With a VS in the title, you know you've got a good chapter. Pay-Pay and Ulti bonding over a book in a room full of Beast plushies is too adorable. Page One having a shaved head and horns on his skull is necessary info.
The Gifters that keep on gifting. CP0 with fresh numbers updates us with the Beast Pirates down from 20k to 16k, the alliance up from 7k to 9k. Two thousand more have fallen over the last two chapters. The result of Tama's actions were 300 Smiles switching sides with the remaining 200 avoiding the dango, never attending the party, or just died like poor Sheepshead and Ginrummy. The more surprising consequence was Waiters and Pleasures switching sides with their Headliner/Gifter bosses, netting the alliance another ~2k fodder. Imagine a good boss like Briscola last chapter suddenly flips and starts hammering you -- these are some really loyal or easily intimidated goons to still follow the traitors. Can you really blame overlord Tama for this one?
Who's Who called the wrong fish Nika. To be fair, Jinbe's face was coated black this chapter. Who's Who confirms he was one those guys who got jacked in prison and busted himself out, ruling out Impel Down. He's also a prison convert who now praises the sun. The guard who spread the idea of "Sun God" Nika that frees slaves was eliminated for what CP0 calls outdated information, and now they need to take care of Who's Who for the same reason. Maybe it's not outdated so much as not WG approved. The sun god the Shandians made sacrifices to, the sun the Elbaf giants pay tribute to with 12 days of fasting, the Dawn the Minks are waiting for, and the former fishmen slaves creating the Sun Pirates. Zero chance this is all a coincidence and Oda is seeking to tie the mythologies of the OP world together. Is it Joy Boy related? Well, there is one damning piece of evidence with a sun right next to a giant upside down strawhat, all in the ancient lunar Shandian civilization discovered by the one true God Enel:
A vengeful cat who pins his failings on the Gomu Gomu Vs a grateful fish freed from prison by its user and given a place on his crew. The red and blue corner treat us to a raw but technical thriller. Good choreography with Jinbe using attacks, blocks, even a counter grip to defend. Who's Who is a little clever spamming his very effective Fang Pistol, resorting to his legs after his hands became useless. I loved the sheer brutality with WW breaking his Ancient Zoan fingers then getting his wrists snapped by the fishman grip, Jinbe earning a slash and a saber nab to the face. I honestly thought Jinbe would find a water source and soak this furball, but it looks like land lubber karate alone is good enough to deal all the damage Ulti took from Luffy/Yamato/Big Mom/Zeus/Nami. What a beast.
Lesson learned: never throw away your knife in the middle of a fight.
Oh the humiliation of being the one Smilodon born with a long tail.
Now 60 chapters into Act 3, we enter clap back season (or break season
). Kanjuro, Page One, Ulti, now Who's Who. Jinbe's final punch was a shockwave to Who's Who face, a new Ogi technique and likely a mask-breaking finisher as seen against Wadatsumi and Big Mom. I don't mind this beautiful fight continuing, but the cat already infodumped some major lore, triggered Jinbe, got broken in hybrid and I can't see what's left other than parting words. Should WW be awakened and recover sometime later, I see a nasty CP0 execution in his future. No more Oni virus, Tama's mission finished, Luffy on standby. Assuming there's a pattern, two chapters for every Strawhat fight and a chapter for side characters like Drake and Killer is generous by post-TS standards and would give us months of non-stop action. I'll be looking forward to it all.