Fantastic chapter.
It's the chapter Zoro/Sanji fans were waiting for since Wano began. We got some banter, cool action sequences, and some interesting piece of lore material to go over.
Starting with Sanji, Queen is the closest thing to him fighting his family directly at this point. He is a mad scientist with dreams of becoming the ultimate enhanced being, similarly to Judge. Sanji chooses to present himself not as an artificially engineer soldier, but a really angry chef who wants to tenderize some dino. And Diable Jambe is no product of enhancement, but the representation of his humanity and passion. A small tidbit we're fed is what the Raid Suit does to him. This may really suggest an awakening to his exoskeleton, but it's important to remember that Sanji isn't a modified human. I'm intrigued to know how the changes affect him.
This little panel -
Was as if Oda was speaking to every single reader who said Zoro and Sanji need help in this fight. This battle isn't just about winning the war, but the Straw Hats making their mark on the world as the frontrunners for One Piece. They should be the ones at the forefront of this fight, and extra help would only muddy the message. Zoro and Sanji are going to beat King and Queen completely on their own.
King gets more and more spotlight on himself now that his proper fight has begun. Marco brought up his race last chapter and how they lived over the Redline at one point, and now said race are described as "Gods." Later we have Queen name dropping his race's name, and it seems to be a sore spot for him.
In fact, the righthands both get some exposition on their people. King is potentially the last of his race, and Zoro is potentially one of the only Shimotsuki by blood left. But unlike King, Zoro is unaware of his connections to Wano, and the two men he is most closely connected to - Ryuma and Ushimaru. There's a very strong theme of inheritance in this chapter, as Zoro is the torch bearer for the entire Shimotsuki line.
Shusui's abduction was considered a terrible omen for the country of Wano.
The Country has since remained in a long winter. Until the year Zoro returned Shusui to its rightful place. Kawamatsu describes it a "act of fate". It's easy to see that the return of Wano's national treasure is a sign that the sun shall shine over Wano once more, and that, perhaps, the legend of a one eyed Samurai didn't end with Ryuma.
Zoro and King's fight begins in earnest, and we see a clear difference in their approach. Zoro is a swordsman with strong discipline. He seeks to defeat his enemy swift and soundly. Meanwhile, King would rather annihilate his opponent. He uses any method he can to dispose of his foe. Zoro offers to respond in kind, though I think as the battle goes on, we'll see the difference to their approach in combat emphasized.
The rest of the chapter is mostly updates to Inu, Neko, and Raizo's battles. They're largely recaps of the arcs which led up to this war. The Zou massacre, Pedro's death during WCI, etc. And while I feel Inu's desire to avenge his people's suffering to be effective, I can't say the same about the obsession to avenge Pedro. I'm simply not sold at all this contempt towards Perospero when he was literally caught in the middle of all these problems. It's logical for the Minks to be angry at the man who they at the center of their comrade's death, but I ask if it's that important? Pedro's sacrifice wasn't in vain, and Perospero hasn't exactly done anything note worthy for his presence to be necessary in this war. It comes off as a waste of time, to me.
And finally, the point of no return. Momonosuke is now an adult, so say goodbye to the little gremlin face forever.
But on a serious note, I did like Luffy remembering his first encounter with Momo. Despite the fact he's a large dragon now compared to the petite one he knew, Luffy seems more awed at Momo's inner growth. He knows the sacrifice Momo had to make to forcefully age into an adult, but is ready to help him stop Kaido and save Wano. Luffy was the first person to treat Momo like an equal and not some heir. It was both a wakeup call and relief for the little lord who's only ever been an heir and nothing more. His will was not his own. The time with Luffy and gang has helped him become the leader he wants to be for his people and the country.