HOLY F*CKIN’ SH!T We’re Really Doing This.

Oda, Oda, Oda sensei…………. What are you getting ready to do to us? Okay, I’m gonna be honest; some personal life stuff might just get to me over the course of…… at least this intro. Forgive the “Luke-Warmness” of my excitement. Because this– YET AGAIN- is a Banger Chapter of Egghead. People are talking about the Pacing being nice; the content; the moving pieces; the Action; this………. I don’t know what Oda decided after Wano, but CLEARLY he decided to make some kind of change to the way he tells this story. And for whatever reason, he chose this arc to do it. There will never be an arc as long as Wano or Dressrosa(Elbaf might have similar length to Skypiea, but even THEN probably a few chapters less than that), but this arc is going on longer than I think anyone expected. And this time people are INTO it. 

I said it before and I’ll say it again: This Is The Best Post Time Skip Arc To Date. And if he sticks the landing with the flashback and the CLIMAX- Maybe Even The Whole Series. Just you wait. And it All Begins With A God Valley Flashback. I use “A” for a reason. And you’ll know why soon. One Piece Chapter 1,095: “Better Off Dead In This World.” Get ready to cry, also………….

Overview

Picking Up From The Last Chapter: Saint Jaygarcia Saturn of the Gorsei has touched down on Egghead Island- all Marines ranked Commodore and below aren’t even able to lay eyes on him. So they start running, while Saturn shows us what he can do. Bonney………. basically just became an Emperor-Class priority for stabbing him; all the Vice Admiral’s at present are ready to fire, but Saturn tells them “If I didn’t want to get stabbed- I would have moved.” He grabs Bonney, and stops Sanji from advancing any further to save her. Takes out the blade- and the wound just closes. Blood vaporizes- as if it didn’t even happen. 

The Marines try to advance, but Saturn tells them to hold their positions and keep their guns aimed at them. Then he chastises Kizaru for taking so long to execute his order. Though he admits that- given “The Circumstances-” he understands. Speaking of– he tries to take out Luffy. But Franky manages to save him in time, glad to see that even the “Biggest Big Shots” in the world are gunning for his Captain’s head. Not like it matters to him, though; the island is SURROUNDED from coast to coast by Navy Vessels. Plus- HE’S Here. So- after thanking Vegapunk for his years of service to the World Government- he asks what the cruelest order would be to kill them in. And he says they’ve only themselves to blame for it– such is “Human Nature:” “Always tempted by that which is forbidden.” 

No one is able to move in his presence- plausibly due to his Devil fruit ability. But Bonney isn’t done fighting- this is the man who killed her father. He recalls what he knows about Kuma: Born A Slave- the descendant of the “Buccaneer” race- a race that carries Giant blood in em, who committed a “Grave Sin” long ago. And that reminds her of something that Kuma told her when she was young: Kuma tells his daughter that he wanted to be a Hero growing up- someone who would free people from their suffering- just like the Warrior Of Liberation Nika. They proceeded to dance to the rhythm of the Drums of Liberation. But she asks: “Will I be freed, too?” Kuma says she will be, as Bonney seems to lose consciousness in Saturn’s hand…………….

FLASHBACK: 47 Years Ago- South Blue- Sorbet Kingdom: Bartholemew Kuma is born to Bartholemew Clapp and his wife. The doctor who delivered Kuma promises not to speak on their blood, but- The Government has eyes everywhere and ears everywhere else. They’re caught and forced into Slavery under the Celestial Dragons- those Nobles so proud to have such unique and strong slaves. One day, Klap comes to see his son- to tell him that his mother’s died. Klap’s happy for his wife, but Kuma………. wants to follow her at this point; this life isn’t worth all this sh!t. But Klap tells him to endure it- The Sun God Nika will come to free them. It’s a legend passed down by the Buccaneer’s for generations; he comes to free everyone from oppression- dancing and smiling to the beat of the drums. Then he gets shot in the head for making all that noise. Yep. 

38 years ago- West Blue: Once every 3 years, the Celestial Dragons hold a competition on a Non-Government-Affiliated Island- in which they hunt the people of the island and claim it in the name of the World Government. Well- THEMSELVES, but the Marines will tell you “World Government.” Ladies and Gentlemen: The Native Hunting Competition. And the venue for This Years Festival: The Blasphemous God Valley- a land of vast natural resources. The King of this country naturally opposes the game, but he meets the same fate as so many others: Killed by a Celestial Dragon. Only he must have been slightly more important than the other monarch’s they’ve met in the lower realm because he’s slain by one Saint Figarland Garling of the God’s Knights. Not the Supreme Commander JUST yet. Usually slaying the King of the land is worth 10,000 points, but he started before the game officially began. So he gets Minus 10,000 points. Which works for HIM ’cause he needed the Handicap. 

This year is special, however, as they’re adding the “problematic” slaves to the mix to keep it interesting. And the “Star Slave” to take out: The Buccaneer Brat Kuma. The continuation of the memory Bonney saw in chapter 1,074: After trying to escape, Kuma is dragged back by some other slaves, when out of the blue– Slave Emporio Ivankov and their sister Ginny show up. And they have decided to Live. And they ask if this pack of slaves wants that, too. One Piece Chapter 1,095 END!! It always amazes me how much I have to write for this series when chapters like this come about; so much to say- so much to make sure you know about before we get to the……… Dissection of what we just saw- the dissection itself and making sure I get eh background information correct- so much to do- so very little time to do it. 

REVIEW

This is one of those chapters, ladies and gentlemen; one that has to be broken down into sections just to make sure you get everything. And I believe you guys can already guess where I’m going to begin this discussion……….

The Buccaneers And The Sun God

How………. What? Okay; I’ll admit that- when the leaks came out- I had thought that the “Buccaneers” was the name of the more traditional Pirate class- the pillage-y, murder-y types- that Oda used in version 2 ofRomance Dawn. Yeah; there were 2 types of Pirates in one of the original versions of “One Piece-” the “Morganeers,” who attack people, and the “Peace Mains” who attack the Morganeers. So while the name has changed- maybe Oda is trying for the same implication. There are…….. a few factions that were all involved in a conflict during the Void Century: The D Clan; The Ancient Kingdom(plausibly they’re one and the same); the Lunarians; the World Government; and now we have to consider the Buccaneer tribe. Perhaps the reason Saturn says that they committed a “Great Sin” is because the crime they committed was AGAINST The World Government- possibly like Lili’s “blunder.” And for that sin– when whatever transpired after the Fall of the Ancient Kingdom- the Buccaneers were hunted to extinction. 

Their Ties To The Sun God: Interesting situation. It’s very much “What Came First, The Chicken Or The Egg?” Did the people of the Void century see Nika come down from on high to free them from the Lunarians, and the Devil fruit for said Freedom Warrior was born from Man’s desire to see him again? Or was this deity made up by someone, and their desires manifested the fruit to embody the Sun God’s power? ‘Cause it’s a Zoan- it has a mind of its own; if its power was “eaten” by an object, the “person” would be the Sun God himself. Maybe the whole concept of Objects eating Devil fruits is made to imply that Nika was a real individual– a True God until himself who was incarnated as………. I don’t know, a stick or something– it probably wasn’t all that elaborate. And “Joyboy” was not the leader of the Ancient Kingdom or even a legitimate member of the D Clan(depending on how you treat the D clan- it might not be a legit bloodline, but it also MIGHT be), but separate entity entirely. Huh……… That’s an idea!!

But back to what I was saying; it’s most likely the Buccaneers- as well as the others present during the Void Century- likely witnessed the Sun God work a miracle and freed the world from Lunarian oppression. This all assuming the Lunarians were oppressive to the rest of the world– I honestly just heard this theory one day it made total sense for a race like that that lived at the Top Of The World would act something like the Celestial Dragons- but with actual might to back it up. Honestly, I’m reminded from the Excedes in “Fairy Tail-“ a race with wings hailed as “Gods.” They aren’t the same in the slightest other than that coincidence. What is it about chapters like this that get me all sidetracked. I’M TRYING TO SAY that- if the Lunarian’s were the Celestial Dragons of the Void Century- the Nika was the one to free the world- Humans, Buccaneers, and all. And so- after witnessing what they would have believed at the time to be “The Ultimate Miracle By The Hands Of An Actual God-” they would naturally pray to that God to save them from what rose out of the Void………………

Bartholemew Kuma The Slave

I saw a theory on twitter the other day that hypothesized that Jinny- Ivankov’s little sister- is Bonney’s Mother; that these 3 would escape together and- through some adventures- Kuma becomes King of the Sorbet Kingdom and helps Iva and Dragon establish the then-Freedom Fighters. And to all of this: I will add that- at the time of this Cleansing Festival Flashback- Monkey D Dragon would be 17 years of age. He’s 55 at the time of the current story, so in the context of this flashback- he would be the same age as Ace and Luffy when they set out on their adventures. Is there some kind of connection? I’m just saying: It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Oda might be telling us how Kuma and the others escaped this festival. Dragon could have been an Adventurer- or maybe even outright Pirate– who just so happened to pass through and see………………… horrors too shocking for Oda to depict in this magazine. And seeing that is when he decided to become more than just a Pirate. 

And heck; maybe he saves Kuma, Iva, and Ginny, and Kuma ends up telling him about the Sun God! And Dragon would go on a quest to get that fruit and claim the power of the Warrior of Liberation- but never found it, instead choosing to focus on amassing enough power to take down the World Nobles without the powers of a God. Which would connect he and Luffy in a very interesting way; give them an actual- you know– REASON to meet. ‘Cause as it stands, they don’t really have much of a desire to meet- other than uniting to take down this corrupt system. 

Though all of this relies on Dragon choosing to set out on an adventure at this age; he may well just…………. if he were a Marine of ANY rank and was here to see the carnage about to unfold, then that would also be likely. Dragon might be here, I don’t know. But assuming he’s NOT, then how exactly do Kuma and the rest get freed. Well……….. This IS the Incident. This is where the Rocks Pirates find themselves- were Garp and Roger Team up- where the Rocks crew is dissolved. THIS IS WHERE THAT HAPPENS. And I bet of ALL THINGS- NO ONE bet that this flashback would be told through the eyes of Kuma. In fact…………

The God Valley Incident

I had to make a whole new segment for this, because there’s a lot of moving pieces with this one. Some observant fans have pointed out the 6 Treasure chest that seem to be the grand prizes for the Cleansing Festival. Which is a F*cking phrase unto ITSELF. I mean, of ALL the names they could have chosen for this thing; Oda chose to label it “The Cleansing Festival.” The Gorosei are of the current mindset that it’s time for a “Great Cleansing.” My theory: The “Cleansing Festival” is a small scale version of the Great Cleansing- an event where the world is destroyed and reborn under Imu’s rule. Over and Over and Over again for the last 800 years. But with every Cleansing- a few things manage to slip through. The D’s; Nika; the Ancient Weapons; Wano itself. Things of this nature. So the Cleansing Festival was likely something Imu himself came up with to purge these problems on a more personal scale- something held every 3 years to expand Imu’s territory and whittle down the number of truth seekers and D’s out there. That’s something I thought about. Though looking at the official, this point seems mute because of the name change. But I still think there’s credence to it……..

But the chests. People are thinking that- held within those chests- are Mythical Zoans, the rarest fruit of all! What would the Celestial Dragon’s even do with these? WELP- not use them themselves. They’ll just feed em to the slaves and drown em for amusement. That’s how the Boa’s got THEIR fruits, for those who didn’t know. But people have already speculated WHAT fruits are in there: 

• The Nika Fruit
• Kaido’s Azure Dragon Fruit
• Marco’s Phoenix fruit
• Orochi’s Yamato No Orochi Fruit
• Yamato’s Okuchi No Makami fruit
• Either Saturn’s fruit or Sengoku’s Daibutsu fruit

Considering where these fruits end up, it’s not like it’s impossible that this were they were at the start. And the fact that they manage to allude the Government in all cases was already hinted at in chapter 1,044; Zoans have a “will of their own.” Keep that line in mind for a future post. But that’s only assuming; we don’t know for sure what the prizes are……….. yet. We may well find out in the next chapter. And if we assume that these are all Mythical Zoans, then this may even be where Garling gets a fruit. But I honestly think that he’s like Roger and Shanks: A Haki Bad@$$. Maybe not, but you never know; people debated up and down about whether Roger had Luffy’s fruit prior before chapter 1,047. 

This will also be where we see Whitebeard in pitched combat again. And his opponent- a’la his interaction with Shanks in chapter 434– implies that he battles with Garling here. He says that that battle put some scars on him- ones that flare up whenever he sees Shanks. That’s a battle. And Kaido will learn HERE what a “Pirate Alliance” is worth. My personal theory is that Whitebeard turns on the Rocks crew- a band of Pirates that is a “crew” in name only; they were just……… a bunch of Criminals who more than likely championed the “No Honor Amongst Thieves” mentality. And Whitebeard- tired of living every day waiting for someone to betray him- decides to leave, and puts Kaido in the situation where Big Mom has to feed him the Fish Fish fruit. That would be the order of those events. Where the fight with Garling occurs is a good question, because Kaido– Devil fruit or no– is TOUGH. And Garling is a Celestial Dragon first and foremost; I doubt he’s the honorable type to let them fight duke it out and just wait– he may have attack Whitebeard while he was fighting Kaido! 

Another thing that I thought of over night– going back to the theory that Dragon is here- I realized: Dragon And Akainu are the same age at 55- making them 17 back here. Koby entered the Marines as a Chore Boy and became Navy HQ Chief Petty Officer in less than a Year. At 16. Call it nepotism; call it determination and work ethic; call it luck- it happened. If Dragon is part of the Marines at the time of this flashback, then………. this is where he sees through the bull. And what I’m thinking- since Akainu has such a disdain for Dragon that he only refers to Luffy as “Son Of Dragon-” we’re lead to believe that there’s some history there. Did Dragon betray Akainu by forming the Revolutionaries? Maybe they were like Koby and Helmeppo up until this incident, in which Dragon fought against the Marines to try and kill the Celestial Dragons, but Akainu tried to stop him. And it was a betrayal of his “Absolute Justice.” Or perhaps Dragon’s involvement was akin to Luffy’s role in Marineford: Someone who just threw himself into the conflict whether he was ready or not. 

He ends up fighting Akainu trying to go and kill the Celestial Dragons, and comes into conflict with Akainu- doing something to put him basically at the top of Sakazuki’s sh!tlist. Be that embarrassment of calling out some hidden hypocrisy in the “Absolute Justice” mentality is anyone’s guess. I’m just saying that this might be a little bit of an origin for the Old Generation and how their legends and connections began. This may well be the 2nd most important flashback in the entire series. Void Century Flashback takes all precedence. That might end up being the 4th longest stent of chapters in the story– maybe even 3rd with how much it has to do. Boy, I tell ya; I think Egghead is meant to prep us for long periods of time without the Straw hat’s being seen- because the Void Century Flashback is probably going to be the longest period of time where we don’t see any of them outside of the cover pages. That and the fact that– if he’s going to tell this story properly- he can’t do that forever. So many times do things happen offscreen that we only learn about in the Newspaper. And as fun as that is– I think Oda’s personally over it at this point and wants to actually show those kinds of fights. It’s time to stop “telling” and start showing. That’s the vibe I’m getting. Which is gonna make Elbaf a very interesting arc in the story– probably the FINAL arc Oda’s going to deliver before Throne Wars kick off. Whether that’ll happen before or AFTER we reach the One Piece is likely what’ll determine what the One Piece is. 

If we see it before Throne Wars- it’s a weapon to take out the World Government. AFTER– Bink’s Sake. Those are the 2 most likely outcomes for what the One Piece is– both embodying some kind of “unification of the world.” Be it “Brining down the Red Line and making the All Blue” or “You’ve already taken out the World Government, so it’s time to celebrate with the friends you’ve made along the way.” Something to that effect. 

Conclusion

This is a REALLY GOOD POST from me considering what’s going on at my job right now. I’m not “meshing” with the current management. And I’ll talk about with you at some point in the near future. ‘Cause I’m Over It; whatever happens HAPPENS is where I’m at with that job now. So I might just lose my job. Not that I care. In whatever case, now that I’ve wrapped up this post; I think I’m gonna start talking about that Dragon Ball Daima reveal. Got some thoughts. Some good- some bad. But those “bads” are mostly aimed at Super right now- as well as the Executive Stupidity going on behind the scenes. From my knowledge. Until then, everyone; Stay Safe- Stay Healthy- And Remember: “A Tyrant Will Always Find Pretext For Their Tyranny.” Do NOT Let Them Use It. Have A Nice One.