So, this will most likely be an unwanted opinion and I might be part of the minority but what if the next recruit is someone who was once allied to the marines (I'm referring to X Drake). Much ala Nico Robin in terms of being an enemy during the Alabasta saga: Drake, a character who is currently affilliated to the WG but who seems to have his heart set on true justice might make a decision to turn the tables over the long haul. Among other things, making his story the reverse of Coby's has a delightful tone to it. A WG official who decides to rebel after noticing that not all the shines is gold and that absolute justice can be blind. At the very least Drake might stick around with the Strawhats or Law. Peace…

What a satisfying chapter! Seeing the final Scabbard being fleshed out was a much needed addition; curiously enough having his second persona around for this long adds to the depth of his character and the chapter. That's fine story-telling indeed in terms of execution and timing. Kudos to Oda.

The next step is "sailing" to Onigashima. By the way, I don't believe they will sail there. They will FLY over the stormy sea instead and nobody will see them coming! remember that scene with kids adding hot air balloons to their ships to have them fly during the city festivities? From all the strawhats the one who actually got to see this was Sanji; and we know that strategy and Sanji go side by side. It was pretty subtle and almost innocuous and a nice touch that enriches the world. But it has more to it….

Hey guys, I'm going to leave this "shot in the dark" prediction here. It has a pretty small chance of happening but there's one none the less. Maybe the person who has been forshadowed is not Luffy himself but someone who by chance or fate ended up sailing with him. Of all the Strawhats there are 2 distinct candidates. Who we really don't know their provenance.

let's start first with the ones we can rule out–> Robin, Franky, Ussop, Brook,Sanji, Chopper, Jimbei and even Luffy. The thing with them is that we kind of know all these characters lineage to an extent and some of them have even had their past expanded upon.. i.e. Robin, Franky and Sanji. I don't really think Chopper being originally a reindeer would be sent 800 years forward into the future. That leaves us with 2 of the starting crew members. Zoro and Nami.

What we know of them is pretty minute compared to the rest. I know someone will bring kokoyashi village but don't forget that Nami was adopted by Bellemere and she was found in the middle of a war; something akin to a "Spoils of war" so she became an "orphan" at age who knows but still a baby. That opens a huge IF there.Nami has 2 distinct traits her mapping and the understanding of weather, currents and so on; plus she seems to be extremely sensitive to changes in the atmosphere, a compass of sorts.

Then there's Zoro whose past if even more cryptic. We only know he had a friend and rival (Kuina) and that apparently she died as a result of a mishap. Pretty vague. For Nami and Zoro not to have a proper flashback considering how extremely prominent they are in this story seems a bit out of left field.

What about Luffy? From what I've read so far Luffy is more of a catalizing agent. His influence on Shirahoshi and Vivi along with his immense Charisma is what will make the cogs turn; but he might not be the center shield but a sharp jaavaline. Now, there's the will of D. Which by all means might refer to a whole new race altogether or a special family, in which case its surname ended up being abreviated to such an extent only D remains and nothing can be traced back.

Now that Teach is on the move I believe he will attack Totoland while the territory is weakened and Mama isn't there . Why would he attack Totoland? The Ryo poneglyph is the answer. Somehow I feel that BM won't really be dealt with this arc; she will either be stalled or barely defeated. During the aftermath however she will go back to her Queendom only to find it in Ruins with another quater of her grandkids out of comission. This Will enrage her to no end and she will set out again to exact revenge on Teach much like Ace did. We know what happens after:ninja:. (Teach ends up winning by some foul means and eats the soul soul fruit) lol. Behold as he becomes the proper cerberus.

My suspicions of the wrinkled old o-baaaa san, that instructed Robin as a geisha , being the traitor are climbing. Now that I think about it, she wouldn't exactly classify as a traitor but a spy. We just had a mini cold war between our heroes and the beast pirates, If Robin is in charge of espionage on Luffy's side what makes us think that Kaido doesn't have his own? Specially being as low key of a character like wrinkled ol' lantern lady is.

Maybe someone has pointed out this already but the crescent moon on Tokis outfit seems quite similar to the ankle tattoo representing the kozuki followers. I wonder what the story about that mark is.

@BattleFranky69:

Anyone want to weigh in on how many of those Numbers freaks there are? I'm betting 9 or 10 depending on if the 'Ace' is part of it, otherwise it'll probably correspond to the numbered cards in a suit, 2-10. Don't know if Kaido has his own 'Joker' or '10' equivalent in his own crew or if he allowed the title of Joker to be held by Doflamingo despite not being directly affiliated. He has the Jack, King and Queen accounted for with the Calamities but they're worth as much as a '10' card in most games so maybe there's one more special member of the Beast Pirates that holds a high rank like theirs. Or the 10 would be the leader of those Numbers monsters.

I would count the Ace in. Not only that but if it follows some of the most popular card games world wide, there is a high chance that the ACE is the second in command of the beast pirates. Something similar to what happened with Katakuri being revealed late during Big Mama's arc. We know that the king holds a high position in almost any game, yet hardly ever the king beats the ace. I feel there are characters yet to be introduced in this already packed story arc.

@desa:

I don't think the villagers became more aggressive they just became stronger. So while it might give Mermaid Princess a boost either in range or her ammount of control I doubt it would influence wether or not she make the sea kings attack.

To be fair I wasn't addressing her as becoming more aggressive. But the sheer size of the sea kings (SK as of now cause I'm lazy) is enough to destroy a town at least partially by just standing on it. For comparison's sake take Sodomma or Gommorrah and compare them to one of the SKs. Now think about their rampage and destruction at Ennies Lobby. Obviously their size can't compare to the SKs. That being written if Shirahoshi can't control her power as of now, the danger of a 100% release is Legit. It is clear that the sea kings are sentient beings and judging by Oda's depiction of them akin to Dragons in the sense of wisdom and intelligence, yet summoning such power where there is already a power pool would unleash nothing below chaos of the highest caliber.

On a slightly different note the large number of factions involved in the Reverie reminds me of a sleeping bomb praying to be ignited by a foolish traveler. I'm looking at you dwarves…

Looking into the Reverie, I find it interesting that Bello Betty is not part of the infiltration mission. Her sole presence might have put Shirahoshi in danger. I mean if Bello Betty's cheer cheer power releases the latent power that someone has and Shirahoshi was able to summon those massive Sea Kings out of a moment of distress what would happen if all her power is suddenly activated by the cheer cheer fruit? am I reading too much into it?

At this point I wouldn´t call Katakuri a villain but more of an Antihero. The Villain here is Big Mom. She has her crew who follows her due to respect, intimidation, fear or what not whereas Katakuri has acted more as a Bodyguard so far. The scenes during the wedding and persecution are a testament to this, yet his morals may seem to not be aligned completely to those of Linlin. Then again Linlin wants a place where there is peace and people can enjoy a meal together. The concept becomes remarkably complex as it is explored further, as her twisted and wicked methods are on the boundaries of being pure evil. This arc seems to portray what happens when people with good intentions (at least originally) make the wrong choices, are pressured by their surroundings or have been walled out due to the innertia of an overwhelming power (food cravings a powerful family and so on )