connected to where they are, and the castle isn't connected to any other structures, so in what way can the Scabbards possibly be exterior? Is this a translation issue?
King seems to be fighting at ground level in the middle of the Performance Floor. Likely making good on the threat of the executives wiping out hundreds of samurai at a time.
The obvious solution to for the Scabbards' helper is Hyori. The size, shape, emotions expressed and choice to use beng instead of doom for the sound effect don't really allow it to be anyone else. For a moment I had hope it would be the striped-kimono stranger who showed up with Marco and Neko (after having tea with Crocus), but the shape doesn't look like a match. I honestly can't tell how many of the people saying Enel are memeing. Some of them seem pretty serious about it.
So yeah, hate to be negative, but this is definitely the weakest chapter we've had in a while, and it definitely leaves a bad taste as the potential end of a volume. Fingers crossed we can get back to the high standard set by the last few weeks in the next one.