You just KNOW the the anime adaptation of this chapter will be titled something close to that. Certainly the “Catalyst” part. Which is just one the things that I want to mention with this chapter: This incident– involving some of the Biggest Names in the world and in this series- an even forcing the “Marine Hero” Garp and Would-Be Pirate King Gold Roger to Team Up– the end of the Most Dangerous Terrorist Cell this world will likely ever see– THE God Valley Incident that’s been kept on the DL by the World Government for 38 whole years– 

Was Started By A 13 Year Old Girl.

I really want you to comprehend the “Weight” of what I just said: The God Valley Incident Was Started By A 13 Year Old Girl Who Just Wants Her Freedom. Man, Oda knows how to WRITE. You don’t need to be some FREEDOM DEITY or make all sorts of “Elaborate Plans” or send a Giant F*ck You Robot up the center of the world- You just have to want it. And have an important piece of information and a means to leak it to whomever. Not even in the post and I’m talking about this stuff. AND I just spoiled how old a certain character is. “One Piece” is so fre@kin’ crazy. Never would I have seen this coming. I mean; just think about the names that here right now to get a full scope of what I’m talking about. Let……….. Heh………… let me start this post, man. One Piece Chapter 1,096: “Kumachi.” Translator’s Note: A Nickname similar to “Teddy.” You’ll see in a minute……….

Overview

So– The “Native Hunting Competition” will begin in an hour. 150 Rare “Rabbits(people)” are out there, along with 13 “Super Rare” ones- each worth about 10,000 points. Single Hit Kills are worth “bonus points.” The usualy “F*cked Up” that comes with the Celestial Dragons. But the God’s Knights are SUPER into it; Garling tells them that they all might as well stand back, but the other 3 debuting in this chapter aren’t gonna let Garling grab and “Easy Victory” this time around. Some rounds are fired just to shut the “Rabbits” up, but…….. Moving over to Navy HQ: Then-Fleet Admiral(current day Commander-In-Chief of the World Government) Kong get’s in contact with a young Garp, informing him that a number of Pirates are on their way to God Valley where the Celestial Dragon’s have gathered. Garp doesn’t care all- he always thought it was a bad idea to steal the “Crown Jewel” of Pirates Island like that. He refuses to help- until he hears that Roger’s gonna be there…………..

Fullalead Island/Hachinosu/Beehive Island/Pirate Island- New World: The ROCKS PIRATES are on their way to God Valley, so all the other Pirates left behind feel the need to throw themselves into the battle to try and get the “Treasure” Rocks is trying to reclaim…….. God Valley, West Blue: IVANKOV is the one who rallies the slaves together in one place, trying to ignite whatever will they have left to channel that into escaping God Valley alive- even if it’s only one of them. That would be enough of win in their books. But they’re………. they don’t want to take the risk. They were promised any survivors left after the 3 week festival would receive freedom. Iva calls that out for the load a sh!t it is, reminding them that all past Extermination Events have had a Zero Survival Rate. They were promised their freedom to make the competition “More Fun;” “No sport in hunting a prey that wants to die.” All the while, Garling starts racking up points like a mug– going after the Higher points to 1)Gain a sizable lead to make up for the -10,000 points and 2)To make sure that no one else can get them. 

As a Shark Fishman Slave starts breaking the chains on the others, Ginny starts wiretapping for info, learning that the key to their freedom- are the Devil Fruits Being Held As Prizes: The Fish Fish Fruit Mythical Beast Model- Azure Dragon and the Paw Paw Fruit- BOTH OF WHICH very viable ways to get them all out of here! But the prizes are being held at the Center of the Island- Highly Secured as is, followed up by the fatter Celestial Dragons likely having killed the slaves they were riding around on. Probably not even as part of the hunt- just because they “broke” finally. But Ginny already planned a distraction- 2 weeks in advance: She leaked the info of the Native Extermination Competition to the world, and hopefully out to some Pirates. And with what’s on the way- They’ll have PLENTY of “distractions” to let them nab some choice fruits. Kuma opts to go in first, knowing his Buccaneerian Body will let him survive longer than most. And Iva decides to go with him into the frey………..

And then the CHAOS gets rolling!!! The Rocks Pirates Are HERE, and with an All Star Line Up for the time: 

• Rocks D Xebec Himself(heard, but not actually shown)
• The ORIGINAL Miss Bukingham Stussy 
• Gloriosa of Amazon Liliy(Granny Nyon in her prime)
• Shiki The Golden Lion
• Big Mom(accompanied by Prometheus)
• Kaido
• Captain John
• These last 2 aren’t labelled- just know that one of them is Silver Axe and the other is Wang Zhi/Ochoku. You’ll likely be able to figure out who’s who if you look at em- at least 1 of them, and the other by process of elimination. 

I mean, just……………. Look at that fre@kin’ cast of characters. AND WE AIN’T DONE YET!! In the middle of the Marines getting yelled at by the Celestial Dragon’s- The Roger Pirates show up, with a Young Gold Roger leading the charge- eager to get rid of this feeling he’s had for a year. Scopper Gaban tells him he can’t use the “Captain Card” to take the treasure this time around. But the God’s Knights are ready to take them on, along with the arrival of Garp and other Marines. As Iva says: PURE CHAOS on a scale you can’t even imagine- no better time to nab them fruits. Kuma of course gets the Paw, and IVANKOV almost eats the Azure Dragon fruit. But Linlin swipes the fruit and almost crushes him to death. Iva screams for Kuma to just eat the fruit already, and he does. He tells him to start sending people off the island with the Paw Paw Fruit, but– ST JAYGARCIA SATURN gets in the way. Ah, ya gotta be kidding me………….

Saturn recognizes him as the prized “Buccaneer Brat,” and gives him an Ultimatum: Live As A Slave- Or Die for the sins of the past that have nothing to do with him. He doesn’t outright SAY that, but………… That’s what it is. And Kuma- even at 9 years old- cannot comprehend how someone can be born “more or less important” than each other, and asks why even be born at all if all there is to your life is being a slave. And with this power he’s obtained, he’s going to save as many slaves as he possibly can- 

Just Like NIKA.

Saturn is about to crush his f*ckin’ windpipe, and we begin to fade out of a “Fateful Incident Obscured By The Shadows Of History…………” Sorbet Kingdom, South Blue- Unspecified Amount Of Time Later: Iva sees in the paper by a Younger “Big News” Morgans that the Exploits of the “Marine Hero Garp” were the only things to come out of that Warzone that made into the paper. He can only really print what the World Government tells him to at the moment, I guess. But it’s not like these 3 really know what happened that day, either. As for Kuma; he’s saying a prayer in the Church his family ran for all the lives he couldn’t save that day. Even though he managed to save 500 slaves before making it out himself. It’s because of that that Iva labels those hands of his “The Hands Of Liberation.” ‘Nother Unspecified Amount Of Time Later: Ivankov wants to enjoy his freedom, wanting to see the world without being in shackles. Kuma says that he’ll never forget Iva’s face for “as long as he lives.” A promise he TECHNICALLY didn’t break. And Ginny wants to stay with “Kumachi” while she figures out what to do with her own life.

So Iva sets off on his own, sailing off to bask in the freedom!! While Ginny– being 4 years older than Kuma(putting her at 13 at this point in the flashback)- has to figure out to feed Kuma. Answer: Selling Firewood! Or really wood in general; not really a specific purpose. Some bullies start f*cking with Kuma as they’re making their rounds(who some have pointed out might actually be members of Bonney’s current crew), so Ginny kicks their @$$e$, and Kuma “rejects” that pain for them. Now they’re friends. Ginny starts singing a song she made up about Kuma(a Winnie The Pooh reference), and they eat dinner later that night. And they have some food to spare. And it’s only after they finish eating that it hits them: For the first time since they were 4 years old- Their Bellies Are Full. And that small feat is enough to make them bawl from happiness. One Piece Chapter 1,096 END!! “Checkered Fate-“ a series of “highs” and “lows.” They WERE at their lowest as slave- they just got their first “high” in a long time. Something tells me business isn’t going to continue to go so well for long……………

REVIEW

This is another of those chapters, folks- one that has……………… so many moving pieces to it that connect to one another in some way/shape/form. And heck, one of the things that I wanted to say actually pertains to the series as a whole. And that would be: The Large Number Of Characters. A Thousand named and probably a thousand more before all is said and done. And a lot those characters are SUPER IMPORTANT to this world. And now a bunch of them are in God Valley. On top of all the Rocks Pirates I listed, you now have Roger and his crew(minus Oden ’cause this is before all that), Garp and several other big name Marines(probably Sengoku and Tsuru, among some of their Juniors at the time like Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, and the Theorized Dragon). And don’t forget the God’s Knights and Saturn himself. But this portion of the God Valley Flashback- as well as the instigators of the entire incident- Are Kuma, Ivankov, and Ginny- 2 REALLY Big Names in the present, and one who’s current status is unknown but likely dead. 

These characters were all present when the “Fateful Incident” occurred- the one that required that God Valley be wiped off the map. Kuma and Iva still to this DAY probably don’t know what happened- Whitebeard and Roger have taken it to their graves- and the rest…………… will likely kill each other if they ever see each other again. So they more or less stay out of each other’s way. But the fact of the matter is: This event- involving ALL OF THESE HEAVY HITTING PIRATES of the previous era- was started by a 13 year old girl and some snails. Although there’s a little more to it than just that, as is implied by Garp at the beginning of the chapter. Which actually brings us to our NEXT point……

The Catalyst Of The God Valley Incident

Ginny may have instigated the event by leaking this information, but the catalyst for the event seems to have been something involving Pirate Island and some mysterious treasure that was stolen. The Celestial Dragons HAVE it, but it was likely stolen by that era’s CP-9. And like Garp said to Kong: “Poke The Beehive- Anger The Bees.” It probably doesn’t even matter what it was that was stolen- it’s that it was stolen. But still: WHAT THE H#LL DID THEY TAKE FROM THAT ISLAND. Some of the prizes for this competition ARE Devil fruits– but the inclusion of the Paw Paw Fruit indicates that they aren’t all Mythical Zoans as some had speculated. So any fruit that wasn’t confirmed to have a holder in that era is free game for the 4. INCLUDING THE NIKA FRUIT. Is that what was swiped? And does Rocks know about the true significance of it? Probably not, but then we don’t know much about Rocks himself, either. 

It’s possible that he knows what Roger and crew would learn years after this by finding the One Piece. Rocks did not find the One Piece, I’m not saying that. But then- neither did Sengoku. And HE knows. There’s more than ONE WAY to obtain knowledge. Though that’s all assuming that the Nika fruit is here. But if not that, then what? The Dragon fruit? Some other fruit? A fruit at ALL? Whitebeard says in the chapter that what they’re looking for might not even be at God Valley. And heck; the fact that Big Mom- a woman who’s had her Devil fruit since she turned 6– wants to claim it for herself means that it likely isn’t a fruit. Unless Rocks told them a method that would allow them to eat 2 Devil fruits like a certain OTHER member of the D clan. But again- making assumptions. Whatever it is, though- is very important to Pirate Island. So much so that the Rocks Pirates might not be the only one’s at present trying to claim it……………….

Scopper told Roger he can’t claim it for himself this time! Which implies that he’s used his privileges as Captain to claim the spoils from other adventures, but also that whatever they’ve come for is too big to just let someone claim it. What oh what oh WHAT THE F*CK did they risk going to Hachinosu to get?!!!?! 

Garling And God Valley

In his introduction, we were told that Garling was once the Ruler of God Valley. Keyword: ONCE- he used to be. But as this flashback is telling us; God Valley was not a Government or Celestial Dragon ruled land as its name would have led us to believe. And this event- as we’ve been told– was so impactful that it had to be erased from history- the island excluded from every map you could find. And that Garp himself never wants to speak of it, which we’ll discuss a little bit later on. But if this place was wiped off the map after this event, then I’m left to ask: How Was Garling The Ruler Of God Valley? Did he- enacting his will as a Celestial Dragon and a Super Powerful God’s Knight- claim the land for himself? The goal WAS to eradicate the people already here and claim the land in the name of the World Government. Well, it was really just a fun game for the Celestial Dragons, but the World Government would apparently be getting access to some great natural resources. So maybe Garling- for his exploits during the incident and for- let’s be real: Winning the contest– was named the Ruler of God Valley by the Celestial Dragons. 

But again: The island was supposed to Not Exist Anymore- be it because all that Haki clashing against each other blew it the f*ck up or because whatever happened was unspeakably bad that Imu had to get involved- thus meaning there’s just a Gaping F*ckin HOLE there now. But we can’t say that necessarily because the most recent hole was made by the Mother Flame, which is a recent invention by Vegapunk. And Eneru knows WHERE the Enies Lobby hole came from. Just that is enough for me to say that Imu may have some kind of weapon at his disposal that can nuke islands like that. And the Mother Frame is just something else to help in that. Why stop at 1 Mega-death weapon when you can have 2? Or 3? Or a HUNDRED? But he obviously can spam it– as seen, there are a lucky few than manage to avoid the blast, but also- Gotta keep the “Absolute Power” thing on the dl, which gets harder and harder when islands vanish 1 after another. Tangent aside; I was thinking that the island might not necessarily be gone- just………… Renamed. Like The Nika fruit.

I was thinking that it was the mysterious island Vira mentioned in chapter 96, and is implied to have a lot more going on that has to do with the larger world rather than something entirely internal. But that place exists on the Grand Line- NOT the West Blue. So that theory sunk. I’m not sure anymore. I just know that he would end up dueling Whitebeard at some point, and that he would take over God Valley. Eh, maybe it’s just not on the map. The older versions of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia don’t mention the “Gum Gum Fruit.” Maybe it’s just an omission rather than an outright “erasure.” And Garling only comes back up to Marie Geiose to do his duty as Supreme Commander of the God’s Knights. Heck, maybe it’s become their Homebase. It would certainly be the best way to protect those assets, I tell you what…………

The God Valley Incident: The REAL Story

What happened on this day that the events had to be hidden? Even by someone like Morgans? Saturn being here might be part of it- first time a Gorosei had gone to the lower world in a long time. And of everyone, he’s probably the one who was the Most Guarded of anyone. But as we saw in chapter 1,094– No One Commodore or below can even look at them. And there were a lot of eyes there that day. Of course some nobody pirates died- Slaves almost certainly– and I imagine that some Marines got their heads blown off. Did the Pirates see something they shouldn’t? Reveal something they shouldn’t have. Kuma certainly made some kind of impression on everyone.………..!!! Kuma brought up Nika directly in front of Saturn. Did……….. could………… Was it learning about the existence of Nika himself that they’re trying to hide? Because if everyone…………… “A Man Only Dies When He’s Forgotten.” And Devil fruits are made from man’s desires. So long as there are people to spread the name “Nika-” the fruit will continue to exist. So maybe erasing it from history is Imu’s way of trying to get rid of the only threat to his rule!! Which is why Saturn was so gung-ho about killing Kuma– he’s a survivor of the tribe that prayed to Nika!!

But what Kuma did- spreading the tale of the Sun God amongst the slaves with his father’s help- saving them all that day and giving them that hope- ensured that the Sun God would always exist in this world. Who knows– maybe it was all the “desire” for freedom at present on that island- between the D’s at present(Garp, Roger, and Rocks) and the slaves- Spawned The Fruit on the island. And when Saturn saw it– he was like “GET THAT GODD@MNED FRUIT RIGHT THIS F*CKING SECOND, WORMS!!!” And that pretty much sealed that that fruit was The Most Important Fruit in the entire world- everyone at present on that island switched from “Kill The Enemy” to “Nab That Fruit.” And if the world ever found out that there was a Devil fruit that even the Gorosei wanted to get their hands on, then………….. imagine the chaos; those who seek Wealth– those who seek power– those who just wanted to get some kind of “Win” over the Government that facilitates the existence of the Celestial Dragons. Everyone and their mother would be after that fruit- a “Pirate Era” beyond anything even Roger would have expected…………..

The Fate of Ginny And Kuma

@3SkullJoe on twitter made a post the other day in which he laid out a few visual and character similarities between Nami and Ginny; the fact that they’re both good at wire tap(Nami was listening in on Luffy and Koby’s conversation post Enies Lobby)- both wear reading glasses– similar tempers- and attitude towards younger kids(both putting themselves in charge of situations involving kids). That has nothing to do with what I’m about to say; I just wanted to bring that up somewhere. 

Ginny is 13. Kuma is 9. Would it now be weird if Ginny was Bonney’s mom now? A little, but then- Hancock is 31 in love with a 19 year old. Not sure what I’m supposed to make of that. Like I said earlier: Likely dead in the present. And again: The Instigator Of The  Ultimate Incident. And it’s likely the knowledge of that that seals her fate. The Government finds out about the information leak- along with the fact that it came from a Slave of all things- and she’s done. And heck; Kuma’s supposed to become the King of the Sorbet Kingdom at some point, right? Maybe that’s what sets off the Government; Kuma looks like a Buccaneer. AND has met Saturn!! They’re gonna know its him. So it becomes a matter of sending in CP-9 to do their thing and make Kuma look like a Tyrant and getting his wife to fight on his behalf- then kill her dead. Or really, they might be able to get away with recapturing them because all Slaves are to be returned to the Dragons. All they need to do is find the “hoof” marks and…………….. Oh, she was returned to Marie Geiose, wasn’t she? Eh, still probably dead. 

From there, Kuma probably had to hide Bonney somewhere and get away from the Government- at some point joining up with Ivankov again and Dragon to form the Revolutionary Army. The rest- as they say- Is History. And as someone else pointed out; those 2 kids Ginny beat up for messing with Kuma might have been future members of Bonney’s crew. So maybe he left Bonney with them out of trust. And as for Bonney’s bloodline traits; someone pointed out that the state she took in chapter 1,072– that “Distorted Future” shape- looked more like a Buccaneer than she regularly does. So she might have accessed a “future” in which those traits were a lot more prevalent in her blood. For Kuma; the Buccaneer genes might have been a “Dominant” trait, but they were more “Recessive” for Bonney. Which brings to mind what’s going on with Kuma’s Mother’s Lineage and how genetics work, but we’re not gonna do all that today. She may not look it, but Bonney’s still a Buccaneer- she has the blood of Giants within her. She’s not gonna let Saturn kill her without a fight…………….

Conclusion 

I FINISHED THIS POST ON NOTHING BUT LUCK I want even lie to you. I was supposed to be working most of the day Saturday, October 28th, 2023 when I’m wrapping this post up(9:47 pm when I’m getting this conclusion started), but someone called out for whatever reason and my Manager was celebrating her daughter’s birthday and couldn’t come in to close the store. So I only really worked until like 3:40 pm or so. Ah, man……….. eh, least I finished this post before Sunday. I had oh so very much more to say in regards to this chapter, but I think got my point across well enough. Plus I have a bit more to say about “My Hero” this week that I had thought. So we’ll end this here. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. And until the next post, everyone; Stay Safe- Stay Healthy- And Have A Magically Wonderful Day. Laters!!