- Funny that Sanji uses his first handheld weapon since Enies Lobby against Wanze, and it happens to be Zoro. It's another EL callback but to Zoro using Sogeking as his meito Hana-Arashi.
- Briscola confirms feeding dango to the Gifters without Tama's order accomplishes nothing. It might even help them as the great taste heals them by placebo.
- The idea that Queen drilled holes into his own teeth to insert those retractable needle fangs just makes me wince. Queen's self modifications are just insane, the fact that they combine with his Zoan transformation just puts Cyborg Franky to shame.
- When Kaido talks about how accepting defeat is difficult, this overgrown loser might have plenty of personal experience to share
I really like that Sanji is the Strawhat who makes the cheesy speech about miracles and Chopper is the one who needs to be convinced. Chopper is the child of the Strawhats, the youngest and strongest candidate to first cry his heart over Luffy, and in general almost as gullible as a Tontatta so he easily believes the enemy's words. On the other hand, Sanji recently underwent a test of faith in Tottoland, where the problems started because Sanji doubted the Strawhat's ability to deal with two Yonko and gave into Big Mom's demands. By the end, Sanji became Mr. Miracle betting that Luffy would do the impossible:
Chopper was there in Tottoland to witness Luffy beat the unbeatable, a reminder from Sanji should especially resonate and restore the reindeer's hopes.
Amusing that the title and focus of the chapter, Chains (Bonds), pits Kin and Momo's relationship against that of Kaido and Yamato. Kin'emon pretended to be Momo's father since they left Wano, but he holds him in far too high regard to treat him like an actual child and he definitely knows he could never replace his true father and his dear lord Oden. Kin pays the ultimate price and sacrifices his own life for a kid he only had a pretend familial bond with, because Wano needs its future Shogun.
We contrast that to the broken family dynamic between Kaido and Yamato. Yamato won't address Kaido as father, Yamato is there to END Kaido. Absolutely no respect for a monster that needs to die. Kaido for his part declared this brat the Shogun of New Onigashima. But this is the brat that could have died from an explosive collar any time during the last 20 years. Yamato is an annoyance he sends the Tobbiroppo and grunts to deal with, not a person worth acting like a responsible parent for. Would Kaido sacrifice anything for his locked up spawn? Maybe just his patience.
VOAT seemingly calling out to Law's crew just looks like an unnecessary convenience here, but most likely Oda is planting seeds for something greater. I could imagine the absolute pinnacle of this power giving Luffy the ability to truly connect his voice with all people and all things simultaneously, it might be necessary to achieve his hidden dream.
I know that people wanted to milk the drama from Luffy's defeat, putting the other Strawhats and the alliance in a trial where they have to continue without Luffy until the golden boy returns at the pivotal hour. It's a rather standard shonen development and we've seen it before in One Piece. The 10 minutes when Luffy rested in Dressrosa and everyone else stalled weakened Doflamingo and kept pushing the cage. The ~12 hours when Luffy was facing Katakuri, forced a lying smile to his crew, and then disappeared with no updates as they had their own tasks to continue. I'm sure we'll see this test of faith one more time whether it's later in Wano, against Blackbeard or in the final war.
Let's appreciate the very unique and remarkable scene that played out before our eyes. Luffy, after being defeated, after being rendered unconscious, after sent to drown in the depths, STILL took account of the situation and reached out to the others. He knew because he failed, Kaido was heading downstairs and the alliance would start to raise doubts about the fate of their leader and the odds of still prevailing. Luffy remembered them. He acted as their leader from under the waves and gave them purpose and resolve.
Luffy could have been a good-natured but selfish man like Oden, taking on the burden and suffering by himself but hesitant tell anything to his Scabbards and only relying on them at the end. All symbolized by boiling Oden holding them over his head while Shinobu tells everyone the truth. Instead, Luffy has developed in the opposite direction. Luffy's mind surpassed his own body so he can tell the alliance about his failure. Luffy is counting on the samurai. He needs them to stay strong and motivated in the face of Kaido, they must share some of burden until he returns. Luffy is being the leader Oden never stepped up to be, the kind of man needed to free Wano once and for all.