Fun chapter.
1003 did seem to be transitioning the focus back to the lower floors. And now we have the palette cleanser from the roof fight, at least for now. Even moreso than the roof chapters, this chapter cements to me even further we're on the decisive battles of the arc. Oda rarely elaborates on Strawhat fights unless they were crucial victories for them, and through CP0, Oda basically told us that these executives are theirs to beat.
The stars were Nami, Usopp, Franky, Tama.
Starting with Tama, I love that she's so proactive in trying to save Wano. She could've stayed and left the fighting to the adults, but if they fail now, then there's no point in staying in Wano where it's "safe." She's very self aware of her ability to convert the Gifters, making her more a legitimate player rather than a plot device. Everything from Acts 1 and 2 are coming together. Gifters that were minor antagonists early on are now allies to the cause. Tama who was the arc damsel at one point is now the x-factor to victory.
Speaking in tandem Nami and Usopp, they are meeting my expectations on how to deal with Ulti and P1. Bewilder them by turn coating their subordinates and making chaos from that. Usopp predictably shoots the dango with his slingshot for maximum effect. This part of the chapter was hilarious.
They're playing the F6 like dang fiddles, and I'm loving every moment of it. Nami even dishing out some nice payback on the Pachy caving her skull in by zapping her to the ground. Nami mentioning she needs more power, however, is a curious bit. Could Zeus come back into play? That would require Linlin to come back. We'll see how Oda approaches that, but I wouldn't be surprised if the roof battle started implicating everyone else. The structure of the island is collapsing, after all. Speaking of the roof top, I can't help but draw parallels between Nami and Usopp working together to Luffy and Zoro working together at the top.
Strongest duo vs Monster siblings
Weakest duo vs Monster siblings
Luffy and Zoro are fighting Linlin and Kaido with all their might and willpower, whereas Nami and Usopp fend off Ulti and P1 using trickery and out of the box tactics.
On the flip side, while the human duo fight brawns with brain, Franky's fighting brawns with brawns. What more can be said, Franky looks like a boss, dealing with Sasaki and his armored squadron, not skipping a beat in the process. Franky's always been one of the most reliable Strawhats. He's consistently building and going the extra mile for the team, like when he advised the samurai to build more ships for the Alliance, maintaining the Sunny over all these arcs, and beating arc opponents that prove troublesome, or are in the way of important tasks, like freeing Robin in Enies Lobby or destroying Doffy's SMILE factory.
No point talking too extensively on Sanji. This is Oda stalling him until his main arc matchup. I wish he had done something different for Sanji, but oh well. On the positive side, he isn't letting himself get distracted by the women, and seems hyper focus on the task at hand. His future task also appears to be heading for Kin'emon and co's current location in order to protect them.
Black Maria name dropping Robin does lean on the two ladies doing battle, and at this point, why deny it? Robin is long overdue for some shine, and it will come sooner rather than later.
This is definitely Robin, and Sanji picked up on it pretty quick, responding to Black Maria not to under-estimate his crew mate. Like he knows she has some scheme at play.
On a final note, Oda decides to leave us with another mystery to compliment last chapter's, and that's the identity of the 10th person with the unconscious Samurai. It's Hiyori, and I'm confident of it. She still has some loose ends that need tying up, such as her desire to kill Orochi, Orochi figuring out Komurasaki and Hiyori are one in the same. Which kinda increases Orochi's chances of survival. Orochi even has some purpose beyond Hiyori. The Samurai he's wanted dead are completely helpless and ready to be killed by anything. Sanji already has his eyes set on protecting them, but maybe this could also be where Momo steps in to defend his vassals.