That Bepo Sulong is the most unexpected and random thing that happened in this chapter lol. Especially the size of that form.. The chapter should be named after Bepo and not Kuzan.
So Kuzan is working alone and not with SWORD anymore. Maybe he's after the One Piece (as their common goal) and is just using the BB pirates to snatch it at the last minute. Hidden motives or not, this is still a win for BB for recruiting an ex-admiral. Kuzan seems emotionally unstable in this chapter, both in the present and in his flashback. What happened to his pet penguin anyway?
Now, here's hoping Moria is dead if BB is really going for the kill with DF users. Maybe Devon is also on the island just to troll Perona.
BB is not a heartless pirate and cares for his crew. Maybe because they're still useful to him but not like Luffy, who treats his crew and his allies as his friends. It's all business for him. They can chill like the SHs even with their enemies outside of battle, and he's even willing to bring back Law's heart for the fodder members that had their hearts stolen.
The Bepo powerup is a bit ridiculous. Oda is still jumping from one event to another. Lots of cliffhangers and unnecessary hype. I'm really not a fan of how chaotic this arc is tbh. Some events feel too fast and lacking, and in some parts, they feel too slow.
The talk about the mysterious black ship was also in the distant past, right? They have had time to learn it's Dragon (going with that theory), which would explain the interest in attacking the revolutionary's base.
Why did they have beef with them otherwise?
The Baltigo incident was due to Burgess being salty about his loss with Sabo. He boarded their ship, then called his crew to raid the base, so they could get more weapons iirc. The one on the black ship, it's possible it's Dragon, but it can also be a new character we haven't seen before. Rocks, Gaban, Dragon, Saul are the best guesses. I kinda support the Dragon theory, but I think it would be better if it's Rocks.