A top tier color spread with all the cool and levelheaded right hand men, capped by a sexy Bepo up front. Is Sulong Bepo's time finally near? Shiryu is the most facinating addition here as he is possibly the least loyal and most skeptical of Blackbeard's crew, a source of instability that hearkens back to the Rocks Pirates.
No haki, no weaknesses exploited, only the raw crushing power of Wano's supreme grade girders.
Very impressive what Kid and Law have accomplished, but I'm just as marveled by their resolution as now their dreams hang in the balance. Law says he'll never learn the true history unless this monster goes down. Hawkins said Kid's dream in 1029 was to hunt an emperor, Kid declaring his pirating career worthless if he were to fall here, therefore Kid this chapter phrasing this as a kill or be killed scenario perfectly matches his ambition.
You're familiar with Big Mom, now meet Bigger Mom. Love that BM finally recognizes Kid and Law as challengers to her throne, making this 68-year old offer a worthy sacrifice exchanging one year of her remaining life (on top of what Hera cost) for more power. Gigantification similar to Moria's Shadows Asgard, but I imagine Big Mom cannot restore her lifespan using other souls as: 1) that wouldn't count as a sacrifice, 2) she just wasted free lives on girders, 3) Mother Carmel would have never allowed herself to become so old and withered.
X-Drake bets it all on Koby's boy. Snitch Vs Snitch resumes until the Yamatrain steamrolls Drake. Hilarious that Oda gives Apoo a new weakness, at some point realizing Drake's tiny rex arms can't cover his ears and the hybrid form has no tail forcing Drake to drop his weapons and use nonexistent kicking moves. Yamato getting chased by Numbers is an interesting development. I have a hard time believing something horrific like Zoro's "dad" being a Number is true — #4 Jaki was capturing Inu and Neko 20 years ago, but seeing the three former samurai have a moment with adult Yamato and help clear bombs might be nicer than getting one-shotted.
Sanji in the left side of the skull, Zoro to its right and Luffy fighting on top :cheers:. Magnetically drawn back to the pleasure house on the run from Queen, an injured woman finally pushes Sanji to be decisive. Perhaps a misunderstanding but the amnesia and Sanji's shaded out eyebrow in the flashback are intriguing. Sanji selflessly questions if Luffy would prefer a handicapped cook to a ruthless soldier of science. The answer is obvious (WCI in a nutshell) as Sanji destroys the raid suit. Always seen as a flaw, here Sanji's chivalry is proud proof that his humanity prevailed over the way of the Germa. The potential weapon that could help him defeat a YC2, trigger more growth by modifying his body, even Sanji's dream invisibility power to match his desire for the All Blue — all dust before his new resolve.
Wano killing it with the Zoro/Sanji moments.
Half the Strawhats would slap Zoro silly for entertaining Sanji's idea, never mind saying he looks forward to it. But Zoro is serious enough to know what Sanji needs to hear right now — to get his mind focused and back on winning the fight. They may clash all the time, but just like Sanji slipping in a snail so Zoro doesn't get lost, the bros have each other's back when it counts.
Sanji picking Zoro to kill him right after he finds out he's sword-proof.
The reverse brow(s) transforms to a Germa 66 brow(s) this chapter and Sanji comments no longer feeling weird as if to indicate the process is done. Oda doesn't cruelly punish characters for sacrificing their dreams, so a fighter like Queen suddenly asking where did Sanji go might hint he just gained invisibility. In case you took the side of the geisha and thought Sora lost the battle over Sanji's heart, the chapter ends with Sanji's most emotionally evocative move: Hell Memories. All the trauma from the raid suit unleashed onto its biggest fan Queen.
Wonderful chapter this week. Menacing how the CP0 this chapter and last slowly paced their way across a burning battlefield to Nico Robin. The tidbit about the masks doesn't change Lucci's position since he was masked in Dressrosa, but Stussy and Kaku are downgraded. Excited to see who helps Brook stop three of them, although following any of the other climatic battles this chapter sounds just as good.