A bit plain, but certainly in the style of how they’ll name the episode when the anime gets to this part. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was that title exactly. I fell behind on the anime some months ago- watching clips every now and then to keep up with what’s going on(and check out how nice the anime’s looking), and I don’t really plan to jump back in until………. well, you know. I think when it happens, a LOT of people who’ve stopped watching the anime will jump back in for THAT moment. Toei’s gotta be bringing in their A LIST staff and THEN SOME to make that episode what it deserves to be. I mean; they’re going to need to give that episode a Movie Level budget with some High Profile Animators working on it. Will it surpass the Super Saiyan transformation? Eh…………… Maybe not. You have understand how Iconic and Influential that moment had to be- Gear 5th only came about because of the moment Toriyama had drawn decades ago. I’ll regularly refer to it as a “Modern Day Super Saiyan.”
Gear 5th’s reveal- the internet’s collective reaction to it- is what Super Saiyan would have been if the internet existed back then like it does today. I’m just sayin’: Toei can make that moment visually superior to what they did with Super Saiyan, but…….. I don’t think that it’ll ever be surpassed. Genuinely. In whatever case: Koby is on Hachinosu. And it looks as though Teech is still off dealing with Law. Perfect timing for an Escape. One Piece Chapter 1,080: “The Hero Of Legend.” Let’s begin……..
Overview
Wasting no time; we jump right into the chapter on Hachinosu, with Koby beginning his “daring escape.” With Teech gone, the Pirates staying on the island seize the chance to collect on Koby’s bounty from the Cross Guild. A regular Captain is worth a single star(around 100 Million Berries), but Mr “Hero of The Rocky Port Incident” is worth 5– roughly 500 Million Berries. And then…… The Giant Skull Rock speaks, stating that it feels “a tickling sensation on the left side of his chest-” around where the Pirates keep the slaves they plan to sell off later. This is apparently the ability of “Corrupt King” Avalo Pizzaro and his Isle Isle fruit- the ability to……… this was an island before, so I guess merge with an island. The Pirates are eager to collect on Koby’s bounty, but Pizarro reminds them that Blackbeard is gonna be p!ssed if they take him.
We learn through flashback that Teech plans to use Koby as a “Bargaining Chip- to make the World Government recognize Hachinosu as an Official Country; even a Government Affiliated one, so long as he reigns as “King.” But Koby tells him that the Government would sooner collapse before they bargain with a Pirate- that, and that he’s a member of Sword. Kuzan(Fomrer Navy Admiral Aokiji) informs Teech that- if this turns out to be true- then there’s no point in using him; according to him, members of “Sword” are Marines that have given up their “Code-” Marines that have already resigned from the Navy, letting them act as they see fit. Even fighting against an Emperor, going against Direct orders. And the Navy can disavow them whenever they need to save face. So it seems like that plan is a bust. But Blackbeard calls the Government’s bluff; he doubts they let a “Marine Hero” with such a Public image go just like that. He wins- he gets what he wants. He loses- Government loses Koby, and thus a “Known Hero” to the world…………..
We see later on that Koby was freed by the lurking Perona, promising to let him out if he goes and frees Moriah at the deepest part of the dungeon. While in the present; Shiryu wants Pizarro to capture him with his fruit. But Pizarro would rather not get an earful from Teech if things go wrong. “Heavy Drinker” Vasco Shot(Glug Glug Fruit) thinks setting a Fire will keep him and the slaves from escaping, but Pizarro isn’t letting him go. Though he says it wouldn’t be as bad as what “The Great Battleship” Sanjuan Wolf and his Huge Huge Fruit would do. But still; they don’t want to cause anymore damage so soon after repairing the Rocky Port. We later see Mr Rocky Port Hero trying to outrun some Pirates chasing him, when he hears of 3 Marines arriving on Hachinosu. Though he doesn’t want to think they’re here just to get him.
We see said Marines invading the island when one of them has their head lopped off- only to reveal he’s made of Clay. These are all Clay Soldiers made by Sword Member Prince Grus and his Glorp Glorp fruit. Some of them notice the buildings move, but play it off like they’ve been drinking too much. Then they see a woman whipping a building. Ladies and Gentlemen: Sword Member Kujaku(It Means “Peacock”)- Granddaughter of Great Advisor Tsuru and user of the Whip Whip Fruit! Naturally, that comes with a bit of “Dominatrix” type of dialogue. But in the center of town; Koby is surrounded by pirates- ready to open fire. It looks bleak for Koby, but help comes in the form of Hibari of Sword- who brought him lunch to eat. BUT IT’S NOT LIKE SHE LIKES HIM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. She prevents him from getting shot at by firing off GP Flowers to prevent Gunfire. Flowers bloom ALL AROUND. She gets in contact with Prince, who’s finished with his area and has now called in Garp.
Low And Behold: Garp’s ship is in the skies above the island. Side Note: Tashigi is here. But Garp comes out, standing on the Dog figure head of the ship. And of course; Garp- having a CLEAR target full of pirates- dives off, reminding the Pirates that “Koby is the Future Of The Marines- And His Protege!!” “GALAXY IMPACT!!!” Giant Haki Blast that levels the area. One Piece Chapter 1,080 END!!! Boy, it’s a good thing Teech is still away- this could have gone MUCH worse! But the day isn’t over yet………
REVIEW
I wrote down a few things that I wanted to talk about upon reading the chapter. And there are really only 2 things that I want to talk about: Garp being in Sword and Blackbeard’s continued contradicting behavior. Let’s start with Garp. Simply put; it’s become clear to me that Garp is a member of Sword- potentially the reason the organization was founded. Because he’s technically supposed to be retired right now. And as Kuzan states, this organization is for those in the Marines who’ve already turned in their resignation papers. Garp……… probably was never allowed to retire. He seems to know too much and is too important to the public image of the Marines(not to mention clearly having the strength they’d need to face Emperor Class Enemies) to be let go. So they made him an “Instructor.” Though he’s probably been around long enough to retire from that. SO……. maybe they founded Sword just to “put him somewhere.”
Tashigi being here 1)Implies that Smoker is also on Pirate Island and 2)Implies that she’s a member of Sword as well. I doubt Smoker would let someone as important as Tashigi go to Hachinosu alone- even if she’s with Garp and other top tiers in the Navy. He cares too much- though he won’t admit it. And his worry for Tashigi would impede ANY confrontation with Luffy. And he’s gonna need to focus come their next fight. So ultimately; he probably chose to go with Tashigi and Garp to Hachinosu. And as far as that membership in Sword, it seems to go without saying; Smoker chasing Luffy wasn’t something HQ told him to do- he went out on his own. After forcing him to take credit for defeating Crocodile he was pretty much over their sh!t. Makes total sense they’ve already got 1 foot out the door.
Though Smoker could choose to trust Tashigi- trust her strength and the people she went with- and decides to go after Luffy himself. Because she needs to grow. And she’ll never grow if she’s always getting bailed out by Smoker. That’s something that I think he would say. Especially if he wants to bring in Luffy right now; he let him get THIS far, and now he needs to set things right. Catching Luffy on Egghead would be his chance to change things……… or something. I added this when I was close to the end of writing this part and realized I didn’t bring up the other side of this discussion.
But then you have how much Aokiji knows about Sword. Yeah, I’m of the mindset that Aokiji is undercover- just like Drake was in Wano. Without how much he seems to know about Sword, we can assume that this faction probably isn’t a secret within Naval Ranks. The world is another matter, but it makes sense that the Higher ups- especially Admirals– know of the organization. But………. he doesn’t feel like the type to go with Blackbeard without reason. He’s either working on his own towards some goal we don’t know about, or he’s working to find some intel on Blackbeard- find some kind of weakness in his force or find out what his “Grand Plan” is. That or he’s working as a spy for Shanks. Shanks seems more agreeable with Aokiji. I totally believe that Shanks wants to work with the Government to stop Teech; he sees him as too much of a threat to be left alone. But he also knows from prior experience that going at him without a plan- will only end in furthering his plan. He has to be smart about this……..
I also think that Aokiji’s in Sword because of his view on Justice; that “Lazy” view of his. “Justice” depends on the one who wins- at least in his mind; it’s an ever-changing definition. And right now, the one’s who’s in charge is Akainu. Because he won their fight. And- as his battle with Luffy showed- he has a sense of honor. So- win or lose- he had to honor the terms of their battle and let Akainu become Fleet Admiral. But is it something to quit over with the existence of Sword? He can act how he wants, even if it doesn’t align with with Akainu. I mean…….. I’m losing my train of thought with this. It’s like; I don’t think…….. that he would quit just because of Sakazuki; I think he’s still fighting for “Justice-” but in his own way with people who he knows he can trust. All of which seem to be members of Sword.
And then there’s Blackbeard. This chapter I feel shows off that same contradicting behavior he shows every now and then; a coward who leveraged Whitebeard’s love for his crew to survive but had the stones to walk through Magellan’s “Venom Hydra-” someone smart enough to be one of the MAIN instigators of Marineford and play both sides to get what he wants, but just childish enough to give into his disagreement with Luffy on Jaya. And now; it seems like the Anarchistic behavior we associate with him is now giving way to wanting to be a some kind of Ruler. Like………. Teech always came off like he just wanted……… Anarchy. He wants freedom like Luffy, but in the worst of ways; Luffy at least respects the rules of being a Pirate- Teech clearly doesn’t. And him getting the One Piece would mean that he can make that world. He told Hannnyabal that concepts like “Justice” and “Evil” don’t exist, meaning he doesn’t believe that anything is inherently right or wrong- simply “Doing What You Want” is all that matters. But now he’s talking about wanting to be the King Of A Nation. That sound right to you guys?
In my notes; I wrote down that he’s trying to make a “Pirate Country” so that he can force people to call him or become a very literal “Pirate King.” And that’s a possibility. He doesn’t seem scared to go after the One Piece himself- as evidence by him attacking Law who has like 3 Road Poneglyph etchings- but he also realizes the the “Competition” he has out there is rapidly approaching the level of characters like Kaido, Big Mom, Whitebeard, and Shanks- the only people with the potential to stop him dead. And because of what he did to Ace, he’s definitely on some of their sh!tlists. He could just plan to make the world see him as a “Pirate King” without actually going for it. Or something to that effect. I don’t know; it just seems kind of weird for him to want to be the ruler of a country after everything that he’s been doing.
It’s one of the things I like about this series; the fact that there are 2 Central antagonists representing both sides of the spectrum. if Im is “Absolute Control,” then Blackbeard is “Lack of Control;” too much creates a God Complex and too little makes Anarchy. For this series to end, Luffy has to free the World from Im’s oppressive rule. But he can’t let Teech take over, either. I look forward to the day that these 3 come together- it’s sure to be one for the history books……….
Perona is here. And knowing Koby, he would honor their deal BEFORE he escapes. So now Moriah and Pereona are on the island at current. And she was actually holding the keys so we know that was her physical body letting Koby out. I can’t say what they’re doing right now, but I can tell you they’re trying to escape(maybe making a Zombie or 2 along the way from the corpses that are SO TOTALLY all over this island)- and planning revenge on Teech for Absalom. And lastly: Garp seems to have Conqueror’s. Some Vivre Card Data book lists him as just an Observation/ Armament User. This chapter shows off that Conqueror’s Lightning. He seems to have it. Which isn’t a surprise to me; I feel like you NEED Conqueror’s if you want to swap hands with Roger the way he did. And it seems to be pretty strong. I want talk about that panel of Kaido’s in 1001, but……. feels like Garp could do some damage to him- though maybe not as much as THEM.
Conclusion
Do I want to talk about the characters and Devil Fruits that were revealed in this chapter? Well, I was gonna do a little summary section, but………. when I looked at it after I finished; I realized we don’t have enough information on ANY of it for me to say much of anything. Simply put: Pizzaro’s fruit feels like Pica on a different level and like Oda just made a Devil fruit that would fit whatever plot he’s gonna use it for; Tsuru has grandkids and one is in Sword, but we don’t know if Tsuru is in sword or not; Sanjuan Wolf has yet another Size Alteration fruit; and Oda made another direct tie in to the recent cover serial. That’s pretty much everything.
I don’t know what’s going through Oda’s head this arc, but we know that if he’s showing us all this extra stuff, then that means whatever is going on on Egghead would have been rather short. Something that’s going to flip the Status Quo of the series again, but short. As such, I’m not sure if he’s gonna jump back here next chapter or not. If he does, then we’ll be learning more about the stuff introduced here. He doesn’t, then maybe I’ll find another time to talk about them. I’ve always wanted to do more “One Piece” content that wasn’t just a review. But every time I start, the core concept of what I wanted to say gets lost somewhere. Maybe this time……
That’s all I got for the lot a ya today, folks; Until we meet again- Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, Stay Whelmed, and Have A Magical Rest Of Your Day!!!
